The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship-Chapter 701 - 606: Awakening

Perhaps every woman harbors such a dream in her heart: My ideal man is a hero of the world, and one day he will come to marry me riding on clouds of seven colors.

Although Jian Si had heard his marriage proposal while she was in a coma, seeing the man, illustrious and rich, kneeling on one knee before her, she was still moved to tears.

She had no reason to refuse.

Jian Si pointed to the ring on her finger, her smile mingled with tears: "You’ve already put the ring on, does my disagreement even matter?"

"I don’t plan on running away either. Marrying Mr. Nan means never having to worry about food or clothing, and I have such an intelligent man at my beck and call. Only a fool would run away."

"My lady, may I ask, do you have any instructions now?"

"I would like to eat crab roe xiaolongbao (soup dumplings)."

"As you wish, my lady." Nan Zhan gently tapped her face: "Your husband will be back shortly."

Jian Si laughed: "Husband, you work too hard."

Nan Zhan quickly returned with xiaolongbao, also picking up some porridge and stir-fried dishes on the way.

Zhengzheng was talking to Jian Si. Seeing him return, he waved over: "Dad."

Nan Zhan: "..."

"You little brat, how can you call me dad?" He set the food he bought aside and cranked up the small table over the hospital bed.

Zhengzheng earnestly said: "One of you is the husband, the other the wife, so naturally I should call you dad and mom, that’s fitting for the occasion."

Jian Si’s mouth twitched, wondering when he had overheard them.

"Young Master Nan, come, let’s have a meal."

Nan Zhan lifted Jian Si’s bed, not allowing her to do anything by herself, and fed her a dumpling personally.

"You eat." Jian Si was actually not hungry at all, but seeing Nan Zhan’s noticeably thinner face, she suddenly said she wanted xiaolongbao,

The clever attorney Nan naturally understood the kind intention behind Jian Si’s words. He hadn’t had much appetite lately, but now that she was awake, even a leaf of cabbage would taste like lobster to him.

He said okay, swallowed a xiaolongbao in one bite, and then ate the second, and the third...

"If you keep looking at each other like this, can it alleviate your hunger?" Zhengzheng asked curiously, biting into his dumpling and watching the two adults whose eyes hadn’t left each other, he shook his head, "Truly inseparable."

Jian Si’s mouth twitched again, having a clever son can sometimes be quite helpless. Sometimes she felt inferior for being less intelligent than him, and at other times, she felt like a child in front of him.

Helplessly happy.

After resting for a while, Jian Si was pushed by Nan Zhan to undergo various medical examinations. The results were very pleasing: the blood clot in her brain had almost dissipated. Continued treatment with medication meant she would recover soon. Aside from the clot, all other health indicators were normal; she was just a bit weak from the prolonged coma.

The doctors recommended three more days of hospital treatment before she could be discharged.

Although Nan Zhan was somewhat anxious, for the sake of Jian Si’s health, he endured the days as if they were years.

He had never been so eager to do something, once he had made up his mind, every additional minute felt like a crisis. He wished to write her name into his household registration book at the earliest.

It was not until noon on the day Jian Si was to be discharged that the topic of Helan Ying came up. She was already capable of moving freely, but the doctor had admonished her not to engage in sudden violent movements, so she was very cautious.

Nan Zhan was packing up gifts brought by others; during these days, his several brothers had come to visit with their families in tow, which touched Jian Si deeply. Although she came from humble origins, these people did not look down upon her in any way, sincerely treating her as one of the family, even the cold Mu Shuoqian had personally selected a gift.

"I have already submitted the lawsuit to the court, and it should be filed soon." Nan Zhan sealed the package he had packed, there really was a lot of stuff.

Jian Si’s movements paused as a hint of evasion flashed in her eyes. She had not told him about seeing Helan Ying, fearing that he might uncover something.

"This Li Guojing got what he deserved," Jian Si thought of her parents’ death, and sadness overwhelmed her.

"Li Guojing was not the driver responsible for the accident back then; he was just taking the fall for someone else." Nan Zhan held her hand, staring intently into her eyes: "Jian Si, you must have guessed it already, the accident has to do with my mother."

Jian Si was startled, her mouth opened but she did not know how to respond. Since Nan Zhan was asking this way, he must have discovered something. Denying it seemed meaningless now.

