Chapter 271: Let Me Hold You

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At this juncture, Liu Dui knew it was pointless to console her, so he left.

A while after Liu Dui left, Yu Qianying and Song Donglin came. Yu Qianying was downcast as he sat down. It was admirable that Qi Chengzhi had sustained such a severe injury for Song Yu.

“Song Yu, are you staying here tonight too?” asked Xia Wenna.

Song Yu nodded. “I wish to always be by his side.”

“I can understand that you want to keep him company, but you must prioritize your health first,” said Xia Wenna. “If you’re feeling unwell, please don’t force yourself to stay.”

She glanced at the narrow foldable mattress. It was a spring mattress; no matter how thick the bedding was it would be uncomfortable to lie in it. Even rolling over in such a mattress would prove difficult.

“If Chengzhi wakes up, please inform us immediately no matter the time. Even if it is during the middle of the night,” urged Grandmother Qi before she left.

Yu Qianying also gave her some advice. Song Yu promised that she would do her best to follow them. After that, all of them left.

…

…

That night, Song Yu lay sideways on the foldable mattress, facing Qi Chengzhi. The mattress barely came up to half the height of the hospital’s bed, nonetheless, she held Qi Chengzhi’s hand with both of her hands and slowly drifted to sleep.

Qi Chengzhi’s eyebrow twitched, he could feel someone holding his hand; the hands were extremely soft and warm.

He opened his eyes but could not see clearly see his surroundings because it was very dark in the ward. He looked down, noting that his hand was hanging by the side of the bed. It was held by a pair of soft and gentle hands.

Just when he wanted to turn his body over, he felt a severe pain emitting from his abdomen. He took an involuntarily deep breath as he felt a sudden and tearing pain.

Song Yu was sleeping shallowly because she was afraid that something might happen to him. She woke up immediately when she heard him moving.

She sat up and saw that Qi Chengzhi had opened his eyes. He was staring at her with his bright eyes. Song Yu was extremely delighted and happy; she felt utter relief.

“Chengzhi!” Song Yu threw herself at him and held his face in both her hands. She pecked at various spots of his face. She was crying and laughing at the same time. She kissed his forehead, eyelids, the bridge of the nose, cheeks, and lips. “You’re finally awake, you’re finally awake.”

Qi Chengzhi could taste her salty bitter tears. His dry lips were slightly curled upwards, as he raised his hand to weakly stroke her back. Due to his lack of strength, his hand trembled slightly as he stroked her back, lacking their usual steady fluidity.

“Don’t cry,” whispered Qi Chengzhi. His voice was extremely hoarse, pecking her lips as he spoke.

“You shouldn’t do this anymore.” Song Yu cried while hugging him tightly. He dare not utter a sound, despite the stiff, painful twinge he felt at his neck. “How could you stab yourself as you wish?! What do you want me to do? Why didn’t you think about me?! What should I have done if you left me? Aren’t you worried about me marrying another man, and your son having a different family name?!”

Qi Chengzhi stared at her speechlessly. His weak voice was still hoarse and deep when he said, “I just woke up and already you are angry with me.”

If not for the lack of energy and injured abdomen, he would already put her in her place: below him.

“You knew I would be angry, but you still did it regardless?” Song Yu knew that he was too weak to do anything so she became bolder. She hugged him and said, “If anything bad happened to you, I would never marry another man. No one can make me happy except you. How could you have the heart to abandon me and force me to spend the remainder of my life alone?”

“I was wrong,” whispered Qi Chengzhi in his hoarse voice.

“It is the perfect timing for you to admit your mistake,” said Song Yu sniffling.

“I’m thirsty,” mumbled Qi Chengzhi. Song Yu was unsure whether it was because of his weak body or he did it deliberately, but his dry and husky voice sounded very gentle. She felt that this was an act, an act that she could not resist.

“Sorry, I was too focused by what you did that I forgot to prepare some water. Wait a moment,” said Song Yu guiltily. She got up from the foldable mattress right away and poured some water for him. When she turned around, she saw Aunt Yang was sitting on the sofa, her face riddled with embarrassment. She looked downward unsure where to turn her gaze to. Song Yu blushed, she had forgotten that Aunt Yang was staying with her. She was too excited and did not pay attention to her surroundings. Aunt Yang must have seen all her actions and heard all the words she had said now.

Qi Chengzhi felt awkward as well. Song Yu had not misjudged him, he had been intentionally vulnerable in front of her through his injury. However, he did not expect Aunt Yang would be there to witness this vulnerability. It had been the first time he had revealed such a thing to anyone else.

