The woman remained silent for a moment before speaking to Yan, “Anyway, about this matter, thank you so much. My name is Lin Qin’er. What’s yours?”
Yan flashed her a pure smile. “My name is Zhou Xiaoyan!”
“Yan…” Lin Qin’er mumbled Yan’s name while being deep in thought. “Is the man with you your hubby?”
Yan blushed at the term ‘hubby’. She scratched her head embarrassedly while shaking her head in denial.
“No?” Lin Qin’er stared at Yan in confusion. “Aren’t you two having a vacation together?”
“Yes.” Yan nodded while explaining, “I’m having a vacation with him, but we aren’t a married couple. We are just boyfriend and girlfriend.”
Lin Qin’er smiled faintly when she heard that. “I see. I noticed that he treats you well.”
Is that so? Yan blinked several times and she was secretly happy. Isn’t it great that even an outsider can tell that Han Qing treats me well?
Just when Yan was lost in her thoughts, Lin Qin’er spoke again, “However, he seems cold and distant. Has his personality always been like that?”
Yan was not suspicious when Han Qing’s name was mentioned, so she nodded. “Yup, he is slightly cold and distant. In fact, he’s always been like that.” However, from her point of view, he was stable—rather than cold and distant. He was completely different from Ye Moxuan because the latter was truly cold toward others. In fact, Ye Moxuan was so arrogant that he wouldn’t chat with strangers. On the other hand, Han Qing was different because he chatted with others while maintaining a chivalrous manner. Nevertheless, it still gave people the sense that he kept them at arm’s length. This was what Yan loved about Han Qing.
Looking at how in love Yan was, something odd flashed through Lin Qin’er’s eyes, which encouraged the latter to start chatting nonstop with the former. Yan never realized it at the start, but she suddenly noticed something odd. Why is Lin Qin’er constantly asking about Han Qing? Why is she asking so much about him?
Yan was always straightforward, so she asked Lin Qin’er directly without a second thought, “Why are you asking so many questions?”
Lin Qin’er looked embarrassed when she heard that. “I’m so sorry. I noticed how your face lights up whenever you talk about him and you seem really happy. You must be really in love with him. You helped me, but I can’t do anything to repay you. That is why… the least I can do is to chat about the person you’re in love with.”
Everything made sense suddenly after Lin Qin’er’s explanation. In fact, Yan blushed deeply when she heard that, denying, “My face never lights up whenever I talk about him…” Despite her denials, Lin Qin’er’s words made her wonder to herself, Are my emotions so obvious? It looks like… I’m much more in love with him than I expected.
Lin Qin’er’s explanations had lowered Yan’s suspicions and the latter only felt shy when Han Qing’s name was brought up. Furthermore, Yan assumed that Lin Qin’er continuously and intentionally brought up Han Qing’s name to see how demure the former was. This continued until… someone knocked on the hospital’s room door.
Yan snapped back to her senses before getting up to open the door in a hurry. She saw the handsome Han Qing, who stood just outside the door. She hadn’t collected herself after becoming shy while chatting with Lin Qin’er earlier, so her cheeks were still rosy red. “You’re back!”
Han Qing paused as he started at Yan, whose cheeks were flushed red. Her eyes brightly shone while she stared at him in anticipation. This might have been a hospital, but Yan’s actions made Han Qing feel that he was returning home. It feels as if… we are husband and wife. It’s like she’s my wife and waiting at home for me.
Han Qing felt the warmth spreading within his chest before raising his palm to caress her head while ruffling her hair gently. “Yeah.” His voice was soft and gentle.
Lin Qin’er witnessed that scene and she recalled the situation she was in with her husband. He has never looked at me with tenderness, let alone such a gentle gesture.
“By the way, what happened after you went to the police station? That man…” Yan asked in a hurry after returning to her senses.
At the mention of that issue, Han Qing’s gaze turned distant. “Well, he’s being locked up temporarily to teach him a lesson.”
Temporarily? Yan immediately guessed that it must’ve been a short period. After all, it was a fight between the married couple. Hence, the police would only be able to issue him with a warning since he never committed a serious crime. “What about her? Her whole body is covered in injuries…” Yan trailed off before whispering to Han Qing, “Should we take her along with us for the next two days?”
Just as Yan completed her sentence, Lin Qin’er lifted her quilt to get out of her bed and sobbed loudly, “President Han, I thank you both for saving me. However… I’m sure he will beat me to death once he’s released… I’m sure of it.”
Yan frowned deeply when she heard that. When it comes to situations like this, it’s really impossible to ignore its future consequences. “Don’t worry. We will help you.” She went over to help Lin Qin’er up. Lin Qin’er leaned against Yan’s shoulder, staring at Han Qing with tears rolling down her pitiful face.
Most of the time, men liked weak and vulnerable women. The more powerful a man was, the more he enjoyed rescuing and protecting a damsel in distress. Lin Qin’er might have sustained some injuries across her face, but she was confident with her looks. Hence, she leaned against Yan intentionally to show Han Qing her vulnerable and weak side.
In reality, Han Qing never noticed Lin Qin’er’s actions because he only had eyes for Yan. Yan had her back facing him, but his gaze was focused on the back of her head unblinkingly. Lin Qin’er had cried for a very long time, but she realized Han Qing never spared her a glance, which infuriated her until she trembled in anger.
Yan noticed Lin Qin’er’s reaction and assumed that it was out of fear before patting the latter’s back soothingly. “It will be alright. Don’t worry. We will help you to the end since we are involved now. You should recuperate in the hospital for now. We will help you to contact your family. What do you say?”
However, Lin Qin’er stated pitifully, “T-To be honest, I don’t have any other family members. My parents passed away when I was a child. As for my relatives… They are afraid of my husband taking revenge, so they would never help me.”
Yan noticed a huge problem when she heard that. Initially, I was planning to send her safely back to her parents. Who would have expected… that she doesn’t even have any family members who care for her? Well… What should I do under these circumstances? She realized that she was handed a hot potato to deal with, but even if she had to choose again, she would never be able to ignore another woman being beaten up without landing the victim a helping hand. Hence, after pondering for some time, Yan shot Han Qing a pleading look.
Han Qing’s gaze softened when he saw Yan gazing at him for help and asked her, “What would you like to do?”
Before Yan was sure of what she wanted, Lin Qin’er started sobbing again, “Why don’t you… leave me alone? I’ll be beaten up after his release anyway. You both shouldn’t trouble yourselves. I will never forgive myself if I drag you down with me.”
