Chapter 10 — When the Goddess Appears

Dark crimson blood began to seep from the strands of hair at the back of his head, tracing a sluggish path down the skin behind his ear before dripping onto the pale gray fragments of concrete scattered on the ground.

"Jiang Yanxuan!"

I rushed toward him, practically stumbling and crawling in my panic. His eyes were tightly shut, a fine layer of dust coating his thick eyelashes. The overhead scaffolding continued to emit a low, ominous creaking sound. Workers shouted frantically as they rushed over; someone grabbed my arm while another dialed for emergency services. Absolute chaos enveloped the entire area. Kneeling in the dust, I watched in horror as the blood from the back of his head spread further, forming an irregular dark-red pool upon the gray mortar. My hands began to tremble uncontrollably, and my heart hammered against my ribs as though it might leap straight out of my throat. The ambulance arrived with remarkable speed. As attendants hoisted him onto the stretcher, one of his arms fell limply to the side, the knuckles scraped raw and smeared with fresh blood. The heavy doors of the vehicle slammed shut. My phone remained clutched tightly in my palm, its screen suddenly flashing to life with a new message notification from Jiang Nian.

"I have arrived. Waiting for you at the West Gate."

Jiang Yanxuan’s phone password was set to my birthday. I dialed his parents' numbers one after another. The moment his father picked up, his tone was indifferent and detached.

"Injured? But I am currently abroad and unable to return."

"Just tell me how much the medical expenses are; I will have my secretary transfer the funds into his account."

With that, he hung up abruptly. Contacting his mother proved even more futile. I called repeatedly, but each attempt was met with a persistent, hollow ringing tone. It took a great deal of effort before I finally managed to reach his aunt. By the time she arrived at the hospital, Jiang Yanxuan’s surgery had already concluded. Fortunately, despite how terrifying his injuries had initially appeared, they were not life-threatening. He had not yet regained consciousness and lay deeply asleep beneath a thick wrapping of white gauze.

"Aunty," I murmured, a heavy wave of guilt washing over me as I took the initiative to recount the entire sequence of events. "Jiang Yanxuan was injured because he pushed me out of harm's way. I am so sorry."

His aunt appeared to be a woman who had been meticulously cared for throughout her life. Dressed in understated, high-quality attire with skin as smooth and fair as porcelain, she merely gave a gentle wave of her hand.

"He did it of his own volition; it has nothing to do with you. You must hold a very significant place in his heart."

I bit down hard on my lower lip, my thoughts swirling in a tangled, chaotic mess. I could not fathom why Jiang Yanxuan had chosen to shield me. For the longest time, I had convinced myself that his affection for me was merely superficial, driven entirely by a passing attraction to my face. Yet, in that critical, split-second crisis, he had pushed me away without a single moment of hesitation. His aunt seated herself gracefully on the edge of the chair.

"You are the girl he used to talk about—the one he shared that online romance with, aren't you?"

I nodded silently.

"I heard the two of you eventually broke up. May I ask why?"

Pausing for a moment, I gathered my thoughts and told her everything from beginning to end.

"If that is the case, then this little rascal truly deserved it," she sighed softly, turning her gaze toward the sleeping form of her nephew. "You were entirely right to break up with him. No woman should be expected to tolerate such behavior."

After a brief pause, a tinge of sorrow colored her voice. "And yet, this child is also rather pitiful."

She began to recount the complicated history of Jiang Yanxuan’s family background.

"His parents entered into a marriage of convenience for the sake of business alliances; there was never any genuine affection between them."

"Once Yanxuan was born, they felt their parental obligations had been fully discharged. Each pursued their own romantic diversions outside the home, rarely returning. On the rare occasions they did show up, they invariably brought along their respective companions."

"Yanxuan grew up entirely in the care of domestic helpers and nannies. The core philosophy his parents instilled in him was that life is short and meant for immediate self-indulgence, with no need to burden oneself with heavy responsibilities."

"Raised in such an environment, he naturally morphed into a fickle playboy devoid of any sense of accountability. He would chase whoever caught his eye, only to discard them the moment someone more visually striking came along."

"In truth, you were the person who remained by his side the longest. When he told me the two of you had been in an online relationship for over a year, I was utterly astonished, foolishly believing he had finally decided to settle down. Who could have imagined..."

"He wasn't like this when he was little. I still remember the first time his father brought a woman back to the house; Yanxuan flew into a rage, physically driving the woman out the door. He cried as he told me, 'Aunty, I hate him to my core. I swear I will never become a person like him when I grow up.'"

