Chapter 32:

A bit weary of waiting, Lin Qiao straightened up and looked at Shen Qingzhou, who sat there with his eyes closed. She murmured, “I’ll count to three. If you don’t wake up by then, I’m leaving.” Then she really began counting. When she reached three, Shen Qingzhou, as expected, remained with his eyes shut.

Feeling disheartened, Lin Qiao stood up and wanted to go outside for some fresh air. But just as she turned, her wrist was suddenly grabbed. She turned back in surprise and saw that Shen Qingzhou had somehow opened his eyes at some point. His dark eyes locked onto her, pale-faced but with an unexpectedly sharp gaze.

“Don’t go,” he said, his voice hoarse from disuse, making him sound pitifully desperate.

Lin Qiao hesitated for a moment, then frowned and asked, “You’re awake?”

Shen Qingzhou simply replied with a “Mm,” then added, “I’m sorry.”

Lin Qiao paused again, unsure how to respond.

Seeing her silence, he continued, “Lin Qiao, don’t go.”

Lin Qiao tried to pull her hand back, but he didn’t insist—he probably lacked the strength due to his illness. She easily retrieved her hand.

After watching him for a while, she calmly asked, “When did you wake up?”

Shen Qingzhou pursed his lips and replied with difficulty, “If I say just now, would you believe me?”

Lin Qiao furrowed her brow but didn’t confirm belief or disbelief. Instead, she said, “The doctor said your condition was serious. It’s possible you might have been unconscious for a while.”

Seeming somewhat relieved, Shen Qingzhou hesitated briefly before murmuring, “Actually, I didn’t just wake up now.” He kept his eyes fixed on her, carefully observing her expression, as if afraid she might storm off again. “I woke up this morning.” His tone was sincere.

Lin Qiao sat back down on the chair, staring at him without blinking. He grew visibly uncomfortable under her gaze and instinctively looked away. After a short pause, he suddenly turned back toward her, opening his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.

“If you have nothing to say to me,” Lin Qiao said pointedly, “then I’ll go.”

Shen Qingzhou immediately sat upright in bed, the movement jostling the IV tube. Lin Qiao worried he might dislodge the needle, but she didn’t want to show too much concern—he hadn’t apologized yet, and she wasn’t ready to forgive him emotionally.

But Shen Qingzhou acted decisively, pulling the IV needle from his hand and throwing off the blanket to get out of bed. The hospital gown made him look even thinner. Lin Qiao sighed helplessly, “What are you doing?”

Shen Qingzhou replied, “Closing the door.”

Lin Qiao rubbed her temple, frustrated. “Do you really think you can stop me from leaving when you’re in this condition?”

“I can’t,” Shen Qingzhou admitted, “but doing something is better than doing nothing.”

His words stirred up her resentment. She looked at him incredulously and asked, “You finally decided to act? Do you even know how long it’s been? You should’ve done something long ago. Isn’t it too late now?”

“I…” Shen Qingzhou opened his mouth, his voice dry, “I did do something.”

“What did you do? I didn’t even see you! Not even a single phone call!” Lin Qiao glared at him angrily.

Shen Qingzhou turned his head slightly and murmured, “That day you went to see Miss Wang, I was waiting for you in the parking lot the whole time.”

Lin Qiao frowned, waiting for him to continue. Then he turned back to her and hesitated before saying, “I bought flowers to apologize, but Du Xinling said yellow roses weren’t appropriate, so I went to buy something else.”

Lin Qiao stiffened. “So it was you who ruined that bunch of yellow roses?”

“They were useless anyway. No point keeping them,” he replied matter-of-factly.

Lin Qiao gave a short laugh. “That’s all?”

Shen Qingzhou stayed silent for a moment, then said, “There’s more.”

“What else?”

He seemed slightly uneasy, shifting his gaze elsewhere, his ears slightly reddening. “I bought you black roses, but when I came back, you were already driving away.”

“…” She wanted to ask, Why didn’t you stop me? But she held back.

Shen Qingzhou continued, “So I threw them away again.”

Lin Qiao suddenly remembered seeing a female student holding black roses that day. She asked, puzzled, “Where did you throw them?”

“In the trash bin outside the parking lot.”

So it really was him…

Lin Qiao didn’t know what to say. At the time, she had envied that girl. Now she realized the intended recipient had been herself.

“Black roses are hard to get. They’re expensive and require advance orders. It’s surprising you managed to get them in time. And then you just threw them away like that. The world of the rich is truly hard to understand,” Lin Qiao couldn’t help but mutter.

Seeing her expression, Shen Qingzhou said softly, “Actually, I ordered a lot of flowers a long time ago. I just didn’t know how to give them to you. The florist still has many stored. If you want them, I can call and have them delivered.”

He started looking for his phone.

“Forget it. Your phone is with me,” Lin Qiao said, pulling it from her pocket and handing it over.

Shen Qingzhou looked at the phone resting in her delicate palm and hesitated. “Did you check my phone?”

“No. I don’t like prying into other people’s *,” she replied, sulking.

Shen Qingzhou took the phone, unlocked it, and began searching through it. Lin Qiao assumed he was checking for any leaks of secrets and immediately turned to leave. But Shen Qingzhou grabbed her wrist and handed her the phone. “You haven’t been on Weibo for a while, right?”

“I haven’t. No time,” she frowned, turning her head. “Why are you giving me your phone? I don’t want to look.”

“Just look,” Shen Qingzhou insisted.

Lin Qiao glared at him, but he didn’t back down. Helplessly, she took the phone.

