Whoever Falls in Love First is the Dog - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: “I Suddenly Don’t Know… What I’m Living For Anymore.”

Shen Mengke was exhausted, but she couldn’t sleep.

She sat on the couch in her room, head tilted back slightly, gazing at the moon outside the window.

The moon was full and bright tonight, yet not a single star was visible.

She kept scrolling through her phone, over and over again, but there wasn’t a single message from Chen Yanxing.

Chen Yanxing had taken the time to inform Ruan Lihua before leaving, but not a word to her. Why did she leave? Where was she going? Would she come back? When?

Nothing. Chen Yanxing had completely erased Shen Mengke from her life.

Shen Mengke sighed and closed her eyes, letting the gentle moonlight fall across her face.

It was a ridiculous feeling, like she’d lost something incredibly precious—but she didn’t even know what that something was. All she knew was that her heart felt hollow.

Yet, truthfully, she and Chen Yanxing didn’t even have that deep of a connection.

Chen Yanxing woke up three days later. As her consciousness gradually returned, the first thing she noticed was the numbness in her arm.

She tried to move, but something heavy was pressing on her arm. The only thing she could move were her fingers.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. All she could see was white.

A white ceiling, white curtains, a white room.

Her gaze slowly shifted. To her left, she saw an IV drip, the liquid slowly dripping down. She instinctively curled her left hand—the sensation of the needle in her skin suddenly sharp.

She was in a hospital.

Her head still ached. Turning to her right, she saw that the reason her arm couldn’t move was because someone’s head was resting on it.

From Chen Yanxing’s angle, she could see strands of black hair threaded with gray. The hair was pinned up in a neat bun. The hand clutching her arm was thin and wrinkled—it looked like it belonged to someone older.

Her eyes moved again to a black wheelchair beside the bed, with a blanket draped over the woman’s legs.

She had fallen asleep right by Chen Yanxing’s side.

Chen Yanxing didn’t know who this woman was, yet she felt an inexplicable flutter in her heart.

When someone has something weighing on their mind, they don’t sleep too deeply.

The moment Chen Yanxing moved slightly, Xia Lingxuan woke up. She slowly lifted her head and locked eyes with Chen Yanxing.

Both of them were dazed and confused.

After a long silence, Xia Lingxuan suddenly realized what was happening. She sat up straight and looked awkwardly at Chen Yanxing’s puzzled expression, offering a sheepish smile.

She instinctively raised a hand to fix her messy hair, smoothed the wrinkles in her clothes, and then looked back at her.

“Xixi…”

Her appearance didn’t quite match what Chen Yanxing had imagined. She didn’t look very old—perhaps in her forties—but her face was full of exhaustion, giving her the aura of someone much older.

Still, despite the wrinkles, Chen Yanxing could clearly see how similar their faces were.

Suppressing her surprise, she frowned slightly in confusion. “Are you… talking to me? Who are you?”

“I’m your mother!” Xia Lingxuan anxiously grabbed her numb arm. “Mom finally found you.”

Then it hit her—everything that happened before.

She had gotten into Xia Jihe’s car, intending to leave Yun City. Then Xia Jihe received a phone call and then…

A sharp pain suddenly hit her head. She instinctively touched it and felt soft bandages.

She must have hit her head—she’d been bleeding.

A car accident…

“What about Xia Jihe? Is she okay?”

Xia Lingxuan quickly shook her head. “She’s fine…” she said, her eyes brimming with tears. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I got you hurt again…”

As Xia Lingxuan’s tears began to fall, Chen Yanxing panicked and reached out.

That hand was immediately grasped. Xia Lingxuan said excitedly, “So you forgive me now?”

“I…”

Chen Yanxing was speechless. Whether she forgave her or not—everything was still so chaotic. She hadn’t made sense of any of it.

“Um… Auntie…”

She didn’t know how to address the woman in front of her. The word “Auntie” had barely left her lips when Xia Lingxuan broke down in sobs again.

“You still don’t want to forgive me… wuwuwu…”

“Ah…”

Chen Yanxing turned her head away, overwhelmed. Suddenly, she thought maybe Chen Zhiyu wasn’t so bad—at least communicating with her wasn’t this difficult.

Luckily, someone who could actually speak rationally entered the room.

Lin Qian hadn’t expected Chen Yanxing to wake up yet. She had come to the hospital with lunch, and when she saw the helpless look on Chen Yanxing’s face and Xia Lingxuan crying with her back turned, she immediately understood what was going on.

She quickly closed the door, set the lunchbox on the table, and approached with a smile. “Miss, you’re finally awake. Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?”

As she spoke, she went to the wheelchair and gently wiped away Xia Lingxuan’s tears. “Madam, what’s wrong? Are you just overjoyed?”

Chen Yanxing finally pulled her hand back. She propped herself up in bed and looked at the other woman.

“And you are?”

No one could wake up from a car crash in a strange place, face a crying woman claiming to be their mother, and stay calm and composed.

