Chapter 191: Chapter 191

Pei Che rushed to Fuh River Airport, where he spotted Zhou Ruo among the crowd, standing beside a twenty-six inch suitcase, indicating she hadn’t come to Jiang City on a whim.

Zhou Ruo saw him too, and her face lit up with delight as she waved at him.

Pei Che moved against the flow of people to reach her, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. With one hand on his hip, he tilted his head slightly, a smile with a hint of helplessness on his lips: "Why didn’t you tell me in advance before coming over?"

"If I had told you, would you have let me come?" Zhou Ruo felt much more at ease seeing him safe and sound in person; otherwise, she’d always be worried and anxious.

Pei Che grabbed the suitcase’s handle and started walking forward, turning to her as he spoke: "I originally planned to bring you over once the renovations were done here."

As they stepped out of the airport, a rush of heat like boiling water washed over them. Zhou Ruo pulled off the scarf wrapped around her, revealing her arms. She was wearing a crow-blue dress today, giving her a gentle and intellectual appearance.

"Jiang City is so hot," Zhou Ruo said, fanning herself with her hand.

"Today isn’t too bad; there have been hotter days." Pei Che placed the suitcase in the trunk of the car, then stood up straight and sincerely suggested, "How about I find a cool place for you to stay for two or three months, and once the house is ready, I’ll bring you over."

Zhou Ruo stubbornly declared, "I’m not afraid of the heat; sweating is good for detoxifying."

Once inside the car, Pei Che turned on the air conditioning, and the cool air drove away the hot, stifling atmosphere, making it slightly more tolerable.

"Now that you’re here, you’ll have to endure the inconvenience of staying in a hotel," Pei Che explained while reversing the car. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on N0v3l.Fiɾe.net

Zhou Ruo showed no signs of complaining, adapting quickly: "Staying in a hotel is fine, it’s convenient and hassle-free."

Hearing her determination to stay, Pei Che didn’t bother finding another reason to persuade her to leave. As he drove onto the wide road, he heard her hesitantly ask, "Is Little Nian still in the hospital?"

She knew her son stayed in Jiang City to take care of Little Nian and had no objections to it.

As long as he was still alive, nothing else mattered.

In the end, Little Nian was just a pitiful person. Her parents passed away, the Shen Family was gone, and their Pei Family bore a significant responsibility. Now she was severely injured in a car accident, lying alone in the hospital, with no family to visit her. Out of both emotion and reason, they should help her.

The main reason was that her son liked Little Nian.

After going through some things, she let go of the past, thinking that as long as her son was healthy and happy, the past should be forgotten, letting bygones be bygones.

"Yes, I just came from the hospital," Pei Che’s mood seemed a little downcast, and his tone carried a sigh, "She recently found out about her parents’ passing and is very upset."

Zhou Ruo sensed something amiss and was about to ask when Pei Che’s next words answered her question: "She suffered a head injury in the crash and lost part of her memory, unable to recall events from the past half-year or so."

"How could that be?" Zhou Ruo gasped, her expression turning instantly solemn.

"I don’t want her to be hurt again, so I hid some things from her, only telling her about Uncle Shen and Aunt Shen’s passing, not the real reason."

Zhou Ruo immediately changed her mind and said, "Let’s not go back to the hotel first; I want to visit her in the hospital."

Little Nian was a child she watched grow up, someone she once treated as a half-daughter. If it weren’t for her husband’s foolish mistakes, the Pei and Shen Families would have been in-laws by now, and Little Nian would have been her daughter-in-law.

On the way, Pei Che shared some information with her to avoid any slip-ups during a conversation with Shen Jianian.

After listening, Zhou Ruo was silent for a moment before expressing her concerns: "Ah Che, do you really think this matter can be kept from her forever? Have you considered, if Little Nian learns the truth in the future, would she hate you?"

Pei Che’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the traffic ahead, as if talking to himself: "Let her hate if she must, I can’t control that."

At least for now, she can’t know.

The car stopped at the hospital, coinciding with lunchtime.

Zhou Ruo got out of the car and was immediately enveloped by the steam-like heat.

She followed Pei Che to the inpatient department, waited a moment by the elevator, entered with her son, and after a few people came and went, they were the only ones left by the time they reached the top floor.

Pei Che reminded his mother one last time: "She was seriously injured, please don’t react too strongly when you see her, or it might upset her."

"I understand." Zhou Ruo gave him a reassuring look.

In the car, she’d heard a lot about Little Nian’s accident, knowing she was disfigured, had multiple fractures and abrasions, and had undergone brain surgery.

Standing outside the hospital room, Zhou Ruo couldn’t help but take deep breaths, trying to adjust her emotions.

Pei Che knocked on the door. He had told Shen Jianian he’d be back soon, so she probably hadn’t gone to sleep. He grasped the doorknob and pushed it open, just in time to see Aunt Zheng rising from a chair.

"I was just about to get up to open the door for you." Aunt Zheng was holding a small stainless steel bowl, her face wearing a gentle smile.

