Chapter 68 Part 2

“Awake?”

A nurse happened to be making her rounds and stepped closer. “How are you feeling now?”

Wen Chaosheng struggled to lift his eyelids and focused on the nurse before him. He tried to speak, to ask questions, but his throat was so parched that no sound came out.

The nurse thoughtfully poured him a cup of warm water, fitted a straw, and held it to his lips for him to sip. “Mr. Wen, you passed out at home—and banged your forehead in the process. Your roommate found you and rushed you here to the hospital.”

“You’ve been out cold for almost a full day since admission.”

The warm water slid down his throat and finally eased the dryness.

“Thank you,” Wen Chaosheng murmured weakly.

He let his gaze sweep around the hospital room, still uncertain. “My roommate was the one who brought me in?”

“That’s right. He dropped you off at the emergency room, but he didn’t stick around long. Someone else took over—a guy in a wheelchair who said he was your friend.”

The nurse casually removed the IV needle from the back of his hand as she continued. “Mr. Wen, that friend of yours really looks out for you. Right now, he’s—”

She didn’t finish the thought. Chang Ming wheeled himself in from the hallway.

He handed the hospital paperwork to the duty nurse, then maneuvered quickly to the bedside. “Brother Wen! You’re finally awake. You have no idea—you nearly scared me to death!”

To the nurse’s ears, it was the sound of frantic concern.

But to Wen Chaosheng, it sent a wave of bone-deep chill through him. Nausea hit him almost instantly, his stomach roiling.

Once the nurse had left, he forced down the surging sickness and rasped out, “Chang Ming, as you wished—”

“I’ve cut off all contact with Xi Zhui. There’s no chance of anything between us anymore.”

…

Chang Ming hadn’t expected this to be the first thing on his mind after waking. A subtle curve tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I know.”

He knew every move Wen Chaosheng had made in that rented bedroom.

That was why, the instant Xi Zhui had left and Wen Chaosheng collapsed, he had called the neighbor remotely to get him to the hospital.

Wen Chaosheng spoke lowly. “Will you delete that photo? And from here on out, stop causing trouble for Xi Zhui.”

“Of course.”

Chang Ming agreed without hesitation and pulled out his phone. “Brother Wen, I love it best when you’re obedient like this. So here’s your reward.”

Right there in front of him, he deleted the stolen photo—even pulverizing the backup from the “recently deleted” folder.

…

Wen Chaosheng’s heart still raced with lingering fear. His eyes flickered with suspicion.

Chang Ming caught the distrust in the man before him and reassured him repeatedly. “Relax. I didn’t keep a copy. Once it’s deleted, it’s gone for good. That’s my promise to you.”

“Besides, you’re in the photo too.”

“If it got out, everyone would know—everyone would gossip about you and Xi Zhui, dig into your history together—”

At the thought, a vicious possessiveness flickered in Chang Ming’s eyes. “Brother Wen, you’re mine. I won’t have your name tied to Xi Zhui’s.”

He had plenty of other leverage over Wen Chaosheng anyway. He didn’t need this one photo.

…

Revulsion twisted in Wen Chaosheng’s gut. He looked away. “You can go now. I don’t need you sitting with me.”

Chang Ming registered the clear disgust on his face. His emotions froze for an instant, but he played it off as if he hadn’t noticed.

Instead, he reached for a piece of fruit and a small knife from the bedside table and began peeling it leisurely. “Brother Wen, once we’re back in Italy, let’s take a trip—just the two of us. We haven’t gone anywhere fun together in years.”

Wen Chaosheng averted his gaze in silence, unwilling to waste another word on him.

Chang Ming kept up the pleasant expression. “I know you’re upset with me right now, but that’s fine. Just stay by my side obediently, and I promise I won’t touch your family, your friends, or anything else you care about.”

“Brother Wen, you have to believe me. From start to finish, you’re the last person I ever want to hurt.”

Chang Ming knew he had gone too far this time.

Xi Zhui’s presence had posed an unprecedented threat, one he absolutely couldn’t allow to take Wen Chaosheng from him. So he had resorted to desperate measures.

But Chang Ming knew better than anyone how soft Wen Chaosheng’s heart was, how easily he could be coaxed. The man was already caught in his web of mental control. Given time, he could mend this rift.

“Brother Wen, once you’re free of all this mess around you, you’ll see the truth. I’m the one who cares about you the most—the one who loves you the most in this world.”

Lost in his vision of a perfect future, Chang Ming offered over the neatly peeled apple. “I’ll work hard to find a job from now on too. I won’t leave you carrying all that life pressure on your own anymore.”

…

In the name of love, Chang Ming had already destroyed everything he had. And now he wanted to shackle what little remained of his life?

The words only filled Wen Chaosheng with bitter irony and dread. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself up in bed. “Get out. Get the hell out!”

