Chapter 73 Pure Love (Part 1) "Yan Ceyan, you really like...
The smell of disinfectant was pervasive, as if it had seeped into every inch of air, stubbornly penetrating Yan Quan's nostrils and pulling him back from the edge of a heavy darkness.
Yan Quan exhausted all his strength to barely open his eyelids a crack.
My vision was initially blurry, with only a blinding white light. Then, the cold light from the ceiling and the translucent medicine bottle hanging on the IV stand gradually became clear...
He is still alive.
This realization brought Yan Quan's muddled mind to a moment of clarity. Then, a sharp pain struck.
It felt as if all the bones in my body had been disassembled and reassembled, and every joint felt deeply sore and weak. Beneath the thick bandages wrapped around my chest, I felt waves of dull pain.
"Hmm..." Yan Quan uttered instinctively. But his parched throat could only produce a low, almost silent sob.
Yan Quan's subtle movements startled those around him.
Then, Yan Quan saw Yan Ceyan.
Yan Ceyan sat on a chair by the hospital bed. His back was not as straight as usual, but slightly hunched. His elbows were on his knees, and his hands were clasped together in front of his forehead.
Yan Ceyan seemed extremely tired, and remained motionless in that position, like a frozen sculpture.
Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, casting a play of light and shadow on his sharply defined profile. His eyes were dark and swollen, and a few stubble sprouted on his chin, giving him an indescribable look of weariness and...despair.
Almost at the same instant that Yan Quan's breathing became slightly heavier.
Yan Ceyan suddenly raised his head.
"...Yan Quan".
Yan Ceyan's voice was hoarse with excitement, as if it had been sanded, with a slight, barely perceptible tremor.
"I..." Yan Ceyan subconsciously bent down to hug Yan Quan, but when he touched the back of Yan Quan's hand with the needle in it, he hesitated as if he were afraid of breaking porcelain.
His fingers paused abruptly in mid-air, finally managing only to rest lightly on the edge of the bed.
"Tsk..." Yan Quan wanted to say something, but the movement aggravated the injury on the side of his neck, and he gasped softly.
Yan Ceyan's expression tightened even more instantly. He frantically pressed the call button next to the hospital bed.
The attending physician and a nurse quickly entered and carefully examined Yan Quan. Yan Ceyan stepped aside and stood silently, his gaze never leaving the hospital bed.
"He was in a coma for more than fifteen days, and to wake up is truly a miracle." After the examination, the doctor looked through the medical record in his hand, his tone somewhat serious: "But his condition isn't much better now; all his physiological indicators are very poor. He still needs to be kept in the hospital for observation."
"As the patient's Alpha spouse," the doctor turned to Yan Ceyan, "you have been by the bedside these past few days, taking care of him without leaving his side."
"But..." the doctor slammed the medical record shut, somewhat annoyed, "Why didn't you do this sooner? Before coming to the hospital, were you this concerned about your wife? Would she have been this weak?"
"After this, you'd better turn over a new leaf and treat your wife well."
Despite being thoroughly scolded, Yan Ceyan didn't argue back. After seeing the doctor out of the ward, he immediately returned to Yan Quan's side.
The room was now empty except for the two of them. The air was eerily still, with only the faint sound of dripping liquid breaking out.
“…” Yan Ceyan looked down at Yan Quan.
"..." Yan Quan lay on the hospital bed, propping up his eyelids as he looked at Yan Ceyan.
In the instant their eyes met, Yan Quan clearly saw the complex emotions surging within him—a sense of relief, a bottomless heartache, and…
A kind of intense regret that Yan Quan had never seen in Yan Ceyan's eyes before, a regret that almost consumed him.
Yan Ceyan reached out and gently grasped Yan Quan's hand that wasn't receiving an IV drip.
Yan Quan's fingers were icy cold, but Yan Ceyan's large hand enveloped them, transmitting his warm body temperature.
Only then did Yan Quan realize that Yan Ceyan's hands were trembling uncontrollably.
"fortunately."
Yan Ceyan's eyelashes trembled slightly: "It's a good thing you woke up. Otherwise I would have..."
Yan Ceyan paused, not finishing his sentence. But Yan Quan could guess what Yan Ceyan meant by "otherwise".
Yan Ceyan is a "madman".
He's really capable of doing something that would make Yan Zhengdong pay for his crimes in blood.
"I found this in your personal belongings." Seeing that Yan Quan didn't respond, Yan Ceyan took out a malfunctioning curved electronic component from his pocket with his other hand.
Then Yan Ceyan answered his own question: "This is a WeChat eavesdropping device."
"Because it is a military reconnaissance tool, it is basically not available on the market in the Republic."
“The key level is very high.” Yan Ceyan’s fingers, which were rubbing the alloy casing, clenched slightly. “It took a lot of effort from the technicians to crack it… The initial IP address was quite unexpected.”
"It is the retirement sanatorium where my grandfather lived."
"No wonder I couldn't remember it before..."
"No matter how we use the Yan family's military's undercover agents and intelligence network, we can't find any specific information about your first year in the A Federation..."
