Chapter 60: Divergence Again
The hospital corridor was quiet.
Zhang Wenxiu was wearing old clothes she had bought seven or eight years ago. Because Pei Ming had caused trouble time and time again, her face had aged rapidly. But even so, at crucial moments, she could still stand in front of Pei Ming like an angry mother beast.
Did Zhang Wenxiu really not know? Perhaps she did know, but wasn't her greatest hope in this life to have an Alpha son? It was something akin to faith, and Zhang Wenxiu was willing to give everything for it.
She looked up at Pei Wu, who had grown into an outstanding child admired by everyone, completely unlike her own child.
"Little Fog..."
Pei Wu looked over: "I will pay for the medical expenses."
Pei Zhen was still lying in the hospital room, and the Alpha Association would reimburse part of the expenses, so Pei Wu didn't bother to care about it.
"Thank you," Zhang Wenxiu said in a hoarse voice, and tears began to fall in a steady stream.
Pei Wu realized that things were not so simple.
Zhang Wenxiu then said, "Xiaowu, the car Xiaoming borrowed was wrecked, and the other party wants 400,000 yuan. Where are we going to get 400,000 yuan?"
Pei Wu: "Do I have one?"
Zhang Wenxiu remained silent, her tears flowing even more freely. Unable to get a reply from Pei Wu, she choked out, "But you are the most successful one in the family, you are Xiaoming's older brother."
Pei Wu's mind went blank for a moment. He had heard these words countless times since he was a child, but perhaps because he had been in a bad mood lately, they sounded particularly jarring at this moment.
After a long standoff, Pei Wu said, "This 400,000 has nothing to do with me. You guys figure it out yourselves. You've raised Pei Ming to this state. If someone's covering for him today, he'll still dare to do it tomorrow. If all else fails, you can sell the house."
Zhang Wenxiu looked up in astonishment: "If I sell the house, how will your father and I take care of ourselves in our old age?"
Pei Wu: "Then let Pei Ming go to jail."
"No! Absolutely not!" Zhang Wenxiu cried out in a torrent of tears. "Xiaowu, think of a way. You're so capable now, you must have a solution! If all else fails, borrow from your boss. He drives a car worth tens of millions, so four hundred thousand is nothing to him."
One of the words in those sentences seemed to have struck a nerve with Pei Wu, and his expression grew even more stern: "Absolutely not."
Pei Wu could tolerate this family trying every means to get money from him, but it was absolutely unacceptable when it came to Lu Xiwen!
Pei Wu's attitude was too straightforward, leaving Zhang Wenxiu with no way to break through. Seeing that her appeasement policy was ineffective, a fierce glint appeared in her eyes, and she became the mother beast who would protect Pei Ming at all costs, baring her teeth at Pei Wu, "Pei Wu, I'm your mother! I gave you my life!"
"So?" Pei Wu asked.
Looking at Zhang Wenxiu's ferocious face, a huge weight that had been pressing on Pei Wu's heart for more than ten years suddenly loosened. He asked in an overly calm manner, "Haven't you ever taken back the life you gave me?"
Zhang Wenxiu didn't understand the meaning of that sentence.
Her bewildered expression perfectly overlapped with a scene from her memory.
Back then, they lived in a small town where the hospital facilities were inadequate. The light bulbs overhead emitted a pale, weak light. As a child, Pei Wu was receiving an IV drip and felt very cold. He instinctively tried to burrow under the covers, but suddenly felt a strong sense of suffocation.
Her mind was already in a state of confusion, and she couldn't tell what was covering her mouth and nose. Pei Wu thought that her condition had suddenly worsened, otherwise why was the world still dark when she opened her eyes?
The oxygen in his alveoli was quickly squeezed out. He struggled instinctively, kicking the sheets with his feet. The feeling of death grew stronger and stronger. Perhaps even God saw his suffering and wanted to take him away.
Before death, people subconsciously cherish the person who brought them into this world.
Pei Wu called out, "Mom..."
The sound was very low and couldn't carry. Pei Wu thought that Zhang Wenxiu would never hear it again.
The pressure on his face suddenly eased, and oxygen surged into his mouth and nose. He gasped for breath, his chest emitting a wheezing sound. The black fog in front of him dissipated, and the yellowed, old ceiling of the hospital gradually came into view.
Pei Wu turned her head and saw Zhang Wenxiu sitting next to her, looking lost and dejected.
"Were you trying to smother me to death?" Pei Wu asked.
