Chapter 81: Chapter 81

Since she had decided to make a clean break, Shen Jianian didn’t want to drag things out and get entangled with Pei Che again.

Better short-term pain than long-term pain.

She didn’t answer the phone and got out of bed to wash up in the bathroom.

The phone rang repeatedly, hanging up automatically each time and then calling again, as if determined not to rest until Shen Jianian answered, which was unlike Pei Che’s usual style.

In the past, whatever she said, he would follow. This time, she said she didn’t want to see him again, he should have understood what she meant.

Shen Jianian came out of the bathroom, set her phone to silent mode, believing that if she couldn’t hear the ringer, she wouldn’t get annoyed.

She deliberately left her phone in the room, went downstairs, and had breakfast. The weather outside was bad; she wasn’t in the mood to go out, so she returned to her room to continue sleeping.

The phone screen kept lighting up and dimming, reminding her that the person hadn’t given up and was relentlessly calling her.

Shen Jianian lay on the bed, stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, hesitantly picked up the phone, and brought it to her ear.

"Hello, are you a friend of Mr. Pei?"

An unfamiliar male voice was on the other end.

Shen Jianian was instantly stunned, asking the caller for his identity: "May I ask who you are?"

"I am a waiter at Cookie Bar. Here’s the situation: Mr. Pei drank too much at our bar last night, got injured, and we haven’t been able to reach his family members. He kept calling out the name ’Little Nian,’ so I had to call this number. Could you please come over?" The caller sounded in a bit of a predicament, "I need to return to the bar and can’t stay at the hospital for long."

Shen Jianian listened as her eyebrows furrowed tighter: "He’s in Yicheng?"

"That’s right." The other person seemed to sense Shen Jianian’s hesitation and quickly agreed, "Let’s settle it! I’ll use his phone to send you the hospital address shortly."

The call ended with a "beep."

Soon after, a message was sent to her, stating the hospital’s address.

Shen Jianian was familiar with the address; it was the hospital she visited for vaccination last night, not far from Rose Manor, only a ten-minute drive.

Pei Che didn’t know anyone in Yicheng, and the bar waiter had his own work and couldn’t stay by his side. If no one came, he would probably leave.

The waiter said he was slightly injured, was it to evade responsibility by saying so, or was the injury not that serious? She was unsure.

Shen Jianian lowered her head deeply, her face buried in her hands, showing a tired expression hidden beneath her palms. Always caught in dilemmas, unable to enjoy a calm and peaceful life.

No matter how much she struggled and avoided, it was ultimately up to her to face it.

Shen Jianian lifted her face from her palm, changed clothes, and headed out, taking a taxi to the hospital.

In the hospital room, the bar waiter was still wearing his work attire: a white shirt, black vest, tie, and a somewhat outdated down jacket outside.

He handed Pei Che’s phone to the woman by the bedside, yawned, looking sleepy, and said, "I explained to that lady the way you taught me, she should be coming."

Yin Shuyao took Pei Che’s phone and placed it on the bedside table. Seeing that the waiter had no intention of leaving, she smirked secretly and pulled out a wad of cash from her handbag to hand over: "Hold onto the money and keep your mouth shut."

The waiter didn’t count the number of bills; feeling the thickness, he assumed it was a lot and quickly stuffed it into his down jacket pocket, saying with a fawning smile: "I understand, I understand."

Yin Shuyao glanced at her watch, estimating that Shen Jianian would arrive soon, and knew she couldn’t stay longer. Before leaving, she looked longingly at the man on the bed.

Just like she had predicted, after Pei Che saw Shen Jianian, he was emotionally shattered, full of suppressed depression and was unable to vent, ended up buying drinks and hurting himself at the bar.

The waiter contacted her first because she had spoken with Pei Che yesterday, and her number was at the top of his phone’s call log.

She rushed to the hospital and saw Pei Che lying on the bed; just one night had passed, and he seemed to have lost half his life. Although asleep, he was still engulfed in deep sorrow and pain.

Once again, she couldn’t help but fantasize how wonderful it would be to take advantage of this moment.

If she had gone to the bar to find Pei Che last night and taken care of him while he was drunk, maybe they could have had a unique moment.

