Chapter 10

I headed back to the hospital, clutching the photograph.

On a sudden whim, I called my mother and asked her why she was so keen on setting me up with Chu Ge.

「Silly girl, you were so busy chasing after Zeng Yicheng back then. You were the only one who couldn’t see how Chu Ge felt about you. Your Uncle Chu and we knew it years ago.」

My heart skipped a beat. I pursed my lips, at a loss for words.

「After you got together with Zeng Yicheng, Chu Ge went abroad and never came back all these years. I was the one who called him this time.」

「He didn’t waste a single second before flying back.」

By the time I returned to the ward, Chu Ge was still lying there quietly.

Memories came rushing back. So many things I thought I had long forgotten had, without my realizing it, etched themselves deeply into my heart.

All those times Chu Ge had hesitated to speak, the way he used to look at me…

In the end, he had left without saying a word.

Was it all just to let me be happy?

Lost in thought, I drifted off to sleep by the edge of the bed. I held Chu Ge’s hand. It wasn’t as warm as it used to be, but it was still just as large.

Large enough to completely envelop mine.

When I woke up, I found myself lying in the hospital bed, and Chu Ge was gone.

Just as panic set in and I was about to rush out to look for him, a nurse wheeled him back into the room.

Chu Ge still had that same lazy air about him. 「You’re finally awake,」 he said weakly. 「You sure can sleep. I can’t tell which of us is supposed to be the patient here.」

My tears began to flow uncontrollably. Chu Ge instantly panicked, and the nurse tactfully slipped out of the room.

I threw myself into his arms, and he quickly caught me. 「Don’t cry, don’t cry. See? I’m perfectly fine.」

「Rebecca was here,」 I said, watching his face closely for any reaction.

Chu Ge instantly grew guarded. 「What did she say?」

「She said the two of you had a wonderful time together, and that she’s never met a nicer man than you…」

Chu Ge pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated. 「Wait, there’s absolutely nothing between us! The African savanna is a barren wasteland—there was nothing ‘wonderful’ about it!」

I stared at him in silence, but a look of pleasant surprise slowly spread across his face.

「Xiaoxiao, are you jealous?」

He pulled me into a tight embrace. 「This is amazing. Let me think about how we should celebrate finally being together…」

I froze. He had known all along.

He knew that I had only been going along with things, that I had been settling.

He knew everything, yet he had never said a word.

A bittersweet ache swelled in my chest, leaving me feeling more guilty than ever.