PBMM CH29.2

In the hospital, it was almost time to get off work. After another usual busy day, the young doctor wearing a white coat was washing his hands at the sink. As the clear water flowed through his exquisite, slender fingers, a malicious female voice suddenly sounded from behind, “He Qing, long time no see.”

Even though eight years had passed, this voice still existed deep in the youth’s memory like a nightmare. His body stiffened instantly. Wearing his white doctor’s coat, He Qing slowly turned around. Behind him stood a beautiful woman.

Upon seeing the youth’s full face, annoyance and jealousy flashed through Lin Wan’s eyes. Eight years had passed, yet this person’s facial features hadn’t changed in the slightest. Compared to his previous delicate handsomeness, one had to admit that the current He Qing carried a temperament settled deep within him. His gentle and mild features made people unable to help but let their gaze linger on him.

No wonder A-He wanted to cancel their engagement. If Yan Xizhi hadn’t told her it was because of He Qing, Lin Wan would truly have just sat there waiting for her doom!

A week ago, she suddenly received a call from Zhao He asking about what happened back then. What else could Lin Wan say? She barely managed to fool him, but then her family urged her to return to the country, saying Zhao He wanted to break off the engagement. She had racked her brains to get this man; how could she easily let go after having eight years of her youth wasted!

Lin Wan originally returned to the country to win Zhao He back, but unexpectedly, Yan Xizhi told her that the reason Zhao He wanted to cancel the engagement was because he had a chance encounter with his first love, He Qing.

First love. He Qing. Heh!

Looking at the youth who remained exactly the same as in the past despite eight years having gone by, Lin Wan almost couldn’t control herself. Fortunately, she remembered Yan Xizhi’s words in time. Barely suppressing her anger, she revealed a smug smile to He Qing. “Are you too surprised to see me? Why aren’t you speaking?”

The youth had long since frozen.

If one were to ask who was the biggest shadow in his life in this world, without exception, it would be Lin Wan. Facing Lin Wan, the youth, stiff with fear, seemed to revert back to that frail, scrawny teenager from eight years ago who had just lost his parents—helpless, bullied, and too terrified to resist.

Eight years ago, He Qing lost his father overnight. With his greatest reliance gone, before he even had time to process it, Lin Wan called some people and took him to an abandoned classroom.

Stripped of all his clothes amidst a crowd’s mocking jokes, photos were taken. He would never forget that night. Stripped completely bare, with Lin Wan stepping on his head, the eighteen-year-old girl’s voice was piercing: “If you dare pester A-He again, I will post these disgusting photos online! Although your dad is dead, your mom is still around. I know she has a heart condition. Guess what, if she sees these photos, will her heart ache?”

“You are nothing but a burden now! Staying by A-He’s side will only drag him down! Only I can help him, do you understand?”

After speaking, she grabbed the endlessly crying teenager’s hair, forcing him to look up. “Take pictures of him like this! Take pictures of it all!!”

“Let me tell you, He Qing. If you dare say a word about what happened today, your photos will spread all over the internet the very next second. Just wait and see if you don’t believe me!”

The click-clack of camera flashes and the shrill, smug laughter became the most painful memory buried deep in He Qing’s heart.

That night, after they had all left, the teenager, having barely put his clothes back on, climbed up the window in despair. A moment before jumping down, he thought of his mother, who had a heart condition and needed care. If he left too, what would happen to her?

Like a rat eking out a miserable existence in a dark gutter, he wiped his tears and went home. He comforted his mother who had lost her husband, faced the uncles who wanted to snatch their property, and ultimately, taking the little money they had left and his mother, he left Liucheng.

No one knew that before leaving, he secretly went to find Zhao He, only to see the handsome teenager and a delicate girl laughing together. From that exact moment, he decided to let go.

At that time, he never could have imagined that there would come a day when he would cross paths with these people again.

The young doctor’s face was deathly pale. He took a step back, his hoarse voice laced with terror: “What are you doing here.”

“What else could I be here for? I came to see you.” Lin Wan’s tone was intimate, as if she were simply visiting an old classmate she hadn’t seen in a long time. “What’s the matter? Haven’t seen me for a long time, have you forgotten me?”

How could he forget? How could he possibly forget!

Seeing the young doctor in front of her still looking at her with a face full of vigilance, Lin Wan couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore. She shrugged. “Then I’ll just say it straight. Your photos, you still remember them, right?”

“A dignified doctor of a top-tier tertiary hospital—if some rather unharmonious photos were to appear, guess if your promising life would be flipped upside down?”

