BTMDY Chapter 116

Food and water are essential for keeping a person alive.

 

If he had access to water, things would have been a lot better.

 

But Lin Wangye had spent these past few days alone after being kidnapped. Hu Haoyang, making sure nothing went wrong, didn’t allow Wei Dayong any contact with him—not even sending food or water.

 

Thankfully, the rescue came just in time.

 

After a checkup, the doctors said his body was on the edge of collapse. If it had been any later, multiple organ failure could have put his life in serious danger.

 

Even though he had narrowly escaped death, the toll on his body was huge.

 

The energy he’d lost would take a long time to recover. Lin Wangye wouldn’t be able to wake up anytime soon, and he certainly couldn’t eat to regain his strength. For now, the best ICU room was the only option, using IV fluids to slowly restore his energy.

 

It was like in a video game—watching your health bar creep up drop by drop while you wait at the fountain. Excruciating.

 

The VIP room had an extra bed for family to rest. Naturally, Lin Shen and Lu Chengxuan let Shi Yuan use it. Still, after some rest, they would come back to the hospital, instinctively, to check on Lin Wangye.

 

Lu Chengxuan had burned his hand while trying to open the door in the fire. The metal handle had been red-hot, leaving a superficial first-degree burn that would heal without a noticeable scar. But combined with the cuts from broken glass, the injuries looked shocking.

 

The burn on his arm was worse—assessed as a shallow second-degree burn.

 

At this level, even when the skin healed, there would likely be scars from either pigment loss or darkening, usually showing as pale pink patches different from normal skin.

 

Even though he’d survived, Lin Shen was furious.

 

Most of his anger came from hearing about Lu Chengxuan’s experiences during the fire through the hospital investigation and witness statements. Lin Shen couldn’t imagine any mistakes happening back then:

 

What if the door wouldn’t open?

 

What if the hallway was already ablaze?

 

What if they forgot the way out after getting out?

 

What if the fire had actually reached them?

 

If any of those things had happened, Lin Shen knew he wouldn’t have been able to bear the consequences. Just imagining it made his skin crawl.

 

The more scared he was, the angrier he got at Lu Chengxuan for risking his life alone.

 

And yet, it was precisely because of Lu Chengxuan’s courage and effort that the situation turned around. Against all odds, he fought to rescue Lin Wangye, and in the end, everything turned out okay.

 

After the investigation and statement were done, Detective Li harshly criticized Lu Chengxuan for taking such a personal risk. He was warned over and over again: in dangerous situations, no one should play the lone hero. Always coordinate with the police; leave the dangerous tasks to professionals.

 

Lu Chengxuan had no words to respond.

 

After all, the key info he had… came from another timeline.

 

And if that car accident had proven anything, it was that their enemy was ruthless.

 

At first, he couldn’t even be sure if Lin Wangye was in the casino. If anyone on the police side was keeping watch, the slightest misstep could have alerted them.

 

And then Lin Wangye might have been killed on the spot.

 

He couldn’t gamble with Lin Wangye’s life. Given the advantage of the information he had, sneaking in alone was the only option he could think of.

 

None of this, of course, Lin Shen knew.

 

From his perspective: Lu Chengxuan had risked his life to save Lin Wangye, almost dying in the process, ending up hurt and bedridden.

 

It made Lin Shen feel trapped in frustration, a storm of anger with nowhere to pour it out.

 

If he didn’t scold, it felt unsatisfying.

 

If he did, his conscience wouldn’t let him rest.

 

Lin Wangye hadn’t woken up yet, and Lu Chengxuan hadn’t said a word.

 

Lin Shen felt chest-tight and short of breath, half-wishing he could throttle him by hand. Stubborn as he was, once his temper flared, not even nine bulls could pull him back. Being around Lu Chengxuan constantly, he declared a cold war on him, refusing to speak a single word for two whole days.

 

Yet, in a classic case of ‘mouth says no, actions say yes,’ he still went with him to the hospital and helped change his bandages.

 

Hours after the casino fire, everyone present that day had been caught and sent to the detention center for questioning—no one had escaped.

 

Wei Dayong was also caught and interrogated.

 

When he heard that confessing could lighten his sentence, he immediately admitted to his crimes without hesitation, explaining in detail how Hu Haoyang had connected him, how they had set up plans to target Lin Shen, and what specific orders he had followed in this whole mess.

 

The police, piecing together the interrogations of Hu Haoyang, Wu Yingxia, and Wei Dayong, had mostly reconstructed the chain of events. They just had to wait for Lin Wangye, the victim, to wake and give his statement before handing everything over to the judiciary. Then the investigation into the underground casino could officially begin.

 

Shi Yuan, who had planned to return to Sigwell next month, explained the situation to his mentor and indefinitely postponed all work, staying by Lin Wangye’s side without leaving.

 

By the second day in the hospital, the doctors checked his vitals and said Lin Wangye should wake up soon.

 

There were a lot of people waiting for him.

 

Shi Yuan was waiting, Lin Shen and Lu Chengxuan were waiting.

 

Lu Wei was worried too, calling once or twice every day to check in.

