Chapter 2

4

Wei Luoluo was flamboyant and careless about the consequences.

Eventually, she provoked the school’s group of tough girls.

They cornered her in a restroom downstairs and slapped her again and again.

I happened to pass by after dance practice and saw what was happening.

Wei Luoluo was being yanked hard by the hair. Both cheeks were swollen, and she was a mess.

“What are you looking at? Believe me, I’ll gouge your eyes out!”

The tough girls glared at me and threatened me viciously.

I silently washed my hands, then turned and left.

I went to the building next door and reported it to the teacher in charge of discipline.

I was alone and outnumbered. Telling a teacher was the right thing to do when you witnessed bullying.

But I never expected Wei Luoluo to blame the whole thing on me.

She even insisted that I was the one behind it.

And Jiang Yan—the boy who used to look at me with shining eyes and praise my dancing—

Had become the executioner who broke my dream.

5

I woke up three days later.

Mom was beside my hospital bed, her eyes red from crying. Dad looked several years older after only a few days.

The doctor said I was lucky just to have survived after coming so close to death.

But both of my kneecaps were shattered. Whether I chose surgery or rehabilitation, the road ahead would be difficult.

While the doctor asked me questions, I sat on the bed in a daze.

For some reason, my mind felt hazy and emptier than it had ever been.

I couldn’t remember how I’d been injured or what had happened.

It was as if someone had forcibly cut a piece of my memory out of my head.

Mom gently tried to comfort me. “Sisi, don’t be sad.”

“Even if your father and I have to sell everything we own, we’ll get your legs treated.”

“And as for the competition, you can compete another time. If you feel like crying, just let it out. Don’t bottle it up…”

Dad kept trying to reassure me too.

I blinked, bewildered.

Dancing…

What dancing?

Right. I seemed to have had a dance competition before I fell into a coma.

It seemed like a very important promise…

Was it really important?

I clutched my head and panted, but I couldn’t remember anything.

It felt as if someone had shoved me onto a dark road. I struggled with all my might to escape, but I couldn’t find the way out.

I wrapped my arms around my head and writhed on the bed, so anxious that tears poured down my face.

My parents panicked and hurried to find a doctor.

But when they opened the hospital-room door, they ran straight into a group of people.

It was Auntie Jiang, our neighbor. She’d heard about my accident and come especially to visit.

“When I heard the news, I was terrified. How could something like this happen at school? We don’t even know who did it. It’s outrageous!”

She gritted her teeth as she cursed. “This is school bullying. We can’t just let it go!”

“I wonder what kind of family raised a child like that…”

School?

So I’d been hurt at school?

Then who had rescued me and brought me to the hospital?

I tried to think, straining to remember something, but got nowhere.

Instead, I noticed the silver-haired boy standing behind Auntie Jiang. His face had suddenly gone pale.

“Sisi, don’t worry. You and Jiang Yan are classmates. If anything happens, just ask him to help you.”

Auntie Jiang patted my shoulder. “Don’t be shy. When you were little and someone bullied you, Jiang Yan always stood up for you. You can count on him.”

At the mention of our childhood,

The atmosphere in the hospital room immediately lightened.

I was the only one who looked completely confused.

“Auntie Jiang, what are you talking about?”

“Which Jiang Yan? I don’t know him at all.”

Under everyone’s astonished gaze, I pointed toward the other grim-looking young man behind Auntie Jiang and gave an awkward smile.

“Over all these years, the person who’s been by my side was Brother Jiang Yu.”

6

The examination results came back soon.

The doctor said I had a blood clot at the back of my head. My memory was probably confused because of the injury.

After we returned to the room, my parents told me that Jiang Yan—not Jiang Yu—was the one who had truly been by my side over the years.

Jiang Yu was Jiang Yan’s twin brother. Their parents were divorced, and Jiang Yu lived with their father elsewhere. The two brothers rarely saw each other.

They’d only lived near each other for a few years, back when they were in elementary school.

“Maybe they look so much alike that you got them mixed up, Sisi,” my parents said gently.

But I didn’t believe them.

Not for any other reason.

Every time my eyes met Jiang Yan’s, it felt as if someone had hit my head with an iron hammer. Even my knees seemed to be pierced by countless steel needles, hurting so much I wanted to die.

