to give oneself

Lu Chenyang stood frozen at the door, sweat still dripping from his forehead, his extremely disheveled face revealing his shock and bewilderment.

"Yangyang?" Grandma turned around at the sound of her voice, her loving tone tinged with a hint of worried reproach, "Why are you so late? I tried calling you but your phone was off. What's wrong with you, child?"

It took Lu Chenyang's brain, which had been frozen in place, several seconds to successfully reboot. Without answering his grandmother's question, he rushed to Yu Sheng's bedside and yanked off the thin blanket covering her.

His eyes scanned the area like a scanner, afraid of missing a single injury. "Aside from your legs, are you injured anywhere else?"

"No, no." Yu Sheng was completely bewildered by Lu Chenyang's series of actions, and lay motionless on the bed like an obedient rag doll.

"Oh!" he suddenly exclaimed, startling Lu Chenyang.

Yu Sheng put down the half-eaten apple and exaggeratedly pointed to the corner of his mouth, "Here! I'm injured here too, see?" He leaned forward slightly, as if afraid the other person wouldn't see clearly, "Here on my lip, from the car door, it's cut about three millimeters long, almost disfigured! If my stunning good looks were ruined..."

"Yu Sheng!" Lu Chenyang yelled, silencing the rambling Yu Sheng. "Why didn't you answer all the calls I made to you? Why did the reports say your fate was unknown? Why didn't you tell me you were being followed by stalkers?" The panic and fear he had suppressed all the way turned into a barrage of questions.

"How rude!" Before Yu Sheng could speak, her grandmother's reprimand rang out first, her kind face turning serious. "Yangyang, how could you talk to Xiao Yu like that? He's a patient, and besides..." She paused, her tone becoming even harsher, "Apologize to Xiao Yu!"

Lu Chenyang pursed his lips, deflated like a punctured balloon, and silently helped Yu Sheng cover herself with the thin blanket again. "I'm sorry, I was too hasty."

"It's okay~" Yu Sheng replied with a smile, looking like a well-behaved and sensible child. "Grandma, Chenyang is just worried and confused. He's not usually like this. He's very good to me. Please don't blame him."

They were putting on quite a convincing act. After personally confirming that Yu Sheng was alright, able to eat and drink, and even act obedient and affectionate, she was clearly a far cry from being "disabled for life." Lu Chenyang's heart finally settled down. "Grandma, Yu Sheng needs to rest, and you should take your medicine too. Let me take you back to your ward."

Grandma's gaze swept between the two young people's fingers, knowing they had something to say, so she didn't delay, "Let's go, I'm really a bit tired. I felt sleepy after lunch, I need to go back and take a nap."

The spacious VIP ward fell silent. Yu Sheng pulled his phone, which he had deliberately silenced, from under his pillow. Sure enough, there were dozens of missed calls, all with the contact name "Little Police Dog." He smiled with satisfaction. The unexpected car accident had brought an unexpected surprise; his "Little Police Dog" was truly panicked.

After replying to the condolences from relatives and friends one by one, he opened Weibo, wanting to see how the report Lu Chenyang had mentioned about his "fate uncertain" was written. But as soon as he clicked on the page, he was drawn to other posts. Judging from the IDs, they were probably Lu Chenyang's fans.

—【There are advantages to being sick. I saw Officer Lu at Yaoguang Hospital today. He was completely without makeup and didn't try to disguise himself at all, so he was easy to recognize. I just don't know why he looked so flustered and anxious, running around covered in sweat. I guess a family member is sick. I wish him a speedy recovery.】Below is a short video of about ten seconds.

Yu Sheng gently tapped the screen to open the video. The scene was under the glaring incandescent lights of the hospital, at the end of a long corridor, where Lu Chenyang, dressed in a minimalist white tracksuit and shorts, was running forward recklessly. His soaked black hair clung messily to his skin, beads of sweat rolled down his taut jawline, and his expression was unusually panicked, his brows furrowed and his eyes frantically searching for something.

Yu Sheng watched the video over and over again. After exiting, she entered Lu Chenyang's name in the search bar and sure enough, many posts about him being photographed at the hospital popped up.

Yu Sheng clicked on the post with the most likes and comments. The edited photo was much clearer, clearly showing the panic and anxiety in Lu Chenyang's eyes. He admired it for a while, then long-pressed the photo and saved it to his album.

He was going to keep this photo safe, as it was strong evidence that Lu Chenyang cared about him. If Lu Chenyang dared to distance himself from him again, he would print it out and throw it in Lu Chenyang's face.

