Marriage Seduction Addiction

Chapter 382 The Pain She Endured
Tang Xu glanced at him, clearly displeased with his lack of tact.

"Can't you just cooperate and stop bringing this up?"

Lu Xingyan remained unmoved, saying, "Do you think I would have bothered with all this if Xingyang hadn't been involved?"

"What a heartless man," Tang Xu said. "As expected, once he falls in love, he doesn't care about anything else. A friend like me can only be relegated to the sidelines!"

"It's not like you want me to interfere," Lu Xingyan said. "If you were standing on the edge of a cliff, and I pulled you back, would you come back?"

Tang Xu suddenly fell silent. After a moment of silence, she said again, "I can't back down. I'm not the only one on that cliff edge. I'm afraid if I back down, he will fall."

At this point, she suddenly became serious and looked at Lu Xingyan, saying, "But don't worry, even if he lets himself fall, he will never let Xingyang get hurt."

"And what about you?" Lu Xingyan asked, "You willingly danced along with him?"

Tang Xu let out a soft breath and said, "Of course I'm scared too, but in life, you can't do too many things at the same time. Lu Xingyan, right now you just need to focus on taking care of Xingyang and protecting her... After all, this is the common wish of the three of us."

Lu Xingyan said, "What about yourself? Haven't you realized that ever since you lost your dream of dancing, you've been living for others your whole life? Tang Xu, can't you be selfish for once and live for yourself too?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu seemed momentarily dazed, but after a moment, she regained her senses and chuckled, looking at Lu Xingyan and saying, "Isn't this good enough? Anyway, there's nothing else to look forward to in life, so what's wrong with things being like this? I'm happy as long as you're doing well, so isn't that a kind of purpose in life?"

Looking at Tang Xu's appearance, Lu Xingyan could tell at a glance that she wasn't lying or putting on a brave face.

He was speechless for a moment, and just watched quietly as she opened the food box in front of her and forced a shrimp dumpling into his mouth.

Perhaps fearing being seen by Ji Yan again, Tang Xu came and went in a hurry, staying only for a short while before leaving again.

Lu Xingyan sat quietly by the window of the ward. After a while, she vaguely heard some noise outside, so she moved and got up to go to the door.

He had just opened the door when he ran into Yan Shiyu, who was passing by his hospital room.

Their eyes met, but Yan Shiyu's face remained expressionless. He quickly looked away and prepared to continue forward.

However, Lu Xingyan suddenly spoke up: "Mr. Yan."

Yan Shiyu stopped in his tracks, and Gao Yan beside him looked at him with slight surprise, seemingly not understanding why he would suddenly call out to Yan Shiyu.

"If you have time, could we talk?"

Frankly speaking, given their current circumstances, the invitation wasn't abrupt. However, aside from the two women between them, they had virtually no connection, so the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

In this awkward atmosphere, Gao Yan watched Yan Shiyu walk into Lu Xingyan's ward.

"Mr. Yan, please have a seat." Lu Xingyan pointed to the seat that Tang Xu had just sat in. "Tang Xu left just over ten minutes ago."

Yan Shiyu didn't seem surprised that Tang Xu had come. As he unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down, he asked in a calm tone, "What do you want to talk about?"

Lu Xingyan sat down on the chair next to the hospital bed and said after a moment of silence, "We should have a lot to talk about, about Xingyang and about Tangxu."

Lu Xingyan wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he vaguely felt that Yan Shiyu's expression remained calm and indifferent when Xu Xingyang was mentioned. However, when Tang Xu was mentioned, his eyes instantly darkened, and then he looked up at him.

"Specifically?" Yan Shiyu asked.

Two simple words, yet they already carry a sense of pressure.

Clearly, certain words in his words had triggered him, making him wary.

Is it Tang Xu?
Lu Xingyan pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, "Then I'll get straight to the point—I can help you with what Mr. Yan wants to do."

Yan Shiyu's eyes remained deep and dark, and he did not express any opinion upon hearing this.

