Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Ning Yichu and He Shixia waited for the elevator, got in, and pressed the button for the underground parking garage.

Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a hand suddenly and dangerously jammed into the gap, grabbing one side of the door. The doors, sensing the obstruction, slid open again.

Ning Yichu and He Shixia looked out to see a young man wearing a baseball cap walk in, one hand in his pocket, his forehead beaded with sweat. He seemed to be in a rush, having risked getting his hand caught just to catch this ride. Now, standing in front of the buttons, he repeatedly and forcefully hammered on the door close button.

Since the man stood with his back to Ning Yichu and He Shixia, they couldn't see his expression, only his actions, which indicated he hadn't selected another floor.

Although the man's state seemed somewhat unusual, hurried and tense people weren't uncommon in hospitals, so Ning Yichu and He Shixia weren't particularly wary.

Since it was a weekday afternoon, the elevator descended without stopping, going straight down to the underground parking level.

As the doors opened, the man in the baseball cap, still with one hand in his pocket, walked out first, acting as if nothing was amiss.

Ning Yichu and He Shixia followed a step behind, but before they had even stepped out, they realized they were in danger—the man had barely taken a few steps forward when he suddenly, without warning, spun around and rushed back. Simultaneously, he pulled his hand from his pocket, revealing a folding knife. With a flick, the sharp blade snapped open, casting an urgent, reflected light off the polished elevator walls.

Caught off guard, Ning Yichu and He Shixia were also moving forward, closing the distance rapidly. Judging by the direction of the man's thrust, his target was clearly Ning Yichu!

Ning Yichu recoiled to dodge, but the elevator car was tiny, offering little space to evade. Seeing this, He Shixia instinctively moved to shield Ning Yichu, desperately kicking out at the attacker.

The kick landed, but the knife was already there. The man lunged forward recklessly, and the blade plunged deeply into He Shixia's abdomen without restraint. As the man was kicked back, the knife was pulled out. Vivid red blood quickly began to flow from the wound, soaking through the torn fabric of his clothes. He Shixia's face instantly paled considerably.

Ning Yichu, shielded completely behind him, couldn't see his expression but heard He Shixia's muffled grunt of pain upon being stabbed, followed soon by the sound of blood droplets hitting the elevator floor...

"He Shixia..." Ning Yichu's hand trembled slightly.

"It's okay, A Ning, don't be afraid," He Shixia said, trying to reassure him, forcing himself to temporarily ignore the abdominal wound as he took a few steps forward.

The assailant had been kicked back to the elevator entrance and was now bracing against the door to stand up, the bloodied folding knife still tightly gripped in his hand. He Shixia needed to subdue him before he could get up.

The man, one hand clutching where he'd been kicked, was halfway up when He Shixia kicked him down again, sending him sliding further out of the elevator.

But He Shixia's movements were too forceful, causing his abdominal wound to tear further. He bled more heavily. Ning Yichu watched as the previously dripping blood became an almost continuous stream. The coppery scent of blood grew stronger, and Ning Yichu's already pale face lost even more color.

Seeing He Shixia lean over to try and control the man's hand and wrest the knife away, Ning Yichu instinctively took two steps forward, his foot landing in He Shixia's blood. This jolted him back to awareness. He quickly reached for the buttons beside the elevator door and hit the alarm button.

"I'll kill you! Kill you all! Ning Yichu!" the man screamed, clinging desperately to the knife, slashing wildly. The blade sliced across He Shixia's wrist, opening another wound that immediately began to seep blood, soon making his hand slippery.

Losing blood so fast made He Shixia dizzy and lightheaded. But concerned for Ning Yichu behind him, he didn't let up. If he couldn't get the knife immediately, he needed to drag the man completely away from the elevator entrance so the doors could close, ensuring Ning Yichu's safety.

"A Ning... you go first..." He Shixia grunted, pulling the man outward, no longer caring about the knife's path as long as it wasn't aimed at Ning Yichu.

