"Ran Bao'er... Ran Bao'er... Don't go, don't go!"
Suddenly, the man on the hospital bed, in a coma, murmured her name. His hand trembled uncontrollably, and then he tightly gripped hers.
His unconscious mumbling acted like a tearjerker, causing Shi Ran's tears to gush out like a broken dam.
She held Tang Si's hand in one of hers, covered her face with the other, and sobbed with her head bowed.
Shi Ran's mind was a complete mess.
She was wondering if Tang Si truly loved her.
If he did, why did Zhao Wuyan have his child?
If he did, why were his wedding plans with Zhao Wuyan already set?
Or was it that under duress from the Tang family, he had no choice but to marry Zhao Wuyan?
But in either case, it was a foregone conclusion that she and Tang Si had no future.
Shi Ran stood up, leaning slightly forward, and placed a kiss on his lips.
The kiss landed on his lips.
For a long, long time...
Only then did she reluctantly straighten up.
She reached up and took off a necklace from her neck, placing it into Tang Si's palm.
Shi Ran closed his fingers one by one, kissed his fingers too, then tucked his hand back into the covers. Only then did she turn, quicken her pace, and leave with resolute determination.
Her steps were hurried, as if fearing that a moment's delay would make her unable to leave.
Fate, often, plays tricks on people.
Less than five minutes after Shi Ran left, Tang Si, lying on the hospital bed, woke up.
He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the simple white of the room, with the scent of disinfectant lingering in his nostrils.
Looking at the IV drip beside him, Tang Si knew he was in the hospital.
His heart felt inexplicably empty.
Shi Ran's face flashed in his mind—sometimes beaming with smiles, sometimes charmingly cute, sometimes dazed and innocent, everything so beautiful.
But all of it now existed only in memory.
He slowly moved his head, his eyes scanning the hospital room. It was empty, with no one around.
That damned woman was truly heartless.
Even though he was spitting blood and hospitalized, she wouldn't stay a moment longer to accompany him.
As Tang Si was thinking this, he suddenly felt something in his palm.
He raised his hand to look, and saw a white jade pendant.
The jade pendant, the size of a thumb, was fine Hetian jade, its texture clear and free of impurities.
The jade pendant was carved with a circular relief like a floral wreath, simple and elegant.
This jade pendant was something he had gotten for Shi Ran when they were in the hidden clan. Shi Ran had been very unaccustomed to the hidden clan and was timid, easily frightened. He had taken her to a temple to get this jade pendant, which also contained a tiny peace charm for safety.
Tang Si looked at the jade pendant and raised his hand as if to throw it away.
But after raising his hand, he hesitated. He clenched the jade pendant tightly in his hand again, held it against his chest, closed his eyes, and remained motionless.
As night fell, Zhao Wuyan and Tang Ziwei appeared in the hospital room.
Seeing him lying in the hospital bed again, Zhao Wuyan approached with concern, her heart filled with distress, "Si Bing, what's wrong? Why are you hospitalized again?"
She wore a light gray wool coat, a black beret, and a scarf around her neck. Her good demeanor made her even more beautiful and pleasing to the eye with a little dressing up.
However, no matter how beautiful she was, Tang Si was unwilling to look at her more than once.
He glanced sideways at Zhao Wuyan, his gaze bypassing her to look directly at Tang Ziwei behind her, "Why did you bring her here?"
"Wu Yan and I were looking everywhere for you. Someone called us and said you were hospitalized, so we came," Tang Ziwei said, his brow furrowed slightly. "What happened to you? How did you collapse on the street? Fortunately, someone saved you this time. What if you had collapsed in a car next time and no one discovered you in time?"
As an elder brother, Tang Ziwei truly worried himself sick over Tang Si.