Zhang Wenxiu's eyes widened suddenly, an unprecedented fear tearing at her pupils, which were bloodshot. She looked at Pei Wu as if she were looking at a monster. For a few seconds, she even stopped breathing, stretching her neck as if she wanted to stare Pei Wu to death.
“You were unconscious at the time…” Zhang Wenxiu murmured.
"That's really true," Pei Wu thought to herself.
The nightmare of his childhood finally struck his mind hard in reality. You see, all the reasons he made for Zhang Wenxiu all those years were fake. He kept brainwashing himself into thinking it was a nightmare. When he woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat, Pei Wu could only tell himself not to think about it and that his mother loved him.
Pei Wu could no longer restrain himself. His throat tightened, and he grabbed Zhang Wenxiu's wrist.
Zhang Wenxiu trembled violently as if attacked by a demon. Her first instinct was to shake off Pei Wu's hand, but Pei Wu didn't give her the chance, pressing closer and demanding, "Why didn't you kill me back then?"
Zhang Wenxiu was driven mad.
"Do you think I don't want to?!" Zhang Wenxiu's facial muscles trembled exaggeratedly, as if she wanted to unleash all the resentment she had accumulated over the years on Pei Wu so that she could finally feel at ease. "You're a vengeful ghost! A debt collector! We only had so much money, and you emptied it all out! Do you know how our relatives and neighbors laugh at me? Even so, you still won't let me go. You call out 'Mom' like a ghost, and suddenly..." Zhang Wenxiu choked up, "I suddenly softened."
“Pei Wu,” Zhang Wenxiu said, “I hate you.”
Pei Wu slowly released Zhang Wenxiu, staggering back two steps as if he couldn't stand. His face was deathly pale, his pupils were unfocused, and his heart was pounding violently. A tearing pain erupted in an instant. Pei Wu felt the blood rising in his throat, but he didn't show it in front of Zhang Wenxiu. He slowly turned around and walked out of the hospital step by step through the emergency exit.
Pei Wu was in a daze the whole way, like he was sleepwalking. Even though he was already fully grown, he wanted to find a safe haven. It wasn't until the cold drizzle hit his face that Pei Wu raised his head and became a little more awake.
I gazed at the dark sky, letting myself get soaked.
A moment later, Pei Wu forced a pale smile.
Thankfully, everything has been explained clearly.
The car was moving very slowly. Pei Wu's rationality held onto something that was about to get out of control, and she drove safely back to Yunlu Bay.
As soon as he entered the room, he collapsed onto the floor, exhausted. Pei Wu first rubbed his head, then his chest, and finally reached for the back of his neck, scratching the smooth skin there until it bled.
Pei Wu struggled to stand up and reached for his phone, only to find it wasn't in his pocket. He figured it might have slipped out of his pocket. Pei Wu blinked slowly, but in the end, he didn't go looking for it. Instead, he grabbed the handrail and swayed as he went upstairs.
Pei Wu took a shower first. His mind was like a malfunctioning machine, running slowly and everything was hazy, as if separated by a layer. Then he went to get his phone to call Lu Xiwen. Pei Wu finally touched the bathroom doorknob. He glimpsed the house jacket that Lu Xiwen had left on the bed when he left in the morning and realized with a start that he had actually come to Lu Xiwen's room.
Pei Wu struggled to breathe. He had just taken a step toward the bedside when it felt as if someone had struck his chest with a heavy hammer. Pei Wu couldn't help but groan and bend over. As the world spun around him, a long-suppressed, low-grade fever and pain suddenly burst open in the back of his neck.
Pei Wu was in so much pain that her pupils completely lost focus, and her face was almost like that of a dead person.
A few seconds later, he knelt on the ground and subconsciously reached for the back of his neck.
It wasn't an illusion; a bud-like thing had burst open on the left side of my once flat neck. It felt swollen and burning hot to the touch, and the blood vessels on it were throbbing violently, each throbbing like a thousand needles piercing into my brain.
It seemed that something else was about to emerge. Pei Wu was soaked to the bone, his head was pressed against the floor, and the veins on the back of one hand were bulging as he pounded the ground with force.
Why does it hurt so much...?
His retina felt as if it had been dried out by the increasingly intense heat. Pei Wu's vision went white. One last rapid and violent throbbing made Pei Wu unable to help but tilt his head back and roar. Finally, a rich fragrance burst forth from his body.
Pei Wu faced yet another division.
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