Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"Oh." Zhou Yanning nodded, a flicker of disappointment passing over her face. But Chen Shutang was watching her closely at that moment—how could she miss it?

Chen Shutang knew perfectly well how Zhou Yanning felt about Yang Juehuan. Seeing her expression now, she could not help but find it a little funny. The poor girl must be jealous of her.

"Heh, I wasn't finished." Chen Shutang smiled. "I'm Yang Juehuan's girlfriend—and you're Yang Juehuan's girlfriend too."

"What?" Zhou Yanning was so startled she nearly leapt off the bed. "I—I am too?"

Zhou Yanning was genuinely astonished. She had not expected Chen Shutang to say such a thing to her.

"That's right. What, you don't remember?" Chen Shutang suddenly lowered her voice, grinning. "Don't tell me you're going to deny it just because you lost your memory. I happen to know—Yang Ce still has your diary."

"My diary?" Zhou Yanning's face went scarlet at once. She had been lying in the hospital all this time without seeing sunlight, so her skin was even paler than usual. The moment she grew shy, the reaction showed plainly—the blush spread all the way to the base of her neck. "You—you—how does he have my diary?"

Zhou Yanning began to stammer, unable even to get a whole sentence out.

"That I couldn't tell you. Maybe you gave it to him," Chen Shutang said with a smile.

"Is that so?" Zhou Yanning shook her head in bewilderment. "You just said I'm Yang Juehuan's girlfriend too, and you are as well?"

"That's right. Surprised?" Chen Shutang had always felt deep sympathy for what Zhou Yanning had been through—using her own life to shield the man she loved; how much courage did that take? For that alone, Chen Shutang admired her profoundly.

What was more, Chen Shutang had already made up her mind to accept Zhou Yanning from the bottom of her heart, and to tell her so once she woke up. But she had never imagined that the situation would change like this, beyond anything she had expected.

Since Zhou Yanning had forgotten the past year, that meant she did not recognize Chen Shutang at all. And that made Chen Shutang anxious—what if Zhou Yanning went around her and set her sights on Yang Ce again?

So the moment that thought occurred to Chen Shutang, she hurriedly sent Yang Ce out and there, in that room, presented Zhou Yanning with an accomplished fact: that the two of them were both Yang Juehuan's girlfriends—that it had been so before, and would be so from then on.

To be continued.

940. They've All Traveled Through Time??

The reason Chen Shutang chose to rush the matter to a conclusion at that particular moment was, in truth, that she had motives of her own.

There was no doubt about Zhou Yanning's love for Yang Juehuan—it could not possibly be one whit less than her own. Of that Chen Shutang was utterly certain. Otherwise, who would risk their life to take a bullet for someone else?

Even now, with Zhou Yanning's memory gone, her love for Yang Juehuan would not change. She had once heard Yang Ce vaguely mention what was written in Zhou Yanning's diary, and from that alone it was clear that Zhou Yanning had been deeply, hopelessly devoted to Yang Ce since middle school.

So turning the clock back a year would not make much difference in the grand scheme of things. Chen Shutang refused to believe that a localized amnesia could make Zhou Yanning lose her love for Yang Juehuan. And in fact, the delight in Zhou Yanning's eyes when she had just seen Yang Ce had not escaped Chen Shutang's notice.

Chen Shutang understood Heng's temperament well. Soft-hearted and inconstant in love—the soft-heartedness was manageable enough, but the inconstancy was what truly troubled Chen Shutang, and there was nothing she could do about it.

So many things in life come about through a tangle of accidents and missteps—partly her own fault, partly Yang Juehuan's. Chen Shutang did not want to blame anyone now, nor to sort out whose responsibility it was, but one thing was certain: Zhou Yanning had given so much for Yang Ce, and Yang Ce would never turn his back on her. Whether out of gratitude or out of love, Yang Ce would accept that poor girl.

Even Chen Shutang herself had felt her heart ache for Zhou Yanning—how much more so Yang Ce? Since she had foreseen it, Chen Shutang could not simply do nothing. She had already resolved to accept Zhou Yanning once she woke up. But now something had changed.

What if Zhou Yanning did not remember that it was Chen Shutang who was Yang Juehuan's rightful girlfriend, and instead came to compete with her? That was the last thing Chen Shutang wanted to see. An unknown quantity like Lan Ling had already worn Chen Shutang to exhaustion, and there was still Su Ya, whose attitude was far from clear.

The only one standing on her side was Lin Yanhe. If Chen Shutang wanted to secure her absolute place in the household in the days to come, she would have to unite with everyone she could—and even where she could not, at least make sure they did not work against her.

It was hardly surprising that Chen Shutang thought this way. Since ancient times, the scheming of the inner chambers had been the most dangerous and the most draining of all pursuits, and Chen Shutang had no intention of squandering her best years on it.

So rather than make an enemy of Zhou Yanning, better to extend an olive branch first. After all, the girl had lost her memory—whatever Chen Shutang said now would be taken as the truth. And even if one day she remembered everything that had happened over the past year, she would not resent Chen Shutang for it; she would only think that Chen Shutang had been looking out for her.

And so Chen Shutang had made that bold move.

Zhou Yanning's eyes were wide open, fixed unblinking on Chen Shutang, as though she were still doubting what she had heard. After a while, she finally said, "You're saying... I'm already Yang Juehuan's girlfriend?"

Chen Shutang nodded with a smile. "That's right. But you don't need to fret too much. You and Yan haven't been together long, so you needn't worry about having missed any beautiful moments—there'll be plenty of chances ahead."

"I see." Zhou Yanning nodded, half understanding, and said to Chen Shutang, "Thank you."

"Thank me? Whatever for?" Chen Shutang was taken aback.

"Of course I should thank you—for telling me all this." Zhou Yanning's face flushed, and half in jest she added, "Anyone else might be hoping I'd lose my memory so they could kick me out of the game."

"How could I?" Chen Shutang smiled faintly. "Even if I wanted to, Yang Shuoxuan wouldn't agree. She can't stand it when family members scheme against one another."

Of course, it was true enough that Yang Ce hated infighting and the purging of rivals—but in saying this, Chen Shutang was also, in her way, giving Zhou Yanning a warning in advance. If Zhou Yanning really did break the rules, Chen Shutang would be hard-pressed to handle it, and then there would be trouble indeed.

"Mm." Zhou Yanning pursed her lips in a smile, but did not pursue the subject. "Then how exactly did I end up in the hospital?"

At this question Chen Shutang hesitated. Taking a bullet for Yang Ce—what a feat that was! Chen Shutang still did not fully understand Zhou Yanning's intentions, but after a moment's thought she decided there was really no need to hide this from her either. So she said, "At the time, Yang Ce was in danger—you took a bullet for him."

"Ah!" Zhou Yanning cried out. "Took a bullet?"

"Yes. And then you were hospitalized, and you've been here ever since. This all happened before the New Year," Chen Shutang said.

"So much has happened." Zhou Yanning spoke with some feeling. "Mengyan—um, I'll call you Sister Mengyan, all right?"

That "Sister Mengyan" put Chen Shutang much more at ease, and her earlier misgivings melted away. Not bad—she had managed to win over another sister after all.