25: Chapter 25 The Insignificant Character in a Pampered Novel 25

Li Yan woke up on a hospital bed.

The whimpering sobs of a woman and the heavy sighs of a man around him gave him a splitting headache.

He opened his heavy eyelids, and a wave of pain swept over his entire body. Instinctively, he wanted to curl up into a ball, but as he arched his back, he felt lightheaded, and his lower body had no sensation at all.

His mind was a blur, and before he could grasp the situation, someone rushed forward and hugged him.

"A-Yan! A-Yan, you're finally awake. How do you feel? Where does it hurt? Are you in pain? Tell Mother." Mother Li gazed at her outstanding son with tear-filled eyes, her heart aching to the extreme!

"Mother... what happened to me?" Li Yan was confused. He only remembered that after Jiao Jiao heard the news about his engagement to Liang Yiqing, she called him to say she wanted to break up, and then he drove off to chase after her.

Later on, it seemed that because he was feeling very agitated—having had a few drinks at a dinner with investors earlier—he was drowsy while driving. Suddenly, there was a blinding light from the opposite direction, and then he remembered nothing else.

"The police said that to avoid a large truck, your car flipped directly off the road. It was fortunate that you survived; the car happened to get wedged between two trees. If it had fallen further, I'm afraid..." Mother Li shuddered in fear at the thought.

"What on earth were you thinking? Driving after drinking! You didn't even care about the investor dinner. Where were you trying to go the night before last! Was it because of that Xu Jiao again?"

Li Yan's body hurt, and his head throbbed. Although he had regained consciousness, he couldn't handle the interrogation from both of them.

He just said irritably, "What does this have to do with Jiao Jiao! Stop interfering. Aren't I fine now?"

It would have been better if he hadn't said that. As soon as it was mentioned, Mother Li's tears instantly flowed down: "My son! Your leg is like this, how can you say you're fine? Your life is ruined!"

Li Yan was stunned, frozen in place. As he pondered the meaning of his mother's words, he finally realized that the pain in his body was coming from his lower half—specifically, his left leg. A sudden, ominous premonition surged in his heart, and with a trembling left hand, he reached down to touch—

"Ah! Where is my leg? Why is my leg gone? Mother, Mother, what happened?" A heart-wrenching scream erupted in the hospital room.

Seeing his son and wife crying in each other's arms, Father Li felt as if his head were about to split open. What kind of karmic retribution was this, that his perfectly fine, promising son would end up in such a state?

But Father Li didn't have time to grieve; he had more important things to do.

The agreement to marry into the Liang Family was because the old fogey of the Liang Family had promised many benefits, asking the father and son to cooperate to clear Liang Yiqing's name first. Moreover, that girl from the Liang Family really did like A-Yan. But now, A-Yan's left leg was severely injured and had been amputated; it was hard to say whether the Liang Family would still be willing to let their daughter marry him.

There were also the cooperative projects between the Liang Corporation, Aode Technology, and Xu Corporation that needed to be pushed forward. Previously, A-Yan had been in charge, but now that he was in this state, Father Li let out a deep sigh, his back stooping a little more.

Meanwhile, Xu Jiao had also seen the news report on television. She stared blankly at the screen, not even noticing when Fan Zhiang walked up to her.

Fan Zhiang was dressed in an expensive, well-tailored suit. Gone was the gentleness he had shown at Yinghua, replaced by a sense of boldness and decisiveness.

"Jiao Jiao, didn't you say you wanted to eat Japanese food? I've booked a table. Let's go."

Xu Jiao turned her head, her eyes brimming with tears, and said with a trembling voice, "Brother Fan, A-Yan has had an accident! He was in a car crash! The night before last... it was because of me!"

Fan Zhiang looked at the report on the TV screen, feeling a surge of satisfaction in his heart. He stroked the girl's silky black hair and comforted her: "How can you blame yourself? It was an accident; no one wanted this to happen."

"Will you come with me to see A-Yan, please? I just want to see A-Yan right now!" Xu Jiao pleaded, tugging at his sleeve.

She was filled with self-reproach. After leaving the birthday party that night, she had walked aimlessly along the road until she happened to run into Brother Fan. Brother Fan had taken her home and comforted her gently, so she had gradually stopped being so sad. However, she was still angry at Li Yan and had intentionally kept her phone turned off for the past two days, wanting to make him worry.

She hadn't expected that instead of an apology, she would get the news of A-Yan's car accident.

"Alright, don't worry. I'll take you there right now." Fan Zhiang was eager for her to see the miserable state of her beloved; with his limbs incomplete, how could Li Yan compare to him anymore?

...

When Xu Jiao arrived at the hospital room door, Li Yan had already smashed everything in the room. Mother Li stood by cautiously, letting her son vent his frustration while wiping away her tears.

The door was suddenly pushed open. "A-Yan—"

The voice was soft and gentle, filled with immense heartache and pity.

Li Yan was all too familiar with this voice. He went quiet for a moment.

Upon seeing Li Yan's face, Xu Jiao was so frightened that she retreated two steps, only to be steadied by Fan Zhiang, who was behind her.

Li Yan's eyes were bloodshot, and the expression of rage he hadn't yet managed to suppress was still on his face. With his eyes glaring and his face covered in stubble, he no longer looked handsome; he appeared both decadent and gloomy.

"A-A-Yan... what happened to you?" Xu Jiao shrank back in fear, retreating right into Fan Zhiang's arms. In Li Yan's eyes, this was undoubtedly a betrayal.

"What? Didn't you want to break up with me? I don't even have a leg now! Why don't you get out? Why are you here? Are you here to see how miserable I am?" Li Yan glared at the two people at the door with hatred.