Song Yu poured some water into a glass and placed a thin straw into it. Aunt Yang adjusted his bed so that he could sit, then she walked out of the ward.

Song Yu held the glass for Qi Chengzhi and helped position the straw so that he might drink. She said to him, “Don’t drink too much.”

Qi Chengzhi was feeling too weak to act stubborn, so he allowed her to hold the glass for him.

As Song Yu was holding the cup, Qi Chengzhi stared at her as he drank the water. His eyes were glowing brightly. She felt like he had been resurrected and wanted to gaze at her as long as he could. Shadows overlaid the skin below her eyes, and she looked like she had not rested well, even her cheeks were thinner and her eyes were sunken.

Before this, her face was rosy because Grandmother Qi and Xia Wenna fed her with plenty of supplements and she even became plumper as days passed by. However, she had become a shadow of her former self with the passing of a few days.

“How long have I been in bed?” asked Qi Chengzhi as he bit the straw; he was too lazy to hold onto it with his hands.

“Not counting tonight, it has been a day,” answered Song Yu. She took away the cup when she saw that Qi Chengzhi had enough.

“You stayed here all this time?” The water had improved the quality of his voice; it had now returned to its supple, husky mellow tone.

Song Yu did not answer him. Qi Chengzhi touched her cheeks with his dry and attractive hand, caressing her thin cheeks repeatedly. “You aren’t caring for yourself. You have become thin.”

“Who isn’t the one caring for himself?” Song Yu’s eyes turned red. “How could I be at ease if I didn’t stay here? You don’t know how frightened I was when I saw you lying here unresponsive! I was so afraid that you would abandon me. I dared not sleep at night because I wouldn’t have known if anything happened to you. I don’t know if I miss——”

“Come here and let me hold you,” rumbled Qi Chengzhi, his Adam’s apple bobbing with emotion. He opened his arms and faced her.

Song Yu leaned toward him, carefully avoided the wound at his stomach. She buried her face into his arms and started crying. Her tears seeped into the hospital gown as she rested against him. His gown wet with tears clung onto his chest.

She hugged Qi Chengzhi tightly, feeling his arms coiled around her. She could not smell the familiar scent that she had come to know so well, only the sterile scent of antiseptic. However, she still felt relieved and could not stop sniffing his body. She rubbed her face on his chest back and forth with utmost gratitude.

“Chengzhi, I beg you, please don’t do this again in the future,” said Song Yu choking with emotion. “Don’t hurt yourself because of me or anyone else. Just stay well and healthy. Don’t scare the hell out of me.”

“I’m fine.” Qi Chengzhi could feel her trembling in his arms. He felt a lump in his throat. He could only pat her back continuously, and he combed her hair to comfort her. He lowered his head to kiss her forehead and the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry for frightening you. I’m all right now, don’t worry.”

“You promise me that you would never do it again. Don’t allow others to threaten you by making use of me.” Song Yu was miserable, how could he unhesitatingly hurt himself?

After a long time, Qi Chengzhi still did not reply. Song Yu raised her head and saw that he was staring at her seriously. Song Yu knew him too well to recognize that it was his usual expression when he refused to obey her instructions.

When he refused to listen, he would simply stop talking. He would not agree or fight back and would leave the matter unsettled.

However, this time Song Yu decided not to let him muddle through like this. Her expression became stern and she instantly moved her body away from Qi Chengzhi. Qi Chengzhi did not have any strength to stop her now, he could only watch as Song Yu stood up with a surly expression.

“What are you doing? Come back.” Qi Chengzhi’s voice was cool but he felt nervous.

He had just narrowly escaped death, now he just wanted to hug Song Yu and feel the feeling of peace and content spread through him. A feeling that he could only get when she was in his arms.

Qi Chengzhi tried to grab hold of her but she dodged it.

Qi Chengzhi sighed and said helplessly, “I’m injured. If I were to move I might tear open the wound again.”

Song Yu was annoyed, but she did not have any other choice. Initially, had she wanted to force him to make that promise to her, but, in an unexpected turn of events, he had wound up threatening her with his injury. She didn’t see a good way out.

If he was truly desperate, he would do it.

“Come here quickly,” said Qi Chengzhi as he stretched his hand out toward her. As Aunt Yang was no longer in the room, his actions were unrestrained and open.

Song Yu reluctantly held his hand again and returned to the bedside. In the end, she did not have the heart to argue with him and, since she was also not as stubborn as him, he won.

Qi Chengzhi’s hand tugged at her slightly, and Song Yu knew the meaning of the gesture. She lay back into his arms.

