Liu Renzhi drove extremely fast again.
Lin Wanyi’s foot injury was too severe, and her head was covered in blood. He had to get her to the hospital immediately.
All the way, Lin Wanyi curled herself into a ball, looking so small and pitiful that Liu Renzhi’s heart ached terribly.
He kept repeating:
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. I’ll take you to the hospital right away.”
After arriving at the hospital, his heart ached even more.
Outside earlier, he hadn’t been able to see clearly.
Now, after the doctor washed the dirt off Lin Wanyi’s feet, he saw the shocking wounds.
It was as if there wasn’t a single spot on the soles of her feet that was intact.
The doctor carefully cleaned out the gravel embedded in her flesh. Lin Wanyi used all her willpower to endure it.
But in the end, she failed.
She couldn’t hold back anymore—the pain was too much.
She cried out.
She didn’t dare to watch what the doctor was doing, burying her face against Liu Renzhi’s chest the whole time.
While holding her, Liu Renzhi patted her back:
“It’s okay, just bear with it a little longer. It’ll be over soon, soon.
I’m here. If it hurts, bite me. Biting me will make you feel better.”
In the end, Lin Wanyi didn’t bite Liu Renzhi.
By the time the doctor finished cleaning all her wounds, Lin Wanyi was drenched in sweat and had no strength left.
She clutched Liu Renzhi’s clothes, shedding tears weakly:
“It hurts, Renzhi. It really hurts.”
Liu Renzhi’s heart felt like it was bleeding. He wished those feet were his own.
He wished he could take all her pain away.
But he couldn’t replace Lin Wanyi, and he couldnt endure the pain for her.
In the end, all he could do was carry her to the VIP ward, then kiss her cheek:
“I’ll hold you while you sleep. I’ll hold you the whole time.
Go to sleep. It’ll be better once you’re asleep.”
Exhausted from the night’s terror, Lin Wanyi was truly tired.
She curled up in Liu Renzhi’s arms, her hand resting on his waist, still murmuring:
“It hurts.”
The pain was real—so overwhelming that it made her forget she hadn’t had a drop of water or food all day and night.
Liu Renzhi could only feel helpless. Hadn’t the anesthetic taken effect yet?
He could do nothing but comfort her, and finally, he simply kissed her lips.
He thought to himself, kiss her—if he made her feel better, maybe she’d improve a little.
After kissing her for a long time, he asked:
“Does it still hurt?”
Lin Wanyi looked at him with her glistening eyes:
“It hurts, but it’s a little better.”
That was good enough—even a little better was progress.
Liu Renzhi kept kissing, caressing, and holding Lin Wanyi.
He wished he could press her into his very bones and blood.
Perhaps it was the effect of the anesthetic, or perhaps it was the effect of Liu Renzhi’s kisses, but Lin Wanyi finally began to feel some relief.
She slowly fell asleep in Liu Renzhi’s arms, her hand still resting on his waist.
She slept.
But Liu Renzhi couldn’t fall asleep at all.
Of course, many others couldn’t sleep that night either.
That included everyone from the film crew that day.
Because at three in the morning, Liu Renzhi had given the order: everyone on the crew was to be investigated, one by one.
He wanted to see exactly who had abandoned Lin Wanyi in the wilderness.
Who dared bully his woman inside his own company?
Also unable to sleep was Zhou Chenyu.
She had been waiting for news of Lin Wanyi’s humiliation, but until dawn, nothing happened.
Yet the moment she arrived at the company, she heard the gossip:
“Did you know? Last night, the CEO flew into a huge rage. I heard the entire short-drama division was dragged out of bed at three in the morning.”
“I heard that too, but no one knows why.”
“Apparently, someone from the crew was left behind at the filming location—a completely desolate place.”
“No way, how could they make such a basic mistake? Wait, that’s not right—that person must be important to have stirred up the CEO.
“And to wake everyone up in the middle of the night?”
“Your info is out of date. Let me tell you, this person is definitely not ordinary.
“I heard the CEO personally drove to pick them up.”
“Wow, could they be a relative of the CEO?”
Zhou Chenyu’s heart skipped a beat.
At the same time, she was overjoyed.
Liu Renzhi being so furious—those two men must have succeeded.
He must have arrived to see Lin Wanyi in the act of adultery—why else would he be so enraged?
What drives a man to madness is nothing other than a woman’s lost chastity.
Absolutely.
Thinking this, she felt smug.
She wasn’t worried about the crew exposing her. She had already bribed the director generously.
Besides, she had only told them to “accidentally” forget about Lin Wanyi.
Even if Liu Renzhi investigated, it would just look like a work mistake.
It wouldn’t trace back to her at all.
Her mood was lovely, just lovely.
Lin Wanyi was woken by the pain.
The anesthetic must have worn off.
She furrowed her brows and cried out in pain.
Liu Renzhi immediately instinctively leaned in to kiss her:
“Does it hurt again? Has the anesthetic worn off?
“Wait, I’ll call the doctor.”
Lin Wanyi was in great pain, but she was still in Liu Renzhi’s arms.
She gently pushed him:
“Get off now. It’ll be embarrassing when the doctor comes.”
Liu Renzhi didn’t move: “You can still worry about things like that? Seems like it doesn’t hurt enough.
“Lin Wanyi, I’m your legitimate boyfriend. What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
This time, the doctor didn’t give Lin Wanyi another anesthetic, just a shot for the pain.
Lin Wanyi didn’t dare meet the doctor’s eyes the whole time.
She felt that this was a hospital room, and here she was cuddled up with Liu Renzhi—what did that look like?
But Liu Renzhi didn’t see anything wrong with it at all.
Even when Liu Siyue and Su Jing arrived, he was still in the hospital bed.
Lin Wanyi was mortified—utterly mortified.
How could she be lying in her boyfriend’s arms right in front of Su Jing?
And in a hospital room, no less.
She glared at Liu Renzhi, and only then did he let go of her and get out of bed.
With elders and his younger sister present, Liu Renzhi still knew his restraint.
After all, he wasn’t an impulsive young man anymore.
As soon as she arrived, Liu Siyue burst into tears:
“Wanyi jiejie, I heard everything. You must have been terrified last night.
“So dark, so remote, and with bad people too… you…”
Liu Siyue couldn’t continue. She was reminded of herself.
Months ago, she had been through the same thing. She had almost died herself.
At that time, her situation had been even more horrifying than Lin Wanyi’s.
She understood Lin Wanyi’s despair better than anyone.
Lin Wanyi knew Liu Siyue was thinking about those past events. She reached out both hands toward her:
“It’s okay, come here. Give jiejie a hug.”
Her words told Liu Siyue to hug her, but really, she herself wanted to hug Liu Siyue.
What she had been through last night was dangerous, but it was nothing compared to Liu Siyue.
Absolutely nothing.
On New Year’s Eve, she had seen Liu Siyue covered in wounds.
On the second day of the New Year, Liu Siyue had run out to ask for help, barefoot just like she had.
In the heavy snow—people could only imagine what Liu Siyue had suffered when she was dragged back.
Every time Lin Wanyi thought about that day, she blamed herself.
If only she had been braver, would Liu Siyue have been rescued sooner?
But she had called the police, and the police had done nothing.
She had wanted to keep Liu Siyue, but Chen Guanshan had practically skinned her alive.
She had no choice—she still had her daughter.
But that incident, that day, had always been a thorn in her heart.
A thorn that made her feel she had failed Liu Siyue.
A thorn embedded deep in her chest.
A thorn she could never remove.
