Shen Qi found herself in a neat room when she woke up.
The room’s decoration was very simple yet stylish, with a few sketches hanging on the wall.
The light grey curtain moved slightly from the cool breeze.
Where am I? Shen Qi slowly got up before feeling a twinge of pain from her arm, thereafter she noticed that her arm was now bandaged.
“You’re awake?” A gentle voice could be heard, and Shen Qi looked up.
Ye Linhan entered the room under Shen Qi’s surprised gaze as he passed her a cup of warm water.
“You should drink some water to soothe your throat first.”
Shen Qi blankly stared at him for a moment before she took the cup of water that he offered. She was indeed thirsty, and her lips were so dry it chapped. Taking the cup over, she hurriedly gulped the water down.
Ye Linhan, who was by her side, couldn’t help but slow her down. “Drink slowly if you don’t want to choke on it.”
Shen Qi paused momentarily as she was overwhelmed when she heard him. What a gentle person!
Thus, Shen Qi slowed down her actions. When she wanted to put the cup down after finishing it, Ye Linhan’s hand swooped over to wipe the water droplets off the corner of her lips.
Shen Qi was taken aback, even though it was a normal thing to do.
What was he doing? Why did he touch the corner of her lips with his finger?
Realizing what was happening, Shen Qi leaned back slightly to avoid his touch.
Ye Linhan’s facial expression was indifferent; he didn’t realize how much panic he had caused Shen Qi as he took the cup from her. “You should get up; I made some food for you.”
Food?
Shen Qi’s stomach growled at the thought of it.
She immediately blushed and covered her stomach with her hands.
Ye Linhan chuckled, his gaze soft. “Get up then.”
The way he looked at her was soft and pure, without any hint of mockery. Shen Qi’s heart finally calmed down before she nodded and got up.
When she stood up, she suddenly realized that she had been changed out of her hospital gown.
Subconsciously, Shen Qi grabbed the hem of her clothes.
“Don’t worry, the maid came over to change your clothes for you,” Ye Linhan explained as Shen Qi came back to her senses and blushed.
He saw right through her before she could even say anything. Shen Qi then awkwardly followed Ye Linhan to the dining table from behind.
There were quite a few dishes and a bowl of soup on the table; it was a complete meal.
After being starved for so long, Shen Qi couldn’t help but gulp before taking her seat.
“Eat up! Don’t be shy.” Ye Linhan smiled slightly before giving her a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks.
“Thank you, Linhan,” Shen Qi expressed her gratitude before starting to eat up; she was so hungry.
It was a miracle that she survived without eating since yesterday.
Then again, she did survive after not eating or drinking for three days consecutively when she was a kid.
Hence, how could she not survive after starving for just a day? Shen Qi then chomped down on her food as she reminded herself to be strong.
Not only had she conquered her childhood trauma, she had also survived Lin Jiang’s betrayal as well as her family turning away from her.
Moreover, she even tolerated being forced to marry Ye Moxuan.
Just six more months! Six more months before she could finally leave this place.
After that, she would be able to settle down in a city that she liked and get a nice job to raise her kid.
Tears started forming as she continued thinking about it. It got to the point that they were brimming around her eyes before falling into her bowl.
However, she didn’t stop eating throughout.
Ye Linhan was initially smiling at her, but he paused when he noticed that her eyes were turning red before tears started rolling down her cheeks and right into her bowl.
At that sight, Ye Linhan’s smile froze.
After a few moments, he sighed lightly before placing some greens into her bowl.
“Don’t just eat your rice. Have some vegetables too.”
Shen Qi sniffed. Although she was still crying, she glanced at Ye Linhan when she noticed that he was picking out some vegetables for her.
Right then, the look of her teary gaze would forever be imprinted in Ye Linhan’s heart.
He paused what he was doing and pursed his lips unintentionally.
There were still bits of rice around the corners of Shen Qi’s lips. She felt really embarrassed, and the more she thought about it, the more emotional she got. The meal in front of her reminded her of the moment she was rescued from the human traffickers when she was still a child.
In the end, her parents never came to pick her up. It was the police officer who gave her a warm hug before bringing her back to the police station and bought her food.
Back then, she was also quiet for a long time before she started eating. The police officer, too, sighed and placed some vegetables into her bowl.
“Don’t forget your vegetables, young lady.”
She was still a kid back then, and so she burst into tears.
Now, however… although she was already a married grown up with a kid, she even got emotional when Ye Linhan treated her so gently.
More tears came out from her eyes at this moment.
“I’m so sorry, Linhan… I don’t want t-to be like this e-either…” Shen Qi wept, thereupon she stopped eating and turned around.
She felt really terrible; those were the darkest days of her life.
She stayed in the police station for three days. While all the parents of the missing kids came to pick them up, hers left her there for three days. When her mother finally arrived, the first thing she did was condemn her for being naughty, then questioned why she ran amok and spanked her in front of all the police officers.
She tried her best not to cry although she really wanted to.
All she did was stare at her mother with her eyes wide open. Why? Does she not love me? Wasn’t she worried? Why… All the other mothers love their children so much, but why is my mother so… different?
Suddenly, a jacket was placed on Shen Qi, whereupon a warm and manly scent immediately enveloped her.
“You’re feeling pretty terrible, huh?” Ye Linhan sat by her side with a tissue in his hand as he lowered down slightly to wipe her tears off her face. “You should let it out, but remember to eat after that. It’s not good if you develop some kind of sickness from starvation.”
Shen Qi’s hands were shaking as she stared at Ye Linhan, her lashes slightly quivering. “Thank you.”
Ye Linhan smiled. “Don’t mention it. Do you feel better after crying?”
“Yeah.” Shen Qi nodded.
“Then have this.” Ye Linhan poured Shen Qi a bowl of soup and passed it to her.
“I saw Moxuan’s car when I went to the hospital yesterday. Were you with him?”
Shen Qi paused upon hearing that.
“Although Moxuan looks cold, he actually has a heart of gold. He has his reasons for many things that he does. Besides, to be honest, Moxuan is actually very nice to you.”
