49

Jiang Yuanye watched Zhou Chaosheng turn and leave. A dozen seconds later, the door closed with a loud bang. It took him a moment before he felt his heartbeat return to its usual, steady rhythm.

He lowered his eyelashes, staring at the pure white blanket. In his mind, a certain figure kept flashing.

By the time Jiang Yuanye realized something was wrong, he had almost recalled all the happy moments of his life, trying to erase that figure from his mind. But no matter how much he tried, it was useless. He still thought of Zhou Chaosheng, who had been standing by his bed, looking down at him.

It was like using an eraser to rub off pencil marks, no matter how much you wiped, faint traces would always remain on the white paper.

He thought, maybe this was the aftereffect of realizing his longtime rival had suddenly developed feelings for him. Because the other party was the same gender, and because he was a rival, it felt different from those opposite-sex admirers who had liked him just for his looks.

Just as he was about to think more deeply, the WeChat call ringtone suddenly rang.

Jiang Yuanye picked up, and Zhang Youqi’s beaming face instantly filled the screen.

"Yuanye, how are you feeling now?"

Jiang Yuanye replied, "Still okay," then, with a hint of guilt, added, "Youqi, I'm really sorry I couldn't attend your wedding today. And yesterday, I even ruined your bachelor party because of me. I’m truly sorry..."

Before Zhang Youqi could respond, another face popped up beside him—Xu Qingyun, all dressed up, smiling cheerfully. "It’s okay! We know you didn’t do it on purpose, so there’s no need to feel guilty."

"But Yuanye," she continued, "I still have to say this you really can’t drink anymore. If Zhou Chaosheng hadn’t called an ambulance in time and gotten you to the hospital, the consequences could’ve been serious."

Zhang Youqi chimed in, "You suddenly went into shock during your examination last night, it scared the hell out of us. If you had arrived at the hospital just a few minutes later, I don’t even want to think about what could’ve happened. Yuanye, you really need to thank him this time. I know you two have had your fair share of conflicts, but he did save your life, didn’t he?"

Jiang Yuanye froze for a moment. He only remembered the unbearable pain that nearly knocked him unconscious last night. The rest of his memories were a blur, he had no idea when he went into shock or when the surgery happened. The only thing he clearly remembered was waking up on the operating table, staring at the shadowless surgical lamp overhead as its piercing light shone straight into his eyes.

"...Mm."

"Alright then, get some rest. We’ll come visit you tomorrow."

"Okay. Congratulations again on your wedding, Youqi and Qingyun. I’ll treat you both to a meal another day."

"Haha, sounds good!"

After hanging up, Jiang Yuanye sat in a daze for a while.

It seemed like...

He couldn’t quite find that feeling of hating Zhou Chaosheng anymore.

A knock on the door pulled Jiang Yuanye from his thoughts. He turned toward the door. "Come in."

"Sorry to bother you."

A middle-aged man, likely in his thirties or forties, walked in. He had dark circles under his eyes, an unshaven face, and unkempt hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed for three days. His overall appearance seemed rather disheveled. When he saw Jiang Yuanye, his eyes lit up slightly.

"You are...?"

Jiang Yuanye slightly raised an eyebrow.

The man looked at him and asked, "Hello, my name is Zhao Hui. Sorry to intrude, but do you happen to know a tall, handsome young man? He said yesterday that his friend was hospitalized..."

Was he talking about Zhou Chaosheng?

Jiang Yuanye frowned slightly and did not answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Why are you asking? Do you have business with him?"

Zhao Hui seemed to realize that his behavior was somewhat intrusive. He bent down slightly and apologized to Jiang Yuanye, "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I urgently need to find him. If I'm bothering you, I'll leave now."

As he spoke, Zhao Hui turned to leave.

"Wait." Jiang Yuanye called out to him. "How did you find this place?"

Zhao Hui thought Jiang Yuanye had misunderstood something and quickly explained, "I'm not a bad person. I don't have any ill intentions. I just want to know where this person is now. As for how I found this place, it's because I heard him say yesterday that his friend was hospitalized... seemed to be a stomach problem. Then, I asked a nurse and found out that internal medicine patients are usually on this floor, so I just decided to try knocking on doors and asking."

Hospitalized?

Yesterday, it seemed like he underwent surgery. Was this person really talking about Zhou Chaosheng? But a tall and handsome man, whose friend just happened to have a stomach illness…

Jiang Yuanye was a little unsure. "How handsome?"

Zhao Hui took out his phone, tapping and scrolling on the screen for a while before flipping it toward Jiang Yuanye.

Jiang Yuanye squinted.

This seemed to be… a top-tier A-list celebrity?

Zhao Hui pointed at the photo and said seriously, "A hundred times more handsome than this."

