Chapter 69

**Chapter 69**

Qi Yanyu collapsed like a falling bird. Qi Muyao frantically caught him, lifting his limp face with one hand. "Xiao Yu?"

The man's lashes drooped like delicate shadows lining his cheeks. Qi Muyao instinctively reached for Qi Yanyu’s hand, only to feel it slip limply from the crumpled fabric clutched over his chest.

"To the hospital, now!"

Qi Muyao pulled him into his arms, unable to tell whether Qi Yanyu was suffering a heart attack or something else. His hands scrambled through his own pockets and bag, searching for the emergency nitroglycerin.

At the same time, he undid Qi Yanyu’s clothes, tilting his head against his shoulder, parting his lips to check for obstructions in his throat.

Only streaks of bloody froth lingered at the corners of his mouth and neck. Qi Muyao wiped them away before gently easing his lips open again, placing the nitroglycerin under his tongue. He asked the unconscious man, "Is it your heart? Xiao Yu?"

Qi Muyao had once known nothing about heart disease, considering it a distant affliction. But after Qi Yanyu’s cardiac arrest and diagnosis, he had studied it so thoroughly that his knowledge rivaled that of a cardiologist.

"Don’t scare me like this..."

Ever since Qi Yanyu had teetered on the brink of death, lying comatose for a week, Qi Muyao had been on the verge of madness.

The silent weight of Qi Yanyu’s head rested against his shoulder. He continuously massaged Qi Yanyu’s fingers and palms while urging the driver, "Faster, faster! Go faster!"

*I’m losing him...* He groaned in agony. He couldn't lose Qi Yanyu...

The driver had already floored the accelerator, hazard lights flashing.

They reached the hospital moments later, where medical staff stood ready at the curb. The car pulled up sharply, and Qi Muyao carried Qi Yanyu out, laying him on the stretcher. "Save him, please."

In the hallway outside the emergency room, Qi Muyao’s face was ashen. His arms hung slack as he struggled to control his breathing. Had something he said caused this? Was there a particular thing he had done?

What if Qi Yanyu’s condition was so volatile it could strike at any moment?

He couldn’t bear facing another cardiac arrest... He should have kept Qi Yanyu at home to recover, ensured he completed all preoperative exams, eliminated this ever-present risk of sudden death.

He couldn’t keep indulging Qi Yanyu’s whims. Just because Qi Yanyu refused checkups didn’t mean he should skip them—that’s not how this works.

A pampered songbird, once stripped of human protection, could easily perish on its flight to the forest.

He shouldn’t have indulged Qi Yanyu. His earlier strictness had been the right approach.

Because the risk of losing Qi Yanyu was unbearable. He couldn’t endure that pain. So he had to take charge, to manage every detail of Qi Yanyu’s care.

Qi Muyao stared fixedly at the flickering red light above the emergency room, its haze twisting into specters before his eyes.

If these phantoms dared harm his Xiao Yu, he would throttle every red phantom, pay any price—so long as Qi Yanyu lived, safe and sound.

When Jiang Tiyan arrived from Kan Medical University, he saw Qi Muyao alone under the ER’s glow. Despite his youth, height, and striking looks, he now resembled a hunched figure weighed by despair.

Jiang Tiyan didn’t greet him. Qi Muyao was in no state to respond.

Instead, Jiang Tiyan stood by the operating room door, his face grim, recalling Gu Jinglan’s recent confession—that he was dating his childhood friend Qi Yanyu.

He had asked Gu Jinglan, "And? How long has this been going on?"

Gu Jinglan replied calmly, "Just a week."

Jiang Tiyan scoffed. "A week? You do know how fast Qi’s heir cycles through lovers?"

"And you," Gu Jinglan was even more curious about his relationship with Qi Yanyu. His constant appearances were clearly upsetting Qi Yanyu—what gave him the right? Who was he, anyway? "Who are you? What's your connection to Qi Yanyu? Friends? Classmates?"

Jiang Tiyan, caught off guard by Gu Jinglan’s sudden counterattack, instantly lost the moral high ground. He hesitated for a moment before replying in his usual indifferent tone, as casual as drinking water, "I'm his boyfriend."

The word "boyfriend" echoed in Gu Jinglan’s ears, piercing his heart like a radioactive spike.

"Qi Yanyu said he was single," Gu Jinglan tried to cling to this flimsy bit of "evidence" in an attempt to regain control. But truthfully, Qi Yanyu had never actually told him that outright either.

"He tells that to every guy," Jiang Tiyan reclaimed the upper hand, determined to get rid of Gu Jinglan before he ruined Qi Yanyu’s life. "I’m usually tied up with filming and barely see him, so he brings in random guys just to mess with me and get my attention."

"Don’t let Qi Yanyu play you," Jiang Tiyan added, his tone almost kindly, as if Qi Yanyu constantly provoking him with other men was just another quirky part of their relationship.

"I only believe what Qi Yanyu says," Gu Jinglan replied calmly once again.

Jiang Tiyan faltered slightly but quickly recovered with a cold laugh. "Anyone with half a brain would get the hint."

"You’re just an extra in mine and Qi Yanyu’s game," Jiang Tiyan turned icy again. "If I catch you bothering him again, don’t blame me for handling a homewrecker." His voice carried arrogant warning.

Jiang Tiyan recalled how he had manipulated and intimidated Gu Jinglan, mentally replaying every reaction on Gu Jinglan’s face.

Now that he thought back on it, Gu Jinglan had looked somewhat disdainful—like he didn’t buy it at all.

But at this point, Jiang Tiyan didn’t care whether this nobody believed him or not. He knew full well that someone like Gu Jinglan could never give Qi Yanyu the kind of quality life or stable future he deserved.

