ABSTIWTVMST Chapter 136

Inside the Sanatorium.

An Rouyu sat quietly by the bed, gazing out the window at the world outside. Her eyes were hollow and numb, like a puppet that had lost its soul. Even when the door behind her opened, she showed no reaction.

“It seems Elder Sister really likes it here.”

A soft laugh slithered across An Rouyu’s skin like a venomous snake, instantly sending a shiver through her body. She finally reacted, stiffly turning her neck to look at the newcomer.

An Ruotong tilted her head and met her gaze. Seeing her in such a wretched state, the smile on her face deepened. “Long time no see, Elder Sister~”

An Rouyu remained silent, her attitude passive.

Seeing this, An Ruotong didn’t find it boring. On the contrary, she became even more interested. She stepped forward and carefully examined An Rouyu. “Elder Sister, that hospital gown looks so ugly. Why don’t you dress up in something pretty? I remember that you used to love beautiful dresses the most. Every time at a banquet, you looked just like a princess. But look at you now… Oh dear, it really makes my heart ache.”

An Rouyu did not react at all. Her gaze turned empty again, completely shutting out her surroundings.

Even with no response, An Ruotong could carry on the conversation by herself. She feigned sudden realization and said, “Oh, right! I just remembered—ever since Elder Sister’s mother passed away, no one has bought clothes for you anymore. Elder Sister always relied on that pitiful little face of yours to gain the sympathy and affection of others. You were known as the fallen pearl, yet you still received so much attention.”

As her words fell, An Ruotong suddenly reached out and pinched An Rouyu’s chin, her voice turning vicious. “Elder Sister is always the center of attention. Wherever you go, there’s always someone to take care of you, someone to love you. No matter the time or place, everyone’s eyes are always on you. Elder Sister, tell me, why are you so detestable? Hmm?”

Her sharp, crimson nails suddenly dug into An Rouyu’s skin. The pain snapped An Rouyu back to her senses. She swept her gaze over An Ruotong’s twisted expression and calmly said, “Did you come here just to vent your years of envy?”

“Elder Sister must be joking.” An Ruotong let go and stepped back two paces, discreetly showing off the diamond ring on her finger. “Perhaps I envied you in the past, but now… I have my parents’ love, I’m getting married next month, and even have a baby in my belly. Soon, I’ll be starting a brand-new life. Do I really need to envy an Elder Sister who has nothing and is living in a sanatorium?”

An Rouyu suddenly lifted her head, her eyes burning as she stared at An Ruotong’s stomach. “A baby…”

“That’s right,” An Ruotong deliberately kept it vague. “The future heir of the Ruan family.”

“The Ruan family…” An Rouyu repeated like a broken recorder. The next second, she abruptly stood up, her expression turning crazed. “A child! My child! The Ruan family already has an heir, so why won’t they let me go? Why won’t they let me and my child go?!”

An Ruotong’s expression changed. She instinctively guarded her stomach and took several steps back, her voice turning cold. “Do you think everyone wants to keep this child? If it weren’t for that old man and Ruan Chenxuan refusing to let go, I would have thrown it at you and told you to get lost a long time ago!”

An Rouyu’s eyes lit up at those words. She suddenly lunged forward and grabbed An Ruotong’s hand as if grasping her last lifeline. She pleaded frantically, “An Ruotong, give me the child! I’ll take the child and leave immediately! Give the child back to me, please? I promise, my child and I will never appear before you again. Your child can become the rightful heir!”

Seeing her hysterical state, An Ruotong’s smile deepened. “Elder Sister, I’d love to, but how could I possibly go against someone as powerful as Ruan Chenxuan? How about… you lower your head and submit to him? Once he lets his guard down, won’t you be able to see the child?”

An Ruotong leaned in close to her ear, whispering seductively, “If you play your role well enough, you might even be able to take the child away.”

An Rouyu’s pupils dilated instantly. The last sentence echoed in her mind like the most tempting fruit in the world, spinning round and round before her eyes. And all she had to do was reach out her hand…

An Ruotong took a few steps back, observing An Rouyu’s reaction with a satisfied smirk. Suddenly, she grabbed An Rouyu’s hair and viciously slammed her head against the wall. As An Rouyu collapsed, An Ruotong immediately let out a piercing scream. “Someone, come quick! My sister’s in trouble!”

An Rouyu stared at An Ruotong in a daze. Bright red blood dripped from her chin onto her palm. She curled her fingers slightly, her mind consumed by a single thought—She could take the child away.

One hour later.

Ruan Chenxuan and Han Haofeng arrived at the hospital one after another.

An Ruotong sat by the bedside, her face filled with cold indifference, even mockery, as she looked at the unconscious An Rouyu. The moment she heard the door open behind her, she immediately lowered her head and began sobbing softly, murmuring, “Elder Sister, how could you be so foolish…”

“Ruotong!” Han Haofeng strode forward, his first words a question. “Is the baby okay?”

An Ruotong almost lost her composure. She forced herself to remain indifferent and said coldly, “The baby’s fine. It’s Elder Sister who almost had an accident.”

Standing on the other side of the hospital bed, Ruan Chenxuan asked, “What happened?”

An Ruotong sighed. “It’s my fault… I never expected Elder Sister to react so strongly to the news about the baby. If I had known, I wouldn’t have come.”

Ruan Chenxuan frowned. “You mentioned the child to her?”

“I… I was just so happy about my pregnancy that I wanted to share my joy with Elder Sister. I thought she would be happy for me. Who would have thought…” An Ruotong squeezed out a few tears, looking utterly heartbroken.

