Without Me

The long hospital corridor was surprisingly quiet and calm. A single red lamp with the word "SILENCE" flashed above the door leading to the operating room. Only nervous steps were heard, echoing from the empty walls.

A red glow from the lamp made the man's blond hair turn warm shade orange-pink - just like the sky during sunset.

Cheng Yazhe stopped at the door of the operating block, and his usually calm aura was now replaced by a place of frustration. He remembered the moment when he saw a seemingly weak girl, who was taking a blow to her face, and his lips unknowingly went up.

He watched the stranger girl all the time, which aroused his interest from the first moment, so he didn't miss the moment when the girl deliberately fell, using the power of the impact.

In the first reflex, he wanted to react immediately, but he refrained from seeing the smirk on her petite face.

Intrigued by her intentions, he decided to continue watching the performance, ready to help if necessary.

However, when he saw the blood gathering on the floor and the girl's pale face, it was too late. The crowd who gathered around looking for sensation effectively hindered his arrival earlier.

When he reached the girl whose name he still didn't know, her head was already dropping to welcome with a cold and hard floor, and it was only some miracle that he managed to keep her head in the last minute before falling.

Ignoring the shouts of shock and fear, he lifted the unconscious girl, and the wound on her stomach bleeding indecently, staining his expensive, fitted suit. He ran out of the hotel, ignoring the crowd of reporters chasing him behind him and flashes of flashlights from their cameras.

It took about forty minutes to drive the distance from the hotel to the hospital, while Yazhe covered the distance in only twenty, squeezing the maximum speed from his Maserati Levante and ignoring all the red lights on the road.

On site, the medical staff immediately took care of the girl, taking her to the operating room.

Thirty minutes had passed since their arrival, and he still didn't know what the situation was. He did not see any doctors he could ask about the condition of the patient, and the nurses he saw were in such a hurry, running from one end of the corridor to the operating room, that they didn't even realize his existence.

He could only hope that Hospital X, who was famous for his good opinion and careful care of the patient, would do everything in their power to save the girl.

The mere thought that something might happen to her aroused in Cheng Yazhe an indescribable feeling of fear and loss that he didn't understand.

He felt the unknown attraction, from the first moment his eyes rested on her delicate and petite figure, making him unable to resist the urge to approach, only to make sure that the feeling she gave him was not false.

The clock hanging on the wall counted down the next minutes, which went on forever. Cheng Yazhe couldn't believe it had been less than an hour since the operating room door had closed behind an unconscious, bleeding girl. He was convinced that he had spent the whole day there, unaware of the situation inside.

He sat down on one of the chairs adjoining the yellow wall, but his muscles couldn't stand idle, so he stood up and continued his nervous journey from one wall to another, still scrupulously counting down the passing minutes.

When the clock struck 23:03, the door of the unit opened with the sound of unhurried steps.

Cheng Yazhe raised his head and looked in that direction, only to frown with undisguised distaste.

A man walked toward him, whom Cheng Yazhe least expected to see in this place. He walked freely and majestically, with his hands hidden in the pockets of trousers, as if he were the master of this place. Another man followed him, who was also no stranger to Cheng Yazhe. He had the appearance of an aristocrat, although his aura was not as intimidating as the one accompanying his companion.

The men stopped near Cheng Yazhe. Long Fei looked around nervously, and when his gaze fell on Cheng Yazhe, his eyes didn't hide his surprise with his presence.

Li Ye Han, on the other hand, stared at the double doors of opaque glass, leading to the operating room, as if he had X-rays in his eyes and wanted to see what was going on inside. He didn't pay the slightest attention to Cheng Yazhe, who was watching him reluctantly.

" I didn't think I would see here the great president of Li Corporation, " Cheng Yazhe said sarcastically, his voice as cold as steel.

The peaceful and enchanting aura that had been around a few hours earlier at the party had disappeared, instead there was a ruthless and dangerous tone in her place that shivered from the back.

Li Ye Han did not answer, as if unaware that someone was even talking to him.

" I don't think it's your business, Mr. Cheng , " Long Fei said coldly, looking at him with contempt.