The youth’s tone was weak, the corners of his eyes flushed red. “What exactly do you want!”

“Very simple.” Lin Wan revealed a vicious smile. “I want you to help me do an experiment.”

He Qing’s face was pale, an ominous premonition rising in his heart. “What… mmp!”

The youth slumped down limply.

Watching the white-coated young doctor being carefully caught by the man behind him, his cautious demeanor as if terrified of bumping or bruising him anywhere, Lin Wan’s face was full of mockery. “What exactly is so good about him? Every single one of you is acting like you’ve been bewitched.”

Yan Xizhi gently picked the youth up, but the gaze he shot at Lin Wan was filled with icy coldness. “You never told me there were any photos.”

Being looked at like that by him, Lin Wan took a step back in slight panic, forcefully countering: “You also didn’t tell me why exactly A-He wanted to cancel the engagement with me!”

“Why else? Because you’re ugly!” Yan Xizhi answered directly without a second thought. “Look at that face of yours. Your double eyelids were done, right? Your chin was shaved, your nose was augmented. How much hyaluronic acid did you inject into your face? If I were Zhao He, I’d be disgusted by you too!”

“You!” Lin Wan trembled with anger. Yan Xizhi carried He Qing past her. “Destroy all those photos. If I see even a single one, I guarantee that pretty plastic face of yours will be disfigured so badly even your father won’t recognize you.”

He walked a few steps. Seeing Lin Wan still standing there, he raised an eyebrow impatiently. “What are you spacing out for? Let’s go! Or are you waiting for Ning Feng’s people to come over and carry you away in a bit!”

Rendered entirely speechless by his barbs, Lin Wan knew clearly in her heart that he was venting his anger on He Qing’s behalf, which made her even angrier. But thinking of the next step in the plan, she kept a dark face and followed behind Yan Xizhi.

These past few days, Zhao He had been handling the cancellation of his engagement with the Lin family. Back then, to stabilize the situation, he had gotten engaged to Lin Wan. Now, the Lin family was gradually weakening while their Zhao family was growing stronger. Canceling the engagement at this time would definitely invite gossip. To minimize the impact on his reputation, he had to ensure the Lin family did it willingly and without complaint.

Yan Xizhi’s words that day had been vague, and when asked again, he refused to speak. Zhao He didn’t dare to think about it—if He Qing’s departure back then truly had an excusable reason, then what did his years of hatred and his revenge that night amount to?

He could only try his best to immerse himself in work. Amidst the complex mix of emotions, Zhao He even felt a hint of joy in his heart. If the youth was forced to leave back then, didn’t that mean he still liked him?

But the next moment, He Qing’s despairing gaze from that night appeared in the man’s mind.

His expression was conflicted. The next second, his phone rang. With a casual glance, he discovered it was He Qing. He had asked for the youth’s phone number the very first time they reunited but had never called even once. Now, at this time, why was A-Qing calling him?

Joy colored Zhao He’s heart. He abruptly sat up straight and carefully answered the call. “A-Qing?”

The youth’s voice was still gentle, but his tone was filled with utter disgust. Icy words rang in the man’s ear through the phone, “Tell your fiancée to stop bothering me. I will not get back together with you. Did you not read the letter I left when I left back then? Do you want me to repeat it again? A piece of trash like you, who is absolutely useless the moment your family falls, is not worthy of being with me. Do you understand?”

Beep— The call disconnected. Zhao He still held the phone blankly. The joy that had just risen dissipated bit by bit.

He stared blankly at the table full of documents he had prepared for canceling the engagement. So, a whole week of busy work was all just for this sentence of ‘not worthy’!

Crash!

The gloomy man abruptly kicked the entire desk over with one foot. His furious tone was filled with the hatred of being played. “He Qing! He Qing!!”

“I will definitely make you regret this!”

He Qing, who was deeply hated by Zhao He, woke up in a dark, gloomy little room. A dull ache throbbed at the back of his neck. He tried to sit up, but realized his hands and feet couldn’t move. He tried to speak, but his mouth was gagged. “Mmp! Mmp mmp!!”

This situation made the youth panic. He struggled fearfully against the ropes on his hands but couldn’t break free no matter what. Right in the midst of his terrified helplessness, a familiar, malicious female voice sounded by his ear. “Stop struggling, you’re just being asked to help with a little favor. Stop making a fuss over nothing.”

The youth’s body froze abruptly. He tried hard to look up, only to see Lin Wan, similarly tied up tightly, sitting beside him. The memories from before he fainted flooded back. He Qing struggled, making muffled noises, his eyes full of confusion and fear.

