Chapter 54

Chapter 54

"Watch out!"

The moment he felt the impact, Cheng Yuan was held tightly, shielded.

Pei Qingji held him in his arms, shielding him from all the impact.

A muffled grunt came from the darkness.

Assistant Lin reacted swiftly, jerking the steering wheel, and the car plowed straight into the guardrail.

The car behind them, startled by the crash, made a U-turn and sped off.

At that moment, because of the airbag, Assistant Lin only bumped his forehead, bleeding a little, and felt a bit dizzy.

He took a moment to steady himself, then immediately looked back.

Pei Qingji was covered in blood, his clothes covered in glass shards, but Cheng Yuan, held in his arms, hadn't a drop of blood on him and was uninjured.

Cheng Yuan seemed scared, still in shock.

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

It wasn't until Assistant Lin called out to him that he came to his senses. He quickly looked up, and the sight before him was shocking.

Assistant Lin breathed a sigh of relief seeing he was fine—otherwise, his boss would've killed him.

Luckily, the car door still opened, so he quickly got out.

The rear doors were crushed and wouldn't open no matter what.

Assistant Lin gritted his teeth and tried several times, but to no avail, then hurried back to the driver's seat and grabbed his phone.

His hands were shaking, but luckily, despite the cracked screen, it still worked.

Assistant Lin quickly called an ambulance.

Soon, the paramedics arrived.

They first got him out, then placed Pei Qingji on a stretcher and wheeled him into the ambulance.

Cheng Yuan was still dazed.

From a distance, he saw Pei Qingji lying there, drenched in blood, eyes closed, as if he had stopped breathing.

He pressed his lips together, his face pale.

Given that he was pregnant, the doctor asked.

"How are you? Are you hurt?"

Cheng Yuan shook his head.

"You're lucky. If he hadn't taken most of the impact for you," the doctor said.

"You've had a scare too—go home and rest."

"Doctor, I want to ask—will he be okay?"

Cheng Yuan pressed his lips together, hesitated for a long time, then called out to him.

The doctor stopped mid-step and turned to look at him: "Are you family? You should prepare yourself for the worst."

At that, Cheng Yuan fell silent.

The doctor felt a pang of sympathy.

"But don't worry, we'll do everything we can."

Assistant Lin's face was pale too. Truth be told, the boss treated him well, even if he sometimes docked his pay.

He also fell silent.

But he quickly pulled himself together and said to Cheng Yuan.

"Ma'am, you've just had a scare. Let me have someone take you home—I'll stay here. Otherwise, when the boss wakes up, he'll definitely blame me."

Cheng Yuan was conflicted, but he didn't want to leave.

"I'll sit here and wait for him a while."

Assistant Lin didn't know what else to say. He went to the water cooler, poured a cup of warm water, and handed it to him.

Cheng Yuan took it and said thanks, then looked up at Assistant Lin's forehead.

"You're hurt too—go get that looked at first."

Assistant Lin touched his forehead, which had a bit of blood: "It looks bad, but it's actually fine, nothing serious."

"I'll go once the boss is out."

At that, Cheng Yuan fell silent and didn't press further.

He sat on the hospital chair, watching the familiar red light of the operating room flicker on, his mind drifting.

Come to think of it, he had experienced this twice.

The first time was when his grandmother suddenly fell ill, and he sat outside waiting; the second time was... Pei Qingji.

His emotions were now incredibly tangled.

Cheng Yuan suppressed the storm raging inside him.

In such a dangerous moment, he had chosen to protect Cheng Yuan first, suffering severe injuries because of it.

He truly didn't know how to face him now.

If he acted cold, he'd seem heartless.

Cheng Yuan lowered his eyes, torn between conflicting emotions.

The two waited anxiously, and the baby in his belly seemed to sense its papa's unease, giving a few restless kicks.

He frowned slightly.

Assistant Lin noticed.

"Maybe you should go home and rest?"

Cheng Yuan shook his head, saying nothing.

The surgery continued late into the night, and Qingji still hadn't come out.

He was drowsy but fought to stay awake.

Assistant Lin tried to talk him into resting, but it was no use. Worried he might get cold, Assistant Lin thoughtfully fetched a small blanket and covered him.

He had already called Qingji's grandparents, but they were abroad working on a project at the moment and would need some time to get here.

At that moment, the red light in the operating room finally went out, and the door was quickly opened.

Cheng Yuan stood up, but after sitting so long, his leg cramped and he stumbled a bit getting up.

The medical staff removed their masks and let out a relieved sigh.

"He's stable now and should wake up in a few days."

Cheng Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Grandpa Pei rushed over as soon as he heard the news. They met up at the family home first, then quickly got in the car.

The moment they heard, they took a private flight and rushed back.

