You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

Jiang Che immediately turned around and returned to the bedside, bent down to press the call bell, and carefully supported her arm that she wanted to raise.

"Don't move yet, you still have an IV in your hand, the nurse will be here soon."

Su Qinghe touched the creases left on his shirt chest, and her fingers moved upwards until they touched his cheek before stopping.

"Where are we now?"

"You're at the hospital. You fainted at the Ye Group headquarters. The doctor said it was due to low blood sugar and lack of sleep recently. Fortunately, there are no other problems."

The nurse quickly pushed the door open and came in. After checking the infusion rate and monitoring equipment, she asked Su Qinghe a few questions.

"It's good that you're awake. Drink some water first, and don't get up too quickly. You'll stay in the hospital for observation tonight, and you'll have another check-up tomorrow."

Jiang Che took the warm water, raised the head of the bed, supported Su Qinghe's back, let her lean against the pillow, and fed her a few mouthfuls with a straw.

After Su Qinghe finished drinking the water, she still clung to his clothes and didn't let go.

"Ah Che, how long was I unconscious?"

"Less than an hour."

"Were you scared by me?" She smiled weakly.

Jiang Che put the water glass back on the bedside table, patted her head, and said, "Of course, you almost scared me to death."

"You suddenly collapsed at the elevator entrance. After I caught you, I called your name several times, but you didn't respond."

"I was really afraid something would happen to you, and I would be all alone."

Upon hearing his words, Su Qinghe immediately felt a pang of guilt.

She grabbed his wrist, pressed his palm against her face, and gently rubbed it against his palm.

"Okay, okay, I'm fine. You won't end up all alone."

Jiang Che helplessly reached out and flicked her forehead.

The atmosphere in the ward was finally less oppressive.

The two chatted for a while, and eventually the conversation turned to Ye Yunjin.

"Ah Che, it's not that I don't care about her."

"Actually, when I saw that letter at the old house, I wondered if I would be willing to call her 'Mom' if she would hug me and say sorry to me."

"But when she spoke, she still mentioned the Ye family, the heir, and the path she had arranged for me."

Su Qinghe's tone was full of disappointment: "She has already given up on me once. Later, she found me and then withdrew the search. I'm afraid that if I trust her again, she will still choose the Ye family over me."

"I'm also afraid that she'll be nice to me for a few days first, and once I really treat her like my mother, she'll use me to get what she wants."

Hearing these words, Jiang Che felt a slight relief from the worry that had been weighing on his chest.

It's better for Su Qinghe to admit the pain and care than to hide all her feelings and pretend to be unharmed.

"There's something else I've been afraid to tell you."

"You speak, I'm listening."

"I have her blood in me, and I am a controlling person just like her."

Su Qinghe turned her face to the pillow, her fingertips slowly tracing the lines on Jiang Che's palm.

"If you reply to my messages late, I will ask you again and again when you will be back. I will also remember everything that other girls have said to you."

"I'd like to go with you when you go out on business alone, but I also don't like it when you get too close to other people."

"Ye Yunjin always said that everything she did was for me, but in the end she turned love into surveillance and imprisonment."

"Am I not one of those people?"

Su Qinghe's breathing became erratic, and her hand slipped from Jiang Che's grasp, tightly gripping the cup instead.

"Ache, one day I will become hers too."

"I'll use my affection as an excuse to make all the decisions for you, and even keep you by my side."

But Jiang Che shook his head and denied it, "You wouldn't."

Why?

"Because you'll ask."

Jiang Che took her hand back and placed it in his own palm.

"Ye Yunjin never asked you if you were willing, but you were afraid of hurting me, so you asked me first. This means we're on two different paths now."

"When Xiaoman was hiding next to the express delivery station, you took her to the hospital first and even gave her a new name."

"Some people on the platform are afraid of revealing their poverty status. You would rather have everyone do more background checks than keep their anonymous IDs."

"When you arrived at the Ye family, billions of assets were laid out before you, but you didn't take them. You only handed over the evidence to the police and regulatory agencies."

"What you've done speaks louder than blood ties about who you are."

Jiang Che paused for a moment, then cupped her face in his palm, so she didn't have to dodge anymore.

"A person is formed gradually through every choice they make. Blood can only tell you where you came from, it can't decide where you're going."

"You chose to save Xiaoman, you chose to help strangers, and you didn't let hatred drag you down, so you will never become Ye Yunjin."

Su Qinghe bit her lip, tears falling even faster, and wrapped her arms around Jiang Che's waist.

"But I still get jealous, and I still want to control you."

"Then tell me, and we'll discuss it together."

Jiang Che turned his body to avoid the IV tube and held her firmly in his arms.

"The day you cross the line, I'll tell you, I'll stop you, I'll even argue with you."

"I also have times when I'm too controlling. I always want to arrange everything for you in advance, so that if you find it uncomfortable later, you'll have to pull me back."

"I used to always rush to stand in front of you, thinking that protecting you was enough, but there are many paths we can only walk together."

"When you're in pain, share some with me; when I'm scared, I'll tell you. Neither of us needs to pretend everything's fine, okay?"

Su Qinghe buried her face in his shoulder and asked in a muffled voice, "Are you really willing to argue with me?"

"I'm willing to compromise on matters of principle, but as for you secretly eating two bags of potato chips, or feeding Xiaoman an extra freeze-dried snack behind my back, I can let it slide."

"Will you find me troublesome?"

Yes.

Su Qinghe raised her face, about to speak, when Jiang Che used a tissue to catch the tears on her cheek.

"You steal the blanket in the middle of the night, and even after you fall asleep, you still grab my clothes. When Xiaoman gets into trouble, she only asks me to clean up after her. I'm such a hassle every day."

"But I've also troubled you, so we're evenly matched."

Su Qinghe tried to hold back her sobs several times, but in the end she couldn't suppress them.

She buried her face in Jiang Che's shoulder, her shoulders and back trembling uncontrollably, her breathing quickly becoming erratic, and the words she had been holding back for so long finally came out intermittently along with her sobs.

"When I was a child, I sometimes wondered if my biological mother would come looking for me."

"Later I found out she really did find me, but then she stopped."

"Ah Che, I don't want to forgive her, but I'm still sad."

"Then be sad, don't hold it in."

"Am I being too pathetic?"

"Who says victims can only hate?"

Jiang Che held her arm with one hand while the other gently patted her back, without trying to stop her from crying.

"You wanting a mother and you rejecting Ye Yunjin are two different things."

"She didn't do a good job as a mother, so the responsibility lies with her. You may feel sorry for her, but you don't need to take any responsibility for her."

Su Qinghe cried until her voice was hoarse, and the shirt in her hand was soaked with tears.

Jiang Che remained seated by the bed, letting her vent her pent-up grievances over the years, without moving an inch even as his own clothes became wet.

It wasn't until the nurse pushed the door open again that she noticed blood flowing back into the IV line and quickly came over to adjust her arm.

She placed a soft pillow under her arm and then pointed at Jiang Che.

"Your boyfriend won't run away while you're crying. Just make sure the needle is in place, and you can hug him after the needle is removed."

Su Qinghe buried her face back in Jiang Che's arms, only her reddened ears showing.

Jiang Che tidied up the IV tubing for her, and after the nurse left, he asked in a low voice, "Can you pinch me again?"

Su Qinghe pinched his waist.

"It seems like the recovery is going well."

"Did I look particularly ugly when I cried just now?"

"It's alright."

"Jiang Che!"