Chapter 024: It's All Right, I Enjoy the Challenge

Jiang Yao still vividly remembered the first time she met Ye Yiyi when she was nine years old. Ye Yiyi, just seven at the time, wore her hair in a high ponytail, her cheeks rosy and bright with a radiant smile as she skipped cheerfully past the mouth of the alley.

A group of boys, fifteen or sixteen, lingered at the entrance and whistled at her. "Hey, little girl, want some candy?"

Ye Yiyi stopped, gazing at the candy and swallowing hard.

"If you give me a kiss, I'll give you the candy."

Ye Yiyi pursed her lips and considered it, just about to move forward when another hand pulled her away.

Jiang Yao grabbed Ye Yiyi’s arm and drew her behind her own back.

"Here." Jiang Yao handed Ye Yiyi a piece of candy. "I'll give you candy, and I don't need you to kiss me."

Ye Yiyi blinked innocently, delighted to receive the candy. Then she wrapped her arms around Jiang Yao’s neck and planted a big, loud kiss on Jiang Yao’s cheek.

"But I want to kiss you."

Now, Jiang Yao wiped her tears, gazing at the grown-up Ye Yiyi before her. "You used to envy me for always having so much candy, but do you know how I got it?"

Ye Yiyi bit her lip and remained silent. She didn’t know, but she could guess.

"That person didn’t just buy me candy. He’d buy me dolls, princess dresses—but he never treated me as a person," Jiang Yao’s frail body swayed gently in the wind and snow. "In front of others, he was respectable and dignified; behind closed doors, he was worse than an animal. Every time he drank, he’d beat me. Every time he would..."

"Yao, stop," Ye Yiyi’s tears fell like broken pearls. She knew all too well how hard Jiang Yao’s life had been.

"How much have I lost just to be a person?" Jiang Yao clutched Ye Yiyi’s hand tightly. "You’re different from me. You have a choice. Ye Yiyi, don’t take that path. Never."

Ye Yiyi sobbed softly. "Yao, you don’t understand..."

Jiang Yao took a deep breath, opened her backpack, and flung a photograph in front of Ye Yiyi. "Do you see? Do you see, Ye Yiyi? Once you lose yourself, you might never find your way back!"

Ye Yiyi picked up the photo, staring blankly at the image of Jiang Yao, her expression more dreadful than ever.

It was a photo Jiang Yao had received days before.

In it, Jiang Yao was tightly bound...

Ye Yiyi gripped the photo tighter and tighter, until she heard a thud.

Looking up, she saw Jiang Yao had collapsed into the snow.

"Yao!" Ye Yiyi rushed forward, holding Jiang Yao tightly. "It’s my fault, it’s all my fault. Please, be okay..."

On the snow, a pair of shiny leather shoes left a long trail of footprints.

He Wenqing had already approached, quietly and unnoticed.

The man bent down slowly, picking up the photo Ye Yiyi had just been holding. As its contents came into view, his eyes grew deep and impenetrably cold.

"Get in the car," he said, teeth clenched, almost spitting out the words.

On the hospital bed, the pale morning sunlight streamed in.

Jiang Yao’s brows were tightly furrowed. She tossed and turned countless times, yet did not wake.

Ye Yiyi watched over her anxiously. "Doctor, is she going to be alright?"

"Miss Jiang has some anemia, and she’s probably been under a lot of stress lately, so she hasn’t woken up yet," the gentle young doctor smiled reassuringly at Ye Yiyi. "Don’t worry, I’ve prescribed her medicine. She should wake after some rest."

Ye Yiyi breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah, then I’d better hurry and get some breakfast so she can eat something when she wakes, to help her recover."

She turned to leave, but after a couple steps, looked back, still uneasy.

"Mr. He," she called out to He Wenqing.

He Wenqing turned, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Could you please watch over Yao for a while?"

He Wenqing nodded lightly.

Ye Yiyi finally smiled with relief and exited the ward.

He Wenqing turned to look at Jiang Yao, who was sleeping peacefully, his gaze suddenly filled with boundless sorrow.

He knew she had suffered much because of him.

But when that pain was laid out naked before him again, he still found himself shaken and pierced.

His hands, hidden in his pockets, unconsciously clenched tighter, crumpling the photo he held into a ball.

Sunlight poured lazily across Jiang Yao’s tranquil face.

Perhaps disturbed by a nightmare, or maybe by the sunlight, Jiang Yao’s brows furrowed again in her sleep.

He Wenqing rose and walked to the window, standing between it and Jiang Yao, blocking the sunlight from her face.

Slowly, Jiang Yao’s furrowed brow relaxed.

Watching her peaceful expression, a faint, almost imperceptible curve appeared on the man’s thin lips.

"Yao!"—the ward’s door burst open and Cheng Yanchi strode in.

He met He Wenqing’s gaze.

"What are you doing here?" Cheng Yanchi crossed his arms, frowning at He Wenqing.

He Wenqing leaned elegantly against the windowsill, gracious yet imposing. "What do you think?"

Cheng Yanchi glanced at Jiang Yao and snorted. "Mr. He, your schedule is so tight, you needn’t trouble yourself here."

"No trouble at all. I enjoy the trouble," He Wenqing replied coolly.

Cheng Yanchi abruptly raised his eyes, locking with He Wenqing’s. Their stares collided, the tension nearly igniting the entire ward.

On the bed, Jiang Yao turned over again, her eyelids quivering, seemingly about to wake.

"Cheng... Cheng Yanchi..." Jiang Yao murmured, eyes still closed.

Cheng Yanchi quietly took her hand. "I’m here."

He Wenqing listened to Jiang Yao’s dream-bound murmurs, his eyes narrowing.

"Mr. He," Ye Yiyi entered with breakfast in hand, feeling a bit apologetic seeing He Wenqing still there. "Thank you for last night. I really took up your time."

She hesitated, as if with some concern. "Could I speak with you for a moment?"

He Wenqing nodded, casting one last glance at Jiang Yao before stepping outside with Ye Yiyi.

"I don’t know how much you saw last night," Ye Yiyi whispered, twisting her fingers, "but I’d like to ask you not to tell anyone. Best if you forget everything, and... please don’t let Yao know you were there."

He Wenqing understood her worry, nodding quietly.

Ye Yiyi smiled, "And..."

She pushed a breakfast packet into his arms, her eyes sparkling, cheeks flushed. "This breakfast is for you."

Inside the ward.

Jiang Yao slowly opened her eyes, still murmuring unconsciously, "Cheng Yanchi..."

"Cheng Yanchi... you must protect Ye Yiyi... don’t let her do anything foolish..."