Before Cheng Yazhe could answer, the door to the operating room opened and a doctor came out, wearing a blue apron, which was completely stained with fresh red blood. The blue mask covering his face was no less soiled, even his round glasses wore red spots. The man took off his glasses and wiped the blood from the glasses with the edge of his apron, before putting them back on his nose, and approaching the men.

" What about her, doctor? " Yazhe Cheng said hastily, stepping closer with a look of worry on his face.

" Are you a patient's family? " the doctor asked in response, looking at him roughly. For some reason, Cheng Yazhe felt that the doctor was hostile to him, and he could not help but wonder why.

" No, I brought her here. What about her? "

" I can give all information only to the patient's family, " said the doctor in a tired voice. He turned to Li Ye Han and Long Fei, waiting for an answer.

" I am her husband, " Li Ye Han said in a tone as colorless as if he were talking about a stranger, not his own wife.

Cheng Yazhe widened his eyes with astonishment. He'd heard for the first time that Li Ye Han was married. And an even greater shock shook him when he realized, that the girl he had brought was his wife.

He remembered that the woman who had brought her to this state was allegedly Li Ye Han's fiancee, Ruo Yan, and he felt even more confused.

What was the situation? Lover beat legitimate wife? And Li Ye Han let it happen?

Cheng Yazhe revealed a murderous expression when he shot Li Ye Han with a piercing look. He did not understand why, but he was furious.

" You call yourself the husband of that girl? " he snickered, and anger seethed uncontrollably. " Do you realize that the one you call your wife was beaten by your lover ?!"

The silence that followed these words was eloquent. Even the doctor was speechless. His gaze wandered between two men, and the tension between them, as they measured their eyes, made the atmosphere thicker.

" Gentlemen, " said the doctor conciliatory, but directed his accusing voice on Li Ye Han. " The patient's good is the most important thing now. You can deal with other matters later. Now I am forced to ask to contact the patient's family. It's best if it's related. There were seams rupture, resulting in internal bleeding. The patient lost a lot of blood, so we were forced to transfuse. Unfortunately, the patient has a very rare blood group: 0 Rh minus. We used up all the stock we had in stock, but the injuries were so serious that what we had at our disposal had already ended and we were unable to turn to the blood donation bank asking for supplies, because they don't have it either.

" I have the same group, " said Cheng Yazhe, coming closer, without hesitation. Passing by, he deliberately nudged Li Ye Han's arm, and the look he gave him was full of disgust and undeterred hatred. " I will give as much as she need."

The doctor looked towards Li Ye Han, as if asking for permission. As her husband, he had the right to refuse the blood offered, although the doctor hoped that the man would not be so ins.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e.

Li Ye Han nodded almost imperceptibly, but his cold stare didn't leave Cheng Yazhe. He stared at him with an inscrutable expression on his face, and the single wrinkle on his forehead deepened as the man disappeared behind the operating room door, after completing the necessary formalities, in the company of a doctor.

At that moment, Li Ye Han's phone rang. The man pressed the call button without even checking the ID of the caller. He put the phone to his ear, in which Wen's familiar but panicked voice sounded:

" Boss, we checked if what Mrs. Xi said was true. " There was a brief pause, as if the butler Wen afraid to continue.

" Speak! " Ye Li Han urged, with dark tone, so that even at the other end, the valet Wen shook with fear.

