She staggered back a step and bumped into the medical cart beside her, making a loud clanging sound.
She could no longer bear it. Turning around as if fleeing from hell, she yanked open the door of the consulting room and rushed out desperately!
"Miss Meng! Where are you going?!"
Wu Qian's anxious shout was left behind.
The emergency hall was right next to them, filled with a constant stream of people.
Meng Ruozhao rushed into the chaotic crowd.
Humiliation, anger, betrayal, nausea... All these emotions tore at her.
Wasn't she here for that report?
She hadn't found the truth yet, but her own father had pushed her into an even more disgraceful abyss!
It turned out that Du Feng had never wanted the truth. He just wanted her absolute obedience.
And she had been manipulated like a fool!
She just wanted to escape, escape this cold and calculating place, escape her father's disgusting "good intentions"!
She ran aimlessly, not even aware when she bumped into someone. It wasn't until her legs gave way that she weakly leaned against the cold wall and bent over, retching violently.
The phone in her pocket buzzed. The screen flashed the word "Dad".
Meng Ruozhao looked at the name and only felt it was extremely ironic and cold.
She didn't answer. She just let it ring, as if the ringing was a death knell from hell.
She leaned against the wall, gasping for breath, and stared blankly at the pale ceiling of the hospital.
For the first time, she clearly felt that she seemed to be in a huge, inescapable cold cage.
And the key to the cage was in the hands of her closest person, but not to set her free.
The cold wall seeped into her bones through her thin knitted sweater.
Meng Ruozhao leaned against the wall. The churning in her stomach finally subsided, leaving only endless exhaustion and bone - deep cold.
Her face was deathly pale, and her head ached violently.
It wasn't because of sadness, but because of the great humiliation and a suffocating sense of familiarity.
This feeling of being treated as an object, being planned, and being forcibly stuffed into a pre - set mold was so familiar.
It seemed that she had once been controlled like this.
Like a bird locked in a golden cage, every breath came with the suffocating feeling of shackles.
That omnipresent control had made her wake up in the middle of the night countless times, gasping for air.
And now, her own father.
In a more direct and despicable way, he was trying to turn her into the "perfect bride" for another man.
Faking "purity" with a scalpel and binding a marriage with lies!
This wasn't for her own good.
It was an attempt to crush her and reshape her into what he needed!
Her throat felt as if it was being tightly grasped by a cold hand. Every inhalation brought a burning pain.
The scene in front of her began to blur and spin. The cold touch of the wall was the only proof that she still existed.
She closed her eyes, and a desperate thought suddenly flashed through her mind:
No matter where she fled, could she never escape the fate of being treated as a possession and having her autonomy taken away?
But then she was startled.
What did this mean? Had she ever escaped? Why would she have such a thought?
Just when she was on the verge of suffocation -
A warm hand with an undeniable strength suddenly grabbed her cold wrist!
The touch carried a sense of inescapability that Meng Ruozhao was equally familiar with.
It made her body go stiff. She thought it was Wu Qian who had caught up.
She opened her eyes in panic and subconsciously tried to shake it off, but she froze when she saw who it was.
"Pei Jiangmu?"
Why was he here?
"Sister, what's wrong with you? What happened? Who bullied you?"
Pei Jiangmu's voice was deep and tense, filled with pure nervousness.
Even the "college - student" persona he had deliberately maintained showed cracks.
The dominance and protectiveness in his tone were almost about to burst out.
The well - planned script of "running into each other by chance" and "playing the victim" that he had originally prepared.
When he saw her broken appearance as if she had been abandoned by the whole world, it was instantly thrown out of his mind.
Especially her red - rimmed eyes and slightly trembling body made his heart feel as if it was being tightly squeezed by an invisible hand.
It hurt so much that he almost forgot about the deliberately created bruise on his face and the wound on his lips.
All the ploys to gain sympathy seemed so ridiculous at this moment!
He just wanted to know immediately who had made her show such an expression!
He wanted that person to pay the most painful price!
Meng Ruozhao stared blankly at him, at the undisguised nervousness and distress in his eyes.
She felt the warm strength on her wrist, different from her father's calculation.
The dam of despair that had just been built in her heart unexpectedly showed a momentary loosening when faced with this sudden and real concern.
The long - pent - up grievances, fears, and the pain of betrayal.
After seeing her own disheveled appearance reflected in his eyes, like finding an outlet, they surged out uncontrollably.
Her lips trembled slightly. She wanted to say something, but only let out a stifled sob.
Tears welled up unexpectedly and rolled down her cheeks.
Pei Jiangmu was completely flustered!
Her tears were like scalding magma, instantly burning through all his reason and disguise.
He didn't care whether the injury on his face was "miserable" enough.
He almost clumsily raised his right hand wrapped in white bandages.
This "prop" that he had originally prepared to gain her pity.
He wanted to wipe away her tears, but when he saw her even more vulnerable face because of the tears, his hand froze in mid - air.
He was afraid that his rough bandages would hurt her.
"Don't cry... Sister, don't cry!"
His voice carried a rare, almost clumsy panic. He even forgot to pretend, leaving only the most primitive distress.
"Tell me! What on earth happened? Did someone bully you?"
He sharply associated it with that report.
He thought of the possible coercion from the Du family. His eyes instantly became extremely sharp, like a drawn sword.
However, just as he was urgently asking,
Meng Ruozhao's gaze was firmly attracted by his right hand, wrapped in thick bandages and frozen in mid - air.
The glaring white and the obviously severely injured shape wrapped inside made her chaotic and sad thoughts instantly return to reality.
"Your... your hand?"
Meng Ruozhao's voice was filled with a strong nasal tone, but it was full of astonishment and an eagerness to care that she didn't even realize.
She even forgot to cry and temporarily put aside her own pain. She subconsciously reached out.
Her fingertips gently touched the edge of the cold bandage. The movement was cautious, with a natural sense of worry.
"How did you get hurt? It's so serious."
Pei Jiangmu was completely stunned.
He looked down at his "battle - damaged" hand.
Then he looked at Meng Ruozhao's eyes that still contained tears but were filled with worry about his injury.
A huge, indescribable warm current mixed with astringency suddenly hit his heart.
The "pity" that he had carefully designed and even resorted to "self - harm" to gain.
At this moment, it unexpectedly and extremely truly appeared in her eyes, but at a time when he was completely unprepared.
When his disguise was almost ineffective and his real concern was exposed.
As always, she would feel sorry for him just because he was injured, without any other reason.