DASFAM_88

The sudden news of Old Master Shang's passing came without warning. Old Madam Shang was wholly unprepared to face this cruel reality, and the shock hit her on the spot, sending her into a grief-stricken faint.

The corridor erupted into chaos once more.

Shang Keyi and Shang Keshu had no choice but to split their attention, following the medical staff to tend to Old Madam Shang.

A heavy silence fell over the entrance to the emergency room. Shang Yanxiao and Bai Xu, left behind, stood facing each other wordlessly, each weighed down by their own grief, neither knowing how to break the silence.

"Ah—"

Shang Queyan, who had collapsed to the ground, suddenly let out a burst of anguished, suppressed cries, his hands clenched into fists as he slammed them hard against the floor.

His assistant Guo Wangquan was startled, "Fourth Young Master!"

"Queyan!"

Shang Yanxiao and Bai Xu reacted in unison, rushing to his side.

Zhang Changxu, standing nearby, noticed Shang Queyan's wound and turned to walk back into the emergency room.

"......"

Shang Queyan's breathing was ragged, his face long past the point where one could tell tears from sweat.

He choked back his sobs for a long moment before finally speaking, overcome with remorse, "It's all my fault, all my fault! If it weren't for me, Grandfather never would have gotten hurt!"

"If I hadn't impulsively gone after him, maybe Sun Chuan wouldn't have been in such a rush to make a move on Grandfather!"

Shang Queyan sank deep into self-reproach, his chest full of guilt with nowhere to direct it, "Brother, I'm so useless..."

"I, I thought I had 'gotten back on my feet' again, but in reality, I still can't do anything, can't accomplish anything."

Not only had he indirectly caused the deaths of his own parents, now he had indirectly caused his grandfather's death too. What was the point of someone like him being alive in this world?

"......"

Shang Yanxiao was overcome with bitterness, "It's not your fault. This has nothing to do with you. Listen to me, don't take everything onto yourself."

Every choice has two sides, and who could ever know—

If Shang Queyan hadn't gone after him at the time, what situation would the Old Master be in right now?

Bai Xu saw Shang Queyan teetering on the edge of despair, and his heart ached in turn. Even though the original novel had long foreshadowed it—

For the original male lead, the successive deaths of Old Master Shang and his elder brother were a new wave of consecutive blows. Only through this could he gain his final tempering and growth.

But when those words truly transformed into the reality before his eyes, it was something so impossible to accept.

Bai Xu's gaze shifted back to Shang Yanxiao once more.

He watched as his lover, clearly carrying the same grief, still forced himself to summon the energy to comfort Shang Queyan in his breakdown.

"......"

The sound of footsteps resumed.

Zhang Changxu returned with some medication to treat wounds, "Yanxiao, help Queyan up first. He has too many wounds on him, they need to be dealt with."

Guo Wangquan and Xie Qi exchanged a glance and hurried forward to help the incapacitated Shang Queyan back onto the long bench.

Bai Xu noticed the medication in Zhang Changxu's hands and made himself rally, "Dr. Zhang, why don't we handle it instead?"

"It's fine, let me. There are doctors inside taking care of things in the emergency room. In a little while, the Old Master... will be brought out."

"......"

Zhang Changxu could see that none of the people before him were in any state to tend to wounds, so he simply crouched down in front of Shang Queyan.

The hem of Shang Queyan's trouser leg hung loose and empty, yet the bloodstains were heavy.

Zhang Changxu had his suspicions. He cut it open directly with scissors, and sure enough, the raw, worn flesh was stuck together in a mass, just the sight of it was deeply disturbing.

Bai Xu's breath caught, and Shang Yanxiao went so far as to clench his fists tight, veins rising to the surface.

Zhang Changxu maintained the calm of a physician, "I'll help take care of it simply for now. Later, when there's time, you should still take him in for a proper examination. Queyan, I need to disinfect it, tell me if it hurts."

Shang Queyan's eyes were somewhat vacant, "It's fine."

As Zhang Changxu tended to his wounds, he explained the situation, "When the Old Master was brought to the hospital, his vital signs were already very weak. We did everything we could."

Shang Yanxiao closed his eyes briefly, then responded, "Changxu, you don't need to say any more. We know."

"When Yanxiao and I arrived, the Old Master had already fallen into a coma."

Bai Xu was silent for two or three seconds before steeling himself to ask, "Queyan, in the moment right after you and the Old Master fell..."

Shang Queyan understood what he was holding back, "Right after we fell, Grandfather was still somewhat conscious."

"Did he say anything?"