Hearing this, Han Haofeng immediately stepped in to defend her. “Ruotong was just too happy and didn’t think things through. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. If everything’s fine, Brother Ruan, we’ll be leaving first. I’m worried about Ruotong, and I’d like to take her for a check-up.”

Ruan Chenxuan didn’t want to waste words with them and waved them off impatiently.

A flicker of displeasure flashed through Han Haofeng’s eyes, but in the end, he held it in and helped An Ruotong out of the hospital room. Once they had walked a short distance, he lowered his voice impatiently. “What the hell happened?”

An Ruotong sneered. “Nothing bad. In fact, it’s something good.”

Her original intention had simply been to show off, to highlight her own glamorous life while rubbing An Rouyu’s miserable downfall in her face. She hadn’t expected to gain an unexpected windfall… If An Rouyu really did take the child away, she might just be able to use that child to turn things around!

Inside the hospital room.

An Rouyu remained unconscious, her forehead wrapped in bandages, making her frail and pale face appear even more gaunt. She looked utterly exhausted.

Ruan Chenxuan stared at her for a few seconds before a splitting headache forced him to avert his gaze. His eyes swept over the hospital room. The marks carved into the walls seemed to have increased since his last visit. Among them, only two things stood out—Xu Chenghao’s name and the word “baby.”

The chaotic carvings were a striking contrast—one name etched with hatred, the other with love.

As he was staring, a faint sound of breathing came from behind him. Ruan Chenxuan turned around just in time to see An Rouyu slowly open her eyes. The numbness in her gaze had vanished, replaced by a sudden, flickering light. She fixed her eyes on him and whispered eagerly, “Brother Chenxuan…”

Ruan Chenxuan’s headache worsened. He frowned. “You’re awake?”

“Mm.” An Rouyu propped herself up on the bed, trying to sit up, but a wave of dizziness struck her, and she fell back down. Holding her head in confusion, she murmured, “What’s wrong with me?”

Ruan Chenxuan frowned slightly. “You don’t remember?”

An Rouyu looked bewildered. “What should I remember?”

Ruan Chenxuan silently stared at her, as if trying to discern what exactly she was up to. The person lying on the hospital bed looked back at him with an innocent expression and repeated, “What should I remember?”

“The child.”

Those two sudden words nearly shattered all of An Rouyu’s pretense. Her face stiffened, and after a long pause, she mumbled, “The child… right, I had a child… I remember I was pregnant. Where’s my child? I remember… my child was seven months… Did I… did I give birth now?”

Ruan Chenxuan replied calmly, “You need to rest now. I’ll call the doctor to examine you.”

“Wait!” An Rouyu was afraid he would leave. She forced herself to sit up, supporting her body as she said, “Aren’t you going to explain? After all, it’s your child too… Don’t you… don’t you care about him?”

Ruan Chenxuan glanced at her but said nothing. He simply turned around and left. Moments later, the doctors and nurses entered the ward and began a series of examinations.

An Rouyu remained vigilant, firmly keeping one thought in her mind—she had to endure for the sake of the child. As long as an opportunity arose… as long as she found a chance… she would definitely take the child and leave!

The examination took a long time. An Rouyu lay in the hospital bed, waiting. Waiting for the test results. Waiting for this opportunity. She would do whatever it took to seize this chance and get close to her child, even if it meant deceiving the man she once deeply loved.

Ruan Chenxuan was also waiting, but unlike her, he was growing increasingly restless. His mind was in turmoil, unsure of how to handle what would come next. To the point that, at this moment, he actually hoped An Rouyu hadn’t recovered…

In the end, An Rouyu succeeded.

Seeing that she had recovered, Ruan Chenxuan not only felt no relief but even grew more frustrated. He spoke coldly, “Even if you don’t remember, I still have to remind you—back then, you chose to leave for the sake of the child. You were the one who broke up with me.”

“Then what about the child?”

“He’s in the Ruan family.”

An Rouyu’s expression turned subtle. “And you call that ‘breaking up for the child’?”

“You simply weren’t capable of keeping the child.” Ruan Chenxuan countered indifferently. “I’ve already done everything I could to help you. I even supported you for so long because of your unstable mental state. I’ve fulfilled my duty to the utmost. From now on, you’re on your own.”

An Rouyu was stunned. She looked at him in shock, dazed and helpless, as she called out, “Chenxuan-gege, w-what do you mean by that?”

Ruan Chenxuan: “It means—”

“It means as long as you have the child, you don’t want me, right?” Tears welled up in An Rouyu’s eyes as she stared at him in a daze. After a long silence, she suddenly turned her head away, wiped her tears clean, and closed her eyes. “Alright, I understand. You can leave.”

Ruan Chenxuan suddenly felt an inexplicable discomfort in his heart. He stared at her tear-filled eyes, hesitating for a long moment, unable to move his feet. He simply couldn’t understand—this woman had decisively abandoned him for the sake of the child, so why couldn’t he just as easily abandon her?

How much had he loved this woman in the past, to the point of being so utterly pathetic? Even after losing his memory, even after forgetting her, he still couldn’t bring himself to be completely ruthless toward her…

Ridiculous.

Ruan Chenxuan’s gaze grew colder and colder. He spoke in a lofty tone, “If you can behave yourself, I don’t mind supporting one more person.”

His words carried a trace of humiliation.

Under normal circumstances, An Rouyu would have undoubtedly refused and told him to get lost. But now, even though the hand she hid beneath the blanket clenched tightly, she still lowered her head and said, “Alright.”

 

 

The author has something to say:
That’s right, the female lead used her acting skills to escape.