Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Even as he sat on the hospital bench, Jiang Liang still couldn’t believe it.

“Jiang Zhiyu, you aren’t really going through with the abortion, are you?

“This is your child.

“Did you cheat? Is that why you’re having this surgery-to cover up the evidence?

“Tell me the truth.”

Jiang Liang’s head was spinning after hearing the doctor explain the surgical and post-operative arrangements.

I looked up at my brother, who was pacing like an ant on a hot pan, and couldn’t help but try to soothe him.

“This is Bai Jiayi and Lin Chenhao’s child, not Jiang Zhiyu’s.

“After the surgery, I want to see Gu Xi.

“Brother, can you tell me how Gu Xi is doing now?”

At the mention of Gu Xi, my heart throbbed with a needle-like pain.

I had watched with my own eyes as he was broken piece by piece, the gentle smile on his face replaced by a bone-deep despair.

We were supposed to be engaged. We had promised to hold our wedding the following spring.

A car accident had brought everything to a screeching halt.

A pair of childhood sweethearts-one had her body stolen, while the other began to wither away.

Jiang Liang sat down beside me and sighed.

My heart leaped into my throat, suspended in mid-air.

“He’s not doing well. A while ago, he… sigh, if he hadn’t been found in time, he would’ve been gone.

“He already had psychological issues because of the kidnapping when he was little. What happened recently only made things worse.”

He was so afraid of pain; he must have been pushed beyond his limits to do something like that.

When we were children, he disappeared for a period of time. I asked everyone where Xixi had gone, but no one would answer me; they only sighed in silence.

It wasn’t until the day I saw Xixi return that I realized he had become like a hollow puppet.

There wasn’t a spark of life in his eyes.

His leg was in a cast, his arms were covered in thick bandages, and he wore a neck brace.

Standing by his bed, I didn’t even dare to touch him.

Aunt Gu picked me up, fighting back tears. “Xixi, look, Xiaoyu is here. Your best friend has come to see you.”

Xixi still didn’t react. During the time he was kidnapped, he had suffered too much harm.

Beatings and being locked in dark rooms had been a daily occurrence.

Psychologists came and went like a revolving door.

I practically moved into the Gu Family home, staying right in Xixi’s bedroom.

Young as I was, I didn’t understand why Xixi wouldn’t say a word, or why he wouldn’t even eat.

I didn’t understand why he was afraid to turn off the lights at night, or why he was terrified of meeting strangers.

But I wanted to protect him. He was my best friend.

As the seasons passed, Xixi’s physical wounds gradually healed.

However, his dependence on me only grew stronger.

He would only play with me and only speak to me.

No one thought this was wrong. To everyone else, as long as he was willing to eat and sleep normally, it was enough.

We would be together forever anyway, so it didn’t matter.

Aunt Gu even teased me once, asking, “Xiaoyu, how about we let Xixi be your husband when you grow up?”

I threw my arms around Xixi and answered with a grin, “Okay! Thank you, Aunt Gu.”

A faint, shy blush appeared on Xixi’s pale face.

He had decided then that I would be his lifelong companion.

Yet, it was this very devotion that ultimately destroyed him, pushing him into an even more terrifying abyss.

Tears began to stream down my face.

Jiang Liang patted my back.

“If you’ve really turned over a new leaf this time and treat Gu Xi well, then fine.

“My fear is that you’ll just up and leave again one day. If that happens, Gu Xi really won’t survive.

“Over the last few years, Uncle Gu and the others have practically cried themselves blind. The entire Gu Family has been held together solely by Elder Brother Gu.”

I choked out, “I won’t. In this life, even if I die, I will die by Gu Xi’s side.”

“Jiang Zhiyu.” My name was called.

“Brother, if anything happens to me, you must tell Mom, Dad, and Gu Xi.”

I gripped Jiang Liang’s hand, my heart filled with dread.

I had to do this, but I was also afraid of an accident occurring. If I died, no one would ever know that the person occupying my body wasn’t me.

The real Jiang Zhiyu loved them very, very much.

“I’ll be right out here waiting for you. It’s okay. Nothing is going to go wrong.”

The surgical lights shone down on me as the marks that didn’t belong to me were stripped away, bit by bit.

When I woke up again, the scent of disinfectant lingered at the tip of my nose.

“Xiaoyu is awake.”

“Oh, look, our Xiaoyu is awake!” It was Mom. It was my mother’s voice, which I hadn’t heard in so long.

“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Are you still in pain?” Mom hovered over me, terrified that I might still be hurting.

“Waaaah!” I clung to her and sobbed uncontrollably.

“Mom, it hurts so much. I feel so bad.

“I was locked in a very, very dark place. I was so scared I’d never see you again.”

The moment I saw her, the grievances I had suppressed in the depths of my heart could no longer be contained; they came pouring out.

For countless days and nights, I had silently missed Dad, Mom, and Gu Xi.

And Jiang Liang.

Mom had watched as Bai Jiayi severed ties with them, collapsing into Dad’s arms in tears. But Bai Jiayi had been secretly laughing, calling them fools for not realizing she wasn’t their daughter.

Yet she had also been afraid they would find out. So she threw away the meals Mom prepared, looked down on the jewelry and clothes Mom bought, and nitpicked Mom’s love at every turn.

In the end, she had run off with the Jiang Family assets and the jewelry Mom had bought for me, throwing herself into Lin Chenhao’s arms.

My home had been left shattered, as if a hurricane had ripped through it.

To her, she was just discarding a burden.

“There, there, don’t cry. It’s over now.

“Good Xiaoyu, be a good girl.

“Mom is here. Mom knows. You’ve suffered so much. My Xiaoyu could never have been like that.

“But you can’t cry now; your body is still very weak.

“You just had surgery, you need to rest well.”

Mom stroked my head while Dad wiped away my tears.

Jiang Liang, who had just stepped out to take a call, returned with a tiffin carrier in his hand.

“Hurry and eat. The doctor said you can have this; it’s all for nutrition.

“I told Mom and Dad everything you told me.

“Mom says what you said is true, so I’ll choose to believe you for now.”

He still looked a bit awkward, caught between belief and doubt.

It didn’t matter. I was Jiang Zhiyu. Dad, Mom, and my brother-they would all know, and they would love me just as they did before.