Mr. Shen, your love-struck wife doesn't want you anymore!

Jiang Yu didn't say anything.

She didn't know what to say.

The man on the bed asked again, "Should we settle this officially or privately?"

Jiang Yu asked him what "settling matters publicly" and "settling matters privately" meant.

"Go to court, report it to the police, get an expert report, and pay the full amount due for lost wages and emotional distress."

After pausing, he added, "But with my injuries this bad, you'll probably have to pay me a lot in compensation."

Jiang Yu's heart skipped a beat: "What about settling it privately?"

Shen Chengyan smiled and said, "Settling this privately won't cost you any money."

"Free of charge?"

"You took care of me until I was discharged from the hospital."

Jiang Yu was a little taken aback.

The man, however, seemed to take it all in stride: "You taking care of me is like paying off a debt, how about it?"

So Jiang Yu became a caregiver.

I take care of my aunt in the morning and him in the afternoon.

I'll also take care of his lunch.

At that time, her cooking skills were not very good, and the food she made was only edible.

When he took his first bite of the food she had prepared, he wore an indescribable expression.

But he didn't say anything, he just silently ate all the food.

After three days of eating there and seeing that her cooking skills hadn't improved at all, he finally made a request: "I don't like spicy food, and I don't like strong flavors. Could you make something lighter?"

Jiang Yu was a little embarrassed and went to ask her aunt for advice.

Under her aunt's guidance, she practiced for several days, and finally the taste of her dish was quite decent, looking and smelling delicious.

"Chicken stew with mushrooms, stir-fried potatoes, green peppers, and eggplant, and sweet and sour pork—I used up quite a few ingredients to make these dishes. My aunt has already tried them, and she said they were pretty good."

Shen Chengyan took a bite but didn't say anything.

Jiang Yu became a little nervous: "Is it really that bad?"

Finally, Shen Chengyan smiled and said, "It's quite delicious."

Jiang Yu smiled with relief: "If it's delicious, then eat more."

He ate all the food that day.

Including chicken stew with mushrooms, which he dislikes.

Jiang Yu didn't understand why he didn't say so on the first day if he didn't like this dish.

However, he was never a talkative man to begin with.

When I was taking care of him in the hospital, she did most of the talking when we were together.

His job is to listen.

When she has nothing to say, she will read a book or do some practice problems.

He worked from his hospital bed.

Occasionally when the sun comes out, she will push him outside to bask in the sun; when it rains, she will stay indoors with him and help him practice walking on one leg with his crutches.

She also discovered that he liked to secretly watch her.

Especially when she's quietly reading.

He thought she didn't know, but she was pretending not to see it.

After spending a month together, the two became much more familiar with each other.

She realized he wasn't a local.

He came here to work on a project. He and his colleagues went to the hospital to visit the leader of a partner company. While they were smoking on the stairs, Jiang Yu suddenly came over.

Jiang Yu was too angry that day and was making a phone call with her back to him, so she didn't notice him immediately.

He was about to leave after finishing his cigarette when Jiang Yu happened to hang up the phone and was also about to leave, and the two bumped into each other.

Jiang Yu was surprised after hearing this, feeling that it was all too coincidental.

It was such a coincidence that it seemed like it was deliberately arranged.

The day finally came for him to be discharged from the hospital.

His injury had almost healed, and it was close to the Spring Festival, so the company was closed for the holiday.

He also left this northern city.

He left without a sound.

no phone.

No text message.

Jiang Yu thought she would never have anything to do with this man again in this lifetime.

After all, they were originally two strangers.

Once he recovers from his injury, their relationship will be over.

But on Lunar New Year's Eve, she suddenly received a text message.

He said, "Ms. Jiang, Happy New Year."

Jiang Yu thought for a long time before replying with the same message: "Happy New Year."

He did not reply.

But from that day on, he started messaging her more often.

Have you eaten?

"What are you doing?"

"what's the weather like?"

Etc., etc.

These messages are boring and uninteresting.

Jiang Yu wanted to roll her eyes every time.

Please.

Let's talk about something interesting.

Aren't all handsome guys good at flirting?

Why am I so dull around him?

In fact, during her hospitalization, Jiang Yu realized that he might have some feelings for her.

They're all adults. When a dispute arises, instead of protecting their own interests, they ask a stranger of the opposite sex to take care of them. Their ulterior motives are all too obvious.

But he didn't make it clear, so she could only play dumb.

They chatted throughout the Spring Festival until Jiang Yu returned to school.

She became busy with her studies, and he seemed to be very busy with work as well.

Soon, they started sending messages less and less frequently.

