"Bai Ruan!!"
Feng Yan rushed over to stop Bai Ruan, but a large truck drove past just then, cutting him off.
When he looked back, Bai Ruan was already lying unconscious in a pool of blood.
The vehicle that had hit him hesitated for a moment, then accelerated and fled the scene.
"..." Feng Yan's expression changed dramatically. He rushed to Bai Ruan where he lay on the ground, his fingers trembling. "What do I do? There's so much blood. Ruanruan? Ruanruan...!"
"Ruanruan, Ruanruan, wake up..."
"Bai Ruan!!"
A crowd gathered around, terrified by all the blood on the ground.
Tao Zhiyan called an ambulance immediately.
The closest hospital to the amusement park was a private one only a few hundred meters away, so there was barely any delay.
Bai Ruan was soon wheeled into the emergency room.
His parents and two older brothers arrived as well. Tao Zhiyan gave them a rough account of what had happened, and his mother's blood pressure shot up before she fainted.
Bai Ruan was the youngest in his family, and the most doted on.
His parents had never hit or scolded him, and his two older brothers always gave way to him. Whenever they found something delicious or fun, they brought it home for him first. Hearing now that their precious little brother had been hurt so badly that he had tried to kill himself filled them with rage.
His eldest brother had a fierce temper. Fury blazed in his chest as he turned, charged over, and punched Feng Yan in the face!
Caught completely off guard, Feng Yan staggered half a step and fell to the floor.
"Are you even fucking human?!" Bai Ruan's eldest brother grabbed Feng Yan by the collar and hauled him up. "Ruan was so good to you! And you cheated on him? Betrayed him?!"
Feng Yan's mind went blank as he was dragged up by his collar, utterly bedraggled.
His gaze was dazed, his lips deathly pale. His hands were still stained with Bai Ruan's blood and kept trembling, as though he were still trapped in what had just happened.
"You fucking animal!"
Bai Ruan's eldest brother showed no mercy, landing punch after punch until Feng Yan's face was covered in bruises.
Feng Yan could do nothing to fight back. His face was knocked to one side, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
"If you wanted to play around, you should've fucking found someone else!" His eldest brother's eyes were red and wet, his voice trembling with a hatred that ran bone-deep. "Why the fuck did you have to lie to Ruan?!"
"He thought you really wanted to spend your life with him! Do you understand that?!"
That shout snapped Feng Yan back to the present. Looking into his brother's bloodshot eyes, he felt his emotions surge, then burst their banks.
His eyes shifted, tears welling up and falling one after another. "I was wrong... I was so wrong..."
"I really know I was wrong..."
Feng Yan had once believed he could make amends. He had always thought that as long as Bai Ruan stayed by his side, they could get back together.
But he had forgotten that he had used lies to trick Bai Ruan into this relationship in the first place.
If it had been a lie from the start, what was there to get back together for?
The surgery went smoothly. When Bai Ruan was wheeled out of the emergency room, the anesthesia had yet to wear off.
Feng Yan immediately rushed forward to see him, only for his eldest brother to shove him away.
"What are you still doing here?" His eldest brother pinned him in place, barely suppressing the urge to punch him a few more times. "Get the hell out!"
"Let me see Bai Ruan. Just one look, and I'll leave." The once lofty Second Young Master had now been reduced to groveling in the dust. Pinned against the wall, he turned his head toward Bai Ruan's eldest brother and pleaded, "Please. Please let me see him. Just once!"
"See him for what?" His eldest brother shoved him away. "Get the fuck out before I hit you again!"
Bai Ruan's father and second brother wheeled him into his room. Hearing the commotion, his second brother turned back irritably. "Why are you wasting your breath on him?"
"It's fine. You two go in first," his eldest brother said. "I'll deal with this asshole."
His second brother nodded and followed their father into the room.
Bai Ruan's eldest brother was determined to stand his ground against Feng Yan. No matter what Feng Yan said, he refused to let him through, and their prolonged struggle achieved nothing.
Feng Yan was clearly on the verge of breaking down. He desperately tried to peer inside, wanting just a glimpse of Bai Ruan, but could see nothing.
"Please, I'm begging you!" Feng Yan suddenly dropped heavily to his knees, great tears spilling down his face as he sobbed and pleaded. "Just let me see him. Just once. Please!"
