Belated Apology, Tears Falling Like Rain, Words Contrary to Heart, The Soft-Hearted Minor Noble Lady

Outside the hospital.

Xia Tongxin, holding a carton of strawberry milk, walked happily toward the hospital. Behind her trailed several bodyguards and maids, carrying bags of various sizes.

"Xiaxia will definitely love this!" Xia Tongxin had brought out her treasured limited-edition strawberry milk. Usually, she couldn't even bear to drink it herself, but today she brought it all out at once!

It showed just how sincere she was!

Of course, the so-called "limited edition" was merely for the sake of Xia Tongxin's health. Otherwise, if she drank too much strawberry milk, she might get diabetes later on.

The whole "limited" thing was just a hunger marketing trick, aimed at nothing more than selling it for a better price. It wasn't as if the product was actually gone.

Just a means of harvesting wealth.

For someone like Xia Tongxin, who possessed the superpower of money, limited editions didn't exist. As long as she wanted something, she could have it anytime. She could even get a special Green Bubble account.

Her financial power was unquestionable. She might lack other things, but she definitely had money!

The treasured limited-edition strawberry milk had too much sugar, making it easy to gain weight. Plus, Xia Tongxin loved drinking it. If they hadn't slapped a "limited" label on it, she would have drunk herself into a little fatty in less than half a year.

She would have gone from a soft, sweet little cake to a soft, sweet pork jelly.

"Miss, be careful!"

Suddenly, the bodyguards surrounded Xia Tongxin. She was forced to stop. Protected and crowded by everyone, her vision went completely dark. It was just daytime a second ago, and now it was instantly pitch black.

Xia Tongxin: "..."

"What are you doing? Move out of the way!" Xia Tongxin said, puffing her cheeks in annoyance as she pounded her little fists against the bodyguards and the head maid who were boxing her in.

Despite Xia Tongxin's complaints, the bodyguards and maids didn't dare step aside. Instead, they looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy, staring at the monster approaching from ahead.

He was wearing a suit, and his hair looked somewhat dirty, as if he had applied hair gel, ditching his usual choppy bangs for a slicked-back look. Drip, drop. One could even see scarlet liquid dripping from his hair.

The suit was incredibly high-end and lustrous. It was neat and tidy in the front, but torn and tattered in the back—a very obvious battle-damaged version. Looking closely, one could even see shards of glass stuck in the slashed fabric.

Leaving a footprint with every step, like a walking buff effect...

Bloody footprints.

Those who didn't know better would think it was the end of the world. In this state, Ye Cheng looked like he had just returned from hacking zombies outside. The visual impact was extraordinarily shocking, more outrageous than a movie.

It wasn't just the bodyguards and maids who were dumbfounded; the hospital staff and the students waiting to register were also stunned. They kept snapping photos with their phones, and gasps of shock rang out from time to time...

"Hello, beautiful. I'd like to register. Oh, and swipe my medical insurance for the registration fee."

Ye Cheng, carrying his little secretary who was still tightly shutting her eyes, curled up, and trembling, politely bent down and tapped on the glass window in front of him.

"Ah!!!"

The registration nurse froze for a second before reacting. She let out a terrified scream and sprang back as if electrocuted, her eyes filled with horror and shock.

"Stop screaming, beautiful. Hurry up and register me. If you keep screaming, I'll be the one who's done for." Ye Cheng looked at the young nurse in front of him, utterly speechless.

Kids these days, is this all the nerve they have?

It's just a little blood, is it really necessary to react like this?

After speaking, Ye Cheng freed one hand to wipe away the blood about to drip down his head, reinforcing his slicked-back hair. This directly scared the registration nurse into tears, and she hurriedly called for the director.

The entire registration room was thrown into chaos. Everyone was making calls to get backup, saying they had encountered a tricky situation...

Well... the good news was that he got registered, and it looked like it was even an expert appointment. The bad news... he still had to wait a little longer.

Just standing there, the bleeding seemed a bit fast. Ye Cheng did some calculations. Based on the thirty percent danger threshold, he still had a ten percent margin of error.

A human body is in mortal danger if it loses more than thirty percent of its blood. From the walk over until now, he estimated he had lost about twenty percent.

Ten percent was within the normal range, and the body could naturally compensate. At twenty percent, one would experience dizziness and palpitations...

Ye Cheng made a rough estimate. He was at that stage right now. He didn't have palpitations yet, but he was already starting to feel a bit dizzy. As long as he got into the emergency room within the next twenty minutes, he should be fine.

Because of the school's unique nature and immense wealth, there wouldn't be a shortage in the blood bank. There wouldn't be any delays later; they could go straight to surgery...

Ye Cheng's brain was working at top speed. Even at a time like this, he didn't panic. Instead, he was calculating the optimal solution.

Walking over like this was the fastest way. If he had stayed outside the villa waiting for the Dongfang family's people to arrive, it would have wasted a lot of time, ultimately increasing the risk.

Before walking over, Ye Cheng had done some simple bandaging on his wounds. Otherwise, if he had just foolishly walked over, he would have dropped dead for sure.

Perhaps sensing that the surrounding environment had settled down, the little secretary, who had her eyes tightly shut and was shivering, finally opened her eyes tremblingly.

"Hamster, you're fired!"

