Chapter 128: Longing Like the Tides Extra Chapter for H Gan

I had entertained such thoughts before, but back then I was a peerless martial artist, and I buried them deep inside the lock-demon pagoda at the very bottom of my heart using a couple of blood-sworn seals.

Yet now, a few casual words from Xiao Lian easily unsealed the barrier, setting that little monster free.

On the way back, Xia Qi asked me, "What is it? Do you want to go see Luo Ange?"

I shook my head. With Yuan Shengxiao there, why should I go and crowd around?

She sighed, "Actually, there is something I haven't told you. Before Jiang Chenghuan went abroad, he asked to meet me. Remember the gold pen I bought him for his birthday the year before last?"

I nodded. Of course I remembered, because the two of us had an argument over it at the time. I said giving a pen was a bad omen, as it always made people think of writing off the past completely. But Xia Qi wouldn't listen, dressing it up under the pretense of using that pen to write their wonderful blueprint.

"Over the years, I gave him quite a few things back and forth, and he returned every single one of them, including that pen. Lanshan, your words came true; he really did want to write off our history completely. He also confessed to me that he and Li Wanqiu had already gotten together behind my back. Do you know when exactly that started?"

Looking at her expression, my heart ached. "Xia Qi, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't."

She shook my head. "I have to talk about it... Remember when Jiang Chenghuan's mother was hospitalized for food poisoning last year? His dad was away on a business trip and couldn't make it back, so I was the only one taking care of her at the hospital. Jiang Chenghuan went to Shanghai to take part in a basketball tournament and won the championship... It was that very night that the two of them first got a hotel room together. And you know what? There was a weekend when I went to look for Jiang Chenghuan; he wouldn't let me into his bedroom, but instead took me out to watch a movie. In truth, Li Wanqiu was sleeping stark naked in his bed right at that moment."

I held Xia Qi in my arms, begging her to stop talking, not to tear open her own wounds.

She began to weep, "Lanshan, it hurts, it hurts so much..."

Who wouldn't hurt? But what could be done? If a tooth hurts, you can pull the tooth out, but when your heart hurts, are you supposed to rip your heart out of your chest?

When we reached the hospital, I hesitated and dared not go in. Xia Qi scolded me for ages, but I still couldn't lift my feet.

Amid our dawdling, A-Mu emerged from the lobby. He looked very surprised to see me and greeted me, "Miss, what brings you here?"

He was as courteous as ever, and I offered an awkward smile. "Hello, I... I..."

Xia Qi couldn't bear to watch any longer. "We've come to see your young master. Is it convenient?"

A-Mu looked at me in pleasant surprise for a moment, but his expression quickly shifted into hesitation. "Well, um... Miss Yuan is currently in the hospital room."

I instantly felt awkward. "Never mind, never mind. We'll head back first. Goodbye."

A-Mu called out to me, "Actually, even if you hadn't come, I was planning to look for you. The young master's condition is not very good, and I think it's necessary for you to know."

Every hair on my body stood on end. What did "not very good" mean?

"The young master's injury this time is primarily to the head. The foreign medical team and local experts held a consultation and performed surgery, but it's uncertain when he will wake up."

As night fell, the three of us sat in the small garden of the hospital, watching Yuan Shengxiao emerge from the lobby and get into the chauffeured van waiting there before driving away.

A-Mu led us into the elevator. Luo Ange was on the eighteenth floor in a high-ranking cadre ward, which was even more luxurious than my traditional courtyard house.

With every step I took, I felt my heart shrinking and shrinking, my breathing growing increasingly difficult, as if I were about to collapse.

When we reached the door and A-Mu reached to push it open, I grabbed his hand and shook my head. "I'm not ready yet. I need a moment."

He checked his time. "Miss, go inside and keep the young master company. I'll be right back."

I grabbed Xia Qi, trembling so much I couldn't speak. Sensing it, she silently pulled me into an embrace.

I don't know how long passed, but countless fragments flashed through my mind. I remembered Luo Ange gritting his teeth and saying there would come a day when I would kneel and beg him; I remember him smiling brightly as he said he would never abandon me even in death; I remembered his embraces, and how he had exercised restraint and held back from touching me on several occasions...

My heart ached so intensely that I finally mustered the courage to push the door open.

In the past, I always thought he was a pervert who specialized in making my life miserable. Every time he smiled, I wanted nothing more than to tear that face of his to shreds.

Yet now, how I wished he would jump up and shout at me, "I don't feel well, come over and give me a massage."

How I wished he would glare at me, hold me tight, and utter harsh threats.

Instead, he lay there quietly, like a child.

I desperately wanted to call out to him, but the words stuck in my throat and refused to come out, while my tears fell drop by drop.

His head was wrapped entirely in gauze, there were still a few scratches on his face, and his chest was also bound in bandages, making him look like a mummy.

"Idiot, wake up..."

No matter how I wiped them, the tears wouldn't stop. I grasped his hand, choking so hard I couldn't speak.

No matter what I said, no matter how I called out to him, he gave no response.

A-Mu called to remind me that it was time to leave, and I dared not linger.

Slowly leaning down, I pressed a kiss to Luo Ange's lips, then tore myself away with lingering reluctance.