Yan Ceyan's breathing echoed in Yan Quan's ears.
“Yan Quan, you’ve always known about this, haven’t you? By carrying it around, you’ve exposed your every move to the Yan family’s surveillance…”
"So when you left seven years ago to go to Federation A..." Yan Ceyan's breathing became slightly heavier, "you also made some kind of deal with my grandfather and father, right?"
"Even after I raped you and got you pregnant... the child in your womb is also—"
"You were forced to give birth, weren't you?"
Yan Ceyan had no way to continue speaking.
He had always thought of himself as the victim of Yan Quan's "heartless abandonment," the one who had been "betrayed," but only now, in this emergency room filled with the smell of medicine—
He was horrified to realize that he was the one who had inflicted the deepest and cruelest harm.
"There are no more children."
Yan Quan's voice was very low.
"..." Yan Ceyan lowered his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth curving into a bitter smile: "The nurse said you aborted that child."
“…Induced labor.” Yan Ceyan’s fingertips dug into the flesh, pinching it tightly: “That’s right.”
"How could you agree to give birth to my child?"
Yan Ceyan's tone was one of near-desperate helplessness.
"You don't love me."
"If you really never want to see me again in this lifetime..."
"If my presence only makes you angry, disgusted... and worsens your physical condition."
"I..." The next sentence seemed especially difficult to utter. Yan Ceyan lowered his head, almost clenching his teeth as he forced himself to say it:
"I can divorce you."
"Just like you said, I will never bother you again."
From Yan Quan's perspective, Yan Ceyan's features were shrouded in a thick shadow.
"But at least—until you've fully recovered and are officially discharged from the hospital, let me take care of you."
"..." Yan Quan silently pursed his lips. He could feel Yan Ceyan's grip tightening—like a person about to drown on a vast sea, clinging to the only piece of driftwood.
Or perhaps, Yan Ceyan himself is a "whirlpool".
For so many years, his relationship with Yan Ceyan has remained distorted and twisted.
Just as Yan Ceyan said, there's no way to escape it.
"...", so Yan Quan gritted his teeth and looked away, tacitly agreeing to Yan Ceyan's request.
*
The days that followed flew by like water.
Yan Ceyan stopped going to work and neglected his company, devoting all his energy to staying by Yan Quan's bedside to "take care" of him.
He had to oversee the routine check-ups, personally change IV drips, and personally feed the child medicine and water. He had to select the freshest ingredients for the nutritional meals, hire the best caregivers in the city, and even monitor the food being fed to Yan Quan with a thermometer in real time, for fear that it would be too hot or too cold.
Yan Quan felt helpless about Yan Ceyan's "overly anxious" care.
What made Yan Quan even more helpless was that Yan Ceyan stayed by the bedside day and night, never leaving for a moment, with a look in his eyes.
Staring intently, unblinking, it resembled a large hyena guarding its territory.
Yan Quan felt a little intimidated by the stare.
"Yan Ceyan, I want to watch TV."
After two weeks of care, Yan Quan's throat is no longer dry and hoarse, and she can speak normally. Her soft voice is like a mint leaf brushing against the air.
Yan Ceyan insisted that cell phones and televisions emit radiation and wouldn't let Yan Quan watch them. For the past two weeks, Yan Quan has been essentially isolated from the world.
Yan Quan suspected that Yan Ceyan did this on purpose. With such a big kidnapping case, the news outside must have already been full of gossip and scandals.
Previously, Yan Quan had been weak and lacked energy, so he let Yan Ceyan keep it from him. Now that he has recovered considerably, Yan Quan plans to start dealing with the aftermath.
“…” Yan Ceyan gave Yan Quan a deep look but didn’t reply.
Yan Quan raised his eyelids and glanced at Yan Ceyan, then repeated, "Watch TV."
"Why don't you just give me your phone?"
“…” Yan Ceyan sighed softly, seemingly with extreme helplessness, and then turned on the television facing the hospital bed for Yan Quan.
As soon as the TV is turned on, a page of the latest popular short dramas pops up by default.
It was Ji Yao and another female celebrity with a pure and innocent appearance.
Yan Quan didn't recognize Ji Yao at first glance. That's because Ji Yao had cut her hair.
Her once flowing, cascading hair had vanished without a trace. In its place was a neat and tidy short, center-parted hairstyle.
But Ji Yao's alluring and captivating charm remained unchanged.
Below the promotional photo of the two is a bold statement: "Forbidden double Omega relationship, we can't just be brother and sister..."
Wow... Yan Quan smiled slightly. Ji Yao has found her own path and is doing very well.
After lingering on the splash screen for a few seconds, Yan Quan decisively closed it. He headed straight for his target—the financial news channel, specifically the stock market section.
Real estate stock prices plummeted, and the screen was filled with a glaring dark green, spreading like spilled ink, exuding a chilling anxiety.
Yan Quan soon saw the "Yan Group" decline as expected.
