Chapter 191: Selfishness, After All

Upon hearing this, two enthusiastic traffic police officers immediately stepped forward. Hearing that they were heading to the Second Affiliated Hospital, they immediately mounted their motorcycles to clear the path ahead, their sirens wailing "woo-woo" without pause to warn the surrounding vehicles.

Ahead, it was a green light all the way!

Shen Yan drove behind the traffic police; this was the first time since he started driving that things had been so smooth—just like being cured of constipation, completely unobstructed.

At this moment, Xu Weizhou finally understood Shen Yan's intention and thanked him repeatedly. Shen Yan replied, "It's a small matter," and then focused intently on continuing to drive.

Zhong Manshu took everything in, feeling an indescribable sense of relief in her heart. This child had truly grown up; he didn't panic when encountering trouble, reacted quickly, and made decisions decisively. He was already a man one could rely on.

Even without her by his side, Shen Yan had still grown up to be so outstanding.

With the traffic police clearing the way in front, the original ten-minute drive was compressed to just three minutes.

After arriving at the destination, the traffic police turned into Lei Fengs, waving their hands with smiles before turning and leaving, as if a breeze had brushed past, leaving not a single trace behind.

Xu Weizhou picked up the child and dashed out. Zhong Manshu hesitated repeatedly before saying to Shen Yan, "Could you leave me your phone number?"

Meeting those eyes filled with anticipation and nervousness, Shen Yan spat out a string of numbers. Zhong Manshu acted as if she had obtained a treasure and hurriedly recorded it on her phone.

The situation was urgent, so the two did not have much interaction. Zhong Manshu ran into the hospital in a rush. Looking at that plump back, Shen Yan's gaze was as deep as the sea.

Then, he gently exhaled a breath of stale air and drove away, disappearing into the vast night.

He had thought that there would be no further intersection between them for a long time, but unexpectedly, at ten o'clock that night, Xu Weizhou came to the door holding Xiaoliang to express his gratitude, accompanied by Xu Weizhou's wife Xia Juan, Xu's mother, and... Zhong Manshu.

As soon as they entered, the family showered Shen Yan with endless thanks, giving him red envelopes and gifts of milk.

Xu Weizhou had been scolded severely by the doctor, who rebuked him for what kind of father he was, bringing the child in only when the high fever had reached such a level; a few minutes later, and even the gods would have been powerless to save him.

Xu Weizhou had unspeakable bitterness; both he and his wife were busy with work during the day, so they had entrusted the child to Xu's mother to look after.

It just so happened that Xu's mother's blood pressure had spiked today, and after taking medicine, she had fallen into a daze while resting on the sofa. Xu's mother had also not expected that Xiaoliang would suddenly develop a high fever while fast asleep.

If it hadn't been for Zhong Manshu coming to visit, and running into Shen Yan halfway... Xu Weizhou didn't dare to imagine what the consequences would have been.

Shen Yan smiled and said, "We are all neighbors, just helping out with a small favor, there's no need to be so polite."

The Xu family insisted it was the right thing to do and a small token of their appreciation, urging Shen Yan to accept it. Shen Yan couldn't refuse, so he accepted it accordingly.

After a round of pleasantries, the Xu family rose to leave, but only Zhong Manshu showed no intention of leaving. She let Xu Weizhou and the others go back first.

Xu Weizhou was thoughtful.

When they met at the elevator last time, Xu Weizhou had noticed that Zhong Manshu and Shen Yan had some connection, but he hadn't taken it to heart. A middle-aged woman and a young man—what could they have?

Nothing more than a somewhat unpleasant experience in the past.

Zhong Manshu was unwilling to say more, and others had no way to force it.

Getting to the bottom of it would only make both parties unhappy.

Shen Yan did not speak, tacitly allowing this to happen. After the others left, Zhong Manshu rubbed her hands together and, looking at the calm and composed Shen Yan, said somewhat nervously, "I've thought a lot over these two days. There are many things I want to tell you. I originally came here specifically to find you today, not expecting to run into this kind of situation."

Shen Yan leaned against the sofa without speaking, just looking calmly at the woman in front of him. Just like last time, Zhong Manshu was still wearing exquisite makeup, erasing the traces of time completely.

Her figure was slender, about 1.65 meters tall, with long hair draped over her shoulders. Her round cheeks were embedded with a pair of bright, large eyes, a slightly high nose, and red lips. Her well-defined features appeared gentle and bright.

Zhong Manshu had been mentally prepared for Shen Yan's reaction, but suddenly her mind went blank, and the words she had organized beforehand were completely forgotten.

She stayed silent for a long while, her gaze scanning the room back and forth, before saying, "Actually, over these years, I have secretly gone to Cangnan to see you. The last time I saw you was last September. In a year's time, you have undergone earth-shaking changes; I almost didn't recognize you."

Shen Yan had guessed this long ago; otherwise, how would Zhong Manshu have looked at him with that kind of gaze during their first meeting?

It was just that he couldn't understand Zhong Manshu's thinking. Since she had already come, why not appear and meet him? Was she afraid of being burdened by him? Or was it out of guilt, so that doing this would make her feel better?

Zhong Manshu had originally thought that Shen Yan would be moved, or feel a trace of joy, or stand up and angrily question her: "Since you came, why didn't you meet me?"

However, Shen Yan remained expressionless.

Come to think of it, some things could be judged with just a little thought.

She continued, "You might not know much about me. I am a local from Hangzhou, 39 years old this year. I met your father by chance."

"Back then, your father passed away due to illness, and the family owed a lot of debt. Your maternal..."

Zhong Manshu had originally wanted to say "maternal grandfather," but fearing that Shen Yan would be angry, she only said that Zhong's father thought Zhong Manshu was so young and shouldn't remain a widow like that, so he brought her back to the Zhong Family.

After repeated persuasion from her family, Zhong Manshu ultimately failed to hold onto her original intention and chose to start a new life. Actually, she was very reluctant to part with Shen Yan, but living in the Shen Family, where one could see the end of one's life at a glance, was not what she wanted. She had hoped to take Shen Yan with her when she left.

But she was flatly refused by Shen Nainai. Shen Nainai could not stop Zhong Manshu's actions, but the descendants of the Shen Family had to be raised in the Shen Family.

What if, after Zhong Manshu remarried, the stepfather abused the child?

Furthermore, the Zhong family also persuaded Zhong Manshu to give up, saying that with such a burden, Zhong Manshu wouldn't find a good family. After thinking it over, leaving Shen Yan in the Shen Family seemed to be the best choice.

Later, Zhong Manshu had sent money to Shen Nainai several times, but Shen Nainai did not accept it. According to Shen Nainai's words, "Since you chose to abandon the child and start a new life, then just make a clean break. Don't leave the child with longing. He is so young, thinking about finding his mother every day; when he eventually shows up at your door, both sides will end up unhappy."

Zhong Manshu was speechless.

And then things evolved into what they were now; Zhong Manshu could only occasionally go to secretly visit Shen Yan.

After hearing all this, Shen Yan didn't have much feeling, and even less intention to blame Shen Nainai. Although Zhong Manshu had once had the intention to take him away, when it all came down to it, wasn't she still a selfish person?

One could only say she had a bit of maternal love, but not much.

What she considered first was always herself.

All that talk about the Zhong family's persuasion and Shen Nainai's refusal—if Zhong Manshu had truly wanted to take him away, from a legal perspective, no one had the right to stop her.

Zhong Manshu knew that the fact she had abandoned her child was indisputable. Without any defense, she said, "I came here today not expecting you to acknowledge me; I just wanted to know if you were doing well. If you need anything, you can tell me."