"My mother was the driver that day. She had just gotten her driver’s license and wasn’t familiar with the new car, which led to the tragic accident. After the accident, she made Li Guojing, who was sitting in the passenger seat as a car salesman, take her place. She pretended nothing had happened and left. Originally, Li Guojing was supposed to take the blame, but then he got scared of prison and fled. Later, with my mother’s help, Li Guojing left Aus City, and the car accident case sank like a stone, uninvestigated."

Outside the sickroom, Helan Ying quietly watched through the slightly ajar door. These days, she had been anxious and restless, yet unwilling to lower herself to beg her own son and dare not tell Nan Hanzheng. Turning it over in her mind, she was sleepless day and night. So she had someone find out which hospital Jian Si was staying at, intending to pressure her.

But before she could enter, she overheard Nan Zhan and Jian Si discussing the accident. She stopped in her tracks, wanting to hear their intentions.

The whole story Nan Zhan was telling, Jian Si had already guessed. Li Guojing was just a salesman; how could he have the power to bribe the traffic police? And why had there been no pursuit during his years on the run? Just like Jian Hedong said before, the traffic police only needed to check the license plate number of the car involved in the accident, and everything would become clear. But they didn’t, why?

"Do you have evidence?" Jian Si suddenly asked.

"I’ll make Li Guojing confess the truth about that year, and I’ve almost finished gathering the other evidence," Nan Zhan replied.

"What if I say I don’t want to prosecute the car accident case? Would you drop the lawsuit against your mother?"

Nan Zhan was puzzled: "Isn’t bringing the perpetrator of that incident to justice your long-held wish?"

Jian Si nodded and then shook her head, "Indeed, for over eight years, I’ve wanted to find the culprit who broke my family and use it to comfort the spirits of my parents. But now, nothing is more important to me than you. Your happiness, anger, sorrow, delight, and sadness are the most important matters in my life. To say I don’t resent your mother would be a lie. I blamed her and hated her after learning the truth, but these feelings of blame and hate ultimately succumbed to my love for you. The last time, due to Zhengzheng, you took her to court. Although you won, I wasn’t happy. My mother passed away early, so the more I realize how precious family is, it pained me to see the way you interacted. If you sue her again, people will say you are being unreasonably unfilial or even call you an ungrateful wretch out of public eye. I don’t want you to bear these labels, nor do I want the rift between you and your mother to grow until it’s irrevocable. If there must be a winner in the grievances between your mother and me, it will be your loss."

After a moment of silence, Nan Zhan finally said, "I really wish she could hear what you’ve said today."

"There’s a saying that law doesn’t accommodate feelings, but I think even legal principles should consider human sentiment," Jian Si said. "My father once said, letting go may feel painful for a moment but can trade for lasting eternity. I believe they would support me in this if they are watching over me from heaven." Jian Si opened her arms and hugged him: "Nan Zhan, can you promise not to sue her? If you don’t agree, I won’t go with you to register our marriage tomorrow."

Nan Zhan smiled: "Is this a threat?"

"Does my threat work?"

"As a lawyer, it doesn’t," seeing Jian Si’s clearly annoyed expression, he continued, "But as a husband, it does."

Jian Si smiled in relief and hugged him even tighter: "But there’s one thing I want to make clear, I won’t forgive her now."

"I know," Nan Zhan hugged her back, gently patting her shoulder: "You don’t need to forgive anyone."

Outside the hospital room, Helan Ying finally took two steps back, her intention to enter completely dissipated.

Back in the car, the secretary eagerly asked, "Dean He, how did it go? Is that Jian Si stubborn?"

Helan Ying gazed at her reflection in the rearview mirror, her carefully drawn eyebrows, her bright lipstick, once a very beautiful woman. But in that moment, when Jian Si looked up and smiled at Nan Zhan, sunlight falling on her face, she suddenly felt that this woman was so beautiful, so very beautiful.

Helan Ying didn’t answer but closed her eyes. The secretary didn’t ask further and drove back to the courthouse.

Helan Ying had an important meeting, but for the first time, she cancelled it and went straight back to her office.

She sat in front of her computer, not allowing any disturbances, sitting until darkness enveloped the room.

She suddenly turned on her computer and searched for Jian Si’s father—his blog from back then was still online, containing several family photos from their travels—three family members sticking close together, smiling so radiantly. Helan Ying thought of her own family; for so many years, they had not taken a single photo together.

Such a happy family, yet due to her mistake, had been torn asunder. On top of that, she almost harmed their daughter—the same child who today pled for her forgiveness, fully knowing she was the responsible party.

Helan Ying’s gaze froze on the four characters "Integrity and Honesty" hanging on the wall, and a bitter smile slowly spread across her lips.