Chapter 58
“Alright, stop overthinking, you’re still injured. Have you figured out how to explain this to Xia Wansheng?”
Shen Xinghe, seeing them both lost in thought, quickly intervened, trying to change the subject.
During the days Xia Wansheng was unconscious, Yu Congyan had been working tirelessly, eager to bring down the villains.
Their original strategy had been slow and steady, but now they had learned they dared to attack Xia Wansheng.
Upon hearing this, Yu Congyan quickly abandoned his cautious plan, deciding to use himself as bait.
“Are you crazy?! They at least had some reservations about targeting Xia Wansheng, worried about his influence in the entertainment industry, but with you, they’ll be settling old and new scores!” Shen Xinghe shook Yu Congyan vigorously, trying to knock some sense into him.
Although he wasn’t involved in the family business, he had heard of their ruthless methods. Threats, intimidation, and even hiring assassins.
“Even if you’re worried, you can’t risk your life!” Shen Xinghe disapproved.
This was a rare sight.
Usually, it was him making reckless investments, and Yu Congyan advising him to think long-term. Now, he was the one urging caution.
“I’ve thought this through,” Yu Congyan looked at the news reports he had gathered, “If the bait isn’t valuable enough, we might miss this opportunity, and who knows if they’ll try again.”
This time, it was a fall from a platform, thankfully not very high, but what about next time?
What would they do next?
Perhaps he would suddenly disappear, and after a fruitless search, they would only receive a death notice.
He couldn’t risk it.
Thankfully, those people’s intelligence was as he expected. After revealing a deliberate weakness, he was successfully ambushed.
Although he was slightly injured due to delayed assistance, he had gathered all the necessary evidence.
Yu Congyan, disregarding the superficial harmony between the Yu and Shao families, attacked ruthlessly.
He systematically dismantled their network of influence, then coldly watched as their empire crumbled.
This was their retribution.
But acting prematurely came at a price. During the days Xia Wansheng was unconscious, Yu Congyan worked tirelessly, only visiting the hospital late at night.
He didn’t want to disturb Xia Wansheng’s rest.
He leaned against the cold wall in the corridor, relaxing his tense muscles.
The neglected pain from his wound flared up.
Yu Congyan suddenly realized the person lying in the hospital bed was perhaps the only one who would ask without hesitation if he was in danger.
If he said his wound hurt, Xia Wansheng might be even more worried than him.
But Xia Wansheng was still unconscious.
He didn’t even know if he would wake up.
Yu Congyan leaned against the cold wall, Xia Wansheng’s fate uncertain, and he could do nothing.
“We haven’t found any internal injuries, and the brain scan is normal,” the doctor pushed up his thick glasses, then, seeing the tricky situation, said based on his experience,
“It depends on the patient’s will to live, if he wants to wake up, there’s hope.”
The doctor didn’t mention the alternative.
He looked at Xia Wansheng’s previous medical records, seeing he had been hospitalized recently for anxiety-induced heart palpitations and dizziness, thinking his chances of waking up weren’t good.
“Don’t focus on work, spend more time with the patient,” the doctor said, then, seeing Yu Congyan’s hesitation, added,
“Patients are most vulnerable when they first regain consciousness. Lack of support from family and friends can affect their recovery.”
Seeing Yu Congyan’s thoughtful expression, he knew his words had hit the mark.
The doctor cheered inwardly: Another good deed done!
Back at the company, Yu Congyan calmly instructed his team to double their efforts.
“Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Your paid vacation and bonuses will be doubled, the extra will come from my personal account.” He announced.
With the CEO himself working so hard, the staff, seeing the generous compensation, no longer had any complaints.
Despite this, Yu Congyan could only visit the hospital late at night.
But remembering the doctor’s words and worried about Xia Wansheng waking up alone, he moved from the corridor to the single sofa beside the bed.
Working here had a downside, every time he looked up during his short breaks, he would see Xia Wansheng’s sleeping face.
He couldn’t help but stare.
Later, Yu Congyan decided to find something to do, so he started peeling oranges.
Shen Xinghe, who was relatively free and could play games anywhere, was assigned to be on standby near the hospital, also sending a message to warn those people against targeting Xia Wansheng again.
Everything was normal, except Yu Congyan would occasionally toss him a few peeled oranges late at night.
Shen Xinghe was puzzled for the first three days, then, on the fourth day, he finally realized something was wrong.
It seemed the constant pressure had finally driven Yu Congyan mad.
“You’re driving across the city in the middle of the night just to peel oranges by his bedside?” Shen Xinghe asked in disbelief.
“Can’t you just talk to him? Like in those TV dramas, reminiscing about happy memories can help the patient regain consciousness.”
