Su Ling’s eyes slowly opened, the first things to greet him were the white ceiling and the pungent smell of disinfectant.
He wanted to look around, but the stinging pain in his head the moment he moved it made him stop.
Even so, his surroundings were enough to confirm that he was in a hospital now—and that he wasn’t dead.
The corners of his mouth twitched.
He wanted to smile, but he couldn’t force one out.
There was an indescribable sense of loss in his heart.
Dying wasn’t really a bad thing.
Though there were many things he hadn’t accomplished yet, he didn’t feel the slightest bit happy right now either.
His Master was always hot and cold with him.
The moments he could actually feel happiness were so few.
He was honestly a little tired…
The instant he realized he was about to die, he’d felt a faint sense of relief.
But now he wasn’t dead, and he didn’t know what he was supposed to do next.
“His recovery is going well, but he’ll still need to be observed for a while.”
Just then, an unfamiliar voice suddenly came from outside the room.
Su Ling’s eyes shifted toward the door.
A moment later, two sets of footsteps sounded from outside at the same time.
Su Ling bit his lip.
After what happened this time, how would his Master treat him?
Would she take care of him more tenderly, or would she disdain him?
It should be the former, right?
After all, his Master could be pretty nice sometimes.
The first person to walk in was an old man in a white coat.
She looked kind-faced.
Seeing Su Ling awake on the bed, she was the first to show a smile, offering one to Su Ling.
Out of politeness, Su Ling returned a smile as well.
……
Then, behind her, a hem of clothing appeared—seemed to be the hem of a trench coat.
What Su Ling couldn’t quite figure out was that the person didn’t seem to intend to come in.
She just stood at the doorway.
Just as Su Ling thought she wouldn’t come in, the next moment, she suddenly took a step forward and walked in.
Su Ling saw her face, and the smile on his face slowly froze.
How—how could it be her!
Su Ling’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again, but the person before him was still her—not the Master he’d been longing for!
The old woman walked over, checked Su Ling’s condition, and examined his medication before turning to Ye Moran and saying, “Everything is fine for now. He just needs to rest for a while and let the wounds heal.”
“Okay, I understand. Thank you for your trouble.”
Ye Moran’s voice was low and hoarse.
Her gaze never once landed on Su Ling, as if she were deliberately avoiding him.
It was only after she’d seen the old woman off that she slowly moved to the bedside.
“You… are you okay?”
Su Ling looked at her, his eyes gradually turning red, tears silently streaming down.
“I’m sorry, I—”
Su Ling took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
But looking at this face he’d thought about day and night, his emotions simply couldn’t settle.
He raised his hand, as if he wanted to reach out and touch her.
Ye Moran noticed this and immediately leaned her head forward.
But the touch she’d expected never came—instead, it was a heavy slap!
Slap!
The sharp sound drowned out everything around it—the chirping of insects outside the window, even the sounds of the machines in the ward were all covered by that single loud noise!
Su Ling used all his strength to vent the pain he’d been suppressing for nearly a year!
Ye Moran felt the burning sting on her cheek, and her tears finally fell against her will.
“I’m sorry, I… I really didn’t know it would turn out like this.”
“I just… I just wanted to protect you. I—”
Ye Moran’s words trailed off, because no matter how much she said, it seemed useless.
And the more she said, the more it sounded like an excuse.
“I’m sorry, I’ve made you suffer.”
Ye Moran’s eyes were red as she looked at the little fellow and pulled him into a tight hug.
Su Ling felt the warmth of the embrace, and his heart suddenly pounded.
But looking at the person before him, he still struggled, slapping and hitting her with force!
He belonged to his Master!
Not to this woman in front of him.
This woman had already abandoned him!
She had nothing to do with him anymore!
“Little fellow, don’t be like this. You’ll break my heart.”
“I know I’ve wronged you. I’ll make it up to you, I’ll compensate you. Please don’t be like this, okay?”
“Ah… ah!”
A difficult sound struggled out of Su Ling’s throat.
The voice was hoarse, strange, unpleasant.
Even Su Ling himself was stunned when he made that sound.
This wasn’t his voice.
This…
Ye Moran froze too, her whole body trembling.
She looked at Su Ling in disbelief, her gaze slowly drifting down to his throat.
“You… what happened to you?”
Su Ling was stunned.
What did she mean, what happened to him?
Didn’t she do this to him herself?
Ye Moran didn’t have time to think.
She immediately rushed out of the room.
Not long after, the old woman was brought back in.
The old woman frowned deeply.
She walked over to Su Ling and ran another examination on him, opening his mouth and shining a flashlight inside.
After carefully checking, she shook her head.
“His throat appears to have been damaged by something like concentrated sulfuric acid. It’s caused severe damage.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not an expert in this area. I can’t be sure if it’s treatable. I have a friend who specializes in throat conditions—I can ask him.”
“Alright, please ask him for me. Money isn’t an issue. I just want him cured.”
The old woman looked at Ye Moran as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just nodded and turned to leave.
Ye Moran bit her lip, walked over to Su Ling, and gently stroked his cheek.
“I’m sorry.”
The pain in Ye Moran’s heart was too much to bear.
She didn’t even know what good saying sorry would do.
She was the one who pushed the little fellow to this state.
She thought she was protecting him.
She thought that with the little fellow’s beauty, plenty of people would cherish him.
But she never imagined that Gu Qingyuan would actually be a pervert—that she’d tortured her precious little fellow into this state!
Broken leg, throat burned silent, and possibly even torments she didn’t know about!
For nearly an entire year, the little fellow had been here, by that beast Gu Qingyuan’s side.
She couldn’t bear to imagine what he’d gone through.
And she, self-righteously, had believed the little fellow was being well protected by her.
Ha.
Heh.
How… how laughable!
She wanted Gu Qingyuan dead—she absolutely had to die!
Every ounce of suffering the little fellow had endured, she would make Gu Qingyuan pay back tenfold!
And that monster had her hands stained with blood far worse than she’d ever known.
Su Ling seemed to sense what she was thinking.
He grabbed her wrist, shaking his head at her, while his other hand kept making gestures, trying to stop her!
“Little fellow, what are you trying to say?”
Su Ling frowned.
He didn’t like that title.
Ye Moran stared for a long time but couldn’t figure out what Su Ling meant.
Her eyes swept around the room, and finally, in a corner, she spotted a notebook and a pen, seemingly for jotting things down.
She grabbed the notebook and pen and handed them to Su Ling.
“If you want to say something, write it down.”
Su Ling immediately took the pen and began writing.
(Don’t hurt Master. Don’t hurt her.)