Chapter 40: Wishing You Happiness

"D-don’t cry. I’m here now, aren’t I?"

Ye Xuan didn’t know where to put his hands. Yang Bingyu was hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe.

"SOB... I was so scared. I thought I’d never see you again..."

Yang Bingyu didn’t realize how intimately she was clinging to him. Since it was summer, she was wearing very little, and Ye Xuan could clearly feel her body heat through the thin fabric.

How could a man who had kept to himself for over twenty years withstand this?

"AHEM. Bingyu, let go of me first. I need to check on White Snake." Ye Xuan’s cheeks burned slightly as he hastily made an excuse to put some distance between them. If she kept hugging him like this, he was bound to make a fool of himself.

Reminded of the situation, Yang Bingyu finally snapped back to reality. She released her tight grip on him and rushed over to the unconscious White Snake.

"Ye Xuan, please save him! After those two defeated White Snake, they gouged a hole straight into his stomach. He bled so much and passed out an hour ago."

Ye Xuan’s expression changed drastically when he saw White Snake’s bloodless face. Without a word, he scooped the man off the ground and strode outside. This was clearly a sign of severe blood loss. If White Snake wasn’t taken to a hospital immediately, he would undoubtedly die.

Outside the warehouse, Leng Sha’s corpse had long since grown cold. When Yang Bingyu saw the body, she couldn’t help but shriek. She gripped Ye Xuan’s clothes tightly, her stomach churning violently.

"Don’t be afraid. Just think of him as a pile of trash," Ye Xuan comforted her gently, knowing she was terrified.

"Okay, I’m not afraid." Yang Bingyu fought back the urge to vomit and picked up her pace. She didn’t want to stay in this place for another second; everything here made her sick to her stomach.

They soon arrived at the hospital. It wasn’t until White Snake was wheeled into the emergency room that Ye Xuan finally felt a sliver of relief.

This could absolutely never happen again. The people from the Celestial Ranking had already made their move, which meant that man would likely show up soon.

Di Shiyang!

Just thinking of that name made Ye Xuan radiate with murderous intent. It had been five years, and the hatred in his heart was becoming impossible to suppress. If it weren’t for the need to protect Yang Bingyu, he would have hunted the man down himself to exact his revenge.

"Ye Xuan, p-please don’t be like this. I’m scared..." Yang Bingyu stammered, terrified by the chilling aura of death rolling off him.

Hearing her tearful voice snapped Ye Xuan out of his daze. He hastily reined in his killing intent and looked at her apologetically. "I’m sorry, Bingyu. I didn’t protect you well enough and let you get frightened. Did those two... do anything to you?"

His chest tightened as he remembered what Leng Sha and the King of the Underworld had said. The King of the Underworld was lucky to have escaped this time, but he wouldn’t have so many brothers to die in his place next time.

"They... they wanted to... wanted... SOB..." The mere mention of it caused Yang Bingyu to break down once more. She threw herself back into Ye Xuan’s arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

"There, there. It’s okay now. I beat the bad guys away. Everything is fine," Ye Xuan coaxed softly, gently patting her back.

Right then, a harsh CLATTER reached their ears. Not far away stood Lin Aoxue, her eyes welling with tears as she stared at the two of them. At her feet lay an overturned thermos, spilling rich, savory chicken soup all over the floor.

The scalding soup had dyed her fair legs bright red, yet she didn’t seem to notice. The ache in her heart far eclipsed any physical pain she felt.

Hearing the noise, Yang Bingyu hurriedly wiped the tears from her face and turned to look at Lin Aoxue.

"H-how could you two be hugging each other?" Lin Aoxue pointed a trembling finger at Ye Xuan and Yang Bingyu as a single tear slid down her cheek.

She hadn’t expected to stumble upon such a scene when she came to the hospital to deliver chicken soup to her grandmother. The tenderness in Ye Xuan’s eyes just now had been glaringly bright. That look used to belong to her, too.

"Why can’t we hug?" Yang Bingyu retorted immediately, already in a foul mood from the kidnapping. "Ye Xuan is my boyfriend now. He isn’t yours anymore, Lin Aoxue."

Lin Aoxue swayed unsteadily at those words, looking as if she might collapse at any second.

It was true. She and Ye Xuan were already divorced. They had nothing to do with each other anymore. Who Ye Xuan liked, who he dated, and who he married was no longer any of her business.

Then why did her heart hurt so much?

"You’re hurt. Let me take you to see a doctor," Ye Xuan said, frowning at her scalded, red legs. With soup that hot spilling on her, it had to hurt, right? He remembered that Lin Aoxue had always been terrified of pain.

Hearing Ye Xuan’s concern, Lin Aoxue stumbled back a step.

Memories of all the times Ye Xuan had taken care of her flooded her mind like a movie reel: the warm breakfasts ready every morning, the night light left on for her when she came home late, and his meticulous care during her period. The old Ye Xuan had truly been so gentle with her. Unfortunately, she had ruined it all herself.

"No need! I can go see a doctor myself. I wish you two happiness!" Lin Aoxue felt she could no longer face Ye Xuan. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. After loudly rejecting his kindness, she ran away without looking back.

Ye Xuan watched her fleeing figure, a myriad of thoughts swirling in his mind. The image of her tearful eyes lingered in his head, refusing to fade.

"Are you feeling sorry for her again because she got hurt? Ye Xuan! Can you wake up? Have you forgotten how Lin Aoxue treated you back then?

"She just got burned by a little chicken soup, and you’re already fussing over her. But when you got burned trying to save her from a fire, did she care about you even a little bit?"

Seeing Ye Xuan’s heartbroken expression again left Yang Bingyu feeling overwhelmingly jealous. Though she had no ties to Lin Aoxue or Ye Xuan in the past, that didn’t mean she was clueless about their history. That brat Yang Tian was an absolute gossip who thrived on this kind of drama, and he had frequently regaled Yang Bingyu with tales of Ye Xuan’s exploits as a live-in son-in-law.

She used to just listen to them as a joke, but now, recalling everything Lin Aoxue had done to Ye Xuan made her blood boil.

Seeing her puff her cheeks in anger, Ye Xuan let out a helpless chuckle. He reached out to poke her chubby cheek and sighed. "Don’t worry. She and I are a thing of the past. Feeling sorry for her is just a habit of mine."

Yang Bingyu’s mood finally improved a little upon hearing this. She shot him a warning glare and said, "That’s more like it. And I’m warning you—stay away from that woman from now on. She doesn’t deserve your sympathy."