The smell of disinfectant penetrated his nose. White walls and equipment filled his sight, leaving him annoyed.

Ji Ran sat on the bench outside the ward, his hands clasped to his chin. His eyes were unfocused; no one knew what he was thinking.

The roar just now seemed to still echo in his mind, making his head hurt.

Another car accident, another damn car accident.

He suddenly remembered that on the day of Zhao Qing Tong’s car accident, a strange man came to his house and said he was going to take him to see his mother.

He didn’t understand anything at the time, so he followed along. When he arrived at the hospital, he happened to see the doctor pushing Zhao Qing Tong out of the operating room, her face was lightly covered with a white cloth.

After that day, he had nothing.

A home that did not belong to him, toys that did not belong to him, and a mother that did not belong to him.

Zhao Qing Tong didn’t have a funeral, and when she was buried, Old Madam Li didn’t even allow him to show up.

In the big and cold house from then on, he lived by himself. It was as if he was the only one left in the world.

Ji Ran was used to living alone. Subconsciously, he didn’t want to have anything anymore. To put it mildly, if he didn’t have it, he couldn’t lose it. This was indeed the case. He never regarded the things sent by the Ji family as his own, so when he sent them back, he didn’t feel any reluctance or distress.

But earlier, when he regained his senses in the car and saw that Qin Man’s arms were filled with glass shards, his breath seemed to suddenly stagnate and he almost suffocated.

He didn’t dare to think about that scene again. He let out a few heavy breaths and cursed again in his heart.

” Ran Ran! Are you alright!”

Yue Wen Wen rushed over from the corner, looking like something out of a drama, his face full of horror.

Especially when he saw that Ji Ran had bandages wrapped around his head and a large amount of blood on his white T-shirt, his expression became even more exaggerated. “Ran Ran! Why are you bleeding so much?! Doctor, doctor?!”

“Lower your voice.” Ji Ran’s head hurt even more. He dragged Yue Wen Wen to the chair with the last of his strength. “Don’t shout, it’s not my blood.”

Yue Wen Wen was relieved first, then he asked in a daze, “Whose blood is that?”

“Qin Man.”

“…” Yue Wen Wen was shocked, “How did he bleed so much? Was he in the car too? Then, are you alright? Where are you hurt?”

“It’s just a slight concussion, I’m fine.” Ji Ran said solemnly.

“Where is Qin Man now?”

“Operating room.”

Yue Wen Wen looked at his expression and asked hesitantly, “Then…is he alright?”

Ji Ran replied irritably, “I don’t know.”

He and Qin Man arrived in the same ambulance. On the way, the nurse kept checking Qin Man’s vital signs, but he couldn’t understand a word.

Yue Wen Wen remembered something and the conversation changed. “Wait a minute, what about the perpetrator? Who was it?”

“They said he was drunk driving. I don’t know the person, so they brought him back to the police station, he’s now under interrogation.”

Ji Ran said this with a mocking smile on his lips.

In broad daylight, who would be drunk driving?

Besides, even if it was drunk driving, there were really not many drunk drivers who could attempt it seventeen times.

Yue Wen Wen naturally understood. “Who do you think it was?”

Who?

Ji Ran really couldn’t give a name.

There were too many things that happened during this time. He couldn’t think of any and he didn’t have the energy to think about them.

Now he just wanted to know if the person in the operating room was alive or not, was he missing an arm or a leg?

However, Yue Wen Wen just had to smash the pot wide open. “But how can Qin Man’s blood be all on you? Could it be that he was hit by something? He, he shouldn’t…” Just thinking of that scene, Yue Wen Wen couldn’t help swallowing his saliva. After a while he continued to say, “Will he have to amputate something?”

Ji Ran’s heart skipped a beat. He blurted out, “That’s fine too.”

Yue Wen Wen almost thought he heard wrong, “What?”

Ji Ran pursed his lips and stopped talking.

