Lauren Shaw and Yancy Shaw entered the hospital room, but Li Qiuchi remained oblivious, still talking to herself.
Lauren Shaw tried to persuade her. “Qiuchi-jie, I heard from Rong-jie that you haven’t slept at all since you woke up. Why don’t you take a break? You’ll wear yourself out if this goes on.”
Li Qiuchi shook her head. “I can’t rest. I won’t be at ease unless he wakes up.”
Yancy Shaw stared at the man lying in the bed for a long moment before saying, “If he never wakes up, you should just find someone decent to marry.”
Lauren Shaw nudged Yancy Shaw with her elbow—who comforted people like that?
Li Qiuchi turned away to wipe her tears. Suddenly, the hand of the man beside her twitched. It was such a slight movement, she thought she’d imagined it. She lowered her head to stare intently at Bryce Shaw’s hand.
It trembled again, this time unmistakable.
"He moved, he moved!" she cried out excitedly to Yancy Shaw. “I saw his hand move!”
Yancy Shaw pressed the bedside call button.
Overcome with joy, Li Qiuchi’s face was streaked with tears, as Bryce Shaw’s eyelids fluttered slightly. He slowly opened his eyes, then closed them again.
She leaned close to his ear, voice trembling with excitement, “Bryce Shaw, you finally woke up.”
Bryce Shaw’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but with the oxygen mask on, they couldn’t make out his words.
She moved closer, desperate to hear what he was trying to say. "What do you want to tell me?”
His lips moved again, and faintly, she could just make out, “You’re not allowed to just marry anyone else...”
Honestly, did he really wake up just to quibble about this?
After Director Feng finished running various checks, he smiled. “He’s out of danger now. Make sure he gets plenty of rest.”
Bryce Shaw was still weak after waking. Soon, he drifted off to sleep again, but this time he held Li Qiuchi’s hand in a tight grip, refusing to let go.
Mrs. Chen saw this and sighed deeply before quietly leaving the room.
In the hallway, Mrs. Chen asked Lauren Shaw about Bryce Shaw and Li Qiuchi’s relationship. Lauren Shaw recounted everything they'd been through recently.
“That brat! He got a girlfriend and didn’t tell me—had me worrying about his orientation!” While there was some lingering annoyance, she was ultimately relieved.
Meanwhile, in another ward, Fei Yi lay on her bed, staring listlessly at the ceiling, her face pale and spiritless.
The door opened and Aaron entered, his worn expression showing years of fatigue. “The doctor just told me everything,
he said quietly. “Your condition isn’t good. I’m sorry, it was my neglect as a father.”
He’d been too occupied with the company to notice Fei Yi’s condition. Only today did he learn that after her last surgery, the doctor told her to take her meds on time, but she’d secretly thrown them away.
Thinking about it, Aaron realized Fei Yi had always been a pitiful child.
Aaron actually had a son, but he died unexpectedly in a car accident five years ago. Fei Yi was his illegitimate daughter, raised in an orphanage; her mother had abandoned her at birth because of her congenital heart condition.
It wasn’t until three years ago that he learned he had a daughter.
He remembered the first time Fei Yi appeared in front of him, a wave of helplessness almost drowned him.
He'd spent most of his life in the business world, hoping to finally enjoy his twilight years. His son’s death hit him hard, but Fei Yi’s appearance became a blessing—he just wanted to cherish this daughter.
Fei Yi had just turned eighteen, and he’d decided to start grooming her as his successor. He didn’t really know what she needed at this age; all he thought was that she needed to study, forgetting her actual needs.
Gradually, Fei Yi became anxious because she couldn’t understand why her father was forcing her to learn things she didn’t comprehend at all.
Over time, Fei Yi grew withdrawn and anxious, more and more quiet, until father and daughter barely spoke.
Knock, knock.
Lauren Shaw entered the room holding an insulated thermos in her arms.
Aaron composed himself and looked at her. “Miss Li, may I help you?”
“Auntie at home made some chicken soup. I brought it for Fei Yi to try,” Lauren Shaw said, setting the thermos on the table and preparing to leave when Fei Yi suddenly called out to her.
“Thank you for saving me.”
Her gratitude was sincere. Lauren Shaw looked at her gently. “You’re welcome. Make sure you eat it, okay?”
After Lauren Shaw left, Fei Yi looked at the thermos and slowly sat up in bed.
“Dad, I want some soup.”
Aaron, surprised at hearing her voice, looked at her with disbelief. “Fei Yi, what did you just say?”
“I said, Dad, I want some soup.”
His hands trembled—she hadn't called him ‘Dad’ or even spoken more than a few words to him in a long time.
He was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.
Seeing him like this, Fei Yi couldn’t help but add, “I’m hungry.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll get you some soup right away.”
—
After sleeping through the night, Bryce Shaw looked a lot better when he woke up again.
Mrs. Chen walked in, heart aching as she saw the bandages around his head.
The surgery had taken a lot out of him. Mrs. Chen hadn’t slept or eaten well these past two days—her hair had gained new strands of gray, her face sallow and weary.
“You brat, you nearly scared your old mom to death!”
As she spoke, tears began to fall again.
Seeing her cry, Bryce Shaw teased, “Mom, your son’s got a long life, I’m not going anywhere. Besides, don’t you have two other sons?”
Mrs. Chen wiped her tears, but as soon as she heard that, her face darkened. “Pah! Don’t talk nonsense, head’s already injured and you’re still saying such unlucky things! None of that talk allowed!”
Li Qiuchi entered the room just then. Mrs. Chen glanced at her a bit awkwardly. Of course, she recognized Li Qiuchi, but deep down she couldn’t help but connect Bryce Shaw’s accident to her, so she felt uneasy around her.
“Auntie, I came to visit President Shen,” Li Qiuchi said politely.
Before Mrs. Chen could reply, Bryce Shaw interjected, “Ow, my head hurts so much.”
Li Qiuchi rushed to his side, anxious. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know—my head just hurts,” Bryce Shaw said, clutching his head with a pained expression.
Mrs. Chen had seen enough. “Alright, I know what’s going on. You just think I’m a third wheel, huh? Fine, I’ll go! Such a rebellious child—get a wife and forget your mom.”
Once she was gone, Bryce Shaw gripped Li Qiuchi’s hand tightly and wouldn’t let go, his gaze clinging to her as if he couldn’t bear to look away.
“Qiuqi, I had the longest dream—I dreamt you said you wanted to marry me.”
So, he must’ve heard her say it while he was unconscious.
Li Qiuchi gently patted his hand and asked, “And then?”
“But then I heard someone tell you to marry someone else if I didn’t wake up, and I thought, absolutely not—you can only marry me.”
So that’s what woke him up! Li Qiuchi couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“The doctor said having people close to you talk to you would help you wake up. I talked and talked, but you didn’t wake. Then Third Young Master just said a couple of sentences and you woke up.”