After the Divorce, the Paranoid CEO Begs for a HE with His Life Chapter 51

Chapter 51: I Don’t Like Myself Being So Ugly

Shen Chuyan kept his eyes squeezed shut, not daring to look at his two swollen arms, screaming incessantly.

“Aaaaah…! I’m going to die! I don’t want to die! A-Ting, help! Save me…!”

The next second, the ward door was violently kicked open. Ji Songting rushed in, and the scene before him caused his pupils to contract. Like a bolt of lightning, he shoved Shen Yunheng aside.

“A-Ting… you’re finally here…”

Shen Chuyan looked at the newcomer through tears, his voice thick with nasal congestion. The swelling around his eyes made his vision blurred, allowing him only to vaguely see the familiar silhouette.

“I’m sorry, Xiao Yan. I let you be bullied.”

The man’s cold voice was stained with a trace of a tremor and a surging undercurrent of rage.

Ji Songting scooped him up in a horizontal carry. He looked down at the face that was usually delicate and handsome but was now swollen and unsightly, the heartache and worry in his eyes impossible to hide.

He paused in his steps. He turned to cast a sideways glance at the awkward and weak Jian An on the bed. For a moment, his gaze grew a bit complex before being replaced by coldness.

His narrowed eyes then stabbed toward Shen Yunheng and the mango juice still dripping onto the floor. He spoke word by word.

“Shen Yunheng, I’ll remember this debt.”

Hearing this, Shen Yunheng’s grip on the glass tightened until his knuckles turned white. He was not frightened by the ruthless words and said indignantly.

“Bullied? Are you telling me you don’t find it suspicious that Shen Chuyan appeared in the ICU? If he hadn’t attacked Jian An first, he wouldn’t be like this now!”

Ji Songting was momentarily stunned, but he refused to believe a single word. As he took a step, the memory of Jian An saying to his face that he liked Shen Yunheng flashed through his mind. The fire in his heart burned even hotter, and his voice turned bone-chillingly cold.

“I only believe what I see with my own eyes. Besides, do some people have no sense of shame? Know your place.”

Those last few words were as dark as a cold wind in the dead of winter, carrying an endless threat and warning.

Jian An immediately understood what he meant. Even though he had told himself countless times not to care about Ji Songting anymore, his heart still felt as though it couldn’t breathe whenever he saw that man holding someone else while speaking so cruelly to him.

It was an instinctive reaction that made him feel as if he were suffocating.

When would he finally be able to escape…?

Watching Shen Chuyan being held tightly as they left, Jian An still couldn’t stop a sob from escaping. He turned his head to wipe the corner of his eye, the thought of divorce growing even more resolute in his heart.

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Shen Yunheng seemed to notice the impact on his emotions. He reached out to gently stroke his shoulder and comforted him in a low voice.

“Xiao An, don’t mind them. Just treat it as if they’re speaking nonsense. I doubt Shen Chuyan will have the energy to bother you for a while.”

Hearing this, Jian An’s tense nerves finally relaxed slightly. But what followed was a surge of immense guilt and sadness, and he still couldn’t control his tear ducts.

Seeing him in tears, his face wet with sorrow, Shen Yunheng felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. He reached out a long finger to wipe away the remaining tears on the youth’s face and spoke softly.

“Xiao An, don’t cry. Don’t think about those things. Were you hurt anywhere just now? Do you feel better after vomiting? I’ll go get a nurse to change your IV and restart the drip.”

Jian An realized he shouldn’t lose his composure in front of the man. He hurriedly wiped his tears and gave a nod.

“Mhm… I’m fine. No more IVs. I’ve had them for several days already. It’s too much of a waste. Thank you, Yunheng.”

Hearing that “thank you” again, Shen Yunheng couldn’t help but knit his brows, a trace of loss appearing in his eyes.

He looked at the heartbroken youth before him, his eyes full of deep devotion and love.

“Why the thanks? I did this because I wanted to. Besides, Shen Chuyan truly went too far. I couldn’t stand seeing him humiliate you like that. Giving him a lesson was for the best. And don’t say ‘thank you’ anymore, okay?”

Jian An paused, took a deep breath, then pressed his lips together. He lowered his eyes and spoke in a flat voice.

“But… I tried so hard to drive you away before, and I said so many terrible things to you. Why did you still come back to help me? You shouldn’t have come back…”

“I know Ji Xiao is powerful and ruthless. Among the three major elite families, the Ji family is the strongest. You were only afraid of me offending him, so you said those things. I know. But for your sake, why should I fear him?”

At this point, Shen Yunheng’s eyes darkened. His gentle gaze turned into self-reproach and anger. His hands clenched into fists, his knuckles making a cracking sound as he continued.

“It’s just a pity that I didn’t succeed. He must have known for a long time that Ji Songting was treating you poorly, yet he turned a blind eye for the sake of reputation, even while his son abused you like this!”

