Jason's expression stayed calm as he uttered three light words: "Gu Jingchen."
Dr. Yan sucked in a sharp breath and couldn't help snapping, "Are you out of your mind? Gu Jingchen is your good brother, and you're stealing his wife?"
A shard of cold light flashed through Jason's dark eyes—too quick to catch.
"I'm not interested in what belongs to other people."
Dr. Yan exhaled in relief—only to hear the man's voice, cool and hard, the next second: "The wedding didn't happen. There's no marriage certificate. She doesn't count as his."
Dr. Yan: "…"
Did he have any idea how outrageous he sounded?
Kristen opened her eyes. The ward was silent, and the sound of wind and rain beating against the windowpane swelled in her ears.
The man standing before the glass seemed to sense it; he turned and met her gaze. "Awake," he said lightly.
Kristen sat up and pressed her parched lips together. "Mr. Jason, thank you for bringing me to the hospital."
Jason's long, straight legs carried him to the bedside. He pulled out a chair and sat down. When his eyes lifted to sweep over her, the pressure in them was impossible to ignore. "How will you thank me?"
Kristen froze, not quite processing his meaning.
A man like him—favored by the heavens, who could summon wind and rain—money, women, anything, would be offered up without asking. Would he really need her gratitude?
When she didn't answer, Jason drew a cigarette case from his pocket. "Mind?"
Before Kristen could shake her head, he had already taken one out and passed her the lighter. "Know how to light it?"
Finn smoked, but she didn't like the smell; in front of her, he rarely smoked, let alone asked her to light one for him.
"No," Kristen replied.
His dark stare sharpened, but he didn't seem to doubt her. He lit the cigarette himself, set it between his lips, and exhaled a curl of smoke.
Silence fell again, broken only by the soft sizzle of burning tobacco. Sweat slowly beaded in Kristen's clenched palm.
One cigarette felt like a century. When he finally rose, Jason crushed the butt out on the bedside table, set down a business card, and left her with a single line before walking out.
"Call me when you've decided."
Kristen stared at the card, dazed. So he'd waited in the ward for her to wake—just for this?
Jason had barely stepped out when Martin came in, eyes blazing as if they could spit fire. "Kristen, did I slaughter your whole family in a past life? Is that why you're here to torture me in this one? Do you have any idea how big a mess you've made?"
"Sorry," Kristen said. She knew news of her fleeing the wedding couldn't be suppressed; his phone was probably exploding.
Martin drew a deep breath and choked back the urge to wring her neck. "I tried so hard to talk you out of it, and you wouldn't listen. Running away on your wedding day—Kristen, you've really outdone yourself. Tell me what is going on in that head of yours."
He plopped down on the edge of the bed with the clear posture of a man who wasn't leaving without answers.
Kristen lowered her gaze. Her long, thick lashes cast a dusky shadow beneath her eyes. Just as his patience frayed, she spoke in a voice light as willow fluff. "He cheated."
Martin's eyes went wide in a told-you-so expression. "It was that green-tea snake Grace, wasn't it? I warned you ages ago, and you still stupidly believed they were just 'friends'!"
Kristen's eyes stung; she wanted to cry but held it in.
She had shed enough tears for Finn today. From now on, she would never cry for any man again.
Knowing how much she was hurting, Martin stopped rubbing salt in the wound and got down to business.
"Your runaway wedding is trending. You gave up a female lead for that scumbag Finn and took an evil supporting role instead. You barely had any fans to begin with, and now the whole internet is cursing you. We need PR fast. Do you have proof he cheated?"
"Yes." Before smashing Finn's phone, she had already backed up the WeChat chat logs.
Martin nodded. "At least you've still got some sense. Send me the chat logs. I'll get a few marketing accounts to post them, then have the publicity team push several releases to position you as a strong female lead. The big-heroine narrative is hot right now; you'll get offers."
Two birds with one stone.
Kristen shook her head. "The chat logs can't go out."
( End of Chapter)