Qi Chengzhi smiled contentedly, he caressed her back and kissed the corners of her eyes and cheeks gratefully. He wished he could hug her tightly as he usually did, but he did not have any strength left.

He almost lost her. When he saw Jian Yi pointing his gun at her belly, he felt like his heart had stopped. It had been truly fortunate that she could still lie in his arms unharmed.

Qi Chengzhi forcibly lowered his head to reach the corner of her mouth. Song Yu yieldingly lifted her head and allowed him to kiss her. She whispered, “Aunt Yang will be back in a while.”

Qi Chengzhi smiled and kissed her once again. “Aah!” exclaimed Song Yu and she moved away from him.

“What’s the matter now?” asked Qi Chengzhi feebly.

“Grandma asked me to inform her once you woke up, no matter the time,” said Song Yu as she scrambled for her cell phone.

Aunt Yang came back and she was holding a phone. She asked, “Madam, what are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for my phone. I have to call the old manor and inform them that Chengzhi has woken up.” Song Yu was blushing because she had just remembered about it. And Qi Chengzhi had been awake for a while now.

“I have called the old manor, his parents and the uncles: Mr. Qi and Mr. Song,” said Aunt Yang. She had informed all of them when she left the ward. It had been ordered to give them some privacy, but, as she had nothing else to do, she made the call. She reckoned Song Yu would not remember about it because she was too excited.

Song Yu’s face turned redder. Aunt Yang smiled at her and acted like she was unaware of it. She yawned and said, “Sir, just call me if you need anything.”

After she said that, she lay back onto the sofa. She covered herself with a blanket and turned her body over to face the sofa. They were unsure whether she had fallen asleep or not.

Although they wanted to lie together, the hospital bed could not fit two, and Qi Chengzhi could not move, leaving Song Yu with little choice but to lie on the foldable mattress. Turning over, she once more took hold of his hand.

She was unwilling to close her eyes after Qi Chengzhi had finally woken up. It was quite a foolish thought, but she was afraid that she would awaken to find all this to be only a dream.

“You should sleep now, you have not been resting well.” Qi Chengzhi pinched her hand.

“Mhm.” Song Yu was still gazing at Qi Chengzhi as she replied.

As Qi Chengzhi was unable to turn, he could only look at her by turning his head. His neck was aching after a long while. “Let’s transfer to the Chutian Hospital tomorrow, the beds are larger there.”

Song Yu smiled shyly. She blushed and glanced at Aunt Yang’s back and wondered whether she had heard his words.

Song Yu slowly fell into sleep as she was able to relax now. She slept quite soundly. When Grandmother Qi and the others came the next morning, Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu were still sleeping; still holding each other’s hands.

Aunt Yang came out of the bathroom after washing her face and rinsing her mouth, she whispered to them, “Madam went to sleep very late last night.”

Grandmother Qi thought of the time when Aunt Yang had called her and she nodded.

“We brought breakfast, how’s Chengzhi?” asked Xian Wenna, she was holding a container containing enough food for three people. Breakfast was prepared by the maid at home and was kept in food containers which were specially designed to preserve heat. As the containers were airtight, the scent of food did not permeate the air.

“He was quite energetic. He had talked to Madam for quite a while after he had woken up in the middle of the night,” said Aunt Yang with a smile.

Although they tried to keep their voices low, Song Yu was still awakened by their voices. Song Yu opened her eyes and saw Grandmother Qi and the others. She got up in a hurry and released Qi Chengzhi’s hand. Qi Chengzhi also woke up once she had let his hand go.

Song Yu got up and hastily tidied up the place. Xia Wenna adjusted the bed and asked, “How do you feel?”

“Quite well, thank you,” said Qi Chengzhi.

Grandmother Qi shed tears of joy. “It’s great to hear that, great to hear that.”

Aunt Yang opened the Thermos flask and poured some porridge out of it. Qi Chengzhi was restricted to a diet of porridge, leaving the rest of the food in the container for Song Yu.

Qi Chenglin took the initiative to transfer Qi Chengzhi to Chutian Hospital without him requesting it. He had planned to transfer him to Chutian Hospital once he had woken up.

Yu Qianying called and told Song Yu that she was coming. Song Yu asked them to go to Chutian Hospital straight away and wait there.

“I finally feel relieved. I think I’ll be able to sleep well tonight.” Xia Wenna heaved a sigh of relief. “Wenna, Liya, please accompany me to the temple tomorrow. That day I had requested a Buddha amulet for Chengzhi and Song Yu. After that, I went back there again and begged the bodhisattva to allow them to get through this. I have to practice dana 1  at the entrance of the temple for three days. Please accompany me there tomorrow to redeem my vow,” said Grandmother Qi.

