Chapter 70

Shen Yan opened his eyes again and saw Su Yunzhe with a scruffy beard. It was already noon the next day.

Su Yunzhe sat by the bedside, holding his hand and staring at him without blinking. He had obviously been holding that position for a long time.

When he saw Shen Yan awake, he didn’t react much, still just staring, as if he couldn’t believe that Shen Yan had actually woken up.

Shen Yan curled his finger inside Su Yunzhe’s hand, teasing him by winking and saying, “How was the overseas trip… eh?”

Su Yunzhe, who had been stunned, suddenly lunged forward and tightly hugged him. “Yan Yan, you’re awake?”

His voice was rough and hoarse, with a hint of panic, as if, even now, he couldn’t quite believe that Shen Yan was truly safe.

Shen Yan froze for a moment, then hugged him back tightly, burying his face in his shoulder, his voice muffled, “Mm, I’m awake. I’m fine now.”

I’m fine, I’m fine…

Shen Yan remembered that it was Su Yunzhe’s words “It’s fine now” that had allowed him to finally relax and fall unconscious yesterday. He knew Su Yunzhe would surely get him out of there. That sense of trust came from an inexplicable place, but it felt very real, very steady.

But Su Yunzhe wasn’t steady!

When he arrived at the scene yesterday, the balcony where Shen Yan had been was already completely engulfed in flames. He could see nothing except for the fire and the thick smoke.

Though Shen Yan was quickly rescued, he never felt at ease.

From last night until now, the image of Shen Yan curled up under the glass door, protectively holding his belly with a helpless look, kept spinning in his mind, making it difficult for him to distinguish between what was real and what was not. He wasn’t sure if he had truly rescued Shen Yan, or if Shen Yan was really safe now.

Though Shen Yan was pulled from the balcony by him and doctors had repeatedly told him that Shen Yan and the baby were fine, only having inhaled some smoke and exhausted some energy, that rest and waking up would help, Su Yunzhe still couldn’t relax.

He sat by the bed all night, watching Shen Yan’s face, afraid that if he fell asleep, he would wake up to find it had all been a dream.

When Shen Yan opened his eyes, he didn’t move at all, fearing he had misjudged.

He had never experienced this kind of feeling. Since yesterday, when he saw Duan Yang’s car flip over from the helicopter, fear had filled his heart.

He was terrified, unable to imagine what he would do if something had really happened to Shen Yan.

He didn’t know what to do.

It wasn’t until this moment, holding Shen Yan tightly, hearing his familiar voice speaking to him, that his heart slowly calmed down, and he was able to let go of the tension.

“Yan Yan,” he gently called, “You really are okay…”

“Yan Yan, you’re awake?”

But before he could enjoy this moment of peace with Shen Yan, an unexpected visitor arrived. Su Mu Bai, along with his grandparents, pushed the door open.

When his grandmother saw that Shen Yan was awake, she didn’t care that the couple was still hugging. She quickly ran over, pulled Su Yunzhe aside, and sat by the bed, holding Shen Yan’s hand with concern, “Yan Yan, you’ve suffered. Look at you, you’ve lost weight. Yunzhe, this guy never lets us old folks have peace. He didn’t even tell us about such a big incident. Your grandfather and I only saw the news this morning. When we tried calling him, no one picked up. It scared the life out of us! Luckily, his dad remembered to report to us that you were here. Is this your first time waking up? You must be hungry, right? Grandma made you some soup, and I also brought your favorite seafood porridge. Eat something to line your stomach. Later, I’ll make your favorite sweet and sour ribs and bring them over for dinner. Oh, poor Yan Yan, you’ve really been through a lot. Eat more and regain your strength.”

Su Yunzhe rubbed his temples helplessly. If it were anyone else, he would have just kicked them out without a second thought.

But with his dear grandmother and father, he couldn’t do anything.

However, Shen Yan did need to eat something, and his grandmother’s cooking always suited Shen Yan’s taste, so he patiently opened the thermal container and served a bowl of porridge to feed him.

Shen Yan had been hungry for a whole day and night. Although he had received some fluids through an IV while sleeping, it was nothing compared to a hot meal. He easily finished the porridge and soup.

Seeing him in good spirits and appetite, the elders stopped worrying.

Once he finished eating, they gave a few more instructions before taking their leave.

As soon as they left, Su Yunzhe immediately moved closer, reaching out to hug him.

But Shen Yan thought of something else and placed his hand against his chest, smiling, “Tell me first, how’s Brother Ling doing?”

Su Yunzhe sighed helplessly. Why was it so hard to just quietly hold his wife for a moment?

Shen Yan couldn’t help but laugh at his expression and leaned in to kiss his lips, whispering, “Let me rest a bit, okay? I really can’t stop worrying about Brother Ling.”

Even after narrowly escaping death, Shen Yan really wanted to share his feelings with Su Yunzhe, but he was still worried about Ling Sicheng’s condition.

No matter what he tried yesterday, he couldn’t wake Ling Sicheng.

At first, he thought Ling Sicheng had just passed out from the beating, that it wasn’t too serious, but the fact that Ling Sicheng hadn’t woken up under those conditions meant that the situation was definitely worse than he had imagined.

Su Yunzhe suppressed his desire to kiss Shen Yan and bent down to help him put on his shoes. He then took his hand and led him out the door. “Let’s go see him. He probably hasn’t woken up yet.”

