The rain fell all through the night, leaving the morning air exceptionally crisp and refreshing.
Wen Yirong wanted to go downstairs for a walk, but inside the elevator, she ran straight into an acquaintance Chen Yizhi, Professor Chen’s son.
He had disliked her ever since they were children, constantly causing trouble for her. Had it not been for Shen Sichen protecting her, she would have suffered greatly at his hands.
“Wen Yirong, it really is you!”
Chen Yizhi glared at her, gritting his teeth with a bitter sneer. “You actually have the nerve to come back?”
Knowing nothing good ever came out of his mouth, Wen Yirong turned her face away, ignoring him.
But Chen Yizhi had no intention of letting her off. “Back then, your family kidnapped Shen Sichen to extort the Shens, and you beat Uncle Shen half to death. Have you forgotten all of that? I even saw you push Shen Sichen into the ocean with your own hands.”
“And now you come running back to cling to him for surgery money? Wen Yirong, I’ve truly never met anyone as shameless as you.”
Wen Yirong’s face grew paler and paler. “What does any of this have to do with you?”
“Heh, an absconded criminal still dares to talk so tough?”
“Chen Yizhi, I don’t owe you anything. I am under no obligation to explain what happened back then to you, nor will I stand here and take your abuse.”
Chen Yizhi sneered, scanning her up and down with open contempt. “Feeling wronged? After your family committed something so utterly despicable, giving you a tongue-lashing is being far too easy on you.”
“Do you have any idea how Shen Sichen has survived all these years? He nearly died, while you got to walk away scot-free.”
Ding! The elevator doors slid open.
Wen Yirong stepped straight out, desperate to throw off the relentless Chen Yizhi as fast as possible; her emotions were in far too delicate a state to handle this kind of agitation.
Yet Chen Yizhi clung like a bad rash she couldn’t shake. He lunged forward and clamped his hand tightly around her wrist.
“Where do you think you’re running off to? I’m calling the cops for Shen Sichen right now and having them haul you away. Why bother with surgery anyway? You won’t make it off the operating table alive regardless—don’t waste his money.”
“Let go of me!”
Wen Yirong struggled desperately, but she couldn’t break free.
Amid the commotion, a crowd began to gather in the lobby, turning their gazes toward them. Her emotions spiraled rapidly out of control; her lips drained of color, and her breathing grew increasingly labored.
Shen Sichen cut swiftly through the crowd and violently shoved Chen Yizhi aside. “Get your hands off her.”
Stumbling back two steps, Chen Yizhi looked at the man who had suddenly appeared. “Sichen, I was just helping you teach this shameless woman a lesson.”
“I didn’t ask for your help.”
Noticing two police officers walking through the main hospital entrance, Wen Yirong was so frightened she grabbed tightly onto Shen Sichen’s hand. “Brother, I don’t want to go with the police.”
Shen Sichen’s expression darkened as he cast a chilling look at Chen Yizhi. “You called the police?”
“That’s right! She’s a criminal to begin with—she belongs in a cell for the rest of her life.”
As the officers drew closer, cold sweat broke out across Wen Yirong’s entire body. She felt as though her heart were about to leap out of her chest.
“Brother…” She shrank behind Shen Sichen’s back, trembling violently.
Suddenly, her vision went completely black. Her body slumped backward, losing all consciousness in an instant.
Fortunately, Shen Sichen caught her in time. With a dark, grim face, he scooped her up into his arms and sprinted toward the resuscitation room.
The medical staff, realizing the severity of the situation, immediately rushed after him.
“The patient is in critical condition, start emergency resuscitation now!”
At the doors of the trauma room, the doctor took her from Shen Sichen’s arms, turning around and shutting the doors to seal him outside.
A short moment later, Professor Chen hurried into the room.
Chen Yizhi strolled over, shoving his hands into his pockets as he leaned against the wall. Watching Shen Sichen, he began to lecture him: “Sichen, how can you be so foolish? Can’t you see she’s just using you to keep herself alive?”
