My Wife Always Wants to Run Away - Chapter 4

Tang Jinzhi jolted upright in bed.

The reckless movement inevitably strained her injured arm. She lowered her head and groaned, gasping for breath as cold sweat streamed down her back.

“Hey! What’s wrong?” Zhang Yueqi exclaimed in shock, hastily removing his red oil-stained gloves and rising to check on Tang Jinzhi.

Tang Jinzhi panted heavily, her reddened eyes shimmering with a thin mist. Tears of pain welled in the corners of her eyes as she threw back the covers, trying to get up.

But a hand firmly pressed her shoulder down, long, slender fingers gripping her firmly.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Jie Xiangyi’s deep voice sounded coldly from above her.

Jie Xiangyi was genuinely puzzled. She had only been gone for half an hour; how could Tang Jinzhi’s emotions have swung so wildly again?

Forced back down onto the bed, Tang Jinzhi took deep breaths, trying to stay calm. She glanced down at her hospital gown and asked Jie Xiangyi urgently, “Who changed my clothes?”

Jie Xiangyi paused, then quickly replied, “I did.”

Hearing this, Tang Jinzhi grabbed Jie Xiangyi’s arm and demanded, “Where are the clothes I was wearing?”

Jie Xiangyi didn’t understand why this was her priority, but she didn’t dwell on it. Keeping the patient calm was paramount.

“I’ll get it for you. Don’t rush.”

Jie Xiangyi placed the paper bag and her phone on the bedside table and turned to the wardrobe to retrieve Tang Jinzhi’s nightgown.

Tang Jinzhi, whose gaze had been glued to Jie Xiangyi, nearly cursed aloud.

Her hand trembled as she took the nightgown. This is my own nightgown!

Who gets body-swapped into a book?!

Tang Jinzhi’s throat tightened. She forced her gaze away from the nightgown, her mind racing, and looked at Jie Xiangyi with desperate hope. “Is that all?”

She wasn’t asking for much—just her USB drive. She had been clutching it tightly; what if it had come with her?

Jie Xiangyi shook her head. “You were wearing this nightgown when you were brought to the hospital.”

Tang Jinzhi pressed her lips together, her face draining of color. The fragile hope that had just ignited shattered again, her breath trembling.

The room fell into an awkward silence.

Zhang Yueqi stood speechless, afraid to speak. When Jie Xiangyi glanced at her questioningly, she could only shake her head.

Everything had happened so suddenly.

No one could fathom what Tang Jinzhi was thinking.

“Do you have my aunt’s contact information?” The dazed Tang Jinzhi finally remembered one last thread of hope. She licked her lips and cautiously looked at Jie Xiangyi, her voice trembling. “I fell at home, right?”

If nothing came of this, Tang Jinzhi would mentally scream for the System until she conjured one into existence. She couldn’t bear this torment any longer.

Jie Xiangyi’s eyelashes fluttered. The raw emotion on Tang Jinzhi’s pale face was a clear sign of impending collapse.

This matter was crucial to her.

Seeing Tang Jinzhi’s reddened eyes, Jie Xiangyi unconsciously softened her tone, her voice gentle. “You fell at home. The housekeeper works for your family; she was just helping you move things here. I don’t have her contact information, but you should.”

Without hesitation, Tang Jinzhi grabbed her phone from the bedside table and moved to get out of bed, her voice urgent. “I need to go back.”

She had to find it herself.

Jie Xiangyi pressed her back down again, frowning in disapproval. “You can’t leave the hospital yet.”

“But this is really important to me,” Tang Jinzhi insisted.

Realizing she couldn’t restrain the determined Tang Jinzhi, Jie Xiangyi suddenly remembered something. She quickly asked, “Are you looking for this?”

With that, she pulled a USB drive from her pocket and tentatively waved it in front of Tang Jinzhi, hoping she had guessed correctly.

The fleeting glimpse of the object triggered a flicker of recognition in Tang Jinzhi’s mind. As she focused her gaze, her body froze instantly, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Tang Jinzhi stared intently at the USB drive in Jie Xiangyi’s hand, her throat bobbing as she nearly lost her composure in a surge of excitement.