" We've examined the surveillance cameras thoroughly throughout the city, and nowhere have we found any indication of the direction in which Mrs. Xi could go more than three months ago, " Wen's voice was increasingly panicked, but he tried to sound calm. " After the incident at today's Miss Ruo banquet, we checked the records of all hospitals in the city and it turned out that three months ago, Mrs. Xi went to hospital X after a car accident, where she spent more than two months in a coma." The last part of the sentence, the butler Wen spoke almost in a whisper, scared silence that covered in the handset after these words. But he had to gather in himself because he had another important information to convey and he did not know how his boss would accept it. After a few seconds he cleared his throat and added: - There is something else ... That day, L-Lady ran out of your office and ran straight under the wheels of the speeding car .... It looked like .... " butler paused. For some reason, he couldn't squeeze the words through his throat. He personally watched the recording from the cameras from that day, and what he saw made even he, an older man who had seen much in his life, felt pity for this girl. Her deeply wounded, tear-stained face as she ran out of the building and the moment when the car hit her weak and small body, sending her a few meters away, still appeared in front of his eyes ... He was aware of her feelings for the young master and that's why the sight of her inert bloody body made something burst in it. Especially when he saw the second movie and understood the reason for her tears ... He felt unimaginable regret on her behalf. But he could do nothing. The thoughts and intentions of his master were unreadable. He could only hope that the girl would finally find happiness ...

Sensing the impatience of his master, Wen quickly cleared his throat, getting rid of the remnants of memories and bitterness in his heart, and then continued in his professional tone: " She cried. I have already sent a copy of the monitoring record to your e-mail inbox."

Li Ye Han hung up without a word, searching for Wen's video message on his phone. After a while, his pupils widened at the sight of a young girl running through the glass door of a skyscr.a.p.er that housed the headquarters of his company.

Safety was extremely important for Li Corporation, so at each entrance doo the office, there were several cameras with the highest image and sound quality so that they could see the faces of people entering and leaving from any perspective.

That's why Li Ye Han clearly saw the tiny face of Yao Xi and her eyes - red and swollen from the tears that poured out abundantly on her white shirt, creating wet spots.

Seeing her in such a state meant that usually the cold and heartless Li Ye Han's heart twitched uncontrollably, from the wave of anxiety. He had never seen her tears before. She always revealed to him with her radiant and enamored gaze, so similar to Xixi's eyes, that he couldn't stand sometimes, the awareness that someone else might have such eyes.

This pain-filled face was so unlike the one he saw today - cold and so indifferent that it was almost dead, that he wondered for a moment whether she was the same person.

The moment Yao Xi's body collided with the speeding car, the feeling of inexplicable pain pierced Li Ye Han's eyes as if he could not look at her suffering. Despite the greatest d.e.s.i.r.e to turn off the recording, he forced his trembling fingers, which were already following the "stop" button, to stop move.

He continued watching the recording, as if to punish himself. He saw the body of Yao Xi twisted, lying motionless, as if she were a broken doll. The blood that flooded the street was flowing out of it as if it were never going to end. And her frighteningly pale face looked like a ghost.

There was another sound of another message, but Li Ye Han ignored it. He couldn't take his eyes off the half-dead girl lying alone on the street. He wanted to turn off the movie and throw away the phone, but his numbed hands refused to cooperate. It was as if his body was forcing his mind to look, so that he would never forget this view.

He remembered the day she came back. She looked so weak and fragile, as if she would break millions of pieces at any moment. And her stubborn face, when she refused to look into his eyes, had an unhealthy white color that he did not notice at that time.

Crash!

A loud sound echoed in the quiet corridor, making Long Fei jump, scared.

He looked at the wall, where now there was a small hole through which there was a clear brick under the plaster and yellow paint. He looked over to the other side, where the remains of something that looked like a telephone were scattered. And his questioning gaze focused on a friend who, with a strange expression on his face, stared distantly out of sight.

He wanted to ask what had happened, but sensing the dangerous aura surrounding Li Ye Han, like a shroud of darkness, he refrained, concluding that the safest way out would be to leave him alone for now.

After something that seemed like an eternity, the door to the operating room opened with a creak, and the hospital staff went out, pushing a hospital bed, with an unconscious girl, hooked to a complicated medical equipment on one side and a drip with red liquid on the other.

Li Ye Han took a step forward, but he was stopped by the tall figure of the same doctor who had talked to him a few hours earlier: " Mr. Li, my name is Dr. Sun and I would like to exchange a few word with you.

Dr Sun's voice was cold, and so unlike the one he usually spoke to his patients' families, that if Yao Xi could hear him, she would not believe her ears. And if she could be a witness to his next words, she certainly couldn't get out of shock for a few days ...