Chapter 517: Chapter 514: Tailgating
However, Zhang Hao did not deny He Qianhui’s statement, "How do you know I want to slap the marriage certificate in front of her?"
"To tell her I’m already married, to stop thinking about all those things that might have been."
He Qianhui cocked her head and looked at him, "But I don’t want to marry you right now, you know I’ve been through a marriage before and don’t have much trust in marriage."
Zhang Hao moved closer to her, "You don’t trust marriage, but do you not trust me either?"
"Would I be the kind of man who makes you cry?"
He Qianhui gave him a blank look, saying nothing.
Zhang Hao seized the opportunity to press on, "After all, the two of us have been together for such a long time."
"If I don’t give you a proper status, outsiders might think I’m playing with your feelings, wasting your youth."
He Qianhui did not expect Zhang Hao to persuade her in this way.
"Don’t talk to me about this, I still have to consider the matter of marriage carefully."
"Wait until I’ve nearly made up my mind, then I’ll tell you, and at that time we can go to the Civil Affairs Bureau together."
After saying this, He Qianhui didn’t give Zhang Hao a chance to speak; instead, she warmly embraced him and went to sleep.
But Zhang Hao’s mood suddenly turned sour, as he started to recall all the details of his time with He Qianhui.
"How about we get our marriage certificate on New Year’s Day next year? There are still a few months left, what do you think?"
He Qianhui ignored him, and Zhang Hao silently made a decision in his heart that he would wait until New Year’s Day at the latest.
If by that time He Qianhui still did not want to get the certificate with him, then he would have to reconsider the possibility of them being together.
He had only heard of men who didn’t want to take responsibility, never of women who didn’t want to get married.
Yet it was the complete opposite with him.
Zhang Hao also wanted to know where exactly things went wrong, what made He Qianhui so resistant to the idea of marriage.
She had once been so worried, wondering what she would do if her parents didn’t accept her.
Later, when her parents accepted her, it seemed only natural to go get the marriage certificate.
So what exactly was the obstacle now?
Watching He Qianhui sleeping in his arms, Zhang Hao still couldn’t fall asleep because of this issue.
It wasn’t until He Qianhui was sound asleep that Zhang Hao quietly got out of the bedroom.
Normally not much of a smoker, today he exceptionally lit a cigarette on the balcony.
Be it studying or working, nothing had ever made Zhang Hao think so hard.
Why did he always face such obstacles when it came to the major issue of his marriage?
This puzzled and befuddled Zhang Hao.
Was it really wrong for him to want to give her stability?
After finishing a cigarette, Zhang Hao returned to the bedroom, but when he saw He Qianhui’s face in peaceful sleep,
he couldn’t help but let out a sigh, perhaps not everyone wants to get married.
Love isn’t something that just a piece of paper can prove.
Zhang Hao, having a soft heart, complied with He Qianhui’s wishes; they would wait until she was ready to step into the Civil Affairs Bureau with him.
Having come to this realization, Zhang Hao was finally able to fall asleep, but sleep always seemed so brief, as if he had just lay down when the alarm went off.
Zhang Hao hurriedly got up, whereas He Qianhui took her time; she could go to work an hour later today.
Taking her time to get ready, Zhang Hao was already rushing to open the door.
"Xiaohui, I can’t take you to work this morning,"
He Qianhui replied, "No problem; I’ll just take a cab later. Drive safely."
When He Qianhui arrived at the company and was about to discuss the work plan for the coming week with her manager,
she unexpectedly received a call from City Hospital, immediately asking if she was He Qianhui.
Was Zhang Hao her boyfriend?
Upon hearing that the call was from City Hospital, He Qianhui immediately conjured up some unpleasant scenarios in her mind.
The manager, sitting across from her, also vaguely overheard some of the content discussed on the phone.
Realizing that it could be her boyfriend who had encountered some danger,
"Xiaohui, let’s leave our business for today; you better rush to the hospital and see what happened,"
He Qianhui nodded repeatedly, grabbed her bag, and left. Exiting the manager’s office, her colleagues saw her running past and wondered what had happened.
When He Qianhui reached the hospital, she headed straight to the emergency room and saw Zhang Hao lying on the hospital bed.
It was hard to imagine that just an hour ago, they were chatting and talking together.
How could he be lying here an hour later? After inquiring, she learned that Zhang Hao had been rear-ended on his way to work.
The car behind, for some reason, didn’t slow down at the intersection and caused the collision, which pushed Zhang Hao’s car into the one in front of it.
He was caught in the middle and got some injuries. Luckily, he was brought in on time, so there was no life-threatening danger, just a broken leg that needed to be in a cast for a while.
Even though she knew Zhang Hao wasn’t in mortal danger, He Qianhui still felt heartbroken seeing him like this.
The traffic police officer handling the accident determined that the rear vehicle was entirely at fault, and the following compensation would still have to go through the process.
He Qianhui couldn’t bother to think about these things now; soon after, Zhang Hao woke up.
Seeing He Qianhui by his side brought him a sense of calm.
"Why are you here?"
"Why shouldn’t I be? Look at you; your leg is broken. What would it say about me if I didn’t come?"
Even now, Zhang Hao could still joke with her, "You’re not my wife; you can’t sign the consent form."
Upon hearing this, He Qianhui’s mind went blank.
If she were his wife, then she would be eligible to sign consent forms like these.
But since they hadn’t registered their marriage, they weren’t legally recognized spouses, and she had no right to sign.
Frustrated, He Qianhui gave Zhang Hao a slap on the chest, "At a time like this, you still joke with me."
"Besides, you only broke your leg; it’s not life-threatening. You don’t need me to sign anything."
"I’ve already called your aunt to tell them you’re not seriously hurt, so they don’t need to come to the hospital. Are you hungry now? I’ll go buy you something."
But Zhang Hao didn’t feel like toning it down; the fact that he had broken his leg was already upsetting enough.
If he couldn’t find a way to cheer himself up, how would he manage to get through the following days?
"You’re not my wife; how can you do what only a wife can?"
Hearing him say that, He Qianhui retorted in annoyance, "Fine, if you won’t eat then forget it; I’m too lazy to go out anyway."
"I don’t know what’s going on today, but it’s exceptionally hot outside. It’d be good to just stay here and enjoy the air conditioning."
Upon hearing that He Qianhui was truly not going to buy anything, Zhang Hao’s stomach embarrassingly started to grumble.
He hadn’t had the chance to eat breakfast, had undergone a minor surgery midway, and now that he was awake, being hungry was inevitable.