After waiting for a long time without Lu Chenyang returning, Yu Sheng scrolled through the comments out of boredom. This generation of netizens did not disappoint him. Some people had already connected Yu Sheng's car accident last night with Lu Chenyang in the hospital, speculating that Lu Chenyang had come to see Yu Sheng.

However, there are also different opinions. Some say that she may have gone to see friends and family, while others think that Yu Sheng was in a car accident last night and Lu Chenyang only appeared this afternoon, which doesn't match the timeline... There are many different opinions.

While reading the comments, I hadn't realized that the half apple he had just neglected had been completely eaten clean. I tossed it with my hand, and the core traced a beautiful parabola before landing precisely in the center of the trash can with a "thud."

Just as he was about to cheer himself on, the ward door opened. It was Lu Chenyang.

"You're finally back." Yu Sheng blurted out, her tone revealing a hurt she herself didn't realize. "I thought you'd abandoned me again and run away."

Lu Chenyang stared at him, his dark eyes seeming to hold a galaxy of stars, a thousand words hidden within. He slowly walked to the bedside, sat on the single sofa, and asked in a low, solemn voice, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What?" Yu Sheng thought for a moment, thinking that he was being asked to answer the three questions from before. "I didn't answer your call because I was chatting with my grandma and my phone was on silent, so I didn't hear it. The reports said my life was hanging in the balance because I didn't actually disclose the extent of my injuries. You know the media loves to exaggerate to grab attention. The reason I didn't tell you I was being followed by stalkers is because I didn't have any evidence. If I told you, you might think I was using this as an excuse to get close to you, and then you would start to dislike me again."

“It’s not this.” Lu Chenyang slowly raised his head, his lips pressed together until they were bloodless. After a long while, he managed to ask, “My grandmother… the targeted drug trial spot… was it you… why didn’t you tell me?”

This matter was extremely important to Lu Chenyang. It felt like he was hanging on a cliff edge, the only lifeline he could hold was cracking inch by inch, and he was desperately trying to push his way up the cliff face, but to no avail. Just as he was resigned to falling to his death, a pair of strong hands firmly grabbed him and pulled him back from the brink of death.

He would never forget the overwhelming joy he felt when Dr. Sui called him on set that day, telling him that his grandmother could join the targeted drug trial. He never imagined that the person silently helping him behind the scenes would be Yu Sheng, whom he had repeatedly pushed aside.

"Oh, about that?" Yu Sheng waved his hand dismissively, saying casually, "It was nothing." He couldn't very well tell the truth, because doing so would mean he was deliberately keeping it from you. He wanted to maximize his benefits at the most opportune moment.

This morning, upon waking, he deliberately arranged for Dean Liu to inform his grandmother about the targeted drug trial slots. This would conveniently imbue him with the double aura of a "pitiful car accident victim" and a "silent contributor," coupled with the guilt he felt for Lu Chenyang abandoning him the previous night. He believed this powerful blow would leave an indelible mark on Lu Chenyang's overburdened sense of responsibility. He would never be able to escape him for the rest of his life.

"Thank you," Lu Chenyang said.

Yu Sheng noticed the other person's reddened eyes, and his mischievous thoughts started bubbling up again. He tilted his head, his eyes sly, and asked, "So how do you plan to thank me?"

"Go ahead." Lu Chenyang quickly wiped his eyes, his gaze regaining its usual uprightness and determination, as if he would agree to exchange his life for Yu Sheng's.

“I said…” Yu Sheng deliberately drew out her words, observing Lu Chenyang’s reaction with great interest, “How about… repaying him with your body?”

Sure enough! The other person's handsome face instantly turned bright red, then tightened up, and he remained silent for a long time, as if he was having a great internal struggle.

"Pfft—" Yu Sheng finally couldn't hold back her laughter, "Alright, Officer Lu, just kidding, are you really planning to 'sell yourself to repay a debt of gratitude'?"

Knowing he'd been tricked again, he rolled his eyes, but wasn't really angry.

“However…” Yu Sheng’s tone suddenly turned somber as she touched her leg, which was in a cast, her expression sorrowful. “I’m afraid this leg is ruined. What will I do if I can’t stand up again? Officer Lu, will you take responsibility for me?”

Lu Chenyang was almost speechless with him. He took a deep breath and said, "Yu Sheng, don't waste your acting skills. I just asked your attending physician. You only have a fractured shinbone, not even a broken bone. You'll be jumping around again in four months at most."

Yu Sheng, exposed without batting an eye, seized on the key point in a peculiar way: "No wonder you were gone for so long, you went to see the attending physician. So you care about me that much?" He dragged out the words, his eyes full of mischievous amusement.

