CH 72

The car crash wasn’t within Liang Ruowei’s plan. She lost consciousness under the violent impact. When she regained her senses, she lay on the ground with pain pulsating all over her body. 

The sound of noisy sirens and crowds penetrated her ears. She also could hear a policewoman asking her what her name is, and did she know what had occurred?

Her mind was still muddled after the impact.

“My name is… Liang Ruowei.”

“I’m on my way home.”

“An accident…”

Yes, she had an accident on her way home.

“Where are the others?”

What about the driver and Ye Wei?

“They are injured like you. The others are treating them right now. Don’t worry.”

Relief washed through Liang Ruowei’s heart. She didn’t like Ye Wei, that’s true. She also had a passing thought that it would be great if there was no Ye Wei in this world, especially if she died in despair. But, it was merely a passing thought. She never really wanted Ye Wei to die.

She had a deep fear of traffic accidents. She died in a traffic accident after she was rejected by Xu Chi repeatedly. 

At that time, the Liang Family suffered a lot, but they had passed the hurdle of bankruptcy. She was ecstatic that the Liang Family was saved. She wanted to share the happy news with Xu Chi, but Xu Chi told her that if there was nothing important, she shouldn’t go to him again.

“But, even if we can’t be lovers, we… can still be friends.”

That was her reply.

Losing Xu Chi wasn’t something she could accept. She had experienced a lot and learned how good Xu Chi was. She loved him and didn’t want to lose him. 

Yet, “If there is nothing urgent, let’s never see each other again,” was his answer. “With how we are, we can’t be friends.”

“Why can’t we? We have known each other for more than 20 years. How can our relationship get erased to nothing just like that?! Is it because of Ye Wei? You treat me like this because of Ye Wei?”

“Mn, I don’t want to make Ye Wei sad.”

Because Ye Wei would be sad. Because Ye Wei didn’t like him interacting with her. For Ye Wei, he didn’t intend to retain a relationship with her, even if it was only as a friend.

He was ruthlessly decisive. All his thoughtfulness was allotted to Ye Wei, and she, Liang Ruowei, had become a part of his insignificant past.

“Then, what about me? You don’t care about my feelings anymore? You don’t care whether I’m sad or not? You do this to me just for a woman? Obviously, you weren’t like this before. Before, if I was unhappy, even for a little, you would be anxious and find many ways to cheer me up…”

“Ruowei. We are over. I now have my own family to take care of.”

“Family? You mean Ye Wei?”

“Mn, we’re getting married.”

What? Who is getting married?

Xu Chi… is getting married to Ye Wei?!

She couldn’t believe her ears. Each word was a stab to her heart. 

She regretted it.

She shouldn’t leave Xu Chi so heartlessly at the beginning. 

She regretted it. She really regretted it.

After she heard the news, she really wished there was no Ye Wei in this world. She wished Ye Wei to die. Because of that, she was careless while driving. She mistakenly stepped on the accelerator and not the brake, resulting in a car crash. 

The crash killed her directly. She thought that her life was over, yet the crash was like a blessing in disguise. She returned back to her past when the Liang Family was stable and Xu Chi and Ye Wei’s relationship just began. 

She got a chance to redo her life, a chance to recover everything she once had.

She believed that she could recover everything. She could change the fate of the Liang Family from bankruptcy. She also could recover Xu Chi back to her side.

She believed that she could erase her regret in her last life, but why… Why did she still lose Xu Chi.

Now, she faced a car crash and once again, faced death. The events of her previous life replayed in her mind. She saw that, although she was reborn… although she had used the prophets to avoid disasters and create countless benefits for herself, nothing changed. She thought that if she changed, the future would also change. She was reborn, yet, she is still the same Liang Ruowei in her previous life. 

She is the same as before.

She didn’t change at all, hence, she trekked on her previous path and repeated the same mistake.

The realization left a bitter taste in Liang Ruowei’s mouth. She regretted, and she hated. Everything was so painful. 

She closed her eyes again. Then, she heard a familiar voice, with an unfamiliar trembling in his voice, howl, “Silence!”

