Chapter 104

After going back and forth at the hospital all day, the doctor’s final diagnosis was a mental disorder caused by stimulation.

There was no other way for this situation. They could only send her directly to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.

Luo Yi helped contact the psychiatric hospital, and they immediately took her there.

Song Anan, who had not slept all night, could not resist her drowsiness on the road. She leaned on Pei Kuang's shoulder and fell asleep.

When the car arrived at its destination, Pei Kuang did not wake her up either. He gently laid her down on the back seat.

Before getting out of the car, he also opened the window a crack, and only then felt relieved.

After entering the psychiatric hospital, the doctor and professional caregivers took Zhang Man in and arranged a ward for her.

After finishing the procedures, Pei Kuang and Luo Yi sat in chairs outside the ward door.

"Why did you bring auntie here?" Luo Yi asked.

Pei Kuang glanced at him and said lightly, "No reason, she just happened to be there at the time."

Luo Yi snorted coldly, "Don't pretend in front of me. I know you well enough. You did it on purpose, didn't you?"

Pei Kuang lowered his eyes, clasped his hands together and paused for a moment, but did not speak.

Seeing him like this, Luo Yi could not help sighing, but at the same time, he was also very relieved for him.

Mental disorders are a form of mental illness. Once a direct blood relative is diagnosed with mental illness, most people are still very taboo about it.

Especially when there is talk of marriage.

Luo Yi did not believe that Pei Kuang had not thought of this, but he told Song Anan the truth at the first moment of the incident, and even brought her here.

Fortunately, Zhang Man's condition was a mental disorder caused by stimulation. It would not be hereditary.

"What if," Luo Yi turned to look at Pei Kuang and asked, "What if auntie really gets scared away by you? Would you regret it?"

Pei Kuang's gaze fell into the void in the distance, and the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

This was the first time he was so glad that it seemed Heaven was also on his side.

Otherwise, he really wouldn't know what to do this time.

Luo Yi asked if he would regret it. He didn't know, probably yes.

But even so, he could not have hidden this from Song Anan. He could not ruin her life.

Just now at the hospital, the reason why he had delayed so long was because Pei Kuang had repeatedly confirmed this matter.

Zhang Man had no family history of mental illness. As for why she had become what she was today, it had a lot to do with her own personality issues.

When Zhang Man was young, she married Pei Kuang's father for love, but the dissatisfaction after the marriage made her extremely believe that children and love were shackles trapping her.

So later, she chose Xie WenTao. Even if they could not register their marriage, she still became a rich madam in name.

But Zhang Man was a contradictory person. Deep down, she still felt that she loved Pei Kuang's father.

When Pei Kuang’s father died in a car accident, Zhang Man witnessed the scene with her own eyes. This left a great trauma in her heart.

All of this would have been fine. Although Zhang Man was awkward, she was not on the verge of collapse. But with the bankruptcy of the Xie family, and everything that happened afterwards, she could no longer hold it together.

Just recently, she witnessed another car accident on the road with her own eyes. When she returned home that day, she already behaved abnormally.

Perhaps this was the last straw that broke her.

Song Anan woke up and found herself in the car. But when she saw the entrance of the psychiatric hospital, she gradually realized what was going on. She got out of the car with her phone, originally wanting to call Pei Kuang first. But afraid that he was busy with the examination, she decided to go in and take a look first.

Song Anan walked into the psychiatric hospital lobby. Just as she was about to ask the front desk, she saw Luo Yi.

"When did you wake up?" Luo Yi asked. "Didn't you call Pei Kuang?"

Song Anan shook her head and said, "Just woke up, didn't want to bother him if he was busy."

Luo Yi replied, "It's fine. She's been arranged into a ward. He's there with her."

"They finished the admission procedures. I have something to do and can’t take you there. Let me give you the ward number. Go yourself. It's on the third floor, turn right, first room. Very easy to find."

After they parted, Song Anan went to the third floor and quickly found the ward according to the number Luo Yi gave.

But as soon as she got to the door, she heard a woman's hysterical cursing coming from inside.

"It's all because of you. If it weren't for you, my life wouldn't have become like this. Why do you get to live well in this world, while I don't? Why do you keep appearing before me on TV, on the streets, everywhere I look? Why are you so vengeful? Why do you not just go away? Go away..."

It was Zhang Man's voice.

Earlier at the hospital, the doctor also said her current condition was that she would alternate between being clear-headed and delirious.

Song Anan was unsure whether Zhang Man was lucid at the moment, and did not know whether to go in.

Inside the ward.

Seeing the hysterical Zhang Man, Pei Kuang's calm face flashed a trace of sarcasm.

Just now the doctor said the patient's emotions were stable and let him come in for a while. He did not expect someone delirious all day to become clear-headed now.

If not for the doctor's professional judgment, he would have suspected she was pretending again.

Zhang Man's eyes were full of madness. "Hahahaha, that's right, I remember reading online that you have a girlfriend? How could a scourge like you get someone to like you? She must be just pitying you!"

