Marriage Seduction Addiction

Chapter 496 Remember
The moment that "brother" came out, Yan Shiyu was completely stunned.

Before this, he had imagined all sorts of reactions she would have when she woke up, but he never thought that the first thing she would say upon waking up would be this name.

She had called him that before, but the few times she had called him "brother" back then, it was all extremely deliberate, even provocative.

But this time it's different.

Her slightly trembling voice no longer carried the awkwardness and sharpness of the past, but instead held a cautiousness as if seeking confirmation.

So much so that Yan Shiyu had no idea how to react, and just stared at her quietly, wondering if she was dreaming.

"elder brother……"

She spoke again, still calling his name, and asked softly, "Is that you?"

Yan Shiyu finally came to his senses, leaned forward slightly, and whispered in front of her, "It's me."

Ji Yan's gaze lingered on his face for a long time, and suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes.

"Is it really you?"

Yan Shiyu immediately raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears that kept sliding down her cheeks, giving her a definite answer again: "It's me..."

Ji Yan seemed speechless, only looking at him with tears streaming down her face.

After a while, Yan Shiyu finally remembered to ask her, "How are you feeling? Is anything uncomfortable? Is your hand still hurting a lot?"

She seemed not to hear his question, staring at him almost blankly for a long time before finally speaking again: "Brother, you've changed so much, I almost don't recognize you..."

Yan Shiyu was slightly taken aback again.

He felt there was something different about her, but before he could fully grasp it, the sound of the door opening suddenly came from the ward behind him.

Lu Xingyan walked in.

Lu Xingyan never expected that while he was taking a shower, Ji Yan would already be awake when he returned. He stood there, feeling both happy and somewhat at a loss.

Especially when Ji Yan looked over, he froze, completely unsure whether to step forward or back away.

It was only because the two of them had a really unpleasant falling out before that. Her hurtful words and remarks were still deeply imprinted in his mind, so much so that the moment he met her gaze, all those bad memories came flooding back.

But to his surprise, he stood there for a long time, and the indifference and disgust she had shown before were not reflected in her gaze. Instead, it seemed to be filled with inquiry and confusion.

This gave Lu Xingyan a glimmer of almost secret joy. He slowly walked towards the sickbed, met her gaze, and said very softly, "You're finally awake..."

But before he could finish speaking, Ji Yan suddenly moved closer to Yan Shiyu and called out again, almost pleadingly, "Brother!"

She couldn't move her hands, so Yan Shiyu immediately got up and reached out to press down on her arm, while meeting her gaze once again.

"Don't be afraid," Yan Shiyu whispered. "It's alright."

Ji Yan paused for a moment, then finally nodded and softly replied, "Mm."

Lu Xingyan stood frozen at the foot of the bed, completely unsure how to react.

She still loathed him to this extent?
Shouldn't he have been here at all?
He was still struggling with his own thoughts when he suddenly heard Yan Shiyu ask, "You... don't recognize him?"

Ji Yan's voice was soft, but full of doubt: "How do I know him?"

Lu Xingyan: "???"

Lu Xingyan: "!!!"

……

Because the three of them hadn't eaten or rested well for several days, Tang Xu took a detour to a small shop with a good reputation to buy food, which took some time.

When she returned to the ward, she saw Lu Xingyan standing at the door, looking lost and confused, seemingly lost in thought.

Tang Xu was already uneasy, and upon seeing this, she immediately ran forward. Ignoring Lu Xingyan, she glanced into the ward and saw that Ji Yan's bed was completely covered by a curtain, and there were clearly several doctors inside the curtain.

Tang Xu's heart skipped a beat. She turned to Lu Xingyan and asked anxiously, "What happened? Why are you standing here instead of going in? How is she?" Lu Xingyan slowly raised her head, her eyes full of confusion. "She... woke up."

"What? She's awake!" Tang Xu was both surprised and delighted, but before the joy could fully take over, another emotion surged up—

She woke up, but Lu Xingyan wasn't inside. He was just standing there blankly, clearly having been frustrated by her.

If even he is like this, then what about Yan Shiyu? How will Ji Yan treat him? Will she still treat him with the same rude and abusive language as before?

"Where is Yan Shiyu?" Tang Xu asked, glancing into the room as he did so.

