Chapter 45

It was already past midnight.

There were few cars on the road, and the driver sped up, trying to reach the hospital as quickly as possible.

An Xiang lay half-reclined in the back seat, unable to move. Her waist hurt, and her foot hurt even more. Sweat soaked through her clothes, like salt being rubbed into her wounds, making them sting worse.

She could not tell whether her body hurt more or her heart did. She lightly bit her lower lip, turned her head away, and quietly sobbed with her back to Pei Yizhou.

Pei Yizhou opened the partition and carefully helped An Xiang up. Leaning close to her ear, he lowered his voice slightly. "I need to look at the wound. Don't move yet."

An Xiang whimpered twice. Tears clung to her trembling lashes. Her face was bloodless, her lips pale, and her entire figure exuded a wretched fragility.

Pei Yizhou's jaw tightened. He gently rolled up the hem of her clothes, and the moment he saw the wound at her waist, his gaze darkened.

"Is... is it serious?" Her voice was hoarse, and even her tone trembled.

Pei Yizhou said nothing.

The vicious wound stretched from beneath her arm to her waist. Her flesh had split open, blood sticking her clothes to the wound. One side of her waist was swollen, though it was impossible to tell whether it was a sprain or an impact injury.

She was in terrible pain, her breathing growing more labored by the second.

"Drive faster." Pei Yizhou ordered the driver. With no other option, he could only gently stroke An Xiang's hair to comfort her.

At that moment, his phone rang. It was one of the people he had sent out earlier. In the rush, Pei Yizhou had forgotten to tell them that An Xiang had been found. He briefly explained the situation before hanging up and looking at her again.

"This doesn't look like an injury from a fall. Tell me, did someone hurt you?"

An Xiang closed her eyes as tears fell. Remembering the trouble from not long ago, she still felt lingering fear.

"It was... the mixed-blood who ran away not long ago. He was diagnosed with a mental illness..." An Xiang took a breath after every sentence. "I saw him holding Momo's toy, so I thought... I thought..."

She had been worried sick and helpless with fear, only to receive one sentence in return: "You're not my mommy."

An Xiang clenched her fists tightly and sobbed without a sound. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

When they arrived at the hospital, Pei Yizhou carefully carried her on his back and headed inside.

This was a private hospital under the Pei Group. Pei Yizhou had the hospital arrange a VIP passage, then called An Yanze while she was receiving treatment.

"It's me."

Music blared from the other end of the line, mixed with noisy chatter and women's laughter.

He frowned, his tone slightly cold. "Go somewhere else."

An Yanze repeatedly agreed. He did not stop until he reached a corner. "Calling about Xiangxiang?"

"Don't call her so intimately." Pei Yizhou was displeased, his expression darkening further.

"Sorry." An Yanze laughed. "To be honest, she has the exact same name as my sister in a vegetative state, and they look alike too, so I couldn't help myself."

Pei Yizhou grew even more impatient. "I don't want to hear about your sister."

An Yanze knew better than to push it. Without hiding anything, he told Pei Yizhou exactly what had happened, then added, "Old Street is so dangerous. She was lucky to encounter only one mixed-blood who had run away. That child seemed injured too. You should take him to the hospital as soon as possible."

Pei Yizhou hung up and walked toward the doctor coming out to meet him.

"How is she?"

The doctor said, "The wound on her back is only a superficial injury. Applying medicine continuously for a week should heal it."

Pei Yizhou did not quite agree. "But it looks serious."

The doctor smiled. "The young lady's skin is delicate, so of course it looks serious. Her sprained waist and ankle need more attention. She must avoid strenuous exercise for the next few weeks, use the spray medicine every day, and avoid spicy food."

Pei Yizhou silently committed it all to memory and glanced repeatedly toward the ward.

"Don't worry, President Pei. No bones were injured, so it's not a major issue. If you want to leave, she can be discharged after the IV drip is finished."

"Let her stay the night."

It was already past midnight. Considering An Xiang's condition, it really was not suitable for her to be jostled around any further.

The doctor nodded and had a nurse handle the paperwork.

Pei Yizhou loosened his tie, gently pushed open the ward door, and walked inside.

An Xiang lay on her side on the bed. The light made her pale little face appear even more fragile.

Perhaps because the medicine had been applied, her complexion had improved somewhat. She no longer looked as bad as she had at first.

"Have you not eaten yet?"

An Xiang nodded.

Pei Yizhou asked softly, "What do you want to eat? I'll go buy it for you."

