She couldn’t even explain why. The instant she saw Lu Yuwen running toward her, all the grievance and pain she’d been suppressing in her heart came surging up at once — overwhelming, like a tide threatening to swallow her whole.

And when Lu Yuwen pulled her into his arms, that flood of emotion crested in an instant.

Something hot slipped from the corner of her eyes —

Su Man realized it was tears.

Good heavens — how many years had it been since she’d cried?!

“Are you all right?” Lu Yuwen held her, then loosened his arms slightly and gripped her by the shoulders, looking her over. “Are you hurt? I came as soon as I got your message. On the way I called a lawyer friend — he said the lawsuit might not even get filed. After all, beating one’s girlfriend isn’t exactly something to be proud of. The other party almost certainly won’t want it becoming public knowledge. With a reasonable amount of compensation, it should be enough to get them to drop the matter. Don’t worry.”

Su Man’s eyes only grew hotter, the tears more impossible to hold back.

Since she was ten years old, she had never found herself in such a humiliating situation!

She, of all people, was crying — in public.

Maybe because she was genuinely too embarrassed, she instinctively buried herself in Lu Yuwen’s arms, pressing her face down low, trying to hide behind him the tears she was losing the battle against.

Lu Yuwen was caught off guard for a brief moment, and then, naturally, his hand came up to gently pat her back. He murmured in a low voice: “It’s going to be alright. Your aunt, your uncle, and I will all figure something out. As long as you’re not hurt, that’s what matters most. When I first got your message, I thought you’d run into some suicidal drunk driver…”

What he was saying was more or less the same as what Li Li had said — but for reasons Su Man couldn’t quite articulate, she simply could not bear to hear it from him.

The more he soothed her, the faster her tears fell.

But when Li Li tried to soothe her, she’d always just gotten more annoyed!

Lu Yuwen guided her further down the corridor, away from the crowd. He produced a small packet of tissues from his pocket and pulled out a few to wipe her tears.

Soft-spoken, his gaze gentle — and in his presence, Su Man transformed, somehow, into a different version of herself. Something smaller. Something yielding.

From across the way, Li Li stood frozen.

He…

He had never seen Su Man like this before.

Something in him had taken a tremendous blow.

He was completely stunned!

Was this really the Su Man he knew — the one everyone called a tomboy?! She’d grown up being scolded raw by parents and teachers alike. She’d gotten into fights and come home with bruised and battered faces. They’d gone skateboarding together once and she’d hurt her leg — what hadn’t she been through? And had she ever cried?

Why was she crying now?!

Why?!

Li Li had a tremendous urge to march over, grab her by the shoulders and demand an explanation. He’d have liked to crack her head open and take a look at whatever was going on inside.

Just then, the neurosurgery specialist who had been paged in the middle of the night arrived — a half-bald older man in a white coat who walked briskly past everyone without a glance to either side and went straight into the hospital room.

Everyone’s hearts leapt into their throats.

But the anxiety lasted less than a minute, because from inside the room came the sound of the old man’s indignant grumbling:

“He’s already snoring away and you people dragged me out here?! I just performed over a dozen surgeries today — the first decent night’s sleep I’ve gotten and you lot wake me up?!”

His voice was so loud that it jolted the snoring man awake. He opened his eyes, caught sight of the doctor, then immediately shut them again and lay completely still.

“Doctor, look — is he unconscious again?!” the nurse said anxiously.

The doctor bellowed: “He’s faking it!”

The girlfriend outside couldn’t hold herself back any longer. She burst into the room, crying out: “Doctor, could you please examine him more carefully?! My boyfriend hit his head — there was so much blood! Is he going to end up brain damaged? Is he going to become a vegetable? What am I going to do?! Doctor, you have to save him please!”

The doctor said angrily: “If he becomes a vegetable, I’ll personally introduce my brother-in-law to you. How does that sound?!”

The woman — whether from shock or because she found the arrangement acceptable — fell silent mid-sob.