Shang Yanxiao asked without thinking, then in the next instant caught himself, realizing how 'foolish' the question was.

How could Old Master Shang have managed a complete sentence?

But in the very next second, Shang Queyan spoke with quiet certainty, "He did. He called out Grandmother's name."

—Yanan.

Having likely sensed that he would not survive this, the very last words Old Master Shang spoke in his life were still filled with thoughts of the wife he had loved for a lifetime.

Bai Xu's eyes stung, and he could not hold back his tears.

So it turned out that anniversary banquet had, in the end, been the last celebration the old couple ever shared together.

Tap, tap, tap.

Shang Keshu walked back.

Bai Xu noticed the footsteps at once and quickly blinked his tears away again, "Little Aunt, how is Grandmother?"

"The shock was too sudden. The doctor has already prescribed a sedative. She's still asleep right now, Big Sister is with her."

Gone was Shang Keshu's usual free-spirited laughter. For once, she carried herself with the composure befitting an elder, "I've already called Second Brother. They're on their way back."

"Yanxiao, the three of you should head back for now. At least change your clothes, don't catch a cold."

"No, I'm not leaving," Shang Queyan insisted, "I'm waiting for Grandfather to come out."

"......"

Shang Keshu pressed her lips together, doing her utmost to keep herself steady.

In the next instant, the door to the emergency room swung open.

Shang Keshu saw the white sheet draped over the gurney and instantly lost all composure, throwing herself forward, "Father!"

"How could you leave us just like this— I'll never tease you or be willful again, please don't go..."

"Our condolences to the family."

Shang Yanxiao and Bai Xu hurried over, "Little Aunt."

Perhaps because Shang Keshu had been pushing and shaking with too much force in that moment, Old Master Shang's right hand slipped partway out from beneath the white sheet.

"......"

Bai Xu instinctively reached out to straighten the white sheet, but in doing so caught an unexpected glimpse of a red ink mark on the pad of Old Master Shang's thumb. His expression shifted subtly.

"A' Xu, what is it?"

The moment the question landed, Shang Yanxiao followed his lover's gaze and made out the faint red impression remaining on Old Master Shang's fingertip, and in an instant understood as well.

The two exchanged a wordless glance, both knowing this was not the time or place to say more.

"Nothing," Bai Xu said offhandedly in front of the others and quickly pulled the white sheet back into place.

Shang Yanxiao steadied his churning thoughts before turning his attention back to Shang Keshu.

Grief spread through the corridor, lingering without end. It was not until the early hours of the morning that the second branch of the family came rushing to the hospital.

Only after repeated urging from Shang Keshu did Shang Yanxiao and Bai Xu finally take Shang Queyan home to rest for a while.

The hot water warmed his body, which had been cold for so long, but Bai Xu's mind was still a tangled mess, and his temples had been throbbing with a dull, persistent ache since earlier.

By the time Bai Xu came back to his senses and stepped out of the bathroom, Shang Yanxiao was already waiting for him by the edge of the bed. Their eyes met, and Shang Yanxiao immediately lifted the covers beside him.

"Come here, are you still cold?"

"A little better," Bai Xu drew closer and asked uncertainly, "Are we not going back to the hospital?"

Shang Yanxiao gently pulled his lover into the covers, "You and Queyan are both exhausted. We'll rest until morning, then go to the hospital together to take over."

Bai Xu settled quietly against Shang Yanxiao's chest. Though his energy was nearly spent, he felt no desire to sleep at all.

"Yanxiao."

"Mm?"

Shang Yanxiao patted his back softly, coaxing him to sleep, "A' Xu, I know what you're suspecting. I have the same suspicion—"

"Sun Chuan is getting on in years. There's no way he could have managed all of this alone. From the moment he slipped into the hospital and took Grandfather away, everything that followed was part of a carefully plotted scheme."

"The ink mark on the Old Master's hand was most likely used to press some kind of contract."

Beyond a signed name, a contract document bearing a handprint carried its own legal weight as well.

"If the Old Master were still alive, as long as he refused to acknowledge it as his own volition, it might still be possible to declare it void. But now that he's gone and there's no one left to testify, if some document bearing his handprint were to surface in the future..."

That would likely cause no small amount of trouble.

Shang Yanxiao already knew this, of course, "A' Xu, who do you think is behind this?"

The question, though spoken aloud, carried a very clear implication.

This time, Bai Xu saw no room left for hedging. He simply said, "It's already written in plain sight, isn't it?"

"......"

Shang Yanxiao said nothing in return, the hatred deepening steadily in the depths of his eyes.