Feng Yan had abandoned all dignity, groveling and begging.
But seeing him like this only made Bai Ruan's eldest brother want to laugh.
See Ruan? What right did he have?
Trash like him belonged in a garbage can!
"You think you deserve to see Ruan?" His eldest brother grew more emotional as he spoke. "Don't you remember how lively he used to be?"
"Our whole family treasured him. We were afraid he'd break if we held him, afraid he'd melt if we kept him in our mouths. We worked so hard to raise such a wonderful kid, and you fucking ruined him."
His eldest brother clenched his fists, beside himself with fury. "Who the hell do you think you are? You fucking-"
"Hey...!" His second brother suddenly called from inside the room. "Ruan's awake! Hurry and get the doctor!"
His eldest brother froze for a moment, then quickly turned to fetch the doctor.
Seizing that opening, Feng Yan shoved his second brother aside and rushed to Bai Ruan's bedside.
"Ruanruan, Ruanruan!"
His second brother had tried to restrain him, but Feng Yan seemed to have gone mad, his strength startling. He knocked him aside with a thud, leaving him aching from the impact.
"Do you feel unwell anywhere?" Half-kneeling beside Bai Ruan's bed, Feng Yan held his hand and asked with reddened eyes, "Does anything hurt?"
Bai Ruan's eyes shifted slightly, but he said nothing.
"I know. I know you hate me, but you... you can't..." Feng Yan couldn't go on. The image of Bai Ruan lying in a pool of blood tore at his heart.
Someone who had been perfectly fine a second before had suddenly crumpled to the ground. In that instant, fear, regret, and countless other emotions had surged through him.
Feng Yan had even wanted to die.
"I was wrong, Bai Ruan. I'm not asking you to forgive me, but don't do anything foolish because of me again." His voice trembled as he finally accepted the truth. "I'm not worth it..."
Bai Ruan lay in bed without much reaction. Only after Feng Yan finished speaking did he slowly withdraw his hand.
He blinked, gave a faintly apologetic smile, then tentatively asked, "Sorry, who are you...?"
Feng Yan went rigid. He slowly raised his eyes, his face full of disbelief. "Ruanruan, you..."
"Do we know each other?" Bai Ruan rubbed his head in confusion. "Sorry, I can't... I can't quite remember."
At those words, Feng Yan froze completely.
A sharp pain pierced his heart, and suffocation crashed over him. It felt as though a cold, hard, blunt instrument had driven through his heart, pain rolling through its very tip.
The person who had once had eyes for no one but him...
Their past had become filled with hatred.
And now, everything had turned calm and unfamiliar.
"It's... it's me, Ruanruan. It's me!" Feng Yan's lips trembled. Overcome with emotion, he instinctively seized Bai Ruan tightly. "It's me! I'm Feng Yan! You-"
"What the fuck are you trying to do now?!" His second brother rushed over and shoved Feng Yan away.
His father was furious too. His health was poor, and as he stood up, he coughed until he could barely breathe. "You-cough! Haven't you hurt Ruan enough already?!"
"I... I wasn't..." Feng Yan breathed rapidly, his whole body cold. He shook his head in disbelief before lunging forward again. "Bai Ruan! Bai Ruan, it's-!"
"You fucking bastard!" His eldest brother, returning with the doctor, happened to witness this and charged over in a fury, delivering a kick!
The kick landed squarely on Feng Yan. Pain swept through him, but his eyes remained fixed on Bai Ruan in the bed.
Then his eldest brother threw him out like a piece of trash.
Bai Ruan pressed his lips together slightly and looked at his second brother. "Who is he?"
His second brother's hands shook with anger. "An asshole!"
"Oh..." Bai Ruan turned back again, meeting Feng Yan's gaze.
Seeing how angry his father and brothers were, his beautiful eyes inevitably took on a look of disgust as well.
Then Bai Ruan turned away without the slightest reluctance.
That look was the last thing Feng Yan saw of Bai Ruan.
Unfamiliar, cold, and tinged with disgust.
His throat closed up. His vision darkened, his legs gave way, and he fell to his knees with a thud, his eyes utterly lifeless...
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