If the person inside became lame, it didn’t matter even if he was disabled.

He has money. He can afford to keep another person, not to mention the advanced technology and prosthetic limbs.

As long as he’s alive.

“Ran Ran, you look so pale. Are you not feeling well?” Yue Wen Wen sat beside him and said worriedly, “I think you should go back first. If you are really worried, there is a hotel next to the hospital, I’ll get a room for you to rest in for a while. I’ll let you know when the operation is over.”

“No need. Don’t you still have to go to work? You should go back first.”

“You just got into a car accident, how could I still have the heart to guard that ruined construction site!” Seeing that his mood was not right, Yue Wen Wen comforted him, “You are not to blame for the car accident, you are also a victim. Don’t stress yourself out, Qin Man will be fine!”

Although the white car had slammed into them, fortunately, there were many vehicles on the road, so there was not much room for the other party to accelerate. In the end, the accident was not particularly serious.

If Qin Man hadn’t unfastened his seat belt and rushed over to cover in front of him, he wouldn’t have been injured so badly.

“Alright.” Ji Ran said tiredly, “You can either sit here quietly or go back.”

Yue Wen Wen, “Then I will say one last sentence before I shut up – are you thirsty? Are you hungry? Do you want me to buy you something to eat?”

Ji Ran just wanted some quiet at this time, so he said, “Go. Buy more.”

Just as Yue Wen Wen left, the door of the operating room opened immediately.

Ji Ran stood up abruptly and almost fell to his knees when he took a step – he didn’t know if it was because of fright or from sitting too long. Anyway, his legs felt weak.

Several nurses pushed Qin Man, who was lying quietly on the bed, out. He looked pale, with bandages covering his body; a plaster cast was on his right hand and a neck brace was around his neck.

Ji Ran was utterly relieved.

His legs were still there, his hands were still there. With so many messy things on his body, it meant he was still alive.

“How is he?” he asked.

The doctor took off his mask and asked, “Are you a family member of the patient?”

Ji Ran nodded and replied without thinking, “I am.”

“There is no major problem at the moment. There is no injury to his organs, but his right hand is fractured and he has many wounds, especially his left hand. It took a lot of time just to pick out the glass shard. The rest will depend on whether any complications arise in the next week…”

“What complications?” Ji Ran asked anxiously, “Can’t you check now?”

The doctor replied, “I can’t guarantee anything now. It’s mainly a problem with the brain since he has some concussions. If there are no other symptoms, he will probably recover in a week or two.”

“Then when will he wake up?”

“He should wake up after the anaesthetic wears off. After he wakes up, he may feel dizzy, nauseous, or may forget recent events. This is normal and he will be fine in a few days.”

Hearing the first two sentences, Ji Ran was relieved and nodded, “…Thank you.”

The nurse pushed the patient to the ward and arranged everything before leaving.

In the four-person ward, after the two of them entered, the other patients looked at him intentionally or unintentionally.

“Young man, are you alright?” Seeing Ji Ran sitting motionless in front of the hospital bed, the aunt on the next bed couldn’t help patting him on the shoulder.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t worry, this is an ordinary ward, which means that your friend’s injury is not that serious, he will be fine after a while.” The aunt saw his face clearly and was startled, “Young man, your injury is not light.”

Ji Ran’s face was also scratched several times by the glass fragments. It was not deep, but it turned red and purple after applying medicine, which looked quite scary.

Ji Ran repeated, “I’m fine.”

The aunt wanted to say something, but was stopped by her husband on the bed who was signalling at her for a while. He said in a low voice, “This man’s hair is dyed like this and he looks like a gangster. Why do you have to meddle in other people’s business?”

The aunt glared at him angrily.

“You got into the hospital after a fight with someone yourself, how can you still have the face to say that about someone else?”

The ward wasn’t big, so Ji Ran could hear it no matter how the two of them restrained their voices.

