“Auntie, this is a hospital. The blood bank has all blood types; there’s no need to specifically draw my blood,” Ming Yan’s voice was cool and detached.
Wang Mei’s face was filled with hesitation and worry, “But…”
Ming Yan didn’t look at her anymore. Instead, she turned to the man beside her. “Huo Hanshan, I’ve already placed the resignation letter on your desk, and I’ve packed up all my things. When you have time, go back to the company and sign it.”
“What resignation letter?” Huo Hanshan’s brows furrowed tightly.
“You child!” Wang Mei immediately grew anxious upon hearing this. “What are you throwing a tantrum about? That’s not what I meant.”
Ming Yan smiled indifferently. “Auntie, rest well and take care of your health. I still need to go back and pack my things, so I’ll leave first.”
With that, she ignored everyone’s expressions, turned, and walked away.
However, just as she stepped into the elevator and the doors were about to close, a large hand reached in.
The elevator doors slowly opened again, and Ming Yan met a pair of dark eyes.
Ming Yan rarely saw other emotions in Huo Hanshan’s eyes.
The only time was when he was pinned to the ground by the villagers. The look in his eyes then was something she would never forget in her lifetime.
“Why are you resigning?” Huo Hanshan followed her into the elevator, his gaze burning as he looked at Ming Yan. “Because of today’s wedding? Or because of the blood transfusion just now?”
He reached out and grasped Ming Yan’s hand. “I’ve already apologized for the wedding incident. As for the blood transfusion, I said I’d find someone else; I won’t force you. Can you please stop making a fuss?”
Ming Yan felt like laughing—making a fuss?
Right.
She had indeed never made a fuss with him before.
No matter what grievances she suffered, she always bore them alone.
In the early days of starting the business, Huo Hanshan’s stubborn and uncompromising nature offended many clients. It was always her who cleaned up the mess afterward, even to the point of drinking until she injured her stomach.
She had been nursing it for so many years, yet her stomach issues still flared up from time to time.
“Huo Hanshan, I’m tired.”
Over these five years, she had taken ninety-nine steps toward him.
If only he had taken one step, they could have achieved perfection.
It was her own wishful thinking that she could become that special someone.
She was foolish.
Foolish enough to believe that giving her whole heart would earn her his love.
Now, she was wounded and bleeding, utterly exhausted.
She no longer wanted to chase after him.
“If you’re tired, I can grant you annual leave to rest,” Huo Hanshan frowned.
A wave of helplessness washed over Ming Yan.
“Huo Hanshan, we…”
Before she could utter the word “breakup,” Huo Hanshan’s phone suddenly vibrated.
As soon as he answered, Wang Mei’s tearful voice immediately came through the speaker. “Hanshan, it’s terrible! Xiao Wan suddenly fainted. Come back quickly!”
Huo Hanshan’s expression changed slightly. “Alright, I’ll be right there.”
After hanging up, he instinctively looked at Ming Yan. “Go back to my place and wait for me. I have something to say to you. I’ll come find you as soon as I’m done.”
Without waiting for Ming Yan to respond, he turned and left without looking back.
As always, whenever Qin Wan was in trouble, he would rush to her side without hesitation.
Ming Yan stood still, taking a deep breath.
The elevator doors closed again, leaving her alone in the confined space. The mirrored walls reflected her pale face and cold eyes.
She had originally planned to go to Huo Hanshan’s place to pack her belongings.
Since that’s the case, let’s have an open and honest talk and make a clean break once and for all.
…
Huo Hanshan’s residence was near the law firm, a penthouse apartment in an upscale residential complex.
Back when Ming Yan and Huo Hanshan had confirmed their relationship, she had shamelessly asked for a key. Whenever she had free time, she would come over to tidy up his place and cook for him.
It was more accurate to call it Ming Yan’s home rather than Huo Hanshan’s.
Huo Hanshan had no particular requirements for his living environment, so everything in the house had been arranged by Ming Yan alone—from the color of the curtains to the style of the sofa, from the kitchenware to the potted plants on the balcony, every detail bore her effort and care.
She brought over a cardboard box and began packing her things.
This process proved far more difficult than she had imagined.
Every item held a memory; every decision to keep or discard was a pang of heartache.
