.
When Song Ling opened her eyes, the red color in front of her gradually faded until it turned into a vast expanse of white.
He is in the hospital.
"Song Ling!" The moment Song Ling regained consciousness, someone rushed up to him. The next second, a clear sound was heard, and a slap landed on his face.
“Sister…” Song Ling looked up and saw Song Fei’s face covered in tears.
"You still know how to call me 'sister'."
Just as another slap was about to come down, Zhou Yinan, who was standing behind her, hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Song Fei back: "Sister, Brother Ling just woke up, don't hurt him again!"
Upon hearing this, Song Fei lowered her raised hand. Her eyes, filled with regret, hatred, and utter heartache, reflected her gaze towards Song Ling. She couldn't believe that she had returned to this scene after only two or three months away from the Empire.
When Song Ling came to her senses, she realized that there were quite a few people standing in the ward, including Zhou Yinan, Song Fei, Assistant Wang, and even Li Ke.
Seemingly shocked by the scene before him, tears streamed down Li Ke's face. He had never seen anything like it before; Song Ling, such a strong person, had bandages all over his legs, arms, and neck.
"Don't cry." Song Ling couldn't stand seeing people cry, so he forced a smile and comforted Li Ke, "If you cry again, your makeup will be ruined."
Hearing this, Li Ke wiped away her tears and asked him, "Baby, are you in pain? It must hurt terribly..."
"I don't feel any pain." Perhaps the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet; all he felt right now was heartache.
"I am... how..." Song Ling wanted to ask how she got to the hospital, but before she could ask, someone walked in from outside the ward.
“Teacher Xiao.” Song Ling looked at the tall and upright man in front of her and was speechless for a moment.
Xiao Zeyan held a half-smoked cigar in his hand. Seemingly realizing that cigars were not allowed in the ward, Xiao Zeyan extinguished the cigar in his hand and threw it into the trash can before walking back to the bedside. His expression was as calm as ever, but his slightly furrowed brows betrayed his less-than-pleasant mood.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Song Ling said.
Xiao Zeyan didn't speak, but couldn't help but reach into his coat pocket to look for his wallet containing cigars. After finding it empty, he placed his hand on the bed rail at the foot of the bed and said in a deep voice, "Let's rest."
In a few days, it will be the start of the new semester at Beicheng University, and Song Ling's current state is clearly not going to change.
Song Ling pondered the meaning of those words carefully, and after a long while, he asked, "My glands."
Xiao Zeyan said, "You arrived in time. The glands are fine, but there's some problem with the knee; the anterior cruciate ligament is torn."
"Broken." Song Ling was stunned for a long time before she fully realized the meaning of those words.
How could it be a break?
Seeing Song Ling's silence, Zhou Yinan spoke up, "Brother Ling, I asked the doctor. This can be reconstructed. Recovery might be quite complicated, but there are successful cases. Many people can walk and jump after recovery..."
Seemingly noticing Song Ling's overly serious expression, Zhou Yinan couldn't continue speaking.
A note from the author:
Just a little stab, things will get better in the next chapter, my darlings.
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Chapter 44 (1/2)
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Chapter 44
Chapter 44
Honey, I'm here!
The atmosphere in the ward suddenly became heavy. Song Ling wanted to say a few words to comfort everyone, but found that she had lost her voice and could not utter a single word when she tried to speak again.
He had a smooth life for the first twenty years of his life, with almost no setbacks. The only time he experienced such a miserable situation was when he was completely out of control.
Raising a tiger can be a disaster; a farmer and a snake.
He always thought he could control everything, but in the end he became the one who was manipulated.
Song Ling stared at the pristine white blanket, remaining silent for a long time. The effects of the anesthetic were gradually wearing off, and the pain in her legs was intensifying.
"Do you want to rest for a bit?" Li Ke asked, noticing Song Ling's unusual behavior.
Song Ling nodded, and a thin layer of sweat had already appeared on her forehead when she lay down.
Song Fei led the others out, leaving only Song Ling and Xiao Zeyan in the ward.
Song Ling glanced at Xiao Zeyan, as if asking why this person hadn't left yet.
His impression of Xiao Zeyan remained in the ambiguous guidance he received at Beicheng University. This person had a cold tone and stood far away, but his advice to him was always timely.
“Your mark is still there.” Xiao Zeyan sat on the stool and, seeing Song Ling’s rather gloomy expression, continued, “With this mark, you will always be suppressed by Luo Wenchuan. Your vulnerable period has been disrupted by him, and it will take some time for you to fully recover. Song Ling, do you want to remove this mark?”
"No..." Washing off the mark would cause great harm to a person, and he could no longer bear it.
Xiao Zeyan looked down at the person on the bed, her eyes flickering: "It's okay not to wash, after all, this kind of influence is two-way."
As long as this mark exists, Luo Wenchuan won't have an easy time.
Alphas and Enigmas are born with the ability to regulate pheromone release. Undoubtedly, Luo Wenchuan mastered this skill before Song Ling, which was his advantage, but it will soon cease to be one. Song Ling is intelligent; in the near future, he too will be able to fully control his pheromones.
"Qinghe..." Song Ling still asked, he ultimately failed to keep Qinghe.
When Xiao Zeyan heard Song Ling ask about Qinghe, his expression was not as serious as before: "As Qinghe's young master, you should indeed be concerned about this matter, but as a student of the Empire, I suggest you withdraw from this matter and complete your future mission."
"Can I go back?"
Song Ling's eyes welled up with tears. He wasn't a medical student, but he knew that people with severe anterior cruciate ligament ruptures had to exert a great deal of effort just to walk normally. Even if they recovered, they could only walk normally; how could they possibly continue to participate in physical training?
