Three Words Struck Him Hard in the Heart

Dawn had barely begun to break.

The smell of disinfectant and breakfast mingled in the hospital corridor.

Nan Xingyu gently pushed open the door to the hospital room, but stopped as soon as she stepped outside.

Xi Jin had fallen asleep on a bench in the corridor, leaning against the backrest.

His head was tilted to one side, his long legs slightly bent, and he was still wearing the black coat from the night before.

Clearly, he had stayed all night.

Nan Xingyu stood there, an ache swelling in her heart.

She had traveled abroad with him before.

The hotel bed had been only a fraction firmer than he was used to, and he had demanded that the hotel replace the mattress overnight.

He wouldn't put up with the slightest discomfort.

But now.

He had made do on a hard, cold plastic bench all night just to stay with her.

He hadn't even had a blanket.

It wasn't that she couldn't feel how much he favored her.

But that favor had sharp edges too.

He arranged everything for her and chose her path for her, while she was like a puppet under his control.

His embrace was a harbor, but also an invisible cage.

She couldn't find a way out.

She was afraid that, in this cage of tenderness,

she would lose herself.

"Xi Jin."

Nan Xingyu gently nudged him. When he woke groggily, she asked, "Why did you sleep here?"

She had let him kiss her for a while last night and told him to go home and rest. She hadn't expected him to come back.

Xi Jin sat a little straighter and took her hand, his palm still cold from a night out in the corridor.

"To be with you."

"..."

Nan Xingyu pressed her lips together. "I need to go back to the Manor to get some things for my mom."

Xi Jin rubbed his neck, stiff from sleeping, and got to his feet, pulling her up by the hand. "I'll take you."

The two left the hospital.

They got into a taxi.

Xi Jin put an arm around her and leaned against her to catch up on sleep.

Before long, the car arrived at Xi Family Manor.

Nan Xingyu said to the driver, "Could you please go around to the back gate?"

Before the driver could respond, Xi Jin, who was resting with his eyes closed against her, spoke. "Take the front gate."

Nan Xingyu turned to look at him. "That wouldn't be a good idea. There are a lot of people at the Manor."

Xi Jin opened his eyes slightly and lazily sat up straight. His gaze fell on her face as he repeated, "Take the front gate."

"..."

All right.

There was never any room for discussion.

London plane trees lined both sides of the broad avenue.

In the center of the square, the fountain's jets traced graceful arcs through the air before landing on black marble and scattering into fine sprays.

It was her first time entering the Manor through the front gate.

Only then did she realize how much more luxurious it was than the back entrance.

How much more unfamiliar.

The driver couldn't help taking a few extra looks, muttering, "This place is really grand. You can tell some big shot lives here."

The car stopped outside the entrance to the villa's main hall.

A servant came forward to open the car door. Seeing Xi Jin, he bowed slightly.

"Young master, why didn't you have the chauffeur pick you up? Why did you take a taxi back yourself?"

Xi Jin stepped out of the car and said casually, "Didn't feel like waiting."

Nan Xingyu got out on the other side. Faced with the gazes turned her way, she lowered her head awkwardly.

Liu Qing came up to greet them. Noticing that they had returned together and that Xi Jin hadn't changed his clothes, his gaze faltered for a moment before quickly returning to normal.

"Young master, I'll have hot water prepared for your bath. Why don't you go upstairs, bathe, and change your clothes first?"

Xi Jin walked toward the main hall. Catching sight of Nan Xingyu leaving out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help glancing at her.

Liu Qing noticed and said,

"Young master, I was just about to find someone to go to the hospital to care for Sister Liu. Mr. Xi knows about it too."

He followed close behind Xi Jin as he went upstairs.

"He said Sister Liu will reach retirement age in another month, and since she was injured in a fall on the job, we might as well let her retire early. After she's rested for a few days, we'll have someone take her back to her hometown."

Xi Jin didn't stop walking. He gave a slight nod.

