Chapter 60: Lover (Part 23)

Inside the hospital, watching Su Kui sleep soundly, Song Cheng finally felt his tightly suspended heart settle back into place. He quietly pulled the door open and stepped outside.

His close friend, Pei Haoran, wore a mischievous smirk. Dressed in a white doctor's coat with both hands shoved into his pockets, Pei leaned against the wall and looked at him with burning curiosity.

"Spit it out. What on earth is going on?"

"Huh? What?"

Pei Haoran narrowed his eyes and thrust his chin toward the direction of the ward. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't play dumb with me!"

Giving him a cold, sweeping glance, Song Cheng could not entirely mask the exhaustion in his brow. He pressed his fingers against his temples, randomly found a chair, and sat down. "It's just as you saw."

Pei Haoran's eyes widened, his handsome features filled with sheer astonishment. "You did that?!"

Song Cheng closed his phoenix-like eyes tightly, leaning his head back against the wall in a daze, and offered no answer.

"N—no way, right?" Pei Haoran swallowed hard, struggling to assemble his words. "You... since when did you sink so low? That girl in there..."

He pointed toward Su Kui's ward, then gestured around his own neck and raised his wrist. "Getting physical with a woman? Damn, you've really outdone yourself!"

"The scald wasn't my doing."

At this reminder, a fresh wave of irritation washed over Song Cheng. His chisel-cut, handsome face turned frost-cold. He anxiously ran his fingers through his hair, dark strands spilling through his fingertips.

Observing the undisguised weariness on his friend's face, Pei Haoran was stunned. To the rest of the world, this friend of his had always presented a decisive, ruthless, and lightning-fast demeanor.

Today's display of utter devastation was truly—

Unprecedented!

Wait!

Song Cheng said the scald wasn't his doing, which implicitly admitted that the marks on her neck *were* caused by him?

Those bruised, purplish marks—tsk, tsk, tsk. Pei Haoran shook his head, finally wiping the flippant expression off his face as he walked over and sat down beside him.

He bumped his shoulder against Song Cheng's. "I'm asking you, seriously? What's the situation?"

Judging by those injuries, someone had clearly used ruthless force. They were brothers who had grown up together, and while Pei Haoran wouldn't claim to understand Song Cheng completely, he knew that even if Song Cheng was no moral paragon, he had never made a habit of hitting women.

Normally he wouldn't lift a finger, but today he threw a punch so hard it landed her straight in the hospital.

Pei Haoran couldn't help developing a shred of curiosity about the woman still lying on the hospital bed, wondering what on earth she had done to provoke Song Cheng into such a brutal assault.

"I..." Song Cheng opened his mouth, but his throat was dry and raspy. In a burst of frustration, he slammed his fist directly into the wall, his knuckles instantly splitting open into several bleeding gashes. Crimson blood dripped down.

"I don't know how to explain it..." Closing his eyes powerlessly, Song Cheng propped his forehead in his hands and lowered his face.

Pei Haoran was dumbfounded. After a long moment, he stammered, "I—what the fuck! Song Cheng, have you lost your damn mind? What is this? Putting on a bitter-torture act?"

He looked at the snow-white hospital corridor wall, now stained with bright red blood, and felt a pang of deep distress. "Why wouldn't you know how to explain? Where's your brilliant eloquence? If I recall correctly, you were the star of the defense panel back in university! And another thing, let me tell you—even if you're injured, I'm not going to pity you! I just had a decoration team redo this wall last week, so make sure you transfer the repair bill to my account!"

Song Cheng: "..."

Several seconds later, he spat out a single word: "Get lost!"

If he had nothing sensible to say, he should just shut his mouth! He was already annoyed enough without an irritating sparrow chirping endlessly in his ear.

Right now, all he wanted was some peace and quiet to sort out his mess with Tang Wan.

"Huh?" Pei Haoran rolled his eyes in an exceedingly ungraceful manner and glared at him irritably. "This is *my* hospital, where do you expect me to go? Tell me about it; I'll play the role of a sympathetic confidant for once today."

It seemed that ever since the story of *The Lover* began, there had been quite a bit of controversy. Well, perhaps due to the author's limited skill, it failed to convey that exact intended vibe. Seeing some readers asking who Tang Wan was beneath the chapters, the author felt rather helpless—had it really gotten that bad? If anyone is still wondering about that question, you can go back to the beginning of *The Lover* to find the answer.

Then there's the male lead, Song Cheng. His personality has certain flaws—he is either terrifyingly rational or extremely extremist. By this point, his heart had already been captured (since his soul is ultimately Jun Mo). When he saw the female protagonist deliberately hurting herself, it certainly didn't feel good inside. He had never loved anyone before, so these unfamiliar emotions caused him to lose control, leading him to pull such a scumbag move.

Probably every rookie author starts out like this—anxious and uneasy, trying to please every single reader, only to realize later that this is an arduous and nearly impossible task. So, the author is just rambling a bit today, and it won't happen again, because reading this must be exhausting for you all, right?

The story of *The Lover* continues. Thank you to the little angels for your tolerance and love, which gives me the persistence to keep going. Love you all!

(End of this chapter)