The next day I didn't dare go anywhere, staying home to wait for news. By afternoon, I finally received a text message from A-Mu: Miss Yuan has left.

I snatched up my bag and bolted out the door, only reaching the end of the alley to realize that it would take A-Mu at least half an hour to drive here from the hospital.

When A-Mu arrived, he was drenched in sweat. He truly had it hard, having to take care of Luo Ange while also being responsible for picking me up and dropping me off.

Once in the car, I asked him how things were. He shook his head. "The attending physician said there is too much pooled blood in his brain, and there's nothing to be done for the moment."

I comforted myself by thinking, "No news is good news."

Actually, this was my first time talking to someone in a coma, and I had no idea whether Luo Ange could hear my words.

I told him that although my childhood often involved arguing with Yi Huayang, my grandparents had showered me with absolute care. I told him that I was actually a coward who only knew how to cry and run away when faced with trouble. I told him that Xia Qi and I were as close as sisters, and after Li Wanqiu left, the two of us were all each other had left to lean on.

I told him many, many things, holding his hand and begging him to wake up, begging him not to leave me behind.

After that day, I didn't go back to the hospital, because A-Mu informed me that Yuan Shengxiao had petitioned the old master to move into the room next to Luo Ange's to look after him closely, a request that had won unanimous praise from the Luo family.

A-Mu said he would find an opportunity for me to see Luo Ange and asked me to sit tight and be patient.

Fortunately, he sent me photos of Luo Ange every day, which somewhat eased my anxiety.

This routine lasted for a week. The news was filled with stories of Yuan Shengxiao putting aside her career to accompany her beloved, painting a picture of a golden boy and jade girl perfectly matched in every way—it was enough to make me feel like I was losing my mind.

Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, I sneaked to the hospital in the middle of the night. I just had to catch a glimpse of him to have peace of mind, I consoled myself.

A-Mu guided me through a special passageway and elevator up to the eighteenth floor, and once inside the ward, he stood watch outside.

Luo Ange seemed to have grown even thinner; his jawline was sharper than mine, and his complexion was whiter than mine.

When I took his hand, his bones felt sharp enough to bruise me.

I didn't dare speak or cry, forcing my tears back with all my might while repeating his name in my mind over and over, begging him once more to wake up.

His fingernails were neatly trimmed, and his stubble had been tended to. It was clear Yuan Shengxiao was taking good care of him. How I wished the person doing those things for him was me.

A-Mu came inside and whispered a reminder that it was time for me to leave. I knew Yuan Shengxiao was right next door; she would hear even the slightest sound here.

Life returned to the pattern of the previous week. I sat at home all day, no longer daring to watch the news for fear of the sorrow it would bring.

When the restlessness became unbearable, I forced myself to pore over graduate school entrance examination materials.

Sometimes, sitting in the courtyard basking in the sun, hallucinations would return. Luo Ange would push open the door, walk over to kiss my face repeatedly, tell me not to worry, ask me to eat with him, and complain of a headache that required my massages.

Other times, I would suffer auditory hallucinations, hearing someone whispering the same two words in my ear over and over: do not worry.

I discovered that longing was truly a fatal thing; it would wrap around you like a wildly growing vine, sealing every gap, squeezing until you suffocated.

I missed Luo Ange so desperately that, despite A-Mu's repeated warnings not to take risks, I could not control my yearning to see him. I decided to take a gamble.

When Shu Congxuan heard I was going with him to the hospital to visit Luo Ange, he probably found it a bit strange. Having just returned from the United States, we were eating Japanese cuisine when he asked me, "Why the sudden urge to go?"

I randomly searched for an excuse. "We're such good friends, and he's your nephew. It's only right for me to go pay a visit."

Without reading too much into it, he nodded and said, "We'll go after we finish eating."

I tested the waters by asking, "Will his family be there? Won't it be awkward if I go?"

He patted my head. "With me around, you don't need to be afraid."

The entire way there, the palms of my hands were slick with sweat, caught between the joy of soon seeing Luo Ange and the genuine fear of facing his family.

With my heart in my throat, we arrived at the hospital and reached the eighteenth floor. Stepping out of the elevator, I noticed a few young nurses chatting at the nurses' station.

I paid them no mind, but as I walked past them, I caught a snippet of conversation: "During morning rounds today, I heard Old Master Luo tell Miss Yuan to hurry up and have a child once the young master recovers."

Another replied, "How exciting! Tomorrow morning is my turn for rounds. You know what? Last time I secretly took a photo of Miss Yuan helping the young master wipe his body, and paparazzi approached me, offering a high price to buy those photos."

I couldn't help marveling: even reduced to that state, he could still turn a profit.

If we both grew old with white hair and nothing to do, we could find a stool, seat him by the roadside, and let those infatuated fans take pictures for a hundred bucks a pop. In less than a month, we'd make a fortune.

As we neared the ward, I saw Yuan Shengxiao standing by the window with a foreigner, conversing in English.

A wave of tension washed over me, my breathing hitching as my footsteps slowed.

Someone emerged from the ward—it was A-Mu. He froze upon seeing me, but quickly masked his expression, pretending not to know me and instead greeting Shu Congxuan by my side: "Mr. Shu, you've arrived."

Yuan Shengxiao turned around, a faint smile curving the corners of her lips. "Congxuan, when did you get back?"