"The relationship between Mr. Yan and Old Master Yan is no longer a secret. As for me, because of my relationship with Tang Xu, I may know more about it. I am willing to do my part, even if it is just a small one. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask, Mr. Yan."

“No need,” Yan Shiyu refused directly. “You have your own things to do, you don’t need to worry about other people’s business.”

After saying that, Yan Shiyu stood up and prepared to leave.

Lu Xingyan stopped him again, "Even you, Mr. Yan, couldn't easily accomplish something like this, which shows how difficult it is. I should have stayed as far away from this as possible, but Xingyang and Tangxu are both involved. There have already been two accidents, one because of Tangxu and the other because of Xingyang, and they have both suffered because of them. What if something else happens next? What if something happens to them again? I can't just sit idly by. Do you want to see this happen again, Mr. Yan? Aren't they both people you care about?"

Upon hearing Lu Xingyan's words, Yan Shiyu paused for a long time before finally turning back. When she spoke again, her voice was slightly hoarse: "What did she say to you?"

Lu Xingyan quickly realized that he was referring to Tang Xu.

After a brief eye contact, Lu Xingyan exhaled and said, "She kept repeating the same thing: she wants you to be well, she only wants you to be okay—Mr. Yan, perhaps you don't understand, but in all the years I've known her, I've never seen her care about a man like this—no, or rather, not just a man… Her concern for you has exceeded my understanding of her. In my memory, she wasn't like this, yet she's willing to become like this for you… Although I don't fully understand what happened between you two, she cares about you so much, Mr. Yan, can't you put yourself in her shoes and think about it the same way? The life you want, she'll do everything in her power to give you. She's not afraid to endure any pain, but that doesn't mean she should have to endure that pain!"

Lu Xingyan became more and more emotional as she spoke, but Yan Shiyu, on the other hand, became increasingly subdued as Lu Xingyan finished speaking, as if he were just a cold, lonely shell standing there.

Lu Xingyan waited for his response, but after a long time, she only heard Yan Shiyu ask, "What kind of pain?"

Lu Xingyan was slightly taken aback.

But Yan Shiyu didn't seem to intend to give him time to react, and spoke again: "Tell me, what kind of pain is she enduring?"

His voice was flat, his tone was flat, without any inflection, making it impossible to tell what meaning or intention was hidden in his question.

"Mr. Yan is with her every day, doesn't he know what kind of pain she is enduring?" Lu Xingyan subconsciously threw the question back at him.

Yan Shiyu did not answer.

Lu Xingyan did not continue the topic, but said, "If Mr. Yan insists on carrying out the previous plan, then it is always good to have more help. Alternatively, Mr. Yan, you can give up completely and give Xingyang and Tangxu the most stable life, which is also an option."

Yan Shiyu still didn't answer, or even look at Lu Xingyan. He just quietly looked at Lu Xingyan for a while, and finally didn't linger, turning around and leaving.

As soon as Gao Yan, who was waiting at the door, saw Yan Shiyu come out, he immediately stood up straight. He glanced at Yan Shiyu and felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He could only glance at Lu Xingyan in the ward through the slowly closing door. Only after Yan Shiyu entered Ji Yan's ward did Gao Yan seize the opportunity to push open Lu Xingyan's ward door.

"What did you say to Mr. Yan?" Gao Yan asked. "Why do I feel like there's something off about him?"

After a moment of silence, Lu Xingyan finally replied, "I said some things I should have said."

Gao Yan couldn't guess what Lu Xingyan had said to Yan Shiyu, but the outcome of Yan Shiyu's visit to Ji Yan was obvious.

Ji Yan pretended to be asleep from the moment Yan Shiyu appeared in the ward until Yan Shiyu left.

Yan Shiyu seemed to have gotten used to this and didn't react at all. After a short while, she left the hospital.

Ji Yan actually fell asleep and didn't wake up until the nurse came to remove the IV. When she opened her eyes, she realized it was already lunchtime.

The nutritious meal that Yan Shiyu had arranged for the chef to prepare was delivered to the ward.

