Chapter 104

Chapter 104

The VIP lounge in the hospital.

He grabbed Qi Yanyu’s chin, forcing him to look up.

The suffocating pressure made Qi Yanyu feel like he couldn’t breathe.

Qi Muyao said to him, “Everyone’s been letting you get away with things. Do you realize that?”

Qi Yanyu didn’t struggle. He closed his eyes. “Go ahead, call the cops. It was me.”

Qi Muyao remained calm, watching his pale, pretty face, observing his breathing:

“I know what you’re thinking,”

“You’re holding onto resentment,”

“But Shaoli’s back. You should treat him better.”

“That’s all I’m asking from you.”

—Qi Muyao pressed gently.

Qi Yanyu didn’t argue or agree.

Qi Muyao said, “Go apologize to Shaoli.”

Qi Yanyu stayed silent, simply lowering his eyelids. “You’re asking too much.”

Qi Muyao smiled faintly, taking that as agreement.

His knuckles lightly brushed Qi Yanyu’s chin and face. “Have you been eating at all? Why do you look so pale? Take the day off—go home and sleep.”

Later maybe.”

Qi Yanyu and Qi Muyao went downstairs to eat, bumping into Gu Jinglan and Liu Mengyue in the elevator.

Liu Mengyue called out cheerfully. By now, the entire hospital knew about Dr. Hero Qi.

“Dr. Hero, how’s the hand?” she smiled at him.

Qi Muyao, clueless about what happened, turned to Qi Yanyu. “What happened to your hand?”

Inside the elevator, Qi Yanyu gave a blank look at the descending floors. He pressed one of the buttons and said, “Forgot something.” He stepped out of the elevator, waiting outside the doors for the next one going up.

Qi Muyao followed him out, staying with Qi Yanyu as they waited for the next elevator going up.

Gu Jinglan and Liu Mengyue remained inside. Gu Jinglan glanced at the descending floors and, just like Qi Yanyu, quickly pressed the button to open the doors. “You go on ahead. I forgot something too.”

Gu Jinglan ditched the elevator, heading straight for the staircase next to it.

He returned to the floor where Qi Yanyu had exited.

When he arrived, he saw Qi Yanyu collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, blood trickling from his mouth. Qi Muyao stood over him, glaring down coldly.

—

These past few days, Qi Yanyu had been pulling overtime. One of his patients was Qi Xizhi.

He didn’t want to go for daily rounds, so he didn’t visit that ward until nightfall.

In the evening, Qi Yuanhan told him that his family had cooked some porridge and offered him a portion, urging him to eat and then go home early to rest.

He joked that this "doctor hero" ought to quit playing tough.

Qi Yanyu went downstairs and wandered into the fountain garden.

He imagined Gu Jinglan appearing behind him, asking if he’d eaten the porridge, whether it tasted good, and then embracing him.

But none of that happened—only a fragmented silver moon hung on the treetops.

Qi Yanyu made a wish at the fountain, hoping for no afterlife, no third novel.

The next morning, Qi Yanyu joined the surgical team for observation. After the operation, the group of doctors returned to their department to grab their charts and stethoscopes for rounds.

Qi Shaoli was waiting at the entrance of their department, but Qi Yanyu deliberately ignored his brother.

Qi Shaoli, however, asked in front of all the doctors, “Do you have time?”

Qi Yanyu responded coldly, “No, I’m busy.” Qi Muyao had told him not to provoke Qi Shaoli. He hadn’t agreed, but he hadn’t refused either.

Amid the bustling doctors preparing for rounds, Qi Shaoli said to him, “You ruined Jiang Tiyan.”

Qi Yanyu was even colder than the others, grabbing his charts and sanitizer.

Qi Shaoli lowered his voice, “How about this? Come out with me and talk. I promise Qi Xizhi will agree to transfer hospitals.”

At this, Qi Yanyu flinched slightly. He turned to his supervising teacher, Dr. Lei: “I need to take a quick break. I’ll be back later.”

Who could say no to the doctor hero? Lei Chunsheng allowed it.

Qi Yanyu got into Qi Shaoli’s car. They left the hospital and drove to the outskirts, arriving at an abandoned factory.

Qi Yanyu wasn’t the least bit surprised. He just stared at the overgrown greenery outside, occasionally glancing at the rusted metal scraps by his feet.

Qi Shaoli noticed his spaced-out demeanor—no tension, no guard up at all.

Had he really checked out this thoroughly? Qi Shaoli smirked, then dropped the act and asked seriously, “Do you want to go to the UK? I’ll take you away, away from Qi Muyao.”

The dazed man barely seemed to hear him. He lifted his eyes, as if he hadn’t understood.

Qi Shaoli repeated with fake sincerity, “I’ll take you away. I’ll take you to the UK, far from here, far from Qi Muyao. Okay?”

