Lin Qiu Tong's face hardened the instant she saw Shen Qiwen. "Why are you here?"
Shen Qiwen spat blood into the trash can, then shuffled closer to her despite his injuries. His shameless grin never wavered. "Why else? I came to see you."
Lin Qiu Tong had refused to wear standard hospital attire. Instead, she'd had her servant bring her favorite nightgowns from home. She wanted to look her best whenever Shen Chi Yan visited. Though after those first few nights when he'd stayed with her, his evening visits had stopped altogether.
Today she wore a pink silk camisole that made her pale skin glow. The soft fabric draped perfectly, highlighting her natural beauty.
Shen Qiwen couldn't take his eyes off her. His hand trembled as he reached for a loose strand of hair that had fallen across her cheek. He brought it to his nose, breathing in deeply, his expression dark with obsession.
Lin Qiu Tong recoiled, shoving him away. "Don't touch me," she snapped.
Rather than anger, his face twisted into a cruel smile. "Three years ago, when you were sobbing and pleading for my help, you weren't so cold. What changed? Now that you think Shen Chi Yan loves you, you're ready to forget everything I did for you?"
The mention of three years ago drained the color from Lin Qiu Tong's face. She remembered her panic when she'd discovered Shen Chi Yan planned to confess to Song Qi Nian. Having grown up with him, she knew his heart better than anyone - when he loved, it was forever. And given how exceptional he was, rejection seemed impossible. Song Qi Nian would certainly say yes.
Back then, Shen Qiwen had been pursuing her relentlessly. Despite his jealousy, he'd agreed to help when she called. Together, they'd arranged Song Qi Nian's kidnapping, believing that once the kidnappers demanded ransom, Shen Chi Yan would see the Songs' true nature and abandon his feelings. Even if he persisted, surely the Shen family would never accept a marriage into a family tainted by kidnapping.
Everything started according to plan. Shen Qiwen drugged Song Qi Nian and tied her up, though he used a slipknot she could easily escape from. Lin Qiu Tong sent him to monitor Shen Chi Yan's movements while she waited for Song Qi Nian to regain consciousness.
Thirty minutes crawled by. Then an hour.
Her anxiety mounting, she tried calling Shen Qiwen repeatedly, but he wouldn't answer. She couldn't risk contacting Shen Chi Yan—it would give everything away. When Song Qi Nian still hadn't stirred, Lin Qiu Tong began untying the ropes, ready to flee. That's when Song Qi Nian's eyes fluttered open.
Committed to her role, Lin Qiu Tong feigned terror and bolted from the warehouse. Song Qi Nian stumbled after her, still fighting the effects of the drug. So focused was Lin Qiu Tong on framing Song Qi Nian that she never saw the vehicle coming. The accident left her confined to a bed for three years.
Yet despite how badly their plan had backfired, there was one unexpected benefit: Shen Chi Yan now believed Lin Qiu Tong was the one he'd meant to confess to that day. She was determined to use this misunderstanding to her advantage, to take him back from Song Qi Nian.
But Shen Qiwen's appearance threatened everything. He knew all her secrets from that day, and she couldn't afford to trust him.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
Noting her suspicion, Shen Qiwen's lips curled. "Relax. I won't hurt you. And I won't tell anyone what happened."
His eyes never left her face, filled with an unsettling intensity that bordered on worship.
"I just missed you desperately. After your accident, I fled overseas. For three years, you were all I thought about. Knowing you were lying here unconscious... I considered taking Shen Chi Yan down with me."
Lin Qiu Tong's face contorted with rage. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Haha..." Shen Qiwen's laugh rang hollow. "Just kidding. Now that you're awake, how could I think of dying? Remember our deal? I'm your lifelong protector."
Shen Qiwen had entered the Shen family at age twelve, brought in by Shen Zhengming.
When he first arrived, Shen Qiwen was a scrawny, undernourished child who looked more like seven than his actual twelve years. As an illegitimate son, life in the Shen family proved brutal. Shen Zhengming drove him relentlessly, determined that he would surpass Shen Chi Yan. The endless studying left him no time to rest.
When Shen Qiwen failed to meet expectations, Shen Zhengming's punishments were severe. The scar by his eye remained as evidence of those beatings. His half-sisters, particularly the second and third, tormented him regularly, ensuring his injuries never properly healed.
Lin Qiu Tong first encountered him during a casual visit to the Shen family. She found him studying English, his body marked with fresh bruises. When he stumbled over a word's pronunciation, she quietly corrected him.
That moment changed everything for Shen Qiwen. The sight of her in her pink dress left him breathless—his first experience of a racing heart.
Fearing embarrassment, Shen Zhengming kept Shen Qiwen trapped inside the villa, where tutors drilled him in academics and proper manners. Since moving in, he'd never once stepped outside. Lin Qiu Tong's visits became his only joy. He treasured her warm smile, cherished how she alone treated him with dignity.
Sometimes she would tend to his injuries, carefully applying bandages. He began hurting himself deliberately, craving those gentle moments of her attention.
When her eldest brother died, her grief shattered him. Watching her sob that day, he swore to become her lifelong protector, her knight in shining armor.
But he never imagined she would fall for Shen Chi Yan.
Why him, of all people?
The jealousy and resentment ate at him, yet he couldn't stand to see her unhappy. Her happiness meant everything—which was why he'd helped her without question.
"Good that you understand," Lin Qiu Tong said curtly. "It's late. I need to sleep."
She couldn't risk Shen Qiwen staying any longer, not when Shen Chi Yan might visit. Though clearly reluctant, Shen Qiwen yielded to her wishes. "Fine," he said. "We'll meet again soon enough anyway."
As Shen Qiwen's footsteps faded down the hall, Lin Qiu Tong suddenly called after him. "Wait... one more thing."
He turned back, meeting her gaze. "Go ahead. I'll tell you the truth."
"The car accident that happened to Ah Yan—were you involved?"
Shen Qiwen stood silent for a moment before his lips curved into that familiar smirk. "Would you believe me if I said I wasn't?"
Lin Qiu Tong's brow furrowed, but she remained silent. Shen Qiwen let out a soft laugh, waved his hand, and added, "Wear something beautiful to the old lady's birthday banquet."
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