Qi Shifeng was also looking at her.
The once bright and beautiful eyes were now filled with desolation and dejection.
It was as if she, like her eyes, was collapsing.
"Xingyu," he called her. He rarely used to address her so tenderly. Most of the time, he'd call her "Xu Xingyu" by her full name. Now he called her in such a subdued way, yet hesitated to say more.
She didn't urge him. She just stared at him, stubbornly waiting for an answer. But in the end, she didn't get one.
Qi Shifeng picked her up in his arms and carried her straight back to the ward. Then he turned around and left.
Xu Xingyu lay in the bed, listening to him getting angry and questioning Zou Yu about when she started self - harming.
She found it a bit ridiculous. Zou Yu was just like a cold wall there to stop her from going out. What could he possibly know? Also, if she had known earlier that just scratching a bit of her fingertip could make him so nervous, she should have done it from the start.
Zou Yu said something, but Xu Xingyu didn't know what.
Qi Shifeng came back a long time later, carrying a first - aid kit. As soon as he entered, he pulled her into his arms, caught her hand, and started disinfecting and bandaging it.
Actually, since so much time had passed, the blood had already dried, and she didn't even feel the pain anymore. But when he applied the disinfectant, it hurt.
However, she didn't cry out because she noticed that his hand shaking badly as he treated her wound. If she were in a good mood today, she might have scolded him, saying, "Shouldn't you go to the hospital? Shaking like this at such a young age. Watch out for Parkinson's." But she had used up too much energy in the garden today, and she was in a bad mood. So she didn't want to talk.
She kept silent and didn't even grunt when it hurt. She just sat in his arms like a toy doll without any feelings.
"The thing about the agreement, no matter who you heard it from, it's not true. I didn't sign it."
"I promise you, Youyou is your child, and you two won't be separated."
He put a Band - Aid on her finger and then intertwined his fingers with hers until their hands were clasped tightly.
Xu Xingyu trembled violently. She looked up at Qi Shifeng in disbelief. These two sentences hit her hard, making her feel as if the air around her was thinning and she could hardly breathe. But soon, she realized it wasn't the air. It was just that she was too nervous.
She gasped for a couple of breaths, and there was a glimmer of light in her dim eyes.
"Is what you said true? Weren't you going to divorce me and fight for Youyou's custody?" Xu Xingyu was afraid she had misheard. In her impression, this man wasn't so easy to talk to. But he also wouldn't lie about such things.
Qi Shifeng was looking at her. She was so anxious that when she didn't get an answer, she paused for a moment and suddenly asked, "Is this just a new way to coax me? Your mother and the old man have both come to see me."
"They're both certain that you'll divorce me and take Youyou's custody. They said that we're not compatible and that I'm bad luck for Youyou."
One of her hands was clasped by his, and the other tightly grabbed his pants. The top - grade fabric was wrinkled by her, but she didn't notice. She just stared nervously at Qi Shifeng, waiting for her "sentence".
Qi Shifeng wasn't hearing these words for the first time. He had heard them many times from the old man of the Qi family. But when these words came from her mouth, it was like an electric shock, like a burning fire, almost piercing through his heart. He had never felt such pain before and was a bit dazed.
But after all, he was Qi Shifeng. Even if he was in a mess inside, he still looked noble and calm on the surface.
"They are them. I've told you not to associate with the Qi family. You don't have to listen to their words."
His pants were wrinkled by her tugging, and his shirt was also crumpled from holding her. But his bloodless face was far more shocking than his disheveled appearance.
Xu Xingyu had never seen Qi Shifeng like this. She sat in his arms, and her heart was gradually filled with ecstasy.
"So, even if we divorce, Youyou's custody will still be mine, right?" She tried hard to control her emotions, but the tremor in her voice still betrayed her nervousness.
Qi Shifeng looked at her and vaguely remembered that when she gave birth to Youyou, she had a massive hemorrhage. The amount of blood transfused was equivalent to changing all the blood in her body. When she was wheeled out of the operating room, her clothes were all stained red.
He went to the intensive care unit to see her. She was covered with medical equipment, and there was a smear of blood on the back of her hand that hadn't been wiped clean. It was bright and eye - catching.
This child was born with her life on the line, and she would fight to protect the child. For the sake of the child, she wouldn't leave his side.
"We won't divorce." He cut off all his memories and told her this personally.
"Don't think too much. When your and Youyou's conditions are stable, I'll take you two home."
He pressed her into his arms and hugged her tightly.
Xu Xingyu's ear was pressed against his heart, listening to the strong heartbeat. Suddenly, she burst into tears.
"Okay, I believe you. Don't let me down. Otherwise, I'll kill you." She let go of his pants and hugged him tightly.
Qi Shifeng gave a soft grunt and said nothing more. The two of them just hugged quietly for a long time.
The next day, a psychologist was arranged to come to the sanatorium.
"She has a very tough mind, but now she shows signs of self - harm," Qi Shifeng said to the doctor. His tone was no longer as cold as before.
Actually, he had arrived at the sanatorium early yesterday. It was also him who asked Zou Yu to bring her down. He sat in the bushes not far from them, watching her running and jumping, sweating all over.
He finally couldn't resist his longing and walked over slowly. He had wanted to give her a surprise. But unexpectedly, he got a shock instead.
She actually repeatedly stabbed the thorns on the rose stems into her fingers. When the blood droplets rolled down from her fingertips, she even smiled.
At that moment, his heart felt like it was being dragged into a heavy and suffocating swamp. He even forgot how he got there.
Her pain and helplessness were for the first time fully exposed in front of him. It was just like raw flesh and blood. Oh, no. She had actually shown it before. She wasn't such a patient person before. It was he who had ignored it.
"Miss Xu's situation is rather special. I haven't had further contact with her yet, so it's not appropriate for me to make a hasty diagnosis," the psychologist said carefully.
After a moment, he asked again, "Has such a situation happened before?"
Qi Shifeng shook his head. "No." He had deliberately ignored her feelings, but he knew her body well. She was very fair - skinned and prone to bruising. Any injury could be clearly seen, and there had never been any injury he didn't know about.
"Then is there something that has been bothering her recently?" the doctor asked further.
Qi Shifeng thought of the agreement. Was she suffering because of the custody issue? He remembered her words. She kept talking about divorce and the custody of the child.