A moment later, he turned back and said, "As for Aunt Liu going home, please arrange a private plane, and find two caregivers to go with her so they can look after her on the way."

Liu Qing froze for half a second.

Having a car take Liu Meili home had already been very good treatment.

Yet Xi Jin wanted to use a private plane.

But then he remembered the doctor saying she should stay lying down as much as possible for three months.

A private plane really was the fastest and most comfortable way for her to get home.

"All right, young master. I'll arrange it."

For the past few days, Nan Xingyu had mostly stayed at the hospital, caring for Liu Meili alongside the caregiver sent by the Xi Family.

Lin Piaopiao and Li Ziyan had come to visit together.

But Jiang Yuexi hadn't appeared.

Nan Xingyu guessed that she must have seen the ambiguous relationship between her and Xi Jin.

Knowing that, it wouldn't be hard to guess that the person controlling her was Xi Jin.

In any case, Jiang Yuexi was the woman Xi Jin was supposed to marry in a marriage alliance.

Anyone who learned that her "fiancé" was involved with another girl

would surely feel uncomfortable.

Besides, Jiang Yuexi had helped her transfer schools, all so she could escape her "fiancé."

It was all so melodramatic.

The fact that Jiang Yuexi hadn't come to make trouble for her already showed considerable restraint.

Nan Xingyu felt she owed her an apology.

But she didn't know how to give it.

Unexpectedly, that day, Jiang Yuexi came to visit Liu Meili with a gift box.

She was as warm and courteous as ever.

She asked after Liu Meili with concern.

Nan Xingyu saw her out of the hospital room. Neither spoke until they reached the first-floor lobby.

Jiang Yuexi said coolly, "You can leave me here."

Seeing that she was about to go, Nan Xingyu finally said it. "I'm sorry."

Jiang Yuexi turned back. "Sorry for what? Sorry you hid your relationship with Xi Jin? Or sorry you didn't tell me that the person listening in on your phone was Xi Jin?"

"..."

Nan Xingyu looked at her expressionless face.

She had indeed guessed everything.

Anything more Nan Xingyu said in explanation would seem like she was deliberately showing off how special she was to Xi Jin.

In the end, she only said, "Anyway, I'm sorry."

Jiang Yuexi asked, "Does Xi Jin really like you?"

Nan Xingyu lowered her head.

To Jiang Yuexi, that was as good as an admission.

"So you've been seeing each other in secret all this time? The Xi Family doesn't know?"

Nan Xingyu raised her eyes. "I'm the daughter of the gardener at Xi Family Manor. I've lived at the Manor since I was seven. I should never have had anything to do with the family, but..."

She paused. "From the time we were little, we always played together in secret, hiding it from the adults."

Hearing that, Jiang Yuexi felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of jealousy.

Weren't they the very picture of childhood sweethearts?

She asked again, "When did you two get together?"

Nan Xingyu's fingers curled at her side.

"When I was eighteen."

"..."

Jiang Yuexi unconsciously tightened her grip on her bag strap and did the math in her head.

Three years.

She said, "Are you planning to keep hiding it like this?"

Nan Xingyu said, "He and I won't be together."

Jiang Yuexi said, "What do you mean? Don't you like him?"

She couldn't understand.

Xi Jin was such an eligible man. Why did Nan Xingyu want to run away? Was it just because of the difference in their status?

Even less could she understand

what was so special about Nan Xingyu that Xi Jin was so madly obsessed with her, to the point of bugging her phone and controlling her every move.

"..."

Nan Xingyu hesitated for a moment.

The answer wasn't important.

What mattered was that she was leaving, and there would be no future for her and Xi Jin. Jiang Yuexi was the one he was supposed to marry in a marriage alliance.

"I don't like him."

She spoke in a low voice.

Not far away, Xi Jin stood around the corner of the corridor.

He saw the scene.

Don't like him.

The three words struck him hard in the heart.