Chapter 1 Still in Prison

"We haven't done this in a long time..."

The man's thin lips were close to Gu Mian's ear, his voice deep and husky with a seductive tone.

"Tingshen, I need to go to the hospital..."

Gu Mian dodged his pursuing kiss.

"Just once!"

The man grasped her waist and possessed her in one motion.

Tiny sobs spilled from Gu Mian's throat; she felt like a solitary leaf floating on the sea, bobbing up and down in the storm.

This time seemed longer than any previous one, and by the time it finally ended, Gu Mian's body was still trembling, drenched in sweat.

"Did I hurt you?" The man's deep, pleasing voice came from beside her ear, "Later, I'll have someone buy you the latest designer bag."

Gu Mian slowly opened her eyes to look at him.

He was very handsome, his features strikingly perfect and his demeanor cold and aloof. Perhaps because they had just been intimate, his flawless face still held traces of desire.

Married for three years, Gu Mian could tell that he had just felt good.

That's why he was being so generous.

Gu Mian gave a bitter smile, "Have you forgotten that I'm still in prison?"

"Then we'll wait until you're out to celebrate," he replied.

Gu Mian's heart was pierced!

He spoke so casually, as if her imprisonment was just a vacation.

"Aren't you getting out soon?" the man's hand gently touched her face, "I told you, a year passes quickly."

Gu Mian held back tears, grabbing his hand, her voice hoarse and rough, "The hospital notified me that grandma is feeling unwell; do you have time later? Please come with me to see her."

Being in prison, she wasn't allowed to leave at will.

Fortunately, her good behavior had granted her a day's leave to visit her family.

She had left the prison early in the morning, intending to go straight to the hospital, but afraid that her grandmother would worry if she saw her in that state, she came home to change her clothes, only to run into Li Tingshen, who had just returned from a business trip abroad.

She was in a hurry to get to the hospital, but the man wouldn't stop pestering her for attention, delaying her the entire morning.

Gu Mian thought it was good to run into him, as seeing him would definitely make her grandmother happy.

But in the next second, the man withdrew his hand.

Gu Mian felt an inexplicable emptiness in her heart!

"I have things to do this afternoon, you go alone," Li Tingshen got up, pulled a card from the drawer of the bedside table, and handed it to her, "Buy grandma something to eat."

Gu Mian wasn't surprised, since this wasn't the first time he had dismissed her with money.

He had never considered that what grandma needed wasn't money, but to see their loving harmony as a couple.

Li Tingshen finished showering, dressed, and left without a word of goodbye.

Gu Mian got up, quickly packed some things, and still trembling, left the bed.

She packed a small portion of dumplings, prepared to cook them for her grandmother at the hospital.

When she entered the hospital room, Gu Mian froze, the bag dropping to the floor!

"Grandma!"

Although her grandmother needed frequent hospital stays due to poor health, she had never before required a respirator!

Gu Mian rushed forward, calling out anxiously, "Grandma, I'm back, open your eyes and look at me, grandma!"

Her grandmother struggled to open her eyes, a trace of light flickering in her aged, listless eyes, "Mianmian, you've come..."

"Grandma, what's wrong with you?" Gu Mian asked anxiously, "Didn't the nurse say on the phone that you were just feeling a bit unwell and missed me? How can it be so serious!"

"I didn't want to scare you, that's why I had the nurse say that, Mianmian. Grandma can't hold on much longer."

"No way!"

Gu Mian hurriedly grabbed her hand to feel her pulse.

The oil was out and the lamp was dry; the end was near.

Tears gushed out like a dam burst, slicing through Gu Mian's heart.

"Mianmian, birth, aging, sickness, and death are natural parts of life; don't cry," Grandma stroked her face, "Having such a filial granddaughter like you, I have no regrets in this life. It's just that I can't bear to leave you."

"Grandma, don't go!" Gu Mian frantically wiped the tears from her face and forced a smile, "In one month I will be out of prison, and then I will be with you every day. Didn't you always want to go back to the countryside? As soon as you get better, we'll return..."

"Good," Grandma looked at her lovingly, "and bring Tingshen along, the two of you give me a beautiful great-grandchild."

Knowing it was impossible, but Gu Mian still nodded vigorously, "Yes, he will agree. He wanted to come to see you, but the corporation had some urgent business that needed his attention."

"Work is important."

Grandma took out a jade pendant from under the pillow and placed it in Gu Mian's hand.

It was carved with a phoenix, with a delicate and warm texture, a rare treasure.

"Mianmian, be sure to keep this safe, it's your..."

Before Grandma could finish her sentence, the door of the ward was suddenly opened.

Li Tingshen was wearing a tailored dark suit, standing tall and upright, his perfect proportions of broad shoulders and long legs giving him an air of inherent nobility.

Gu Mian was overjoyed, "Grandma, Tingshen is here, Tingshen has come to see you!"

Li Tingshen approached the bedside, but his expression was off.

He was always cool and composed, rarely showing his feelings, but now he seemed somewhat nervous and uneasy, "Gu Mian, Luoxue is sick, she needs your blood immediately."

Gu Mian was stunned, she had assumed Li Tingshen was worried for Grandma, but it turned out it was because of Yin Luoxue!

Indeed, in this world, the woman he loved the most was his childhood sweetheart, Yin Luoxue, incomparable to anyone else!

Gu Mian, struggling to suppress the dull pain in her chest, choked up, "Grandma is dying, I need to stay with her. Tingshen, can't you use the blood from the blood bank for Yin Luoxue?"

"Panda blood is rare, and this hospital doesn't have it. The nearest blood bank is more than an hour away; by the time the blood arrives, it would be too late," Li Tingshen grabbed her wrist and began to lead her out, "Gu Mian, human life is paramount, you must go!"

"I want to stay with Grandma! Let go of me!" Gu Mian struggled, but to no avail.

"Mianmian... Mianmian!" Grandma reached out towards her direction from the bed, urgently speaking, "About your origins, Grandma never told you, actually you..."

"Grandma!"

Gu Mian was pulled out of the ward and directly to the blood donation center.

A normal person should not donate more than 400 milliliters of blood, but Li Tingshen said Yin Luoxue needed more, and had someone draw 800 milliliters.

After donating blood, Gu Mian's face was as pale as paper.

She leaned against the wall, struggling with her weak body to return to grandma's ward, only to find the ventilator had stopped operating and a white sheet covered Grandma's emaciated body!

Gu Mian's world spun dizzyingly, her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground.

She didn't even have the strength to cry and struggled to crawl toward Grandma.

"Please… Grandma… don't leave me…"

She knelt beside the bed, holding Grandma's body, devastated by grief.

"Gu Mian, be sorrowful,"

Li Tingshen's deep and detached voice came from behind, "By the way, Luoxue is out of danger. Thank you for your effort... Also, the prison called to inform you, it's time for you to return."