Chapter 71: A Harbor for the Heart
The porridge was still hot. Jiang Yu scooped up a spoonful, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to Han Cheng.
Han Cheng struggled to control his mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed it. With his mouth crooked, he smiled. “T-tasty.”
Jiang Yu wiped his tears and fed him another spoonful. The ward gradually fell quiet—one feeding gently, the other eating with tender affection. The air was thick with sweetness.
“R-really… g-good.” Han Cheng still couldn’t control his mouth well. Some porridge spilled out, and Jiang Yu hurried to wipe it away.
Han Cheng seized the chance to grab Jiang Yu’s hand and kissed it.
“If it’s good, still eat less. You haven’t eaten anything for almost half a month. The doctor said you should take it slow,” Han Li said from the sofa, unable to stand the display of affection and determined to interrupt.
“Ahem.” The old man also felt a bit awkward and cleared his throat, reminding them to be mindful.
“W-why… are y-you… s-still… h-here?” Han Cheng glanced at the old man, then turned to stare at Han Li, questioning her one word at a time.
He had personally sent Han Li abroad, and she had promised she wouldn’t come back or interfere in his relationship with Jiang Yu.
After waking up, he had asked his secretary Liu Yong. That woman had come back and immediately shut Jiang Yu out of the ward, not letting him in. Jiang Yu must have been worried sick outside.
Hearing from Liu Yong that Jiang Yu had been waiting outside the ward every day made Han Cheng both heartbroken and happy.
Han Li, however, exploded with rage at the question. She slammed the sofa and jumped up, pointing at Han Cheng as she yelled, “You little brat! I flew back overnight from abroad to take care of you, and instead of thanking me, you ask why I came back?”
“You… t-take… c-care… of me? Heh. A-Aunt Chen… w-worked… h-hard.”
“I only helped wipe Mr. Han down. All the procedures were handled by Miss Han,” Aunt Chen didn’t dare take credit and tried to provide Han Li with some evidence of her ‘care.’
“The p-procedures… w-were… h-handled… b-by… G-Grandpa, r-right?” Han Cheng mercilessly exposed Aunt Chen’s good intentions.
The old man fell silent. He valued Han Cheng, but he didn’t like this granddaughter of his who was always a bit thick-headed.
The old man’s silence set Han Li off again. “When you got into the car accident, I was abroad. How was I supposed to handle the procedures for you?
“Do you know that while you were unconscious, those bastards at home wanted to seize your power? Grandpa had to go back to the company to keep them in check. Over here, I was the only one watching over you.”
“A-Aunt Chen… t-took… c-care… of me. G-Grandpa… h-handled… t-the… p-procedures. Y-you… j-just… w-watched. Y-you’re… u-useless. G-go… b-back.”
Han Cheng rattled off a long string of words. He couldn’t even control the saliva dripping from his mouth, yet he still stubbornly insisted on sending Han Li back abroad. He was angry that she hadn’t allowed Jiang Yu into the ward to take care of him.
“You heartless little bastard. I took care of you for half a month, and the moment you wake up you want to kick me out?” Han Li was so furious her chest looked like it had expanded by two sizes.
“You… d-didn’t… l-let… J-Jiang Yu… i-in… t-the… r-room.” Han Cheng stared at Han Li and stated bluntly why he was angry.
“Again because of that pretty boy? I’m your sister!” Han Li was so angry she almost laughed, glaring viciously at Jiang Yu like a demon ready to devour him.
“He… i-is… m-my… w-wife.” Han Cheng tightened his grip on Jiang Yu’s hand and made a heartfelt confession.
Jiang Yu was deeply moved, but Han Li’s murderous aura made him afraid to even move.
Han Li pointed at Han Cheng with a trembling finger. The beautiful woman’s eyes filled with tears—she was actually driven to tears by her own brother.
“All right, you two, why are you arguing now? It was me who didn’t let Jiang Yu come in. Are you going to kick me out too?” the old man said.
Han Cheng looked at his grandfather, seeming to seriously consider whether he should throw the old man out as well.
Seeing that line of thought was about to drive the old man to explode, Jiang Yu hurriedly grabbed Han Cheng and said, “These days while you were injured, it was all thanks to—”
Jiang Yu glanced at the old man and Han Li, suddenly unsure how to address them. After thinking for a moment, he continued, “—thanks to your family for taking care of you. I didn’t do anything. You can’t burn bridges after crossing the river. You should thank your family.”
“L-listen… t-to… y-you. T-thank… y-you.” Han Cheng smiled and readily agreed, thanking Han Li and the old man.
“……” Both Han Li and the old man were left speechless.
“All right, we don’t need your thanks. Focus on recovering and get better as soon as possible. There’s a mess at the company that still needs you to deal with.
“I’m old now and no longer up to it. I managed to hold those idiots in check this time, but next time I won’t have the energy.
“I’ve gathered some evidence of those idiots’ little schemes. You can handle it as you see fit.
“And as for the driver who hit you—she didn’t mistake the gas pedal for the brake. She was hired by Wang Wan’er, sent specifically to kill someone.”
The old man looked at Jiang Yu and sneered. “Be more careful when you go out in the future. This time Han Cheng saved you; next time, there’s no guarantee.”
“That female driver was deliberately trying to hit me? Didn’t Wang Wan’er get locked up already?” Jiang Yu was stunned. How much did Wang Wan’er hate him—to hire a killer even after being put away?
“Wang Wan’er is locked up, but the Wang family is still doing just fine.” The old man suddenly looked sternly at Han Cheng and scolded him. “Han Cheng, you went too far this time. Wang Wan’er being bullied by men every day inside—that was arranged by you, wasn’t it?
