Chapter 094: Wait Just a Little Longer, and I'll Take You Away
Being Ye Fuli's driver came with immense psychological pressure.
She either remained silent or constantly made shocking remarks, demanding unreasonable things.
Sigh…
If it weren't for the generous pay she offered, the driver would've quit long ago.
Pounding the gas pedal all the way, rushing headlong, they soon reached the hospital entrance.
Ye Fuli flung open the door and dashed out.
But as soon as she reached the hospital lobby, she halted in her tracks.
She turned back, staring in disbelief toward the money tree planted in the hospital courtyard.
"Ye Zhen?"
"Mm."
She spotted Ye Zhen sitting in the waiting area, holding a bubble tea in one hand and a hamburger in the other.
Hearing her voice, Ye Zhen smiled and held up her food. "Want some? A kind big sister bought it for me."
Ye Fuli's anger flared, but she forced down her irritation and took a few steps forward. "You're still recovering! Eating this won't help your injuries at all. Are you trying to die?"
The next second, she snatched the half-finished bubble tea and the half-eaten burger from Ye Zhen's hands.
She intended to toss them straight into the trash, but instead slammed them down on the table.
Ye Zhen's good mood from the entire evening dissipated by more than half in that instant.
Still, she understood that despite Ye Fuli's harsh words, she was acting out of concern for her.
"And who gave you permission to go out?"
"The bruise on my face has healed. I just… wanted to get some fresh air…"
Ye Zhen tried to calmly reason with her, but it was clearly futile.
Ye Fuli yanked her to her feet, pressed down on her hat brim, clamped her hand firmly over Ye Zhen's face, and dragged her upstairs.
Only when they reached the elevator did she remember she didn't have the access card.
Frustrated, she reached out, frantically searching every pocket of Ye Zhen.
But found nothing.
No card, no money, not even a single valuable item.
Ye Fuli froze for a moment.
This didn't look like someone fleeing—more like someone who'd planned to eat one last meal before dying.
"I remember you need an access card to take the elevator down. How did you get out?"
"Stairs."
Ye Zhen pointed to the green-glowing emergency exit.
"It's only twenty-something floors, isn't it?"
Hearing this, Ye Fuli felt like killing her.
How irresponsible toward her own life could someone be? She had injuries on her legs, yet dared to climb all those stairs!
"Ye Fuli, you don't need to scold me. It's my own body—I'll do as I please. Besides, I remember you used to do the same thing. You'd go hiking in the middle of the night even with a leg injury…"
Caught off guard by this counterattack, Ye Fuli burst out laughing in exasperation.
Very well, she's getting smarter.
Unexpectedly so.
Ye Zhen turned back in front of her, retrieved the milk tea and burger from the chair, then immediately offered a reason Ye Fuli couldn't object to: "I won't eat it now. I'll put it in the fridge and eat it when I can."
She added another sentence: "After all, it's a gift from someone else. It's a kind gesture."
Ye Fuli stared at her expressionlessly. "Someone else's kindness? Hmph. I'd say you're deliberately trying to antagonize me."
"Please, please don't think that! Ye Fuli, I'm no match for you. I've already said I won't argue with you anymore."
Seeing the smile on Ye Zhen's face, Ye Fuli felt a lump in her throat.
She almost wished Ye Zhen would lash out at her like before—hit and yell—rather than smile so falsely now.
"Ye Zhen, are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Ye Fuli blurted out her thoughts bluntly.
"Answer me. Are you planning to kill yourself today?"
Her intuition was usually spot-on.
She saw no will to survive in Ye Zhen, only a shattered sense of impending collapse.
It was only natural for a once-beautiful girl to break down like this.
But…
Ye Fuli would have preferred her breakdown to be directed at lashing out at others, rather than punishing herself.
She stared intently at Ye Zhen's face, trying to read her heart through her eyes.
Yet Ye Zhen's heart was still as water, her gaze utterly calm: "No, why would you think that?"
"Are you sure?"
Ye Zhen shook her head. "I'm fine. If you remove all the cameras from the ward, I'll be even better."
"That's not possible."
Of course not.
Ye Zhen clutched the paper bag in her hands tighter and lowered her head.
Who in their right mind would want to live in a room plastered with cameras?
Without an access card, Ye Fuli could only call Ye Dad and ask him to verify with the front desk.
It was already very late.
Even after receiving the call, Ye Dad's heart raced with fear. He hurriedly got dressed and rushed to the hospital.
Seeing Ye Zhen safe and sound, he exhaled a long breath, his eyes reddened.
"Zhenzhen! What were you trying to do sneaking out today?"
In his mind, he had reached the same conclusion as Ye Fuli.
He believed Ye Zhen had seen that horrifying face and was preparing to take her own life.
After all, no one could bear that face.
"You can't abandon your parents! Do you hear me? Zhenzhen, you absolutely must not…"
Ye Zhen struggled to speak. "I'm not going to die. I just need to walk around."
"Don't lie to your father! If you wanted to go for a walk, why sneak out?"
Ye Zhen stared at his bloodshot eyes, opening her mouth but stopping herself.
She realized something: everyone in this family shared one common flaw—they never listened to others.
Ye Zhen truly hadn't intended to seek death today!
As long as they stopped monitoring her every move and overbearing control over her life, she wouldn't want to die in the future either.
She'd fought so hard to get a second chance at life—how could she possibly give it up now?
But why wouldn't they believe her?
For heaven's sake, just believe her once.
A moment of silence passed.
Ye Zhen smiled and asked, "Then, if I don't sneak out anymore but formally request permission from you, would you allow me to go out?"
Her father's silence was answer enough.
Letting Ye Zhen go out now was out of the question.
Who could bear that face?
Even he, as her father, couldn't accept it—how could Zhenzhen possibly bear it herself?
Ye Zhen sighed. "See? I have no choice but to sneak out. I told you I didn't mind living with this face, but you wouldn't believe me…"
At this point, Ye Zhen couldn't bring herself to say more.
This covert outing soon earned her even more "thoughtful" care.
Ye Dad fired the maid who "accidentally fell asleep" and brought in two new maids.
The hamburgers and milk tea in the fridge were ordered to be thrown away immediately.
Instead, the fridge was now filled with various congees and tonics.
Not a single one was something Ye Zhen enjoyed eating.
Ye Fuli sat beside her bed, staring intently at her without uttering a word.
At that moment, the maid had gone out to fetch medicine for Ye Zhen, leaving only Ye Zhen and Ye Fuli in the room.
Through the blanket, Ye Fuli grasped Ye Zhen's hand.
"Ye Zhen, wait a little longer."
"Hm?"
"I said, wait a little longer. I'll take you away."
"…Take me away?"
Ye Zhen pulled back the blanket covering her slightly and looked at her. "Take me where?"
"Somewhere just for us. I'll spend the rest of my life with you."
At first, those words made Ye Zhen's heart skip a beat.
But she quickly sensed something was off.
"A place just for us?"
Ye Fuli nodded. "From now on, you only need to see me. I'll give you everything—whatever you want, as long as I have it."
Hearing this, Ye Zhen fell silent.
It felt absurd.
Was Ye Fuli planning to rescue her from the Ye family's cage only to place her in her own?
"So, Ye Fuli, you don't actually think this is what dating is like, do you?"