My Little Pink Crocodile - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Running Away from Home Again

The door to Qi Yan’s hospital ward was flung open with such uncontrolled force that it let out a deafening bang. The poor door ended up hanging precariously off the frame, swaying as if it might fall at any moment.

The commotion drew everyone in the hallway. They stared in astonishment at the beautiful young girl who possessed such startling strength. Grace, startled out of her wits, initially thought someone was looking for trouble, but she let out a sigh of relief when she realized it was Jiang Yu.

“Don’t use so much force when you enter a room,” Grace chided.

Jiang Yu stood at the threshold, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears, fixed intensely on the person on the bed.

Seeing her state, Qi Yan’s grip on her phone tightened, but she managed to force a gentle smile. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

“I know everything now. But I don’t believe it.”

Jiang Yu spoke with a sob in her voice, her hands clutching the hem of her skirt. Her eyes held a glimmer of hope as she looked at Qi Yan. She wasn’t a fool; she had connected the dots while running from the elevator. But she still wanted to believe that Qi Yan had only used a fake certificate because she didn’t have an ID at the time. She believed… that Qi Yan hadn’t meant to deceive her.

Nurses squeezed through the crowd. Just as they were about to ask about the ruined door, Grace, sensing the tension, cut them off. “We will pay for the door. Please disperse the crowd; this is a hospital, and everyone has work to do, right?”

“This…” The nurse hesitated, her eyes drifting to Jiang Yu, wondering exactly how much strength it took to damage a door like that.

Qi Yan nodded toward the nurse. “I am truly sorry. We will compensate you.” Given their polite attitude, the nurse agreed and moved the onlookers along.

Once the room was quiet, Qi Yan maintained her gentle smile—though it now seemed to hide something else—and asked patiently, “What do you know?”

Jiang Yu met Qi Yan’s gaze. Everything looked the same as usual, yet everything felt different. She bit her lip, searching Qi Yan’s eyes for any sign of a lie. “Jiang Yao said the marriage certificate is fake. She said you never intended to marry me for real from the very beginning.”

Qi Yan’s eyelids flickered. She suppressed her inner turmoil and forced a smile, offering no denial. “Yes. It’s fake.” She looked at Jiang Yu with a candid smile. “I’m sorry for lying to you.”

Hearing this and seeing no crack in Qi Yan’s expression, Jiang Yu whispered in disbelief, “No… that’s not what you’re supposed to say to me.” Her eyes turned glassy. Her pitiful appearance was so heartbreaking it was hard to bear.

Qi Yan felt a dull ache in her chest; even breathing became difficult. However, the phone in her hand vibrated. As the screen lit up, the text message she saw snapped her back to reality. She repeated the two words with an apologetic tone. “I’m sorry.”

To Jiang Yu, Qi Yan’s smile now felt distant and cold. It felt as if a needle were piercing her heart. Tears finally spilled over, rolling down her cheeks. Her red, watery eyes were enough to make anyone’s heart soften.

Qi Yan didn’t dare look any longer and turned her gaze away, only to hear Jiang Yu speak. “But I still like you. You shouldn’t use my feelings to lie to me.”

With that, Jiang Yu bolted out of the ward.

“Wait!” Qi Yan snapped her head back, watching Jiang Yu’s retreating figure. She instinctively tried to get up to chase her, but the sharp pain in her leg reminded her of her condition. She could only watch in silence as Jiang Yu ran away.

“Hey, why did she run?” Grace tried to chase after her, but by the time she reached the door, Jiang Yu was nowhere to be seen.

Helpless, Grace sat back down beside Qi Yan. She studied her friend for a moment. “You have no idea how fake your smile looks right now.”

The smile faded from Qi Yan’s face, replaced by a look of dazed exhaustion. “Is that so?”

Grace hesitated, then asked carefully, “Have you… actually fallen for her?”

Qi Yan’s lips curved into an ambiguous, bitter smile. She lowered her eyes. “Maybe.” She wanted to admit she loved Jiang Yu, but she couldn’t trap a being who didn’t belong to this world. This was the only possible outcome for them.

Grace hadn’t expected that Qi Yan, who started this with a fake certificate, would truly lose her heart. “You can still tell her the truth. She hasn’t gone back yet.”

Qi Yan shook her head weakly, a self-deprecating smile on her lips. She seemed to be talking to herself. “Soon. She’s going home soon. I won’t be seeing her again.”

Jiang Yao came downstairs just then, frustrated by reports from her subordinates that they couldn’t intercept Jiang Yu. She went straight to Qi Yan’s ward. Seeing the broken door, she didn’t need to guess who had been there.