Something's not right... Yan Quan frowned slightly. Logically speaking, Yan Zhengdong was in prison, the Yan family changed hands, and he himself was kidnapped and injured, and he's still lying in the hospital...
After all this, the stock price hasn't collapsed? And people are still so optimistic??
That is, competitors...
Yan Quan quickly pressed the remote control and switched to the other side, and sure enough...
Yan's line chart is like a kite with a broken string, plunging suddenly from a high position. The line is so steep that it is almost vertical, crashing down to a low position without any buffer. Every turning point hides panic, and there is not a trace of recovery throughout the entire process.
“K…” Yan Quan instantly realized what was happening and turned to look at Yan Ceyan: “What did you do?”
Yan Ceyan moved his lips slightly, but said nothing.
Seeing this, Yan Quan went to investigate himself. The news was already everywhere online, everywhere you looked. Yan Quan immediately spotted the latest news—
Shocking! Father and son of the Yan family turn against each other? Abandoning inheritance??
"Voluntarily transferring all assets? The Yan family's love-obsessed mentality is truly hopeless..."
A bizarre kidnapping case? A femme fatale's scheme to sow discord?
...
After browsing through a series of eye-catching news headlines, Yan Quan roughly deduced what had happened.
"Damn it... Yan Ceyan, are you an idiot?"
Yan Quan was still recovering from surgery, and despite using all his strength, he could only barely grab Yan Ceyan's collar.
"What do you mean by severing ties with the Yan family? What do you mean by unconditionally transferring all your assets to me? That's 13% of the original shares in the Yan family."
"..." Yan Ceyan took a deep breath, his eyes lowered as he stared at Yan Quan. Complex emotions floated in his deep eyes:
"These are what the Yan family owes you."
"And... that unborn child."
"You even went to have your will notarized?? Yan Ceyan, after you left the Yan family—" Yan Quan felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his lungs, and he almost vomited from anger.
"Once the agreed-upon deadline arrives and I'm discharged from the hospital... what do you plan to do?"
Seeing Yan Quan's agitated and flailing movements, Yan Ceyan gently placed his hand near Yan Quan's earlobe and surprisingly smiled slightly.
From this perspective, Yan Quan seems to be worried about himself.
It seems that Yan Quan might... like himself a little.
"Don't worry. I won't kill myself."
Yan Ceyan gently placed his palm near Yan Quan's earlobe, his warm breath spreading out like thin smoke.
"After the divorce papers are signed, I'll go to the Northwest Theater, to the border front. I've never liked doing business; I prefer dealing with guns..."
"I know. You don't want to get entangled with me anymore."
For the past seven years, Yan Quan had deceived and exploited him. He also "hated" Yan Quan, regarding him as the object of his day and night thirst for revenge.
They were like two intertwined thorns; the more obsessed they were with each other, the more they hurt each other.
In the end, after all the mutual torment... when the truth is revealed, it's impossible to say who owes whom more.
The relationship between Yan Quan and Yan Ceyan was both abnormal and twisted.
And... profound.
Yan Ceyan had no doubt that he would never love anyone again in his life as he loved Yan Quan.
"I understand. Yan Quan. You don't love me." Yan Ceyan's voice trembled slightly as he sighed deeply, a self-deprecating tone in his voice.
In his youth, Yan Quan could easily extricate himself from a relationship, breaking up with people time and time again. After their reunion, he could also perfectly convincingly portray himself as "deeply in love and a prodigal son who has returned home."
In this game of pursuing one's heart, Yan Ceyan "lost" from beginning to end. He didn't win even once.
"Yan Quan".
"But I love you, hopelessly."
What was clearly a direct and intense confession, when uttered by Yan Ceyan, was overflowing with a sense of despair.
But,
If we don't love each other
We can only [torture each other].
That would be pointless.
Yan Ceyan's fingers dug into Yan Quan's long hair, just as he had done in his youth—
"Just as you wished, I've set you free."
If in the future, Yan Quan, you can fall in love with someone else the way I love you.
You and that person love each other.
That would be perfect.
Yan Ceyan dug his fingernails into his flesh, a deep bitterness rising in his heart. He silently swallowed the words he felt were against his will.
I'd be jealous to death.
After a long silence, Yan Quan first called Yan Ceyan's name softly, then quickly followed with—
"Stupid dog."
Yan Ceyan looked up in a daze.
"How incredibly stupid." Yan Quan's voice trembled slightly. "Always talking about love, liking, and those kinds of words..."
"Don't you know that these are the two things I hate most in my life?"
The words stopped abruptly, and before Yan Ceyan could react, Yan Quan clenched his fist and slammed it towards him. "Bang—"
The soft, weak fist did almost no damage to Yan Ceyan.
Do you like me that much?
Yan Quan raised her eyes and stared straight at Yan Ceyan, a layer of glistening water film floating in her clear pupils:
"How can there be such an idiot as you in this world?"
"I've treated you like this, and you still fucking like me?"
"Damn... I'm really impressed." Yan Quan pursed her lips tightly, her soft voice sounding like a sob:
"I should never have provoked you."
"I shouldn't have met you when I was 18."
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