Yancy Shaw gently pressed down on her hand, a little uneasy. "I can do it myself."

Ignoring him completely, Lauren Shaw took the hairdryer from his hand, her tone taut. "Sit down. You're the patient now—so let me take care of you!"

When she was sick, he'd watched over her at every turn. Now, she wanted to return the favor and look after him properly.

Yancy Shaw didn’t argue. He obediently sat there, allowing her fingers to run through his hair.

Once his hair was dry, Lauren Shaw set the hairdryer down, but he caught her hand before she could leave.

"Shengsheng, don’t go," he murmured softly, his words winding around her ear like an enchantment.

She felt his palm almost burning hot. Setting the hairdryer aside, she leaned down and gently rubbed her nose against his. "You’re not feeling well. Lie down, okay? I need to shower."

But Yancy Shaw clutched her collar like a child, unwilling to let her walk away.

Lauren Shaw persuaded him to lie down, then sat by the bed herself.

Their eyes met. Lauren Shaw gazed at him intently. The memory of the photos she'd seen while fetching his medicine tugged at her mind, the answer almost ready to burst out. Still, she wanted to ask him herself.

"I’m fine, Shengsheng. Go shower," Yancy Shaw said, sensing her stare and feeling a bit strange.

Lauren Shaw got up and headed to the bathroom.

—

When she finished showering, she lay down next to him. He’d taken his medicine, and after a while, his fever subsided.

Watching the redness fade from his cheeks, she finally let herself relax.

"I want to ask you something. You need to answer honestly."

Yancy Shaw looked at her seriously. "Go ahead."

Lauren Shaw hesitated, then finally voiced what was on her mind.

"Have you... known me for a long time already?" Seeing his puzzled face, she continued, "When I went to get your medicine, I saw old photos of me."

Yancy Shaw pursed his lips, his eyes dodging hers. He lowered his gaze. "Yes. I liked you as far back as five years ago. I went to your school, watched you from afar... I liked everything you did, every smile and frown."

Lauren Shaw stared at him in shock. Even though she’d suspected, hearing him say it out loud was still unbelievable.

Yancy Shaw had always carried himself as a cultured gentleman, but in love he’d become shy and almost timid. She recalled the first time she’d gone to the hospital and the way he’d looked at her—his gaze had been both burning and gentle. She never realized, back then, that she was his exception.

Lauren Shaw threw herself into his arms. "Then why didn’t you tell me sooner? What if I had ended up with—"

"No ‘what if,’" he cut her off.

Lauren Shaw looked at him in surprise. "Why not?" Suddenly, a thought struck her and she covered her mouth in astonishment. "Wait—don’t tell me..."

"Yes. It’s exactly what you’re thinking." Yancy Shaw didn’t plan to keep it from her anymore.

"Yana Quinn came back to China because of me."

Lauren Shaw: ...

"You mean, you planned for Yana Quinn to return?"

Yancy Shaw fell silent. He never wanted to deceive her, but he was afraid that if she knew the truth, she’d grow to dislike him.

"So even our first meeting was arranged by you," Lauren Shaw realized. She suddenly understood why Yana Quinn came back out of the blue, and why Yancy Shaw had appeared so coincidentally. In life, there just weren’t that many true coincidences.

"Shengsheng, no, listen to me," he explained hastily. "That time at Yvonne Sung’s house really was a coincidence—I didn’t know he’d let Yana Quinn move back in, let alone that your engagement would be broken off so easily."

He had never imagined things would progress exactly as he wished. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent so long worrying about it all.

"So, what was your original plan?" Lauren Shaw asked, her serene expression giving nothing away about her feelings.

Yancy Shaw grew flustered, staying silent for a while before looking at her uncertainly. "Do you really want to know?"

She looked at him knowingly, waiting.

He truly was caught between a rock and a hard place—say too much, or too little, and she’d still be mad. Could he choose silence instead?

"If you don't tell me, starting tonight we're sleeping in separate beds."

Hearing this, Yancy Shaw knew there was no escaping tonight's interrogation.

"I knew you were going to marry Yvonne Sung, so I started investigating him. I learned he had an ex-girlfriend, so I pulled some strings to bring her back to China. Then I made sure news of Yvonne Sung’s engagement got out, knowing she’d try to interfere."

Lauren Shaw laughed softly. "But what if she interfered and I still refused to break off the engagement?"

Yancy Shaw shot her a sly, fox-like look, a mischievous glint in his eye. "If you wouldn’t break off the engagement, I’d seduce you. Even if you got married, you and Yvonne Sung would argue eventually, and then I’d seize the chance to lure you into divorce."

"Pfft!" Lauren Shaw laughed out loud. The contrast was hilarious—here was Yancy Shaw, always the cool and handsome type, confidently spouting such shameless schemes.

"Yancy Shaw, how did I never notice you were so deviously cunning? Scheming to make me divorce—where did you even pick up tricks like that?"

Yancy Shaw hugged her tightly. "Shengsheng, I only ever wanted you to belong to me. But before you liked me, I didn’t dare bet on it. I was afraid that any move I made would push you away or make you hate me."

He cherished her like a rare treasure, but others had treated her poorly.

Lauren Shaw had once wondered why he hadn’t appeared in her life sooner. But now she understood: timing was everything. Some people walked in at just the perfect moment—and that’s when your heart opened up to them.

Just like with Yvonne Sung: back then, she’d convinced herself a simple gesture—a coat handed over—was love.

But reality proved it: the wrong person would sap all your passion and leave you drained and exhausted.

It wasn’t until she met Yancy Shaw that she learned what real love was—what it truly meant to be cherished.

His love was like vintage wine, gently soaking into her life, seeping in quietly until she was thoroughly surrounded, unable to escape.

"Yancy Shaw, thank you." Thank you for showing me a love I’d never known before.

Yancy Shaw lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "I should be thanking you. You healed me. I used to have insomnia, even nightmares every night. But ever since you’ve been here, I haven’t had any bad dreams."

For them, it was mutual salvation.

"Are you still mad at me?" Yancy Shaw confessed everything and finally felt as if a weight had been lifted. She would have found out one way or another—it was better to hear it straight from him.

The truth was, Lauren Shaw wasn’t angry. She’d had her suspicions, she just didn’t want to be kept in the dark.

She met his eyes, her gaze flitting mischievously. "I’m mad."

Seeing the tension in his eyes, she broke into a sly grin. "Mr. Shen, what kind of husband are you, anyway? We got our marriage license in a total daze—there wasn’t even a proper proposal!"