But just as the man's leg was still partly inside the elevator, He Shixia caught a glimpse in his peripheral vision of Ning Yichu stepping out of the elevator. "...A Ning!"

While still inside, Ning Yichu had spotted several fire extinguishers placed in the corner of the elevator lobby outside.

He hurried over, grabbed one, and returned to where He Shixia and the man were struggling. Taking aim, he swung the extinguisher down hard onto the attacker.

The man cried out in genuine pain, his grip loosening. The folding knife clattered to the ground. Seeing the man still trying to move, Ning Yichu quickly struck again. This time, the man fell unconscious.

He Shixia, his face ghastly pale, let out a shaky breath of relief. Ning Yichu set the extinguisher down, first picking up the folding knife as a precaution, then turned his attention to He Shixia.

It was late autumn, bordering on early winter, and He Shixia's clothes weren't thin, yet a large patch of blood had already soaked through the fabric over his abdomen. Blood was still beading from the wound on his wrist, his entire left hand looking as if it had been dipped in blood—a horrifying sight.

Facing this situation for the first time, Ning Yichu's voice and hands trembled slightly. "...It's okay... we're in a hospital..."

He Shixia wanted to reassure him, but as he tried to stand, his strength failed him, and he slumped back down, managing only a faint whisper: "A Ning..."

"He Shixia!" Ning Yichu felt like he couldn't breathe. He hurriedly pressed the emergency button inside the elevator again, only then noticing that the emergency intercom was already connected and hadn't disconnected.

The hospital staff on the other end sounded tense: "We just saw the situation on the monitors! Emergency personnel are already on their way down! Don't worry, they'll be there soon! Very soon!"

Ning Yichu then knelt beside He Shixia. Seeing his eyes half-closed, Ning Yichu couldn't help but reach out with trembling fingers to check his breathing.

Sensing Ning Yichu's distress, He Shixia forced his eyes open, offering a weak smile, his voice faint. "It's okay... the wicked live a thousand years... Actually, dying like this... is luckier than last time. Last time, I could only look at your photo... This time... I actually get to see you alive..."

In his previous life, He Shixia had died from excessive blood loss after being stabbed, unable to get help. Back then, Ning Zeshu's secret admirer had stabbed him and taken his phone to prevent him from calling for help. He Shixia had breathed his last leaning against Ning Yichu's tombstone, his final sight being Ning Yichu's memorial portrait.

Ning Yichu gritted his teeth. "You are indeed much luckier this time. We're in a hospital; you won't die... Don't you dare die. Do you want me to remember you and feel disgusted by this cause of death forever?"

He Shixia managed another faint smile. "Okay... won't die... A Ning, don't cry..."

Ning Yichu blinked, only then realizing tears were streaming down his face.

He Shixia was barely propped up against the wall beside the elevator, almost sliding down to lie on the floor. Unconsciously, Ning Yichu had shifted from kneeling to sitting beside him, his clothes and hands stained with He Shixia's blood.

A teardrop rolled down Ning Yichu's cheek and fell onto He Shixia's face.

He Shixia wanted to look at Ning Yichu one more time, but his eyelids were unbearably heavy. With a final effort, he whispered, "A Ning..."

Then he lost consciousness.

"He Shixia..."

Ning Yichu thought, he seemed to have grown somewhat accustomed to He Shixia always being by his side, like a shadow.

Even though the guy could be really annoying sometimes.

...

Hospital staff quickly arrived at the parking lot elevator lobby and rushed He Shixia to the operating room. Seeing the blood on Ning Yichu, they urgently asked if he was injured. Even though Ning Yichu said he wasn't, his complexion was so deathly pale that a nurse insisted on checking him over. Only after confirming he was unharmed did they let him go wait outside the operating room.

As for the assailant, he was subdued by hospital security, and the police were called.

During this time, other patients and visitors passed through the hospital. Combined with the fact that He Shixia being wheeled to surgery couldn't be hidden from view, and Ning Yichu following alongside covered in blood, news of the incident spread quickly.

