Chapter 22
“Year after year he…” Ye Shu hesitated to ask, fearing that Liu Wenyuan would give her an answer she would find hard to accept.
Liu Wenyuan had people following Sang Nian every day, so he naturally knew that Ye Shu was Sang Nian's only friend. So he said, "Sang Nian has been rescued, but he is still in a coma."
Ye Shu covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face. Her prayers had finally been answered; thankfully, Sang Nian was alright.
"Can I go in and see him?"
Liu Wenyuan nodded. "Don't stay too long, he needs to rest."
So Ye Shu went into the ward alone. Tao Zeqian wanted to follow her in, but Liu Wenyuan stopped him at the door. He had investigated Sang Nian and knew that he had never been well-liked by the Sang family, so he also disliked Tao Zeqian.
"You can't go in."
Tao Zeqian glanced helplessly at Wen Yan. Liu Wenyuan noticed his gaze and snorted contemptuously, "Don't look at him, he can't go in."
"Why?" Tao Zeqian asked back, "I am Sang Nian's cousin. Logically speaking, after something like this happens, as a family member, I have the right to go in and see him."
"Family member?" Liu Wenyuan glanced at Tao Zeqian. "What kind of family member are you? I don't need to remind you of Sang Nian's status in the Sang family. He was kicked out of the Sang family after Sang Ning passed away. Did the Sang family ever care about him for a single day?"
"Oh, I forgot, Sang Nian had an even worse time when Sang Ning was alive. Not only was she forced to donate a kidney, but she also had to go abroad to study and obtain a degree in Sang Ning's place."
The family secret was casually revealed in public by Liu Wenyuan, and Tao Zeqian's face turned red with anger. He took a step back, slightly out of breath, and said, "I'll call my uncle right now." As he spoke, he took out his phone, but Liu Wenyuan did not give him the chance. The moment Tao Zeqian took out his phone, he signaled the bodyguard at the door to snatch it away.
He held up Tao Zeqian's phone, his eyes fierce: "Don't mention the Sang family in front of Sang Nian. Who do you think caused him to become like this?"
As Liu Wenyuan spoke, he turned to look at Wen Yan, who was standing silently beside him, and chuckled, "President Wen, you are a busy man, so I won't keep you any longer. Please make yourself at home."
After saying that, he made a gesture of invitation.
Wen Yan's gaze was deep. He glanced at the tightly closed door before finally making a move. He slowly walked up to Liu Wenyuan, took Tao Zeqian's phone back from him, and then said to Liu Wenyuan, "Since Miss Ye has been delivered, we won't disturb you any longer." After saying that, he prepared to leave.
Just before leaving, he suddenly leaned close to Liu Wenyuan and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Mr. Liu should know better than I why Liu Jingyuan took drugs that day. I just didn't understand why you were doing this before, but now..."
Liu Wenyuan's smile gradually faded, but Wen Yan pretended not to notice. He glanced at the door again, chuckled cryptically, then turned and left without hesitation.
Tao Zeqian chased after her, "Then Miss Ye..."
"With the Ye family's vast wealth and power, are you worried that Ye Shu won't find a place to stay?"
Tao Zeqian glanced back at Liu Wenyuan, "That's not what I meant. I just think Liu Wenyuan is a bit scary. I'm afraid he might do something to Miss Ye..."
Wen Yan chuckled and glanced at Tao Zeqian. "Are you only worried about Ye Shu right now?" For some reason, Wen Yan suddenly felt a little angry. Sang Nian was the one lying in bed right now, but Tao Zeqian, as Sang Nian's cousin, was not worried at all. Instead, he was extremely eager to see Ye Shu.
He probably barged into the ward just now to be with Ye Shu.
Wen Yan turned his head away, pressing the tip of his tongue against his palate to control his sudden anger.
"What?" Tao Zeqian seemed oblivious to Wen Yan's change in mood. "We brought Miss Ye here. If something happens to her, we won't be able to explain it to the Ye family..."
"You can stay if you want, I'm going back now." Wen Yan said this and then ignored Tao Zeqian, quickening his pace. After waiting in the car for a while without seeing Tao Zeqian, he finally instructed, "Uncle Zhao, back to Haishi."
As the car steadily drove on the highway, Wen Yan sent a message to Xu Muze.
"Give up."
Xu Muze replied almost immediately with a big question mark.
Wen Yan didn't reply, and a little while later Xu Muze called.
"What are you talking about? Didn't you go to the cemetery to visit Sang Ning? What happened to suddenly bring this up? What do you want me to give up?"
Wen Yan pursed her lips, recalling Tao Zeqian's attentive manner towards Ye Shu, and remained silent. Xu Muze was still rambling on the other end of the phone; Wen Yan held the phone further away to ease the pressure on her ears.
"No way? You ran into Tao Zeqian today? What happened to him? Why do you want me to give up? Let me tell you, I've only ever loved Tao Zeqian in my life, and I won't change my mind. I'm not giving up..."
Wen Yan sighed inwardly, "He's straight, there's no way it's possible for him to be with you."
Xu Muze yelled on the other end of the phone, "How could he be straight? He's already kissed me!"