Qi Yanyu heard it clearly, but his expression remained empty—no surprise, no skepticism, no appreciation.

Like a dead man.

Not a flicker of life in his expression.

Qi Shaoli smiled, as if expecting this reaction. He pushed further, “Jiang Tiyan once wanted to take you away from here, didn’t he?”

Qi Yanyu didn’t answer, his gaze drifting from his feet into the distance.

“Qi Muyao broke one of Jiang Tiyan’s legs, and then his father broke the other. You accused him of blackmailing you, so why was he still foolishly trying to plan a free life for you?” Qi Shaoli’s lips curled. He had already seen through the rot at this man’s core.

“He could’ve enjoyed another three to five years as a free man, a star, but you ruined it all.”

Finally, something twitched on Qi Yanyu’s face—a bleak smile—as he spat out two words: “Serves him right.”

"Serves you right for being nosy and full of yourself," Qi Yanyu sneered.

Someone punched Qi Yanyu in the face, and he froze for a moment, ready to retaliate.

But Qi Shaoli’s words beat him to the punch: "Aren’t you the one playing the victim, acting like the whole world owes you?"

Qi Yanyu gave a slight nod before quickly finding himself at a disadvantage.

His hand was injured—he couldn’t put up a fight.

Qi Shaoli watched him but had no intention of physically confronting him further. "Big brother only humors your little soap opera when he's in a good mood. Otherwise, who'd waste time on you?"

Qi Yanyu fired back, "You, of all people. My life is already a failure, yet you—donating schools and getting into Cambridge with your bright future and prestigious degree—why do you keep looking for attention from someone like me?"

"If you were truly successful and confident, why come here chasing some sense of victory?" Qi Yanyu’s words hit a raw nerve, each syllable cutting deep into Qi Shaoli.

Qi Shaoli, furious, simply laughed, putting on a calm front. "Everything I do is for our family."

"You're useless to us. You’re worth less than the illegitimate child, Qi Xizhi." Qi Shaoli continued.

Qi Yanyu’s expression faltered.

"Without you, we could live better, happier lives. No more shame because of you, no more dropping everything over every little crisis involving you," Qi Shaoli said bluntly, his words cutting to the bone.

"No more unnecessary guilt or self-doubt because of you, no more damaging our relationships for your sake." His words were no less poisonous than Qi Yanyu’s earlier ones.

"Our family?" Qi Yanyu barked out a laugh.

"If you died, the four of us brothers could finally be happy," Qi Shaoli said, his once innocent deer eyes now as cold as a snake’s.

Qi Yanyu’s heart froze halfway. After a pause, he asked, "Am I not your family?"

"No. We don't have someone as selfish as you in our family. With you around, there will never be peace." Qi Shaoli spoke slowly, each word cutting like glass, eating at his bones.

Qi Yanyu had always felt that the three of them and the outsider Qi Xizhi seemed more like a family—but it was just his own assumption. To hear it confirmed by his own blood? Nothing could have broken him more completely.

His face went ghost-white as he asked Qi Shaoli, "Since when have you felt this way?"

Had Qi Xizhi tricked him? It must be so. Otherwise, his own brother wouldn’t say such things—wouldn’t hate him like this.

"Ever since you were a kid, rebelling constantly, always trying to steal big brother and second brother’s attention—that’s when I started hating you."

Qi Yanyu tried to laugh bitterly. "Why does my pain look like attention-seeking to you? Can’t I just want some care?"

Qi Shaoli’s voice was icy. "If you died, everything would be better."

Qi Yanyu’s heart stopped beating, as if frozen.

Finally, he saw Qi Shaoli pull out a folding knife. Bathed in the warm sunlight pouring through the broken window, Qi Shaoli gently asked, "Do it yourself, or do I have to help you even with dying?"

"You've always wanted to die, haven’t you? I’m making your dream come true. Aren’t you happy?"

"If you die, everyone in the Qi family will thank you. Without you, we can finally live peaceful, happy lives."

Pinned down, Qi Yanyu stared at the glinting blade. In the sunlight, the reflection on the polished edge showed Qi Shaoli’s baby-faced features.

Just then, a blaring ringtone shattered the silence, echoing across the empty second floor of the abandoned factory.

Qi Shaoli glanced sideways at the phone lying on the concrete floor—Qi Muyao was calling.

He smirked smugly, dropped the knife, and said, "You don’t really want to die. You’re just having a meltdown, throwing a fit, wanting us all to care, to drop everything for you. That’s all it takes to satisfy your pathetic neediness."

Qi Yanyu reached for the knife, but Qi Shaoli anticipated the move. Deliberately stepping forward, he grabbed Qi Yanyu’s hand and turned the blade on himself.

Bleeding from the gut, Qi Shaoli calmly smiled at him. "Love acting so much? Then I’ll give you a performance."