It was like a hatred carved into my bones. I couldn’t stand the sight of him.

“Tell him to… tell him to go…”

“I don’t want to see him!”

I screamed, completely breaking down.

My parents hadn’t expected me to react so violently to Jiang Yan.

They could only awkwardly ask him to leave.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the panic and disbelief on his face.

But the next second, Jiang Yu stepped in front of me.

“Ning Shuang.”

He called my name softly and gazed at me with deep, dark eyes.

I fell silent at once.

I clutched his sleeve and refused to let go, speaking in a small voice. “C-could you stay with me?”

Jiang Yu nodded and gently rubbed my back.

“I’m here. Don’t be scared, okay?”

His clear voice rang in my ear, drawing us closer.

I buried my face against his chest. My cheeks grew warm without my realizing it.

Seeing how dependent I was on Jiang Yu, my parents tacitly agreed to let him stay, worried that it might help my condition.

From then on, Jiang Yu stayed beside me at the hospital.

He’d already skipped grades and been admitted to university, so he didn’t have to worry about school.

During that time, my classmates organized a visit.

The moment my best friend, Zhou Zhou, saw me, she rushed over with tears in her eyes. “Waaah, Sisi. I wish I’d walked home with you after evening study that day.”

“Maybe none of this would have happened…”

As we talked, we mentioned the dance competition I’d missed.

Everyone regretted it.

They all thought I would definitely have won the gold medal, given my ability.

Zhou Zhou kept saying, “Sisi, you said you really wanted that gold medal. You said it could help you fulfill your dream…”

I only smiled and didn’t answer.

My heart was full of questions.

After the initial confusion over my memories passed, I remembered that I could dance.

The doctor said my legs were badly injured. It would already be good if I could eventually walk normally again.

As for dancing…

I lowered my head sadly and tried to hold back my tears.

The next second, a white tissue gently brushed my cheek.

I looked up. Jiang Yu was smiling at me.

His smile wasn’t particularly pronounced, but it made me feel at ease.

I immediately forgot about my injury and smiled back at him.

Zhou Zhou looked surprised. “Sisi, I never expected this. Before, you were always talking about Jiang—”

“Forget it. Let’s not talk about that unlucky guy.”

“You need to focus on getting better. We’ll all wait for you to come back.”

“And now you have Jiang—Yu by your side. He seems much more reliable and reassuring than that other guy.”

I was utterly confused.

Something about Zhou Zhou’s tone seemed strange.

I didn’t know my parents had told our classmates that my memories were jumbled and warned them not to let anything slip, afraid it might upset me.

Just like that, without realizing anything was wrong, I began the long process of rehabilitation.

After lying in bed for so long, my legs no longer felt like my own.

Learning to walk again was anything but easy.

But it couldn’t compare to the pain that came with every stage of rehab.

I tried to stand again and again, only to fall again and again, sprawled helplessly on the floor, unable even to crawl back up.

At the time, I felt like the most useless person in the world.

A huge wave of negative emotions surged over me.

Many nights, I curled up under the covers and secretly wiped away my tears.

I even thought bleakly that my life was over and I’d never be happy again.

But from beginning to end,

Jiang Yu quietly stayed by my side.

When I fell, he rushed over to help me up.

When I broke down crying, he comforted me gently and let me stain his T-shirt.

He patiently accompanied me through the long, painful rehabilitation.

When I finally managed to walk a full stretch on my own, he was happier than I was.

I couldn’t help smiling too.

But with one careless glance, I caught sight of silver hair passing outside the door.

7

I realized Jiang Yu understood me very well.

When my hands got cold during an IV drip, he brought me a warm pack.

When I was bored, he played games with me. Even if he lost all afternoon, he never got angry.

He was always there to protect me during rehabilitation, never once letting me fall to the ground alone in a heap.

Even when I drank soup, he picked every bit of cilantro out for me.

I could tolerate cilantro as a seasoning to add flavor, but I didn’t like eating it.

I’d never told anyone about this little quirk—not even my parents.

I couldn’t help asking, “Jiang Yu, can you read minds? How do you know everything?”

The hand pushing my wheelchair paused. Then he said, “Did you forget? We grew up together.”

As he said it, his lashes trembled slightly, and his voice grew lower than usual.

I didn’t notice anything. I nodded awkwardly. “That’s true.”