"No need." An Xiang lazily lifted her eyelids. "The children are still at home. Go back quickly."

As an adult, she could take care of herself. The three children, on the other hand, were mischievous. Who knew what trouble they might cause while the adults were gone?

As they spoke, the ward door was shoved open roughly, and Pei Chen appeared in the doorway, panting heavily.

"Great-grandfather—!"

He shouted so loudly that An Xiang's ears hurt.

Pei Yizhou's expression darkened. "Why aren't you at home taking care of the children? What are you doing here?"

"I..." Before Pei Chen could finish, he suddenly noticed the listless An Xiang in the hospital bed. He swallowed, and the anger on his face gradually turned into distress.

"An... Sister An Xiang, you're seriously enough to be hospitalized?"

To Pei Chen, hospitalization was a huge deal.

All kinds of terrible possibilities rose in his mind. He rushed over in one stride, grabbed An Xiang's hand, and asked anxiously, "Are you okay? Why is your foot wrapped up like that? It's not broken, is it?!"

An Xiang: "..."

"Say something nicer." Unable to bear it any longer, Pei Yizhou grabbed a magazine from the table and smacked him hard on the head. The next second, he seized Pei Chen by the collar and dragged him out of the ward.

"Hey, don't yank me around!"

"If you want to talk, then talk. Keep your hands to yourself!"

Pei Chen struggled nonstop, but as soon as they reached the end of the corridor, Pei Yizhou flung him into a corner against the wall.

The man was expressionless, his eyes deep and dark in a way that inspired fear for no reason. The impatience lingering in Pei Chen's eyes gradually faded beneath that expression.

Pei Chen shrank back, then gathered his courage and said, "Y-you stop glaring at me. I'm telling you, I'm not scared of you."

"An Xiang is sick. What kind of behavior is all that shouting?"

"I'm just not convinced!"

"What aren't you convinced about?"

Pei Chen stretched his neck and shouted, "Y-you stole my woman!"

Pei Yizhou froze for a moment, then gave a disdainful smile. He braced one arm against the wall and looked down at Pei Chen's youthful, reckless face. Enunciating every word, he said, "First, An Xiang is not your woman. Second, I did not steal her. Third, whether it is An Xiang or any other woman, they are not objects. You should treat them with respect. Fourth, do not say such things in front of me again. Otherwise, I'll tear out your tongue."

He was not joking. His severe tone left Pei Chen both aggrieved and angry.

"You know I like Sister An Xiang, yet you went and gave me such a huge son. I... I'm just not convinced."

Pei Yizhou looked at him. "By your logic, can I also say that An Xiang and I have such a big son already, yet you still dare to like her?"

"I..."

"You unfilial brat." Pei Yizhou smacked the back of his head hard. "What does a little brat like you know about liking someone? Have you finished your homework?"

Pei Chen turned his head away and huffed, "I finished it. I finished it ages ago."

Pei Yizhou stared intently at Pei Chen's face. Narrowing his eyes, he realized things were not so simple. "Pei Chen."

Those two quiet words made Pei Chen shudder.

Whenever Great-grandfather called his name, nothing good ever followed.

"Did you finish your homework yourself, or did you get someone else to do it?"

"O-of course I did it myself!" Pei Chen had not expected Pei Yizhou to be so sharp. Cold sweat poured down his back. He did not dare meet Pei Yizhou's eyes and looked away, forcing himself to find the courage to finish the sentence.

Pei Yizhou stared at him deeply without exposing him. Instead, he asked, "You gave An Zimo that card, didn't you?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb." Pei Yizhou's gaze was sharp. "When I found him, that kid was eating with several middle school students. He told me those older boys had treated him. But guess what?"

Pei Chen's lips trembled. "W-what?"

"When he came back, he went to the bathroom first with his backpack still on. I found this in the toilet tank." Pei Yizhou pulled out a bank card from his pocket. It was the very card Pei Chen had given An Zimo earlier.

With both witness and evidence present, Pei Chen's face turned pale. He had no way to defend himself.

That little bastard... How could he even open the toilet tank lid?!

Pei Yizhou put away the card and said flatly, "You're an accomplice."

"I'm not, I didn't do anything." Pei Chen covered his mouth, tears welling in his eyes. "Y-you-you-you can't tell Sister An Xiang. If you tell her, she'll never let me go over to play again, and An Zimo will never do my homework for me again."

Pei Yizhou's expression turned cold.

Pei Chen's face changed.

Damn!

He let it slip!