She was feeding Shen Jianian, a pumpkin millet porridge she had cooked herself, brought over in a thermos, warm and comforting in the air-conditioned room.

Shen Jianian slowly turned her head, her gaze first landing on Pei Che, and then she noticed someone behind him, partially obscured by his tall figure, revealing only slender arms and a hint of a green skirt.

Zhou Ruo stepped out from behind Pei Che, and upon seeing Shen Jianian, even though she was mentally prepared, she couldn’t help but be startled.

Rather than startled, it was more like surprised.

The hospital gown hung loosely on Little Nian, who was half-lying on the hospital bed, her head wrapped in a mesh bandage, with several pieces of gauze on her face, almost obscuring everything except her eyes and mouth. Her lips were an unnatural grayish-white. One arm and leg were fixed with splints, with more under her clothing apparently.

Zhou Ruo’s tightly pressed lips trembled slightly, her nose tingled with a burning sensation, and her eyes were warm as if they were touched by chili water, painfully leading to uncontrollable tears.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Pei Che stood with his back to Shen Jianian, constantly giving Zhou Ruo meaningful glances and pulling her arm. Didn’t he explain this to her on the way?

"Little Nian is doing well now, don’t worry. She’s so optimistic and strong." Pei Che turned his head back to carefully observe Shen Jianian’s expression as he spoke to his mother.

"Hmm." Zhou Ruo nodded heavily, her mouth pursed, and made a vague sound from her throat. She wiped her tears with her hand, her smile a bit forced, "I’m just too happy to see Little Nian, so happy that I can’t help it..."

She moved to the bedside, her voice carrying a nasal tone: "Little Nian."

Besides a heart-wrenching call, Zhou Ruo couldn’t say anything else.

In contrast, Shen Jianian was calmer than she expected: "Aunt Zhou? Why are you here?"

In Zhou Ruo’s memory, their last meeting was in the hospital, where she sorrowfully asked Little Nian what Pei Che had said "before dying." But now, Little Nian didn’t remember, so Zhou Ruo sat by the bedside, her tear-washed eyes a bit hazy: "I heard from Ah Che that you were hospitalized, so I came to check on you."

Aunt Zheng, seeing they wanted to catch up, didn’t stay long in the room, handing the bowl to Pei Che before leaving.

In the hospital room, Zhou Ruo held Shen Jianian’s hand, her affectionate gaze sweeping over her face and body. If she’d had any reservations before coming, seeing her now cleared them all, leaving only heartache.

Such a good girl, how did she end up ?

"Mom, Little Nian needs to eat, don’t disturb her," Pei Che reminded from the side.

Zhou Ruo took the bowl and spoon from Pei Che: "Let me do it."

Shen Jianian pursed her lips, feeling a bit awkward, and raised her good hand: "Actually, I can eat by myself, Aunt Zheng insists on feeding me because she worries."

To her, putting the bowl on the table and holding the spoon herself to drink the porridge would be fine.

Zhou Ruo scooped a spoonful of millet porridge, scraped the bottom of the spoon along the bowl’s edge, and brought it to her lips: "You want Aunt Zheng to feed you, not Aunt Zhou?"

Shen Jianian’s lightly pressed lips curved slightly: "No."

Having said that, she drank the porridge fed by Zhou Ruo.

Beicheng isn’t as hot as Jiang City, just entering summer. Still, by noon, the temperature was at its highest.

At lunchtime, Fu Jichen walked down the steep stone steps, alone among the lush green mountains.

No one would come to Tanfu Temple to climb its steps at noon in the summer, and even tourists descending would wait until the sun had dipped a bit more westward.

Fu Jichen’s forehead was covered in fine sweat, his black suit impeccably wrapped around him. As he moved further away, the red walls and gray tiles of the temple gradually disappeared into the verdant trees and mountains.

He looked more like a debt collector than someone sincerely worshipping at the temple.

His luck was poor; he didn’t find the "debtor," and a little monk informed him that the abbot wasn’t at the temple. As for when he would return, the little monk merely put his hands together, unable to provide a clear answer.

Qu Mo waited in the car at the foot of the mountain. It wasn’t a weekend, and the boss had finished dealing with urgent business at the company that morning, leaving early and instructing him to drive to Tanfu Temple.

Around 12:50 p.m., Qu Mo received a call from Song Fang, asking where Mr. Chen was, since no one was answering his phone.

"Probably due to poor signal on the mountain," Qu Mo replied honestly, not concealing anything, "He’s at Tanfu Temple."

Song Fang was silent for a long time, perhaps not expecting the boss to go there: "When you see Mr. Chen, please ask him to return to the company as soon as possible. Several directors have caused quite a commotion."

Qu Mo inquired further: "What kind of commotion?"

"Rumors have spread from somewhere that claim Mr. Chen isn’t the biological son of the late General Manager Fu, and these rumors have sprouted details," Song Fang explained, finding the matter absurd. Still, some people believed it and used it to stir up trouble, proclaiming that Mr. Chen wasn’t a true Fu Family member and didn’t deserve his position.