SDVPP Chapter 37

With a loud bang, a broken tree crashed onto the black car. Even through the curtain of rain, one could see rising plumes of white smoke.

In an instant, Chi Han’s hands and feet turned icy cold. The blood in his entire body seemed to have frozen.

He rushed straight into the rain, the pouring water hitting him so hard that he could barely keep his eyes open.

“Rong Xu! Rong Xu!!”

Chi Han ran to the side of the car and realized the broken tree had struck exactly on the hood. Although the front windshield was covered in cracks, it hadn’t shattered.

The people inside shouldn’t have suffered any serious injuries.

His heart, which had been held tightly in fear, loosened a little. Chi Han pulled hard on the rear door. Perhaps when the branches fell, they had also damaged the roof.

He pulled for a long time before finally opening the car door.

As soon as the door opened, Chi Han immediately leaned inside. Cold rainwater ran down his spine, and his clothes were already soaked through.

“Rong Xu, are you okay?!”

The person sitting in the back seat moved slightly, and after a few seconds, suddenly reached out and grabbed Chi Han’s hand.

Both of their hands were terrifyingly cold.

“Chi Han?”

Rong Xu squinted and shook his head. Something had just fallen, causing his head to hit the glass.

Just as he came to, he heard Chi Han’s voice.

The clearer his mind became, the clearer the sound of the rain.

Rong Xu looked back through Chi Han’s body; the rain pounded on the roof like a waterfall, rushing down and falling entirely onto Chi Han.

“Get in, quick!”

Rong Xu had long lost his usual composure. He grabbed Chi Han, trying to pull him into the car. With rain this heavy and half of Chi Han’s body still outside, he was bound to fall seriously ill if this went on!

But Chi Han shook his head. Getting in the car now wasn’t safe. The landscaping near the school gate was too well done—poplars and willows were planted everywhere. More branches could come crashing down at any moment.

At this point, the driver had also kicked open his door and circled around to help Chi Han carry Rong Xu out of the car.

The rain was too heavy. It took the two of them several minutes to finally get him out.

By the time they made it back to the store near the school gate, Chi Han’s lips had already turned purple. His thin school uniform clung to his body, soaked through. A gust of cold wind blew past, taking away what little warmth he had left.

The shopkeeper lady was kind-hearted. As soon as they came in, she immediately brought over hot water and fetched a blanket from the back room.

Chi Han had been holding on with sheer willpower, but now that they were finally back inside, he slowly started to lose consciousness.

“This rain is really something else… I haven’t seen it come down like this in over ten years,” the shopkeeper muttered while shaking a thermometer. “Come on, let’s take this boy’s temperature. Look at him, trembling all over. You young people are too reckless. Rushing into a storm like that… aiya…”

Chi Han lay on his side on the sofa, completely wrapped in the blanket. His face was pale and bluish, his lips quivering.

Ever since they entered, Rong Xu hadn’t taken his eyes off him. He stared at Chi Han fixedly, the red in his eyes making him look almost frightening.

It was all because of him… Chi Han had gone out into the rain for his sake…

Rong Xu gripped the other’s hand tightly, but couldn’t feel the slightest bit of warmth.

In fact, it was even colder than his own.

A rough tightness rose in his throat, and he blinked hard.

It was all because of these legs.

Rong Xu stared at his own thin, frail legs, his gaze dark and brooding.

If only he could stand up…

“Rong Xu…”

Just as countless thoughts were surging through his mind, a faint voice suddenly broke the silence.

The gloom before his eyes instantly cleared, and all that was left was Chi Han.

Chi Han struggled to open his mouth. He felt unbearably cold, as if he might freeze to death at any moment.

“Cold… so cold… I want some hot water…”

Rong Xu immediately picked up the cup on the table and gently placed the straw between Chi Han’s lips.

He lowered his eyes slightly, the tenderness in them nearly overflowing.

That was a look he reserved only for Chi Han.

“Still cold? Do you want some more?”

By now, Chi Han could barely hear anything. After forcing down a few sips, he fell asleep again.

The rain outside showed no sign of letting up. No cars could get through. Rong Xu’s expression grew increasingly violent.

He wanted to reach out and touch Chi Han’s forehead, but just before he did, he pulled his hand back.

His hands were icy cold. Touching him would only make Chi Han feel worse.

Finally, just as Rong Xu’s patience was about to run out, the rain began to ease.

A few minutes later, he brought Chi Han into the butler’s car and headed straight to the hospital.

By the time they arrived, Chi Han’s fever had already reached 39.2°C. His face was flushed red, and even his ears were burning hot.

The doctor prescribed fever medication. After the nurse hung the IV drip, she left the room.

The butler stayed with them for a while before stepping out to prepare lunch for the two. For a moment, only Rong Xu and Chi Han, lying on the hospital bed, were left in the room.

Chi Han was suffering badly from the fever. Though there was an ice pack, it couldn’t take effect immediately through the blanket.

He moved his hand with the IV needle subconsciously, trying several times to throw off the covers.

Rong Xu held his hand down, intertwining their fingers one by one. Perhaps because Rong Xu’s hand was cold, Chi Han felt a little more comfortable and stopped moving.

Drop by drop, the fluid continued to flow. Rong Xu sat quietly at the bedside, his gaze dark and heavy.

He had dragged around these useless legs for so many years that he’d long grown used to them. From the start, they were untreatable. Later, he simply stopped wanting treatment.

And what if he could stand again?

Ordinary people yearned to walk again because they still had something they needed to do.

Rong Xu’s expression was indifferent. There had long been nothing left in this world that he was reluctant to part with.

But after meeting Chi Han, something he had long kept buried began to stir again, unwilling to give up.

He started to fantasize, hoping that one day, he could stand and look at Chi Han.

No longer would Chi Han need to crouch down. No longer would he have to look up.

Instead, he could reach out and hold Chi Han in his arms without needing anyone or anything to support him.

What had originally been just a faint stir of emotion was now magnified to the extreme.

What if.

If he and Chi Han were to spend many more days together in the future, just the thought that Chi Han would always have to consider his legs first in everything, they would be endlessly haunted by that suffocating feeling.

Until it dragged them both into an abyss.

A month or two might be fine. But what about three years? Five years?

No one could endure such a life forever.

Even if Chi Han could, Rong Xu could not.

These useless legs were like chains, binding him tightly. And he would never allow the other end of that chain to be tied to Chi Han.

In his sleep, Chi Han instinctively sought out coolness.

Rong Xu looked at the person leaning unconsciously closer to him, his eyes dark and unreadable, like dusk sinking into night.

A moment later, he locked the wheels of his chair and pushed himself next to the bed. One hand carefully protected Chi Han’s IV arm, while the other gently drew him into his arms.

Wrapped in this soothing coolness, the feverish heat in Chi Han’s body dissipated considerably. He rubbed against the source of comfort, snuggling in completely.

Rong Xu slowly closed his eyes, his heart calm and still.

He had to try everything to heal his legs.

If they could be healed, then he would stake everything just to stay by Chi Han’s side for a lifetime.

But if they couldn’t…

Rong Xu’s eyes lifted slightly at the corners, carrying a kind of bold defiance and all-or-nothing recklessness that made it impossible to look away.

Then I’ll just die.

As long as he could leave even the faintest trace of himself carved into Chi Han’s heart.

Rong Xu’s thin lips lightly brushed over Chi Han’s eyelids, his smile both radiant and fragile.

After all—

He had always been a madman to begin with.

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