Lin Wan was also tied up, but her mouth wasn’t gagged. Seeing He Qing looking over, she let out a cold snort. “A-He will be here soon. You will know who he will choose between you and me.”

What did she mean? What choice?

The youth didn’t understand, but his fear of Lin Wan made him hold the greatest terror toward anything she did. Tied up securely and unable to speak, He Qing carefully shifted his body, trying to get further away from Lin Wan. Only in this way could his tense nerves relax slightly.

Seeing him like this, Lin Wan couldn’t help but sneer. But thinking of the expression the youth would reveal once A-He arrived and found out that the person A-He chose was her and not He Qing, she couldn’t be bothered to stimulate the already soul-scared He Qing anymore.

Although she really wanted to just release the photos and destroy He Qing, Yan Xizhi wouldn’t let her. But it didn’t matter. She had always known that the letter she had forged in He Qing’s name and given to A-He back then had always been a humiliation to A-He. As long as A-He heard those words, even if he had ten parts of lingering affection for He Qing, it would turn to zero!

As for why they had to put on such a play, Lin Wan sneered. Who knew what that androgynous pervert Yan Xizhi wanted to do!

Zhao He’s voice soon appeared outside the door. Lin Wan immediately closed her eyes and pretended to be unconscious. He Qing quietly widened his eyes, listening to the commotion outside.

Behind a thin door came Zhao He’s gloomy voice, “Where is my fiancée?”

“Mr. Zhao is indeed trustworthy, not a penny short.” An unfamiliar male voice followed, “When we took Miss Lin away, there was also a doctor by her side, so we brought him back too. That doctor said he knows Mr. Zhao, and that you would be willing to save him.”

Hearing this, the youth froze abruptly. He looked at the woman with her eyes closed pretending to be unconscious, finally understanding what Lin Wan was planning.

“A doctor?” Zhao He’s icy voice sounded outside. Even though he clearly knew what he would say, He Qing still harbored a sliver of hope. Then he heard his former lover say: “I don’t know any doctor.”

“Hand Lin Wan over, I’m taking her away.”

Even though he had guessed what Zhao He’s answer would be, the moment he actually heard it, He Qing still felt the pain. He lay on his side on the ground, staring straight out the door, hoping to hear a miracle.

“The rule in our line of work is, if we bring someone back and there’s no ransom money, they have to leave a finger behind.” The ‘kidnapper’ outside the door was extremely professional, speaking vividly. “Why doesn’t Mr. Zhao pay a little money so this guy named He Qing doesn’t have to lose a finger?”

Outside the room, Zhao He’s voice was cold. “I’ll give you money, you cripple his hands. Do it or not?”

The ‘kidnapper’s’ voice seemed to be right by his ear, yet also felt worlds away. He Qing heard him say: “I’ll do it!”

The door opened. Lying on the ground, He Qing could only see two pairs of legs. A pair of exquisite, elegant leather shoes stopped beside Lin Wan and picked her up. A pair of sneakers stopped beside him. Next, came a surge of excruciating agony.

“Mmp!!” The youth was pinned to the ground, his eyes looking as if they would drip blood. His hand was smashed over and over again. The pain seeped out from his very bones. He endured it forcefully, his eyes staring dead at those long legs in suit trousers. Finally, when he was smashed for the eleventh time, that person left.

It hurts, it hurts so much…

He Qing couldn’t distinguish if it was his hand that hurt or his heart. He thought in a daze, with his hand smashed like this, it must be fractured, right? He didn’t know if it could be healed, or if he could perform surgeries in the future. He was a doctor, after all. Without his hands, what kind of doctor would he be…

The smashing sounds stopped, but the excruciating pain in his hands remained. He Qing watched fuzzily as the ‘kidnapper’ took out a long, thin syringe and injected it into his arm. He was still wondering, what is this, what is he going to do…

The gag on his mouth was removed.

Almost instantly, an unprecedentedly wondrous sensation flooded every part of his body. The bone-piercing pain vanished, and the heart-wrenching sorrow was gone too. He Qing collapsed on the ground, feeling as if he were swimming freely in the clouds.

In a daze, he even saw his mom and dad…

“Mom…” Unconsciously letting out a murmur that no one could hear, the youth’s expression was hallucinatory. “I miss you so much… Mom…”

When Yan Xizhi burst in, he saw the youth lying on the ground, his hands a mangled mess, life or death unknown. He kicked the ‘kidnapper’ away and held the youth tightly, roaring in anger: “Who told you to hit him!”

