Xu Zijin had tried numerous times to approach Fu Sinian, but he had pushed her away mercilessly. So she had no chance to sleep in his arms.

Thinking of the past made Xu Zijin feel frustrated. She gave a bitter smile and shook her head. ‘Now I’m Fu Chen’s woman. I shouldn’t think about another man,’ she thought.

Xu Zijin scratched her head and a sudden thought flashed across her mind.

Maybe the reason Fu Chen became more silent was because she had often mentioned Fu Sinian in front of Fu Chen.

‘I can’t do that again. Fu Chen is a proud, dignified man. Even though he is very good to me, I shouldn’t act on my own will in front of him. I should consider his feelings,’ she thought.

Xu Zijin suddenly felt guilty. She turned over and wrapped her arms around Fu Chen’s waist from behind.

Feeling her ample bosom against his back, Fu Sinian lay stiff and could not help but knit his brows.

He stared into the darkness before him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Zijin pressed her cheek against his back, and sniffed the perfume he wore. “Chen, please hold me.”

Her low voice rang in his ears. Fu Sinian became depressed, as his handsome face clouded.

‘She takes the initiative to flirt with another man. She acts in a pettishly charming manner in front of another man. She seems really over me,’ he thought.

Fu Sinian became more silent.

Xu Zijin bit her lower lip and felt uneasy. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “Chen, are you angry with me? Do you think that I’m just using you, and the reason I’m with you is because I see you as a substitute for Fu Sinian?”

Fu Sinian held his breath and felt a glimmer of hope, his eyes shining in the darkness. How he wished that Xu Zijin only saw Fu Chen as a substitute for him!

“Chen, I admit that I loved Fu Sinian very much, but it’s all in the past. I am over him. Now Fu Sinian is just a stranger to me. All he left me is a terrible nightmare.

I don’t know how to explain it to you. I just want to tell you that I never regard you as a stand-in for anyone!

I did ask you to help me forget Fu Sinian, but it’s not because I still love him. When I was deserted by the whole world, I met you and gained a new life. So I want to forget Fu Sinian and be with you. Chen… I just want you.”

Xu Zijin knew that she hadn’t fallen in love with Fu Chen yet, but she couldn’t live without Fu Chen. Most importantly, she could feel that Fu Chen also needed her.

That was a win-win cooperation.

Being with Fu Chen brought her a sense of fulfillment. She would feel herself to be a person of value instead of a dispensable irrelevance.

Xu Zijin clenched her fists, her heart beating more violently in her chest. She summoned up all her courage and said, “Chen, I hope you’ll be the first person I see after I regain my sight tomorrow.”

After saying that, Xu Zijin felt relaxed. She rubbed her cheek against his back and soon fell asleep.

Fu Sinian could hear the constant rhythm of her breathing. He turned over and held her in his arms, then whispered in her ear, “I will fulfill your wish, but I hope you won’t be shocked by the truth.”

The wall lamp gave out a warm light. Fu Sinian’s face was partly hidden and partly visible in the dusk of the room. A gravity mingled with gloom was imprinted on his countenance.

…

As the gauze was removed from her eyes, Xu Zijin was in a rather nervous state. Then she opened her eyes tentatively and saw the golden dust floating in the air. She was so excited that she almost burst into tears.

She slowly got out of the bed and glanced about the ward. Since she had lost her sight, it was the first time she saw the ward she had lived in for so long, the swaying branches outside the window, the beautiful flowers in the courtyard and her own reflection in the mirror.