Usually, he would have returned a few words. But now, he just felt very tired and didn’t bother to reply.

After a while, the nurse came into the ward.

“Qin Man.” She looked around and called out, “Who is Qin Man’s family?”

Ji Ran stood up. “I am.”

The nurse handed him the things in her hand. “Here is his wallet and mobile phone. The police just delivered it. Please check if anything is missing. If you have any problems, come to the nurse station to find me at any time.”

Ji Ran took the things. “Okay, thank you.”

How would he know what was in Qin Man’s wallet?

Everything else aside, it’s fine as long as important documents such as ID cards were not lost. He sat back in his chair, thinking of doing a cursory check, but was stunned as soon as he opened his wallet.

The ID card was still there, as well as several bank cards in the card holder, including the black card that he originally gave him.

In the photo folder next to it, there was a small pink slip of paper that was spread out, which read—

“Qin Man, you ugly freak”.

The font was messily scrawled; his fourteen-year-old’s handwriting.

“…”

No wonder the note disappeared into thin air and he couldn’t find it no matter how much he looked for it later.

Why was this thing in Qin Man’s hands? Why did Qin Man keep it and put it in his wallet…

The person on the bed suddenly moved. Ji Ran acted like a thief who was caught stealing and immediately closed the wallet tightly with a soft “thud”.

As soon as Qin Man opened his eyes, he saw the person sitting beside his bed.

The familiar soft hair was messed up at this time, and there was a bandage on his head. His face was pale with several scratches, and his eyes were red and bloodshot.

“You’re awake.” Ji Ran put the things in his hands on the table, “Is there any discomfort? Do you want me to call the doctor over?”

Qin Man stared at him for a long time.

“Who are you?”

The ward was quiet for a moment.

Ji Ran’s expression collapsed in an instant. His mouth hung open and the composure he had maintained all along was finally broken, revealing panic.

He swallowed his saliva and after a long while, came back to his senses. He turned around and hurriedly tried to ring the bell.

As soon as he stretched out his hand, it was grasped by the patient on the bed.

“Hiss.” Once the anaesthetic effect faded, Qin Man felt a little pain. He smiled and looked into Ji Ran’s eyes, putting away his disguise, “Don’t shout. I remembered.”

Qin Man’s voice was so hoarse that only the two of them could hear.

“You are the junior I’m crushing on.”

“…”

Qin Man still wanted to say something, when he felt something touch the back of his hand; it was cold.

Ji Ran didn’t cry during the car accident. He didn’t cry when they applied disinfectant and he didn’t cry when waiting outside the operating room.

But he couldn’t hold back now.

His inexplicable emotions were particularly turbulent and before he even regained his senses, tears had spilled out of his eyes.

Ji Ran’s nose was red. He raised a hand to wipe his tears, but who knew that the more he wiped, the more difficult it became. He choked and cursed, “Qin Man, you motherf*cker.”

Qin Man was stunned. His eyes were immediately filled with panic. “Don’t cry, why are you crying?”

He also wanted to help wipe away Ji Ran’s tears, but his arms were too weak right now and couldn’t raise them at all.

“You’re crazy.” Ji Ran cried harder and cursed harder. He sat back again, “Is it fun to lie to me? Do you think it’s very interesting?”

“It’s not, it’s not.” Qin Man endured the pain and coaxed him.

“Or do you think it’s very cool to block in front of me? You think you’re filming a TV show? Why didn’t that car kill you?”

Ji Ran’s tears fell faster and they fell onto Qin Man’s heart.

“What the hell am I supposed to do if you died because of me?” Ji Ran released all his pent-up emotions after holding back for hours, “Am I to use my life in exchange to repay your parents?”

Qin Man seldom regretted things, but now, he really wanted to travel back in time to a few minutes ago and sew his mouth shut.

Their conversation was overheard by the people next to them, but the two didn’t care at all. One cried while the other coaxed, it was unclear who should be lying on the hospital bed.