The screen showed Shen Qingzhou’s Weibo homepage. Originally, he had only posted twice—once with a drawing of a turtle, and another showing Beijing under smog. Now there were over a dozen posts, all directed at her, each saying only three words: I’m sorry.

Lin Qiao felt a bit flustered. She checked the dates. From the night she left his house until the day he was hospitalized, he had posted every day, apologizing to her. But she had been too preoccupied to log on, missing it all.

She looked at Shen Qingzhou, who met her gaze for a few seconds. His refined features were softened by the noon sunlight. His usual coldness and aloofness seemed to have vanished. He said sincerely, “I know this might seem cowardly, but until today, I really couldn’t apologize to your face. I couldn’t even bring myself to say it over the phone. I don’t want to see you being kind to everyone else but cold toward me. Not even willing to listen.”

Lin Qiao turned her head. “It’s all your own fault. You have no right to complain.”

“I have no complaints,” Shen Qingzhou said, pulling her hand toward him and wrapping his arm around her waist despite her resistance. He stared at her intently. “I’m apologizing to you now. Let’s make up, okay?”

Lin Qiao’s heart was in turmoil. Unable to think of a response, she changed the subject. “What did your turtle and smog posts mean?”

Shen Qingzhou narrowed his eyes slightly, as if recalling, then said after a moment, “It’s not really appropriate to explain now.”

“Why not?”

“I’m afraid you’ll get angry.”

“Hmph. Do you think I could get any angrier?”

“Are you really going to listen?”

“Yes. Explain.”

And he did. Frankly. “It meant you followed a slow-reacting turtle all the way to Beijing.”

Lin Qiao’s expression froze instantly. Just as she was about to speak, the door to the room opened. She immediately stepped back, creating distance between them. Both turned toward the door, where Du Xinling stood, wide-eyed and visibly awkward.

“I guess I came at a bad time. Sorry. Please, continue,” he bowed slightly and started backing out.

Lin Qiao quickly said, “Come in. I was just leaving. I have work to do at the company.” She turned and walked away quickly, before Shen Qingzhou could stop her.

Afraid his interruption might have ruined the reconciliation, Du Xinling hurriedly said, “Miss Lin, please don’t be angry with Shiheng anymore. Look at him—he’s like this. Can’t you just cut him some slack?”

Lin Qiao paused briefly, her heart softening, but she stubbornly replied, “I haven’t been bullying him. I even took care of him for several days. Isn’t that enough? Do I need to present him with a banner saying ‘Master Healer, Virtuous and Skilled’?”

Du Xinling couldn’t help but laugh. “Miss Lin, you’re so humorous. Keep this mood up. I’ll leave now. You two should talk it out.” He gave Shen Qingzhou a meaningful look, then suddenly exclaimed, “Oh no! Shiheng, you’ve fainted again!”

Shen Qingzhou froze, not moving. Lin Qiao instinctively turned to look at him and saw him gazing at her with helpless eyes.

Du Xinling, you’re truly a terrible teammate.

“This is fainting?” Lin Qiao asked Du Xinling.

Du Xinling sighed. “Lin Qiao, give him some dignity. I’ve known him for over a decade, and I’ve never seen him act like this—so humble.”

Lin Qiao bit her lip, unable to respond. Du Xinling looked at her and said, “Thank you,” then turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Unable to stay any longer, Lin Qiao grabbed a water kettle and said, “I’m going to get some water,” before leaving.

Shen Qingzhou leaned back on the bed, picked up an apple and a knife, and began peeling it carefully.

When Lin Qiao returned, she saw Shen Qingzhou peeling the apple—neatly, the peel unbroken, spiraling down in a continuous strip.

Hearing the door open, he immediately looked up. Unconsciously, the knife slipped, cutting his finger. Blood dripped from the blade onto the white sheets, but he didn’t notice.

“You’re back,” he casually placed the knife on the table and offered her the apple. “Have an apple.”

Lin Qiao looked at his right hand resting on the blanket—his thumb was bleeding. She sighed deeply, put down the kettle, and quickly walked over.

Shen Qingzhou thought she was coming to take the apple and insisted on handing it to her. But Lin Qiao grabbed his right hand instead, which confused him slightly. He finally looked down and frowned at the sight.

“You don’t feel pain?” Lin Qiao asked in disbelief, pulling out clean tissues from her bag to stop the bleeding. Then she said, “This cut is deep. You might get tetanus. I’ll go get a doctor. Press on it yourself for now.”

Shen Qingzhou said, “No need. It’s not that serious.”

Lin Qiao let go of his hand abruptly and stared at him expressionlessly. “Then just die.”

Shen Qingzhou didn’t get angry. Instead, he smiled. “Okay.”

Lin Qiao immediately lost the will to argue. As the saying goes, you can’t hit someone who smiles at you. How could she fight back when he was this stubborn?

She turned helplessly, ready to go find a doctor, but Shen Qingzhou stopped her, whispering, “Lin Qiao, just press the nurse call button. Don’t leave.” He held her hand, and the last half of his sentence was barely audible, “These few days, I’ve thought things through. Maybe I was too arrogant. The man you marry might be someone else. The future is uncertain. But I can decide for myself.” He looked into her eyes as she turned toward him, his gaze unwavering. “As long as you’re around, there will be no one else for me.”

Lin Qiao’s eyes welled up. She murmured, “And if you’re not with me? Would there still be no one else?”

“None,” he replied without hesitation. “No matter where you are, no matter who you’re with, as long as you’re alive, there will never be anyone else for me.”