Chapter 42: My Xiao An Must Live a Long Life
“Yunheng…”
A nearly inaudible whisper came from behind him, carrying a trace of trembling and fear. It acted like a sudden awakening for the already distracted Shen Yunheng. His eyes widened as he spun around.
Jian Anâs fingers moved lightly, and his eyes opened slightly. He was repeating the man’s name with a breath like a strand of silk.
“Xiao An! Youâve finally woken up?!”
Shen Yunheng looked at the skeletal youth on the bed with a face full of joy. His voice was filled with excitement, disbelief, and an irrepressible surprise.
He pressed the call button while doing his best to restrain his emotions. He then took Jian Anâs scarred hand, hoping his burning temperature could reassure the other man, and comforted:
“Xiao An, Iâm here. Itâs okay. Everything will be fine.”
Jian Anâs dark pupils moved downward. His mouth moved slightly, yet he could no longer make a sound. He lay there like a person experiencing a final burst of energy, clinging to life with a single breath.
The warmth coming from the man’s palm made him want to cry.
This was the only warmth he felt upon waking. It instantly dispelled the darkness and cold of his coma. This most real physical sensation let him know he was still alive.
A thin white mist clouded the oxygen mask, his weak breathing sounding faint and fitful. Jian An currently felt like a fish stranded on a cold reef on the seafloor; his limbs were stiff and weak, and his vision was blurred.
His entire body truly ached so much. It felt as though he had been run over by car wheels a thousand times; every muscle felt as if it did not belong to him. His consciousness remained fixed on the image of the moment he was struck.
“Cough… cough, cough…!”
Jian An continued to cough forcefully, trying to spit out all the air in his lungs. But the more he coughed, the more he choked, and the more severe it became. In the end, he even coughed out tears, his entire being radiating a sense of impending death and weakness.
Seeing him cough so recklessly that the oxygen tube was shaking violently, Shen Yunhengâs heart ached terribly. He hurriedly smoothed the youthâs chest, gently soothing him as he spoke with eyes full of hot tears:
“Xiao An, take deep breaths. Don’t think about anything else. It will all pass, and your body will get better too!”
Hearing this, Jian An gave a weak nod, tears rolling down from his paper-pale cheeks. He breathed with difficulty, the fear in his shimmering eyes finally decreasing slightly upon seeing the man before him. He asked in a faint voice:
“Am I… about to… die…?”
Shen Yunheng leaned down slightly, placing his ear close to hear the voice. His heart nearly shattered upon hearing those words. Then, with a firm shake of his head, he smiled and said:
“No more talk of dying. Don’t say such nonsense. The doctor said that as long as you wake up, youâre no longer in danger. My Xiao An is going to live a long life…”
His ears were ringing, but Jian An still heard him. His brow knit slightly, his eyes filled with an unspeakable pain and desolation. His cracked, thin lips parted, yet in the end, he could not speak.
He had spent his entire life catering to others, accomplishing nothing. Why would he seek a long life?
Tears once again surged uncontrollably to the corners of his eyes, only to be gently wiped away. Jian Anâs cold face was scalded by the temperature of that finger.
As if startled awake, he slowly turned his head, his gaze moving upward to fall on Shen Yunhengâs panicked face. He asked:
“Did… Ji Songting… ever come?”
The moment he asked the question, he felt a bit of regret. That man didn’t even know he had been in a car accident and was about to die, so why would he come to the ward to visit?
“Yes, he came.”
Shen Yunhengâs firm answer lit a microscopic spark in his ash-like heart.
The next moment, that spark was completely extinguished, and his heart gradually cooled until there was no warmth left.
The various humiliations at the hotel and Ji Songtingâs lack of care had become the final straw that broke him.
Jian An turned his gaze to the ceiling, his eyes listless. “Does he know… about my… brain hemorrhage?”
“Mhm, he knows.”
Shen Yunhengâs gaze shifted slightly, not quite daring to look him in the eye. But seeing the other’s face turn ugly as emotions began to rise, he hurriedly explained:
“However, he doesn’t know about you saving him four years ago yet.”
Jian An finally allowed himself to close his eyes, murmuring with relief, “Good… itâs better if he doesn’t know…”
He understood Ji Songtingâs personalityâhe was so firm that he never wanted to owe anyone anything. If he found out, at best he wouldn’t believe it, or at worst, he would use material things to compensate Jian An. There would be no affection to speak of.
Furthermore, he no longer held any possibilities for that man. He was, in any case, a half-dead person; all the irreconcilable differences and misunderstandings would vanish along with him.
Seeing him so despondent, Shen Yunheng also felt terrible. After a moment’s thought, he could not help but ask:
“But Xiao An, why don’t you tell Ji Songting that you were the one who risked your life to save him when he fell into the water four years ago? It was because of the drowning that your vessels ruptured, causing the brain hemorrhage sequelae you have now. Keeping it secret like this only makes you more miserable.”
