Chapter Twenty: A Hasty Retreat

The unfinished words abruptly halted mid-sentence, as if time itself had frozen in that very moment, leaving an incomplete pause hanging in the air.

Lin Ye and the young girl’s eyes met unexpectedly; at that instant, time seemed to stand still, and the air around them softened with a gentle warmth.

In Lin Ye’s pupils reflected the girl’s clear, lake-like eyes. The late morning sun, filtering through the branches and leaves, cast dappled shadows evenly across her face.

The noisy crowd around them seemed to have been muted, as if someone had pressed the silence button. The two simply looked into each other’s eyes, their pupils mirroring one another, as if an invisible force was drawing them together.

Such beautiful eyes, as if they held a spirit within.

That was Lin Ye’s first thought.

Three seconds later, staring at the girl who smiled gently at him, his heart suddenly quickened. His mind, like an old single-cylinder diesel engine long abandoned, slowly and somewhat clumsily began to turn again. Gradually, the image before him began to overlap with the figure he remembered lying on the hospital bed.

“Old…”

The familiar address that he called out every day barely left his throat before he forcibly stopped himself.

The eagerness to see her began to calm, but beneath this calm surface, was there truly peacefulness?

Sneaking into the hospital to see Su Qing discharged had already drained all of Lin Ye’s courage. Now, standing before him, Su Qing was even more beautiful and radiant, and his own insecurity only made him want to retreat further.

Besides, Su Qing had never seen him before, and with the hat, mask, and sunglasses he was wearing to disguise himself, there was no way she could recognize him.

Lin Ye tried with all his might to quiet the pounding drum-like heartbeat in his chest, but reality rarely conformed to one’s wishes.

Fumbling nervously, he folded the newspaper in his hands, his legs trembling as he stood up and turned toward the hospital entrance. Meeting Su Qing in her awakened state for the first time, Lin Ye only wanted to leave quickly.

He felt that Su Qing, now awakened, would have no connection with someone as ordinary as him. Such a relationship should dissolve early, just like the divorce papers he had signed.

Perhaps coming to the hospital today was a grave mistake. Someone as plain as him should quietly find a corner to stay in, maybe to encounter another ordinary person, or maybe not.

---

Su Qing was somewhat surprised by Lin Ye’s reaction, which was quite unlike the voice she heard every day beside her.

One could say they were two completely different people. After all, the Lin Ye she remembered was a cheeky young man who had boldly called her “wife” on their very first day of marriage, despite being strangers until then.

But… this Lin Ye, who fled at the sight of her, seemed quite endearing in Su Qing’s eyes.

Before meeting Lin Ye today, Su Qing never would have believed that the boy who called her “wife” all day was such a shy person.

A mischievous glint suddenly appeared in her lively eyes, and at that moment, her temperament turned into that of a playful little witch who loved teasing.

“Lin Ye!”

Lin Ye froze as if struck by lightning, standing rooted to the spot for nearly a second before quickly realizing he needed to say something or risk being exposed.

He changed his voice slightly, believing it subtle enough, and tried to speak in the calmest tone he could muster: “What? Miss, I think you must have mistaken me for someone else.”

He seemed to have forgotten that when pretending to read the newspaper on the bench, he had already spoken to Su Qing several times in his natural voice.

Hearing the rougher, deeper tone compared to the impression she had, Su Qing stood behind Lin Ye, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

Teasing this boy before her was the most amusing thing she had done since waking up.

Lin Ye stood there for a long time, his heart nearly in his throat, until finally, the sweet yet slightly disappointed voice of the girl came from behind.

“Oh… alright then, maybe I did mistake you. Sorry about that.”

Watching Lin Ye’s hasty retreat, a captivating smile blossomed on Su Qing’s face.

Lin Ye, who knows, we might see each other again very soon~

After all, the future is long.

“Hey, did you see that handsome guy?”

---

By the discharge counter in the hospital lobby, the head nurse’s eyes burned with fiery gossip, whispering eagerly with Su Qing as if she were a young girl despite being nearly forty.

“He wrapped himself up like a thief, all in black from head to toe—how could you tell if he’s really a handsome guy?”

As she spoke, Su Qing recalled how Lin Ye had looked just moments ago: black clothes, black pants, black shoes, black hat, black mask, and even black sunglasses.

If it weren’t for the head nurse, who had told her Lin Ye was at the hospital when Su Qing and her father, Li Dehua, came down to complete the discharge procedures, she wouldn’t have recognized him at all.

Lin Ye didn’t know how far he had run; when he glanced back, the hospital entrance was already out of sight. Yet the girl’s face continued to linger vividly in his mind, impossible to shake.

Especially those eyes—so beautiful and striking—that left a deep impression on him, so much so that whenever he closed his eyes, they seemed to reappear before him.

Well then, today’s trip to the hospital confirmed that Su Qing could walk and talk normally, with no ailments—truly a satisfactory conclusion to this matter.

Of course, if one didn’t consider that Lin Ye hadn’t slept a wink that night and was now absent-minded and distracted in everything he did, this would indeed be a perfect ending.

“Old Lin, Old Lin?”

Zhang Wen stood at the doorway of the administration office, calling Lin Ye twice. When Lin Ye didn’t respond, Zhang Wen didn’t think much of it; after all, Lin Ye had been in this state since waking up that morning.

It wasn’t until Sister Hu, carrying some documents, walked by and patted Lin Ye on the shoulder.

“Hey, Xiao Lin, someone’s looking for you at the door.”

“Oh, okay, got it. Thanks, Sister Hu.”

Only then did Lin Ye snap back to awareness, standing and walking over to Zhang Wen, who wore an expression as if he had urgent news.

Curious, Lin Ye asked, “What’s up? Is it something important? You even came all the way up here to find me.”