Resisting Arranged Marriages: Starting with Myself - Chapter 31

In the hallway of the inpatient department, the air was thick with the lingering scent of disinfectant, and the surrounding walls were a dull, sickly white. Medical staff moved in a hurry; the only sounds were low murmurs of conversation and the occasional clink of equipment.

This stillness was shattered by the sound of urgent footsteps.

Ye Jiming rushed off the elevator, running without a moment of pause. The shirt he wore was from two days ago, wrinkled beyond recognition. Having not washed in days, a layer of dark stubble had surfaced on his chin. His parched lips were peeling with white flakes of dead skin, and a small tear had bled and dried into a brownish scab.

Reaching the door of the ward, he could not even catch his breath before asking, “How is he?”

Wen Yan, her brow clouded with an inescapable sorrow, was about to speak when Ye Jiming’s father pulled her back. His face was grim, and his tone was harsh. “I am asking you: how did Le Xiao end up in the hospital?”

Looking at his father’s fury, Ye Jiming’s heart shuddered. He answered instinctively, “I do not know.”

“You do not know,” his father repeated in a low voice. “That is right; you were not home. Where were you? Country A, was it not?”

The atmosphere was heavy, like a storm about to break.

“Then let me ask you something else. When the helper sent Le Xiao to the hospital, she found this on the floor.” His father pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and slapped it against Ye Jiming’s chest. “Did you write this?”

Ye Jiming looked down. The words “Divorce Agreement” could not have been more familiar; they stung his eyes. “Yes.”

Slap!

Before he could finish his sentence, a heavy blow to the face made his vision go dark. His head was snapped violently to the side, and a bright red handprint quickly appeared on his pale, exhausted face. His gold rimmed glasses were knocked crooked, hanging precariously off the tip of his nose. Stars danced before his eyes, everything doubled, and a sharp, rhythmic ringing in his ears made his head throb painfully.

Wen Yan’s urgent voice sounded nearby, drifting in and out. “In law, let us talk this through. No matter what, you should not hit the child.”

Taking a deep breath, Ye Jiming straightened his glasses and lowered his head. He whispered, “I am sorry.”

His father was still fuming, and the apology only added fuel to the fire. “Sorry? You should be sorry. Not to me, but to Le Xiao and the Le family!”

“Do you have any idea that Le Xiao was in his heat recently? Because he did not get his suppressants in time, he has already been to the hospital once! The doctor warned him then to keep his emotions stable and avoid extreme stress or excitement. It was written clearly in the medical records!”

“If you had any brain at all, you would not have brought up divorce to Le Xiao!”

Hearing this, Ye Jiming looked up in total shock, unable to speak for a long time.

He did not know. He knew nothing at all.

He suddenly remembered the day Xiang Nan had brought a listless Le Xiao to the front door. When asked what was wrong, Le Xiao had simply said it was a cold. That day, the lackluster conversation, the untouched dinner, and the withering lover; Ye Jiming had been so dull that he truly believed it was just a common cold.

So stupid. So tragic. Unforgivable.

The young man sat motionless on a long bench in the hallway, maintaining the same posture for several hours. His head was bowed, his clothes were disheveled, and his face was haggard, with a furious handprint still visible on one cheek. Despite this, his handsome features were undeniable, drawing curious glances from passing nurses.

He sat alone, a lonely figure lost in thought. A young nurse nearby was watching him in a daze when, suddenly, the man raised his hand and slapped himself hard on the other cheek.

He did not hold back. The other side of his face instantly turned bright red, and the crisp sound echoed through the empty hallway. Startled, the nurse quickly looked away, pretending to be busy with her work.

This slap was even harder than the one from his father. His cheeks burned, and his vision blurred and flickered like an old television screen full of static, accompanied by a high pitched ringing. Yet, even this did not relieve the stifling frustration in his heart. Self reproach, anger, and regret were jammed in his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Sitting stiffly on the bench, it felt as though all the strength had been drained from his body. He took off his glasses, closed his eyes, and rubbed his face harshly as if trying to push his features out of place. After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh.

How did they get to this point? How did they become like this?

The nerves in his brain felt like short circuited wires, sparking with searing heat. His head ached as if a red hot steel pipe were trying to pry open his skull from the inside. His brain felt like it was boiling, thick and heavy. He could almost feel the turbid waves pulsing against his temples, blurring his vision and forcing him to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Inside the ward, separated only by a door, the rhythmic beeping of the monitors reached his ears, accompanied by the faint but steady breathing from the bed. He leaned his head back against the wall, imagining Le Xiao’s sickly appearance.

Thin cheeks with no flesh left, a pointed chin, a face and lips as white as paper, and long eyelashes casting beautiful shadows on his cheeks.

Leaning against the cold white wall, he closed his eyes, and tears rolled down his face. If he could do it all over again, he would never.

Inside the ward, the monitor beeped rhythmically alongside the low hum of medical equipment; elsewhere, it was silent.

His eyelashes flickered. Le Xiao’s eyelids trembled slightly as if he were trying hard to open them. He felt as though he had fallen into an endless darkness, locked in a hollow room with no light and no sound. When he reached out to touch anything, he could not even find the walls.

