Ch.103 – One-way Passage

Posted on June 18, 2022 by gooseberry

When Xia Wennan awoke, he found himself in a hospital bed. A small nightlight was turned on in one corner, and a chair next to the bed was occupied by one person—his alpha husband, Ming Luchuan.

Ming Luchuan’s jaw was propped up on one hand, and his eyes were closed. The small nightlight shone on the side of his face, casting a shadow across half of it.

Xia Wennan assumed that the man was sleeping and extended his hand towards Ming Luchuan’s face, but halfway there, Ming Luchuan opened his eyes and grabbed his hand, before letting go shortly afterwards. “With the way you are right now, you’re still acting out?”

“You sound like my dad when you say that.”

Ming Luchuan coldly humphed.

Xia Wennan held up his bandaged hand in front of him, and asked, recalling his injured palm, “Did I have to get stitches?”

“Mm,” said Ming Luchuan.

“Well, I guess I got pretty lucky,” said Xia Wennan. “I didn’t even feel any pain when I passed out.”

Ming Luchuan was watching him, a hint of mirth visible in his gaze. “Does it hurt right now?” he inquired.

Xia Wennan considered the pain and nodded. “I’ve had worse though.”

Ming Luchuan sat quietly for a moment before lowering his head and burying his face in the blanket over Xia Wennan’s chest.

Xia Wennan stroked Ming Luchuan’s hair with his uninjured hand, the soft strands slipping through his fingers. He then took a small handful of Ming Luchuan’s hair and yanked on it.

“Have you gone insane?” Ming Luchuan said as he raised his head, face darkening.

“Just checking to see if I’m awake,” Xia Wennan explained. “I feel dizzy.”

“Did you hurt your head?” Ming Luchuan was caught off guard. The situation had been too chaotic earlier, and the cut on Xia Wennan’s hand was so obvious that no one had noticed if he was hurt elsewhere.

Xia Wennan lightly shook his head. “I banged my head—I had all these dreams while I was unconscious… There was a lot going on.”

Ming Luchuan’s expression was grave. “We’ll ask for a CT scan first thing tomorrow morning.”

Xia Wennan hummed in agreement, then asked, “Where are Ming Sichen and Ming Siyan?”

“Ming Sichen or Ming Siyan?”

“Both.”

Ming Luchuan straightened out Xia Wennan’s blanket. “One has just had his windpipe stitched up and can’t talk right now, and the other—we can’t locate him at the moment.”

“You already know then?” Xia Wennan asked him.

Ming Luchuan said, “I heard from Lu Huaiye.”

“So, we still don’t know where the real Siyan is? What about Aunt Zhang? Has anyone seen her?”

“We’ve found her, but she didn’t take Ming Siyan with her. The police are still questioning her.”

Xia Wennan’s brows furrowed. “Did they check the CCTV?”

“Yes. They’ve identified a suspect and are now pursuing him.”

“Who is it?” Xia Wennan was curious.

“A mixed-race alpha,” said Ming Luchuan.

These words pierced Xia Wennan’s ear and straight through his brain. A sudden image came to mind. “I think I’ve seen him.” He braced himself and attempted to sit. “Does he have short, black curls? Tall build?”

Ming Luchuan leaned against his chair and hummed in assent. “Do you remember anything else?”

Xia Wennan racked his brains. “That guy who rented the car, the one they said wasn’t from around here?”

Ming Luchuan gave a nod. “That man was probably hired by Ming Sichen, but Ming Sichen can’t exactly speak right now.”

“Why did he want me dead?”

Ming Luchuan shook his head. “I’m not sure. Maybe only he knows. Or maybe you’ll remember one day, and then you’ll know.”

Xia Wennan pressed a hand to his forehead.

“Why don’t you get some rest,” Ming Luchuan suggested quietly. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Where will you sleep?” Xia Wennan asked, casting a glance at him.

“I’ll watch over you,” said Ming Luchuan.

“How can I sleep with you watching me?” Xia Wennan shifted to the side. “Come up here.”

“The bed’s too small.”

“We can squeeze,” said Xia Wennan.

