The medical staff providing emergency treatment dared not pull out the knife. Although he was feeling dizzy and worn out, Qi Chengzhi dared not shut his eyes. He felt very drowsy but he restrained from sleeping. He could not shut his eyes because he knew Song Yu would be concerned.

He was staring at Song Yu the entire time. He saw her crying and scolding him. He concentrated on her as if he knew his time was limited. His mouth twitched due to the pain. He was afraid that he would not be able to survive, and, so, he resolved to look at her for as long as possible before he died.

It was hard to predict this kind of event. Is there no one who could guarantee his survival? What if the injury sustained was too severe?

Song Yu knew the direction of his thoughts by the intensity of his stare, and her tears started to flow endlessly. She bent down and pressed kisses onto his forehead. "Qi Chengzhi, please don't die, please don't die. I want you to look after me for the rest of my life, Qi Chengzhi. I'm begging you. I beg you please don't leave me alone, I'm begging you."

They had only been together for such a short period after reuniting, how could that ever be enough?

In her opinion, it was too short a time. Even an entire lifetime with him would be too short. She always regretted their late meeting and thought had he waited too long before finding her. When she looked at Qi Chengzhi's sick appearance now, she felt truly terrified.

Qi Chengzhi wiggled his fingers weakly in her grip. Song Yu looked at him and understood his message. She placed his hand on her belly, allowing Qi Chengzhi to feel the life that was growing in there.

The ambulance reached the nearest hospital and Qi Chengzhi was lifted out of the ambulance. He was sent to an operation theatre which was already on standby. Song Yu held Qi Chengzhi's hand throughout the journey, only letting it go once they reached the operation theatre. She watched as Qi Chengzhi was pushed into the theatre.

At this moment, Song Yu stood alone outside the theater with two policemen for company. Song Yu was wrapped in a blanket as she stared at the doors of the theater.

One of the policemen offered her a cup of hot milk. She did not know where he had gotten it from. "Drink some milk first."

Song Yu thanked him and took the cup of milk, but she did not have the strength to drink it. She felt like she would not be able to eat or drink anything until she was informed of the outcome of Qi Chengzhi's surgery.

"Drinking milk would help in reducing the tension. You'll feel better after having some miss," suggested another policeman. "I have a colleague who was shot in the abdomen when he was carrying out a mission. He sustained a very severe injury but they managed to save him in the end. Mr. Qi will be fine."

Song Yu nodded and drank some of the milk. There was still no news from the theatre.

Footsteps could be heard emitting from the end of the corridor. Then she heard someone calling out to her, "Song Yu!"

Song Yu turned her head around and saw Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi walking towards her. The other members of the Qi family and her parents were trailing behind.

Upon seeing them, Song Yu stood up slowly. She could no longer bear the stress and she burst into tears.

Grandmother Qi's eyes were red too. She rushed forward and embraced Song Yu.

"Grandma!" Song Yu cried, all her emotions pouring out with that single word. She was quivering with fear.

Yu Qianying walked towards her.

After Qi Chengzhi left with the money, Liu Dui also left to make some preparations. One of the policemen stayed in the old manor to update them on the latest events. Yu Qianying was informed that Jian Yi had been captured, and Qi Chengzhi had willingly committed suicide to save Song Yu's life and that his life was now in danger. He was ready to sacrifice his own life for Song Yu. She had found it impossible to hate Qi Chengzhi once she had learned of the events.

The hatred generated by the bankruptcy of the Song family was less important than a life.

"Mum, I'm very scared. I'm so scared, Chengzhi——" Song Yu looked at Yu Qianying and she could not finish her sentence as she was overtaken by sobs. She was trembling in fear when she thought of the possibility of not having Qi Chengzhi by her side anymore.

"He would hate to part with you. He loves you so much, how could he leave you alone?" said Yu Qiangying while hugging her.

Grandmother Qi let Song Yu go, looked up and closed her eyes in prayer. The prayer beads were still coiled around her wrist. "Bodhisattva, please bless Chengzhi. Let him survive this critical moment, don't let anything bad happen to him. He has a wife and an unborn child. He is so young and shouldn't die now! I have already lost a grandchild and can't bear to attend the funeral of another grandchild. Bodhisattva, I beg you to bless him, please! The Qi family has never committed any sinful deeds before, so please don't punish us like this! I am willing to trade my life for his. I'm so old and frail now, I have lived enough. If you really want to punish us, please take my life instead."

Qi Chengyue covered her mouth. She dared not look at their sorrowful expressions. Her shoulder trembled as she sobbed. Cheng Dongge enveloped her in a tight hug.