She dared not blink, silently pleading, Heavenly powers, please let this be real!

Seeing Tang Jinzhi cease struggling, Jie Xiangyi breathed a small sigh of relief.

When she had returned to retrieve Tang Jinzhi’s phone, the housekeeper was cleaning the living room. The place was cluttered with unpacked belongings and discarded packing materials, leaving the room in disarray.

Jie Xiangyi had accidentally kicked the USB drive while navigating through the mess.

The drive’s silicone case was shaped like a cute gray cartoon figure, quite appealing at first glance. However, closer inspection revealed signs of long use—the color had faded, and it could easily have been mistaken for trash if not noticed.

When Jie Xiangyi asked the housekeeper if it should be thrown away, the housekeeper replied that it probably should be, as she didn’t recognize it.

After hesitating, Jie Xiangyi picked it up and wiped it clean.

Since it wasn’t her item, she wasn’t sure if she should discard it. Instead, she decided to bring it back and ask Tang Jinzhi about it. If it belonged to Tang Jinzhi, Jie Xiangyi desperately hoped that the million-word manuscript she had mentioned was stored on it.

That was the hope that had driven Jie Xiangyi to bring the USB drive.

The outcome was now clear.

Tears welled in Tang Jinzhi’s eyes as she stared at the USB drive in Jie Xiangyi’s hand. Snapping out of her daze, she reached out to snatch it and clutch it to her chest, but Jie Xiangyi deftly dodged her attempt.

Puzzled, Tang Jinzhi looked up at the woman she had just mentally acknowledged as her sister.

Jie Xiangyi nodded toward the hospital bed. “If you want it, lie down properly.”

Tang Jinzhi hesitated for a moment, then immediately leaned back against the pillows and pulled the blanket over herself. Her eyes remained fixed on Jie Xiangyi’s hand, terrified that the USB drive might vanish with the next blink.

Jie Xiangyi raised an eyebrow, her eyes glinting with amusement as she waved the drive in front of Tang Jinzhi’s face. “Still planning to leave the hospital?”

Tang Jinzhi chuckled awkwardly and shook her head vigorously. “No, I’m not.”

Jie Xiangyi’s lips curved into a smile. “Will you cooperate with the doctors’ examinations these next few days?”

Tang Jinzhi: “…cough, yes.”

Zhang Yueqi, who had witnessed the entire exchange, was dumbfounded. Sis, you’re acting normal now?

Tang Jinzhi sat obediently, willing to do anything Jie Xiangyi asked as long as she got the USB drive back.

It contained not just a million words of drafts, but also five or six years of her life’s work.

Jie Xiangyi clearly understood the USB drive’s importance to Tang Jinzhi.

Her eyebrows arched slightly, surprised that she had already gained the upper hand.

Suddenly, she felt a reluctance to give it to her.

But this dangerous thought was quickly dismissed. Tang Jinzhi’s unwavering gaze seemed to pierce right through her hand.

“Here,” she said, handing over the USB drive.

Tang Jinzhi snatched it eagerly, nodding emphatically at Jie Xiangyi, her embarrassment forgotten. “Sister, you’re like my real sister!” she exclaimed, her face brimming with gratitude.

“Oh~ My wife’s become my little sister now,” Zhang Yueqi chimed in from the side, his tone teasing as he eyed the two women with amusement.

Jie Xiangyi: “……”

Why is Zhang Yueqi still here?

She shot him a warning glance.

Tang Jinzhi cleared her throat softly, subtly changing the subject. “Is there a computer here?” she asked Jie Xiangyi, eager to confirm that the contents of the drive were intact.

Jie Xiangyi couldn’t bear Tang Jinzhi’s slightly pleading gaze. With a soft sigh, she replied, “I’ll go get one for you.”

Fortunately, her laptop was at the hospital, saving them the trouble of going back home.