He had worried about her, and because of her, he had even lost his leg, yet she was perfectly fine, standing beside another man!

Upon hearing this, Xu Jiao felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She was devastated, and her gaze immediately searched his lower body. Sure enough, the pant leg of his left leg, which was lying flat on the hospital bed, was empty.

She threw herself at the spot where his left leg should have been and cried out: "Where is it? Where is your left leg? A-Yan, what happened? Why did this happen!"

Li Yan was also in extreme pain. No one was more miserable than him. He had originally been the pride of heaven, but now he had become a disabled person. How could he accept this!

"A-Yan... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have been so petty that day. I shouldn't have told you I wanted to break up. I was just angry—angry that you got engaged to Liang Yiqing without telling me! They were all mocking me! I was too sad; I wanted to get your attention. I didn't really want to break up with you!" Xu Jiao held Li Yan's hand, rambling, "Brother Fan and I just ran into each other. There is nothing between us; we are completely innocent."

Hearing this, Mother Li was filled with rage. She slapped her across the face: "Very well! I was wondering how my son, who is so sensible, could have driven while drunk. It turns out it was because of you again! You bitch! You disaster, harming our Li Yan time and time again. I'll beat you to death, you vixen!"

Caught off guard, Xu Jiao was struck so hard she saw stars. She covered her cheek and just sobbed, unable to say a word. Mother Li wanted to lunge forward again, but was grabbed by Fan Zhiang at the door.

Fan Zhiang was no longer the school doctor he used to be. He had spent five years in prison, and afterwards, he had been acknowledged by his biological father. It turned out his father was a mafia boss in A City, and he was his illegitimate son—and his only son.

Fan Zhiang had taken over his father's dark empire. By now, he had developed great fighting skills and had seen all kinds of desperate criminals. Dealing with Mother Li, who was used to a pampered life, was as simple as crushing an ant.

Fan Zhiang suppressed the ferocity in his eyes, turned to look at Xu Jiao, and asked: "Jiao Jiao, are you okay?"

Xu Jiao had no time to pay attention to him right now. She was still immersed in the reality that Li Yan had lost his leg, unable to pull herself out. Finally, she firmly grasped Li Yan's hand and said affectionately: "A-Yan, no matter what you become, the person I love is always you. Don't worry, I will take good care of you. I will be your legs, and we will be together forever."

Li Yan's originally gloomy mood dissipated quite a bit because of Xu Jiao's confession. He let her hug him while she cried and said in a cold, hard voice: "Are you really willing to stay with me? You won't regret it?"

Xu Jiao shook her head: "I won't regret it, because I love you."

After a long while, Li Yan finally reached out to wrap his arms around her. Xu Jiao smiled even more happily, unaware that Li Yan's expression hadn't improved much.

Only Mother Li, whose wrist felt like it was about to break from Fan Zhiang's tightening grip, struggled and screamed desperately, until Fan Zhiang covered her mouth with one hand. The two on the hospital bed were immersed in their own world, and neither noticed Mother Li's increasingly pained appearance or the twisted, sinister look in Fan Zhiang's eyes nearby.

If Li Shaoheng hadn't happened to come for a visit, Fan Zhiang wouldn't have let go. Mother Li suspected that she might very well have been killed in that hospital room. As soon as she broke free, she stood fearfully behind Li Shaoheng. Although she often cursed Li Shaoheng in private as a bastard born of a vixen, when it was a matter of life and death, they were at least both members of the Li Family.

As for her son, Mother Li felt cold-hearted. She had just crawled back from the line of death; just now, no matter how she signaled for help with her eyes, Li Yan and that little vixen were wrapped up in each other in deep affection, having no time to care about her.

Fan Zhiang glared at Li Yan and Xu Jiao, who were holding each other, and turned to leave with an icy expression.

As soon as he left, Li Shaoheng instructed his secretary to look into Fan Zhiang's background.

Since Li Yan had been hospitalized after his car accident, the media had been swarming the Li Family like flies, and the hospital entrance and the ward had long become key targets of attention. No matter how useless the child was, he was still a member of the Li Family and the Old Master's favorite eldest grandson; he had to maintain this appearance. For this reason, he had specifically ordered strict supervision to prevent unauthorized people from entering the ward.

Today, his secretary reminded him that Li Yan had come out of surgery, so he remembered his nephew who had unfortunately had an amputation, only to see unrelated people appearing in the ward.

He did not doubt the efficiency of his subordinates, so it could only mean that the person who came was not ordinary.

Li Shaoheng narrowed his eyes. Recently, the Li Family—specifically the branch of the eldest son—had been hogging the spotlight. They were investing in the Xu Corporation, going up against the Miao Family, and forming a marital alliance with the Liang Family. Mmm... if this Liang Yiqing were to enter the family, the Li Family's reputation would be quite a spectacle, with his eldest nephew being cuckolded from start to finish.

He had been enjoying the show, but suddenly the plot took a sharp turn for the worse. His outstanding eldest nephew had been driving under the influence, had a car accident, and had been amputated. Now, it was all over—he wouldn't even be able to wear the green hat anymore.

The eldest Miss Liang was very picky, after all.

This engagement, which hadn't been announced for many days, would likely fall through.

Speaking of engagements, Li Shaoheng suddenly thought of the engagement invitation from the Gu Family that he had just received. The corners of his lips curled up slightly. How interesting! The silhouette of a thin, frail young girl appeared in his mind. It was truly unexpected; the Gu Family actually didn't care about background and status and was seeking to marry the young girl. After all, he was the only male heir for three generations of the Gu Family.