Inside, my thoughts were bubbling like a kettle.

Why did I just say something so stupid?

Still, I was confused.

If we were only childhood friends, would Jiang Yu treat me this well?

Wouldn’t his future girlfriend be jealous enough to overturn a whole vat of vinegar?

“What are you thinking about all day?”

Only when Jiang Yu chuckled helplessly and tapped my forehead did I realize I’d said all my thoughts aloud without meaning to!

I wanted the ground to swallow me.

So I quickly changed the subject. “Don’t you have someone you like?”

“I did. But that silly girl forgot about me.”

His voice was gentle. His slender fingers softly brushed the unruly strands of hair from my face, and his eyes held a deep, complicated look that refused to fade.

I froze, then joked, “Did she lose her memory too, like I did?”

Although I kept insisting I hadn’t mistaken anyone, my medical chart clearly said otherwise.

Jiang Yu chuckled. “Something like that. A fever made that silly girl confused.”

Me: “…”

Why did I feel like he was indirectly calling me stupid?

Another day of rehab.

Jiang Yu pushed my wheelchair toward the rehabilitation room.

For some reason, the chair suddenly got stuck at the doorway and wouldn’t go through.

Jiang Yu immediately bent down, slipped an arm around my waist, and lifted me up.

I was startled and instinctively grabbed his collar.

He lowered his eyes and asked gently, “Is it comfortable like this?”

He’d taken care of me countless times during my hospital stay. I’d long since gotten used to being touched by him.

But for some reason, this time I suddenly felt hot all over.

My ears grew warmer and warmer.

I shook my head and answered softly, “It’s not uncomfortable.”

Jiang Yu let out a low chuckle, held me a little tighter, and walked inside one step at a time.

I slowly rested my chin on his shoulder. For some reason, I suddenly felt safe.

I got thirsty partway through, so Jiang Yu went to buy me some water.

I didn’t notice someone staggering in.

8

“Well, if it isn’t Ning Shuang, our class’s pride in dance! Now you’re a crippled waste. Tell me, can you still dance?”

A girl in a spaghetti-strap top and short shorts appeared behind me.

Her lips curled in mockery, her eyes full of contempt.

I froze for a moment before I remembered her. She was Wei Luoluo, the transfer student in my class.

“What are you doing here?”

As far as I could remember, she and I had barely spoken.

But for some reason, just looking at her made my back go cold.

And the knees I’d had surgery on, the ones still recovering, began to ache faintly.

The back of my head throbbed more and more…

The doctor said that the night I had both legs beaten and broken had been a nightmare for me.

My body had triggered a protective mechanism, which was why I’d forgotten everything.

My parents had also started hiring people to investigate, but they were focusing on my recovery, so progress had been slow.

I frowned, trying to suppress the discomfort inside me.

Wei Luoluo had clearly come here to start trouble.

She took three quick steps toward me and looked down, her eyes full of jealousy.

“Ning Shuang, don’t pretend. Everyone says you lost your memory and forgot Jiang Yan, but I don’t believe it.”

“You’re pretty clever, using this pathetic trick to play hard to get.”

“But I’m warning you: don’t even think about it!”

“Jiang Yan is my man. Don’t you dare try to steal him!”

Me: “…”

What was she babbling about?

Jiang Yan? Jiang Yu’s younger twin brother?

He was dating already? And he was dating this delinquent-looking girl in front of me?

What did that have to do with me?!

I snapped, “Are you done? If so, can you leave?”

Right now, the most important thing to me was rehabilitation.

I didn’t want anyone bothering me with anything else.

But Wei Luoluo still wouldn’t let it go. “Ning Shuang, explain yourself!”

“I haven’t been able to contact Jiang Yan for days. He won’t answer my calls. Did you do something behind my back?”

“Don’t try to deny it. I just saw it. Jiang Yu carried you in here!”

“You little home-wrecking flirt, seducing other people’s boyfriends! I’ll show everyone what you’re really like!”

“Enough!”

A furious shout suddenly came from outside the door.

I instinctively looked over and saw Jiang Yu standing there.

He held a bottle of water in his hand, his gaze displeased as he looked at Wei Luoluo.

Wei Luoluo rushed over, delighted. “A-Yan, you finally agreed to see me…”