Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The first time I truly had a falling out with Xu Yan was because of my uncle.

He had run up debts doing business when he was younger, and he’d only recently managed to settle down a bit.

After my dad’s accident, he suddenly crawled out of the woodwork.

He claimed he could help us front the money, but we had to go through the procedures of a friend of his.

I knew something was off the moment I heard it, so I refused.

The next day, that “friend” cornered me right downstairs at the hospital.

Covered in tattoos, he smirked and called me “Little Shen.”

“If you’re really short on cash, don’t act so high and mighty,” he said. “Your uncle told me everything.”

I turned to leave, but he reached out to block my path.

Just then, a car pulled up at the entrance, and Xu Yan stepped out.

Seeing the scene, her expression instantly darkened.

She walked over step by step, her voice not loud, but terrifyingly cold.

“Who told you to come looking for her?”

The man clearly recognized her. His face changed immediately, and he forced a smile, claiming he was just trying to help.

“Get out.”

Xu Yan uttered only those two words.

The man tried to explain further, but she had already pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

In less than a minute, the man didn’t even bother to stub out his cigarette before scurrying away in disgrace.

Before leaving, he shot me a resentful look.

Xu Yan stepped in front of me, blocking his gaze.

“What are you looking at her for?”

Her voice was very soft.

“From now on, if it involves the Shen Family, you come to me. Don’t touch her again.”

I stood there, my back drenched in cold sweat.

Xu Yan turned around, but her first words weren’t comforting.

“If your uncle comes looking for you again, don’t see him.”

The lingering fear in my heart was instantly sparked into anger by her tone.

“Are you investigating my family’s business again?”

“Is that all you can think about at a time like this?”

“What else?”

My voice trembled. “Do you think that just because you want to, you can take over everything in my life?”

“The hospital, the insurance claims, and now you even want to control my relatives?”

“Because you have no idea who is actually trustworthy.”

“But that’s still my business!”

People were coming and going downstairs at the inpatient department, and many were staring at us.

Xu Yan closed her eyes, as if she were restraining herself.

“You think I want to manage this much?”

She looked at me, her voice low and heavy.

“From the moment I received Auntie’s call until now, I’ve only slept three or four hours a day.”

“The hospital, the accident, the insurance, and your father’s workplace-which one of those haven’t I been handling for you?”

“You don’t have to be grateful, but at the very least, don’t pick a fight with me over this right now.”

I was stunned into silence by her outburst.

She seemed to realize she had lost her composure and turned to walk away.

My heart suddenly felt empty, and I grabbed her sleeve almost by instinct.

Xu Yan stopped and looked down at my hand.

I wanted to say something, but an apology felt too light, a thank-you felt too fake, and even “don’t go” felt like something I didn’t have the right to say.

In the end, she just gently brushed my hand away.

“Go upstairs and stay with your father.”

That night, as I kept watch alone on the cot, her words about only sleeping three or four hours a day kept echoing in my mind.

If it were just guilt, she had already done more than enough.

But as soon as that thought surfaced, I suppressed it.

Because I knew all too well what I was actually hoping for.