Chapter 129: Please Don't Get Engaged, Okay? (Special chapter dedicated to Mu Qinyao)

Someone came out of the hospital room. It was A-Mu. He was startled when he saw me, but quickly pretended not to recognize me, merely greeting Shu Congxuan beside me: "Mr. Shu, you are here."

Yuan Shengxiao turned back, a slight smile playing at the corners of her lips: "Congxuan, when did you get back?"

Shu Congxuan replied, "I got back this morning. I came to check on Ange. What did the doctor say?"

Yuan Shengxiao nodded at the foreigner, who soon walked away. She took a step closer to us, glanced at me, nodded in greeting, and then turned back to Shu Congxuan: "The doctor said it's about time for him to wake up."

Shu Congxuan nodded: "I'll go in and see him."

Yuan Shengxiao smiled: "Grandfather and the others are all inside. Go ahead, I'm going to look for the doctor again."

Shu Congxuan led me into the hospital room. I was so nervous that I couldn't help grabbing his sleeve.

The hospital bed was surrounded by a dense crowd of people. I only saw an elderly man with graying temples leaning on a cane in the center, surrounded by numerous men and women, all gazing at the person lying on the bed.

They must have been the Luo family, and that old man was undoubtedly Luo Lianci, the patriarch of the Luo family.

Peering through the gaps between them, I saw Luo Ange wearing an oxygen mask, the bandages on his head still unwrapped.

Not daring to look any longer, I quickly averted my gaze, forcing myself not to shed tears.

Shu Congxuan must have been very familiar with the Luo family; he greeted them one by one. It really put him in a difficult position—his sister had married Luo Ange's father, making Shu Congxuan of the same generation as Luo Ange's aunts and uncles. Not only did he have to address them as sisters and brothers, but he also had to call the old patriarch uncle. It sounded awkward even to my ears.

Supported by two lavishly dressed women, the old patriarch sat down and beckoned: "Congxuan is here..."

Shu Congxuan said politely and deferentially: "Uncle, I came to check on Ange."

The old patriarch asked: "I heard long ago that you had found a girlfriend. Finally willing to bring her out for us to see?"

"Uncle, you misunderstand. Lanshan is a good friend of mine."

"Really?"

The old patriarch directed his question at me. His piercing gaze gave me no room for escape, so I had to nod.

The old patriarch sighed: "What is going through the minds of you young people these days? At your age, I was already the father of two children. And Ange is the same, delaying marriage over and over. Now look at him—who knows when he'll even wake up."

Shu Congxuan comforted him: "Uncle, don't say that. Ange is blessed with great fortune and will definitely be fine."

The old patriarch nodded: "I believe so. He hasn't given me a great-grandson yet."

I noticed everyone around the old patriarch casting their gazes upon me. They probably didn't believe that Shu Congxuan and I weren't a couple, which was why they kept looking me over.

Especially one woman who looked quite gentle. She looked at me with a smile, much like a designer viewing a piece of her own work.

Her gaze made me feel uneasy and awkward standing there, so I walked out of the hospital room.

As I reached the door and looked back, that woman was still smiling at me. With no time to ponder, my thoughts were entirely consumed by Luo Ange.

A-Mu was still standing at the door like a sentinel general. Upon seeing me, he spoke softly: "Miss Yuan is attending a dinner party tonight and won't be at the hospital. You can come over."

A faint joy stirred within me, though I asked cautiously, "Won't I be discovered?"

He shook his head: "The Luo family usually leaves by evening. No one will notice."

When night fell, I tiptoed out and got into the car waiting at the entrance.

A-Mu said, "Miss, you'll be keeping young master company tonight. I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning."

Suppressing the surging joy within me, I wished I could grow a pair of wings and fly straight to the hospital.

A-Mu left as soon as we reached the doorway of the hospital room. I knew he wanted to carve out some time for just the two of us, and I felt deeply grateful to him during this period.

I had countless things I wanted to tell Luo Ange. I wanted to tell him I had missed him to the point of madness, that I would never pick fights with him again and would be utterly obedient, and that I genuinely didn't like Shu Congxuan at all...

I repeated these words countless times, repeating them until I was gripping his hand and fell asleep slumped across the bed.

Startled awake, it was half-past five, leaving just one hour before Old Zhou's promised time of six-thirty.

In other words, this was the last of my time alone with Luo Ange. As for when we would meet again, I had no idea.

Lowering my head, I discovered something unusual.

I distinctly remembered falling asleep while holding his hand. How had it now become him holding mine?

A bolt of lightning flashed through my mind. Could it be...

A sudden, overwhelming joy flooded every fiber of my being. I looked at him—he still looked the same, with no outward sign of having woken up.

I figured I must have moved in my sleep without realizing it. Even the doctors had said they couldn't be sure when he would wake up; how could he possibly have regained consciousness?

Yet, I remained unreconciled. After saying so much, had he absorbed even a fraction of it? Did he truly understand my heart's desire?

If I left now, would he simply continue his slumber? At the thought of this, I said, "Luo Ange, if you don't wake up right now, I'm going to go find Shu Congxuan. Everyone in your family already thinks I'm his girlfriend anyway."

I repeatedly traced those exact words across his palm.

Despite alternately threatening and coaxing him for a long while, he still gave no response. Instead, Old Zhou called to remind me that it was time to go.

The moment of parting had arrived after all. There was no escaping it, no alternative but to accept my fate.

