Volume One, Chapter 117: Sang Wan, I’m Here!
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“Director He, the hospital has received a signed complaint letter. Please come handle it as soon as possible!”
“Hui, the Second People’s Hospital in Magic City said the re-employment process is postponed. They’ve returned all the materials I submitted—you don’t need to report there anymore!”
“Director He, the apartment in Magic City was assigned to re-hired doctors. Since your eligibility has been revoked, the apartment will also be reclaimed. We hope you understand!”
...
At a glance, every message was bad news.
Before Ke’s mother could comfort herself—before she could accept that today marked her true retirement, and that she should now live peacefully as a pensioner—she stepped out of the cabin and saw three police officers waiting at the foot of the steps.
It was only at this moment that she understood what Ke Yifan had meant when he said he had provoked someone he never should have.
Her face turned ashen.
When Ke Yifan called, Sang Wan was sitting in a taxi.
“Xiao Wan…”
On the other end, Ke Yifan’s voice was weary and powerless. “I know I have no right to say this now. After all, the harm my mother caused you was very real. But… could you, for the sake of our—”
He stopped abruptly.
What had he ever done for Sang Wan? What past feelings did they have to speak of?
Sun Yueqing had been a mentor to him, and when he'd left the capital for university, he’d only called a few times to check on her health.
There was nothing between him and Sang Wan. Not even when she was at death’s door and he performed surgery to save her—it was only his duty as a doctor.
What right did he have to ask Sang Wan for anything?
Ke Yifan fell silent.
But Sang Wan remembered the operation that had saved her life, and the two kidneys that were never meant to be hers.
“Brother Fan, for the sake of the life you saved, I’ll sign the letter of forgiveness…”
Her voice was soft. “But, three times is the limit. If there’s a next time—”
“There won’t, there won’t!” Ke Yifan hurriedly promised. “Xiao Wan, I swear, never again!”
Sang Wan replied, and silence fell on the line.
As she was about to hang up, Ke Yifan’s voice came through, low and gentle: “Xiao Wan, Young Master Lou is a good man. I wish you happiness.”
She wanted to say, It’s not what you think, but found it unnecessary.
Sang Wan nodded. “Thank you.”
It took her a long time to muster the courage to dial Gu Qian’s number, and she was still weighing her words when he spoke first:
“Miss Sang, you intend to sign the letter of forgiveness and request lenient treatment, correct?”
“…Yes.”
“I can have it sorted in about half an hour. Do you have any other requests?”
“No, nothing else.”
“All right.”
The dial tone sounded. The call was disconnected.
Sang Wan: …
Just over half an hour later, Sang Wan entered the women’s prison.
It had been a month since her last visit. Thinking that her mother would be released in just over a month filled Sang Wan with a restless anticipation.
Her expectant smile faltered when she saw only a prison officer enter the visiting room alone.
“You’re Sun Yueqing’s family, right?”
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The officer’s voice was stern. “There’s only one visit per month. This month’s visit has already been used. Please come back next month.”
What?
Sang Wan’s expression changed. “Someone else came to visit my mother?”
The officer’s face was impassive, refusing to answer, and turned to leave.
No matter how Sang Wan pressed, no one responded.
On the way back, Sang Wan was puzzled.
Her phone chimed—Lou Ye’s message.
Where are you? Where did you go?
Knowing full well Lou Ye must have been to the 60th floor, Sang Wan didn’t want him to know anything about her mother.
I went to Imperial University, I’ll be back at the company this afternoon.
No sooner had she sent the message than she noticed the taxi driver repeatedly changing lanes and glancing at the rearview mirror.
Sang Wan grew alert. “Driver, is something wrong?”
He glanced at the mirror. “Feels like that car behind us is tailing me.”
Her heart tightened.
She turned. On the quiet, deserted outskirts, a battered pickup truck followed at a steady distance.
The driver wore sunglasses. His face was unreadable, his identity a mystery.
“You didn’t upset anyone, did you?” the driver joked, perhaps noticing she’d hailed the cab from the prison.
Sang Wan shook her head. She changed her mind. “Driver, I’m not going to the Lou Group. Take me to Wanxin Apartments.”
“Alright!”
The driver gripped the wheel and sped off.
Once in the city center, the pickup was still following.
The taxi pulled into Wanxin Apartments. Only then, looking back, did Sang Wan see the pickup blocked at the entrance.
She finally let out a breath, though her heart was still pounding with inexplicable unease.
When the door buzzed open, Sang Wan was sitting up in bed, every hair on her body standing on end.
Instinctively, she reached under her pillow, but before she could grab the fruit knife—
The bedroom door opened.
Lou Ye’s tall figure stood in the doorway. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling ill?”
Sang Wan pulled her hand back.
He walked over and touched her forehead.
No fever.
But her brow and the back of her neck were slick with cold sweat.
There was still lingering fear in her eyes, as if the person who’d entered might not be him, but someone much worse.
Lou Ye frowned and drew her into his arms. “Bad dream?”
That familiar, cool pine scent surrounded her.
Gradually, all her tension began to ebb away.
Sang Wan wrapped her arms around his waist. “Lou Ye…”
“Mm…”
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Lou Ye gently stroked her back. “I’m here.”
Sang Wan had so much she wanted to say.
She wanted to ask Lou Ye: Since we reunited, it feels like I bring trouble to you every day. Do you ever find me a nuisance?
Even just a little?
She also wanted to say: People’s patience has its limits. If the day comes when yours runs out, please tell me clearly. I won’t cling on. We’ll part on good terms.
But when the words reached her lips, Sang Wan couldn’t bring herself to say them.
She was afraid that if she did, she would wake from this dream.
She remembered the hospital days, when no one spoke to her, no one responded, and her only companion was the cold drip bottle beside her bed.
Lou Ye’s embrace was warm, his heartbeat slow and steady, bringing her a sense of security she’d never known.
Sang Wan’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Lou Ye was certain she’d wanted to say something, but after calling his name, she’d swallowed it all back.
Her body grew limp in his arms, her arms slipping away as she drifted off.
Lou Ye looked down—she was already asleep.
Sang Wan slept for a day and a night.
In the evening, Lou Ye woke her, fed her a half-bowl of porridge, and she drifted off again.
Her dreams were full of terrifying childhood memories.
The clang of someone kicking the iron door, angry shouts and curses outside.
Windows smashed in the night, burning scraps of cloth and paper thrown inside.
The twisted grins of malicious faces.
“Mom…”
She woke with a start. Outside, the night was pitch black.
For a moment, Sang Wan thought she was back in that inescapable nightmare.
Then, the light flicked on and Lou Ye pulled her tightly into his arms. “Sang Wan, I’m here!”
She looked up and saw Lou Ye.
She exhaled in relief and melted into his embrace.
She couldn’t sleep again.
For several days, Lou Ye pushed off all his engagements and didn’t even go up to the twentieth floor.
They ate breakfast together.
They cooked dinner together.
In just a few days, Sang Wan stopped dreaming about her childhood fears.
Her heart brimmed with anticipation as she waited to see Sun Yueqing again, eager to ask who had visited last time, and to tell her that soon, they would be reunited.
That morning, Sang Wan got out of the car by the roadside and walked to her company’s entrance.
Then she heard a delighted call behind her. “Xiao Wan!”
Her rational mind screamed: Sang Wan, don’t turn around. Keep walking! You don’t know him!
But her feet felt nailed to the ground.
Sang Wan turned. At a single glance, all color drained from her face.