Qi Chenglin's eyes had turned red, and he quietly went to the stairwell and smoked a cigarette by the window. After he had smoked a few cigarettes, he called Lawyer Song. "How severe could the sentence of Jian Yi's crime be?"

After talking with Lawyer Song, he walked back and saw Yu Qianyin supporting Song Yu as she lowered herself into a chair. "Song Yu, I know you're heartbroken. All of us are suffering, but we don't know whether Qi Chengzhi will make it or not. If he is a lucky person and is blessed by Heaven, he will survive. You need to control your emotions now since you're pregnant with his child. If anything happens to you or your child it would only make things worse. Do you understand?"

"I know, but I'm unable to do that." Song Yu's whole body was trembling as she cried. Her chest was aching and her tears could not stop rolling down. She was unable to fight back her tears. "I really want to go inside the theater and keep him company. I want to be by his side."

"How was the situation just now? Tell us all about it so that you will feel better. Don't hold back," said Song Donglin gently as he moved to stand in front of Song Yu.

"At that time…that time Chengzhi was standing in front of me. I felt relieved after seeing him. I'm afraid of nothing as long as he is around. I knew he would protect me, he would never let anything bad happen to me no matter what. I'm truly unafraid of anything if he is by my side. At that moment, Jian Yi pointed his gun at my belly. Chengzhi had given him the money but he wanted more. He gave Chengzhi a knife and demanded that he committed suicide, otherwise, he would kill me and my child. If I were not pregnant... if I were not pregnant… I would surely choose to die first. I will let Jian Yi kill me so that he can't threaten Chengzhi. But Chengzhi stabbed himself in the stomach with the knife. He did that because he wanted to look at me for a longer time and ensured that Jian Yi released me. Fool, he was a fool." Song Yu lowered her head and continued crying. She covered her face with her hands. It did not take long for her hands to be covered with tears, and they were dripping down from the spaces between her fingers. Her hands reminded her of how Qi Chengzhi's hands looked when they were soaked in blood.

"Didn't he know that if anything bad happened to him my life would become meaningless? If I were not pregnant, I would die together with him. Since I'm carrying Youjin, I'm going to take care of myself so that he is well cared for, but I will never marry another man again. I'm already used to being pampered by Qi Chengzhi. I know that no one in the world would treat me like he did." Qi Chengzhi was such a magnificent man, who could replace him? Who could ever compare to him?

Yu Qianying eyes were bloodshot, she turned her head away as she could not bear to hear it anymore.

At this moment, the door beside the operation theater opened and Jian Yi was pushed out. Although he was shot two times, the bullet did not hit the critical areas, so his injury was much less severe than Qi Chengzhi's. Initially, there was a risk of him dying from losing too much blood but received treatment on time, so he managed to survive after the bullet was removed and his wounds were sutured.

The two policemen walked towards them and the doctor explained his current condition to them. Qi Chengyue turned her head suddenly and left Cheng Dongge's embrace to run toward them. "Why did you save him?! Why save him?! Let him die! That bastard, it's better to let him die! Why did you save him?!"

Qi Chengyue wanted to grab Jian Yi, who was still anesthetized, and tear apart his wound. The two policemen quickly stopped Qi Chengyue, and Cheng Dongge went to hug her. The nurses hurriedly pushed Jian Yi into the ward.

"Chengyue, please calm down." He stroked the back of her head and kissed her forehead.

Qi Chengyue wept in his embrace. "Why? Why did nothing happen to that bastard? Why has his life so quickly saved, while my Big Brother is still inside receiving treatment? Why didn't that bastard go to hell?"

"Just let it be since he has already survived. Let him rot in jail forever. Maybe he'd suffer more by living." Cheng Dongge whispered in her ear, "Don't forget the reason Jian Yi went into hiding. Wang Qingyi's accomplices were caught and thrown into jail; they would never spare him. Jian Yi will regret not dying today."

After Qi Chengyue heard what he said, she finally calmed down. So long as Jian Yi received the retribution he deserved, she would feel better.

Many hours passed, and the sky outside had turned fully dark. The door of the central operation theatre opened a few times for the nurses to run hurriedly to the blood bank.

Every time the theater opened, Song Yu's heart clenched. She watched the nurses running hastily about like they were in a war. She wanted to stop them to ask about the situation in the theater, but she was afraid that it would interfere with Qi Chengzhi's treatment, so she could only stare at them helplessly.

Cheng Dongge and Qi Chenglin went to the hospital's canteen to buy food for everyone, but nobody had any appetite. The corridor was saturated with the fragrance of food, but no one was eating.