As I turned to leave, someone grabbed my hand.

Tears welled up instantly, but I didn't dare turn around, not even knowing what I was afraid of.

His palm was as warm as ever, wrapping snugly around my hand just like his embrace.

He parted his lips as if to say something. I helped remove his oxygen mask and heard his raspy voice: "Don't worry..."

Just those two short words left him gasping for breath.

I slowly sat back down. Perhaps all my tears had welled up in my eyes, but I actually saw a shimmer of moisture in his eyes as well.

As I looked at him, tears streamed down my face.

He struggled to sit up, and I hurried to steady him: "Will you just rest for a moment?"

Frowning, he tried to say something else, his face turning red from the strain, yet no words came out.

Terrified, I reached to press the call button for the doctor, but the moment I stood up, he caught me by the wrist.

"Let go..."

"Don't worry."

I allowed him to pull me into an embrace and heard him ask with great effort, "What did you write?"

Feigning incomprehension, I replied, "Nothing at all. I didn't write anything."

He broke into a grin and asked, "What... did you write?"

Afraid that speaking too much would affect his recovery, I picked up his hand, traced the words carefully once more, and then looked at him.

To my surprise, he shook his head. Solemn and earnest, I looked straight into his eyes: "Luo Ange, don't get engaged, and don't leave me behind. Okay?"

He chuckled, coughing slightly from the laughter, and finally said, "If you say not to get engaged, then we won't."

The heavy stone finally dropped from my heart. Thankfully, he had woken up while I was right beside him; thankfully, we hadn't missed each other; thankfully, everything was going to be alright.

Filled with contentment, I rested my head against his chest, when my phone rang again.

A-Mu said he was already downstairs. When I told him that Luo Ange had woken up, he must have found it unbelievable, falling silent for half a minute before suddenly shouting, "Wait right there, I'm coming up immediately!"

The man on the bed was clutching something red in his hand, looking at me with a smile as he asked, "What's this?"

My face flushed red and I lunged to snatch it back, but he hid it away under the covers.

It wasn't anything particularly valuable, actually—just a necklace my grandmother had given me before she passed away.

The necklace wasn't made of precious gemstones, but it had a unique design: a gold-inlaid jade Taiji symbol in black and white, quite exquisite. According to legend, it had been given to my grandmother by an eminent monk to ward off misfortune and keep her safe.

Yi Huayang had begged my grandmother for it many times in the past, but grandmother had never agreed.

Because of this, Yi Huayang had harbored a grudge against me ever since. Consequently, after grandmother gave it to me, I had never worn it, keeping it tucked away in a cabinet instead.

Grandmother had instructed me back then never to give the necklace to Yi Huayang and to keep it safe.

Clutching the item tightly in his grasp, Luo Ange suddenly looked up at me and said, "I'm sorry..."

It took me a moment to realize what he meant. He must have been apologizing for the events of that night.

In truth, A-Mu had told me everything later. Luo Ange had found out that Shu Wen'an was coming to see me, and fearing that the Shu family might bring me harm, he had rushed in a frenzy to the courtyard house, only to be cursed out by me from head to toe.

A-Mu reminded me once more that it was time to leave, but Luo Ange held onto me with a death grip, acting like an absolute scoundrel.

Fearing an encounter with Yuan Shengxiao or members of the Luo family, I coaxed him gently. Naturally, he wouldn't buy my excuses, insisting that he wanted to clear things up with his grandfather right in front of me.

It was only when I promised to go back and simmer some chicken soup to bring over at noon that he reluctantly agreed, though he still lingered, pulling me back and forth for ages.

When I returned to the courtyard house, I happened to run into my mother. Seeing her carrying two insulated food jars, I asked what she was up to.

Looking slightly embarrassed, she said, "Your father said your internship has been really tough and you haven't been eating properly. How can your body hold up if things go on like this?"

I couldn't help laughing: "Mom, my internship isn't tiring at all. You guys don't need to worry."

My mother went into the kitchen, poured out a bowl, and insisted I drink it while it was hot.

It smelled intensely savory; one sip was enough to tell it was from the free-range chickens raised in grandfather's courtyard.

After finishing it, I noticed my mother's expression looked a bit strange. I assumed she was still feeling guilty about the time my father had hit me, but after hesitating and biting back her words several times, she finally asked tentatively, "Are you hurting very much?"

"Huh?"

She took my hand: "My girl, I saw the news. Luo Ange is about to get engaged. If you're hurting, go ahead and cry."

I burst out laughing: "I'm fine. What's there to cry about? That's all in the past."

My mother was taken aback: "In the past? You stopped liking him just like that?"

For a moment, I didn't know how to explain. Now wasn't the time to tell the truth, so I just brushed it off with a laugh.

In truth, ever since our relationship had eased, my mother's joy had been plain to see. Disregarding my objections, she insisted on dragging me to the supermarket to buy daily necessities. I couldn't help wondering if something had triggered her to treat me with such desperate kindness.

I had originally planned to save the chicken soup my mother brought and take it to the hospital for Luo Ange, but then I received a call from Jiang Chenghuan.

Hearing his voice made my mind go blank for a second. It suddenly hit me that right at that very moment, he was enjoying the foreign air in Germany with Li Wanqiu, probably happier than life itself.

A sudden wave of hatred washed over me: why should his and Li Wanqiu's child be healthy and safe, while Xia Qi and her baby had to endure such a cruel fate? By what right?