Chapter 057: I'll Go Home with You—I'll Never Be Willful Again!

At the mention of that name, Ji Yunan’s dark eyes widened ever so slightly, the depths of them swirling with shock. So, the little sister-in-law knew everything after all…

But almost immediately, Ji Yunan countered, “Little sister-in-law, as for what happened with Zaozao, I won’t say much. When Xuezheng wakes up, let him explain it to you himself. But you must believe me—Xuezheng truly, now, already likes you very much and cares about you deeply!”

Shi Runrun was silent.

But then Shi Runrun remembered the call for help she’d made on the day the accident happened. That crisp female voice had confirmed his betrayal—a fact she could never forget, no matter how much time passed.

Yet now that things had come to this, she no longer wished to hide it. She told Ji Yunan everything that had happened that day.

“Brother Yunan, actually, after losing the baby, I didn’t blame it all on him. But on the day of the accident, the day I was hit by the car, I called him for help, and it was a woman who answered his phone. What kind of intimate relationship would a woman need to have with him to have his phone? That’s what I can’t accept. That’s why I was so heartbroken, why I ran away from him…”

The more she spoke, the lower her voice fell, the deeper the ache in her heart. It was a past too painful, too unbearable to recall.

Losing the baby, a husband’s infidelity—what woman could accept such things?

But what she hadn’t expected was Ji Yunan’s reaction. He furrowed his brows, utterly surprised. “You called Xuezheng for help that day? Why has he never mentioned that to me?!”

Shi Runrun nodded slowly, wiping the corners of her reddened eyes, her voice hoarse. “Yes, I was lying on the ground, barely alive, enduring excruciating pain all over, and called him. But the voice that came through the receiver was a woman’s.”

Ji Yunan was silent.

He pressed his lips together and fell into deep thought.

That shouldn’t be possible… That day, no matter how he tried, he couldn’t reach Xuezheng. When he finally did, Xuezheng said he’d been in an emergency meeting, had left his phone in the office, and never mentioned a call from her at all.

If she had called, there should have been a record of it…

As clever and quick-witted as he was, a sudden idea flashed through Ji Yunan’s mind. Could it be that someone was orchestrating everything behind the scenes?

The car that hit her still hadn’t been found. With their resources, for the perpetrator to remain at large for so long was truly unusual.

The more Ji Yunan thought about it, the more he sensed something was off. It felt as if an invisible hand was manipulating events, persecuting them from the shadows.

For now, however, he couldn’t make sense of it, so he could only focus on the present. He turned to Shi Runrun and said, “Little sister-in-law, I’ll look into this matter. If Xuezheng really did cheat on you, as his close friend, I couldn’t forgive him either! But there’s something I need to tell you—marriage is different from an ordinary relationship. You and Xuezheng married because of the child; with a marriage that comes before love, trust and nurturing affection are even more important. There will be many hardships and obstacles in the future, but running away from difficulties is not the answer. We need to change that. Facing and solving problems bravely is the right way for a couple to get through tough times together. Do you understand what I’m saying, little sister-in-law?”

Running away never solves anything—it only makes problems bigger, sometimes even insurmountable.

Shi Runrun listened, lowered her head, and nodded quietly.

She realized deeply the error of her ways.

Just then, the red light above the operating room suddenly went out.

Immediately after, the operating room doors swung open, and the doctor and nurses emerged, their faces weary.

“Xiao Xuezheng!”

Shi Runrun was the first to react, hurrying toward the operating room.

Ji Yunan, his face grave, followed her, stepping up to the surgeon in scrubs.

The lead surgeon glanced at Shi Runrun, then fixed his gaze respectfully and politely on Ji Yunan.

Ji Yunan asked courteously, “Doctor, how is he?”

The doctor removed his mask, heaved a sigh, and answered, “The operation was a success. We’ve stopped the bleeding in his lungs and repaired the rupture. The only concern now is that his fever hasn’t subsided, and he remains in a coma. If his temperature goes down and he wakes up within the next day, that will mean he’s out of danger. But if the fever persists and he doesn’t regain consciousness, then…”

The doctor deliberately trailed off, sending everyone’s hearts racing with anxiety.

Shi Runrun, her spirit shattered, burst into tears and asked, “If he doesn’t wake up, what happens?!”

The doctor lowered his eyes without answering, but the bleakness on his face said it all.

In shock, Shi Runrun staggered back a few steps, her legs nearly giving out beneath her.

She couldn’t believe it. Because of her own willful flight, Xiao Xuezheng had met with an accident in City B and might die here… If that happened…

If that happened, she would bear a sin for the ages. How could she face Grandpa and Grandma? How could she ever explain this to them?

Just then, a nurse slowly wheeled a bed out of the operating room.

He lay there, thin and still, eyes closed. A surgical cap covered his head, the wound on his forehead already treated and bandaged, his handsome face deathly pale beneath an oxygen mask.

Beneath the blanket covering his long frame, tubes snaked in and out, delivering fluids into his body.

“Xiao Xuezheng!”

Shi Runrun rushed to the bedside, wanting to clasp his hand, to call his name, but a nurse stopped her.

The nurse said, “Please don’t touch the patient yet. We need to transfer him to the ICU and observe him for a day.”

The nurse’s words echoed the doctor’s: the next twenty-four hours would be critical for him.

If he woke up, he’d be out of danger…

But if he didn’t, she would lose him forever.

Shi Runrun didn’t dare even to think of that possibility.

In her heart, she prayed fervently—prayed that he would pull through, that he would survive this ordeal.

Two nurses wheeled him away toward the ICU.

Shi Runrun followed closely, refusing to leave his side, but after he was pushed in, she was stopped outside by the nurse.

The nurse told her she would have to wait until the patient regained consciousness before she could go in.

Shi Runrun stood outside the door, gazing through the small window into the room, watching him lying motionless on the hospital bed.

Xiao Xuezheng, please, you must get better… Please wake up…

When that time comes, I’ll apologize to you… I’ll go home with you…

Xiao Xuezheng, I won’t be willful anymore…