 

When Shi Yuan got the news from the doctors, he sent Lin Shen a message. Lin Shen and Lu Chengxuan, staying at a nearby hotel, arrived quickly.

 

The weather was beautiful that day, partly cloudy, the sunlight soft and gentle as it streamed through the window, not harsh at all.

 

After two days of IV fluids for energy and nutrients, Lin Wangye’s face, pale when he first arrived, was gradually regaining color. His dry lips finally had some blood in them, and the calm, gentle aura around his brows and eyes made him look peaceful as he slept soundly in the soft bedding.

 

The three of them didn’t say a word, standing on either side of the hospital bed, silently waiting for Lin Wangye to wake.

 

After the initial coma, Lin Wangye had felt as if he were trapped in a void, like a black hole in space—completely cut off from everything, feeling nothing at all.

 

When he began to regain consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the noise.

 

He struggled to open his eyes, and everything in front of him was blurry. The constant chatter around him made his head spin. It took a long while just to gather himself, rubbing his eyes and lifting his head.

 

The scene around him was eerily familiar. He was at his father’s funeral.

 

Not far away, his father lay in a sea of white roses. And a meter around him, countless faces—some familiar, some strangers—surrounded him, full of righteous anger, calling him a ‘wastrel’ and a ‘traitor to the family.’

 

Wu Yingxia waved her arms wildly, her face twisted, tears streaming as she screamed and shouted without pause.

 

The shrill, grating noise made Lin Wangye’s head ache more and more.

 

He covered his ears, trying to block it all out. But the sounds seemed etched deep into his mind, growing louder and more chaotic instead of fading.

 

Lin Wangye’s eyes turned red with anger and pain. He clutched his head and crouched on the ground, unable to escape this nightmare of twisted, surreal visions.

 

“Had enough?”

 

A cold, sharp voice cut through the chaos, and the world went silent in an instant.

 

In that moment, Lin Wangye felt a wind sweep across his chest, like a gust from a glacier deep in a valley. Cold and piercing, it made him shiver—but it also drove away all the darkness.

 

He lifted his head and saw a familiar figure.

 

This person stood behind him like a shield, a solid back like a towering mountain, keeping all the cruelty and malice of the world at bay.

 

The more he tried to see the face clearly, the blurrier everything around him became.

 

Tears welled up in his red eyes, and with a trembling hand, he reached forward, forcing the words past his dry throat.

 

“…Lu… Brother Lu…”

 

The moment he spoke, all the twisted visions vanished. Lin Wangye fell into complete darkness, his heart feeling weightless, and the sense of falling forced him to open his eyes, struggling back to consciousness.

 

The white ceiling of the hospital room came into view. His thoughts were still fuzzy, his gaze unfocused, and despite the dryness of his throat, he instinctively tried to make a sound.

 

“Lu… Brother Lu…”

 

“Holy shit,” Lin Shen thought he’d misheard. He leaned in, straining to hear. When he confirmed it, his pupils practically shook, and he instinctively glanced at Shi Yuan: “I didn’t hear wrong, right? Who… who’s he calling?”

 

The moment Lin Wangye opened his eyes, Shi Yuan finally felt the weight on his heart lift after days of worry.

 

Then, the name Lin Wangye called made him freeze for a moment, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

 

Even though he understood.

 

Even though he genuinely appreciated Lu Chengxuan.

 

But he couldn’t deny it—when Lin Wangye woke up and instinctively called someone else’s name first, there was a sharp, uncomfortable sting, like a thorn driven straight into Lin Shen’s heart.

 

Lin Shen was naturally thick-skinned and not very delicate in his thoughts. He usually processed pain quickly. Ever since Lin Wangye had turned from near-death to safe, he hadn’t worried at all; in that moment, he was the most relaxed person in the room.

 

Logically, when someone wakes from a serious illness or coma, the first person they look for is always the one they care about most.

 

So when Lin Wangye’s first glance went to Lu Chengxuan, not to mention Shi Yuan—even Lin Shen couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. He leaned over the bed to enter Lin Wangye’s line of sight, using the back of his hand to lightly tap his face.

 

“Hey, wake up properly.”

 

Seeing the flicker of expression that Shi Yuan hadn’t managed to hide, Lin Shen quickly turned Lin Wangye’s face away.

 

“You called the wrong person. Your partner’s over here.”

 

Lin Wangye had been lying in bed for a long time, too weak to move much under his own power. His previous view had been mostly just the ceiling.

 

With Lin Shen’s gentle push, the face of the person he cared most about finally came into view. His thoughts began to load rapidly in his mind. Seeing Shi Yuan, visibly exhausted from days of fear and worry, Lin Wangye felt a sudden ache in his nose and instinctively moved his fingers.

 

The slight discomfort Shi Yuan had felt vanished instantly.

 

He took Lin Wangye’s hand and helped him sit on the edge of the bed. A long-missing curve appeared at the corners of his mouth as he reached out, palm gently brushing Lin Wangye’s face. His voice was so soft it could almost drip:

 

“Be good, don’t cry. It’s all okay now.”