He forced it down, drew a slow breath, then pressed a kiss to his lover's forehead, "Get some sleep first. Don't worry, no matter what it takes, I'll find a way to handle all of it."

Deep within Bai Xu, a fear still stirred restlessly. He found himself pressing closer into Shang Yanxiao's embrace, almost greedily breathing in the steadying scent of his lover.

"Shang Yanxiao."

"Mm?"

"I'm here."

"I know. I'm here too."

...

Bai Xu's sleep was deeply troubled.

He dreamed once more of that vast, white expanse of snowy mountains. A bone-deep cold pierced his entire body, and beneath his hands was still that heap of snow he could dig through endlessly without ever finding a soul.

In the blink of an eye, the scene around him shifted again.

Bai Xu stood on a road shaken by thunder and rain, looking down at a slope with a five or six meter drop. The person lying on the ground was not Old Master Shang, not Shang Queyan, but Shang Yanxiao, his whole body soaked through with blood.

Bai Xu scrambled and tumbled down to his lover's side, yet no matter what he did, he could not bring the lifeless man back up to the road.

Boom!

Another tremendous crash struck down, like an avalanche, like a thunderclap.

He looked up in despair, and all he could make out was yet another blurred, arrogant figure before him, screaming with a voice full of hatred, hoarse and frantic—

"If I can't have it, none of you should either! Even in death, I'll drag Shang Yanxiao down with me!"

The nightmare shifted once more. Shang Yanxiao drove with him back to that intersection in Singapore.

The same vehicle that had burst out from the intersection crashed into them, and they slammed once again into the utility pole at the corner, only this time, their luck from before was gone—

Shang Yanxiao was completely pinned in his seat. Flames shot up from beneath his feet, and Bai Xu could only watch helplessly as his lover was swallowed by fire. The searing heat that surged toward him left him utterly suffocated.

His body was wrung through that relentless cycle of ice and fire, tormented between extremes. He had no idea how much time had passed before Bai Xu finally wrenched himself free.

"Yanxiao!"

He jolted awake, then struggled to breathe through the violent pounding in his head.

Bai Xu looked at the empty space beside him on the bed. The panic deep within him quickly spread from the dream into reality. He did not even spare a thought for his temples throbbing as if they were about to burst, he got up and ran from the bed.

Bang!

The bedroom door swung open from both sides at once.

Shang Yanxiao was carrying a freshly prepared cold medicine, and when he saw Bai Xu's face drenched in cold sweat and stricken with alarm, his brow furrowed tightly, "A' Xu?"

Bai Xu's eyes reddened at a speed that even he himself had not expected. He, who had always loved putting up a tough front, lost every inclination to keep up the pretense in that moment, "Shang Yanxiao, where did you go?"

Shang Yanxiao could tell something was wrong with his lover. With one hand holding the cup of medicine, he used the other to guide him toward the edge of the bed.

"A' Xu, what's wrong?"

Shang Yanxiao pulled the covers back over Bai Xu and picked up the warm towel he had prepared nearby to wipe away the cold sweat.

Bai Xu said nothing, his eyes still full of lingering fright.

Shang Yanxiao had no choice but to explain gently, "You and Queyan both ran fevers in the second half of the night. I just went to prepare your medicine."

"What time is it?"

"Not yet five."

Shang Yanxiao reached over and felt his forehead again, his expression growing more worried, "Why is it still so hot? Are you feeling unwell? Here, take the medicine first. If the fever still hasn't broken by daylight, we'll go get a shot."

"......"

Bai Xu had no interest in the medicine at all. He simply stared at Shang Yanxiao before him without moving.

Shang Yanxiao noticed the excessive alarm in his lover's eyes and set the cup of medicine back down, pulling him close and wrapping his arms around him, "What's wrong? Did you have another nightmare?"

"From the moment we learned of Grandfather's passing, I've actually felt that something was off with your emotions."

What Bai Xu was holding back in his eyes was the grief of losing someone dear—but beyond that, there was also a bewilderment, a helplessness, and a fear that Shang Yanxiao could not quite read.

Bai Xu let his entire weight sink into Shang Yanxiao's embrace. Resting against his shoulder, he felt the wild, unsteady pounding of his own heart, and the will to keep anything hidden left him entirely.

"Shang Yanxiao, I..."

Was a little scared.

The words he could not bring himself to say were nonetheless received by Shang Yanxiao with quiet understanding, "What are you afraid of?"

"......"

Even though he did not know where to begin, Bai Xu plunged in anyway, "Yanxiao, I, I want to tell you something. About myself."

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