Amidst the storm of online discussion, He Weian and Tang Qingshan hurried to the hospital. Wen Jin, Xuan Luo, and Wen Shen, having seen the news, also arrived uninvited.

By the time the latter three reached the hospital, He Shixia was already out of surgery. Although his injuries were serious and he had lost a lot of blood, fortunately, the resuscitation was timely, and he was not in life-threatening danger, though he would need time to recover.

Only then did Ning Yichu finally relax. He took a couple of steps toward the patient rooms, then his body went limp, and he fainted.

"Yichu!"

"Xiao Chu!"

When Ning Yichu woke up, the blood-stained outer clothes he had been wearing had been removed by a nurse, and the blood on his hands had been cleaned. Feeling weary, he turned his head slightly and saw He Shixia in the adjacent hospital bed, wearing a patient gown.

To his surprise, He Shixia, though lying pale-faced in bed receiving an IV drip and unable to move, had actually woken up before him.

"A Ning," He Shixia said softly upon seeing Ning Yichu open his eyes, offering a faint smile.

Ning Yichu blinked, remaining silent for a long moment.

Seeing this, He Shixia grew concerned. "A Ning, are you okay?"

Ning Yichu slowly sat up. "When did you wake up? How long have I been asleep?"

"I woke up about three hours ago. It happened yesterday afternoon, and it's already the morning of the next day." He Shixia tried to appear more energetic and teased Ning Yichu, "Did I scare you yesterday, covered in all that blood? What if you have nightmares whenever you see me from now on? You'd be even less likely to want to stick around."

Ning Yichu replied nonchalantly, "I wouldn't worry too much... A person can't be so proud they'd turn down money."

He Shixia paused slightly.

Looking at Ning Yichu's current expression, he worried he was just being presumptuous, so he asked softly, needing confirmation, "...A Ning?"

Ning Yichu tilted his head. "You said you'd increase my money tenfold in three years. Let's round it up to two hundred million. You're on the hook for it if even a single cent is missing."

In that moment, He Shixia suddenly felt he didn't need to pretend to be energetic anymore—he genuinely was. A rush of energy spread from his heart to every limb. If he wasn't stuck in bed right now, he felt like he could pick Ning Yichu up and run a marathon to vent his soaring emotions.

"Great!" He Shixia said cheerfully.

He looked at Ning Yichu, immediately seizing the moment. "A Ning... Ouch, I have a hole in my stomach and can't move. Can you come over and give me a kiss?"

Ning Yichu: "..."

He was at a loss for words for a second, then said as he got out of bed, "Honestly, 'a hole in my stomach,' Film Emperor He? Good thing you're not a screenwriter. With your phrasing skills, you'd drive all the audience away."

He Shixia watched Ning Yichu move with anticipation, only to see him just go pour a glass of water, return to the bedside, and sit down to drink slowly.

He Shixia fell silent for a moment, then decided to play weak. "A Ning..."

Ning Yichu held the water glass and looked at him, leisurely saying, "Behave yourself."

He Shixia wanted to plead his case further, but at that moment, the hospital room door was pushed open. He Weian, Tang Qingshan, Wen Shen, Wen Jin, and Xuan Luo entered together—all five of them.

They knew He Shixia was awake but didn't realize Ning Yichu was also awake, so they came in without knocking, trying to be quiet, until they saw Ning Yichu sitting up.

Wen Jin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Yichu, we brought some food. You slept through most of the day—you must be hungry. Do you want something to eat?"

"Just set it down. If they're hungry, they'll figure it out," He Weian said, then got straight to the point. "Since you're both awake and there's no life-threatening danger, let's skip the sentimental talk. After the assailant was arrested yesterday, he initially refused to confess. But the police checked the hospital surveillance and found he'd been lurking around the hospital for several days, always around Ning Zeshu's ward. Before attacking you yesterday, he first stopped outside Ning Zeshu's ward before chasing after you..."