Gradually, he stopped contacting her, and even when she messaged him, he stopped replying.

Jiang Yu had also pondered what he meant.

Have enough fun?

Feeling bored?

Have you set a new goal?

Regardless of the reason, Jiang Yu understood that she had been eliminated.

She wasn't used to it at first.

After all, they used to say "good morning" and "good night" to each other every day, but his sudden cessation of replying to messages is something that anyone would find hard to accept.

Jiang Yu had considered deleting his number.

But it wasn't deleted in the end.

She quickly adjusted her mindset and returned to her previous life.

She thought it was just a failed ambiguous relationship.

It wasn't worth her tossing and turning, feeling miserable for a long time.

But her peaceful life was soon disrupted when loan sharks came knocking, and her inner fears were awakened once again.

Jiang Guodong was addicted to gambling; he gambled when he had money and borrowed money to gamble even when he was broke.

She has lost count of how many times she has been threatened by these debt collectors.

Jiang Guodong even stole her ID card to borrow money for gambling. She was injured and beaten because of this, leaving her with deep psychological trauma.

The loan sharks came knocking again, demanding 30 yuan, saying they couldn't find Jiang Guodong and could only look for her, their daughter.

They said if she didn't pay back the money, they would come to the school every day to harass her, ruin her reputation, and let her classmates and teachers know what kind of father she has.

Jiang Yu was driven to the brink of madness.

How many more times will that beast try to harm her?

With a scumbag father like that, will she never have a good life?

In the future, her husband, her in-laws, and her family will all be implicated by this old man.

Her life is ruined.

She seemed to see no way out of her life.

Jiang Yu was in a very bad state of mind at the time, and even thought about simply dying to end it all.

This way, Jiang Guodong can no longer suck her blood.

Just as this desperate thought crossed her mind, Shen Chengyan appeared before her once again.

That day, the debt collectors robbed her of the few hundred yuan she had left for living expenses. In a daze, she was walking on the street when someone grabbed her.

She heard someone calling her name, a deep, gentle yet firm voice: "Miss Jiang?"

It took Jiang Yu a while to recognize that it was Shen Chengyan.

She remembers forcing a smile that looked worse than crying as she asked him if his leg injury had healed.

His expression suddenly changed, his gentle demeanor turning grim in an instant. He stared at her swollen cheek and asked, "Who hit you?"

Jiang Yu lied: "No one hit me, I just had an allergic reaction on my face."

He looked at her intently, without asking any questions or revealing anything.

Finally, I took her hand and led her to the hospital.

The doctor examined Jiang Yu and prescribed anti-inflammatory medication.

He drove her back to school, and they didn't say a word the whole way.

Jiang Yu really wanted to ask him why he suddenly stopped sending her messages.

But in the end, I didn't ask.

When they arrived at the school and she was about to get off the bus, Shen Chengyan suddenly called out to her, "I haven't contacted you these past few days because I've been thinking about something."

Jiang Yu didn't expect him to bring this up again.

She asked him what he was thinking about.

He looked into her eyes and said, "I'm a grateful person. You took such good care of me in the hospital, and I want to repay your kindness. It seems like the only way is to marry you. What do you think?"

Jiang Yu was dumbfounded.

Repaying a debt of gratitude?

Did she knock his brain out?

She's the one who caused him to break his leg, so why should he repay her?

Is this some new tactic or a new type of scam?

Shen Chengyan did not rush her to give an answer.

He placed the medicine in her hand and said gently, "Don't rush. You have my phone number. Go back and think it over carefully. Let me know when you've made up your mind."

Jiang Yu went back and thought about it for three days.

She thought that even if he was a liar, her life was already so bad, what else could he possibly lie to her about?

So Jiang Yu called him back.

She said to the man on the other end of the phone, "I'm sorry, Mr. Shen, I can't marry you."

He remained silent on the phone.

In the silence, Jiang Yu said again, "But we can start dating first."

She said nervously and apprehensively, "Let's date first, and if we get along well, we can get married. What do you think of this idea?"

He remained silent.

But soon his low chuckle came through, and he said, "I think this is a great idea."

Jiang Yu smiled too.

After hanging up the phone, she shed a tear.

She had secretly checked the watch he was wearing; it was very valuable.

She had also checked the car he drove; it was very expensive.

When he called to talk about work, the project involved a large sum of money.

From her observation, he was a very wealthy man.

They were richer than she had imagined.

Regardless of his motives or whether he's trying to deceive himself.

She wanted to hold onto this man tightly, like grasping at a lifeline.

This may be the only chance to pull myself out of this terrible abyss.