At the man’s reminder, Jian An suddenly remembered the moment he had fainted. Had Ji Xiao done it?

But why would the man treat him like that?

Throughout these three years in the Ji family, he had always been respectful and filial toward his father-in-law, and Ji Xiao had never shown dissatisfaction or mistreated him.

What had Ji Xiao been doing while he was unconscious? Had he done anything to him…?

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

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He had thought he had finally found a shred of familial affection that wasn’t bound by blood. It turned out to be nothing more than an illusion.

Seeing him distracted and silent for so long, Shen Yunheng grew worried. He reached out to gently shake his arm.

“Mhm? Xiao An, what are you thinking about?”

The man’s concerned voice suddenly pulled him back to reality.

Jian An stared blankly at the man who was so worried about him. He felt an instant surge of complicated emotions.

To the one who treated him poorly, he gave a sea of devotion; to the only one who treated him well, he was always causing harm.

He truly didn’t know how to face Shen Yunheng.

Seeing the other’s reddened eyes and the way he seemed to be avoiding him, Shen Yunheng grew anxious.

“What is it? Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Don’t cry, don’t cry. I’ll go get a doctor.”

“Don’t go. I’m fine. I’m not crying.”

Jian An sniffled and forced a shallow, awkward smile. He turned his gaze toward the window, looking at the warm sunlight, and spoke tentatively.

“I want to go out and get some sun. Yunheng, will you take me out…?”

“Get some sun?”

Shen Yunheng followed his gaze toward the blue sky outside the tall building. A flash of surprise and joy appeared in his eyes. He was inexplicably happy that the other man had made such a request.

Fortunately, Jian An hadn’t closed himself off because of the car accident. That would have been too tragic; he couldn’t imagine it.

“That’s good. Staying in the ward for so many days is indeed stifling. I’ll go get a wheelchair and take you for a stroll. I’ll have someone come and clean up the ward.”

Shen Yunheng nodded without hesitation. He tossed the quilt stained with chicken soup aside and went to get a basin of warm water to wash the youth’s face.

He gently smoothed the messy hair on Jian An’s forehead, revealing that exquisite, white, and clean face.

As he watched, his heart seemed to skip a beat, then began to thrum like a drum.

If he kept looking, he was afraid his heartbeat would give him away and make him flustered.

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Shen Yunheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He immediately looked away, hurriedly wringing out the towel.

“I’ll go find a wheelchair. You… wait a moment.”

Jian An was a bit confused by his sudden reaction and gave a soft reply. “Mhm, okay.”

Everything had been fine just now. What was wrong with Shen Yunheng?

He watched the tall figure leave, a trace of sadness appearing in his gaze. He let out a silent sigh and shifted his gaze to his paralyzed legs, his brows knitting even tighter.

As someone who loved art, being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life in a dark, lightless place—without freedom or color—was unbearable.

The feeling made him crumble. He didn’t know how to accept it.

Getting his legs back through rehabilitation would probably cost a lot of money, wouldn’t it?

The surgery for this car accident had likely been paid for entirely by Shen Yunheng. He was penniless and couldn’t pay him back. If it hadn’t been for the other man, he would have died long ago…

He truly couldn’t keep using the man’s money. Such a debt made his conscience suffer day and night.

But what about his paralyzed legs?

He didn’t want to be unable to even walk in the time he had left. Zhou Manxiang wouldn’t spend a single cent on him.

So what had been the point of the one million yuan he had fought so hard for, dredging his mind for inspiration from his most terrifying darkness?

In the end, it had only resulted in theft, slander, and accusations of plagiarism. He had been shamed.

He had wanted to leave that million for his mother, but had she ever truly treated him like a son for even a second…?

Jian An’s eyes involuntarily filled with moisture as he tried to control his fractured emotions.

He grit his teeth, forcing himself not to let the tears fall.

“Why is Mr. Jian crying? Tsk. It really moves one to pity.”

A lazy, pleasant male voice suddenly rang in his ear. It was deep and magnetic, as elegant and charming as a cello concerto.

Hearing this, Jian An immediately blinked his moist eyes. He looked up at the man in white approaching him, his voice full of surprise and confusion.

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“Dr… Dr. Lu? Why are you here?”

“You’ve really turned this ward into a dumpster, haven’t you?”

Lu Huaishen scanned the mess on the floor and gave a slight wrinkle of his nose. He dropped his casual expression and took on a rare, serious tone. His face held an unprecedented gravity.

“Ji Songting said you had a brain hemorrhage. I came to take a look. Has he arranged for a craniotomy for you?”

Jian An let out a nearly imperceptible twist of his lips, his eyes full of heavy bitterness. Even the air felt bitter.

It was his own fault. To hide the truth of four years ago, he had lied to Ji Songting about having a history of brain hemorrhages. He truly didn’t expect that man to arrange any surgery for him.

“No. I don’t want to do it myself. A craniotomy requires shaving my head. I don’t like myself being so ugly.”

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