The corners of Ming Luchuan’s mouth curled upwards into a faint smile, but it vanished just as quick, and he solemnly said, “No. Go to sleep.”

With that said, Ming Luchuan simply turned off the nightlight, plunging the room into complete darkness.

Xia Wennan had to wait a while before he could vaguely make out Ming Luchuan’s silhouette in the dark. He stared at Ming Luchuan for some time, but his sleepiness won out, and he eventually fell asleep.

His sleep seemed particularly deep; he sunk into a hazy dreamland, and countless scenes flashed before his eyes. It appeared as if he’d experienced them firsthand, but it also felt like he was watching a movie.

When Xia Wennan woke up again, he was just as tired as before. A simple twitch of his hand hurt, and even the smallest movement hurt his head.

They hadn’t changed his room overnight, but when he opened his eyes, he discovered that it was already bright outside, and Ming Luchuan was nowhere to be found.

Xia Wennan sat up and slowly climbed out of bed. He headed towards the door, and as he opened it, he was met by Lin Shuqiu in a white doctor’s coat, who was about to enter the room.

“Wennan!” Lin Shuqiu’s voice was dripping with worry. “How are you feeling?”

Ming Luchuan trailed close behind him. He’d evidently gone to see Lin Shuqiu and planned to return to Xia Wennan’s room together.

“I feel fine,” said Xia Wennan.

Lin Shuqiu did a simple checkup on Xia Wennan, and wrote up an examination form for a morning CT scan.

“If there’s nothing wrong, you can be discharged,” said Lin Shuqiu.

Xia Wennan thanked him, then sat up on the bed and asked, “Which room is Ming Sichen in?”

Lin Shuqiu didn’t immediately answer him, but turned to Ming Luchuan instead.

“What are you going to do?” Ming Luchuan asked.

“I want to talk to him,” said Xia Wennan.

“He can’t exactly talk right now,” said Lin Shuqiu.

Xia Wennan crossed his legs, paused in thought, then looked up and whispered, “Is he under police supervision? Are we not allowed to see him right now?”

Ming Luchuan said, “No, not yet. They’re waiting for him to be discharged.”

Xia Wennan nodded. “I’ll go and see him then. We can leave the can’t talk thing for later.”

Ming Sichen stayed in a single room, and no one stood guard outside. When Xia Wennan opened the door slightly and peered into the room, he was surprised to find that Ming Qin was inside.

Ming Qin sat beside the bed, his dazed gaze fixed on Ming Sichen, who was laying motionless with his eyes closed, as if he was sleeping.

When Xia Wennan opened the door, Ming Qin turned to see who had come, and after seeing Xia Wennan’s face, he turned his head back and continued staring at Ming Sichen without uttering a word.

Thus, Xia Wennan also said nothing. He silently entered the room, approached the bed, and studied Ming Sichen.

After some time, Ming Qin finally relented and opened his mouth, asking Xia Wennan, “What are you here for?”

For a brief moment, as Xia Wennan took in Ming Sichen’s sleeping face, he mistook him for the previous Ming Sichen—there had never been any discernible difference between the two Ming Sichens.

“I’d like to have a little chat with Ming Sichen,” said Xia Wennan.

“He can’t speak,” said Ming Qin.

“I know,” Xia Wennan admitted. “I’ll talk to him. He only needs to listen.”

Ming Qin remained silent. Meanwhile, there was a hint of movement beneath Ming Sichen’s eyelids.

Xia Wennan bent down and leaned in closer to Ming Sichen. “Are you awake, Ming Sichen?” he asked.

Ming Qin rose to his feet. “Don’t wake him up.”

Xia Wennan completely disregarded him and continued, “The reason you’re coming out and confessing that you’re Ming Sichen now is because you truly can’t do Ming Siyan in, can you?”

Ming Sichen’s eyelids quivered, and even his bandaged throat trembled slightly.

“You did one wrong thing and wanted to stop there, didn’t you? But you had to commit more wrongs and couldn’t take it any longer, so you decided to end your life instead, right?”

Ming Sichen slowly opened his eyes.

Xia Wennan turned to face Ming Qin. “See? He does want to talk to me. He just doesn’t want to talk to you. Could you step out for a moment?”