Chapter 29: Go Apologize to Qin Miao

Was he showing concern for her?

Ye Yaoyao merely smiled. "Shen Yan, everything that happened in the past was of my own making."

"But I think that if you stay away from me, my life will go much smoother."

Her calm tone, paired with a self-deprecating smile, made Shen Yan’s chest tighten painfully.

He sat down beside her, his gaze complicated. Instinctively, Ye Yaoyao shifted away from him.

Sensing her intention to keep her distance, Shen Yan narrowed his eyes and pulled her toward him.

Her wound knocked against him, making her gasp in pain. Shen Yan's expression softened.

"Let Ye Shen go. While you're injured, I'll take care of you."

"Are you atoning for Qin Miao’s sins?"

Shen Yan's eyes darkened. His care for this woman had nothing to do with Qin Miao.

"There's no need. No matter what you do, Qin Miao’s fate won’t change."

Ye Yaoyao refused, putting distance between them. "You should leave."

"I told you, things between us aren’t over yet," Shen Yan said, his tone much heavier. "Since you’re hurt, I should be the one to look after you."

"Ye Shen will take care of me."

Ever since she was a child, it was always her eldest brother who cared for her when she was ill. He was experienced, and she was comfortable being looked after by him.

"Ye Yaoyao, are you deliberately going against me?"

Ye Yaoyao looked at him in confusion. She was simply stating her needs—how was that opposing Shen Yan?

"I’ll handle the matter with Qin Miao."

With those words, Shen Yan turned and left.

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, her attitude would infuriate him.

Ye Yaoyao, on the other hand, was glad to see him go, feeling that peace was best kept by distance.

...

Qin Miao was transferred to a regular ward and woke up after just two days.

Remembering what had happened, Qin Miao immediately shifted the blame.

She claimed that it was Ye Yaoyao who had asked her to meet, and that Ye Yaoyao had tormented her into such a state.

The incident quickly became a trending topic.

Though Ye Yaoyao was an outsider to the industry, she was repeatedly dragged into the spotlight by Qin Miao’s antics.

When Yu Wanjing came to see her, she was furious. "That Qin Miao is truly shameless! She twists the truth with a single word!"

"Is this the first day you’ve met her?" Ye Yaoyao asked calmly. "It would be odd if she actually admitted her guilt."

"Then do you have any evidence to pin her down?"

Yu Wanjing was surprised to recall that Ye Yaoyao had a recording of the previous incident. She hadn’t expected Ye Yaoyao to have a backup plan.

So this time, Ye Yaoyao must have something too?

"No," Ye Yaoyao shook her head.

Yu Wanjing’s head drooped at once. "No? Then we just have to let her say whatever she wants?"

Ye Yaoyao was silent. The situation had happened suddenly, and her dashcam was broken at the time, giving Qin Miao an opening.

She closed her eyes, indifferent to the slander, caring only to recover her health.

Ye Yaoyao’s silence emboldened Qin Miao. Not content with stirring up trouble herself, Qin Miao’s parents, just returned from abroad, went straight to the Shen family.

Qin Miao’s parents had some ties with the Shen family’s matriarch, which was why Qin Miao had connections to Shen Yan in the first place.

Her parents wept and wailed before the Shen family matriarch.

"Madam Shen, you promised to take good care of Miao Miao, to find her a good match. That’s the only reason we entrusted our precious daughter to you. But she’s barely returned to the country, and now she’s been tormented into this state!"

Qin’s father, a grown man, was red-eyed but struggling to hold back tears. "You said you’d let Miao Miao marry into the Shen family, and we believed you and entrusted her to your care. But now… our child is in the hospital, barely clinging to life!"

At his words, Qin’s mother, Liu Xuemei, burst into loud sobs, making the Shen family matriarch’s head throb.

Back then, she’d taken a liking to Qin Miao’s looks and the slight connection between the families, which was why she placed Qin Miao by Shen Yan’s side.

Qin Miao had proven herself, quickly growing close to Shen Yan.

Who would have thought that Ye Yaoyao would suddenly appear and, against all odds, marry Shen Yan, while Qin Miao was sent abroad by her parents.

The matriarch had thought that this game of playing hard to get would ensnare Shen Yan, but reality had proved otherwise.

Shen Yan was completely unmoved, even casting Qin Miao out of his heart.

It was truly a miscalculation.

"Madam Shen, you must stand up for us," Liu Xuemei cried, clutching at the matriarch’s knees.

"Enough, get up. I’ll handle this matter," the Shen family matriarch said, lifting her chin with a helpless nod.

Qin Miao’s parents exchanged a glance, satisfied that they had succeeded.

When Shen Yan heard about it, his eyes were filled with undisguised disgust.

Over the years, because of Qin Miao’s relationship with him, the Qin family had gained many benefits.

Previously, the Qin family was at the bottom of society, but after clinging to the Shen family, they even found opportunities to expand abroad.

People are never content.

The phone rang. It was the Shen family matriarch.

"Ah Yan, regarding Miao Miao, you need to have Ye Yaoyao apologize."

"Miao Miao said it was Ye Yaoyao who asked her out and hurt her."

"It makes sense—if they were both involved, why is it that Ye Yaoyao is only lightly injured, while Miao Miao is in a coma, nearly a vegetable?"

The matriarch had never liked Ye Yaoyao and had no qualms about slinging mud at her.

"Yaoyao says it was Qin Miao who hurt her," Shen Yan replied evenly.

"Just because she says so?" the matriarch retorted. "Ah Yan, don’t be foolish! If it weren’t for Miao Miao’s parents, would your father still be alive?"

At her words, Shen Yan’s fingers tightened and the balance in his heart began to waver.

His father in the hospital was a secret he kept deep inside. Only the family matriarch knew; no one else did.

"Even if it’s to repay their lifesaving kindness, you must handle this well," the matriarch sighed. "Just do as I say. Bring her here."

Though Ye Yaoyao refused, Shen Yan still insisted on coming to the hospital to care for her.

His awkward but earnest attempts made Ye Yaoyao laugh more than once.

After all, he was someone she had once loved. More than once, as she looked at his face, she felt he wasn’t so unbearable after all.

But her illusion shattered in the next instant.

"What really happened between you and Qin Miao?"

Sensing something off in his tone, Ye Yaoyao frowned. "I told you, Qin Miao tried to hurt me."

"If she tried to hurt you, then why is she seriously injured and you only lightly so?" Shen Yan pressed.

His words were like blades, stabbing one after another into Ye Yaoyao’s heart.

She let out a scornful laugh, thinking she must be insane.

After these days together, she’d actually thought Shen Yan wasn’t so bad?

He was detestable!

He was utterly brainless—or else how could he be so easily led astray by a few words from Qin Miao?

"Isn’t Qin Miao awake now? If you don’t believe me, why don’t you just ask her directly?"

Ye Yaoyao’s heart was frozen to the core. "These past few days, you’ve just been wanting to ask me this, haven’t you?"

"You must have had a hard time holding it in."

Shen Yan was silent for a moment before suddenly saying, "Go apologize to Qin Miao."