Chapter 129: Madam [Word Count Fulfilled]

In the hospital, crowds of people came and went.

In front of the operating room, hurried footsteps broke the silence.

An Zhou rushed over immediately after receiving the news.

When he saw the scene before him, the words on the tip of An Zhou's tongue instantly vanished.

Under the pale incandescent light, the young woman sat on the bench. Her clothes were stained with dust, her head hung low, and slightly damp hair slipped from her shoulders, hiding half of her face in the shadows.

The reddened corners of her eyes drooped, concealing the emotions beneath them. She gently stroked the ring on her finger. Her lips were completely drained of color, adding a touch of shattered fragility to her appearance.

An Zhou's expression was complex. He glanced at the operating room, its light still on, and then looked at Secretary Chen beside him.

Secretary Chen sighed and shook his head slightly, his expression equally complicated.

An Zhou remained silent for a moment before stepping forward.

"Lingling, Mom and Dad are on a flight back." He placed his hand gently on the young woman's shoulder.

Hearing this, An Ling merely gave a soft "Mm."

An Zhou hesitated to speak.

He truly hadn't expected things to turn out like this. Just yesterday, he had reminded the two of them to take care of their relationship, and today, this happened...

"Don't worry, medical technology is very advanced nowadays. He will be fine."

An Ling's eyelashes trembled, but she didn't reply.

She tightly gripped the ring in her hand.

The light above the operating room went out, and the doors opened.

Liang Chen, wearing surgical scrubs, walked out from inside.

He took off his mask, exchanged a glance with Gu Xiaochi and Wang Yihong in the corner, and then looked at An Ling in her seat.

"The patient's bleeding is temporarily under control, but he suffered massive blood loss from the trauma and is currently still in a coma. The next few days are a high-risk period, and complications could worsen his condition at any time. We will do our absolute best to stabilize him."

Seeing this, the System, which had been silent for a long time, spoke in a low voice:

[The three-day limit hasn't arrived yet, so Shen Linyan is currently still in a coma. Tomorrow is the last day. If you still haven't given me an answer by then, I will assume you have chosen Shen Linyan.]

[As for Shen Linyan, he also hopes you will choose him.]

An Ling kept her eyes lowered, her expression very faint. It seemed as if there were no emotions left in her eyes, only a blank numbness.

After a long silence, she finally opened her mouth, her voice hoarse.

"I want to see him."

The scene grew somewhat quiet for a moment.

But right then, a voice came from behind.

"Miss An Ling."

Turning her head to look, she saw several men in police uniforms standing behind her.

The leading man flashed his badge.

"We are from the Jing City Public Security Bureau. Regarding the attack on your husband, Shen Linyan, we have some questions we'd like to ask you. We hope you can cooperate and come to the station to make a statement."

...

The police station.

An officer poured a cup of water and handed it to her. "Drink some hot water to warm up. It's cold tonight."

An Ling took the paper cup. "Thank you."

He sat back in front of the computer.

"We have currently locked onto a suspect. The surveillance cameras on that street captured the entire process of Lu Jingshen committing the crime. We have also dispatched personnel to apprehend him. We called you over today just to ask a few supplementary questions."

"Moreover, according to Mr. Shen's phone, you were the last person he contacted."

An Ling was stunned.

She instantly recalled the few messages the man had sent her.

She subconsciously tightened her grip on the paper cup, lowered her eyes, and nodded gently.

"I will cooperate."

The police asked a few routine questions.

"Where were you on the night of the incident?"

"At home."

"How is your relationship with your husband normally? Do you usually argue?"

"It's very good. We have never argued."

Just as they were speaking, a burst of noise suddenly erupted outside.

"I really don't know where he went. It's useless for you to look for me. I stopped caring about him a long time ago."

This somewhat familiar tone and speaking style made An Ling pause.

She slowly raised her eyes and met the gaze of the middle-aged woman outside.

After their eyes met, the woman's voice abruptly stopped, and her expression stiffened slightly.

The officer was taking notes. Looking up, he saw the young woman staring elsewhere. Following her gaze, he subconsciously spoke:

"After Lu Jingshen went into hiding, we brought her in, but she says she knows absolutely nothing about what Lu Jingshen did. We are still investigating."

Hearing this, An Ling had already recognized who the woman in front of her was.

She took one look, then indifferently withdrew her gaze.

After simply finishing the statement, the officer stood up. "Thank you for your cooperation. We will find him as soon as possible to give you and your husband an explanation."

"Alright." An Ling nodded and stood up to leave.

Just as she turned around, she was called back.

"Oh right, please wait a moment. There's still something to give you."

She turned her head back, and her gaze paused slightly when she saw the item on the desk.

Inside a transparent sealed bag lay a mobile phone.

