As Mo Ming stepped out of the hospital room, he thoughtfully closed the door behind him. Through the slowly closing gap, he could still see the chaos inside. Lowering his dark gaze, he shut the door completely and turned to leave, only to find himself face to face with Han Shao Zhou, who was leaning casually against the wall next to the door.
The slight smile on Mo Ming’s lips hadn’t yet faded, and before he could conceal it, it was caught by the man in front of him.
Maintaining his composure, Mo Ming walked past Han Shao Zhou without a word.
Han Shao Zhou, still in his relaxed pose with his hands in his pockets, remarked, “Quite the show you put on. Suddenly, I’m not surprised at all that you played me for three years without me even realizing it.”
Mo Ming halted and turned to face Han Shao Zhou.
“You don’t have to be on guard around me. I’m too lazy to settle the score with you right now. I was just reflecting on those past three years when I thought I had everything figured out…” Han Shao Zhou’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “It’s kind of embarrassing, actually.”
Mo Ming stayed silent.
Han Shao Zhou straightened up, his expression neutral as he looked at Mo Ming. “Tell me, did you see me as a fool all those years? Was making me happy as easy as amusing a dog?”
There was no hint of teasing or self-mockery in his voice. He was genuinely wondering. After realizing that in Mo Ming’s eyes, he was nothing more than a tool, someone with a face that only slightly resembled someone Mo Ming truly cared about, Han Shao Zhou’s confidence had crumbled. The person he once thought was a delicate flower had turned out to be sharp and unfathomable.
It was as if he had suddenly seen himself clearly—he had always been just a trivial tool under Mo Ming’s gaze. Even his most furious outbursts wouldn’t shake Mo Ming in the slightest.
He even found his act of smashing the apartment that night to be laughably ridiculous…
“I didn’t see you that way,” Mo Ming started but then paused, lowering his gaze. “But talking about this now doesn’t make any difference.”
At that moment, the hospital room door opened suddenly. Shen Peiling and the others, looking quite displeased, filed out, their faces showing signs of the earlier commotion. “Well, if it isn’t Xiao Han! What a coincidence,” she said, surprised and pleased to see Han Shao Zhou. She quickly fixed her hair, which had been tousled in the earlier scuffle, and greeted him warmly, “What brings you to the hospital, Xiao Han?”
Seeing Han Shao Zhou, Shen Xixi excitedly nudged Wen Ci, who was the last to exit. “Cousin, look! It’s Han Ge! He’s here too.”
Wen Ci, whose pale skin made the red slap mark on his face all the more prominent, had been planning to put on a mask after leaving the room. But hearing Shen Xixi’s words, he instinctively pulled the mask down. However, when he stepped out and met Han Shao Zhou’s icy gaze, he stopped in his tracks.
Wen Ci pressed his lips together tightly, covering one side of his face with his hand.
Han Shao Zhou’s gaze barely lingered on Wen Ci’s face before he turned to Mo Ming. “Come here…”
Mo Ming blinked his dark eyes, confused.
When Mo Ming didn’t move, Han Shao Zhou stepped forward, grabbed him by the wrist, and pulled him back into Shen Qian’s hospital room.
Shen Peiling hesitated for a moment before trying to follow them.
“Mom, why go back in? We’ve already had a falling out with Shen Qian’s family,” Wen Ci said, pulling his mother back.
“Didn’t you see that Mo Ming went in? Besides, I need to have a word with Xiao Han. This kid is so busy these days; it’s hard to catch him,” Shen Peiling replied.
“Aunt, you have to mention how Mo Ming has been bullying Cousin and stealing his opportunities,” Shen Xixi chimed in. “Han Ge used to listen to you and Uncle the most.”
“Yes,” Wen Zhong nodded thoughtfully. “Xiao Han isn’t as obedient as he used to be. He needs a good talking-to.”
While the others entered the room, Wen Ci remained outside, stunned. The vivid handprint on his face had clearly been seen by Han Shao Zhou, yet he had shown no concern.
His indifference, that cold, uncaring glance…
Inside the hospital room, everyone recognized Han Shao Zhou and looked on in surprise as he entered.
Shen Qian’s mother hadn’t expected Han Shao Zhou to visit her son personally, which gave her some reassurance. She hadn’t noticed Mo Ming following behind him and immediately started sobbing, listing all of Mo Ming’s supposed wrongdoings against her son. She was clear-headed enough to know that although there had been tension with Wen Ci’s family earlier, Han Shao Zhou was fond of Wen Ci. He might have come to visit Shen Qian for Wen Ci’s sake, so she refrained from complaining about Wen Ci and focused all her blame on Mo Ming. After all, someone had to be held responsible for what had happened to her son.
But Han Shao Zhou ignored her and walked over to the hospital bed, looking down at Shen Qian with a cold expression.
Shen Qian found it hard to breathe under Han Shao Zhou’s sharp gaze, his neck stiff with guilt.
“How many men were there?” Han Shao Zhou asked coldly.
“Xiao Han, you…” Shen’s mother began.
Han Shao Zhou raised his eyes to her. “I’m talking to your son, not you.”
The room fell silent.
Shen Qian, trembling under Han Shao Zhou’s icy stare, stammered, “F-four?”
“For how long?”