As she watched Jie Xiangyi leave, Tang Jinzhi clutched the USB drive tightly, marveling inwardly once again at how kind Jie Xiangyi truly was.

Zhang Yueqi waved his hand in front of Tang Jinzhi’s eyes, teasing, “Hey! Stop staring, she’s long gone.”

Tang Jinzhi shook her head, feigning profundity. “You wouldn’t understand.”

The moment Jie Xiangyi produced the USB drive, a divine aura enveloped her in Tang Jinzhi’s eyes.

Jie Xiangyi had practically rescued her from dire straits, instantly restoring her spirit.

Tang Jinzhi mentally praised Jie Xiangyi’s kindness repeatedly.

Zhang Yueqi pursed his lips, grumbling, “I don’t understand, but you’re acting weird. Jie Xiangyi seems awfully free today.”

Doctor Qiu, on the other hand, was so busy she was practically a blur.

Hearing him mention Jie Xiangyi, Tang Jinzhi offered an explanation, “She probably isn’t busy today.”

Zhang Yueqi retorted, throwing her own words back at her, “You wouldn’t understand.”

She returned to the table, tore open a new pair of gloves, and resumed eating crawfish, muttering, “Jie Xiangyi started shadowing her mentor at the hospital during her junior year of college. For the last three years of her five-year undergraduate program, she practically lived at the hospital.”

“Even though she’s only twenty-six, she’s already been working at the hospital for nearly seven years. After graduating with her master’s this year, she’ll have to decide whether to pursue a doctorate.”

“She’s so busy she barely has enough time, even when she stretches every minute. How could a workaholic like her ever allow herself to relax?”

Tang Jinzhi sighed after hearing this. “She’s incredibly hardworking and must be exhausted.”

Then, she mused, “So my bargain wife hasn’t even graduated yet.”

Good thing the original Tang Jinzhi already finished college, she thought. Otherwise, I’d definitely be stuck with a delayed graduation.

Her singing is decent, but she can’t act.

The original Tang Jinzhi had nearly stepped into the entertainment industry, but now… her entry is a complete failure.

Before, her family forbade her from making public appearances in the industry. She had to write and sing her own songs, secretly uploading them online.

After reading her profile, Tang Jinzhi learned that the original Tang Jinzhi actually wanted to act more. After all, she was the top student in the drama school’s acting department.

She had secretly auditioned many times, but her family always sabotaged her efforts.

Now, at twenty-four, she still hasn’t officially filmed a single drama.

The only reason she agreed to the arranged marriage was because her family offered her a condition that truly moved her.

Tang Jinzhi sighed deeply, silently apologizing to the original Tang Jinzhi in her heart.

I’m sorry, I can’t do it.

She was just an ordinary web novelist, and crossing into the entertainment industry would be like climbing a mountain—she’d only be good for being a pretty face.

But then again, if she had transmigrated, where had the original Tang Jinzhi gone?

Puzzled, Tang Jinzhi pondered for a moment before reaching for the phone on her bedside table.

Could this phone still unlock with her face?

After a moment’s hesitation, she steeled her resolve, raised the phone to her face, and within a second, it unlocked.

Tang Jinzhi froze in shock.

A second me in this world?

A sudden thought struck her: Could the original Tang Jinzhi have somehow ended up in her world?!

Tang Jinzhi clutched her head, her face twisted in anguish. Don’t do this to me!

She frantically tried to recall if there was anything incriminating on her accounts, but she couldn’t bear to think about it for more than a second.

There really wasn’t much that could be shown to the public…

Tang Jinzhi’s lips twitched, and she decided to rein in her wild imagination.

What am I even thinking? This is a novel, it has to be a novel, and I am Tang Jinzhi!

She patted her head, warning herself to stop letting her mind wander.

Tang Jinzhi tilted her head slightly and sighed, “Life, huh? It’s just too dramatic sometimes.”

Zhang Yueqi nodded between bites, chiming in, “Yeah, Xiangyi’s just a workhorse.”

Tang Jinzhi: “…?”