"Mum, you should eat something at least. We're young and can stand the hunger, but not dad and you." Xia Wenna was holding a box of rice and trying to persuade Grandmother Qi, who had refused to eat since the beginning.

"If I die, maybe I could trade my life for Chengzhi's life," mumbled Grandmother Qi weakly.

"Mum, what are you talking about? Chengzhi will be fine. He won't want to see you sick when he wakes up," said Xian Wenna.

"Yeah, Dad, Mum, please eat something. If we ask you all to go back home and wait for the news, you would surely refuse, but please at least eat something here so you're not so hungry. If not, maybe both of you will collapse before Chengzhi comes out." Guan Liya coaxed.

"Song Yu, you too. Come and have some food with grandpa and grandma, you have a baby in your belly. Don't forget that is Chengzhi's child. Although you don't feel like eating, the child needs food." Xia Wenna turned her head and looked at Song Yu, who appeared to be weak.

"Come, all of us should have some food." Yu Qianying took the meal boxes and distributed them to everyone. "We shouldn't let Chengzhi see our sick and tired faces when he comes out."

Everyone accepted their meal boxes but they did not move after taking it.

All of them remained silent. Suddenly, they heard the operation theater's door open, and they all leaped to attention. Everyone stood up at once.

Song Yu was afraid some issues had arisen when she saw the nurses rushing out of the theater. She was very scared that Qi Chengzhi's face would be covered by a piece of cloth when they pushed him out.

However, this time it was the surgeon in charge who came out. Song Yu felt relieved instantly when she saw that the doctor was at ease.

"Doctor, how was it?" asked Grandmother Qi as she grasped the doctor's hand.

The doctor was very polite with Grandmother Qi. "The surgery was completed without a hitch. We're waiting for the patient to wake up. Now we'll send him to the intensive care unit, if there are no complications, he should be fine."

Song Yu finally heaved a sigh of relief when she saw them pushing Qi Chengzhi out. His eyes were shut, he was still under the influence of the anesthesia. He looked extremely calm.

Song Yu sighed and began to sob; she was smiling and crying at the same time. She walked forward to grab Qi Chengzhi's hand and accompany him to the intensive care unit.

All of them were crammed into the ward. Now that they were sure that Qi Chengzhi would be all right, they ate the food in the meal boxes. Even Song Yu ate more than half of the portion.

Song Yu insisted to stay and keep him company through the night. She was reluctant to be even a step away from him. Grandmother Qi and the others were worried that it would be bad for the body because today had been a dreadful and strenuous day for her. If she did not rest well tonight, it may be bad for the child.

However, they understood her desire to stay by him. They tried to persuade her but failed, so they did not insist on it. Qi Chenglin went to borrow a foldable mattress and wrapped it in a few layers of bedsheet. Although it was not as comfortable as the bed she had at home, she had tried her best to make it comfortable so that Song Yu could have a good night's rest.

After Qi Chengzhi woke up and was cleared for discharge, they would move him to Chutian Hospital so that Song Yu would not be so tired.

Xia Wenna called Aunt Yang and asked her to come over and take care of Song Yu. At first, Qi Chengyue wanted to stay too, but, despite Qi Chengzhi being her brother, he was a man, so it would be quite inconvenient for the others to have her around whilst they helped him with his personal needs.

Aunt Yang, in her advanced age, had seen plenty of things, so there were no qualms about her staying here.

They waited in the ward till Aunt Yang arrived. Finally, they left, after plenty of persuasion from Song Yu.

Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi were quite old and it was hard for them to endure the day's stressful events. Grandmother Qi could be considered a heroine for not fainting after finding out that Qi Chengzhi's life was in danger.

Although Aunt Yang remained at home, she knew of today's events. She had deliberately allowed them some privacy by going to the sofa and pretending to sleep.

Song Yu was sitting by the bedside and holding Qi Chengzhi's hand. His usually strong hands did not have any strength in them. Song Yu lowered her head and stared at his elegant hands. His fingers were slender and the bones were visible, and, despite being limp now, they had been exceedingly steady whilst holding the dagger this afternoon.

She could not help but remember his hands soaked in blood. Her heart ached with the thought of it. She lifted his hands and lowered her head to kiss every bone and joint of his hands gently.

Then she looked up and gazed at Qi Chengzhi's calm and pale face. His facial features though still attractive did not hold their usual intensity. He looked frail.