"Yes." Lu Chenyang did not deny it. Before rushing into the hospital, he had indeed made the plan that if Yu Sheng became disabled, he would take care of him for the rest of his life, although it was more out of guilt and responsibility.

"Tell me about it," Lu Chenyang said, getting to the point. "What exactly happened last night?"

“Last night…” Yu Sheng paused, then began to recall, “This all started the day I angrily confronted the stalker trending topic. That night, I felt a car following me, but it didn’t appear for the next few days, until last night…”

Last night, after Lu Chenyang left, Yu Sheng squatted in the garage for a while to process her emotions before calling the driver to pick her up. The hotel for the wrap party was quite far from the city center, and the way back required crossing a long overpass.

Yu Sheng had drunk quite a bit, and was in a bad mood because of Lu Chenyang's hurtful words. She climbed into the back seat of the car, lay down, and said, "Old Hao, let's go back to the hotel."

The overpass glistened wetly in the rainy night. Driver Lao Hao was an excellent driver; lying in the car was as smooth as lying on a hotel bed.

Suddenly! The car lurched violently to one side without warning. The immense centrifugal force instantly threw Yu Sheng from her seat, slamming her against the car door, her vision going black.

"Young Master Yu! Fasten your seatbelts!" Driver Lao Hao shouted. "Hold on tight, three cars suddenly appeared from behind and cut us off."

Yu Sheng's heart pounded, and she sobered up considerably. She struggled to get up and grab the seatbelt. Just then... bang!!!

A massive impact came from the side and rear, the entire car emitting a sickening metallic sound. Lao Hao swerved the steering wheel, the wheels screeching on the road, narrowly avoiding another black car that was flanking them.

Yu Sheng was tossed around like a broken sack during the violent jolting and impacts, unable to grab onto anything.

Through the rain-blurred rear window, Yu Sheng finally saw clearly that the car that was relentlessly pursuing him and accelerating like a mad dog was the black Audi that had been following him a few days ago!

"Damn it! They really want to kill me!" Yu Sheng cursed. "Old Hao! There's an alarm in the driver's seat!"

"Damn it!" Old Hao cursed, trying to steady the steering wheel.

But the Audi, with a suicidal ferocity, crashed into us again. With this impact, the tires completely lost grip on the slippery road surface, and the car body swerved sideways, swinging out of control towards the cold, hard guardrail of the overpass!

"But it's alright." Yu Sheng grinned, showing no signs of lingering fear after surviving the ordeal. "I changed cars after that incident, a Mercedes-Maybach G650, 3.8 tons! No wonder they couldn't overturn it. And the driver, Lao Hao, is a retired armored soldier, he specializes in driving armored vehicles, he's really skilled." He spoke with pride, chin held high, like a child who had received a good grade and was waiting for praise.

"Hmm. You have foresight and are very smart." Lu Chenyang nodded and went along with him. "Since Lao Hao is your driver, have him accompany you more often when you go out. It's safer that way."

Lu Chenyang didn't show much expression, but his clenched fists hanging by his side were covered in cold sweat. Just hearing Yu Sheng recount that night's experience was incredibly thrilling and terrifying, let alone Yu Sheng experiencing it herself. How scared she must have been at the time.

He dared not imagine what would have happened if Yu Sheng hadn't changed cars, or if the driver hadn't been a veteran...

For the first time, Lu Chenyang took Yu Sheng's hand. His eyes showed relief, guilt, and deepest heartache. He said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you that night."

Yu Sheng reacted for a moment, then her bright eyes lit up with a smile, revealing her cute little tiger teeth. "I forgive you."

Crack!

A crisp shutter click rang out abruptly. Lu Chenyang reflexively looked up and saw that Yu Sheng was holding her phone in her other hand, the screen displaying a photo of the two of them holding hands.

"What are you doing!" Lu Chenyang instinctively tried to grab the phone, but Yu Sheng dodged him.

Afraid of hurting Yu Sheng's injured leg, he had to step back to the edge of the bed, his ears burning slightly. "Why are you taking pictures?"

“Post it on Weibo,” Yu Sheng said confidently. “The reports say my life is hanging in the balance, so I have to tell them I’m alive and well. Besides, it was your stalker who hit me, and that’s already spread. If I post a photo of the two of us together, it’s to show my stance that I don’t blame you, and it will also reduce the negative impact on you a lot. It’s a win-win situation, isn’t it?”

Lu Chenyang licked his dry lips, remembering his manager's instructions, and finally did not refuse, "You...you send it, I'm going to see Grandma, call me if you need anything."

"OK~" Yu Sheng happily made a gesture, watched Lu Chenyang "escape", and then opened Weibo to edit the caption.

[@Libertas/笙: Officer Lu has taken charge. [Image]]