Tears streamed down Shen Qian’s face, but he dared not cry out loud. “I-I don’t know. I passed out… later…”
Han Shao Zhou calmly folded up his sleeves. “Did you enjoy it?”
Shen Qian finally broke into sobs. “I-I almost died. Those bastards even used… tools. It was so painful, I… I really…”
Thud!
A heavy punch landed squarely on Shen Qian’s face, cutting off his cries.
Shen Qian’s face was smashed to one side, and a bloodied tooth flew out of his mouth, landing right on his mother’s face by the bed.
Mo Ming, standing behind Han Shao Zhou, was slightly startled, clearly seeing the muscles bulge on Han Shao Zhou’s forearm.
Shen’s mother let out a piercing scream and jumped up from her chair, shrieking like an enraged porcupine, “How dare you hit my son, you…”
“Shut up,” Han Shao Zhou said, raising his eyes.
Shen Qian’s uncle quickly stepped forward to calm her down, whispering urgently in her ear, “Sister, stop! This is Qian’s fault. Besides, Shengda is our law firm’s biggest client—we can’t afford to offend Han Shao Zhou.”
Shen’s mother, clutching her face, began to sob.
Han Shao Zhou grabbed Shen Qian’s chin with two fingers and forced him to look up. “You drugged him, too?”
Shen Qian, almost dazed from the hit, had blood trickling from his mouth. He stared at Han Shao Zhou with wide, terrified eyes. “I-I…”
“Drugging, gang rape, filming it all…” Han Shao Zhou slapped Shen Qian’s face lightly. “You’re quite the player, aren’t you?”
“I… ah!”
Suddenly, Han Shao Zhou ripped out the IV needle, grabbed a fistful of Shen Qian’s hair, and yanked him off the bed.
With a loud crash, Shen Qian hit the floor, the pain from his injuries making him cry out in agony.
Han Shao Zhou held Shen Qian by the hair, dragging him like a dead dog until he reached Mo Ming’s feet.
He lifted Shen Qian’s upper body, forcing him into a kneeling position in front of Mo Ming before finally letting go.
Shen’s mother nearly fainted, crying out in desperation, “We were wrong, we were wrong! Please don’t do this, I’m begging you, don’t do this to my son!”
Everyone in the room was tense with fear, even Shen Peiling and the others who had followed Han Shao Zhou in were too terrified to make a sound.
Without turning around, Han Shao Zhou coldly asked, “Do you need me to teach you how to apologize?”
Shen Qian, barely able to feel his pain anymore, grabbed Mo Ming’s pants and began to kowtow repeatedly, tears and snot covering his face. “I’m sorry, Brother Mo, I’m so sorry! I won’t dare do it again. Please forgive me! I was wrong, I’m begging you, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…”
Mo Ming looked down at the man at his feet, still a little dazed. Just when he thought the situation was over, it had only just reached its climax.
Seeing that Mo Ming wasn’t responding, Shen Qian wiped his nose and tried to move closer on his knees to hug Mo Ming’s legs, but before he could, Han Shao Zhou swiftly kicked him to the side.
Shen’s mother fainted on the spot.
“Just throw this trash in jail,” Han Shao Zhou said calmly, looking at Mo Ming.
Shen Qian struggled to get up, clinging to Mo Ming’s feet and kowtowing again. Shen’s mother, having regained consciousness, crawled around the bed and grabbed Mo Ming’s hand, falling to her knees as well.
“I’m sorry, Mo Ming. I shouldn’t have said those things about you earlier. I was wrong. Qian has been spoiled by me and my husband. Please, just give him one chance. He’s already paid a heavy price for his actions. The evidence you have is like a sword hanging over his head—he won’t dare step out of line again. I promise you, if he ever does anything wrong again, even if he says one bad word about you, you can send him straight to jail. Just give him one chance this time, please. I’m begging you, Mo Ming, you’re a good kid, please…”
Shen’s mother was crying uncontrollably, clinging to Mo Ming’s hand.
Without a word, Han Shao Zhou left the room, standing by the door and waiting silently. After a while, Mo Ming finally emerged.
“You don’t look too happy,” Han Shao Zhou remarked, noticing the frown on Mo Ming’s face. With a snort, he added, “Mad because I interfered? You handled it yourself, but I stepped in because they seemed like they weren’t convinced. Don’t overthink it.”
Mo Ming bit his lip. “There’s snot on my shoe.”
Han Shao Zhou: “…”
Mo Ming looked down at the sticky, transparent liquid on his favorite white sneakers, his delicate eyebrows furrowing in disgust.
This was his favorite pair of shoes… He shouldn’t have gone in with that guy.
Han Shao Zhou closed his eyes in exasperation. “We’ve broken up. Don’t expect me to clean it for you.”
Mo Ming: “…”
Shen Peiling and her group slowly emerged from the hospital room.
Mo Ming didn’t stay any longer and headed straight for the elevator.
“Zhao Cheng is in the ward downstairs,” Han Shao Zhou called out to Mo Ming’s retreating figure. “He was in a car accident last night, nearly died. You guys were friends… He’s waiting for you to visit him.”
(Zhao Cheng: ???)
Mo Ming stepped into the elevator, and as the doors closed, Han Shao Zhou turned back, his expression cold as he faced Wen Ci and the others coming out of the room.
