Chapter 297: Chapter 298: Her Hero

Shen Manbing waited in Xia Yangyang's lounge. Xia Yangyang, setting down her bag, asked, "Did you need something?"

"Yangyang, I still want to apologize," Shen Manbing said.

"For your brother? Let's forget about it," Xia Yangyang replied.

Shen Manbing's emotions were tangled. "I finally understand why Ah Chen is so fond of you. You have a magnanimity most people lack."

Xia Yangyang laughed. "Don't flatter me. I'm actually quite petty. I deliberately made you owe me a favor; it makes things easier to manage in the future."

Shen Manbing also laughed. "Don't worry. Over these past days, I've realized Ah Chen never loved me. Seeing him with you, I understood. He always offered me brotherly protection, but his love for you was filled with joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Even though I was with him for years, he never showed jealousy. He said he understood my actress status, but he simply didn't love me."

Xia Yangyang listened quietly.

A hint of helplessness touched Shen Manbing's lips. "I know this, but I couldn't let go. Do you know why I liked Ah Chen? When I was five, my aunt pushed me from the top floor of our villa into the swimming pool. I almost drowned. Ah Chen saved me. I was unconscious; I couldn't see his face clearly, only the feeling of drowning. I clung to his collar like a life-saving straw. People become overly dependent in desperation. He was my hero, so I loved him for so many years."

Xia Yangyang frowned. "There's something I should tell you."

Shen Manbing paused. "What is it?"

"About the drowning incident. I asked Ah Chen; his version differs from yours."

Shen Manbing's face changed. "What do you mean?"

"Ah Chen said your brother, Shen Shichuan, saved you. He arrived late; Shen Shichuan was frantically trying to save you. You'd been underwater for four minutes. He thought you wouldn't make it and almost went crazy."

Shen Manbing was stunned. "How could that be possible? My brother doesn't swim."

"Ah Chen said he doesn't know how your brother saved you. He couldn't swim, yet he was soaked to the skin. Who else could it have been?"

Shen Manbing was shocked. The blurry image of a teenage boy remained in her memory. She'd always believed it was Gu Qichen.

"But when I woke up, the first person I saw was Ah Chen," she murmured.

Xia Yangyang sighed. "That's because when Shen Shichuan saw you wake up, he ran to the backyard and cried. He thought he'd almost lost you."

Shen Manbing was completely stunned. For so many years, Gu Qichen had been her superhero, preventing her from letting go. Even though she was only five, the desperate panic remains vivid. She'd used Gu Qichen as a life-saving straw, not truly loved him. She'd gotten the wrong person. Her superhero was Shen Shichuan, her brother, who had always protected her.