The very thought made her heart race with excitement.

Returning to reality, if she, as the Qin Family’s daughter-in-law, slept with another man, Qin Zhongtian and Qin Fan would not let her off the hook.

So such thoughts could only be hidden in her heart, never daring to act on them.

Shortly after Yin Shuyao left, Shen Jianian arrived at the hospital.

After inquiring with a nurse at the service desk, she found the hospital room where Pei Che was, stood outside the door, took a deep breath, and raised her hand to knock twice.

The waiter was sitting on a chair, arms crossed, dozing off, jolted awake by the knocking, rubbed his face to clear his mind, and went to open the door.

At first glance, he was stunned by Shen Jianian’s beauty.

Working in a bar with so many customers daily, all sorts of beautiful women were common, but he had never seen anyone like Shen Jianian: a face cool and calm, yet with enchanting and charming eyes, comparable to wild roses, possessing a noble yet aloof demeanor. The average person couldn’t compare.

Just a moment ago, he had met a woman inside the hospital room who was also very pretty, but compared to the one before him, she was much more muted.

The waiter smiled, with a tone much softer and more polite than on the phone: "You finally arrived, handing him over to you means my task is complete."

Shen Jianian: "Is he badly injured?"

"Well, how should I put it." The waiter scratched the back of his head, "Mr. Pei drank too much at our bar, unsteady on his feet, and fell, hitting his head on the corner of a glass table."

After a pause, the waiter expressed regret: "When he wakes up, he’ll need a more comprehensive check-up, there might be a concussion. That was the doctor’s words; I don’t fully understand. After all, he was injured at our bar, so I apologize anyway."

Shen Jianian’s temples throbbed.

The waiter said nothing more, and as he passed her on his way out, he couldn’t help but glance back, tightened the money in his pocket, and left.

Shen Jianian slowly walked into the hospital room, approaching the bed, her breath somewhat tense.

The person she met just yesterday lay here listlessly today, head wrapped in thick bandages, face pallid and weary. The loose hospital gown sleeves slid down to his elbows, revealing a forearm with several grazes.

At this moment, there was no sign of the previously elegant and handsome person.

Shen Jianian lifted her head slightly, exhaled deeply, pulled a chair over to sit by the bedside, silently watching the person on the bed, last night she hadn’t really looked at him carefully.

The deeply furrowed brows indicated he hadn’t slept well in a long time; his overly skinny frame showed he hadn’t eaten properly for a while. Why did he have to torture himself ?

Seeing Pei Che this way, Shen Jianian suddenly felt the path ahead was bleak, unsure if the road she was on was right.

Would Mom and Dad, watching from above, hope she exacts revenge?

Perhaps they would rather their only daughter lead a simple and happy life.

Hundreds of thoughts flashed through Shen Jianian’s mind, wandering further and further, until her phone rang from her bag.

Before leaving, she had switched from silent to normal ringing; now the ringtone echoed abruptly and loudly in the quiet hospital room, she hurriedly took it from her bag to answer.

Fu Jichen’s deep, magnetic voice came from the receiver: "What are you doing?"

Shen Jianian’s scalp tingled, instinctively blurting out: "Sleeping in bed."

"Sleeping until now?" Fu Jichen was a bit surprised, a slight smile in his voice, "It’s already ten o’clock."

The lie had already been said, she couldn’t take it back, Shen Jianian could only hold on to it: "I felt tired after breakfast, so I went back to my room to continue sleeping."

Had it not been for the sudden call from the bar waiter, she would indeed have rested after breakfast.

Fu Jichen seemed to think of something, his tone altered to one of concern: "Are there any side effects? I mean after the vaccine." Xiao Jingshan once said she had a hypersensitive constitution, easily allergic to medications.

"Other than feeling fatigued and my arm muscles aching, there are no other issues currently." Shen Jianian didn’t lie about this, sharing the true situation with him.

Silence ensued for a moment, and Fu Jichen’s voice returned gentle: "If symptoms worsen, you need to inform me promptly."

"Mm." Shen Jianian replied softly, "I understand."

Shen Jianian waited for the other end to hang up, let out a gentle sigh, stored the phone back in her bag and raised her eyes, meeting Pei Che’s dull gaze.