Over this period, the police had become familiar with the Ning family's drama. After uncovering this part, it was reasonable to suspect the incident might be related to Ning Zeshu—or even that Ning Zeshu might have instigated the attack.

Hearing this speculation, Ning Yichu calmly interjected, "It probably has nothing to do with Ning Zeshu. Compared to the other Ning family members, he's relatively less ruthless—or perhaps less bold. He wouldn't cross the line into illegal activities; at most, he'd stir up trouble within legal boundaries."

He Shixia felt a twinge of jealousy and initially wanted to say, "A Ning seems to know Ning Zeshu quite well." But before speaking, it rang a bell—he'd said something similar during the show recording, and Ning Yichu had shot back, "If you'd been forced to compare yourself to someone for over a decade, you'd understand them too." Of course, back then, Ning Yichu was just brushing him off and wasn't actually offended by He Shixia's comment.

But now that He Shixia remembered, he didn't want to repeat the same jealous remark, so he bit back the comment and simply looked at Ning Yichu with a pleading, hopeful look.

Ning Yichu glanced at him and smiled faintly.

He Weian ignored the look that passed between them and continued, "The police also said that although Fang Nan—that's the guy from yesterday—had been loitering near Ning Zeshu's ward, he always stayed out of sight and hadn't interacted with Ning Zeshu. So while they suspected Ning Zeshu, it was just part of the normal investigation process."

However, after Fang Nan learned the police suspected Ning Zeshu, he abandoned his earlier silence and confessed everything.

Fang Nan said he indeed wanted to kill Ning Yichu for Ning Zeshu's sake, but Ning Zeshu hadn't instructed him to do it. In fact, Ning Zeshu probably didn't even remember him, as they were merely university acquaintances who had crossed paths a few times.

According to Fang Nan, he was a student athlete in martial arts with an introverted personality. Apart from being skilled in martial arts and sanda, he was poor in both academics and social interactions. During university, he had few friends. He met Ning Zeshu by chance at a school event. Ning Zeshu's innocent and lively nature made Fang Nan develop feelings for him, but feeling unworthy, he kept his affection secret.

Recently, after seeing the online abuse directed at Ning Zeshu, Fang Nan felt indignant on his behalf, believing Ning Zeshu had been wronged. When he learned about Ning Zeshu's car accident, he wanted to visit him but was too timid to actually appear before Ning Zeshu.

Yesterday morning, when the old woman stabbed Ning Zeshu, Fang Nan was watching from a nearby corner. If he had acted promptly, he could have stopped the old woman and saved Ning Zeshu. But Fang Nan hesitated because he didn't dare to approach Ning Zeshu, so Ning Zeshu ended up getting stabbed.

Consumed by guilt, Fang Nan decided to buy a knife for Ning Zeshu for self-defense. When he returned to the floor where Ning Zeshu's ward was located, he saw Ning Yichu and He Shixia entering Ning Zeshu's room.

Since the ward door was left open and both Ning Yichu and He Shixia stood near the entrance without moving further inside, Fang Nan overheard the entire conversation between Ning Yichu and Ning Zeshu.

After Ning Yichu and He Shixia left, Fang Nan listened to Ning Zeshu's crying from outside and suddenly felt a surge of "heroic" spirit. He decided to seek justice for Ning Zeshu and reclaim everything he had lost—Fang Nan firmly believed Ning Yichu was the root cause of Ning Zeshu's current predicament. Killing Ning Yichu would vent Ning Zeshu's anger, and with Ning Yichu dead, perhaps the Ning family's assets would return to Ning Zeshu.

But even after chasing them into the elevator, Fang Nan hesitated with the knife in hand. It wasn't until they were about to exit the elevator that Fang Nan decided he couldn't be cowardly anymore and launched his attack.

After hearing the whole story, He Shixia said to Ning Yichu, "No wonder he was so hard to subdue—he studied martial arts and sanda. Plus, he suddenly pulled out the knife, and the elevator was too cramped to dodge properly. That's how he managed to land the first strike, which made me lose some strength..."