"Have you kissed me?"
"Ah." Xu Muze's voice suddenly became coy, "I have nothing to say to someone like you. Do you even know what a wet kiss is?"
"It's like when your tongues intertwine and you exchange saliva! I'm telling you, that's how Tao Zeqian kissed me!"
Xu Muze was still describing his wet kiss with Tao Zeqian, but Wen Yan frowned.
This Tao Zeqian doesn't seem as gentle and harmless as he appears.
Wen Yan hung up the phone immediately, then looked out the window and fell into deep thought.
Liu Wenyuan's statement today is his side of the story. At least in his view, Sang Nian was not forced to donate a kidney back then, and Sang Ning completed her studies abroad on her own, because he clearly remembers that Sang Ning went to study in the United States as soon as she recovered.
They were separated for two and a half years.
He must really like Sang Nian to say such things. But Tao Zeqian's attitude puzzled Wen Yan. He didn't object; instead, he seemed a little embarrassed and angry.
Regardless of the truth, while Liu Jingyuan was directly responsible for Sang Ning's incident, Liu Wenyuan cannot escape responsibility either. Without that drug, Liu Jingyuan wouldn't have gone so insane.
And all of this is because of Sang Nian.
Thinking of Sang Nian, Wen Yan reached up and touched his mouth. The spot where Sang Nian had bitten him had long since healed without leaving a scar, but it had left a deep impression on him.
He once found it difficult to face Sang Nian normally.
For that face that was almost identical to Sang Ning's, and for the guilt he felt towards Sang Ning.
But when he heard about Sang Nian's accident today, his first reaction was fear. It was a terrible feeling; he even felt a little sad. However, after calming down and thinking it over carefully, he realized that the reason for this feeling was probably because Sang Nian was Sang Ning's younger brother.
That's all.
He kept reminding himself of this.
Sang Nian had a very, very long dream.
In his dream, he was very young, probably only five or six years old. He was following behind a boy who looked exactly like him, and they wanted to fly a kite.
But before he could even step out the door, he was stopped. To be precise, he was the only one stopped; the butler, with a stern face, said to him, "Young Master, Madam forbids you from going out. Have you forgotten?"
Perhaps provoked by the word "wife" he uttered, Sang Nian curled up into a ball, shivering in the dark corner.
In the end, he could only watch enviously as the boy who looked just like him happily flew a kite with his neighbor on the wide lawn.
At that time, he wanted to be a kite that could fly freely in the sky.
The scene shifts to autumn. Everyone in the family was happy and busy that day, while Sang Nian was locked in the attic and not allowed to go out. That evening, he smelled an enticing aroma coming from downstairs and heard them singing "Happy Birthday." Only then did he realize that it was his birthday.
His and his brother's birthday.
But only the older brother is allowed to celebrate his birthday in this family, and he, as the monster of this family, is not allowed to celebrate his birthday.
Sang Nian clutched his growling stomach and leaned sadly against the doorway. He hadn't eaten all day, and he longed for the lukewarm meals the kitchen lady had left for him.
Then one afternoon, he was playing with his brother's hand-me-down toys in the attic when the housekeeper's mistress dragged him into the car. He struggled violently and even bit her hand. The woman winced in pain and slapped him hard, saying, "Be quiet."
He was stunned by the blow and stared blankly at the woman. Only after she started the car did he notice his older brother sitting in the passenger seat. His brother smiled and said, "Good boy, Mom is taking us somewhere."
Sang Nian stopped crying and quieted down. They drove for an unknown amount of time, until it was completely dark, before the car finally stopped. It was an unfamiliar place, but apart from the large house that had imprisoned him, everywhere else was unfamiliar to him.
He watched as the woman dressed his brother in thick clothes, while he himself shivered in the cold wind in only thin clothing. He wanted to rush into the woman's arms and say, "Mom, I'm cold too," but seeing her face only filled him with fear, and he dared not take another step closer.
After getting off the bus, he walked for a long time until an iron gate appeared in front of him. The woman told him to wait there, but he shook his head in fear, glanced back at the dark area inside the iron gate, and immediately burst into tears.
But his older brother immediately covered his mouth, saying, "Don't cry, little brother. Wait here for a while. Mom and I will be back soon. Aren't you tired? Rest here for a bit."
Sang Nian blinked.
"Brother will lend you this toy car to play with, be a good boy/girl."
Sang Nian finally agreed, sobbing, "Then brother, you have to come back quickly." He looked up at the woman, but she didn't look at him; she was just anxiously glancing at her watch.
Later they left and never came back. Sang Nian waited for a long time, until the sky began to lighten, and he, who had stood in the cold wind all night in his thin pajamas, suddenly understood.
He was abandoned by his mother and brother.
He wanted to go back, but after wandering through the maze-like alleys for a long time, he still couldn't find the exit. Finally, he collapsed from exhaustion next to a dirty trash can, looked at the endless alley, and closed his eyes in despair.
Sang Nian struggled to open his eyes, a single tear instantly welling in the corner of his eye. He raised his heavy hand and pressed it against his eyes, letting out a silent roar.
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