He wanted to scream, to cry out for help, but his mouth felt blocked, unable to open. Looking around, the vast darkness felt like an invisible ghost slowly climbing onto his shoulders, making his skin crawl.

He snapped his eyes open, breaking into a cold sweat. Before his consciousness fully returned, he heard a familiar voice. “Sweetheart, are you awake?”

Shifting his gaze, he saw his mother sitting by the bed. He tried to speak but finally realized why he could not talk in his dream: an oxygen mask was over his face, pressing all his cries back down into his throat.

His body no longer felt like his own. Every bone was as stiff as stone, and every joint was as dry as rust; he could barely control his limbs. An IV was still in his hand, and the cold medicine flowing into him chilled his warm body like a glacial wasteland.

He reached up and pulled off the mask, his voice rasping as he called out, “Mom.”

He thought he was shouting, but in reality, his voice was so low and hoarse that no one but Wen Yan could hear him. “Mom, what happened to me?”

“Sweetheart, you do not remember?” His hoarse voice nearly brought Wen Yan to tears. She gently stroked her son’s hair. “You fainted at home. The helper found you and brought you to the hospital.”

“Sweetheart, you have been unconscious for several days. Your father and I were scared to death.”

His throat was so dry it felt like he had swallowed a razor blade; every word cut his throat until it felt bloody and painful. “I, why did I faint?”

Wen Yan paused noticeably, forcing a smile as she explained hurriedly, “The doctor said you did not recover well from your recent heat, and you caught a cold. Your body was too weak. It is nothing, sweetheart. You will be better after resting for a few days.”

Le Xiao looked at his mother skeptically. She thought her words were a perfect cover, but her already red eyes betrayed her completely. He was silent for a moment before asking directly, “Does it have to do with my gland?”

A flash of panic seemed to cross Wen Yan’s face, which she immediately masked with an even more obvious smile. “No, why would you think that, sweetheart?” Her voice was involuntarily a pitch higher.

Looking at his mother’s reaction, doubts began to pile up in Le Xiao’s heart like thick storm clouds, shrouding his thoughts in gloom.

“No reason. I just feel like I am not normal.”

“Since I started my differentiation, my gland has often hurt. You always said it was growing pains, but sometimes it really hurts. And I am already twenty years old; would I still have growing pains?”

“My heat cycles have always been irregular. Sometimes they do not come for months, and sometimes they last for over a week. In middle school biology, they said it is only easy to be like this in the first two years of differentiation, and that it should become regular after that. It has been so many years; why am I still irregular?”

“During my last heat, I wanted Ye Jiming’s pheromones so badly, but we clearly do not have a mark. Did we not learn in class that you only crave your partner’s pheromones after being marked?”

“Mom, for such a long time, I have truly been different from other Omegas. They do not seem to have any of my problems.”

“Mom, what is wrong with me? Am I, am I sick?”

Listening to his murmurs, tears streamed down Wen Yan’s face. She turned her head and quickly wiped them with her sleeve, but she could not hide the heavy congestion in her voice. “That is not true, sweetheart. You are healthy. You must not think such things.”

Seeing his mother’s reaction and hearing her insincere comfort, Le Xiao sighed inwardly. His mother was too tight lipped; even if he were suspicious, he was destined to get no answers today.

After a moment of silence, Wen Yan asked carefully, “Xiao Xiao, when the helper brought you in, she said she saw a Divorce Agreement at the house. Between you and Xiao Ye, is something wrong?”

Hearing this, Le Xiao’s temples began to throb again. His thoughts were suddenly pulled back to that day, making it hard to breathe. The memories replayed in his mind, a pain as sharp as flesh being torn to the bone.

He kept his head down and was quiet for a while before saying, “No, nothing is wrong.”

“I just do not want to be with him right now.”

“I just want a divorce.”

“Xiao Xiao,” Wen Yan’s heart ached at his words. She reached out and took his hand.

Silly child, if your mother had any other better way, how could I have forced you to marry?

Of course I want you to be happy. I wanted to keep you by my side for a few more years. I wanted you to have the freedom and love you desired.

But Xiao Xiao, you are already twenty. Time is running out.

The words she did not speak turned into a heavy silence in the ward, pressing down on both mother and son like a giant dark cloud.

“Mom, do not try to persuade me.” Le Xiao gripped his mother’s hand in return. “I have already decided.”

So, Wen Yan stopped speaking and simply held Le Xiao’s hand in silence. After a long time, she whispered, “Fine, let us not talk about this. Get some rest. I will go call the doctor for you.”

Le Xiao gave a muffled “Mhm” and said no more. After a while, he suddenly asked, “About me being in the hospital, does Ye Jiming know?”

Wen Yan seemed confused. “Why do you ask that so suddenly? Do you want him to know?”

“No,” Le Xiao shook his head. “Do not let him know.”

Outside the ward, Ye Jiming stood silently against the wall. His body was cold, and his face was pale; he almost blended in with the white hospital wall. Tears fell from the corners of his eyes, the crystal drops hitting the floor and creating a tiny puddle.

He seemed to hear the sound of something breaking, but he did not know if the thing shattering was that teardrop, his collapsing body, or his broken heart.

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