“Wang Wan’er has gone insane and is now in a psychiatric hospital. She regains consciousness from time to time, and when she does, she collapses and goes mad again.
“Hiring someone to run Jiang Yu down was something she did during one of those lucid moments.
“The Wang family learned that the attempt was on you, and they’ve already cut off all of Wang Wan’er’s contact with the outside world. They won’t pursue the matter of you ruining Wang Wan’er, and you shouldn’t keep tormenting her either.
“Now our two families are partners. Don’t offend the Wang family again over certain people.” The old man glanced at Jiang Yu, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Jiang Yu felt deeply wronged. He hadn’t done anything—yet his life had been put in danger, and now the blame was being pushed onto him.
Jiang Yu looked at Han Cheng. Han Cheng smiled faintly and comforted him, “D-don’t… w-worry.”
Jiang Yu gave a bitter smile. How was he supposed to not worry?
Although Han Cheng’s speech was still slurred, the hematoma in his brain didn’t affect his thinking.
Right after waking up, he began working through the backlog on his computer. President Wang dutifully stayed by Han Cheng’s side, strictly regulating his work hours so he wouldn’t overexert himself.
The old man could hold things together for a while longer and watch over the company for Han Cheng. At night, Han Cheng held onto Jiang Yu and refused to let him leave, insisting on squeezing two people onto one hospital bed. Han Li couldn’t stand their clingy behavior and left with her bag, bristling with anger.
Half a month later, the bruising in Han Cheng’s brain had completely dissipated. After a full-body checkup, President Wang nodded—Han Cheng was finally cleared to be discharged.
Ignoring the old man and Han Li, Han Cheng grabbed Jiang Yu and took him back to the seaside villa.
With Han Cheng discharged and Jiang Yu by his side, their relationship once again shot to the top of the trending searches thanks to the paparazzi.
“So what are you planning to do about our relationship? Should we make it public?” Curled up on the villa’s soft bed, Han Cheng hugged Jiang Yu contentedly, scrolling through his phone and seeing the trending news about Jiang Yu being ‘kept’ by him. He asked Jiang Yu in his arms.
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then sat up and looked at Han Cheng seriously. “What do you think? What exactly am I to you—your lover, or just a kept man?”
“You’re my wife—the one whose name will be on my household register.” Han Cheng grabbed Jiang Yu’s hand, sincere and earnest.
“I can’t get on it. Our country’s laws don’t allow it.”
“They do abroad. Let’s go overseas and get married tomorrow.”
“Do you really love me?”
“At a time like this, you’re still doubting me? What do I have to do for you to believe me?”
“You used to be such an asshole. How am I supposed to believe you?”
“You said it yourself—that was before. Before I loved you, my heart was like drifting duckweed with no roots. I used to be an asshole because I was searching for a harbor for my heart.
“And you are where my heart finally docks. I can give my life for you now. If anything happened to you, my heart would be gone too, and I wouldn’t live on alone.”
Han Cheng suddenly became deeply emotional, but Jiang Yu was allergic to romance and replied disdainfully, “Where did you plagiarize that from? Isn’t it a bit too greasy?”
“Liu Yong looked it up online for me yesterday. I thought it matched my condition pretty well. Even if it’s greasy, it’s absolutely sincere. I love you, Jiang Yu.”
“When did you fall in love with me?”
“I don’t know—maybe it was love that grew over time. I did like to fool around before, but suddenly, at some point—about two years ago—I started unconsciously comparing everyone to you, and then feeling that no one measured up. Maybe I fell in love with you when everyone else started to feel dull and tasteless.”
“Two years ago? Even if it were one year ago, I didn’t feel like you loved me. Are you sure you were already in love with me two years ago?”
“You’ve got some nerve saying that. After I realized I’d fallen in love with you, I treated you well for quite a while.
“But you were always giving me fake smiles, brushing me off coldly, never taking my feelings seriously at all. I was so angry I started getting close to all kinds of minor celebrities just to provoke you—I wanted to see you get jealous over me.
“I kept waiting for you to cry, make a scene, even threaten suicide, just like when we first got together, when I so much as glanced at someone else and you’d get jealous.
“But instead, you were understanding and considerate. You didn’t cry or make trouble. You became magnanimous—while I was the one suffering.
“On the one hand, I was sulking with you; on the other, I still kept all the best resources for you.
“And you? You turned this down, refused that, skipped everything. Even when I pushed you into taking something, you’d just go through the motions.”
“Wasn’t that ‘understanding’ something you forced me into?”
“I was wrong. I know I hurt you. Ever since you jumped off that building because of Zhuang Feng and injured your waist, you suddenly became well-behaved.
“I’ve always liked lovers who are obedient and don’t cause trouble. At first, I really did like how well-behaved you were.
“But after I fell in love with you, I started to miss the old you—the high-spirited, energetic you, the you who bared your claws at me and even scratched me a few times. I loved that vivid, alive version of you.
“I know all of this was my own doing. But from now on, I’ll definitely treat you well and be faithful to you alone. Will you try believing me, just once?”
The silence of waiting was torment.
Jiang Yu saw the fine sheen of sweat appear on Han Cheng’s forehead from nervousness. He smiled faintly, then nodded. “All right. I can try to believe you—but only this once. If you relapse into your old ways, I’ll never trust you again.”
“I swear on my heart that in this lifetime, you’ll never see that day come.”
At exactly twelve noon on March 5, Han Cheng, CEO of the Han Group, posted on Weibo:
[Jiang Yu and I are in a relationship. This is love, not ‘being kept.’]
