Yes, I'm a Puppy

When Chi Ye came out of the doctor's office, his expression, too, had taken on a tense seriousness.

He had known last night that Shen Zhiyi's psychological problems were severe. Who would think of jumping into a river if nothing was wrong with them? It was so cold down there.

He thought that her repeated rejections were probably because she felt she could not possibly live much longer, which was why she had turned down his proposal to work together.

Every rejection echoed in his ears. Standing outside the door, Chi Ye did not know how to face Shen Zhiyi. More importantly, had she chosen to end her life yesterday for her own reasons, or had something happened after she returned to S City?

He took out his phone and sent Assistant Fang a message, asking him to investigate what had happened after Shen Zhiyi returned from the airport yesterday.

Only after arranging everything did he push open the door and enter the ward. But the person in the hospital bed was already gone. He swore that, in that instant, his heart stopped just as it had when he saw Shen Zhiyi jump yesterday.

Where was the fully grown person who had been on that bed?!

He entered the ward and looked around again and again, discovering that the clothes on the bed were the ones Shen Zhiyi had changed out of. Her suitcase was still there, too. The driver had brought it over. Other than that, there was nothing.

He stepped out of the ward, intending to look for her, when he saw Shen Zhiyi walking back alone from the other end of the corridor.

She held several sheets of paper. She had changed into a long-sleeved knit top and loose trousers. Her face was still pale, her figure thin.

Chi Ye stood where he was, staring at her and waiting for her to come over. Shen Zhiyi merely looked up at him, paused briefly, then continued forward.

Her breathing was a little labored. Just one trip there and back had left her utterly exhausted.

When she reached Chi Ye, she took out her phone and tapped on it for a while before speaking.

"Thank you for saving me yesterday. I've transferred you the medical expenses and all the other costs. Sorry for the trouble."

Chi Ye's temple throbbed, and the veins in his neck stood out. He felt that Shen Zhiyi was absolutely capable of angering her to death. The moment she opened her mouth, she could make Chi Ye spontaneously combust in minutes.

Otherwise, how could hearing those words from her already have left Chi Ye burning with fury?

What did she mean by this? Was she in such a hurry to draw a line between them? He had stayed with her all night, calling the nurses and watching her IV.

And all she had was a thank-you? Then she transferred him the medical expenses. Was that what she had just gone to do?

He looked at Shen Zhiyi as though trying to see right through her, to find out exactly what she was made of that could make Chi Ye so angry his teeth ached.

"Shen Zhiyi, is that all you have to say? Nothing else?"

Of course Shen Zhiyi had nothing else to say. She had given Chi Ye all her money. The ambulance he had called, the deluxe private room, and the medication and other costs.

They had swallowed up the entire final payment Boss Yao had just sent her. She was penniless again.

She accepted it calmly. She had known that heaven would not let her die so easily. Perhaps it wanted to torment her slowly. Fang Yue's mother surely had not forgiven her in the afterlife.

That was why she did not want her going down there to disturb their family of three.

"Mr. Chi, thank you so much for saving my life yesterday. I'll repay you once I'm better. Thank you for all your trouble."

Her expression did not change in the slightest, and her words were no different from a robot's. Shen Zhiyi was just brushing him off!

Chi Ye felt that he had worried for nothing. In this state, Shen Zhiyi hardly needed his concern. Not opening her mouth and telling him to get lost was already her greatest act of mercy.

He looked her up and down for a while, no longer wanting to stay here and let Shen Zhiyi anger him. Her affairs had nothing to do with him anyway.

His kindness had been thrown back in his face, and he was not that kindhearted a person.

"Shen Zhiyi, consider it meddling on my part. The doctor said you could be discharged. Since you're fine, I'm leaving too."

Just then, his assistant sent him a message. Phone in hand, he left the inpatient building without another word. Only after he left did Shen Zhiyi, unable to hold herself up any longer, sit down on a chair outside the ward.

She had not had so much as a drop of water, and her whole body felt weak and sore. But since the doctor had said she could be discharged, she did not want to stay any longer.

Her luggage had been delivered. The nurse had told her to collect her medication, so she had gone out to get it. While she was there, she had also asked how much yesterday's medical expenses and hospitalization had cost.

She had not forgotten what Chi Ye had said, though she did not know how he had found her and saved her yesterday.

Chi Ye was right. She was someone without a heart.

Once that bout of weakness passed, she returned to the ward and took her luggage. Perhaps she felt guilty toward Chi Ye. After leaving the hospital, she transferred all the money in her bank account to him.

But all she got was a red exclamation mark.

She stared at that red exclamation mark for a long time, until a large drop of water struck the top of her screen, followed by a second.

The darkened screen reflected her pale face, the corners of her eyes damp. The sky turned black. The first rain of early summer was coming.

Drops far denser than before poured down before she could reach the bus stop. But in her daze, it seemed she no longer even had a home.

That place had already become rubble. Everything had been destroyed.

"Wait a little longer," Shen Zhiyi told herself. Perhaps this rain could take her away.

She walked down the street in the rain, pulling her suitcase behind her. She only needed to find a corner, then slowly wait for death.

As for Fang Yue, she had told the police that once they found him, she would never agree to a settlement. They only needed to handle it according to the law. Someone would probably deal with the house not long after she died.

Whoever it ended up belonging to, it probably would have nothing to do with her, Shen Zhiyi, anymore. But right now, she rather wanted to see whether the photograph in her suitcase was still there.

It was the only thing she had taken from home.

Purple lightning on the horizon lit up the entire sky, and thunder sounded shortly afterward. This was the world of a book, and she was cannon fodder.

Cannon fodder who was about to die.

Some people refused to accept their fate and wanted to rise up to become the protagonist. Some fought desperately to climb higher.

But for Shen Zhiyi, every day she lived, even breathing was something that caused her unbearable pain.

Yet this did not seem like the world of a book, because she saw a figure running toward her, in the pouring rain, on a morning.

Chi Ye was a villain. Shen Zhiyi thought that must have been a mistake in his characterization.

Because she had never seen such a kind villain, pulling her up again and again. If Chi Ye was a villain, then there was not a single good person in this book.

"Chi Ye, why did you come back again? Are you trying to be a puppy?"

Rain washed over her eyes so heavily that even trying to open them was difficult. Her voice was hoarse and indistinct, but Chi Ye heard her clearly.

With a somewhat bitter smile, he said,

"Yes, I'm a puppy, I suppose. I spent over half a month on this and still didn't succeed. I'm very angry. So I intend to keep at it until you agree."