Chapter 121: She Wants to Seize It

"A-Yu!"
"Jingyu!"

Two female voices rang out simultaneously. One was filled with resentment, while the other was brimming with hope.

Chao Jingyu nodded at them, offering a brief acknowledgment. Upon his arrival, the director of surgery personally came out to meet him. "Director Chao, you actually came to deliver the blood yourself!"

Chao Jingyu held a small blood storage cooler and handed it over. "Director Li, you are too kind. I communicated with you over the phone just now—how is our young lady doing?"

The surgery director replied, "Initial assessment shows an open head wound and significant blood loss, along with a mild concussion. We haven't finished examining the rest of her body yet, but fortunately, she didn't suffer a severe impact. It seems the car just grazed her, and her vital signs are very stable."

Hearing this, Liang Jinshang felt as if she were listening to heavenly music.

Chao Jingyu thanked the director. "I appreciate your efforts."

The director did not delay and went inside, carrying the cooler Chao Jingyu had brought.

Chao Jingyu first gave Liang Jinshang a reassuring look before reiterating to the police that they would settle the matter privately.

Gong Xueyuan, who had been momentarily distracted by Chao Jingyu’s sudden appearance, was not about to let it slide now that she heard him.

"No! I am the victim here! I saw Nan Yi try to murder my sister with my own eyes! I absolutely do not agree to a private settlement."

Chao Jingyu looked at Gong Xueyuan with a heavy, admonishing gaze. "Xueyuan, when you speak and act, try to keep a conscience."

Although he had never met the Nan Yi who had caused the injury, he had, unfortunately, heard Liang Xizhou’s accusations with his own ears that night.

Both Chao Jingyu and Shang Yucheng were a few years older than Gong Xueyuan. When she was in high school at Jincheng No. 1, Chao Jingyu was already in medical school, and Shang Yucheng was studying abroad.

When Gong Xueyuan committed that terrible act, neither of them had been in Jincheng. The Gong family had covered up the incident tightly, and even when they heard about it later, they never learned the full truth. If Chao Jingyu hadn't happened to meet Liang Jinshang and the others, he would never have guessed that the beautiful, spoiled little girl who used to follow him around could be capable of such an atrocious crime.

Chao Jingyu had never displayed such a serious expression toward Gong Xueyuan before. She had never been afraid of him, knowing that when she was a child, he would indulge her in everything. As for when she grew older, what beautiful girl wouldn't enjoy the exclusive, preferential treatment from a man?

But the Chao Jingyu before her was no longer the big brother who would unconditionally indulge her. He remained polite, but that was all that was left—just politeness.

Chao Jingyu’s detachment left Gong Xueyuan’s heart in turmoil. She forgot that she was the one who had stabbed him in the back first, and she added this grudge to the mounting tab against Liang Jinshang.

Just then, Gong Nian was wheeled out of the operating room. Shang Yucheng and the others naturally went to check on her, leaving Gong Xueyuan standing alone.

"Officer, the Gong family does not agree to a private settlement!" Gong Xueyuan said, lowering her voice. "That woman has mental issues; leaving her out will endanger public safety."

...

Gong Nian’s head was wrapped in gauze, her little face pale, tears streaming down her cheeks—she was clearly terrified. She looked nothing like the arrogant girl Liang Jinshang had first met.

She was just a child, after all, and Liang Jinshang felt a pang of sympathy, following Shang Yucheng into Gong Nian’s room.

Chao Jingyu, being a doctor with a gentle temperament, sat by the bedside and tried to soothe her for a long while with a soft, melodic tone, but Gong Nian kept her lips tightly pursed.

Helpless, Chao Jingyu said to Shang Yucheng, "A-Cheng, it looks like it has to be you."

Gong Nian reached out her arms toward Shang Yucheng and whimpered, "Brother..."

Shang Yucheng took her and held her in his arms.

Chao Jingyu reminded him, "Hey, Niannian has a concussion; don't move her around."

Shang Yucheng glanced at him and let Gong Nian rest her head on his broad shoulder. She leaned against him obediently, eyes half-closed, teardrops still clinging to her lashes.

Chao Jingyu received a call from his department. He was incredibly busy and, seeing the time, had to head back. "Will you walk me out?"

Liang Jinshang nodded and followed him out.

As they walked, Chao Jingyu instructed, "Niannian is fine; that’s the luckiest part. Don't worry about Xueyuan. This mess is her own doing. If it backfires on her sister and she still refuses to reflect on herself, I won't stand idly by. The Chao family is still more than capable of protecting someone."

Liang Jinshang felt the heavy, suffocating pressure in her chest dissipate. "Dr. Chao, thank you, truly."

Liang Jinshang wanted to sigh for everyone who knew Chao Jingyu—she must have done many good deeds in her past life to be lucky enough to know such a man.

Chao Jingyu chuckled with a hint of playfulness. "You sounded quite lovely when you called my name just now."

Liang Jinshang didn't know why, but she felt oddly shy using his name. "Jingyu."

"Hmm." Chao Jingyu suppressed the urge to touch her hair. With his hands tucked into the pockets of his white coat, he curled his lips into a smile. "Call me that next time we meet."

Liang Jinshang nodded.

After Chao Jingyu left, Gong Xueyuan’s mocking voice rang out behind her. "Aren't you Shang Yucheng’s girlfriend? Why are you staring at Jingyu so eagerly? Eating from the bowl while eyeing the pot—are you trying to have both?"

Liang Jinshang rolled her eyes at her, refusing to debate with a fool. It was a waste of breath to say another word to her.

"Fang Jiabao! You, stand still!" Gong Xueyuan approached, clicking her heels on the floor. "Nan Yi tried to kill me today; was it you who instigated it?!"

Liang Jinshang frowned at her. "Don't you know why she wanted to kill you? Gong Xueyuan, with the things you’ve done, dying a hundred times wouldn't be enough!"

Gong Xueyuan said with pure malice, "Eight years ago, she really couldn't blame me for that. I was after you; that debt should be settled with you, her dear best friend, right?!"

She didn't stop there. "You didn't ruin her enough once. Fang Jiabao, let me tell you, Nan Yi will suffer even worse because of you this time! I hadn't planned to be so ruthless, but since you dared to compete with me for a man again, I guarantee that even if Nan Yi dies, her vengeful spirit won't let you off!"

Gong Xueyuan had been triggered by the gentleness Chao Jingyu had shown Liang Jinshang earlier. Once upon a time, that gentleness belonged to her! She wanted to snatch Shang Yucheng, and she would snatch Chao Jingyu, too!

Gong Xueyuan had lived a smooth life for years and had long forgotten the humiliation He Xiaoque had once inflicted upon her. Yet, on this night, the same situation had reawakened that deep sense of shame.

She had chased He Xiaoque for three months, finally confessing to him on her birthday at the bar where he worked. He Xiaoque, who never even looked at women properly, had wrapped his arm around Fang Jiabao’s neck that day and declared into the microphone with a wicked, brazen grin, "I have a girlfriend now, and she’s better than you in every way. If you come and bother me again, don't blame me—even a hoodlum like me isn't above hitting a woman."

In front of everyone—people he knew and people he didn't—the catcalls and jeers had felt like slaps to her face. Gong Xueyuan’s meticulously applied makeup had ultimately turned her into the biggest clown. No one had ever dared to humiliate her like that!