She let out a long, melancholy sigh. "His parents truly ruined this child. But I can tell, my dear, that he genuinely cares for you. He secretly longed for someone he could love with all his heart, someone who would love him in return. But he has lived this way for too long; the habit is too deeply ingrained to be broken."

Finally, she looked at me with earnest eyes and said, "You were entirely justified in refusing to forgive him. Remaining with someone like him would only ensure the tragic cycle of the older generation repeats itself."

"My only request is that, because he saved your life, try not to harbor too much hatred toward him."

"The fact that he was willing to go to such lengths for you proves that his feelings for you were entirely real."

After Jiang Yanxuan’s aunt departed, I stood quietly by the bedside and spoke in a low tone.

"You've been awake for a while, haven't you?"

Slowly, Jiang Yanxuan opened his eyes. I had already noticed his eyelashes fluttering against his pale cheeks just moments before.

"Thank you," I said sincerely.

Lying in the sterile hospital bed without his usual meticulously styled hair, his complexion deathly pale and the skin around his eyes bloodshot, he shed every vestige of his former playboy persona. Stripped of his glamorous outer shell, he looked agonizingly fragile at his core.

"Just now, I had a dream," he murmured, staring straight up at the ceiling with a vacant, distant look in his eyes, as if he had not yet fully detached from the slumber.

"I dreamed that I never handed you over to someone else. We attended university together, graduated side by side, got married, and even had a child."

The corners of his mouth twitched in a bitter, forced smile. "A little girl. She was adorable."

I watched him in unbroken silence.

"In the dream, you didn't look as conventionally pretty as you do now; you looked just like the photograph I saw of you long ago—a bit plump, but equally endearing."

He blinked slowly, a faint mist gathering in his eyes. "And yet, in that dream, I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. I loved you so deeply."

"I always convinced myself that I was merely drawn to your outward beauty, but now I realize the person I loved was always you—the girl who stayed by my side for over a year. Your physical appearance never truly mattered."

His voice grew raspy and dry. "It is just a pity that I have realized this far too late."

"I am sorry, Gu Nan."

Unsure of how to respond, I stood frozen as he continued.

"Just as my aunt said, I never truly understood what mattered most in life, drifting aimlessly through my days."

"I always despised people like my parents, yet their blood ran through my veins, and in the end, I became an exact replica of them."

"When the scaffolding collapsed, I didn't consciously decide to lunge forward; my body understood my true feelings long before my conscious mind ever did. But such realization has come at a useless hour."

"I am sorry. I had no right to pull such a foolish stunt. I am truly sorry."

Lowering my gaze, I kept my voice neutral. "You should focus on resting."

"Your aunt has arranged for a caregiver to look after you. I will come to visit you tomorrow."

Just as I reached for the handle of the hospital room door, Jiang Yanxuan’s trembling voice called out to me once more.

"Gu Nan, I have truly lost you forever, haven't I?"

The golden hues of the setting sun spilled across the quiet corridor. My hand rested on the cold metal of the door handle as I spoke softly.

"Jiang Yanxuan, I am deeply grateful to you."

"I once loved you with all my heart, but now, I truly no longer do."

"I am sorry. I wish you happiness."

I took a few steps forward. From behind the closed door, the muffled sound of a choked, suppressed sob drifted out, faint and heartbreakingly desolate. My footsteps faltered for a fraction of a second before I resumed my steady walk toward the exit.

Three months later, Jiang Yanxuan took a formal leave of absence from his studies. Word had it that he had gone abroad to recuperate alongside his aunt. He made no further attempts to intrude upon my life. Before his departure, however, he sent me a single text message containing the very words I had once spoken to him:

"I am sorry. I wish you happiness."

As the notification flashed on my screen, a commercial airliner cut across the evening sky directly above me. Its navigation lights blinked red against the canvas of the approaching night before swiftly vanishing into the sea of clouds. I stood watching for a long moment until every trace of it had disappeared. Beside me, Jiang Nian reached out and gently nudged my arm.

"Let's go, my love. I heard a fantastic new barbecue stall just opened down the alley behind campus. Once your evening class lets out, I'm taking you there!"

I turned my head. He was standing beneath the shade of an old camphor tree, a hand extended toward me with a warm, affectionate smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. Raising my hand, I placed it firmly within his palm, the corners of my lips curving upward into a genuine smile.

"Alright."

Life will inevitably harbor its share of regrets and missed turns. Yet, we must continue to press forward along the winding paths before us. May all of us, from this day onward, find a life filled with peace and genuine happiness. THE END.