“…I’ll disturb him.” Yu Congyan didn’t elaborate, tossing the oranges to Shen Xinghe before leaving.
Yu Congyan’s frequent late-night visits and departures fueled media speculation about secret rendezvous, trying to connect it to previous rumors.
They speculated that Xia Wansheng must be in critical condition; and lamented the tragic end to their seemingly loving relationship.
These fearless gossip rags overlooked one thing—
Yu Congyan hated these rumors about Xia Wansheng’s condition, especially the negative ones.
He didn’t hold back this time, addressing all the issues raised by the gossip rags, targeting the most egregious offenders, and adding the rest to his to-do list.
Everything was resolved on a sunny day.
Yu Congyan learned about the latest developments that afternoon. His subordinates had finally completed the task, ensuring there wouldn’t be any similar incidents in the near future.
He could finally visit the hospital during the day. He suddenly felt the urge to buy flowers.
Perhaps because he hadn’t been able to give Xia Wansheng those unopened rosebuds.
Or perhaps… just because it was a beautiful sunny day.
He placed the flowers by the bedside, then sat down on the sofa as usual.
Before picking up an orange, he remembered Shen Xinghe’s exasperated advice and thought he should at least say something to Xia Wansheng.
“I…” He initially wanted to apologize, after all, he had dragged Xia Wansheng into this dangerous situation, but he realized Xia Wansheng couldn’t hear him, he had to say this in person.
And that wasn’t what he wanted to say most now.
He just wanted Xia Wansheng to wake up, everything else was irrelevant.
Although strictly speaking, their initial encounter was a plot by Yu Xuan, and he had intended to take legal action once he had enough evidence, their interaction should have ended there, at most just a failed attempt at social climbing by the original owner.
But he hadn’t told anyone why he chose to walk into that trap.
Because he had met the previous Xia Wansheng.
On the day he learned “his parents’ love was a lie, and he might even be an illegitimate child.”
After the banquet, everyone pretended nothing had happened, but their attitude towards him had cooled considerably.
He hadn’t understood the meaning of this change then, but he overheard the waiters gossiping about his parents in a corner of the corridor:
“They’ve always been playing around, who knows how many illegitimate children they have!”
“Exactly, I even had to clean up their mess last time, their marriage is just a sham.”
He had instinctively sought comfort from someone familiar, going home hoping to hear his parents deny everything, only to be met with scattered clothes in the living room.
His mind went blank, he forced himself to calm down, turned around, and called the police.
He never stepped foot in that so-called “home” again.
Those seemingly happy memories were now filled with cracks.
Compared to facing this alone, ending his life seemed easier for the young boy then.
But he didn’t dare to jump, and he didn’t know what to do, after much deliberation, he decided to let others do it for him.
With his identity, he could easily be kidnapped, and no one would pay the ransom, he would be killed quickly.
But nothing happened that day at the amusement park. He sat on one end of the seesaw, lost in thought, and fell asleep.
Then he met a boy about his age, who sensed his distress and tried to comfort him.
He even folded him an indigo paper crane, its wings uneven, flying crookedly.
When he woke up, he was in the hospital. Aunt Liu said she had been searching for him, he must have caught a cold.
He tried to tell her what he had seen, but she would probably just say it was a nightmare.
He only remembered the boy’s name.
He frequented the amusement park after that, hoping to revisit that dream.
But nothing happened, Lady Luck seemed to have only favored him once.
So when he heard that name again, he immediately thought it was a honey trap set by Yu Xuan, but he still held onto a sliver of hope, wondering if it could be the same person.
He knew at first glance it wasn’t him.
Those eyes were filled with flattery and eagerness to please, Yu Congyan couldn’t stand it.
But he hadn’t been able to bring himself to send him to jail, then he was outsmarted and ambushed.
Hesitation against an enemy meant defeat.
Given another chance, he vowed he wouldn’t be foolish enough to risk his life and everything he had worked for because of a dream.
But when he opened his eyes after being reborn, he met those familiar eyes from his dream.
Although he quickly regained his composure, the momentary sensory dissonance amplified the hope in his heart.
What if…
What if it was really him this time?
The thick curtains were drawn in the single ward, the room dim.
“I’m not actually afraid of thunderstorms,” Yu Congyan said softly after a long hesitation, “I learned early on that fear and tears are useless emotions, I have too many things to do, I can’t waste time on them.”
“But even with that important project, I still felt regret for almost missing your birthday.”
“I know why, but I can’t tell you.” His voice turned bitter.
He couldn’t use his love to trap Xia Wansheng in this world.
Meeting him again was already a gift from fate, he shouldn’t ask for more.
He knew everything, but he couldn’t say anything.