Song Yu's fingertips slid over his face, softly and gently, like she was drawing something. His eyes were closed and she missed not being able to see his enigmatic eyes. Her fingertips slid from his thick eyebrows downward and stopped on his eyelids. Her fingers caressed his eyelashes before drifting downwards to his pale cheeks, his strong chin and finally the swell of his Adam's apple.

When her fingertips touched the red string at his neck, Song Yu suddenly thought of something. She tugged the string until she saw the Buddha amulet 1that he was always wearing. Then, she carefully placed it back into his shirt.

"Chengzhi, please wake soon, so that I can stop worrying," said Song Yu as she held his hands.

Song Yu had been unwilling to let his hand go. Before Qi Chenglin had left, he considerately placed the foldable mattress just beside Qi Chengzhi's bed, so Song Yu could hold his hand as she lay on the mattress.

Song Yu could not sleep soundly, because every time she closed her eyes she would see Qi Chengzhi's injured form. The image kept on appearing in her dreams. However, the amount of blood that poured from his abdomen was far greater than the amount he lost yesterday. His hands and shirt had turned red, and Qi Chengzhi's pale face was turned towards her as his lips moved like he wanted to tell her something, but not a sound was uttered.

Song Yu, however, understood what he was trying to say:

"I love you."

After that, he fell to the ground in a faint, his blood pooling on the ground. Immediately, the scene shifted into the one at the hospital. A dejected doctor walked out of the operation theater and said to her, "Sorry, we tried our best."

"Chengzhi!" cried Song Yu jolting up to find that she was still holding Qi Chengzhi's hand. She turned her head and saw him still lying calmly in bed.

Song Yu's body was soaked with sweat. Aunt Yang hurried to her side. "Madam, did you have a nightmare?"

Song Yu nodded. She was breathing heavily and could not talk. Aunt Yang helped Song Yu wipe away the sweat with a tissue paper. "Do you want me to get you some hot milk?"

Song Yu shook her head, she got up and felt fQi Chengzhi's temperature. She felt relieved after ascertaining that he was all right.

"I'm fine. You can go to sleep," said Song Yu softly.

Aunt Yang, satisfied that she was alright, went back to sleep. However Song Yu was not sleepy anymore, so she shut her eyes and pretended to sleep. She was afraid of falling asleep, afraid of seeing another horrendous nightmare.

Every hour she would rise and check Qi Chengzhi's temperature, only once she was satisfied that he did not suffer from a fever would she lower herself back onto her mattress. She felt relieved after checking him.

…

…

The next day, Qi Chengzhi still had not woken up. The doctor, along with his students, came to examine him. The doctor told her that Qi Chengzhi's injury was quite severe. Although the surgery went smoothly, they should allow ample time for him to recover. As for when he would wake up, the doctor could not give an exact timing.

Song Yu, who had been relieved that the surgery had been successful, was not anxious. The nurse came and replaced his fluid infusion bag with a new one. Song Yu felt sad when she saw his graceful hand being poked with a needle.

She sat by his bedside and held his hands. "Chengzhi, please wake up soon. I want to feel your arms around me once more."

Qi Chengzhi remained still and inactive.

Song Yu placed his hand on her belly. "You should soon be able to feel Youjin moving. Please wake soon, or you might miss his first moves entirely."

Song Yu leaned toward him and kissed his lips. She moved her lips slightly, rubbing them against his. After a while, Grandmother Qi and the others came. They brought her some dishes: rice, soup and bird's nest1. They were worried when they saw that Qi Chengzhi still had not regained consciousness. Xia Wenna's eyes were red, and she could not fight back her tears when she saw Qi Chengzhi.

Qi Youxuan did not come. They did not tell him about the incident because they did not want to frighten him.

In the afternoon, Liu Dui came with a few other policemen to record Song Yu's statement. They found out that Jian Yi had woken up and had been transferred.

Liu Dui glanced at Qi Chengzhi who was still unconscious and said, "Abduction, extortion and attempted murder were very severe crimes. Please don't worry, he will get the justice he deserves through our judicial system."

"I don't care about justice. We will think about it later. I just hope my grandchild will recover." Grandmother Qi wiped away her tears. She had gone to a temple early this morning and found the abbot to assist her with her prayers for Qi Chengzhi.

At this juncture, Liu Dui knew it was pointless to console her, so he left.

A type of amulet worn by a Buddhist because it was believed to confer protection upon its possessor.Created by edible-nest swiftlets, Indian swiftlets, and other swiftlets using solidified saliva, which are harvested for human consumption. They are particularly prized in Chinese culture due to their rarity, supposedly high nutritional value, and flavour.