"This is your husband's. You can take it back now."

After leaving the police station, she had barely taken a few steps.

The woman's voice came from behind her.

"Wait a minute."

Recognizing the voice, she didn't stop and continued walking forward.

Seeing this, Lu Jincai wanted to get angry, but remembering tonight's events, she suppressed her temper. "I just came to tell you that I truly don't know where Lu Jingshen is. As for the things he did, I am completely unaware."

She wasn't foolish enough to let Lu Jingshen do such a thing. After all, if he got caught, the reputations of the Lu family and Shen Fuyuan would be destroyed along with him.

An Ling stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look over.

Her gaze fell on the woman's face, her voice devoid of any fluctuation.

"So? What are you trying to say?"

Lu Jincai gritted her teeth. "So it's useless for you to retaliate against us. If you want revenge, go get revenge on Lu Jingshen, but I don't know where Lu Jingshen is either."

An Ling looked at her for a few seconds before suddenly speaking:

"I will get my revenge."

With that said, she turned and left.

...

Making the statement at the police station took over an hour. By the time she returned to the hospital, the night was already deep.

The hospital corridors were somewhat desolate, with only a few nurses doing their rounds. A faint smell of disinfectant floated in the air.

An Ling stood in front of the hospital room, her hand resting on the door handle.

Click—

The door lock turned. Inside the room, the lighting was dim, and it was so quiet it was almost deathly still, leaving only the rhythmic beeping of the monitor.

The man lay quietly on the hospital bed, IV tubes meandering along his arm. His usually tall and straight figure now looked thin and frail under the white sheets, and his face was an almost transparent pale.

His eyelashes drooped, lacking any of his usual gentle aloofness, leaving only a fragile serenity. A transparent oxygen mask covered his face, rising and falling gently with his faint breaths.

It was just as if he had fallen asleep at home like he usually did.

An Ling's eye sockets gradually reddened. She walked over slowly and sat on the chair.

She lowered her eyes, raised her hand, and, just like before, her fingertips slowly hooked around the man's fingers.

But this time, the man would no longer give her any response.

"Shen Linyan, how could you fall asleep here..."

In the quiet hospital room, the young woman's voice was very soft.

"Aren't you going to sleep at home?"

"If you don't go home to sleep, I'll be angry. I won't sleep in your room anymore."

The hospital room remained completely quiet.

No one gave her a response.

No one would wipe away her tears.

And no one would gently coax her anymore.

An Ling stared at the man's fingers. Tears flowed down unconsciously, the scalding drops smashing against the back of the man's hand.

Her lips trembled, her eyes were entirely red, and the end of her sentence quivered.

"Hubby, you've picked me up so many times. This time, let me take you home... okay?"

She didn't want to go home alone.

Please don't let her go home alone.

...

In the end, it was An Zhou who came over and took her home.

When the car arrived downstairs at her apartment complex, An Zhou stuck his head out of the window.

"Go home and take a hot shower. I'll come pick you up for the hospital later. It's okay, don't worry, Shen Linyan will wake up."

An Ling nodded gently. The corners of her eyes still bore the red flush from crying. As if suddenly remembering something, she looked up again. "Brother, can you help look after the AL Group for now..."

"Shen Linyan already spoke to me about it."

An Zhou rested his elbow on the window. Whenever he thought about this matter, he couldn't help but click his tongue in astonishment.

"Does that guy have prophetic abilities? Two days before his accident, he suddenly came to me and said he wanted to sign a contract with me. The general gist was that if he died, I would need to help manage the AL Group."

Hearing this, An Ling froze.

She pursed her lips, saying nothing, merely nodding to show she understood.

......

Beep—

Opening the door, the interior of the house remained exactly as she had left it.

The cookies she had baked were still on the table, though they had long since gone completely cold.

An Ling glanced at the cookies on the table and walked over to sit on the sofa.

Huihui jumped up, rubbing its head against her embrace, meowing constantly.

"I'm sorry, are you hungry?"

She had rushed out in such a hurry earlier that she forgot to put food out for Huihui.

She got up to pour some cat food.

As Huihui buried its head to eat, she simply sat beside it, looking down and stroking its fur.

As the clock struck past midnight, the System's voice rang out.

[It is the last day. Are you still not going to tell me your decision? Will it be yourself, or do you choose Shen Linyan?]

She lowered her eyes, slowly petting the kitten's head, and spoke unhurriedly:

"You said before that you chose to have Shen Linyan die in my place because he indirectly caused my death in our past life, right?"

[Yes, this is meant as compensation for you...]

"But aren't you the one who truly killed me?"

Caught off guard by this statement, the System paused.

[What?]

"Is that not the case?"