It’s… Xu Chi’s voice!

Xu Chi is here? He really is here?!

Xu Chi’s voice ignited Liang Ruowei’s hope. Many emotions surged in her heart. She was excited, expectant, sad, and aggrieved. The fear and tears she had endured poured out. She opened her eyes to find Xu Chi. As she had guessed, she found the tall man kneeling on the ground, visibly leaning himself close to the ground.

His sudden roar surprised the crowds, and everyone around eyed him.

In front of him, lay a woman.

She’s wearing a black dress. It’s Ye Wei!

The hunched figure was tall but tense. He knelt in front of Ye Wei with a shudder that was hard to ignore.

——He’s trembling!

Liang Ruowei widened her eyes from the shock and almost rose to her feet. She was pushed down by the person next to her, “Don’t move. I don’t know if you get internal damage from the crash. It’s best to stay still.”

Liang Ruowei could care less about it. She lay there, staring at Xu Chi with wide eyes, watching him shaking out of control.

Why are you trembling? Are you afraid?  Are you terrified? Are you worried about losing Ye Wei? 

Such Xu Chi… was never known to Liang Ruowei before. So discomposed, so at a loss.

In her memory, Xu Chi has always been calm and composed, with power in his hands. People were accustomed to looking up to him because of his intelligence and wisdom, as if nothing could defeat him.

When she was little, she often entertained herself by making Xu Chi lose his composure. Of course, all she received by the end of her attempts were Xu Chi’s helpless eyes. 

Even her grandfather, who never praised others, praised Xu Chi about how his future is limitless and that he will be an extraordinary person, even surpassing Grandpa Xu. 

Such Xu Chi was now kneeling in front of Ye Wei, shivering with fear.

At this time, how could Liang Ruowei maintain the illusion that she can get Xu Chi back from Ye Wei? Xu Chi had unknowingly fallen in love with Ye Wei long before he himself realized it. Liang Ruowei was just unwilling to face it. 

She checked on her tattered body and chuckled at herself. Her heart was empty and numb. She should have been used to this feeling, of being ignored, of being abandoned. She should, shouldn’t she?

It took her two lifetimes to admit it, but she had to admit it. Xu Chi truly didn’t love her anymore and had fallen for Ye Wei. 

The current Xu Chi, in his heart and eyes, there is only Ye Wei. No one else could barge in.

Her body went limp and she shut her eyes. 

A moment later, Xu Chi’s panicked voice rang again. 

“I know, I don’t admit the wrong person.”

“You are Ye Wei.”

“Ye Wei, don’t sleep. The ambulance will arrive soon. Don’t close your eyes!”

“Ye Wei? Ye Wei! Ye Wei——”

Liang Ruowei’s heart skipped a beat. She snapped her eyes open and grabbed the policewoman beside her, “What’s happened? What’s wrong with Ye Wei?”

“The patient is heavily injured and has a cardiac arrest. She needs emergency treatment!”

What?! Ye Wei’s injury is that bad? 

Liang Ruowei’s strength seeped out from her body. 

Her last strength was spent glancing at Xu Chi, the hailed powerful man, who showed his vulnerability at this time. 

Until a long time later, when Liang Ruowei’s consciousness returned to nothing, she could still hear Xu Chi’s cries for Ye Wei.

————·————·————

Albeit protected by an airbag and a seat belt, the driver was still hit by violent impact and suffered from a severe concussion. He got several fractures in his chest and many glass scratches on his body. Luckily, he survived.

Liang Ruowei broke two ribs. Her right arm and left leg were fractured. There was a wound left by a glass cut on her forehead. She also suffered numerous scratches on her body and needed to rest. The wound on her forehead might leave a scar, though. She sat on the back of the driver and the driver’s subconscious avoidance reduced her potential injuries by a lot.

Unlike the driver and Liang Ruowei, Ye Wei’s injury was way more severe. The impact caused her severe trauma, even her liver was ruptured. And, the most serious injury was a glass shard that got in her brain. 

The operation on her was carried out from dark to dawn.

