Hearing the words he spoke in his dream, Shen Heyu’s heart ached.
She observed Lu Yi’s current state intently; his face was injured, with broken skin at the corners of his brows and mouth, forming a thick layer of scars.
It was said that he was beaten up yesterday, even broke a rib. Thinking of this, Shen Heyu felt a pang of discomfort and lowered her head.
"Actually, the person who should be saying sorry is me," Shen Heyu knew that Lu Yi couldn’t hear her, but she still softly spoke to him.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Lu Yi suddenly raised his hand and precisely caught Shen Heyu’s wrist.
Feeling the strength on her wrist, Shen Heyu was somewhat surprised and looked at the man lying on the bed.
Shen Heyu thought Lu Yi had woken up; she softly called him a few times, but realized that Lu Yi couldn’t hear her; he was still dreaming.
"Heyu, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault, I didn’t protect you well. Someone like me might as well be dead."
"I knew Chen Wenzhou was a dangerous person, but when I heard you were going to the meeting alone, I didn’t call the police first, I let you fall into danger, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault."
"Heyu, please don’t be in danger, and when you come back, can you hit me or scold me? If you were in danger, how could I face you?"
Every word he spoke in his dream was about Shen Heyu. Seeing the tears of regret forming in the corners of Lu Yi’s eyes, she bent down, took a tissue from the bedside table, and gently wiped away the tears from his eyes.
Her movements as she wiped away his tears were so gentle, yet they still accidentally disturbed Lu Yi’s nightmare. Lu Yi suddenly woke up from his dream, abruptly opening his eyes to meet Shen Heyu’s gaze.
Lu Yi stared directly at Shen Heyu for a moment, then slowly, like a nightmare, he began to speak.
"Am I dreaming? You appeared right before me now; I dare not blink, I’m afraid you’ll disappear the moment I do."
"Heyu, I’m sorry, it was my fault for not protecting you well. Did you encounter any danger yesterday? If you did, I would never forgive myself."
Hearing his words, Shen Heyu took a deep breath and continued to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes, then she threw the tissue into the nearby trash bin.
"Lu Yi, stop blaming yourself, stop feeling guilty. Nothing happened to me last night, I didn’t encounter any danger, I’m fine."
"Are you really telling the truth? Or are you just comforting me?" Lu Yi, unable to believe it, opened his eyes wide and questioned her gaze.
"It’s true, nothing happened to me, now you can relax."
Shen Heyu slowly released the hand Lu Yi had been using to hold her wrist and poured him a glass of water.
She turned back to look at Lu Yi, who stayed fixated on her, "You’re not dreaming, all of this is real, I came back unharmed."
As soon as Shen Heyu spoke, Lu Yi, ever impetuous, tried to sit up, but the moment he moved, he winced sharply.
Shen Heyu had heard people gossiping about Lu Yi’s injuries on the way there; she knew they were severe and that he needed to rest properly.
She quickly set down the water, raised her hand and pressed down on Lu Yi’s shoulder to keep him from getting up.
"Your injuries are severe right now, you shouldn’t be moving around; you need to rest well."
Lu Yi panickingly grabbed Shen Heyu’s wrist, his eyes filled with hope as he looked at her.
"Heyu, I’m not dreaming, am I? All of this is real, and you really came back unharmed?"
"I’m not lying to you. Pei Yansi saved me yesterday; he protected me."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yi deflated like a punctured ball, slowly letting go of Shen Heyu’s hand, then turned to face away from her, as if ashamed to look her in the face.
"It’s my fault for not having the ability to protect you. Only Pei Yansi can do that. I don’t even have the face to look at you anymore. I think about how useless I am to stay by your side, it might be better to just hand you over to Pei Yansi."
Hearing his words, Shen Heyu frowned. She raised her hand and gently patted Lu Yi’s shoulder.
"Are you angry with me or with yourself? As long as nothing happened last night, let’s not dwell on it."
"But last night, when you fell into Pei Yansi’s hands, how could he possibly let you go easily? I worry he might hurt you behind my back!" Lu Yi actually didn’t believe that nothing had happened between Pei Yansi and her last night.
Shen Heyu was stunned by his words, disbelieving, as she looked at the somewhat agitated Lu Yi.
Realizing he had overreacted, Lu Yi softened his tone, "I didn’t mean that; I’m just worried that you might have been hurt last night, and I wasn’t able to protect you. I’m simply a criminal, and I have no face to appear before you again."
"Okay, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let the past be the past. What you need now is to rest well. Are you hungry? I’ll go buy you something to eat."
"What would you like to eat?"
Lu Yi shook his head, "I don’t know."
"I’ll just pick something up then. Stay here and rest well."
After instructing him, Shen Heyu turned and walked out of the hospital room; but just as she closed the door, she encountered an unexpected visitor.
Pei Yansi was standing about four or five steps away from her, watching her.
Shen Heyu frowned. She had intended to ignore Pei Yansi, but he wouldn’t allow her to treat him as if he didn’t exist. He walked step by step towards her, blocking her path.
"Have you made things clear to Lu Yi?"
"Made what clear?" Shen Heyu feigned ignorance, as if she didn’t understand Pei Yansi’s words.
Pei Yansi furrowed his brows. This woman hadn’t taken his advice seriously or to heart at all.
If that was the case, then he himself was in danger.
"Didn’t I make it clear to you in the hotel? It’s very likely that Lu Yi has betrayed us. You must ask him about it," Pei Yansi said, looking at her sternly.
Shen Heyu did want to clarify things with Lu Yi, but seeing him in such a painful state made it difficult for her to broach the subject.
"Mr. Pei, do you know that your actions could easily lead to misunderstandings? There is nothing between us, don’t you think you’re meddling too much?"
"Shen Heyu, I’m concerned about your safety. I’m afraid something might happen to you!"