An Ling's tone was flat, devoid of any discernible emotion. "You said it yourself, my temper wouldn't follow the original plot at all. If you had just let me handle it from the start, I might not have died."

She slowly raised her eyes. "So the one who truly caused my death is you, the System, isn't it?"

The System froze for a moment, and then its mechanical voice sounded somewhat hesitant.

[Uh... well, although that is true, I do not have a physical body, so I cannot die in your place...]

"Then just possess someone else and die."

An Ling blocked off its escape route. "Don't tell me it can't be done. You said that if you wanted to alter the plot, you could actually possess anyone at will."

[...]

It wished it hadn't chatted so much earlier.

[Then who do you want me to possess?]

By now, this question already had an answer.

The corners of An Ling's eyes were tinged with red as she slowly spat out three words:

"Lu Jingshen."

The moment this name came out, her heart gave a violent lurch under the constraints of morality.

She had never thought about going against anyone; she just wanted to live her own life well.

But not holding grudges had only resulted in things escalating.

If this was the behavior of a vicious supporting female character.

Then she could truly be a vicious supporting female character for once, for the sake of her husband.

......

After taking a shower and packing some clothes at home, An Ling rode in An Zhou's car back to the hospital.

There was another bed in the companion ward. She placed her luggage bag on the table and sat on the sofa to apply some eye drops.

She had cried quite a few times today, and her eyes were sore.

An Zhou nagged her with instructions from the side.

"If anything happens tonight, call me. Mom and Dad will be home tomorrow. If you're scared being alone, you can tell me, and I'll take you back."

An Ling finished putting in the eye drops, leaned back on the sofa, and closed her eyes. Hearing this, she replied with a muffled voice, "Got it. It's late, brother, hurry back and rest."

An Zhou took one last look at her before finally opening the door and leaving.

Hearing the door close, An Ling touched her eyes and slowly opened them.

After the eye drops, they weren't as dry and stinging as before.

She turned her head to look at the man on the hospital bed and got up to walk over.

The man on the bed had a peaceful sleeping face. Even wearing a ventilator mask couldn't conceal his handsome features.

An Ling blinked and watched him for a while.

The doctor said she could chat with Shen Linyan, as comatose patients still retained a certain degree of hearing.

She reached out and gently brushed aside the stray hairs on his forehead.

"I'm going to wipe your face."

Taking a wet wipe from her bag, she meticulously wiped his face.

She leaned close to the man's ear and whispered, "This is what you get for carelessly trusting that System. See, you didn't even get to eat my cookies. I succeeded this time, so you can't laugh at me anymore."

Remembering those messages, An Ling's movements paused.

She muttered, "You even sent me those messages. I was really angry at the time..."

After wiping his face, she stared at his face in silence for a moment, then leaned down and kissed his eyes.

"Forget it. Just wake up soon, and I won't hold it against you."

She had previously gotten Shen Linyan's ring back from the nurse, and she slipped it back onto his finger.

It was already very late. An Ling took off her coat and lay down under the covers.

The quiet, high-class ward was empty and silent. All that remained around her was the rhythmic and dull sound of the ventilator, thumping one by one like a heartbeat suspended in midair.

An Ling's eyes were sore and she wanted to sleep, but her mind was completely awake. The unfamiliar environment and unfamiliar scents left her without a trace of sleepiness.

She sat up, got out of bed, and walked to the man's bedside, her gaze sweeping over his large bed a few times.

She leaned into his ear and whispered, "Shen Linyan, can I sleep with you?"

After waiting a few seconds, she nodded. "If you don't speak, I'll take it as a yes."

She climbed onto the edge of the bed as lightly as she could, not daring to touch the tubes on his body. She only dared to carefully hook her fingertips around his fingers, which were pierced with IV needles.

She closed her eyes. At the tip of her nose, she could smell the faint scent of disinfectant mixed with the crisp aroma of cedarwood emanating from him.

This time, sleepiness quickly washed over her.

Her consciousness gradually blurred.

When she opened her eyes again, An Ling found herself standing by a street.

Her pupils dilated slightly, almost instantly recognizing that this was the place where Shen Linyan had been killed.

Memories flooded her mind. Her eyes stung with tears, and she backed away continuously, wanting to leave this place, only to suddenly bump into a warm chest behind her.

The next second, an arm wrapped around her waist.

The familiar scent of cedarwood enveloped her.

Her expression froze, and she looked up in a daze.

The man before her had a handsome and refined face, his dark overcoat dusted with a thin layer of snow.

Snow fell on the top of his head and his brow bone, condensing into a very faint frost, making his facial features appear even more distinct and cold.

He lowered his eyes to look at her gently, his lips curving into a very shallow smile. Raising his hand, he tenderly cupped her face.

"My wife."