Each second was like an endless hour during the operation. 

————·————·————

Cao Heng stayed in the hospital all night and Xu Chi was rooted in front of the operating room. He stood there, motionless. His red eyes stared closely at the comparably red lettering on the door of the operating room. 

His hands and trousers were still stained by dried blood stains. 

Ye Wei’s blood. 

Cao Heng offered him a change of clothes, but his offer went to a deaf ear. So, Cao Heng let him be.

Ye Wei’s parents rushed to the hospital when they received the notice. Their aged eyes were flushed, and their wrinkled faces were grave.

At dawn, Cao Heng went to visit Liang Ruowei.

Liang Ruowei had woken up. She sat on the bed in a daze. Her eyes lit up when she saw Cao Heng, “How is Ye Wei?”

Cao Heng shook his head and relayed the news solemnly, “The operation is still underway. The doctor has given us a notice of critical illness before the operation and asked us to prepare for the worst. Because, even if the operation is successful, she has a low chance of waking up…”

Liang Ruowei used her palms to cover her face twisted by pain, “I’m sorry. I was wrong again. I should have listened to you. I shouldn’t have gone to see Ye Wei. If I hadn’t gone to see her, it wouldn’t have been like this. If Ye Wei hadn’t gone to see me, this wouldn’t have happened! It’s all my fault!”

Cao Heng could only sigh when he saw Liang Ruowei like this. He was unable to say any word of comfort. 

Ye Wei was in the operating room, likely to die. Could he comfort Liang Ruowei and say it was an accident and nothing was Liang Ruowei’s fault?

He and Liang Ruowei were friends from childhood to adulthood. But, even he could not excuse her this time. Ye Wei was the most innocent party in this mess. Innocently, she was used by Xu Chi, deceived by him, and threatened by Liang Ruowei, to the point she would lose her life……

“Don’t cry. You should take good care of yourself first. I believe that Ye Wei will be fine.”

“Are you telling the truth?” Liang Ruowei gazed at Cao Heng expectantly as if she had grasped a life-saving straw.

Cao Heng didn’t answer right away. 

“I hope so. Ye Wei is strong, she also cherishes her life so much. I believe she has the will to survive.”

Liang Ruowei: “……”

Cao Heng said, “Take a rest. I’ll leave first to check on Ye Wei.”

Liang Ruowei stopped him, “What about Xu Chi? Is he all right?”

Cao Heng shook his head once again. Recalling Xu Chi’s condition before he left, Cao Heng sighed, “I’m not sure.”

He used to think that Xu Chi couldn’t forget Liang Ruowei and was in love with Liang Ruowei. He never anticipated that Ye Wei’s weight in Xu Chi’s became heavier with each passing day. He never, ever, thought that one day, Xu Chi would truly fall in love with Ye Wei. 

At this point, how could he not see that Xu Chi has fallen in love with Ye Wei?

Ah, he is too foolish.

He glanced at Liang Ruowei, “You rest first. I will give updates to you if there are any.”

As she watched Cao Heng leave the ward, Liang Ruowei laughed at herself. She rested on her back and blankly stared at the ceiling. She was filled with crippling sorrow and felt her life was a joke.

This wait lasted until the evening.

Cao Heng came to visit again. He informed her that Ye Wei’s operation was finally over and she was placed in the ICU. Regrettably, the damage to her body was too excessive, and despite the successful operation, she may never wake up.

In other words, she would remain in a vegetative state. 

Liang Ruowei couldn’t rest easy when she heard the news. She asked someone to find her a wheelchair and push her to see Ye Wei.

However, instead of Ye Wei, she got to see Xu Chi first. 

The man stood outside the ICU, still wearing the dirty, wrinkled, and bloodied clothes of the previous day. Through the glass, he gazed inside without blinking. There was some hidden hope, but also fear of the unknown. And, it all accumulated into despair.

He was hoping that Ye Wei would wake up. There were lots of words he wished to say to her. 

Yet, all his hope was for naught. 

Because, this sleep of Ye Wei was a sleep lasting a lifetime.