Volume One, Chapter Nine: You Will Marry Me, Won’t You?

She stepped forward.
“Granny Li.”
“Oh, it’s Xiao Jiu. When did you come back?”
Granny Li paused in her watering, smiling kindly at Yun Mojiu.
“Last night.”
“No wonder—I was wondering why I didn’t see you yesterday. Have you had breakfast? If not, why not eat a little here with me?”
Granny Li was warm and welcoming.
Yun Mojiu politely declined, “Thank you, Granny Li, but I’ve already eaten.”
“I see. Then next time you must try my homemade dumplings.”
“All right.”
After nodding, Yun Mojiu looked at Granny Li, a trace of gravity appearing on her face.
“Granny Li, have you been feeling unwell anywhere lately?”
To be honest, asking such a question early in the morning was rather abrupt.
But Granny Li didn’t mind at all. She smiled amiably.
“I do get sleepier than before, and sometimes I feel a bit lightheaded.”
“Granny Li, you’d better go to the hospital for a checkup. I see dark circles under your eyes, your complexion is dull, and there’s a bluish tinge along your nose bridge extending to the tip. I fear these are early signs of cancer, and your breath is weak…”
Before Yun Mojiu could finish speaking, a woman in her forties strode out from the house.
With obvious displeasure, she interrupted, “Xiao Jiu, how can you come here first thing in the morning and curse my mother-in-law? Who talks like that?”
She seemed ready to say more, but Granny Li pulled her back.
“I really have been feeling a bit off lately. It wouldn’t hurt to get a checkup.”
“But you can’t say she has cancer! She’s not a doctor—what can she tell? Besides, she looks robust, eats as usual, how could she have cancer? Isn’t she just talking nonsense and cursing people?”
Granny Li’s daughter-in-law, Zhou Yingqin, wore a sullen expression.
“All right, all right. Xiao Jiu is just concerned for me. Whether I’m sick or not, a checkup will settle it. If there’s nothing, all the better. If there is… at least it can be treated promptly.”
Granny Li tugged at Zhou Yingqin, giving her a meaningful look.
Only then did Zhou Yingqin grudgingly huff, “Fine, I’ll take you to the hospital right now. But I don’t believe you could possibly have cancer when you’re so well!”
That last sentence was clearly meant for Yun Mojiu.
Yun Mojiu only smiled, unfazed.
Granny Li was a kind soul. In the past, when her parents were away at work and only she and her sister were at home, Granny Li had looked after them often.
She simply couldn’t bear the thought that Granny Li might be ill and not know it, letting things worsen, perhaps beyond saving.
As for Zhou Yingqin’s attitude, Yun Mojiu paid it no mind.

The truth would speak for itself; there was no use explaining further now.
Three hours later.
Zhou Yingqin stared wide-eyed at the examination report, the words “early-stage brain tumor” leaping out at her in shock.
It turned out that girl Yun Mojiu was right!
Her mother-in-law really did have cancer!
The doctor said it was fortunate they came in time and caught it early; there was still hope for treatment.
Had they come any later, even a miracle wouldn’t save her.
Recalling what she had said earlier, Zhou Yingqin wanted nothing more than to slap herself.
Xiao Jiu had spoken the truth and helped them, yet she hadn’t trusted her and had even said such harsh things—utterly inexcusable!
She began to rehearse in her mind how best to apologize when they returned.
Shen Fan was also deep in thought.
The car accident yesterday evening had been severe.
The runaway truck had not only hit them but crashed into three other cars in succession.
One car’s front end was completely destroyed, and its driver and his wife died on the spot.
Besides that, three people were seriously injured and one slightly hurt.
Compared to the others, they were the luckiest of all.
Except for the mangled passenger seat and Jiang Qianqian’s injuries, he and Shen Yuting were unharmed.
But by rights, they had been at the front, and the truck was barreling toward them at high speed—they should have suffered the worst casualties.
Miraculously, they had escaped with their lives.
It couldn’t just be luck.
The only explanation was that the talisman, which had burned to ash at that critical moment, had saved them!
Shen Fan sat on a bench in the hospital garden, clutching the slip of paper with a phone number, head bowed, his thoughts in turmoil.
Just then, a small, glowing ball rolled to his feet.
He bent to pick it up, and when he looked up, a little girl—delicate as porcelain—stood before him, beaming.
“Thank you, big brother!”
Qin Yiyi took the ball from his hand and thanked him sweetly.
Seeing how the girl’s features so closely resembled his elder brother’s, Shen Fan was momentarily stunned.
Could she be his brother’s long-lost daughter?
“Yiyi!”
Qin Meng hurried over, taking the little girl’s hand, her tone full of concern.
“You’re still recovering; don’t run so fast.”
“Okay, Mommy, I understand.”

Qin Yiyi answered obediently.
“All right, let’s go back to the ward.” Qin Meng smiled gently as she led her daughter away.
Qin Yiyi nodded, docile as ever. “Mm.”
Watching the mother and daughter walk away, Shen Fan slowly withdrew his gaze.
He chuckled and shook his head.
His elder brother had never been close to any woman except Jiang Qianqian; his heart belonged to work alone—where would a daughter come from?
He was clearly overthinking things.
Taking a deep breath, he stood and picked up his purchases, heading toward the inpatient department.
As he reached the door of the ward, he heard Jiang Qianqian’s wailing.
“He Yuting, will my leg ever heal? And my face—will it be scarred forever? You can’t abandon me! If you leave me, I won’t be able to go on living.”
On the hospital bed, Jiang Qianqian clung to Shen Yuting’s hand, sobbing bitterly.
Shen Yuting frowned; he actually hated being touched.
He had to force himself not to pull his hand away from Jiang Qianqian’s grasp.
Since the accident, Jiang Qianqian’s emotions had been volatile.
The doctor said her right foot had suffered a complex fracture from the crushing force, with nerve damage to her leg; recovery would be difficult, and there was a chance she might never walk again.
On top of that, her face had been slashed by broken glass, leaving several marks—her mood was even more unstable.
After surgery last night, she’d finally slept, but at dawn, the outburst began again.
“Yuting, you’ll marry me, won’t you?” Jiang Qianqian sobbed.
Shen Yuting did not answer immediately.
Had it been before yesterday, out of guilt for taking her virginity and because she was injured in his car, perhaps he would have married her even though he didn’t love her.
But…the words that girl said yesterday made him hesitate.
What if, all those years ago, they had found the wrong person…
“We’ll talk about this later. Right now, your recovery is most important.”
Hearing Shen Yuting’s evasive reply, Jiang Qianqian’s eyes darkened at once, her hands clenching the quilt.
Five years!
A full five years!
Even now, after all this, he still refused to marry her!
Well then… she would not let it go at that.