“I’m Lin Qian, the housekeeper of the Xia family,” Lin Qian said, gently soothing Xia Lingxuan before turning back to Chen Yanxing. “What happened?”

Chen Yanxing didn’t answer. Instead, Xia Lingxuan clung to Lin Qian and said, “Xixi doesn’t want to forgive me.”

Chen Yanxing rubbed her forehead, exasperated, turning to look out the window without denying it.

Lin Qian glanced at her, chuckled softly, and said, “Madam, Miss just woke up. She’s still figuring everything out. Maybe give her a little time, yes?”

Hearing that, Xia Lingxuan looked at Chen Yanxing again. Seeing her unwilling to even look her way, she seemed about to cry again but held back and nodded.

“Madam, how about I take you to eat something?”

“Xixi should eat too…”

“Miss just woke up. I’ll call the doctor to check on her first, and we’ll see what she’s allowed to eat. Okay?”

Finally persuaded, Xia Lingxuan nodded and allowed Lin Qian to wheel her to the table and begin serving her.

Once Xia Lingxuan was settled, Lin Qian returned to the bedside, took out a document envelope, and handed it to Chen Yanxing. “This is the paternity test. Please forgive us for doing it while you were unconscious, but it was for your sake. We couldn’t afford any mistakes.”

“As for the accident… You’re mostly fine. Just a mild concussion.”

Chen Yanxing looked at the envelope but didn’t take it.

Anyone with eyes could see how similar she and Xia Lingxuan looked. If they weren’t mother and daughter, then their ancestors must’ve had some connection.

She knew—but she just couldn’t accept it yet. How was she supposed to throw away over twenty years of her beliefs and suddenly embrace a completely new family connection?

Besides, she wanted to know how the Chen family would react—especially Chen Zhiyu.

She had cared for twenty years. She couldn’t just stop now.

Seeing she didn’t take the envelope, Lin Qian didn’t insist. She placed it down gently. “I’ll go call the doctor. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to eat—I’ll have our chef make it.”

Chen Yanxing shook her head, saying nothing.

Lin Qian gave her a polite bow and left the room. Soon, she returned with the doctor.

After a thorough examination confirmed there were no serious injuries, the IV was removed, and Lin Qian finally relaxed.

“I asked the chef to prepare some congee. It’ll be here shortly.”

Chen Yanxing nodded and glanced at Lin Qian, hesitating.

Lin Qian smiled. “If there’s anything you need, just tell me.”

“No… I just wanted to ask—where’s my phone? I want to make a call.”

“Well… the scene was chaotic when we rescued you. We did our best, but your phone was probably lost there.” She handed over her own phone. “You can use mine. Also, if you have preferences for the phone’s model, color, or functions, I’ll have a new one delivered this afternoon.”

Chen Yanxing stared at her phone for three seconds before shaking her head. “Forget it. It’s not that important.”

Hearing that, Lin Qian smiled and put the phone away.

Suddenly, someone knocked on a door elsewhere.

Shen Mengke slowly looked up, only then realizing the sun had risen.

She had spent the whole night sitting on the couch.

After a pause, someone outside gently pushed open the door. But when they saw Shen Mengke sitting there, they were startled.

Shu Yun glanced at the untouched, perfectly made bed, then at Shen Mengke’s weary face. “You… didn’t sleep all night?!”

She was shocked and confused. “Do you have a death wish?”

But Shen Mengke only looked at her with tired eyes and furrowed her brow. “Why are you still here?”

Shu Yun’s breath caught. The look in Shen Mengke’s eyes was so unfamiliar, she suddenly felt like she didn’t know her anymore.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth but ended up sighing instead.

“I made you breakfast,” she said. “Even if you can’t sleep, you should eat something.”

“I’m not hungry,” Shen Mengke lowered her gaze. After a pause, she added, “And I can’t sleep either.”

“I suddenly don’t know… what I’m living for anymore.”

Her words brought a heavy silence to the room.

Scandals and gossip—she had long grown weary of the baseless judgments and slander. The more she tried to escape it, the more it consumed her.

At first, she fought for her grandmother, wanting to give her a good life. Then it became about revenge—against a family that didn’t care for her. But now…

Her grandmother was gone. She had no one left to take revenge on. In an instant, she’d lost her reason to keep going.

What good was there? None. Only the constant, meaningless doubt that followed her everywhere.

Shu Yun looked at her and suddenly said, “I heard there was a drama you didn’t get to finish?”

“Yeah, the contract was terminated.”

“Do you still want to film it?”

Shen Mengke looked up sharply, confused.

“I bought the script,” Shu Yun said. “We’re planning to shoot it again. If you want, you can still be the female lead. Come work with me—let’s finish this story together.”

She walked over, stood before her, and extended a hand.

“You once told me that, more than perfection, you value completion. So, what do you say? Want to finish this unfinished story?”