She looked at Qi Yan with a polite smile. “I assume Boss Qi already knows Jiang Yu’s identity. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Qi Yan didn’t look at her, staring out the window with a lonely expression. Jiang Yao continued calmly, “You shouldn’t overthink it. Jiang Yu is barely an adult, inexperienced in worldly matters and emotions. Your meeting was just an accident. Letting go now is best for everyone.”

“I know,” Qi Yan whispered, a hint of shadow in her eyes. “When… when is she leaving?”

The topic made Jiang Yao irritable, but she asked patiently, “I want to know where she would go.”

Qi Yan shook her head, saying she didn’t know. Grace, seeing her friend’s distress, answered for her. “She just ran out. She probably isn’t far. You should be able to find her if you look.”

The information was vague, but Jiang Yao remained polite. “Thank you.”

As Jiang Yao turned to leave, Grace caught up to her. “Why did you tell Jiang Yu the certificate was fake directly?”

Jiang Yao paused and looked at her. “Because there is no possibility for them.”

Since Grace was the one who procured the certificate, the fact that it caused their fallout made her feel guilty. She frowned at Jiang Yao’s coldness. “How could we possibly know what’s between them?”

Jiang Yao stared at her with deep, distant indifference. Without answering, she turned and walked away.

When Grace returned to the room, Qi Yan asked, “Where did Jiang Yu go?”

“Jiang Yao will probably take her home soon…” Grace tried to tell her to move on, but Qi Yan suddenly became agitated.

“She ran out just now. She doesn’t know this city; she’ll get lost!” Qi Yan’s worry intensified. She struggled to pull out the IV needle in her hand. “No, I have to find her.”

“Hey! Don’t! Your injury—” Grace couldn’t stop her. The needle was pulled out, and blood began to well up from the site, but Qi Yan didn’t seem to feel it. As she tried to drag her injured leg out of bed, Grace cried out, “Let me get a cotton swab first! Do you want to die?”

Jiang Yu ran out of the hospital, crying so loudly that she pushed right past the people Jiang Yao had sent to stop her. Her wailing was so intense that it drew the attention of passersby, who saw a young girl in distress and felt protective. The clan members were intimidated by her outburst and, mindful of her status, didn’t dare use force. They ended up losing her in the crowd.

Halfway through her flight, Jiang Yu realized she was on the path back to Qi Yan’s house. She stopped, looking down and scolding her “useless legs” for running here of all places. But as she scolded them, the sadness returned, and she began to cry again, heedless of the people around her. Her exquisite dress was wrinkled, and her pink hair was a mess. She looked utterly heartbroken.

A small Teddy dog trotted up to her feet. She knelt down to pet it, muttering gloomily, “It’s all Qi Yan’s fault. Now even dogs are coming to mock me.”

The dog didn’t dare move under her touch, looking toward a certain direction for help. Then, a kind voice spoke from beside her. “I remember you. You’re little Yan’s girlfriend, aren’t you?”

Jiang Yu looked up and saw Grandma Zhang, whom she had met in the elevator once. She shook her head, denying it through her tears. “No. I don’t want her anymore.”

Grandma Zhang smiled at her pouting face and didn’t call her out. “Did you have a fight? It’s normal for young couples to have friction.”

Jiang Yu helped her lead the dog toward the apartment elevators, looking wilted and listless. “It wasn’t a fight. Qi Yan lied to me.” Thinking of Qi Yan made her both angry and hurt. She said spitefully, “Since she’s so heartless, I… I’ll…” She paused, huffed, and then announced angrily, “I’ll run away from home so she can never see me again!”

She seemed to have forgotten she was already a runaway.

Grandma Zhang laughed at her cuteness, her eyes filled with grandmotherly affection. “Alright, alright, run away. Little Yan is a good child, but maybe she’s lacking in romantic experience. You two just need to work things out.”

Jiang Yu didn’t respond. When they reached the floor, Grandma Zhang smiled at the conflicted girl. “Go on home.”

She reached for the dog’s leash, but Jiang Yu turned her head and pouted. “I don’t want to go back to her house.” She didn’t want to go back to her own home either; she felt like a homeless stray.

Seeing her stubbornness, Grandma Zhang chuckled. “If you don’t mind, come back with me. I have an extra guest room. Little Yan’s house is just upstairs anyway; you can go back whenever you feel like it.”

Jiang Yu, who was worried about having nowhere to go, felt her red-rimmed eyes light up. “Really?”

As Grandma Zhang nodded cheerfully, Jiang Yu happily took the dog’s leash and followed her inside.