Chapter 5

Chapter 5

On the seventh day after my father’s accident, people from his workplace arrived.

They claimed it was a sympathy visit, but in reality, they were there to deliver a message: the accident investigation and compensation process would be slow, and we wouldn’t be seeing any money in the short term.

As soon as they left, my mother sat by the hospital bed, quietly wiping away tears.

I stepped out to call the insurance company. Just as I reached the end of the corridor, a message from my boss popped up.

“The project schedule is very tight. If you take any more leave, I’ll have to let someone else take over your position.”

I stared at the message, my chest feeling tight and stifled.

Someone handed me a cup of hot water from behind.

I didn’t need to look back to know who it was.

“You heard?” I asked.

“Yes.” Xu Yan stood beside me. “Regarding your work, if you need, I can…”

“I don’t need it.”

I interrupted her almost instantly.

“Don’t try to manage this, too.”

“I just want to help you find a solution.”

“Haven’t you helped enough already?”

Her grip tightened on the paper cup.

“Then what do you plan to do?” She looked at me, her tone flat, yet every word carried a heavy weight. “Keep watch at the hospital, try to save your job, chase the insurance claim, and simultaneously find a way to pay me back?”

My face went pale at her words.

“Yes.” I looked up and met her gaze. “At least that way, I can still stand on my own two feet.”

The moment I said that, Xu Yan’s eyes turned cold.

“So, in your mind, accepting my help means you can’t stand on your own?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean?”

She took a step forward, her emotions suppressed. “Your father is in a hospital bed, and your mother starts trembling the moment anything happens. Do you really have to push yourself until you break before you’re satisfied?”

I was so stung by her words that I couldn’t find a retort.

Finally, I could only grit my teeth and say, “It’s better than this-having everyone see me as someone who relies on his ex to survive.”

The air went still.

Xu Yan looked at me, the warmth in her eyes fading away bit by bit.

“So that’s what you care about most.”

That evening, I was downstairs queuing to buy medicine.

The nurse suddenly called, saying my father was dizzy and vomiting, and told the family to return to the ward immediately.

By the time I ran back, Xu Yan was already inside, and even the doctor had arrived.

She stood by the bed, her shirt collar slightly disheveled as if she had rushed all the way there.

After the examination, the doctor said it was just a post-operative reaction and told us to keep observing him.

I breathed a sigh of relief, my legs going weak.

My mother held Xu Yan’s hand, her voice trembling as she thanked her.

“If it weren’t for you, our family really wouldn’t know what to do…”

Standing at the door, I suddenly felt redundant.

Xu Yan didn’t respond to my mother’s words. She only turned her head and glanced at me.

It was a deep, lingering look.

But I still looked away.