Jiang Yuanye: "..."

Zhao Hui continued describing, "He doesn't wear makeup, has really good skin, and his clothes looked very expensive…"

When he mentioned "expensive," Jiang Yuanye was almost certain it was Zhou Chaosheng. He interrupted Zhao Hui before he could continue. "Can I ask why you're looking for him?"

Zhao Hui lowered his eyes and spoke in a low voice. "It's like this… My daughter has a brain tumor, and we owe over a million yuan in medical expenses. Originally, we were supposed to pack up and leave this morning. But unexpectedly, the doctor told me we didn’t have to leave anymore. They said someone from the hospital’s administration considered our financial difficulties and paid off the one million yuan. They even helped me apply for two more years of treatment expenses for my daughter…"

Jiang Yuanye froze for a moment.

It wasn’t that he was surprised by the hospital’s kindness, but rather… eight years ago, he had heard the exact same words.

"What does this have to do with the young man you're looking for?" When Jiang Yuanye asked this, his voice suddenly became hoarse, and the fingers under the blanket unconsciously curled up.

"Because he told me yesterday that he would help." Zhao Hui gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I've been struggling in this hospital for years. There are countless families worse off than mine, with even more severe conditions. If the hospital were to distribute aid, it definitely wouldn’t have been to us. I know that. And all these payments were processed only after that young man said he would help. Tell me, how could I not try to find him?"

"…"

Footsteps, shouting, medical equipment beeping, voices comforting, sounds of crying…

Countless noises rushed in like a tidal wave, drowning him.

At that moment, it was as if he had been dragged back to that summer night, where cicadas chirped endlessly, yet the air was stifling and suffocating.

"Yuanye… your mother jumped off the building."

Jiang Yuanye took a deep breath. His rationality felt like a small boat tossed around in a stormy sea, swaying uncontrollably, as if it would be swallowed by the next wave.

"Did he… tell you his name?"

By the time Jiang Yuanye spoke, it felt like all his strength had been drained.

Zhao Hui noticed that Jiang Yuanye’s face didn’t look right and hesitated. "Are you okay?"

"…I'm fine." Jiang Yuanye steadied his breath and stubbornly asked again, "Sir, did that man tell you his name yesterday?"

Zhao Hui gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "No. Yesterday, I thought he was a scammer, so I refused his help."

But he still helped…

Jiang Yuanye suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. It was as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest—heavy, suffocating, and making his heart pound uncontrollably.

Zhao Hui had come looking for someone, thinking that Jiang Yuanye might be that young man’s friend. But after their conversation, it didn’t seem like it. Yet when he showed him the photo, Jiang Yuanye's reaction made him unsure again.

As their conversation continued…

Why did this person look like he was about to cry?

Jiang Yuanye lowered his eyelashes and asked one last question. "May I ask… how much in total did that man pay for your daughter's medical expenses?"

Zhao Hui, puzzled, answered, "Including the previous debt and the newly covered costs, the total was 1,940,700 yuan."

Jiang Yuanye suddenly heard a deafening roar from within his own heart.

It felt like something had collapsed. A wave of warmth—both sour and stinging—spread slowly yet deeply from his chest.

Such a huge amount…

Only Young Master Zhou could have afforded it.

Jiang Yuanye laughed at himself.

Why hadn't he realized it before?

The answer had been right in front of him, yet he never thought to look deeper.

"He's just like that."

Jiang Yuanye's voice was slightly hoarse, carrying countless emotions.

"He does good deeds without leaving his name."

Zhao Hui: "That person? Do you know him? If you do, could you help me get in touch with him? I have something I want to say to him."

Jiang Yuanye blinked twice, his nose feeling a little sore. He didn't even know why he just suddenly felt like crying.

In that moment, he realized he also had a lot of things he wanted to say to Zhou Chaosheng.

Not through a cold, emotionless screen, but face-to-face. He wanted to look into that pair of dark, abyss-like eyes and ask:

We’re supposed to be sworn enemies, aren’t we?

Then why did you help me back then?

"...Uncle, leave me your phone number. I’ll pass the message on to him."

Zhao Hui was overjoyed. "Alright, alright!"

As he spoke, he took out a pen and a piece of paper he had prepared in advance, wrote down his personal information, folded the paper in half, and handed it to Jiang Yuanye. "Thank you. Please, make sure to tell him."

"Mm, I will," Jiang Yuanye said.

Before leaving, Zhao Hui told him to rest well and assured him that he would be discharged soon. Even though Jiang Yuanye knew it was just a polite remark, those words still made his already sore eyes heat up even more.

Outside, the rain began to fall. The sky was covered by thick, heavy clouds, sealing away all light. Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and the patter of raindrops blended seamlessly with the storm’s roar.

