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Xin Yi saw Shen Shanshan fall and exclaimed, "Shanshan!" She quickly opened the car door and jumped out, running around the car to Shen Shanshan's side. Shen Shanshan was kneeling on the ground beside the car, seemingly injured, gritting her teeth and gasping for air. Xin Yi hurriedly helped her up and noticed that because she was wearing a skirt, Shen Shanshan's knee had scraped against the ground, oozing crimson blood. "How could you be so careless?" Xin Yi said with concern, as she opened the car door again and lifted Shen Shanshan back into the car. Standing at the car door, she took some tissues from inside and carefully wiped the dirt off Shen Shanshan's knee wound, gently blowing on it while asking softly, "Does it hurt? Shanshan?"
Seeing how worried Xin Yi was about her, Shen Shanshan's earlier grievances vanished in an instant. She reached out to stroke Xin Yi's hair and replied tenderly, "It doesn't hurt."
"Alright, I've temporarily taken care of it; we need to go to the hospital now." After saying this, Xin Yi got back into the car and drove towards the hospital.
"It's just a little scrape; there's no need to go to the hospital. I can just put some antiseptic on it when I get home," Shen Shanshan said. She didn't want to go to any hospital after spending so much time there last time; just thinking about it made her feel a bit repulsed.
"No way! We have to go! What if it gets infected? And what about tetanus? Even if nothing happens, what if it leaves a scar?" Xin Yi insisted without giving Shen Shanshan a chance to disagree, driving straight to the hospital.
Although Xin Yi's words were quite domineering, Shen Shanshan found them endearing. This showed that Xin Yi cared about her. It seemed she had misunderstood him earlier; perhaps he wasn't ready yet. Thinking this way made Shen Shanshan feel relieved. Didn't this just prove that he was a responsible man? Some men go to great lengths to please women just to achieve their goals, but when she took the initiative, Xin Yi didn't want that. This was enough to show that the man she liked was different from others; he was someone worth trusting for life.
After arriving at the hospital, Xin Yi simply picked up Shen Shanshan from the car and carried her inside. Since it was only a minor scrape, they cleaned the wound and gave her a tetanus shot before considering it handled. Xin Yi then carried Shen Shanshan back to the car, causing a young couple who had also come for treatment to envy them. The girl said, "Look at them! He carries her in and out; it's so sweet! But you’ve never carried me once! I don’t care; you have to carry me out later!" The boy looked horrified as he glanced at his girlfriend's tall and curvy figure and then at his own frail frame, despairingly exclaiming, "Oh my! We're both women; why is there such a big difference?!"
After all this commotion, Shen Shanshan had mostly sobered up; the blush on her face had faded somewhat. She quietly sat in the passenger seat but kept turning her head to gaze dreamily at Xin Yi as he drove. At that moment, Shen Shanshan felt incredibly fulfilled.
After a long while, as if suddenly awakening from a dream, Shen Shanshan withdrew her dreamy gaze and asked, "You said you had something to tell me? Go ahead; I'm fine now."
Hearing this from Shen Shanshan made Xin Yi's heart skip a beat. Indeed, after all this time spent fussing over her, he hadn't even mentioned what he needed to say. Was it because he hadn't found the right opportunity or because his subconscious was avoiding this topic altogether? Or did he hope that this moment could at least come a little later?
But now that Shen Shanshan had asked, it was time. Xin Yi turned the steering wheel and drove onto Riverside Avenue before stopping in an open area. He got out of the car and walked around to open Shen Shanshan's door. As he bent down to lift her up again, Shen Shanshan held onto his arm and said, "I'm fine now; I can get out myself." With that, she took hold of his arm and stepped out of the car. Together they walked along Riverside.
The wide river surface flowed steadily with a few boats passing by occasionally. Several water birds chased each other playfully above the river surface while a gentle breeze blew along Riverside. As soon as they stepped onto Riverside, Shen Shanshan's hair danced in the wind, brushing against Xin Yi's face and leaving behind a pleasant fragrance. Xin Yi greedily inhaled this scent because perhaps after today, there would be no more intersections between him and Shen Shanshan. Just thinking about it filled him with heart-wrenching pain that left him breathless.
"Xin Yi, why did you bring me to the riverbank?" Shen Shanshan released Xin Yi's arm, took a few small steps forward, and opened her arms wide to breathe in the air filled with the scent of the river. She happily said, "I haven't been here for a long time; the air by the river is still so nice!" While speaking, she jumped around in circles.
