CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 54: HE CHEN, IT HURTS SO MUCH!

When they arrived in town, He Chen went directly to the storefront he wanted to rent, but the landlord wasn’t there.

He Chen guessed the landlord had gone to eat, so the two waited at the door for a while. During this brief moment, Ye Manman noticed the charm of this place.

"It seems pretty busy. There weren’t as many people passing by the entrance of that state-owned restaurant we visited earlier. Is there some popular spot nearby?"

He Chen looked down at her fluffy head, forcing himself to temporarily ignore the terrifying possibility, and pretended everything was normal as he replied with a casual "Hmm."

"This place is very close to the intersection, and if you walk from the intersection through this street, there’s a vegetable market just a few hundred meters ahead. People are selling things there from morning till night, so this street always has people passing by."

"You’ve picked a really excellent location."

Ye Manman sincerely praised him and looked around again.

"Where will we live? Are we going to move to this street as well?"

"We’ll live upstairs, on the second floor. The buildings on this street are all small houses, with people living on the second floor and businesses on the first floor. Previously, people lived on the first floor too, but now, with new policies, everyone has renovated and started renting out the spaces."

"However, right now, there aren’t many people daring to rent storefronts, and only a few can afford it. After all, doing business requires capital, and despite this area being good with high foot traffic, the rent is more expensive."

As soon as He Chen finished explaining, a middle-aged uncle with sparse hair walked over from the intersection not far away.

"Hey, He Chen, you’re here. Is this your wife? So pretty, a perfect match. Want to come in and take a look first?"

The uncle was extremely enthusiastic, and took out a key to open the door for them, introducing the place as he led them inside.

"You can install a counter here, convenient for handling payments. The empty space in front can be used for either tables and chairs or displaying the goods you want to sell. It’s quite spacious."

"There’s a door at the back that leads straight to stairs, you can go upstairs. Come, follow me up. The second floor is also very spacious, with two rooms, one large and one small. Perfect for you couple to use the big room. If you have a baby in the future, the little one can stay in the smaller room next door."

At this point, He Chen and Ye Manman felt a bit awkward, as both tactfully avoided looking at each other.

The uncle was unaware that their relationship was not like an ordinary couple’s, and continued his introductions.

"Look, isn’t this room big? With such a large wardrobe, you can put clothes in freely, and there’s a big table too. The room has wiring done, just pull this string to turn the lights on and off, it’s quite convenient."

He enthusiastically demonstrated the light switch, then opened the wooden door to the balcony.

"There’s also a balcony here, convenient for drying clothes or enjoying the sun, and if you don’t want to open the balcony door, you can just open the window. See, it’s well ventilated, you won’t even need a fan during summer."

Indeed, the design of this room was pretty good. Besides the main door, the wall with the window on the right side also had a wooden door leading to the balcony.

He Chen had already seen it before, but this time he was mainly considering Ye Manman’s opinion.

Seeing her nod, He Chen agreed to sign the contract, pay the deposit, and rent.

After receiving the key and bidding farewell to the landlord, the two thought about the room layout, did a simple cleanup, and prepared to leave.

He Chen was wrapping up and about to lock the door, while Ye Manman had already stepped out and waited at the door.

But who would have thought, in just those few seconds, Ye Manman suddenly felt a force from behind, scraping her fiercely. Then she was knocked to the ground.

Everything happened so suddenly. Just as He Chen heard the sound and turned around, he saw Ye Manman raising her head, blood all over her face, with her palms and knees scraped and bleeding continuously.

Ye Manman couldn’t react immediately, and by the time she understood what had happened, pain was everywhere on her body. She wailed and burst into tears.

"Waa, waa... It hurts, He Chen, it hurts so much!"

He Chen couldn’t believe it. Just that morning, he had confidently promised in his heart that nothing would hurt her with him there, yet not even a day had passed...

He rushed over with long strides to lift the petite figure, feeling both guilty and urgent, heading to the nearby hospital while soothing her, his voice trembling imperceptibly.

"Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, we’re going to the hospital, we’ll be there soon, it won’t hurt in a while, ah, don’t cry, don’t cry..."

Until Ye Manman was taken by the nurse to have her wounds treated, He Chen sat on the long bench, fingers trembling slightly, unable to calm his heart.

It was all his fault, believing his own silly thoughts about absurd things, causing delay. If he’d closed the shop door earlier, Ye Manman wouldn’t have been robbed, nor would she be injured like this.

Now, whenever he recalls her bloodied face, pale and crying to him, his heart aches unbearably, filled with self-blame and regret.

The young man who deliberately bumped into Ye Manman and snatched her small purse, He Chen has memorized his features.

He won’t let it happen again, he must find the opportunity to catch him personally!

Waiting in the hospital was so lengthy and arduous. Ever since he can remember, He Chen had hardly been to a hospital, and this was his first time experiencing what it meant to be restless in a hospital.

She lost so much blood just now, it was all over her face. Could she have bone damage? Will there be aftereffects on her head? What should be eaten to replenish her body? What medicine should be used?

Besides, she’s so afraid of pain, with her palms and knees injured, applying medicine must hurt a lot. How can she endure...

Thinking of these, He Chen desperately hit his forehead a few times, feeling he’d rather injure himself seriously to share in her pain.

Just then, a nurse came out calling.

"Who’s the family of Ye Manman? Come over to sign and pay, then go to the front to get the medicine."

He Chen, without further thoughts, hurriedly followed the nurse’s instructions to pay and get the medicine. He then rushed back, squatted in front of Ye Manman, looking at her pale face with heartfelt concern.

"Does it still hurt?"

The nurse had said while he was paying that Ye Manman’s injury wasn’t severe, just insisted on changing her medication daily and taking some antibiotics for the first few days, and she’d recover.

But He Chen was still heartbroken, his eyes red as if he had been crying intensely.

Seeing him this way, Ye Manman felt even more aggrieved, and her tears gathered again.

She pursed her lips and cried softly.

"It still hurts, so much, waa waaa..."

"I want to go home... Ah, my purse is gone, it seems it was snatched by that person. Let’s report to the police and have them catch that thief."

Only now did she realize how she fell down earlier. That person didn’t just bump her; he sped past, snatching the bag from her hand, causing her fall.

It was not an accident, but deliberate!

Thinking of this, Ye Manman cried even more desperately.

Seeing her pants torn, revealing knees smeared with medicine, covered in purple and red, wanting to wipe her tears with her hands only to find her palms burning, resigned to just wrinkling her nose and dryly shedding tears, Ye Manman looked so pitiful it felt like his heart would break.

He hurriedly and carefully picked her up from the bench, with a choking voice, speaking words unsure if they were comforting her or himself.

"Okay, we’ll report to the police, let them catch that person, and then we’ll go home, alright?"