"I’ve been paying attention to you for a long time. I liked you the first time I saw you. I want to see you every day, and even my dreams at night are full of you. I know this sounds kind of sudden, but if I don’t say what’s in my heart, I’m seriously going to suffocate!"
"So... would you be my boyfriend?"
The moment Serene Whitmore pushed open the hospital room door, she heard a nurse finally working up the nerve to confess to a patient, her voice soft and shy enough to melt on the spot.
And what a coincidence—that patient just happened to be the man Serene had saved a month ago. Seeing the scene in front of her, she didn’t step in right away. She just leaned casually against the doorframe, watching with clear interest.
This was already the third confession this month.
A month ago, when Serene had rescued him while sketching outdoors, the man had been covered in blood, injured so badly he looked half-dead. Back then, who would’ve guessed he’d turn out this popular...
The nurse was so nervous at that moment that her face was red all the way down to her neck. She didn’t notice Serene had arrived at all. Seeing that the man still wasn’t saying anything, she got even more flustered. "Why aren’t you saying anything? Was I too abrupt? It’s okay. I can wait for you to like me. I can wait until you say yes to me yourself!"
The male lead of this confession scene had already noticed Serene’s arrival. He pulled his cold, dismissive gaze away from the nurse and fixed it directly on Serene.
Serene caught his look and knew she couldn’t keep standing there anymore. So she walked over. "No need to wait."
She cut the nurse off, a faint smile on her face, then said lightly, "He’s mute. You didn’t know that?"
"What?" The nurse stared at the man propped halfway up on the bed in shock. He had a handsome, refined face and that untouchable, highborn kind of aura. A man like that... was actually mute?
"That’s right. Not only is he mute, but his attending physician also said his legs might be permanently paralyzed. Miss Nurse, I know this is a face-first world, but girls really should look at more than just appearances. Are you seriously willing to spend the rest of your life with a disabled man who can’t even speak?"
The nurse’s face turned green, then red.
Spend the rest of her life with a mute cripple? Deep down, she was a hard no on that.
But she had just made such a heartfelt confession, and now she couldn’t back out without looking ridiculous. She puffed up her cheeks and glared at Serene. "And who are you? Why are you here acting all bossy?"
"I’m trying to save you from jumping into a pit, and you’re blaming me instead—" Before Serene could finish, the man on the bed suddenly reached out, pulled her a little closer, and gently brushed the loose strands of hair away from her forehead.
Serene and the nurse both froze, eyes widening at the same time.
Inside, Serene was screaming.
Seriously? If you want to reject someone, don’t use me as your human shield, okay?
As for the nurse, she was already on the verge of falling apart. She stomped her foot and burst out, "What exactly are you two?"
Right then, the attending doctor walked in. Seeing Serene, he said, "Miss Whitmore, your husband can be discharged today. Please sign here."
Husband...
The nurse’s face turned downright sickly green.
She was completely messed up now. She looked at Serene, then at the man on the bed she’d liked for a whole month, and finally ran out crying.
"Hey, Miss Nurse, wait—" Serene blinked, about to explain that the doctor had gotten it wrong. But before she could get out the words "He’s not my husband," the nurse had already vanished without a trace.
The attending doctor looked at the fleeing nurse in confusion. "What’s wrong with her? Don’t tell me your husband rejected her again?"
Serene frowned. "Dr. Zion, how many times do I have to tell you? He’s not my husband."
"Alright, alright. Couples bickering? That's nothing new. Enough is enough," Dr. Zion said, shaking his head as he looked at the two of them.
In his eyes, a pretty young woman like Serene Whitmore had spent the past month glued to the bedside of a man who was practically half-crippled from his injuries. She took care of everything, even helping him bathe. If they weren't husband and wife, who would buy that? Anyway, Dr. Zion definitely didn't.
Serene felt helpless, but there was no way she could tell him the real reason she had been taking such painstaking care of this man: on his shoulder, there was a maple-leaf birthmark.
Two years ago, a brave Mrs. Frost had saved her life. When they parted, Mrs. Frost had told her, "Serene, my biggest regret in this life is losing my son. There's a maple-leaf birthmark on his shoulder. He's very smart, and he's really handsome too, but... I still haven't been able to find him."
"Miss Whitmore? Miss Whitmore?" Seeing her suddenly zone out, Dr. Zion called her a few times.
Only then did Serene snap out of it. Mrs. Frost's words were still vivid in her mind, clear as day. Judging from his age, his looks, and especially that maple-leaf mark on his shoulder, Serene was more and more convinced that the man in front of her was very likely Mrs. Frost's son.
"Alright, Doctor. I'll pack his things now and take him home for discharge," Serene said.
Dr. Zion patted her on the shoulder. "That's more like it. Between husband and wife, what grudge ever lasts overnight? Go home and live your life properly."
Serene: "..."
The moment Dr. Zion left, Serene dropped onto the seat in front of the man and, for what had to be the nth time, asked, "What's your name? Are you really Mrs. Frost's son or not?"
The man cut her a sidelong glance, then slowly closed his beautiful eyes. Completely ignoring how anxious she was, he actually started resting with his eyes shut, looking calm as ever.
"You can't talk, fine, but can you write? Or draw? You can just write it out for me!" Serene said, unwilling to give up as she shook him lightly.
But the man couldn't even be bothered to open his eyes. He wore that same aloof, untouchable expression, like the whole thing had nothing to do with him.
"You—" Serene was seriously about to explode.
But when she thought of Mrs. Frost, she just couldn't leave him alone. A mute man with a bad leg like him? If nobody looked after him, he'd probably starve to death in less than five days.
In the end, Serene still brought him home.
Serene's place was a rental, a plain one-bedroom with a small living room. There was a sofa in the living room, and she pointed at it. "Until you find your family, you can stay here." After saying that, she went to the bathroom. When she came back out, she found that the man had turned on the TV, and the news was playing.
"Breaking news: Dominic Blackwell Group underwent a major internal share transfer today. All shares under Ethan Blackwell, the third son of the Blackwell family, have been transferred to his elder brother Dominic Blackwell and second brother Roland Blackwell. Ethan Blackwell is currently missing, and unusual unrest has emerged within the Blackwell Group..."
The man's eyes locked on the TV screen. In the shadows, his fist clenched tight.
Serene didn't notice anything off about him. She just assumed he was interested in financial news.