"Shanshan, be careful! You still have a wound on your knee!" Xin Yi called out nervously.
"Haha... my knee is fine; you're just overreacting. Look, I can still jump this high! Come on, Xin Yi, catch me!" Shen Shanshan was as joyful as a child, taking off her crystal sandals and holding them in her hand, deliberately jumping barefoot and running ahead.
Xin Yi stood in place watching the happy Shen Shanshan and didn't chase after her. After running a bit ahead, Shen Shanshan turned back to see Xin Yi still standing there without moving. She ran back holding her shoes and said breathlessly, "What's wrong? You look worried; did someone owe you money?"
"Shanshan... I want to tell you something," Xin Yi said seriously.
"What is it? You seem hesitant. Did someone really owe you money? You’re not thinking of borrowing money from me, are you? Haha... just so you know, I'm very poor," Shen Shanshan joked.
"Shanshan... what I want to say is," Xin Yi gritted his teeth and decided to say the harshest thing outright: "I already have a fiancée!"
"Ah? What? A fiancée? Haha... who is your fiancée? What's her name? Do I know her? When are you planning to propose?" Shen Shanshan immediately asked several questions, but her tone remained light-hearted as if she wasn't nervous at all.
Xin Yi was momentarily taken aback by Shen Shanshan's relaxed tone. Did she not have any feelings for him at all? Had she always seen him as just an ordinary friend? Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Although Xin Yi felt a strong sense of loss inside, he quickly reassured himself that it was a good thing because it meant he wouldn't hurt Shen Shanshan. His hesitation stemmed from fearing he would hurt her; since she didn't have those feelings for him, there was nothing to worry about. Therefore, there was no need to continue with what he had prepared to say; it might even make her think he was being overly sentimental. So he lightly replied, "Oh, it's nothing. Come on, let's go check out what's ahead."
"No way! Why do you only say half of what you're thinking? It's driving me crazy! Quickly tell me, who is your fiancée?" Shen Shanshan insisted, blocking Xin Yi's path with her shoes and looking at him with eager anticipation.
"Haha, never mind. If I tell you, you won't know her anyway," Xin Yi forced a smile while suppressing his inner disappointment.
"What? I won't know her?" Shen Shanshan's face instantly changed color; her smile froze and her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "Who is she?"
Xin Yi looked at Shen Shanshan with some confusion, wondering why her expression suddenly changed. Was it because he hadn't told her? So, Xin Yi quickly said, "Alright, Shanshan, don't be nervous. I'll tell you. Her name is Lijie, and she's not from Longchuan..."
"Ah!" Before Xin Yi could finish his sentence, he heard Shen Shanshan's sharp scream: "No! No! Xin Yi, you're lying to me! Why are you lying to me? Please stop joking around, it's not funny at all..." By the end, Shen Shanshan seemed to be talking to herself, continuously shaking her head as if trying to shake off what Xin Yi had just said.
Xin Yi was taken aback by Shen Shanshan's sudden intense reaction. Wasn't she indifferent at first? How could she react so strongly now? Did she start off joking with him? But how could Xin Yi understand what Shen Shanshan was really thinking? From the moment Xin Yi took her to Riverside, Shen Shanshan knew he must have something very important to tell her. However, what she thought was important was completely opposite to what Xin Yi intended to say. In Shen Shanshan's mind, the first possibility was that Xin Yi would clarify their relationship and officially become a couple; this seemed the most likely scenario. The second possibility was that Xin Yi would directly propose to her, asking her to marry him. Although this possibility was not very high, it was what Shen Shanshan most hoped for. So when Xin Yi mentioned he had a fiancée, Shen Shanshan thought he meant her. She never expected that she could suddenly be upgraded to the status of fiancée. Shen Shanshan was incredibly happy; being a fiancée felt much more substantial than being a girlfriend—at least it gave her half of an official title. However, she never imagined that Xin Yi's fiancée was not referring to her but someone else entirely. This realization plunged the originally joyful Shen Shanshan into despair—shock, sadness, pain, and hopelessness enveloped her all at once. Her thoughts came to a complete halt; even her breathing felt constricted as if she couldn't catch her breath. She could only mechanically shake her head and repeatedly say those few phrases: "Why are you lying to me? Please stop joking around; it's not funny at all..."
Watching Shen Shanshan shake her head and talk to herself caused a pang of pain in Xin Yi's heart. It seemed his earlier assumption was wrong; Shen Shanshan cared about him—deeply cared. But what should he do now? The words had already been spoken...
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