Chapter 116: Falling in Love—The Whole World Becomes My Rival (16)

Bai Yao felt a little dazed.

Huo Zhiyuan and Fu Huai looked nothing alike, yet somehow she felt as if she could see Fu Huai’s shadow through him. Whenever Fu Huai acted spoiled and unreasonable toward her, he wore exactly this expression. If she were to pat Huo Zhiyuan’s head as she used to do with Fu Huai, would he react in the same way?

Lost in thought, Bai Yao reached out her hand. But Huo Rou Rou seized her arm, her voice guarded and accusatory: “What are you trying to do to my brother?”

Bai Yao’s hand froze in mid-air, unable to fall. Bloodshot veins appeared in Huo Zhiyuan’s eyes. Suddenly, he erupted in anger, and with a strength that seemed to come from nowhere, the restraints snapped. He seized Huo Rou Rou’s hand and bit down hard.

A woman’s scream echoed through the ward, chaos reigning.

Bai Yao soon received her first complaint in her career.

In the office, the head nurse glanced at the complaint and asked Bai Yao, “You know the patient surnamed Huo and his family, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do,” Bai Yao replied.

“Enemies?” the head nurse pressed.

Bai Yao nodded. “Yes.”

The head nurse fell silent. The complaint was, of course, filed by Huo Mingyuan and Huo Rou Rou. Huo Rou Rou’s arm had been severely bitten; if Huo Mingyuan hadn’t acted quickly and knocked Huo Zhiyuan out, her hand might have been broken.

Naturally, the Huo family blamed Bai Yao rather than Huo Zhiyuan. To them, Huo Zhiyuan’s behavior was too odd—Bai Yao must have done something, otherwise he wouldn’t have changed so drastically.

The head nurse said, “The hospital investigated the incident. Dr. Ma said you did nothing wrong.”

Bai Yao felt uneasy. “Will I still keep my job?”

The head nurse smiled. “You’ve performed excellently lately. There’s no problem—why wouldn’t you keep it? Mr. Huo did contact our director, but rest assured, no matter how influential the Huo family is, they can’t affect our hospital.”

Was Lanshan Hospital really that formidable? Even the Huo family’s power was nothing here?

The head nurse continued, “Still, to avoid unnecessary trouble, you shouldn’t handle any more patients from the Huo family. Dr. Ma will assign you other work.”

Bai Yao laughed. “Alright, thank you.”

It was noon again, lunchtime.

Fu Huai sat in his tiny room, gazing at the small mirror on the table for a long time. He’d repositioned the pink hairclip in his hair hundreds of times, finally finding the most beautiful angle. Then he rummaged through the little makeup bag on the table, pulling out every pale-colored hairclip—undoubtedly all belonging to Bai Yao.

He tried each one, ultimately choosing a white clip to pin back a stray lock of hair at his forehead. The white and pink clips formed a slanted cross, and he turned his head before the mirror.

Hidden among his soft white hair, the pink and white clips didn’t look out of place. Instead, they made him appear even more delicate. Most of his smooth forehead was exposed, and the youthful face lost some of its wild charm, replaced by refreshing clarity.

He smiled with satisfaction, stood up, spun around several times, chanting repeatedly, “Yao Yao Yao Yao Yao Yao Yao Yao!”

Then he threw himself onto the bed, excitedly gathering the quilt Bai Yao had folded into a bundle and hugging it to his chest. His feet dangled from the bed, swinging back and forth, muffled giggles escaping from within the quilt.

The wind carried the scent of someone approaching from afar.

Fu Huai hurriedly climbed up, fixing his hairclips as he ran to the window.

He’d dressed so beautifully—she would surely love him!

But when he reached the window, the smile vanished from his face. His eyes darkened, brooding and terrifying.

Bai Yao was downstairs, shielded by an umbrella, speaking to a man in a white coat—likely a doctor at the hospital. The man handed her a box, and Bai Yao immediately smiled at him.

Fu Huai pressed his hand against the glass. A burning flame seemed to rage in his chest, and bloodshot veins wove through his gloomy gaze, as if weaving a net of jealousy that twisted his beautiful face into something horrifying.

So jealous, so jealous, so jealous...

The boy reflected in the glass, his face consumed by jealous fire, began to crack. Flesh sprouted from the fissures, burrowing downward to disappear beneath his collar.

