1334 Give Up, He Said

Gu Juexi stood by the door and frowned at the stench while Ye Yuwei walked straight in. Wen Shan's laptop and notebooks were on the bedside table, as well as the empty instant noodles containers.

"Wen Shan, Wen Shan," Ye Yuwei called her as she sat by the bed. She reached out and touched her forehead when she didn't wake up. "Oh, she's burning up! Gu Juexi, we have to take her to the hospital now!" Ye Yuwei shrieked. She quickly pulled off Wen Shan's quilt and called for Gu Juexi, who was standing at the door.

At Ye Yuwei's anxious call, Gu Juexi went in swiftly, carried Wen Shan and walked out the door.

Wen Shan's fever had spiked up to forty degrees Celsius by the time they reached the hospital.

"All because of a man! I expected you to be smarter than this!" Gu Juexi growled.

Ye Yuwei looked at Wen Shan, who was lying on the hospital bed then looked back at Gu Juexi. She knew Gu Juexi was distressed and upset because he thought of Wen Shan as his sister.

Ye Yuwei notified Nalan Chunbo via message and hired a caregiver to look after Wen Shan, then left the hospital with Gu Juexi.

They still had some business to take care of.

Nalan Chunbo was still at the hotel's underground parking when he received the message, and he quickly drove out.

When he arrived at the hospital, Nalan Chunbo ran all the way to Wen Shan's ward. She was on a drip and was lying unconscious on the bed.

Nalan Chunbo walked towards the bed slowly. The room was very quiet, and only the sound of the drip echoed across it. When he reached the bed, he saw Wen Shan's flushed face due to her high fever.

He felt a sharp pain in his heart as if a pair of delicate hands were crushing it, hands he was overly familiar with.

Slowly, Nalan Chunbo sat down on the stool next to the bed and held her hand that was punctured with the needle of the drip. The touch of her hand felt like the delicate hands that were holding his heart tightly.

In his memory, she was always so lively and energetic, as if she was the source of the sunshine. She would always appear in front of him, calling him Papa Nalan with her sweet and musical voice. She would check every restaurant out beforehand just to make sure the food they had was delicious. She would do whatever it took just to see him.

She was always such a go-getter, always so full of life.

But what had happened?

"People like me don't deserve your heart and effort," Nalan Chunbo whispered. He used to have very low self-esteem, but now? He was a coward, which was much worse than being insecure.

Nalan Chunbo moved his hand and gently stroked her feverish face. "Give up, I'm not worth your time and effort."

"Papa Nalan," Wen Shan murmured weakly, a teardrop falling from the corner of her eye.

Have you ever felt heartbroken?

She had, Wen Shan thought.

Nalan Chunbo buried his face in his palm, and he stayed like that for a long time.

He would leave after this incident was settled.

Maybe his departure was the right choice. Perhaps when he was gone, she could allow someone who truly loved her to enter her life and occupy her heart.

Who? Who was crying?

Who was whispering in her ear?

Who was there, asking her to give up? She wanted to cry out loud, wanted to declare that she didn't want to give up, but she couldn't say it. The voice kept asking her to give up, just give up—

The voice sounded so familiar that it tore at her heart.

Slowly, the voice was getting farther and farther away. So far she couldn't grasp it.

Nalan Chunbo stood at the door and stared at the woman in the hospital bed. He closed his eyes sorrowfully, turned away and left.

"Give up," he said.

"I'm not worth it," he whispered.

Wen Shan was lying on the bed, tears running down her cheeks as the voice got so far she couldn't hear it.

"Okay," she said.