"If I say I can go back, then I can go back."
A faint light flickered in Xiao Zeyan's eyes. He wouldn't be so sure if this happened to anyone else, but Song Ling was different; this person's will was stronger than anyone imagined.
Song Ling is very smart and has great initiative, but sometimes she is too confident and naive.
There are plenty of exceptional talents in this world, but many fall from grace and never recover because of certain events. As long as Song Ling can pull through, he will achieve great things in the future.
"good."
Song Ling smiled, but she didn't hold out much hope.
The physical training he usually does is difficult for most people; when he puts his energy into it, he can run dozens of kilometers back and forth every day. With his knees damaged, how can he go back to normal?
.
Song Ling's ligament reconstruction surgery was performed at the Affiliated Hospital of Beicheng University, by a professor at the university.
She entered the operating room at eight in the morning and wasn't wheeled out until eleven.
After being woken up by the anesthesiologist in the operating room, Song Ling fell asleep again shortly after regaining consciousness.
I sensed someone beside me trying to talk to me, but I couldn't resist the overwhelming drowsiness and remained asleep, unable to wake up.
It wasn't until 10 p.m. that Song Ling finally managed to open her eyes.
"Brother Ling, you're awake." It was Xiao Zhou's voice in my ear.
Song Ling glanced at Xiao Zhou, her bewildered eyes glistening with tears: "Xiao Zhou."
"I'm here, Brother Ling, would you like something to eat?"
This person hadn't eaten or drunk anything for several hours before the surgery, and it looked like they hadn't had any food or water for almost a whole day.
Song Ling nodded, her eyes staring blankly out the window.
Zhou Yinan heated up the porridge she had prepared, helped Song Ling sit up, and then handed the porridge to him.
Song Ling glanced at the porridge in the bowl, then looked up at Zhou Yinan, opened her mouth but couldn't ask anything.
"Brother Ling, do you want to ask about Luo..."
"Hmm." Song Ling nodded. He did want to ask this, even now he still wanted to ask how Luo Wenchuan was doing.
Zhou Yinan sighed and said, "There's no news of him, it's like he's disappeared. I heard from Wei Yu that when he and General Xiao arrived at your location, they only saw a few Alphas. Those Alphas were taken away, and they kept their mouths shut, so they couldn't get any information out of them. We don't know anything else."
"Wei Yu went too."
"Yeah, he seems to be at odds with everyone, but he's actually quite loyal. When he heard you were in trouble, he went over to help you." Zhou Yinan was initially quite afraid of Wei Yu, but the longer she spent with him, the more she realized that he was just a bit fierce on the surface, but not a bad person at all.
"Qinghe's side..."
"Qinghe is just like that. You didn't go that day, so you still have your shares. It's just... judging from Qinghe's actions these past few days, it seems like they're trying to replace her. Brother Ling, General Xiao said he'll talk to you about these things later. You should focus on getting better and we can go on a trip to relax."
Zhou Yinan could tell that Song Ling really liked Luo Wenchuan. In all the years he had known Song Ling, he had never seen Song Ling care so much about anyone.
It's just a dog; you'd develop feelings for it after three years. Luo Wenchuan, that dog, was not only cold-hearted and indifferent, but in the end, he even bit the person who raised him, leaving them covered in wounds.
Is genuine sincerity truly more valuable than any transaction of interests? Zhou Yinan couldn't understand. The place where he grew up was far from allowing him to comprehend the complexities of human nature.
Song Ling is such a good person, how could Luo Wenchuan lie to him like that? He's a heartless bastard. Zhou Yinan's eyes reddened slightly. It wasn't until Song Ling finished eating and went to sleep that she suddenly realized it was almost eleven o'clock.
There was a soft knock on the door outside the ward. Zhou Yinan went to open it and found Sun Yining standing outside with some things in her hands.
"Brother Ning."
Sun Yining placed her hand near his lips, signaling Zhou Yinan to keep his voice down.
The two walked into the ward. Sun Yining looked at the person on the bed who still had a worried expression even when sleeping, and suddenly felt a pang of regret.
He knew Luo Wenchuan had some problems and should have warned him earlier, otherwise things wouldn't have turned out this way.
Seeing that Sun Yining had something to say, Zhou Yinan led her to the corridor outside the ward.
"Song Ling's legs."
"The doctor said that if I start rehabilitation training early, there is a possibility of recovery, and I can run and jump again, but I can no longer participate in too strict physical training."
Zhou Yinan frowned, not saying the second half of his sentence to Song Ling. Back then, Song Ling had trained almost day and night to prepare for the entrance exam for Beicheng High School; if she knew this, who knows what she would think.
He couldn't imagine whether a person could survive after experiencing both physical and mental trauma.
These things shouldn't have been Song Ling's responsibility. If it weren't for Luo Wenchuan, Song Ling would still be running and jumping on the way to a mission right now, whatever she wanted, she shouldn't be lying in a hospital room.
"It's my fault. I discovered Luo Wenchuan's methods long ago, but I didn't tell Song Ling." Sun Yining leaned against the wall, feeling like she had a lot of anger stuck in her chest and couldn't exhale. She looked extremely depressed.
Zhou Yinan sighed and comforted her, "It's not your fault. Who would have thought he'd use the same methods on Brother Ling? Brother Ling treated him so well, and he..."
To be fair, Luo Wenchuan did a lot for Song Ling, but no matter how considerate he was before, it cannot cover up the fact that he hurt Song Ling.