 

Having survived such a life-or-death ordeal, Lin Wangye had too many emotions bottled up inside. He didn’t have the energy to speak much yet, so he just stared at Shi Yuan, curling his fingers slightly in a gentle return.

 

“All the indicators are normal. The doctors say there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance you won’t have any lasting effects. With careful recovery, you’ll be up and about in no time,” Lin Shen said, arms crossed on the other side of the bed, clicking his tongue. “Man, you really are tough. If it were me, I’d probably be long gone.”

 

Before Lin Wangye could respond, Lu Chengxuan suddenly spoke:

 

“Don’t say things like that to him.”

 

Lu Chengxuan rarely made requests in front of Lin Shen, and interrupting someone else’s conversation wasn’t his style at all.

 

After he spoke, both Lin Shen and Shi Yuan froze for a moment.

 

Lin Shen felt something off but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He stared at Lu Chengxuan for a while, and then his heart skipped a beat. Eyes wide, he exclaimed:

 

“Holy shit, what’s going on between you two? You’ve never been this protective before! He called your name in the dream! You guys go through life-and-death together and suddenly your feelings change? Don’t scare me like that, Lu Chengxuan!”

 

Strangely enough, his words, while sounding like nonsense at first, actually made sense when you thought about it.

 

Lin Wangye had been lying in bed for a while, and before he passed out, his memories were slowly returning.

 

He still wasn’t sure if the figure of Lu Chengxuan he’d seen back then was real, or just a hallucination from his half-conscious state. But the brief moment of eye contact now confirmed it.

 

Before he could even feel excited, though, his dad’s wild imagination took off like a runaway dog, spinning out a full-blown horror story in a matter of seconds.

 

Lin Wangye knew better than anyone how jealous Shi Yuan could get. Just because he stayed quiet didn’t mean he wasn’t taking it to heart. Remembering that the first name he’d called upon waking was Lu Chengxuan, he panicked, snapping his head toward Shi Yuan and shaking it frantically.

 

“No… no, he—he’s talking nonsense.”

 

Hearing that would sting, of course, but Shi Yuan wasn’t the type to misunderstand him over something like this.

 

When his gaze shifted back to Lin Wangye and caught that pleading look in his eyes, Shi Yuan’s lips curved into a soft smile, his expression gentle.

 

“I know.”

 

Lin Shen, on the other hand, had been fuming for days over Lu Chengxuan risking his life. His temper was like a firecracker tossed straight into the flames—ready to explode at the slightest spark.

 

“Talking nonsense, huh? Sure, I’m always the one talking nonsense!”

 

Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to snap at Lin Wangye. Instead, he spun around and let Lu Chengxuan have it.

 

“Lu Chengxuan, I should’ve slapped you harder that day! You don’t explain when I ask, you just keep quiet till I blow my top, is that it? Fine, then explain this to me! How the hell did you know he was in the casino? Explain why you went in there alone! And what’s with this so-called life-and-death bond you two suddenly have? Explain right now! If you don’t make it clear, I swear I’ll hang myself right here in front of you both!”

 

The truth was, these past days it wasn’t that Lu Chengxuan didn’t want to explain.

 

But ever since he confessed to Lin Wangye, it had become their shared secret. And just like him, Lin Wangye had chosen to keep it hidden.

 

They both knew that in the past, the story had ended in tragedy.

 

So until they could rewrite that ending, unless absolutely necessary, they had to keep it even from the people closest to them.

 

But now, it was obvious there was no need for secrecy anymore.

 

Even so, he couldn’t just speak without Lin Wangye’s permission. That was why he had waited for him to wake.

 

After Lin Shen had burned himself out venting, Lu Chengxuan and Lin Wangye exchanged a look, perfectly in sync.

 

“Should we tell him?” Lu Chengxuan asked.

 

Lin Wangye wasn’t really ready yet, but he’d never planned to keep it buried forever. The fact that Lu Chengxuan was willing to carry this weight with him was an unexpected blessing.

 

And now, it felt like the moment had come.

 

His heart pounded wildly, out of his control. He glanced deeply at Shi Yuan, then finally gathered his courage and gave Lu Chengxuan a nod.

 

Lu Chengxuan understood, took a deep breath, and was just about to speak—

 

—but that silent exchange of mutual resolve, when seen through Lin Shen’s eyes, looked completely different.

 

In his flustered state, his brain went blank with a loud ‘buzz’. His eyes widened in shock as his thoughts short-circuited.

 

“Lu Chengxuan! You knew he had someone and you still volunteered to be his side piece? What the hell do you take me for, huh? Some kind of toy?”

 

The words dropped, and the room fell dead silent.

 

Leaning weakly against the pillow, Lin Wangye shut his eyes, nearly fainting again from the sheer chaos. After a few seconds, he forced himself upright, coughing through his raw throat before rasping out:

 

“Don’t… don’t get worked up… just… listen to him…”

 

“Don’t speak,” Lin Shen snapped, frustrated beyond reason. “I’ll scold you later—rest for now!”

 

He turned back, ready to continue yelling at Lu Chengxuan, but before he could, Lin Wangye’s hoarse, tear-tinged voice broke through:

 

“Dad…”

 

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