Side Story 1: Chen Guang's Car Accident

When Lin Yu received the news of Lin Jianguo's car accident, he was organizing his internship report in the library. A muffled clap of thunder rolled past the window; the early autumn afternoon was always filled with such sudden restlessness.

The call was from her uncle. He rarely contacted Lin Yu, so she answered the phone with surprise. His voice was hoarse from staying up all night, but it couldn't hide his anxiety.

"Banban, something happened to your dad." Lin Yu suddenly stood up, the chair scraping against the tiles with a screeching sound, and the documents he had just organized scattered all over the floor.

The accident occurred the night before. After getting off work, Lin Jianguo, as usual, had a few drinks with some old colleagues and then walked home. However, while crossing the road, he was hit by a taxi that changed lanes illegally and was dragged under the car.

The excruciating pain throughout his body instantly sobered him up considerably, and the driver sped away, but fortunately, he hadn't been seriously injured.

When the uncle and aunt arrived after being notified by the hospital, they were terrified to see Lin Jianguo lying on the bed with his face covered in blood.

After spending the entire night at the hospital confirming that it was only a fracture of the hand and nose bones and that the forehead needed stitches, I dared to contact Lin Yu.

"Don't panic, come back first," Lin Anbang comforted her over the phone.

Lin Yu hung up the phone and stood there, feeling cold all over.

Since his divorce, Lin Jianguo has been all alone, with no one to look after him. His uncle and aunt are kind-hearted, but they are both uncouth people.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yu had no choice but to call her mother. When Lin Min heard that Lin Jianguo had an accident, she promised her daughter she would go to the hospital immediately to find out what was going on and told her to wait for news from her.

After hanging up with his mother and asking his advisor for leave, Lin Yu rushed back to his dormitory, grabbed his ID, and ran towards the ticket booth on campus. But just as he reached the corner downstairs from the dormitory building, he bumped into someone hard.

She staggered back two steps, her phone falling to the ground with a "thud." When she looked up, she was met with Chen Guang's sweat-drenched face.

He was holding a basketball, his T-shirt soaked with sweat and clinging to his body, his steaming body an odd contrast to the October weather.

"Rushing to be reborn?" Chen Guang bent down to pick up his phone, but his smile vanished when he saw her deathly pale face. He deflected the ball his teammate tossed to him with a backhand. He asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"

"My dad was in a car accident, I have to go home." Lin Yu's face was pale, and he unconsciously bit his index finger knuckle.

Chen Guang was wiping Lin Yu's soiled phone with the corner of his clothes when he heard this. He paused, pulled off her self-harming fingers, and gently grasped her wrist. "How badly are you hurt?"

"It's uncertain, they said they need to observe further..." Her voice trembled. "My mom rushed over, but hasn't replied to my message yet..."

“Address…” Chen Guang interrupted her.

"What?" Lin Yu looked up blankly and saw beads of sweat hanging on his eyelashes falling down.

"I'll drive you." Without waiting for a reply, he shoved the phone back into her hand and ruffled her hair. "Go pack your things, see you downstairs in half an hour."

Lin Yu knew that driving was much faster than taking the old-fashioned train, and given the urgency of the situation, he didn't refuse. Back in his dorm, he happened to run into Yao Fangfang, who was returning from outside. After briefly explaining the situation, he quickly packed his luggage for the week.

Yao Fangfang insisted on seeing her downstairs. As soon as the two of them stepped out of the dormitory, they saw Chen Guang's silver-gray Audi A4 parked quietly on the side of the road. It wasn't the same car that Lin Yu had been driving with last time.

Upon seeing them, Chen Guang immediately came over, greeted Yao Fangfang, and took Lin Yu's luggage, putting it into the trunk.

Yao Fangfang held Lin Yu's hand and asked again and again, "Are you sure you don't need me to go with you? I'm really worried about you."

Yao Fangfang's old house was slated for demolition, and Lin Yu was worried that if she went home with him at this time, her stepmother's family would take advantage of the situation.

She shook her head and gently patted the back of her hand. "I'm leaving things at school to you. You'll be busy until graduation. Call us anytime if you need anything."

After saying that, she winked at Chen Guang, opened the car door, and got into the passenger seat.

On her way back to her hometown, Lin Yu received a call from Lin Min, who comforted her daughter, saying that Lin Jianguo's condition wasn't too bad.

She suffered fractures to her hand and nasal bone, and her brain still needs to be observed for a few more days. She told Lin Yu to focus on her internship at school and that she would find a way to handle things at home.

"Mom, I'm already on my way back," Lin Yu said frankly.

"You silly child..." Lin Min sighed helplessly through the receiver. "You didn't even tell me beforehand so your Uncle Liu could pick you up. Which train did you buy a ticket for?"

“No need…” Lin Yu glanced at Chen Guang, who was focused on driving in the driver’s seat. “My classmate brought me back; we’ll be there in about an hour.”

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yu closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. The shadow of the traffic barrier stretched across the car window, forming a blurry gray line. His uncle's words kept replaying in his mind.

My father is always like this; he loves to get together with his old colleagues, and every time he says he'll just have a couple of drinks. She's tried to persuade him to stop countless times, but he always just smiles and agrees, only to turn around and drink anyway. It's truly exasperating.