But with the curtain blocking her view, she really couldn't tell whether Yan Shiyu was inside or not.

Lu Xingyan finally reached out and grasped her arm, his voice hoarse as he said, "Mr. Yan is inside. She... remembered him."

Tang Xu could hardly believe her ears. "What? You mean? She remembered? She remembered everything?"

She couldn't help but turn around and walk towards the ward, but Lu Xingyan reached out and grabbed her again, speaking with great difficulty once more: "She remembered Mr. Yan... but didn't recognize me."

Tang Xu suddenly froze.

……

More than two hours later, Ji Yan fell asleep again in the ward due to her weakness. Yan Shiyu, who had been keeping watch inside, finally got out, opened the ward door and came out.

Upon hearing the noise, the two guards at the door stood up simultaneously to greet him, staring at him expectantly, awaiting a clear answer.

Yan Shiyu reached out and took Tang Xu's hand, then kissed it before saying, "She remembered things from her childhood and recognized me."

"And then?" Even though Tang Xu already knew the gist of it, she still found it unbelievable. "She only remembers things from when she was little. What about everything else? Has she forgotten everything? Does she remember nothing about what happened after you two broke up?"

"How could something so outrageous happen?" Lu Xingyan said angrily. "You remember one part, then forget the rest. Memories are stored as files, which can be deleted or restored at any time, right?"

It's no wonder Lu Xingyan was so emotional; even Yan Shiyu was still somewhat dazed at this moment, feeling as if it weren't real.

But Tang Xu suddenly said, "Isn't this a good thing?"

Both men looked at her at the same time.

Tang Xu said, "The fact that she doesn't remember what happened after you broke up with her means... she doesn't remember any of those unhappy times. She remembers the time you two relied on each other when you were little, how much you, her older brother, loved her, and how much she depended on you. All those misunderstandings she had about you, those bad memories, those painful struggles... weren't they all things we tried our best to change her? Now that she doesn't remember any of it, isn't that a good thing?"

"As for you," Tang Xu turned to Lu Xingyan and said, "Do you remember how awkward things were between you two before? You almost cut ties with her. Now it's all over. She's forgotten all that, which means you can start over completely. She's a blank slate now. She won't be hostile towards you, won't reject you, and won't dislike you... As for how far things will go in the end, isn't that all up to you? Do you, Lu Xingyan, lack confidence in yourself?"

“I…” Lu Xingyan took a deep breath and finally spoke, “I’m just a little unwilling… She has remembered things from her childhood, so why can’t she remember more? Can’t she just remember things from before the accident?”

"Don't be ungrateful!" Tang Xu said. "I'm so happy to see her like this! What do you think?"

Tang Xu turned to look at Yan Shiyu, her eyes brimming with anticipation, which made Yan Shiyu unable to resist reaching out and pulling her into his arms.

He had only just embraced her when Tang Xu suddenly took a step back and broke free from his embrace.

“She only remembers things from her childhood, she only remembers you, you are her only trust and reliance,” Tang Xu said. “So, I think Lu Xingyan and I should stay away from her for now, lest she become panicked and defensive again… What do you think?”

“I don’t think so!” Lu Xingyan immediately retorted. “She has such a large gap in her memory that urgently needs to be filled. At this time, she needs someone to tell her what happened in those times she doesn’t remember, what she went through, and why we shouldn’t show up.”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t show up at all!” Tang Xu said. “I just said to take it slow and not to upset her.”

"Are you afraid that your relationship will upset her?" Lu Xingyan pointed out bluntly. "Are you afraid that your presence by Mr. Yan's side will make her feel that someone has stolen her brother, that it will make her feel insecure, and that she will have a stress reaction? Then why don't you just hide your relationship? Why should I also not appear in front of her?"

Tang Xu rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, and at the same time stomped heavily on Lu Xingyan's instep.

Turning around, he found Yan Shiyu looking at him.

Tang Xu paused for a moment before saying, "That makes sense. What do you think?"

“I don’t think so either,” Yan Shiyu said.

Tang Xu was taken aback.

Yan Shiyu lowered his eyes and gently kneaded her hand, saying, "After going through so much, you can now stand openly by my side. Yaoyao, you don't need to hide anymore. You don't need to hide in front of anyone anymore."