Ling Sicheng was in the next room, with Qin Mofeng staying by his side. The moment they entered, Ling Sicheng, who had been lying in bed looking out the window without speaking, turned his head when he heard footsteps and smiled at Shen Yan, “It’s good to see you’re fine. I was planning to come see you, but I can’t get out of bed for now.”

Both of Ling Sicheng’s legs were in thick casts, clearly broken.

Shen Yan couldn’t help but frown tightly. “Damn! Was it Duan Yang’s doing?”

When Shen Yan was young, he had broken his arm while being naughty. He didn’t know if it was because he was naturally more sensitive to pain or because fractures hurt that much, but he clearly remembered the sensation and had never felt pain like that before.

Ling Sicheng had both legs broken—how painful must that be?

Ling Sicheng smiled. “I heard he’s worse off than me.”

“Ah?”

When Shen Yan woke up, he hadn’t thought to ask about this matter and didn’t know about Duan Yang’s condition.

“He’s still in the intensive care unit, and it’s uncertain whether he’ll survive,” Su Yunzhe said.

“Damn, that scumbag deserves to die. It would be a mercy for him!” Qin Mofeng said angrily.

Although Su Yunzhe appeared calm on the outside, inside, he shared Qin Mofeng’s thoughts.

At this moment, Shen Yan was fine and safe, but if something had happened to him, Su Yunzhe knew he wouldn’t have remained as calm as Qin Mofeng.

Shen Yan, however, seemed to be lost in thought.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Su Yunzhe kept a close eye on his condition.

Shen Yan shook his head. “No, it’s just… something feels off. According to you, Duan Yang had a car accident on the Xijiao Expressway 15 minutes before you arrived at Qing Shui Bay to rescue us. The timing doesn’t add up. A helicopter could make the 15-minute trip from Xijiao to Qing Shui Bay, but by car, it’s impossible. If Duan Yang had set the fire when he left Qing Shui Bay, we probably wouldn’t have been able to wait for your rescue. I remember clearly that just before I was about to untie the rope, someone poured gasoline all over the house, but didn’t enter the bedroom. The gasoline in the bedroom flowed in through the door crack. This was about ten minutes before I found Duan Yang’s phone and made the call. Based on the timing, Duan Yang couldn’t have been on the Xijiao Expressway 10 minutes later.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying the one who had the car accident wasn’t Duan Yang? That’s impossible. Even though the scumbag was a bloody mess, we could still recognize his face,” Qin Mofeng said.

“Even if the face could be faked, the electronic ankle bracelet on his leg wouldn’t be. That person was definitely Duan Yang,” Su Yunzhe replied.

“So the one who set the fire must be someone else,” Ling Sichen said.

Shen Yan nodded. “I think it’s very likely. I don’t know what Duan Yang originally planned, but his mental state was strange later on. If he still wanted to kill us, he wouldn’t have carelessly left his phone in the room and forgotten to tape my mouth shut. If he had done either of those things, both Ling Ge and I would probably be dead by now. He even forgot such an important thing, so I find it hard to believe he suddenly decided to set the house on fire.”

Coincidentally, the police knew that both of the victims had regained consciousness and came to ask about the events of the previous day.

The situation was generally as the police had previously speculated, and Shen Yan and Ling Sichen only added a few details, which didn’t take much time.

However, Shen Yan did share his doubts with the police. Of course, it wasn’t to lessen Duan Yang’s guilt, but rather to get to the bottom of who else would want to harm both him and Ling Sichen.

“We actually discovered that Duan Yang’s car had been tampered with—the brakes were disabled. These two matters will be investigated together,” the police informed them.

After the police left, Shen Yan didn’t disturb Ling Sichen’s rest. Despite his good spirits and having eaten, Ling Sichen was still dealing with multiple injuries, including two broken legs. The atmosphere between him and Qin Mofeng seemed colder than before, so Shen Yan decided not to get involved. He grabbed Su Yunzhe’s arm and prepared to leave the hospital and go home.

Just as they reached the door of the room, they heard Qin Mofeng awkwardly apologizing, “I… I know I shouldn’t have suspected you of kidnapping Shen Yan. My mind was just messed up at the time…”

“It’s fine, I am that kind of person, so it’s okay for you to think that,” Ling Sichen interrupted him in a calm manner, then turned his gaze back out the window, ignoring him.

Qin Mofeng sat there, several times opening his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, said nothing.

Shen Yan rolled his eyes in exasperation, pulling Su Yunzhe out of the room, unable to resist commenting, “Is Mofeng’s brain broken? He could’ve suspected Ling Ge without being so honest about it. Doesn’t he want to pursue Ling Ge anymore?”

Su Yunzhe was uninterested in the conversation. At this moment, everyone else seemed like a bother to him; he just wanted to take Shen Yan home and enjoy a peaceful world for two.

Shen Yan laughed at his eagerness and obediently followed him. After getting into the car, Shen Yan suddenly remembered something and grabbed Su Yunzhe’s hand.

“Shen Jiaqi!” Shen Yan exclaimed.

Su Yunzhe froze for a moment, then understood. He immediately called the police.

Although they didn’t have direct evidence to prove that Shen Jiaqi was behind the fire or the tampering with Duan Yang’s brakes, Shen Yan couldn’t think of anyone else who would want him dead and still harbor resentment toward Duan Yang. It had to be him!

“Wanting me dead is one thing, after all, I had his parents imprisoned. But to be so ruthless after falling out with Duan Yang after all those years?” Shen Yan couldn’t help but shiver.

 

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