Inside the hospital room, however, it was completely silent.

Memories washed over him like the unrelenting rain outside—cold, damp, and bone-chilling.

He remembered.

The day his mother jumped, it rained too.

When she was sent to the hospital, the doctor told him she needed surgery and asked him to contact his father. He sat on the ground in a daze, ignoring the doctor’s words, because he already knew..

Even if he called, the man wouldn’t answer.

And even if he did, he wouldn’t come, let alone brave the storm to see them.

For six hours, he forced himself to stay awake, waiting outside the operating room until the next morning.

The doctor told him that while she had been saved, she would likely spend the rest of her life bedridden.

Between the lines, the message was clear—

She had become a vegetable.

At that moment, Jiang Yuanye thought—

At least she was still alive.

If she had disappeared from this world entirely, he would probably regret it for the rest of his life.

The doctor asked him to make a decision.

Would he continue the treatment, or let her go?

If he chose to continue, it meant taking on medical expenses far beyond what an ordinary person could afford.

For a high school student like him, it was simply impossible.

All his relatives urged him to give up, to get rid of this burden and use the money to bail his father out of prison instead.

Bail that scumbag out?

He would rather pray for that bastard to die in there.

If it weren’t for him, would his mother have ended up like this?

Would she have been so desperate that she jumped?

He still remembered..

Back when he was little, the mother who gave birth to him was nothing like this.

She had been gentle, loving. She played with him, built blocks with him, read bedtime stories to him, picked him up from school, and bought him little cakes as rewards for his good grades…

Back then, his mother still smiled.

But then, that man got addicted to drugs.

And everything changed.

His mother was beaten so badly that she lost her sanity. The warmth in her eyes faded into emptiness. Her body was covered in bruises and scars, her forehead, nose, and lips smeared with blood.

Six-year-old him curled up in a corner, watching with wide, terrified eyes as she was beaten over and over again.

He tried to fight back.

He tried to protect her.

But in the end, nothing worked.

All it did was enrage the man even more. And every time, his mother bore the brunt of that fury.

When he got a little older, he spent a long time secretly researching, learning how to gather evidence. He took photos, documented everything, and finally worked up the courage to go to the police.

He got down on his knees and begged the officers to arrest that monster.

But by then, his mother was already too broken.

Terrified and brainwashed by his threats, she personally denied that he had ever laid a hand on her.

He couldn’t save her.

And from that day on, the man began beating him too.

Yet even later, when she lost her mind completely—when she hit him, screamed at him—he never blamed her.

Because he knew, 

She never wanted to become like this.

No matter what choice she had made in the end, whether she let herself be beaten or gave up on saving herself.

It was never her fault.

She had simply married the wrong person.

That wasn’t her sin to bear.

—

Zhou Chaosheng checked in his suitcase and went to line up for security. Twenty minutes later, he sat in the VIP lounge, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Hello, handsome, may I add your contact information?" A few young and beautiful women approached his sofa and politely inquired.

Just as Zhou Chaosheng was about to respond, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

He stood up and said, "Excuse me." The girls, hearing the rejection in his tone, responded graciously, "It's okay."

Zhou Chaosheng found a spot where he could take the call and pressed the answer button.

"..."

There was silence on the other end. Zhou Chaosheng hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the caller ID. It was Jiang Yuanye.

That couldn’t be right. Why was someone who usually talked so much suddenly not saying anything?

"Hello?"

Jiang Yuanye responded in a low voice.

Leaning against the wall, Zhou Chaosheng could see the weather outside through the airport’s floor-to-ceiling windows. Due to the bad weather, the flight was temporarily delayed.

"Why are you calling me?"

Jiang Yuanye stared at the raindrops streaking down the window, tears silently falling from his eyes.

"...Nothing."

His voice was muffled, as if he had been crying.

Zhou Chaosheng raised an eyebrow. Jiang Yuanye… crying?

"What’s wrong?"

"...Zhou Chaosheng."

"Mm?"

"Zhou Chaosheng."

Zhou Chaosheng felt a bit helpless. "What is it?"

Jiang Yuanye sniffled. His voice, mixed with the sound of rain, still reached Zhou Chaosheng’s ears clearly.

"...Are you crying?"

"...No."

Zhou Chaosheng didn’t press further.

His voice unconsciously softened. "Do you need something?"

"Zhou Chaosheng."

"Mm, I’m here."

Jiang Yuanye lifted his sleeve to wipe away his tears, but they kept falling like a broken dam.

He thought.. if not for Zhou Chaosheng’s two million yuan back then, he might have already been dead.

"Zhou Chaosheng… I know this is a bit late."

Jiang Yuanye held back a sob and softly said,

"But I still want to tell you…

Thank you."

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