Chapter 41
Lisa was completely unharmed; she was so frightened that she fainted.
She watched as the assailant attacked Tang Hui with a fruit knife. Tang Hui was slashed twice, and half of his body was soaked in blood. She felt as if her soul was about to leave her body. Fear, anger, and heartache overwhelmed her, making it hard to breathe, and her vision blurred.
She knew her beloved was in grave danger, and she should bravely rush forward to fight the murderer for her lover.
Otherwise, Tang Hui might die; he really might die.
But a claw called "Memory" gripped her heart tightly, controlling her movements. Her body seemed to be disobeying her, and a voice in her head was desperately shouting at her—go save Tang Hui, or he will be killed by the thugs. But her legs seemed to be nailed to the spot, and she couldn't even move an inch.
Soon, the almost forgotten memories returned, instantly overwhelming her thoughts. She once again recalled the tragedy that had occurred many years ago.
Screams erupted from the chaotic crowd as masked thugs brandished their weapons, hacking at the people who were like lambs to the slaughter. Blood and severed limbs flew everywhere as one after another, vibrant bodies collapsed limply to the ground...
This scene seemed to be playing out before Lisa's eyes once again. Just like before, she could only watch helplessly.
Finally, exhausted and terrified, Lisa collapsed amidst a sea of blood.
When Lisa woke up again, she was in the hospital. It took her a full half minute to remember what had happened. She frantically grabbed the doctor who came to examine her and cried as she asked about Tang Hui's condition.
Lisa calmed down after learning that Tang Hui was alright.
Then, like a frightened child, she sat on the bed silently shedding tears, vulnerable and broken.
A nurse recognized the foreign girl in front of her as the rival who had come to the hospital to cause trouble for Shen Bining. She was very puzzled as to why the three of them would be together. It must be that Dr. Shen was on a date with her boyfriend and the foreign girl came to cause trouble again. Unexpectedly, they encountered a murder case. The foreign girl was not mentally strong and was frightened into fainting.
The nurse was naturally on Shen Bining's side. Seeing Lisa in such a sorry state, she couldn't help but feel a little smug. She secretly thought to herself, "Serves you right. Who told you to interfere in other people's relationship? You're scared now."
However, despite their secret delight, they couldn't just leave Lisa there unattended. After discussing it, they decided to inform Shen Bining, leaving the rest to her to decide.
When Shen Bining and Chen Nian arrived at Lisa's ward, the girl was curled up on the bed with a blank stare, as if she had not yet recovered from the shock.
After exchanging a glance, the two slowed their pace and walked toward the hospital bed.
“Lisa.” Shen Bining called out in an almost whispered voice, afraid of startling Lisa.
Unexpectedly, even such a soft voice startled Lisa.
"Are you alright?" Shen Bining asked with concern, looking at Lisa, whose face was pale and eyes were glazed over.
Lisa's behavior was really strange. She wouldn't react this strongly if she were usually frightened; at this moment, she looked like she had been bewitched.
Could he be injured? And possibly even in the brain?
The thought flashed through Shen Bining's mind, and she felt that she should take Lisa to get a CT scan or an MRI.
Just as she was about to call for the doctor, she heard Lisa weakly say, "You're here. Please sit down. By the way, Tang Hui, how is he?"
"Oh, so you still care about Tang Hui. Looks like he's alright." Shen Bining breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "He only has superficial wounds, they've been stitched up. The anesthesia hasn't worn off yet, so he's still asleep. You can go see him when he wakes up in a bit. How about you? Are you alright?"
Perhaps because an acquaintance had arrived, Lisa's mood improved considerably. The fear that had gripped her earlier vanished, and she smiled, saying, "I was just startled, I'm not hurt, of course I'm fine. You...are you hurt? I saw you rush to save Tang Hui..."
Shen Bining laughed upon hearing this and teased, "I never expected to hear you care about me in my lifetime."
Shen Bining's teasing startled Lisa at first, then she became somewhat embarrassed and angry. Her face flushed, she stammered, "I only cared about you because you saved Tang Hui. Don't flatter yourself."
"Wow, you can even use idioms. Your Chinese is really good." Shen Bining seemed completely oblivious to Lisa's growing annoyance and continued to tease her.
"You..." Lisa was furious, her face flushed red, but she couldn't argue with Shen Bining. She began to regret caring about this bad woman.
Shen Bining was doing it on purpose, of course. She could tell that Lisa was quite frightened, and she was trying to distract her by chatting haphazardly.
