137: Chapter 137 Neon Shadows

"Are... are you alright?"

Li Dakang lightly touched her shoulder, his voice carrying a rare hint of hesitation.

Yun Xiaoya slowly opened her eyes, but her gaze passed right through him, landing hollowly somewhere on the ceiling.

Those eyes were filled with too many complex emotions, yet they were also like a stagnant pool of water, eerily calm.

Li Dakang propped himself up, and the glaring crimson on the bedsheets caught his eye unexpectedly.

That mark was like a blooming blood-red rose, silently telling a cruel truth.

His heart tightened abruptly, and the previously blurry fragments of memory suddenly became clear.

Her awkward reactions and restrained cries of pain—they hadn't been illusions after all.

His Adam's apple bobbed a few times, but Li Dakang ultimately said nothing.

In this place of debauchery and extravagance, such stories were perhaps playing out every single day.

He mechanically put on his bathrobe, but as he tied the belt, he noticed his fingers trembling uncontrollably.

What Li Dakang didn't know was that the young girl who had trembled beneath him still had the first draft of her graduation thesis in her bag, due tomorrow.

These stories hidden beneath the neon lights, much like the tears Yun Xiaoya quietly wiped away, vanished into the darkness.

After getting dressed, Li Dakang pushed open the door to the private room and found Cao Yong pacing back and forth at the end of the hallway.

Seeing him come out, Cao Yong hurried forward, but he froze upon seeing his expression: "Third Young Master, why do you look so pale? Should we go to the hospital and get you checked out?"

"It's nothing."

Li Dakang waved his hand, his voice raspy as if it had been scrubbed by sandpaper.

"Let's go back."

Outside the clubhouse, Su Wu had already parked the car in the most prominent spot.

Seeing the two of them come out, he immediately got out to open the door, but upon smelling the scent of alcohol mixed with perfume on Li Dakang, he averted his eyes discreetly.

The car was filled with a suffocating silence.

Cao Yong looked through the rearview mirror and saw Li Dakang leaning against the seat with his eyes closed, resting, but the vertical crease between his brows never smoothed out.

Su Wu's palms, gripping the steering wheel, were sweating, but he didn't speak.

The three of them maintained a tacit silence, with only the rustling sound of tires rolling over the road leaving a long trail in the dim morning light.

...

Early morning sunlight spilled through the glass windows of the hospital corridor, and Yun Xiaoya hurried forward, dragging her sore body.

With every step she took, the sharp pain from between her legs made her frown involuntarily, but she gritted her teeth and hugged the backpack containing fifty thousand in cash tightly against her chest.

The moment she pushed open the door to the hospital room, the smell of disinfectant rushed to meet her.

Her father on the hospital bed had thinned out even more since last week, his cheeks sunken to a frightening degree, and only those cloudy eyes flashed with a glimmer of light upon seeing his daughter.

At this moment, Yun Xiaoya felt that her sacrifice was worth it.

"Xiaoya, why did you come today? Didn't I tell you to get some more rest for a few days?"

"Your brother and I can handle things here. You're about to graduate; your studies are what's important."

Yun Xiaoya's mother said, looking somewhat surprised at her daughter's arrival.

Yun Xiaoya forced a smile, walked to the bedside, gently held her mother's hand, and said: "Mom, I'm fine, there isn't much going on at school right now."

"This is fifty thousand yuan; it should be enough for Dad's surgery. Let's get him into surgery quickly."

Her mother looked at the money Yun Xiaoya handed over, and her eyes instantly grew moist: "Xiaoya, where did you get so much money? You mustn't do anything foolish!"

Yun Xiaoya's father, Yun Weiguo, was lying on the hospital bed; although his face was pale, his eyes revealed a trace of surprise and heartache.

He raised his hand with difficulty, wanting to stroke his daughter's face.

Yun Xiaoya hurriedly shook her head: "Mom, don't overthink it. This money was lent to me by a few good classmates of mine."

As the premier university in Jiang Province, Jiang University had many students from wealthy families.

Therefore, although what Yun Xiaoya said was somewhat hard to believe, it wasn't impossible.

After hearing this, her mother's expression eased slightly, but she was still full of worry: "Xiaoya, how will we ever be able to pay back so much money in the future?"

"You should just return this money to your classmates. As for your father's illness, we'll slowly find another way."

Her mother's voice was filled with helplessness and worry.

Yun Xiaoya looked at her mother firmly and said: "Mom, I've already decided. Dad's illness can't be delayed any longer; we must let him undergo surgery as soon as possible."

"Besides, I'm about to graduate, and I'll be able to earn money once I start working. My classmates don't lack money at home, so I can pay them back slowly."

Beside them, Yun Xiaoya's brother also stepped forward to comfort her: "Yeah, Mom, Xiaoya is grown up now and has the ability, we should trust her."

Yun Weiguo raised his hand with difficulty, patted Yun Xiaoya's hand lightly, and said: "Xiaoya, you've worked hard; Dad has been a burden to you."

Yun Xiaoya held back her tears and said with a smile: "Dad, don't say that. You've sacrificed so much for this family; this is all something I should do."

Afterwards, the family began discussing the details regarding the surgery.

Yun Xiaoya contacted the doctor and arranged the date for her father's surgery.

In the following days, Yun Xiaoya was busy running around, making preparations for her father's surgery.