After My Rebirth, My Husband Pampers Me Everyday!

Chapter 147: EVEN DEATH DIDNT WANT ME

Liuxian didn’t let go. He just shifted his grip, one hand cradling the back of Guiying’s head, the other rubbing slow circles between his shoulder blades like he was trying to ground him back into his own skin.

"It’s alright," Liuxian murmured against his hair. "Let it out. I’ve got you."

Guiying’s shoulders shook harder for a moment, but he didn’t pull away. The smell of blood and antiseptic was still clinging to his clothes, but underneath it was Liuxian—clean, warm and solid.

Haiyan stood a few feet away, awkward and silent, his blood-streaked hands hanging uselessly at his sides. He looked like he wanted to disappear.

Liuxian finally glanced up and saw him. His expression shifted immediately. The softness in his voice didn’t vanish, but it hardened at the edges.

"Haiyan," he said.

Haiyan flinched slightly. "Mr. Liu."

"Are you hurt?" Liuxian asked, stepping back just enough to keep Guiying in his arms but turning his attention over.

Haiyan shook his head quickly. "No. I’m fine. It’s just—" He cut himself off, jaw tightening. "I’m sorry. I should’ve been paying more attention."

Liuxian studied him for a second, then nodded once. "We’ll talk after. Right now, stay here. Don’t leave until I say so."

Haiyan swallowed and nodded. "Understood Sir.."

Liuxian turned back to Guiying, brushing a thumb over his cheek to wipe away the wet tracks there. Guiying had finally stopped sobbing, but his breathing was still uneven, his face buried against Liuxian’s chest.

"Can you stand?" Liuxian asked quietly.

Guiying nodded against him, though it took a moment before he actually pulled back. His eyes were red, his face pale under the harsh hospital lights.

Liuxian didn’t release him fully. He kept one arm around Guiying’s shoulders as he guided him to sit back down.

"I called my legal team on the way here," Liuxian said low enough that only Guiying could hear. "They’re with the doctors now. They’ll make sure Ren Hao gets the best care, and they’ll handle the police report so your name doesn’t get dragged into it unless it has to."

Guiying blinked at him, surprised. "You didn’t have to—"

"I know," Liuxian cut in. "But I did."

His gaze softened again. "You don’t have to carry this alone. I don’t want to see my darling cry.."

Guiying’s throat bobbed. He wanted to argue, to say it wasn’t Liuxian’s problem, but the words wouldn’t come.

Across from them, the trauma bay doors opened again. A nurse stepped out, mask still on, and looked directly at them.

"Family of Ren Hao?" she called.

Haiyan shot to his feet instantly. Guiying followed a beat slower, Liuxian rising with him and keeping a steadying hand at his lower back.

The nurse’s expression was unreadable. "He’s stable for now. He’s out of surgery. You can see him for five minutes, but keep it short. He’s not out of the woods yet."

Haiyan let out a breath he didn’t seem to realize he’d been holding.

Guiying felt Liuxian’s hand tighten slightly against his back.

"Go," Liuxian said quietly. "I’ll be right here."

Haiyan glanced at Guiying, then at Liuxian, and finally nodded. He followed the nurse without another word.

The waiting area fell quiet again.

Guiying sat back down, exhaustion settling into his bones. Liuxian sat beside him, close enough that their shoulders touched.

The dinner with the Xue family was still coming. His father would still try to use this. Nothing had actually been solved yet.

But for the first time since the car stopped, Guiying didn’t feel like he was about to drown.

He leaned his head against Liuxian’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Liuxian didn’t answer with words. He just reached over and laced their fingers together under the plastic chair.

The machines kept beeping down the hall. Outside, the city kept moving.

The nurse pushed the door open just wide enough for Haiyan to slip through.

Ren Hao was propped up slightly in the bed, IV lines running into his arm, bandages covering the worst of the cuts. His face was pale under the hospital lights, eyes red-rimmed and swollen.

Haiyan stepped forward, rehearsed apology already forming on his tongue. "Mr. Ren, I’m so sorry. If I’d been paying attention—"

Ren Hao’s head snapped toward him. He couldn’t move much, restraints and exhaustion holding him down, but his voice came out raw and broken.

"Don’t."

Haiyan stopped short.

Ren Hao was crying. Not quiet tears, but the kind that came from someone who’d tried to claw their way out of a nightmare and woken up still inside it. His chest hitched with every breath, like the air itself hurt.

"I was the one who took that step," Ren Hao said, voice cracking. "I saw the car. I saw you. I was clear headed. I’m the one who should be apologizing."

Haiyan was lost for words. He stood there, hands half-raised, not knowing if he should sit, leave, say something.

"I wanted to escape," Ren Hao went on, each word spilling faster than the last. "I thought if I just... if I just didn’t wake up, it would be over. I forgot about everything else. About what happens after. About you." His eyes squeezed shut. "Even death didn’t want me."

He broke down again, shoulders shaking against the pillows, a sound tearing out of him that wasn’t quite a sob and wasn’t quite a scream.

Haiyan’s throat felt tight. He didn’t understand it—not the weight behind it, not why someone would choose that step. But he understood that Ren Hao wasn’t okay, and saying "I’m sorry" didn’t touch any of it.

So he didn’t.

He pulled the chair up to the bedside, kept his distance, and said the only thing that felt honest: "I’m here if you need anything."

Ren Hao didn’t answer. He just kept shaking, staring at the ceiling like he was asking it what he was supposed to do now.

Nothing, what could he do in this situation.

Outside the door, the monitor kept beeping.