"Asleep?" Chen Guang suddenly asked.

"No." Lin Yu opened her eyes, turned to him, and shook her head. "I'm just annoyed."

Chen Guang gently placed his palm on Lin Yu's head, the warm touch easing her tense nerves slightly.

"Don't worry, I'm here!"

A smile played on his lips as his gaze darted rapidly between the road and her. Without a word, he turned up the air conditioning by two degrees and played some music, hoping to help Lin Yu relax.

Two hours later, the car arrived at the inpatient building. Chen Guang parked the car and quickly went around to the passenger side to open the car door for her.

He leaned into the car, unbuckled her seatbelt, and then bent down to brace himself against the roof. "Let's go, I'll go up with you."

Lin Yu sat in the car, enveloped in Chen Guang's tall shadow, and his knees felt a little weak.

"Didn't you say it was nothing serious? Don't be afraid," Chen Guang reassured her, noticing her nervousness.

She met his gaze, took a deep breath, got out of the car, and followed Chen Guang into the hospital building.

The lights in the hospital corridor were blindingly white, and the smell of disinfectant made Lin Yu's throat tighten.

Just as he reached the ward door, it suddenly opened, and Lin Anbang rushed out with the payment slip in his hand. Seeing Lin Yu, he quickly came to greet him. "Banban, you've finally arrived."

"How is it, Uncle?"

"Don't panic, it's just external injuries. The doctor said it's nothing serious. Let's go inside and get checked out." She then looked at Chen Guang behind her with a questioning gaze. "And who is this?"

"This is my classmate, Chen Guang," Lin Yu introduced briefly, taking the stack of receipts from him. "Uncle, you go back and rest first, leave this to me."

"Are you sure you can manage on your own?" Lin Anbang asked worriedly. "Should I call your aunt over to keep you company?"

"It's alright, don't worry," Lin Yu reassured him. "I haven't been sleeping well these past two days, you guys should go home and catch up on your sleep. I'll come see you at home after I've settled things here."

Lin Anbang wanted to say something more, but in the end he just patted his niece on the shoulder and dragged his tired steps toward the elevator.

After watching her uncle leave, Lin Yu put the payment slip into her bag. The ward door was ajar, and she gently pushed it open.

The room was a double room, and the other bed was empty. She saw her father leaning alone against the hospital bed, like a hollowed-out tree trunk.

Lin Jianguo turned around at the sound, a hint of panic flashing across his swollen face. "You...why did you come back?"

The gauze on his forehead was stained with a faint red, his nose was fixed in place by a steel plate, and his entire face was swollen beyond recognition. His right hand was suspended in front of his chest with a thick cast.

Fortunately, he was in relatively good spirits. Lin Yu's heart, which had been hanging in suspense all the way, finally settled down, but his eyes involuntarily reddened.

She went over and sat down by her father's bedside, complaining, "How many times have I told you to drink less, drink less? Why can't you remember?"

“I really didn’t run a red light. That taxi just appeared out of nowhere. It was pitch black and didn’t have its lights on…” Lin Jianguo hurriedly explained, but sighed when he saw his daughter’s reddened eyes.

"You're such a worry." Lin Yu's voice trembled with tears, one after another falling from her eyes. "Why is your face so swollen? Does it hurt? Is anything bothering you?"

"Alright, alright. Your dad isn't that fragile." Lin Jianguo tried to wipe away his daughter's tears, but found he couldn't even lift his hand.

His gaze drifted aimlessly past Lin Yu's shoulder before finally noticing Chen Guang standing quietly by the door. "And who is this?"

Lin Yu then came to her senses and hurriedly wiped her face with the back of her hand. "This is Chen Guang, my classmate. He's the one who drove me back."

Chen Guang stepped forward half a step and bowed slightly. "Hello, Uncle."

"Hello, hello." Lin Jianguo squinted his swollen eyes as he sized up the respectful young man in front of him. "I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"It was nothing, don't worry about it," Chen Guang smiled. "You rest first, I'll go get some hot water."

He naturally picked up the thermos from the bedside and went outside, leaving the father and daughter some alone time. Only after the footsteps faded into the distance did Lin Jianguo slowly withdraw his gaze and glance at Lin Yu.

"Boy friend?"

"no!"

Lin Yu's face flushed for no reason, but she knew there was no need to be nervous. After all, her father never pried into her private life like her mother did. "He's just a regular classmate."

Lin Jianguo nodded thoughtfully and didn't ask any more questions. Looking at his daughter's reddened eyes, his voice softened. "You've always been sensible since you were little, and you've never caused me any worry."

During a break in the doctor's rounds, Lin Yu called Lin Min from outside the ward and briefly explained the situation at the hospital.

"Mom, I'm staying here tonight to take care of him. I'll go back to see you when I have time after Dad is discharged from the hospital."

Lin Min's concerned voice came from the other end of the phone. "Your Uncle Liu has connections at the hospital and helped find a caregiver. She'll come to take care of you every night starting tomorrow. You can go during the day. Don't overwork yourself."

Lin Yu's attitude towards Liu Wenbin had always been lukewarm, but when she heard her mother mention that he had helped her, she felt a mix of emotions.

Just as I hung up the phone, I saw Chen Guang carrying a kettle and walking towards me.