The effect was obvious; at this moment, Lisa's fear had been replaced by anger.
Seeing that Lisa was much better, Shen Bining asked, half complaining and half still scared, "What happened to you? You actually fainted from fright. I thought you were so brave that you dared to come all the way from America to China to chase after a man."
Upon hearing this, the light in Lisa's eyes dimmed instantly. She lowered her head and remained silent for a long time. Just as Shen Bining realized she had said something wrong, Lisa murmured, "I can't stand blood, especially blood spurting from someone being stabbed. It's my trauma."
Shen Bining finally understood the reason for Lisa's unusual behavior. She and Chen Nian exchanged a glance, and Chen Nian seemed to understand, walking over and softly asking, "Would you like to tell us how this shadow came about? Ningning works in end-of-life care and has studied psychology; perhaps she can help you."
That's what they said, but neither of them really expected Lisa to say it. However, to their surprise, Lisa suddenly burst into tears and recounted that past while crying.
“Oh no… Dr. Shen, I heard you also studied in the United States. You should know how serious the campus violence is there. It’s definitely not as safe as China.”
"I was sixteen years old that year, studying at a high school. One day, two boys in my class took an overdose of marijuana and started hallucinating. They took knives and started slashing people in the classroom. Blood was sprayed all over the classroom."
"I was on my period that day and had to go to the bathroom frequently, so I escaped the ordeal. When I returned to the classroom, I saw those two boys using knives to slash at the students in the class. Among those students were their good friends and girls they had dated. But they seemed to have turned into demons. No matter how much the students cried and begged, they kept swinging their knives and slashing them."
"I will never forget the scene that day. It was not a classroom at all, but hell. There was blood and pieces of flesh everywhere. Many students had fallen down. Only the two murderers were laughing madly."
"Five people died in the disaster, more than twenty were injured, and several were left with lifelong disabilities. Many classmates were lucky to escape, but they were left with severe psychological trauma, including me."
"Today, when I saw that person trying to slash Tang Hui with a knife, it felt like I was back on that day. I wanted to rush over and save Tang Hui, but my legs felt like tree roots stuck to the ground, and I couldn't move. I thought I loved Tang Hui more than my own life, but when there was real danger, I realized that my love for him couldn't even overcome the slightest fear."
At this point, Lisa raised her tear-streaked face and gave Shen Bining a pitiful smile, "But you were willing to risk your life to save him. You are braver than me, and you love him more than I do."
Shen Bining was almost stunned by Lisa's childish remarks. She silently defended herself in her heart: First, I dared to rush up to save people because I have not experienced a school stabbing incident like you, and I do not have PTSD; Second, I confirmed that there was no danger before I went to save people. At that time, the murderer had his back to me, and I only needed to quietly rush over and knock him unconscious. There is no such thing as risking one's life for a man.
However, while Shen Bining was inwardly ranting and raving, she remained outwardly calm and composed, neither admitting nor denying anything. She gave Lisa a faint smile, concealing all her achievements.
Lisa, however, assumed Shen Bining had tacitly agreed, and began to sob again. "I didn't love him as much as I thought, not even as much as you. So it's only right that you won. I give up. He should belong to you, to the woman who loves him the most. Once his wounds heal, I will go home and never love him again."
Shen Bining and Chen Nian exchanged stunned glances, never expecting things to unfold this way. Everyone thought Lisa would continue to press the matter, but she gave up so easily.
It's still for this reason.
Lisa was so frightened that she needed to rest. After Shen Bining and Chen Nian comforted her for a few more minutes, they left her in the ward to sleep while the two of them went back to see Tang Hui.
Chen Nian seemed to only come to her senses at this moment, and said with a sigh, "I really didn't expect Lisa to give up so suddenly. She was so persistent before. I heard from Qi Wang that she had liked Tang Hui for more than ten years. I thought she would fight to the death with you two. I didn't expect her to give up so easily, and the reason for giving up was quite bizarre. Don't you think foreigners' thought processes are different from ours? But the ending is good. No matter what she gave up for, it's a good thing that she is willing to stop bothering Tang Hui. This unrequited love that lasted for ten years has finally come to an end."
After that, Shen Bining could hardly hear what Chen Nian said. Her mind was buzzing, and the sounds around her were all chaotic and disordered.
Only one voice echoed clearly in her mind—Lisa had let go, this contractual relationship had reached its end, and she and Tang Hui would become strangers again.
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