Lin Xun was buried under a pile of documents listening to his assistant’s work report when his phone rang, just as they were getting started.
It was Yang Wan calling.
She immediately began asking about his progress with Qin Yuzheng, nagging him to get married as soon as possible, have a child, and other endless, tedious matters. Irritated by her talking, Lin Xun cut her off directly: “What pushed your buttons today?”
He used honorifics, but there was no sign of actual respect in his tone. Yang Wan choked for a moment, then lowered her voice and rambled, explaining in a few brief sentences the reality that Lin Zhaoning was keeping a lover outside and had even fathered an illegitimate child. “Your father seems very satisfied with that Omega. He’ll probably welcome him into the family as soon as Li You gets a divorce. You better get your act together, ” Yang Wan urged him to speed things up, practically wishing a child would pop out tomorrow. Lin Xun sharply caught onto a specific phrase: “Divorce?”
“Yes! Li You came to see Zhaoning, and your father flew into a massive rage. Not only did he force Li You to get a divorce, but he also kicked him out…”
Lin Xun listened no further and decisively hung up the phone.
He cut off the secretary mid-sentence, dismissed him, grabbed his coat and car keys, and headed out the door.
Having been kicked out, Li You had nowhere to go, so he simply found a spot to sit and daze off in the hospital’s rear garden. The garden was mostly frequented by recovering or hospitalized patients taking a stroll. Several elderly men were gathered together chatting in groups of twos and threes, some gossiping endlessly, others taking walks, and a crowd was even sitting under a tree playing cards while a large group watched.
Birds in the trees chirped merrily, their plump bodies almost rounded into balls, supported entirely by two thin legs as their claws tightly gripped the branches. A few bolder ones hopped down to the ground, bouncing around to eat the breadcrumbs and watermelon rind thrown by people.
“Aiya, your hand is terrible! You don’t even have a single face card. How can you play this? You’d better concede early!”
“A true gentleman remains quiet while observing a game, only a scoundrel talks trash!”
After several rounds of cards, noise and clamor filled the air. Someone who was losing got upset and complained that the bad feng shui was to blame, demanding to swap seats: “Someone swap with me! I was careless, sitting facing south brings no money!” A card buddy was instantly annoyed by this and shouted back in rebuttal: “Bullshit! Sitting facing north would make me lose to ghosts! You’re just bad, practice more!”
The crowd burst into laughter. Nearby, a few children were chasing each other under the sun. Their innocent laughter merged with the adults’ teasing. Ignoring the fact that this was a hospital, the scene was remarkably harmonious and warm.
Li You sat there blankly, not only completely out of place, but looking to outsiders like a fool staring blankly into the crowd without even blinking. The parents of several children assumed he was a psychiatric patient and pulled their kids away, forbidding them from approaching him.
Lin Xun arrived very quickly and locked onto Li You’s location with precise accuracy among the crowd.
The palm print on the Beta’s face was painfully obvious, and even the corner of his mouth was swollen with bruised blood, creating a shocking and distressing sight.
“Who did this?” Lin Xun asked, lifting his chin. Even when his thumb touched the wound, the person before him didn’t react, merely staring at him blankly.
Li You raised his head to look up at the Alpha, his eyes stinging from the bright sunlight.
Why was Lin Xun here again?
How strange.
The Alpha squatted down, looking at him at eye level, and asked once more: “Who did this? Speak.”
Lin Xun’s tone was extremely soft, so soft that even a passing gust of wind could blow it away.
“Father,” Li You didn’t look into his eyes, feeling that this address was truly awkward, though he couldn’t think of any other way to call him.
“Stupid to the bone. You just stood there and let him hit you? You didn’t even know to dodge?”
The next second, he fell into a warm embrace. Lin Xun pulled him up into a princess carry, completely ignoring the staring and scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, and carried him straight into the outpatient building.
A nurse brought an ice pack to reduce the swelling on his face and applied ointment to the corner of his mouth. Lin Xun noticed the bulge on the back of his head, gently pushed aside his hair to look, and discovered that his scalp was already bleeding, bruised, and swollen, it looked terrifying.
Li You was forced to undergo a comprehensive examination. Fortunately, his brain sustained no major damage, and he only needed a few days of quiet rest until the swelling completely went down. Lin Xun stayed with him the entire time, spending most of his time making phone calls to handle work matters.