With his hands behind his back, the ‘kidnapper’ quickly hid the syringe and said submissively, “It… it was Miss Lin…”

“Fuck! That bitch!” Yan Xizhi was furious. While quickly untying the ropes binding He Qing, his hands trembled as he picked him up. Even his voice was shaking. “A-Qing, A-Qing don’t be afraid, I’m taking you away…”

He Qing couldn’t hear his words anymore. He couldn’t feel the pain right now, and could only vaguely make out some noise from the outside world. He felt so comfortable. If only he could stay this comfortable forever…

Yan Xizhi didn’t have time to deal with that kidnapper, he could only make a mental note to deal with Lin Wan later. He carried the youth into his car and sped all the way to the hospital.

After taking X-rays, the doctor on duty frowned deeply. “Comminuted fractures in the fingers. Arrange for surgery. The family members should prepare themselves, it might have some impact on his daily life.”

The beautiful man’s face was ashen: “He is a doctor, will it affect his ability to perform surgeries in the future?”

“That is for sure. No matter how well he recovers, it will be impossible for him to perform surgeries again. I hope you can mentally prepare yourselves.”

He could no longer perform surgeries…

He clearly just wanted to make A-Qing give up completely on Zhao He, why did it turn out like this…

“Of course, if you have the means, finding the top experts for the surgery might offer a sliver of hope. But our recommendation is the sooner the better—best to start the surgery right now. After all, it’s a comminuted fracture, the damage to the patient is too great…”

“The top experts…” Yan Xizhi struggled repeatedly, but ultimately took out his phone.

Ten minutes later, Feng Xinyang rushed to the hospital. His hair was a mess, he was only wearing thin pajamas, and he had slide slippers on his feet. He looked nothing like the former playboy young master. Finding Yan Xizhi, he went up and punched him in the face. Yan Xizhi’s face was knocked to the side. “Did you find someone?”

Feng Xinyang slumped down, holding his head as he slid to the floor in defeat. “I did, I found someone. But the person is currently in the UK! Even if they fly back, it will take ten hours. A-Qing can’t wait that long!!” He cried out the last sentence.

He couldn’t figure out why things had turned out like this. Why did he start that damn game in the first place! Why did he listen to Zhao He and Yan Xizhi, why did he trust them and bring A-Qing over!

His biggest mistake was not protecting A-Qing well enough!

Those hands, so good-looking, so beautiful. Those were the hands of a doctor. A-Qing loved his profession so much, how could he possibly endure this!!

No matter how much pain Feng Xinyang felt, it couldn’t summon an expert to appear before them in the next second. Yan Xizhi took a deep breath. “Go find Ning Feng. He definitely has a way.”

He had racked his brains and exhausted all means to snatch A-Qing away from Ning Feng, yet now he had to send him back.

The beautiful man revealed a dismal, bitter smile. “Reaping what I sow, I’m reaping what I sow…”

He Qing woke up to the wonderful sound of the system notification.

[Ding. Feng Xinyang favorability: 100. Task completed: one-third.]

[Ding. Yan Xizhi favorability: 100. Task completed: two-thirds.]

[Please keep up the good work, Host. Mwah.]

Truly the most wonderful sound in this world, thought He Qing as he lay in the man’s embrace.

The person in his arms merely moved slightly, and Ning Feng, who hadn’t slept all night and was only resting his eyes, immediately sensed it. He quickly reached out, gently patting the youth in his arms. “It’s okay, it’s okay, everything is fine now…”

The youth let out a few weak, light coughs, not rising from his embrace. He looked around. Only after making a sound did he realize how much his throat hurt. “Where is this?”

“In the hospital…” Ning Feng gently patted his back, coaxing him softly, “We can go home very soon.”

He Qing’s eyes were blank, as if he was trying to recall why he was in the hospital. After thinking for a long time, he finally came back to his senses. “A-He… told him to cripple my hands.”

He tried to move his fingers, only to find that he couldn’t control them. He looked down blankly, seeing his hands tightly wrapped in gauze. Tears slipped down as the youth murmured, “So, my hands… have been ruined…”

Ning Feng’s eyes turned terrifyingly dark for a split second. He continued patting the youth and said gently, “No, A-Qing’s hands haven’t been ruined. I will find the best doctors to cure you.”

“It’s no use, it’s no use.” He Qing didn’t want to weep and wail like a little girl, but his heart felt so incredibly aggrieved. “I am a doctor. Once my hands have been injured like this, I will never be able to hold a scalpel again.”

“I can’t be a doctor anymore…”

Staring blankly, the youth said, “My life… is ruined.”