Ning Yichu said helplessly, "Alright, I get it—it's not that you're weak."

He Shixia grinned. "And thankfully, A Ning, you acted decisively and knocked him out with the fire extinguisher. Otherwise, if I had kept fighting him, who knows what might have happened? In that sense, you're my lifesaver. I really should offer myself in return."

Ning Yichu: "..."

The five others still in the room: "..."

He Weian coughed. "So you're not planning to divorce anymore?"

He Shixia said cheerfully, "A Ning has decided to give me another chance."

Ning Yichu smiled slightly.

The five of them didn't linger in the room any longer, not wanting to disturb their rest or their flirtatious banter.

"No," He Shixia said without hesitation. "Given your past experiences, if you were reborn with so much leverage to crush them from the start, yet you still chose to proceed step by step instead of recklessly exposing everything at once—that already shows remarkable composure and caution, far beyond what most people could manage. If it were me, I wouldn't have been able to wait even a second longer. The Ning family's arrogance stems from conceit and disdain for others. Your case was a rare oversight—completely different."

Ning Yichu curved his lips into a smile, slowly got up, walked to He Shixia's bedside, leaned down to look at him, the small red mole at the corner of his eye faintly visible in his smile.

He Shixia blinked. "A Ning, are you going to kiss me?"

Ning Yichu hummed. "Since you're so sweet and know how to make me happy..."

Ning Yichu kissed He Shixia's lips.

He Shixia only wished he weren't half-paralyzed right now.

...

He Shixia had a strong physical foundation, but this injury was too severe. Plus, Ning Yichu wanted him fully recovered before leaving the hospital so they could move into their new home immediately afterward. Thus, He Shixia stayed in the hospital for over a month, not fully recovering until late December when he was discharged.

It worked out perfectly—they could move during the transition between the old and new years, marking a fresh start.

They didn't ask He Weian or the others for help with the move, nor did they accept housewarming gifts from the Wen or Xuan families. They didn't invite anyone to see their new home.

Choosing a rare sunny winter day, Ning Yichu and He Shixia moved into their new residence.

At the entrance inside the courtyard, He Shixia ceremoniously hung a wooden schedule board and wrote down his plans for the next three years: "Accompany A Ning, earn two hundred million."

Ning Yichu laughed heartily and shared his own plans for the new year: "Let me think... I want to pick a pet dog to raise, assemble a reliable professional management team for Kangning so I can be a hands-off boss, get my driver's license, and I plan to take the postgraduate entrance exam in the second half of the year to go back to school."

He Shixia listened while writing Ning Yichu's plans on the wooden board as well.

Then he put down the special pen, wrapped his arm around Ning Yichu's waist, and looked at the board together with him. "A Ning is such a good kid. Even with billions in wealth, your wish is to return to school. I feel ashamed."

Ning Yichu raised an eyebrow and pinched He Shixia. "Are you making fun of me?"

He Shixia laughed in protest. "I'm serious! Am I really that unreliable when I'm being sincere? That doesn't seem like my persona... A Ning, your hands are so cold. Let's go back inside."

He Shixia held Ning Yichu's hands and rubbed them gently.

The indoors were heated. After entering, they took off their coats, and He Shixia reached for Ning Yichu's hand again.

He felt the scar on Ning Yichu's wrist and, on a whim, bared his own left wrist—back when he was stabbed in the hospital, his wrist had been slashed deep during the struggle, leaving a scar there too.

"Now we both have scars on our left wrists and abdomens," He Shixia said with a smile. "Don't these count as matching couple scars, A Ning?"

Ning Yichu was at a loss for words: "...Should I praise you for being so good at looking on the bright side?"

He Shixia couldn't help but laugh, then suddenly scooped Ning Yichu up in his arms: "If you want to have some fun, I'm with you. A housewarming should be lively, so let's 'warm the house' together."

After being placed on the bed, Ning Yichu was certain: this guy was illiterate, treating a "housewarming" as if it were a "wedding night."

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Author's note: —End of main text.