"I won't settle this with you for now." Pei Yizhou tucked the card back into his pocket. "It's late. Go home and rest. Go to school properly tomorrow, and don't cause trouble. Do you hear me?"

"I hear you, I hear you." Pei Chen nodded furiously, then bolted out of the hospital as though fleeing for his life, completely forgetting why he had come in the first place.

Pei Yizhou inexplicably felt irritated. He tugged hard at his collar, turned around, and went downstairs to buy a late-night meal from a restaurant near the hospital.

By the time he returned, An Xiang was already asleep. She was still crying in her dreams, occasionally raising a hand to scratch her back. The medicine was probably irritating the wound and making it itch.

Pei Yizhou put down the meal box, bent over, and caught her hand to stop her.

An Xiang was completely unaware. Frowning, she turned over, directly pressing down on her wound. The pain made her eyes fly open, and when she saw Pei Yizhou's face so close to hers, she jolted in fright.

Pei Yizhou: "..." This girl startled too easily.

"You still need to have your medicine changed later. I brought you food. Get up and eat a little."

An Xiang let out a long breath and shook her head. "I don't want to eat. I'm not hungry."

Pei Yizhou opened the lid, picked up a steaming little bun, and held it to her lips. Half coaxing and half persuading, he said, "Be good. Just eat a little."

The bun was round and white, steam still rising from it.

An Xiang had never been fed by anyone before. A strange flutter rose from deep within her heart.

She blinked, then took a small bite from Pei Yizhou's hand.

The bun had thin skin and plenty of filling, and it warmed her from the inside out.

Pei Yizhou gently wiped the corner of her mouth, then scooped up a small spoonful of soup and brought it to her lips.

He fed her bite by bite, and An Xiang ate bite by bite.

As she ate, tears fell into the food.

Her crying came so suddenly that Pei Yizhou immediately panicked. He hurriedly put everything down, pulled out a tissue, and wiped her eyes. "Does it still hurt? I'll get a nurse to change your medicine. Don't cry."

An Xiang shook her head and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.

"It doesn't hurt. I... I'm not in pain."

"Then where are you uncomfortable?"

An Xiang looked at him.

Perhaps the moonlight was too gentle, but she saw a trace of tenderness in those cool, distant eyes.

"Before... no one has ever taken care of me like this." An Xiang's voice was soft, filled with deep sorrow and loneliness.

She had lived alone, solitude stretching through every season.

There's one more chapter!

Don't ask. I was playing games. (:з"∠)

I didn't expect one slap to provoke such a huge reaction from some people. Honestly, I write according to the plot. An Xiang doesn't have an omniscient perspective. She only knows that her son ran away from home, and that she herself encountered danger and nearly died. Then she learned that not only had her son run away, he had been eating outside, and when he came back, his attitude was indifferent and unconcerned. He simply did not care about his own safety at all.

She hit him because she was worried and scared. I already wrote that in the previous chapter. Her anger also came from worry. Hitting him was completely understandable. A child who does not even care about his own life, and you are still saying that a slap hurts his self-esteem?

Can I tell you that when my three-year-old nephew came to my home, he destroyed an entire box of my cosmetics? He poured out my Shiseido toner and lotion, poured out my perfume, mixed my Lancôme serum with my Kiehl's face cream, and smeared lipstick all over my planner. In half an hour, my losses were well into five figures.

I lightly smacked him once and yelled at him, and my mom scolded me, saying he was just a child and that no matter how angry I was, I could not hit someone. Quite a few people have said the same thing in the comments. Put yourselves in that situation. Would you hit him? And An Zimo's situation was even more serious than my nephew's back then! This was about his life, friends!

But whatever. I've already revised that part. I don't want to be reported for child abuse again, and then have no way to explain myself.

I just want to say that everyone knows hitting people is wrong, and everyone knows you should reason things out. But nobody is perfect. If you are not in the same situation, then never criticize someone else's actions as wrong.

Not long ago, people were cursing An Zimo and asking why he was not dead yet, saying he deserved to be abused. Now they are accusing An Xiang of being unable to hit her child. My God, when you were cursing my son before, why didn't you say he was still a child?

Sob, sob. I don't mean anything else. I just truly hope everyone will stop blaming the characters, because it makes me really sad. Especially when I previously saw someone cursing Momo, asking why he was not dead and saying he deserved to be beaten. It hurt so much that I cried.

They are all imperfect, which is why they need to grow. So please be a little more forgiving toward them, okay? Love you.

Two hundred red envelopes.

Li Xin is really fun.