“What happened?” She sat down beside Lauren Shaw, concern etched on her face.
“I slipped by accident. It’s already much better, really—no need to worry.”
“How could I not worry? It looks pretty serious.” Mrs. Chen’s worry was written all over her face.
Lauren Shaw felt a warm glow in her heart. “Mom, I’m fine, it doesn’t hurt anymore. Give it a few days and I’ll be as good as new.”
But Mrs. Chen still looked uneasy. “Did you see a doctor? If not, I can call the family doctor over to check on you.”
Yancy Shaw, who’d been silent, interrupted. “Did you forget what your son does for a living?”
Only then did Mrs. Chen realize—her son was a doctor too.
She shot him a half-serious glare: “You little rascal, Shengsheng’s hurt this badly and you’re still bullying her?”
The moment she said this, Lauren Shaw’s face grew even redder.
If anything, it hadn’t been bullying; it was just a spark between dry wood and a blazing fire. If Mrs. Chen hadn’t barged in so suddenly, who knows where things might have gone.
Yancy Shaw didn’t respond, he just gave Lauren Shaw a meaningful look before getting up. “I’ll go make lunch.”
With that, he turned and headed for the kitchen.
Lauren Shaw turned to Mrs. Chen. “Mom, did you need me for something today?”
“What could I possibly need? I was just bored at home and wanted to come chat with you.” Well, and find out what was really going on between her and Yancy Shaw.
But from the looks of things, she didn’t need to ask; they were clearly very close.
Mrs. Chen stayed for a while before getting up to leave.
Lauren Shaw invited her to stay for lunch, but she remembered she had another lunch date planned and politely turned her down.
She definitely didn’t want to play the third wheel and spoil their alone time.
After Mrs. Chen left, Lauren Shaw received a call from Li Qiuqi’s assistant, asking if she could come over in the afternoon for a private talk about the design project.
Lauren Shaw hadn’t expected Li Qiuqi to call her herself.
Yancy Shaw didn’t really want her to jump into work right away, but couldn’t win her over. He fetched a wheelchair for her to use.
After lunch, Yancy Shaw took her to Li Qiuqi’s place.
He brought her to the door; her assistant answered.
“Miss Li.”
The assistant was a little surprised to see Yancy Shaw.
The man was strikingly handsome, no less than anyone in showbiz; she couldn’t help but steal a few curious glances.
Lauren Shaw introduced him. “He’s my husband. My foot’s injured, so he brought me here.”
The assistant nodded in understanding, but still stopped Yancy Shaw at the door.
“This is Miss Li’s residence. It’s a bit inconvenient for men to enter. Sorry.”
Yancy Shaw said to Lauren Shaw, “I’ll wait downstairs for you.”
Lauren Shaw nodded.
Once inside, Li Qiuqi looked surprised to see her in this state.
“Miss Li, you’re very dedicated—coming over like this.” She’d assumed Lauren Shaw was seriously hurt, seeing her in the wheelchair.
Lauren Shaw waved her hand. “It’s just my foot; my hands work fine. It’s not a problem.”
Such easygoing candor made Li Qiuqi warm up to her even more.
“I heard it was Eva Snow who pushed you. Why didn’t you just tell the show’s staff?”
“Would that help, really? I’m just an unknown designer. Eva Snow has a powerful family backing her up. Even if I told, the show might not do anything about it.”
She knew all too well how the world worked.
Li Qiuqi chuckled. “Miss Li, you’re really sharp. Color me impressed.”
“Let’s get to business. I called you here today to talk design with you.”
Lauren Shaw took a notepad from her bag, asked a few concise questions, then jotted down Li Qiuqi’s answers.
After a while, Lauren Shaw called Yancy Shaw to come up for her.
While waiting at the door, Li Qiuqi and Lauren Shaw came out together. Upon seeing Yancy Shaw, Li Qiuqi studied him for a moment longer.
“Your husband looks a lot like a friend of mine.”
Yancy Shaw took the bag from Lauren Shaw’s hand, and gently wheeled her into the elevator.
Li Qiuqi stood watching them leave, distracted for a long moment.
It wasn’t until her assistant called her that she snapped out of it.
“Chloe Shaw,* what are you looking at?” (*‘Jie’ means “older sister” and is a respectful way of addressing women a bit older.)
“Nothing…nothing.” She had simply remembered an old acquaintance. It had been a while since they’d seen each other.
On the way back, Lauren Shaw suddenly thought of the way Li Qiuqi looked at Yancy Shaw—almost as if she’d seen him somewhere before. "Have you ever met Li Qiuqi?" she asked.
“No,” Yancy Shaw said, helping her into the car.
She smiled, “I can actually put my foot down, you know. I don’t really need the wheelchair anymore.”
She was starting to worry that under Yancy Shaw’s gentle care, she was becoming spoiled—maybe even a little addicted to being looked after.
“No, you’re not putting any weight on it yet.” As she tentatively set her foot down, he simply scooped her up and set her in the seat.
“Yancy Shaw, if you treat me this well, I’m going to get hooked. I won’t ever be able to leave you,” she said, glancing at him beside her in the driver’s seat.
He turned to look at her, his eyes dazzling. “Then don’t leave.”
Thinking of how they were already officially married, she beamed, her fingers lacing with his. "I never will. Not ever."
****
"Lauren Shaw, don’t leave me…"
In his sleep, Yvonne Sung called out Lauren Shaw’s name. Yana Quinn, holding a bowl of hangover soup, almost spilled it on herself.
Lately, Yvonne Sung had been coming home dead drunk nearly every night. When he was sober, he was considerate, but once drunk, he’d start mumbling nonsense again.
Tonight, he’d actually called Lauren Shaw’s name.
Jealousy gnawed at her, twisting her reason.
She poured the hangover soup down the toilet. Staring at Yvonne Sung sleeping in their bed, she suddenly realized this man had changed. No matter how tender he was on the surface, in his heart, she was no longer the only one there.
Lauren Shaw, huh? You two will never be together. Yvonne Sung can only be hers—no one else’s.
****
After a few days of rest, Lauren Shaw’s ankle had completely recovered.
She curled up on the sofa, tablet in hand, catching up on the latest fashion shows.
Whenever inspiration ran dry, she liked to browse these to find her spark again.
Yancy Shaw massaged her ankle gently. “Does it still hurt?” he asked softly.
Lauren Shaw shook her head. “Nope, not at all.”
She got up from the sofa, walked a few steps to prove it.
Yancy Shaw led her back to sit. "You’ve only just recovered. No intense activity for now, and no high heels—"
Listening to his patient instructions, Lauren Shaw set down the tablet and focused on him, serious as could be.
She kept staring even after he’d finished, her earnest look making her even cuter in his eyes.
He reached out and pinched her cheek.
“Hungry?” he asked.
Lauren Shaw’s eyes shone, her gaze lingering on his face, remembering the time he’d kissed her.
“Starving,” she replied, eyes fixed on his face, that tender moment coming back to life between them.