There Are Some Things I Need to Settle

After finishing all that, Bai Yunsheng could not be bothered to keep up the pretense. He returned to that corner. Fortunately, neither Gao Yan nor Sheng Chengguang came over to bother him. After quite a while, the banquet finally drew to a close. Bai Yunsheng stood up, intending to leave, but before he had taken more than a few steps, a wave of dizziness struck him. He hurriedly braced himself against a nearby table and barely managed to steady himself.

His breathing seemed to grow heavier.

Bai Yunsheng's heart clenched. His fingers suddenly curled tight as he turned to glance at the cake on the cart not far away, which had already been mostly divided up.

His vision began to blur, and his ears buzzed. Countless voices seemed to echo around him, yet he could not make out a single word.

Cake...

There was something wrong with the cake?

But everyone else had eaten it, hadn't they? He had picked a piece at random too.

Bai Yunsheng shook his head, trying to clear it.

He had clearly been so careful.

And yet he still...

He had to leave. He had to.

The next second, Feng Tingfan caught hold of his arm. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" The concern in his voice made Bai Yunsheng sick. He tried to shake off Feng Tingfan's support, but it was useless.

"Feng Tingfan." Bai Yunsheng warned.

Feng Tingfan turned a deaf ear. "Gao Yan, my brother... sick, I... there's a room nearby, right? Could you... family doctor..."

Bai Yunsheng could only hear Feng Tingfan's words in broken fragments, but they were enough for him to piece together what Feng Tingfan was saying.

Gao Yan said, "No trouble." Then came the sound of Gao Yan's approaching footsteps.

Bai Yunsheng shook his head, trying to force himself awake.

There were so many people around. As long as he asked for help, he could...

No.

No.

These people were all Gao Yan's friends.

Right. These people were Gao Yan's friends. It would have been easy for them to avoid the drug in the cake.

Maybe they were watching the show right now.

How had he forgotten?

He was still too stupid.

He had known something was wrong, yet he had eaten that cake anyway.

"Bai Yunsheng, weren't you so full of yourself? Then let's see whether Meng Shangzhi will still want you once you've been tainted, whether he'll still protect you." Feng Tingfan's voice drifted over, smug and mocking. "After today, everyone will know just what a promiscuous person you are, Bai Yunsheng."

Feng Tingfan released him with a smile, and Bai Yunsheng fell neatly into Gao Yan's arms.

Perhaps his body rejected Gao Yan on instinct; goosebumps rose all over Bai Yunsheng's skin.

The next second, blood ran from the corner of Bai Yunsheng's mouth.

The pain of biting through flesh instantly brought Bai Yunsheng back to his senses. He shoved Gao Yan away. His sudden burst of movement caught everyone off guard. Then Bai Yunsheng grabbed a wine bottle from beside the table and smashed it viciously at Gao Yan.

The crowd erupted at once.

Chaos broke out behind him.

Bai Yunsheng ran frantically in one direction. He could not tell where he was going and could only flee aimlessly, running for all he was worth while he still had consciousness. He did not know how long he ran. By the time he had no strength left, he stumbled into a private room at random, locked the door behind him, and collapsed to the floor when his body could no longer hold itself up. Trembling, he took out his phone and dialed the number he knew by heart.

Just like always,

the other person answered the moment it rang.

"Shengsheng?"

"Meng Shangzhi! I'm at Naye Hotel. I don't know where I am..." Before he could finish, the call cut off. Bai Yunsheng looked at his phone and found that the full signal he had just had was now completely gone.

He did not need to think to know Gao Yan had done it.

Bai Yunsheng bit down hard on his arm. He had to stay awake. He did not dare gamble on what would happen if he truly passed out here.

It was only a matter of time before Gao Yan and the others found him.

Blood dripped onto the white tiles. Bai Yunsheng was ruthless toward others, but even more ruthless toward himself. That bite nearly tore the flesh from his arm.

The intense pain made Bai Yunsheng's body tremble, and beads of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.

Bai Yunsheng had lost all sense of time. He did not know how long had passed before footsteps sounded outside the door, drawing closer and closer until they stopped before the locked door. Since no one spoke, Bai Yunsheng could not tell who had come. He could only warily take a wineglass from the table and smash it against the floor, then pick up a sharp shard of glass and grip it in his hand.

Too much time had passed. The pain from his wounds was no longer enough to keep Bai Yunsheng completely conscious. He could not think, nor could he respond to anything.

The person outside seemed to be saying something.

But Bai Yunsheng could not hear it. The only thing still clear was his eyes.

The lock seemed to turn once.

Then it turned several more times.

Bai Yunsheng's heart raced. Every last shred of his attention was fixed on that door.

Perhaps several minutes passed, or perhaps only a few seconds.

At last, the door flew open, slamming into the wall with a deafening bang.

Bai Yunsheng sat dazedly on the floor, staring at the person in the doorway. His hand loosened instinctively, and the glass shard clenched in his palm fell to the ground, ringing crisply through the silent private room.

Bai Yunsheng opened his mouth, but no sound came out. The next second, Meng Shangzhi lifted him from the floor.

A familiar warmth. A familiar scent.

Emotions surged in Bai Yunsheng's chest.

Fear.

Grievance.

And so much more.

The moment he saw Meng Shangzhi, the instant he was gathered into his arms, everything became impossible to contain, finally spilling out as sobs.

Bai Yunsheng cried hard, without any pretense at all.

He clung tightly to Meng Shangzhi, as though he were his only lifeline.

"They're all bullying me!"

"They're all bullying me!"

Bai Yunsheng cried so hard he could barely catch his breath. Between the drug and all that crying, a sharp pain throbbed through his head.

"Meng Shangzhi, they're all bullying me."

Meng Shangzhi tightened his hold, pulling Bai Yunsheng firmly into his arms.

"I know, Shengsheng. I know."

Listening to Bai Yunsheng's heart-wrenching sobs, Meng Shangzhi's arms trembled as he held him. His chest ached with sour bitterness, and even his throat could not swallow on its own.

"Shengsheng, don't be afraid."

"Don't be afraid."

Meng Shangzhi's gaze gradually turned icy. "I won't let them off."

Perhaps he was exhausted from crying, and the drug was taking effect as well. Bai Yunsheng did not hear Meng Shangzhi's final sentence.

The person in his arms quieted down, but the ache in Meng Shangzhi's chest did not fade. He lowered his head to look at Bai Yunsheng. His eyes were closed, his face pale, tears clinging to the corners of his eyes. He looked like a shattered portrait of a beauty. But Meng Shangzhi had no heart to appreciate such beauty. With a pained expression, he raised one hand and gently wiped away Bai Yunsheng's tears.

He did not even dare let his gaze wander.

He was afraid of seeing Bai Yunsheng's injuries.

He was not sure whether he would go mad.

They rushed to the hospital without stopping. Fortunately, Gao Yan had not used a large dose. After lying in the hospital for an hour, Bai Yunsheng gradually woke up.

The wound on his hand had already been properly treated.

Meng Shangzhi was sitting not far away, contacting someone. His expression was terrible, and so was his tone.

"Brother."

Hearing Bai Yunsheng's voice, Meng Shangzhi immediately hung up and walked over. "How are you? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"

Bai Yunsheng shook his head. His body did not feel particularly uncomfortable, but he truly could not adapt to this hospital. "I don't like hospitals."

Meng Shangzhi nodded. "All right. Where do you want to go? Do you still want to return to the Feng Household?"

Bai Yunsheng said, "Back to the Feng Household. There are some debts I want to settle."