As Shen Nanyue and Shen An’an stepped out of the hospital, they ran into Xu Ping, who was hurrying inside.
When he saw Shen Nanyue, he paused for a moment before walking over to greet her.
“How is Yushen?”
“Just a minor injury. He’s fine now.”
Xu Ping nodded and was about to head inside.
But Shen Nanyue suddenly stopped him.
“Can we talk alone for a moment? It’ll only take five minutes.”
After a brief hesitation, Xu Ping agreed.
Shen An’an stood quietly to the side, watching the figures of Shen Nanyue and Xu Ping as they spoke.
She couldn’t hear their conversation.
She could only vaguely make out the trace of anxiety and concern on Shen Nanyue’s face.
“When Zhou Yushen was sleeping, he had a nightmare. He kept calling out ‘Nannan.’ Do you know who that is?”
A flash of surprise crossed Xu Ping’s eyes before he quickly regained his composure.
“Why don’t you wait until Yushen wakes up and ask him yourself?”
“Do you really think he’d tell me the truth?”
Shen Nanyue asked calmly.
Xu Ping fell silent.
During this period, he had already realized that Zhou Yushen had completely given his heart to Shen Nanyue.
He no longer even cared about Gu Linlang’s illness.
How could he possibly bring up that old incident and allow it to become an obstacle between him and Shen Nanyue?
Perhaps, in Zhou Yushen’s heart, the girl from the fire years ago had already faded away with time.
After several seconds of hesitation, Xu Ping finally said, “Since Yushen doesn’t want to tell you, I have no right to tell you about his past either.”
Shen Nanyue frowned.
Judging from Xu Ping’s serious expression, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get anything out of him.
They weren’t close enough for her to pressure him into revealing Zhou Yushen’s secrets.
A trace of disappointment appeared in her eyes.
“I respect your decision.”
She turned to leave, only for Xu Ping to call out to her again.
“But I truly don’t think you’re the right person for Yushen. Even if it’s not my place, I still feel compelled to say it.”
Shen Nanyue stopped and turned back to look at him.
Expressionless, Xu Ping lowered his gaze slightly, displaying the composure and dignity characteristic of a lawyer.
Without saying a word, Shen Nanyue waited for him to continue.
“From the very beginning, I felt that you and Yushen were not the same kind of people. You’re rebellious and unconventional, while Yushen, whether abroad or in the capital, has always been a distinguished gentleman. Being with you would only tarnish his reputation.”
It had been a long time since anyone had openly insulted Shen Nanyue to her face.
She almost laughed from anger.
Yet she didn’t immediately argue back.
Instead, she waited for him to continue.
“Three years ago, Yushen came to Fengcheng once. At the time, he had a disagreement with his family and came to inspect Huansheng Group. During that trip, he saved a girl who was nearly burned to death in a fire on the outskirts of the city.”
“He was injured during the rescue. After waking up, he could no longer remember what the girl looked like. The only thing he remembered was that her name was Nannan.”
“Yushen has dreamed about this Nannan many times. He believes that only by finding her can he ease the fear buried deep inside him. So he’s been searching for her all these years.”
Shen Nanyue frowned.
“But just now he said he wanted to marry her.”
A faint smile appeared on Xu Ping’s lips.
“Perhaps that’s a memory hidden deep in his subconscious. Although he can’t remember clearly, every nerve in his body remembers what happened back then.”
“Maybe something occurred during that fire that made Yushen promise to marry her. That would explain why those words come out during his nightmares.”
Shen Nanyue thought about it.
Perhaps Zhou Yushen’s visit to Fengcheng earlier this year hadn’t been because of Gu Linlang at all.
Perhaps it had been to search for this girl called Nannan.
A smile slowly curved her lips.
It seemed self-mocking.
Yet also strangely relieved.
In the end, it had all been for another purpose.
And she had merely been the only amusement on his journey to find another girl.
A chill appeared in her eyes.
“Miss Shen, if you truly have no feelings for Yushen, then I hope you’ll stay away from him.”
Shen Nanyue let out a cold laugh and looked at Xu Ping mockingly.
“Lawyer Xu, I wanted to say this earlier. Your hostility toward me isn’t because I was once a spoiled, reckless heiress.”
“It’s because, in your eyes, a spoiled heiress like me has somehow sullied a man as pure and noble as Zhou Yushen.”
Xu Ping’s expression practically said, Isn’t that exactly the case?
The weariness on Shen Nanyue’s face finally gave way to a spark of spirit.
“We’ve only met a handful of times, yet you’ve formed such a complete opinion of me based solely on what others have said.”
“You belittle me. You look down on me.”
“To be honest, I never expected the famous Lawyer Xu to be the kind of person who judges someone entirely through his own subjective assumptions.”
Xu Ping frowned, genuine anger finally surfacing on his face.
“You think I’ve wronged you?”
“No, You haven’t wronged me.”
“You’re discriminating against me. You’re disrespecting me.”
“Hiring you to help defend my rights before was apparently my mistake—I must have listened too much to Zhou Yushen’s recommendation.”
“Lawyer Xu, you should thank your sixth sense.”
“It allows you to win countless lawsuits simply by relying on your feelings and assumptions.”
As Shen Nanyue’s mocking words fell, accompanied by the coldness in her voice, she returned to her usual self—the woman who wore a smiling mask and treated the person before her as an enemy.
She turned and walked away, leaving Xu Ping standing there with a livid expression.
Watching the backs of Shen Nanyue and Shen An’an as they departed, he almost had the urge to chase after her and argue properly.
But that would only be a waste of time.
He had already said everything he needed to say.
For the sake of his friend Zhou Yushen, he had done more than enough.
Turning around, he headed into the hospital.
On the road.
Shen An’an kept glancing at Shen Nanyue, who sat in the passenger seat with her eyes closed, seemingly resting.
Shen Nanyue was a light sleeper, and with so much on her mind, she hadn’t truly fallen asleep.
After sensing Shen An’an’s gaze several times, she spoke without opening her eyes.
“What do you want to ask?”
After hesitating for two seconds, Shen An’an finally spoke.
“Sis, you’ve been acting strange today.”
“What’s strange about me?”
“Last night you were worried sick about Zhou Yushen. So why did you so readily come home with me this morning to rest? And… I feel like you’re not in a very good mood.”
Shen Nanyue let out a sigh and opened her eyes.
Resting her head against the seatback, she slowly turned to look at Shen An’an.
Her eyes were filled with exhaustion.
“An’an, I only managed to doze off for a little while this morning. I’m tired as hell. How am I supposed to be in the mood for anything?”
Shen An’an: …
“Besides, Li Che is practically Zhou Yushen’s brother. It’s only natural for him to take care of him. There’s also a mountain of work waiting for me at the company, and I still need to deal with the police station.”
“I want to make sure Dad gets justice.”
“I’m very busy, so I won’t get involved any further.”
She spoke seriously, her reasoning clear and logical.
Yet Shen An’an still felt that something was off.
But seeing that Shen Nanyue didn’t want to talk about it, she chose not to press the matter.
“Sis, since you didn’t go to the police station last night, you don’t know what happened.”
“The police found a lot of girls in the Chen family’s basement. Pretty ones, ugly ones, thin ones, fat ones—every kind you could imagine.”
“That bastard Chen Tianming… who knows how many girls he ruined!”
“Oh, and there’s more. The police also found Gu Linlang in the basement.”
“Gu Linlang?”
Shen Nanyue looked at Shen An’an in confusion.
Why would she be there?
“Shouldn’t she be in the hospital receiving treatment?”
“How did she end up at the Chen family’s old residence?”
— The end of the Chapter–
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