The first thing the little secretary heard upon opening her eyes was Ye Cheng talking about firing her.

Such a heavy smell of blood... The blood on Ye Cheng was his own, and the blood on the little secretary was also Ye Cheng's. The only place she was injured was on her hands, where the sharp glass had scratched her delicate skin.

As for Ye Cheng, he had tanked ninety-nine percent of the damage in this team fight, and he was currently still suffering from the negative bleeding buff.

The little secretary blinked blankly. Looking at the blood-covered Ye Cheng in front of her, she reached out and touched him as if possessed.

"What are you doing?" Ye Cheng raised an eyebrow, getting the feeling that this idiot Hamster was about to drop a bomb on him.

"Boss, are you going to die?"

Ye Cheng: "..."

"You motherf..." Ye Cheng originally wanted to scold the little secretary a bit, but the words reached his throat and he forced them back down.

The little secretary's voice came out at the same time as the tears in her eyes. But strangely, she didn't have an overly sad or aggrieved expression; her tears just fell uncontrollably like pearls from a broken string.

The same situation had occurred many years ago on the day her mother was buried. Seemingly realizing that her mother would never return, she wanted to cry and complain but couldn't find a safe place to weep.

The tears fell on their own, yet there wasn't much sensory expression on her face. She couldn't even muster up sadness... Her brain's protective mechanism had kicked in.

A person cannot endure too much pain in a short period of time. When that happens, the brain's protective mechanism activates, weakening the body's feedback to ensure the person doesn't suffer any harm from excessive grief.

Was this really necessary?

A giant question mark popped up in Ye Cheng's head. Why was she acting like he was about to die?

It's just a bit too much blood, alright? Is it really necessary to react like this...

It is necessary.

At least for the little secretary right now, it was. Having experienced the loss of the person closest to her when she was very young, seeing Ye Cheng covered in wounds subconsciously brought up the scene of her mother passing away many years ago in her mind.

She just lay there quietly, her hands ice-cold...

"Mengmeng, just go to sleep. Everything will be fine after you wake up. Mommy will be okay..."

Liar.

She clearly wasn't okay.

"I'm fine, Hamster. Just go to sleep. Everything will be fine when you wake up," Ye Cheng said.

He only said that to comfort the little secretary. After all, registering and arranging for surgery would take time. By the time she woke up, the timing would be just about right. The little secretary wasn't the brightest, so this simple, direct, command-like way of comforting her was actually the best.

It was just a pity... Ye Cheng didn't expect that someone had already said these exact words many years ago, instantly triggering the little secretary's slightly foolish brain.

Her emotions immediately became agitated.

At a visible rate, her expression turned aggrieved. She buried her head in Ye Cheng's chest, her voice pleading, "Please don't die, okay? I'm begging you. I'll be good, and I won't eat random things anymore. I..."

What started as pleading evolved into apologies. Her two hands tightly gripped Ye Cheng's clothes, as if replaying the words she hadn't been able to say in time to bid her mother farewell years ago due to her sluggishness.

Ye Cheng: "..."

Even though... alright then.

Ye Cheng calmly accepted the little secretary's nonsense and the fact that he was being treated as someone's stand-in. Seeing as this kid wasn't very smart, he would reluctantly make an exception this once and spare her from being called an idiot today.

The emotionally out-of-control little secretary cried for a short while before going quiet. She seemed to have fainted, but her hands were still gripping Ye Cheng with quite a bit of force.

The little secretary was terrified, guilty, and heartbroken. The people around them were fearful, shocked, and in disbelief. Only Ye Cheng, the person actually involved, didn't have much of a reaction.

Seeing that the little secretary had gone quiet, Ye Cheng pulled out his phone and started scrolling through videos, sticking to his favorite mindless short clips. Why not check the messages sent by the eldest miss?

Because right now, from Ye Cheng's perspective, everything around him was spinning. If he sent a message now, he couldn't be sure his mind was in a lucid state.

Scrolling through videos was a way to numb himself and stay awake.

The gradually intensifying dizziness and feeling of weightlessness meant that the critical threshold of thirty percent was getting closer and closer. An ordinary person would have already collapsed and been unable to get up by now. Someone like Ye Cheng, who could still sit here and scroll through videos, could no longer be described merely as a monster.

Tap, tap, tap...

"Are... are you okay?"

His tinnitus gradually worsened. A supremely cute, doll-like voice reached Ye Cheng's ears. He looked up to see a pink-haired doll standing there, worry in her eyes.

The number of bodyguards and maids around Xia Tongxin had decreased significantly. Only two were left, while the rest had gone to call a doctor—naturally, under Xia Tongxin's orders.

"Hmph, I told you not to bump into me earlier. Now karma has caught up to you, hasn't it? But this young lady is kind-hearted. If you beg me..."

Thud.

Xia Tongxin mustered her courage, crossing her arms over her chest and putting on a high and mighty appearance. She was forcing herself to keep up appearances, trying to find a suitable excuse and a way out for her soft-hearted behavior.

Before Xia Tongxin could finish her arrogant, trademark bratty speech, Ye Cheng's head plunged right into her chest.

Hmm... small is pretty nice too...

This was Ye Cheng's last thought before he lost consciousness.

"Ah!"

"Hiss... you jerk, you..."

"Are you okay?"

"Are you okay? You... somebody come quick..."