Qi Yanyu was pushing Qi Muyao’s buttons, playing a dangerous game. Sooner or later, he’d end up beaten stupid or wrecked for good.

He also remembered watching Gu Jinglan’s face for cracks after he’d warned him about "handling a homewrecker"—hoping to see some sign of breaking.

"If you were really his boyfriend, you would’ve told me from the start. Why wait until now?" Gu Jinglan had smirked coldly. "Didn’t it bother you even a little the last few times you saw me with Qi Yanyu?"

"...That was because we were fighting," Jiang Tiyan stubbornly tried to scrounge up some proof of their "relationship." Finally, he found a fan-captured screenshot from a live stream showing him holding Qi Yanyu, zooming in and showing it to Gu Jinglan.

He also pulled out paparazzi photos of him carrying Qi Yanyu out of an entertainment venue.

"If you still refuse to wake up, then all I can say is, dude, you're seriously into cuckolding," Jiang Tiyan sneered, eager to see Gu Jinglan’s expression shift.

"Did he break up with you?" Gu Jinglan asked coolly. The way Jiang Tiyan acted was textbook ex-boyfriend material. He wasn’t sure if they were still dating or already broken up.

Hearing Gu Jinglan’s response, which seemed to confirm his story, Jiang Tiyan grew even more excited, anticipating the moment when Gu Jinglan would finally crack. "We never broke up."

Gu Jinglan scoffed. "You must be exhausted flying all the way here from your celebrity world to Kanbei City. You should call it a night."

"Are you really this clueless?" Jiang Tiyan gritted his teeth slightly.

"That’s between him and me," Gu Jinglan said coldly.

"You’re really full of yourself," Jiang Tiyan shot back, his eyes darkening. "You’re just the outsider here. If we’re talking about 'between two people,' that can only mean me and him!" For a second, he almost believed his own lie.

But seeing Gu Jinglan completely unfazed made Jiang Tiyan wonder where he had slipped up.

Or worse—was it possible that Gu Jinglan and Qi Yanyu’s bond was unshakable?

Impossible. Just some nobody. How solid could some fling like this be?

Jiang Tiyan was the one who noticed Qi Yanyu’s poor health and informed his family. What had this pretty boy ever done?

Snapping out of it, he saw the emergency room light switch from red to green. Qi Muyao’s expression mirrored the change—on the verge of snapping.

When the doctor stepped out to update Qi Muyao, his expression stayed dark. "Last time, you brought up his valve replacement surgery—how'd it go?"

Dr. Liu, Qi Yanyu's attending physician, said, "Mr. Qi, let's talk in private."

Qi Yanyu had been moved to a VIP ward after being out of danger, and Jiang Tiyan followed him into the room.

His dark eyes lowered as he glanced at the vital signs monitor before looking back at the unconscious man on the bed—his face pale, almost exactly as it had appeared during that video call with fans.

Jiang Tiyan scoffed. Where was Qi Yanyu’s handsome boyfriend now? Wasn’t it just his family and *him* who stayed by his side?

He walked over and naturally positioned himself closest to Qi Yanyu, observing his unconscious form in the hospital bed.

Eyes closed, one hand rested at the edge of the blanket, revealing the IV needle on the back of his hand. His left hand was beneath the covers, and Jiang Tiyan slid his own hand under, lightly grasping Qi Yanyu’s.

It was still faintly warm, but limp, yielding to his touch.

His fingertips traced Qi Yanyu’s palm, brushing over an abnormally smooth spot. Jiang Tiyan pulled Qi Yanyu’s hand from under the blanket to examine it—a scar left behind after the recent removal of bandages.

This guy really scars easily. Jiang Tiyan’s fingers gently worked at Qi Yanyu’s palm, knuckles, and the back of his hand.

Similarly, on the back of Qi Yanyu’s hand, he felt another small, smooth line. Turning it over, he saw a pale pink scar.

How could anyone be this foolish?

Qi Muyao had treated him this badly—why didn’t he even think of escaping?

Had his brain been trained like a dog’s?

Even if he couldn’t escape, couldn’t he scream for help? Couldn’t he just open his mouth and ask someone for assistance?

Jiang Tiyan lowered his gaze, his eyes clouded as they lingered on Qi Yanyu’s palm, arm, face, and the hair at his forehead.

Maybe one day Qi Muyao would work him to death, and he’d still forget the instinct to beg for mercy.

His fingertips lightly touched a faded pink mark near Qi Yanyu’s jawline—an old stain he hadn’t washed off—and anger flared, making him withdraw his hand. If Qi Yanyu woke up, he’d shake some sense into him.

But looking at that frail, unconscious face, a flicker of pity stirred in Jiang Tiyan’s heart.

In this world, no one else understood this guy’s plight, felt sorry for him—no one else would even think of saving such a stupid, tragic fool like he did.

"Beg me. Why won’t you beg me?"

Jiang Tiyan’s eyes turned cold as he bit back his anger.

His hand rhythmically massaged Qi Yanyu’s unconscious fingers, his gaze never leaving that ghostly pale face as he continued speaking to the sleeping man:

"Beg me, and I’ll help you. Why won’t you ask for help?"

"How can anyone in this world be as stupid as you?"

As he spoke, it almost seemed as if the one consumed by misery wasn’t Qi Yanyu—but himself.

The harsh fluorescent light poured over the bed like a dazzling chandelier, like the Milky Way cascading over the figure lying there.

Qi Yanyu should have lived a beautiful life—if only he had chosen to.

He should have shone brilliantly, not chosen to wallow in filth.

Bitter words slipped through Jiang Tiyan’s clenched teeth as he gazed down at Qi Yanyu’s snow-like sleeping face, whispering softly:

"Just say you want to escape Qi Muyao, and I’ll take you away from here."

"All you have to do is ask." "Qi Yanyu."