Lin Xun had a company to manage and was busy inside and out every day, yet Li You was wasting his time. Li You felt immensely apologetic. Coming out of the examination room, the Alpha stood at the far end of the hallway with his back turned to him, speaking to someone. Li You couldn’t see clearly, but looking at the retreating back of the person leaving, he felt they looked familiar.
It wasn’t until he saw that small, thin silhouette subconsciously shielding their stomach that Li You realized the person seemed to be Bai Yu.
“That person just now…”
“Just asking for directions.”
Li You hesitated before asking, “Don’t you know him?”
Lin Xun countered, “Why should I know him?”
Li You thought: The lighting in the underground parking lot was dim that night, so it’s normal not to have seen clearly. Maybe it really was just a coincidence that he asked for directions.
“Um, thank you.”
Lin Xun looked back at him, unappreciatively remarking, “Is today your first day knowing me?”
Li You swore that he truly intended to express his sincere gratitude.
“Still not moving? Did you get hit until you turned stupid?” Lin Xun walked toward the exit, sarcastic and dissatisfied upon seeing that Li You hadn’t kept up. Li You jogged to catch up, but after deliberating repeatedly, he stopped in his tracks and grabbed the Alpha’s sleeve with both hands.
He had a ring of gauze wrapped around his head, covering his full forehead. Looking down from Lin Xun’s perspective, his eyes were large and round, his eyelids were thin, and his lips lacked color. His entire presence was pale, helpless, and somewhat pitiful.
Lin Xun opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, reaching out his hand to cover Li You’s eyes.
Li You asked, “Can I go see him?”
A loud “BOOM” echoed in his mind, as if three hundred landmines buried beneath his feet had detonated simultaneously, almost leveling the entire hospital to the ground.
The veins on Lin Xun’s temples bulged sharply. He couldn’t fathom why Li You managed to step precisely into the minefield every single time, showing no repentance while repeatedly jumping up and down on it, constantly provoking him.
With a severe, indifferent face, Lin Xun said coldly, “What do his affairs have to do with you?”
Li You slowly let go of Lin Xun’s sleeve. No matter what, that car accident four years ago had ultimately left a lifelong shadow over Lin Zhaoning. How could it have nothing to do with him?
Then he heard the Alpha mockingly and heartlessly warn him: “Caring about a wild man will bring you bad luck for a lifetime.”
Li You raised his lowered head back up. Clearly, he hadn’t yet realized that the “wild man” in Lin Xun’s mouth was his current legal husband.
Looking into those eyes full of confusion, another wave of nameless anger surged within Lin Xun, because those eyes explicitly told him that he was the wild man. Li You didn’t dare to speak, but the Alpha was so enraged he spoke without thinking, scolding him incessantly like pouring out a bag of beans: “Do you think not getting a divorce makes you proud? What’s the point of you going there? Will he wake up just because you go? Even if he gets hit and dies, it has nothing to do with you! How many times have I told you to stay away from him, why are you just refusing to be obedient!”
Li You once again summarized a conclusion from Lin Xun’s words: He was utterly useless.
He felt that way himself too, and had nothing to say in defense, taking it as a silent agreement.
His silence made Lin Xun believe he was being stubborn again, dead set on going to see Lin Zhaoning. Consequently, the fire in his heart burned even more fiercely, and he shouted in rage: “Answer me!”
Li You shivered in fright. A few passersby nearby were attracted by the voice and turned their heads one after another to look.
“I…” Li You’s hands and feet were ice-cold, and his voice involuntarily raised in volume because of his shaking, “I know I am very useless too!”
Lin Xun was stunned upon hearing this, and immediately a overwhelming, tempestuous rage swept over his entire body like a passing typhoon. He grabbed Li You’s arm in reverse, pressing forward step by step with harsh interrogation: “You’re losing your temper at me? You’re losing your temper at me for the sake of a wild man!”
“You just care about him, wishing you were the one lying on that hospital bed! What on earth is so good about him that made you so blind, making you completely turn a blind eye to how others treat you well!”
“I’m not, I didn’t!” Li You defended, struggling to break free from the Alpha’s restraint: “I’m sorry, I was wrong…”
Li You began to apologize incoherently, making Lin Xun both angry and annoyed. He directly covered Li You’s mouth, hoisted him up onto his shoulder, stuffed him into the car, and tied several dead knots around his wrists using his tie.