"You really are your father's son. Just knowing how to act pitiful to earn a woman's sympathy. But sympathy is not love. She will abandon you sooner or later. You don't deserve to be liked at all!"

Pei Kuang reacted very calmly to these words. He had already seen some of what Zhang Man said in those messages she sent him before.

In fact, sometimes he had to admit that blood ties were very mysterious. Zhang Man knew how to poke at his weaknesses.

"Not necessarily," Pei Kuang said. "Maybe I'm just that accident."

Zhang Man seemed to have caught on to something in his words and laughed manically. "See, you admitted it yourself. You know she just pities you. You really are despicable..."

Downstairs at the psychiatric hospital, Song Anan sat blankly in a pavilion, thinking about what Zhang Man had just said.

Earlier, when his sister-in-law found out about their relationship, the first thing she said to Song Anan was to distinguish between sympathy and love, and not to confuse the two.

Now Zhang Man was saying the same thing.

And Zhang Man said she was with Pei Kuang out of pity for him. Pei Kuang did not refute it.

Could it be that he thought so too?

Song Anan suddenly thought of many small details she had not noticed before.

No wonder that day when he confessed to her, he kept asking her to reconsider and not rush into agreeing.

He even said she could change her mind anytime.

She had always thought he was just saying it casually then. She did not expect that he had always believed deep down that she only agreed to be with him out of sympathy.

Song Anan did not know where things went wrong, why everyone would think this way.

Especially Pei Kuang. Was she not doing enough?

—After taking Zhang Man to the psychiatric hospital, Song Anan and Pei Kuang did not stay long. They rushed back to City B the same day. Given Zhang Man's current condition, it was not appropriate for Pei Kuang to stay for long either. There was no so-called mother-son relationship between them, and no need to keep up appearances.

As for bringing her back to City B, he never once considered it.

There was no need, no necessity.

Later, Pei Kuang would send various fees over on time. He was the legal guardian on paper. He would contact them if anything came up.

For day-to-day matters, Luo Yi was local. He could help handle any urgent issues first. Pei Kuang would fulfill his legal obligations towards Zhang Man, but nothing more.

By the time they returned to City B, it was already evening. After almost a full day and night of chaos, both were exhausted.

The car drove into the residential area.

Pei Kuang looked at Song Anan and said, "Come to my place."

Song Anan was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Go to Linchuan. I have something to talk to you about."

Pei Kuang paused, glanced at Song Anan, and said, "...Okay."

The two did not speak the whole way. After opening the door and entering the house,

Song Anan looked at him calmly and said, "Pei Kuang, you brought me along on purpose today, didn't you?"

Pei Kuang did not seem surprised, as if he had guessed it all along.

The little girl was naive, but not stupid.

There were many things she just didn't want to think about, not that she didn't know about them. If Luo Yi could guess what was going on, there was no reason she couldn't figure it out.

Song Anan pursed her lips as her eyes began to redden, looking like she would burst into tears at any moment.

Seeing her like this, Pei Kuang wanted to go up and hug her, but she dodged him directly.

Song Anan stared stubbornly at Pei Kuang and asked, "So, are you ready to push me away anytime?"

Pei Kuang began to panic. "Anan, let me explain, I didn't..."

"No!" Song Anan choked out, "You did!"

"You think that since I don't really like you that much anyway, it won't hurt me much if you push me away. Maybe soon I'll find out that it was just sympathy all along, not love at all. Isn't that right?"

Pei Kuang hesitated for a moment, then realized what was going on.

She must have heard those words outside the ward today.

This usually eloquent person was at a sudden loss for words.

He opened his mouth. "Anan, I...I'm sorry."

Song Anan could hold back no longer as a stream of tears slid down her cheeks. "What do you have to be sorry about? It's my fault, all my fault. How could I have not noticed at all?"

Ever since they started dating, Pei Kuang had given her a sense of security. Whenever she felt emotionally off, he would be the first to notice and come back to help dispel her concerns.

But why had she never noticed his unease?

In this relationship, Song Anan had never felt like such a failure.

Pei Kuang was completely unprepared for this and didn't know what to do. "No, Anan, this has nothing to do with you. It's me..."

Song Anan didn't care about anything else. She grabbed Pei Kuang's hand and walked towards her room.

She took out the countdown calendar from the bottom of her drawer and handed it to Pei Kuang.

Pei Kuang was stunned for a moment before taking the calendar and seeing the words "Countdown to 18th Birthday" on the cover.

Song Anan gave a quiet sob as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Flip to my birthday."

Although Pei Kuang didn't know Song Anan's intention, he still flipped to May 20th as she requested.

But when he saw the words on that page, he froze.

It read: Happy Birthday to Adulthood, Confession Accomplished!

Pei Kuang seemed to understand something as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Song Anan looked straight at him earnestly. "That's right, I had already fallen for you before I turned 18.

Back then, I didn't know about your family circumstances. There was no question of not being able to distinguish between sympathy and love.

Liking you was the thing I was most certain of in my life.

So you don't need to be anxious about it anymore!"