“Sure.,” Xia Wenna agreed immediately, there was no harm believing in this kind of superstition.

It was good timing for good deeds after all Qi Chengzhi had managed to survive and escape death.

After Qi Chenglin settled the procedures, Qi Chengzhi was transferred to Chutian Hospital.

Song Donglin and Yu Qianying had already been waiting at the entrance of Chutian Hospital for quite some time. After they saw Qi Chengzhi, Yu Qianying immediately asked about his condition.

Qi Chengzhi was slightly startled, he did not expect Yu Qianying to care about him. He had been through various situations, but he was at a loss for words now.

Yu Qianying felt a little awkward as she said, “You almost sacrificed your life for Song Yu. I know that Song Yu will never find another man who would treat her likewise. Nothing is more important than the happiness of Song Yu. The things that happened previously are insignificant.”

Grandmother Qi nodded happily. “This may be a blessing in disguise.”

Yu Qianying smiled at her, and Song Yu looked at her parents gratefully. The conflict between Qi Chengzhi and them was considered to be settled.

Qi Chengzhi’s ward in Chutian Hospital was much larger, being able to accommodate a wide queen-sized bed. Although no cooking was permitted in the kitchen, a microwave oven was provided. There was a mini-suite in the ward which contained a small bedroom. There was a small bed inside, and it would be very convenient when Aunt Yang wanted to stay over, or anyone else for that matter.

After Qi Chengzhi settled down, the doctor came in and examined him. The doctor confirmed that he was all right and he would only have to stay in the hospital until his wound healed. All of them were relieved after hearing what the doctor said.

Qi Chenglin, Qi Zhongliang, and Qi Zhongxun still needed to rush back to the company to work, so they left first.

“Song Yu, you should go back home and rest properly, you can come here after a good night’s sleep. Look at the dark circles around your eyes. Since Chengzhi is alright now, you shouldn’t be staying here. This is a hospital after all and there are too many germs around, it is bad for you and the child,” said Xia Wenna.

Xia Wenna meant well, so Song Yu dared not refused. She glanced at Qi Chengzhi furtively and he said with a soft voice, “Let her stay here, I almost did not make it. I want Song Yu to keep me company. Pregnant ladies who come to the hospital for prenatal examinations regularly do not encounter any problems. This room was disinfected, so as long as Song Yu doesn’t hang around outside it should be fine.”

Xia Wenna sighed, she knew that after escaping death, their affection for each other would only increase.. It was now stronger than when they were newlyweds or when they were separated. They surely wanted to stick together during this time. She knew she could no longer dissuade them.

“Then you must make sure the disinfection was done properly. If you feel a little unwell, then you need to come back home right away. I won’t give in further,” said Xia Wenna. She was a little unhappy with their decision; it was good that they were a loving couple, but they should not risk the safety of the baby.

Song Yu dared not talk anymore. She lowered her head, sensing the willfulness behind her behavior, but she just hoped to keep him company.

Her hands which were hanging down loosely by her side were seized by Qi Chengzhi. Both of their hands were fair and clean, but Qi Chengzhi’s fingers were bony and more masculine than hers. His slender and elegant fingers were pinching her thin and soft fingers. She felt her heart melt.

Upon her middle finger sat the ring that Qi Chengzhi had given her. She had kept it out of sentimentality. After their wedding, Song Yu stopped wearing it for a while, but she could not stand not wearing it, so she put it back on her right hand.

Qi Chengzhi’s finger gently pinched the ring on her right middle finger and held her hands.

Xia Wenna was speechless when she saw them quietly displaying their affection for each other. Qi Chengzhi had never been so corny before. He was acting mawkishly but his expression stayed calm and cool. Xia Wenna felt quite uncomfortable watching them.

Qi Chengzhi had woken up. Although his wound had not fully healed yet, he was feeling great. Besides, he was transferred to Chutian Hospital, so he could summon the nurse if anything happened. Therefore, Aunt Yang decided to leave and give Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu some privacy.

Grandmother Qi and the others had left, so she invited Xia Wenna and Guan Liya to the old manor to prepare for the dana at the temple tomorrow. Grandmother Qi especially went there to pray to Pu Sa.

There were only Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu left in the ward. Qi Chengzhi patted the empty space beside him. Although he was lying in the center of the bed and could not move due to the injury, there was ample space for Song Yu to sit beside him.

He did not utter a word, just patted and stared at Song Yu. Song Yu blushed slightly and puckered her lips bashfully.