Shen Sichen turned around, his face coated in a layer of bitter frost. The veins at his temples throbbed subtly. Stepping forward, he grabbed Chen Yizhi by the collar and drove fist after fist straight into his face.
“You should never have touched her.“
Heavy, muffled thuds echoed down the hall. Chen Yizhi was beaten to the ground, entirely incapable of fighting back.
Holding his bruised face, he looked up, grimacing in pain as he glared at Shen Sichen.
“Wake up! Stop being so foolishly kind! I’m doing this for your own good—look at what her family did to yours! And Uncle Shen’s state right now—wasn’t that all caused by her?”
A murderous chill filled the depths of Shen Sichen’s eyes. “The Shen family’s business is none of your concern, and you had better stay out of mine, too.”
“If I ever catch you harassing her again, I’ll make sure Professor Chen finds out every single foul thing you’ve been doing behind his back.”
Chen Yizhi had harbored a lingering dread of him since childhood. Knowing Shen Sichen was currently on the absolute precipice of rage, he shut his mouth completely. Wiping the streak of blood from the corner of his lips, he used the wall to haul himself slowly to his feet.
The doors to the resuscitation room swung open. Seeing Professor Chen step out, Shen Sichen immediately moved forward. “Professor Chen, how is she?”
Professor Chen wore a grave expression. “Not good. We can’t wait any longer; she needs surgery immediately.”
Shen Sichen’s eyes darkened. Surgery meant there was a very real possibility she might never wake up again.
After a long pause, he finally spoke in a raspy voice, “Alright.”
Professor Chen nodded, turning to re-enter the room, but he was called back once more.
“Professor Chen.”
Shen Sichen clenched his fists tightly, a rare, unspoken vulnerability lingering in his eyes. “Please… do everything in your power to save her.”
“I will do my absolute best.”
The sensor doors slowly slid shut, and the glowing red words SURGERY IN PROGRESS illuminated above the frame.
Shen Sichen raised his head, staring blankly at those three words. They felt like a curse, reappearing in his life time and time again.
Chen Yizhi stared at his back, unable to decipher the profound loneliness and anguish hidden within it. He only hoped Wen Yirong would die right there on the operating table.
And even if she didn’t die, he had plenty of ways to make her life a living hell.
Meanwhile, at the far end of the corridor, a figure wearing a peaked cap stood quietly watching the direction of the operating room. After a short moment, the figure vanished.
The surgery lasted for nineteen grueling hours—a stretch of time that felt like absolute torture to Shen Sichen.
Finally, the light above the door went dark.
Professor Chen emerged once more. His bloodshot eyes glanced at Shen Sichen before he pulled down his surgical mask.
“The surgery was a complete success.”
In an instant, the heavy clouds lingering over Shen Sichen’s heart scattered into nothingness. He let out a long breath. “Thank you, Professor Chen.”
“Right now, the key is observing her recovery in the intensive care unit.”
“Understood.”
Outside the ICU, Shen Sichen watched the unconscious Wen Yirong through the thick glass panel. An oxygen mask covered her bloodless face, and her frail body was connected to various tubes and monitors, with only the steady rhythmic beep verifying her vitals were stable.
Just like years ago, when she was little, she lay in there all alone just as she was now. Back then, he had almost thought she was gone, repeatedly double-checking her status with the nurses.
Three days later, Wen Yirong was finally transferred out of intensive care and back into her original ward.
Her dry, cracked lips twitched slightly as she opened her weak eyes, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
“You’re awake? How are you feeling?”
A low, gentle voice drifted over from her side. Wen Yirong slowly turned her head, meeting Shen Sichen’s anxious, attentive gaze.
“Bro… ther…”
The moment she spoke, she realized her voice sounded as raspy as a croaking duck. “I’m… thirsty.”