"How could this happen? Did Qingji have another pheromone imbalance? I knew something like this would happen." Madam Pei's eyes were red as she complained incessantly.

"No, he got into a car accident."

"How could he just get into a car accident out of nowhere?"

"Assistant Lin said it might be an obsessive fan. You know how famous Qingji is now."

"We told him not to pursue music, but he insisted on doing the opposite. Now look what happened." Madam Pei kept complaining, her fear growing.

Grandpa Pei sat off to the side, unable to contain himself any longer.

"What's all the arguing about? If you want to argue, get out of the car."

"What matters now is how Qingji is doing. Is arguing going to help anything?"

"And you—what does music have to do with this? Would he not have gotten into trouble even without it?"

Madam Pei just wanted an outlet for her frustration, so she said those things on purpose.

She said hesitantly, "I... I'm just worried about Qingji."

Grandpa Pei retorted, "You're worried about Qingji, but that boy is here too, and I've never seen you worry about Xiaoyu."

Assistant Lin had called to say Qingji was in a car accident, and they rushed over without asking for details.

Madam Pei and Mr. Pei felt a twinge of guilt because their first thought had been for their own son.

She hesitated, then asked, "Is he okay?"

Grandpa Pei huffed coldly.

"Now you ask. He's fine."

Madam Pei had, on the day the heir was announced, said in a fit of anger that he should never come back.

But he was their only son. If not him, then who?

This wasn't just about their son's safety—it was about his position as heir. What would happen to the whole Pei family otherwise?

They could take in a relative's child, but it wouldn't be their own flesh and blood.

When they arrived at the hospital, they hurried straight inside.

Assistant Lin got the call and quickly came to meet them, leading them to the ward.

"What did the doctors say?"

"He's out of the woods now."

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

"You should know best. It can't be that fast, given how bad the accident was."

Mr. Pei said.

"I know, I'm just anxious. It should be in the next few days, but I don't know exactly when." Madam Pei looked at her son, her heart aching.

Her eyes got red, and she took a moment to compose herself.

"Have the hospital director come see me."

They'd gone to the nearest public hospital.

The nurse hesitated. "Well..."

"Just say my name."

In the medical world, everyone had heard of her.

The hospital director hurried over.

"Madam Pei, so it's your son who's injured."

"Don't worry, his condition is stable now. Nothing major, he'll just need time to recover."

Cheng Yuan stood off to the side.

Madam Pei caught his eye and gave an awkward smile.

"Xiaoyu, are you alright?"

Cheng Yuan, out of respect for his elder, politely shook his head.

Grandpa Pei walked in too.

"You've had a scare tonight, Xiaoyu. I'll make sure this is thoroughly investigated."

"It's very late now. Even if you can hold out, the baby you're carrying can't."

"If Qingji wakes up and sees you like this, he'll be heartbroken."

Pei Qingji was in a VIP ward with private rooms.

Pei Qingji lay with his eyes closed, his face pale, wearing the hospital's blue-striped hospital gown with an IV drip attached.

Cheng Yuan lowered his gaze, glanced at his belly, and finally nodded.

It was already past three in the morning—at this hour on a normal day, he would have been fast asleep.

Besides, after nearly a whole night of chaos, his back was already aching; he was just barely holding on at this point.

The VIP ward had an adjoining lounge, so he went there to rest for the night.

After a quick wash and change of clothes, he turned off the lights and lay down on the bed to sleep.

The room felt empty around him.

Cheng Yuan lowered his gaze—it seemed like he was slowly getting used to that person being around.

The next morning, Assistant Lin came over to bring him breakfast, though usually it was him who made it.

The breakfast Assistant Lin bought was quite nutritious too.

After he finished eating, Assistant Lin asked if he wanted to take a walk, since he usually liked to stroll after meals.

Cheng Yuan shook his head.

"Take me to go see him."

Assistant Lin hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Pei Qingji still hadn't woken up, lying there on the hospital bed.

He lowered his gaze, touched his belly, and his eyes were filled with complicated emotions.

Even though he had never admitted it, he was indeed the father of the child he was carrying.

But he really didn't know whether he should forgive him right now.

He should hate him, yet when Pei Qingji shielded him in that last moment, he had hesitated.

Cheng Yuan felt torn.

Just then, the baby moved.

He remembered how last night he hadn't let him touch his belly even once.

"If you... wake up, I'll let you touch him."

After all, it was because of Pei Qingji that he had ended up in this state.

Cheng Yuan pursed his lips, and only after a long while did he speak.

Outside the window, sparrows were still chirping in the trees, and sunlight streamed in.

The faint sounds of medical staff could be heard, along with patients' chatter from outside the window.

Cheng Yuan lowered his gaze.

But the man on the bed still hadn't woken up.

Just then, Pei Qingji's eyelashes suddenly trembled slightly.

Author's note:

None