Ji Yan was in a bad mood and had no appetite. She glanced at the food and then turned her face away, but unexpectedly saw a drink on the bedside table.

"What is that?" Ji Yan asked.

The caregiver glanced at it and replied, "It's hot chocolate."

Ji Yan reached out and touched it, finding it was still warm. So she tore off the leak-proof sticker on the rim of the cup and took a big gulp.

The hot, sweet, and silky chocolate finally made her feel better. She drank most of the cup in one go before she finally showed some interest in the food in front of her. She selectively ate a few bites, which was considered a success.

After lunch, it was time for a nap.

Ji Yan thought she probably wouldn't be able to sleep, but unexpectedly, she fell asleep again not long after lying down.

When she woke up after sleeping for more than two hours, she found a small basket by her bedside.

It looked like a gift from someone. The caregiver happened to be away, so Ji Yan picked it up casually and saw what was inside—

One lip balm, one hand cream, one bottle of home fragrance, one face mask, and one mini Lego set.

It has to be said that the dry early winter, the hospital ward, and these few items in the basket are strangely well-matched.

When the caregiver returned, Ji Yan had already disassembled the mini Lego set and was putting it back together on her own.

Seeing her focused expression and noticing a few other items scattered around, the caregiver stepped forward to tidy them up, saying, "The ward is so dry. With these, Miss Ji, you can moisturize your skin and lips. If you want to apply a face mask, just let me know, and I'll help you."

Ji Yan simply gave a lazy reply.

However, this lazy response was already extremely rare, and the caregiver immediately smiled and turned to tidy up the other things.

After dinner, Ji Yan went to the bathroom with the help of the caregiver. When she returned to her bedside, she found that there were some more things on the bedside table.

An eye mask, earplugs, and a soft cashmere shawl.

"Did you prepare this?" Ji Yan asked the caregiver.

The caregiver only gave a vague answer: "They probably just brought it over."

The "they" referred to was very clear to Ji Yan; it was either Yan Shiyu or Gao Yan. However, she still vaguely felt that something was amiss.

Ji Yan handled the newly received items for a while, then looked at the ones she had received during the day placed on her bedside table, and immediately realized something was wrong—

This doesn't seem like Yan Shiyu's style.

Yan Shiyu's style is usually grand and elaborate, rarely such small and exquisite pieces, and delivered in batches.

Thinking of this, Ji Yan stopped herself from thinking about it any further.

The cashmere shawl was much more comfortable than the hospital bedding, and Ji Yan wrapped it around herself, not even taking it out of bed when she went to sleep at night.

The next day, Ji Yan received another new gift—

These fun snack packs are filled with all sorts of interesting and ingenious little snacks. They may not taste that great, but they are just quirky and cute.

An adult coloring book and a set of colored pencils—things that Ji Yan would normally scoff at—but she spent almost the entire afternoon on them.

A music player with wired headphones, seemingly an outdated product, yet when you turn it on, you can clearly see the listening options: sleep-aiding white noise, soothing light music, short story collections, talk show collections, crosstalk collections...

That night, Ji Yan fell asleep with her headphones on.

On the third day, the doctor finally approved Ji Yan to get out of bed and go outside to the grass for twenty minutes.

Ji Yan wasn't particularly interested in this, but finally being able to get some fresh air out of the building seemed like a good option.

Several people helped her into a wheelchair, and a caregiver pushed her downstairs.

The sun is shining brightly outside; it's the kind of nice weather that everyone would find comfortable in winter.

Ji Yan, draped in a shawl, sat in her wheelchair basking in the sun, lost in thought. Just as her mind went blank, the caregiver next to her suddenly exclaimed "Whoa!" and took several steps back, as if she had seen something terrifying.

Ji Yan glanced in the direction of her gaze and saw a large golden retriever excitedly bouncing towards them, dragging its owner along. Who else could it be but Kimi?

Ji Yan frowned slightly, then looked at the dog walker behind Kimi and found that it was not Lu Xingyan, but a young girl.

Kimi clearly recognized her, which is why he ran over here. The girl behind him was so thin and frail that Kimi had to drag her to her side.