…

It was the first time Chang Ming had ever heard such blunt rudeness from him. His heart clenched tight.

But with Wen Chaosheng’s face so pale, he decided not to push him too far just yet—not when it might send him into another uncontrollable spiral.

“Not hungry for apple? You must be starving after being out that long.” Chang Ming ignored the demand to leave entirely and talked over it. “I’ll go grab you some nutritious food, then. Wait here.”

…

The grating sound of the wheelchair faded into the distance.

Wen Chaosheng lurched toward the trash bin and heaved, but after the IV drip, there was nothing left in him to bring up.

He couldn’t stay in this hospital any longer. He had to leave—now.

Summoning what strength he had left, Wen Chaosheng slid out of bed and slipped away from the hospital before Chang Ming or the nurses could notice.

Fortunately, the hospital wasn’t far from Azure Bay Apartments.

He trudged home against the biting wind. He had no key, but he ran into his neighbor just returning from work.

“Hey, Mr. Wen, you’re back from the hospital dressed like that? Aren’t you freezing?”

The neighbor was an ordinary office worker named Chen—Brother Chen—in his mid-thirties, with a warm, helpful nature. He pointed at the bandage on Wen Chaosheng’s forehead. “You okay now? Last night there was blood all over the floor. You scared the hell out of me.”

Wen Chaosheng wasn’t great at small talk with others, but basic courtesy called for it. He murmured his thanks. “Brother Chen, it was you who took me to the hospital last night? Thank you.”

Brother Chen unlocked the front door. “No big deal. I got a call from your friend saying you’d collapsed in your bedroom. The door wasn’t locked, so I rushed you straight there.”

…

Wen Chaosheng’s heart lurched. “My friend—he called you on his own?”

“Yeah! The guy in the wheelchair. Chang, right? I ran into him in the elevator last time, chatted a bit, and we swapped WeChat contacts.”

Brother Chen had no filter and spilled it all. “I was wondering, though—you two don’t even live together. How’d he know you’d passed out in your room? You reach out to him when you weren’t feeling well?”

…

“No.”

Why on earth would he have contacted Chang Ming?

Suddenly, Wen Chaosheng remembered the positioning tracker from that day. A horrifying suspicion bloomed in his mind. He bolted back to his room and scoured every corner, but he couldn’t find a single suspicious camera or device.

No.

It couldn’t be right.

Raw terror drowned out his reason, leaving him gripped by utter insecurity.

The whole world spun around him. Wen Chaosheng staggered back a few steps before collapsing stiffly onto the bed.

Pat pat.

In the quiet room, a faint scratching sound rang out.

Wen Chaosheng sluggishly tracked it down to the terrarium, where the Little Turtle was stirring.

Kuai Kuai, who usually stayed tucked in his shell, had poked his head out and even climbed to the highest mossy rock. For the first time, he was trying to clamber right out of the terrarium.

But it was too tall, and the glass too slick. The little guy struggled for ages without success, yet he refused to give up.

…

He had promised Xi Zhui he would take good care of Kuai Kuai.

The thought gave Wen Chaosheng a surge of resolve. He shuffled to the desk and lifted the Little Turtle from the terrarium, cradling him in his palm. “Are you hungry, little one? I’m sorry, baby—I’ve been too caught up to look after you these past couple days.”

Kuai Kuai craned his neck toward the right side of the terrarium, as if peering at something.

Wen Chaosheng’s voice buzzed hollowly. “Black Boss was taken away. He’s not coming back.”

His eyes, already dried out, could produce no more tears. All he could do was stroke Kuai Kuai’s shell over and over. “Kuai Kuai, will you stay with me in his place? Just a few more days. Okay?”

For once, Kuai Kuai didn’t retreat into his shell. Instead, he dipped his small head and nuzzled against Wen Chaosheng’s palm.

That cool, damp touch became his sole source of comfort and strength in that moment.

Finally resolute, Wen Chaosheng moved with urgent speed. He grabbed his phone, ID documents, laptop—everything—and stuffed it all into his black backpack.

Wen Chaosheng slung his bag over his shoulder and cradled Kuai Kuai in his palm once more. “Let’s go. We’ll escape together.”

He couldn’t stay in this house any longer!

Otherwise, Chang Ming would track him down soon!

Although he hadn’t found a new place to stay yet, he had to hole up somewhere else to handle his business—

He needed to get in touch with the Cloud End production crew members who could vouch for him as quickly as possible. Then he would post his long-overdue statement and apology on Weibo, laying everything out in the open.

He also had to redraw up a movie contract with Whale Shadow and brief his friend Jian Jinzhao on the public backlash crisis that might be coming—even if it meant cutting all ties with the film’s production!

As long as he could protect the family and friends he cherished, Wen Chaosheng was willing to shoulder all the blame and pain himself.

Even if this path led straight to his death, he had to see these matters through personally!