The overwhelming emotion was splitting his body apart—a nameless rupture that defied human understanding, making it all the more twisted and terrifying. Just as another face was about to grow from his own, footsteps sounded outside the door.

Fu Huai raised his hand and forcibly tore off the half-formed flesh face.

In the corridor, Bai Yao took out her key to unlock the door. The key turned a few times, but the lock wouldn’t budge—it had clearly been locked from inside. She frowned and knocked. “Fu Huai, are you sleeping in there? I brought you lunch, hurry and open the door.”

After a long pause, the door opened from within.

Bai Yao placed her things on the table, picked up her dripping umbrella, and walked to the balcony, paying no attention to Fu Huai’s silence. “I got your favorite sweet-and-sour ribs today, and I had someone help me buy strawberries for you.”

The boy behind her paused mid-step.

Bai Yao finished with the umbrella and turned around, nearly bumping into his chest. Why did he act like a ghost lurking behind her? She looked up at him curiously.

Fu Huai tilted his head. “Strawberries?”

“Yes!” Bai Yao happily pulled him to the table and opened a box filled with large, red strawberries. She smiled, “You probably won’t be able to go down the mountain for a while, and it’s hard to buy fruit here. Luckily, a colleague’s family grows strawberries. Not long ago, they sent him several boxes. Knowing you like them, I bought one from him.”

Fu Huai stared blankly at Bai Yao.

The rain outside was heavy, mist clinging to her clothes. Tiny droplets jeweled her fair face; when she blinked, the long lashes quivered with water, but she paid no mind, casually wiping her eyes.

She picked up a few strawberries and walked to the sink to wash them for him. But after just one step, the boy hugged her from behind.

He bent quietly, chin resting on her shoulder, face nestled against her neck. His breath brushed her skin, as if savoring her scent.

Fu Huai was usually noisy, rarely clinging to anyone so silently.

Bai Yao cradled the strawberries, unable to turn and embrace him. She angled her face to look at him and whispered, “What’s wrong?”

Fu Huai murmured, “Yao Yao, I think my illness is getting worse.”

She was puzzled. “Illness?”

He said, “My heart feels so heavy, my body feels like it’s about to burst.”

His arms tightened around her waist, pressing her back completely against his chest. He nuzzled her face, mumbling, “Yao Yao.”

“I’m here,” she replied.

He kept repeating, “I like you so much, like you so much, like you so much, like you so much—”

Bai Yao giggled at his nuzzling, seeing no sign of real heart trouble. “Stop that, it tickles! Let me wash your strawberries.”

“I don’t want strawberries, I want you.” He snatched the fruit from her hands and tossed them onto the table, turned her around, and lifted her by the hips, hanging her onto himself.

He bent forward, forehead pressed to hers, like a cicada chanting one phrase over and over: “Love me, love me, Yao Yao, love me, hurry, love me…”

Bai Yao calculated her afternoon break in her mind. “You get twenty minutes.”

He grumbled, “Yao Yao, you underestimate me.”

“Now you only have nineteen minutes and fifty-eight seconds left,” she retorted.

Fu Huai pursed his lips; not even bothering to toss her onto the bed, he slipped his hands beneath her skirt, tugging at her clothes. He kissed her, softly urging, “Yao Yao, help me undress.”

In the corner of the bathroom, the last scraps of flesh burned away, leaving nothing but ashes unrecognizable as what they once were.

Elsewhere, in a hospital ward.

Huo Rou Rou’s hand was wrapped in gauze. Despite the painkillers, the wound still ached faintly.

She felt wronged. Her second brother, always so gentle and spoiling, had bitten her—something was definitely wrong. Even if he’d gone mad, the one he remembered should have been her, not Bai Yao. How could it be Bai Yao?

She had to find out what tricks Bai Yao was playing behind the scenes!

A sound came from outside.

Huo Rou Rou thought her eldest brother had returned with lunch. Tears of grievance welled in her eyes as she looked toward the door.

But when it opened, it was a man in patient’s clothing standing outside.

He wore a smile fixed in place, the corners of his mouth raised unnaturally, never changing. He stared straight at Huo Rou Rou, his lifeless grin chilling and sinister.

Huo Rou Rou shrank back, her scalp prickling with fear.