When she pulled the photo album from the bedside table, she couldn’t help but frown.
Ming Yan sat on the floor, flipping through the pages one by one.
In the photos, she was smiling so happily, the love in her eyes almost overflowing.
With an expressionless face, she closed the album and tossed it aside.
There were too many things to pack. By the time Ming Yan finished, the sun had already begun to set in the west. The orange-red afterglow streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting an unreal glow over everything.
The cardboard box sat by the entrance.
Five years of emotions, it turned out, could be packed away in just one box.
Everything left behind was trash that needed to be thrown out.
Ming Yan moved all her things to her car. After she was done, Huo Hanshan still hadn’t returned.
Perhaps because she had been so busy today, Ming Yan suddenly felt a discomfort in her stomach.
It was only then that she remembered she hadn’t eaten since noon.
She hurried into the kitchen to make herself a bowl of noodles.
But after eating, the stomach pain only grew worse.
This time, the pain was different from usual—not a dull ache but a sharp, stabbing sensation that spread from her stomach to her lower right abdomen.
Ming Yan had no choice but to search for the first-aid kit.
Although she suffered from chronic stomach pain, she had always hidden it from Huo Hanshan, worried that he would feel distressed and guilty. While he kept some stomach medicine on hand, it wasn’t much.
Kneeling on the living room floor, she rummaged through the first-aid kit but couldn’t find the familiar medicine bottle.
The pain grew increasingly intense. She felt nauseous, and her vision began to blur.
Ming Yan forced herself to stand up, wanting to pour a glass of hot water, but she nearly collapsed.
Leaning against the wall, she slowly made her way to the kitchen, poured a glass of warm water, and drank it, but it didn’t help much.
The pain was so severe that cold sweat broke out on her back. Curled up on the floor, her consciousness began to fade.
Gritting her teeth through the pain, she dialed the emergency number. “Hello, this is…”
But when the call connected, Qin Wan’s voice came through the receiver. “Ming Yan, why are you calling again? Didn’t you say you were resigning? I knew you were up to something!”
Only then did Ming Yan realize she had dialed the wrong number. Her emergency contact had always been set to Huo Hanshan.
But she had no time to argue with Qin Wan now; her stomach felt like it was on fire. “Where is Huo Hanshan?”
Qin Wan replied smugly, “My period came, and my stomach hurts. Hanshan went to buy brown sugar and ginger for me…”
Before she could finish, Ming Yan hung up the phone.
September in midsummer should have been the hottest time of the year.
Perhaps the air conditioning in the room was set too low. Ming Yan felt the icy air rushing into her lungs, making her stomach ache as if churning violently.
Clutching her chest, she couldn’t tell whether her heart or her stomach hurt more.
Soon, cold sweat soaked through her back.
Struggling to focus on her phone, she dialed 120. “Hello… Jin Feng Apartment, Building 3, Unit 1201… acute stomach pain…”
After hanging up, the pain left her almost breathless.
Just before her consciousness began to blur, she heard the sound of footsteps breaking through the door, followed by a chaotic noise around her.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw doctors in white coats moving before her.
“Rebound tenderness in the lower right abdomen—it’s acute appendicitis. Surgery is required immediately.”
So it wasn’t her stomach, but her appendix.
“The patient needs emergency surgery. Arrange for a family member to sign the consent form!”
Ming Yan was in too much pain to speak. When a nurse rushed over to ask for her family’s contact information, she could only manage to ask, “Can I sign it myself?”
“No family members?” The nurse looked surprised.
“No.”
Years ago, she had followed Huo Hanshan to Jingdu to make a life for themselves. To be with him, she had broken ties with her family.
In Jingdu, apart from Huo Hanshan, she had no one.
The nurse gave her a sympathetic glance before handing her the surgical consent form. “Then sign here.”
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Ming Yan picked up the pen.
Suddenly, she remembered five years ago when Huo Hanshan had suffered an appendicitis attack—she had signed the form for him then too.
The exact same surgical consent form.
Back then, she had been so nervous, reading it over and over, afraid of any unforeseen risks.
Later, she had stayed by Huo Hanshan’s hospital bed for three days and three nights…
And now—
She was all alone.