Jian An breathed heavily, letting out a silent sigh as if he were finding peace. He replied, “Forget it… I don’t want to tell him. Heâs afraid of owing people. Besides, I only promised not to tell the truth back then so that Jian Yu_feng would have my dad…”
At the word “dad,” he suddenly stopped. He had never used that word in his memory and felt it was inappropriate. He gave a self-deprecating smirk and changed his phrasing: “So that Jian Hantian would agree to my commercial marriage with the Young Master of the Ji family…”
From this small action, Shen Yunheng nonetheless caught the bitterness and desolation in the other’s words.
Why did such a gentle person have to endure these grievances and unfair treatments?
Several doctors came to perform a detailed examination on Jian An. Aside from his paralyzed legs, which would need time to recover through exercise, and his cerebrovascular disease, which had become a sequela and was not yet suitable for craniotomy, he was temporarily out of danger.
Shen Yunheng was filled with irrepressible excitement and joy. He gripped the youthâs hand and said loudly:
“Xiao An, did you hear that?! The doctor said youâre out of danger! Youâll be healthy and do many things! As for your legs, Iâll contact the best rehabilitation center and help you stand up again. You must pull yourself together.”
Those optimistic and positive words fell on Jian Anâs ears, yet they made him feel even more despondent. He had no desire to live again. He turned his head away and sniffled, saying raspily:
“Can they… really get better? Stop lying to me. I can feel it… my legs aren’t even there…”
“They definitely can! Xiao An, believe me. I will definitely make your legs healthy so you can run and jump.”
Shen Yunheng was very firm, lowering his voice to promise word by word: “Furthermore, youâve always been very strong; you won’t be easily defeated by this. Iâll be with you to face it together.”
The man spoke many words of recognition and encouragement that he had not heard in years. Jian An let out a sob from deep in his throat, yet the guilt in his heart for the man only grew heavier.
No one had ever been this good to himâso good that he did not know how to accept it.
What exactly was Shen Yunheng seeking…?
…
After paying the fees and passing the nurse’s station, Ji Songting inadvertently heard several nurses discussing the situation in Room 152.
152? That seemed to be Jian Anâs ward.
He slowly stopped and stood there to listen.
“Itâs truly a miracle. The car accident patient in Room 152 actually woke up! I just went to change his dressings the day before yesterday, and even the doctor said heâd be a vegetable.”
“I know him. Heâs the plagiarizer from the Venice art competition. What was his name… oh! Jian An!”
“No way. I was just about to praise him for having extraordinary willpower, but the plagiarism is a bit much for me.”
Ji Songting stood with his back to the nurse’s station, listening to those mocking words. The payment slip in his hand was unconsciously crumpled. The microscopic spark of joy he felt upon hearing Jian An had woken up was instantly buried by the grating word “plagiarism”.
Very well. Jian An actually didn’t die. Did he want to use the car accident to gloss over the fact that he plagiarized Shen Chuyan?
Ji Songtingâs cold, aloof eyes seemed to lose focus, the depths of his dark gaze filled with rage. He then turned without hesitation and walked toward the ICU.
The early morning sunlight filtered through the window glass, gently enveloping the youth sitting against the bed.
His face was pale. Even though the sunlight had given it some color, it was still transparently pale. The wide-sleeved hospital gown he wore made him look even more fragile.
And beside him stood Shen Yunheng, leaning over to feed him bite by bite, his expression full of tender affection.
It truly looked like deep love revealed in times of troubleâloving enough.
A feeling Ji Songting had never experienced surged in his heart, a mix of bitterness, rage, and irritation.
His person was his to keep, dead or alive. When did it become the turn of an unrelated person to look after him?!
Jian An took a small sip. The impact of the car accident on his stomach made it impossible for him to eat more; he could only rely on IV fluids for support.
The moment he looked up, he suddenly discovered Ji Songting had entered the ward. His face, which had relaxed considerably, plummeted back into the abyss at that single glance.
Seeing his suddenly stiff face, Shen Yunheng seemingly guessed something. He turned following the other’s gaze, the tenderness in his voice vanishing instantly as he barked:
“Didn’t you get lost? What are you doing here again?!”
Ji Songting acted as if he hadn’t heard him, or rather, as if he simply did not care about him. He walked straight to Jian An and spoke the question that had been puzzling him:
“When did you get cerebrovascular disease?”
According to the medical record, Jian Anâs brain hemorrhage sequelae had existed for four years. Why did he know nothing at all?
At this question, Jian An froze, his thin lips twitching several times. He felt a thick surge of bitterness spread through his mouth, and no matter how he tried, he could not swallow it.
He could only remain silent, not saying a word.
Should he be happy the man was finally caring for him? Or should he be sad that the area of concern was not the main point…?
Before an answer came, Shen Yunheng set down the bowl and chopsticks to stand before Jian An. He barked at the scumbag without mercy:
“Heh. What would you know? Weren’t you busy dating and partying and traveling with your sweetheart? Now you have the face to come here and question Xiao An? Ji Songting, youâre an animal!”
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