"Didn't you say his life hangs in the balance? Then I curse him to die in the operating room! To die on the operating table!"

I had just started turning my wheelchair to leave when I was frozen in place by her words.

"You were also reborn? What do you mean you died twice at Julian's hands?"

Xu Rou didn't answer.

She shrank into the chair as if drained of all strength. Her face twitched uncontrollably, her eyes full of terror as she muttered to herself: "Don't come over here, go away, don't come over."

I felt a wave of sadness looking at her. Originally, we all should have had bright futures.

Chapter 32

Coming out of the police station, Arthur and I returned to the hospital.

The lights in the emergency room had just gone out.

Knowing I was worried about Julian’s condition, Arthur immediately pushed me over.

"Doctor, how is he?"

The doctor took off his mask and shook his head: "It’s not very optimistic. Fortunately, the patient has a very strong will to live. It all depends on whether he can make it through these twenty-four hours."

My heart tightened, and I hurriedly followed the medical staff to Julian’s ward.

He lay on the bed with a pale complexion, the monitoring equipment emitting a rhythmic "beep, beep" sound.

"Julian." My voice was very soft, as if I were afraid of disturbing the person on the bed.

Arthur let out a silent breath and patted my shoulder: "I'll go outside and wait for you."

The ward door was gently closed.

The whole world fell silent instantly; in the ward, only the faint breathing of two people could be heard.

I turned my wheelchair to sit by Julian’s bedside, quietly watching the man lying in a coma on the bed, my lashes drooping with loneliness.

I really wasn't familiar with him. Even when we were married in my past life, we rarely saw each other, and in this life, we weren't even close friends.

I had originally only wanted to repay Julian’s kindness so that we would owe each other nothing, but now, he was lying in a coma because he had saved me.

A sense of guilt rose from the bottom of my heart.

"Julian, you must wake up. I have never blamed you."

"Perhaps you don't know that we were once husband and wife, but neither of us was happy. I don't want to entangle myself with you again in this life, but I still hope you can be safe and happy."

"Julian, did you hear me?"

...

"Julian, did you hear me?"

Amidst a vast, white, dense fog.

Julian heard Gu Elena’s call. He tilted his head to look around and shouted loudly: "Gu Elena! Gu Elena, where are you?"

The voice disappeared, and the surroundings went silent, with only his own echoes returning from all directions.

Julian didn't know how long he had been walking in the mist. Just as he felt he was about to be exhausted, he heard Gu Elena’s voice again—

"Julian, you must wake up."

This conviction supported him through stage after stage. Finally, a glimmer of light appeared ahead.

He followed the light and walked out, the scene before his eyes suddenly brightening.

However, he saw himself sitting on a bedroom bed, and a large crowd of people swarmed in from outside. Gu Elena was right beside him, anxiously pulling at a quilt to cover her naked body.

Julian’s brows furrowed deeply.

How could this be? Why were there so many people?

He looked at Xu Rou standing in the crowd and suddenly understood everything. It was her—she was framing Gu Elena again.

Julian shook his head with a bitter smile. He hadn't expected that in his comatose dream, he would return to the day he drove Gu Elena away. Perhaps for him, if he had made a different decision that day, everything would have been different.

I don't know if the Julian in the dream heard the call of his inner heart, but his gaze swept coldly across the crowd as he spoke: "I am seeing Gu Elena, and we will be married very soon."

The noisy crowd fell silent instantly upon hearing his words, and Gu Elena looked up at him with a tear-stained little face, staring blankly.

Julian actually found her like this somewhat cute; at least she wouldn't be pushing him away coldly.

But when the crowd dispersed, the attitude of the Julian in the dream plummeted instantly to below freezing.

He looked down from above at Gu Elena, who was trembling with her shoulders exposed, his voice so cold it felt like it would drip ice shards.

"Gu Elena, I have told you: do not use your cheap, low-class tactics on me. I never imagined you would stoop so low as to drug me and crawl into my bed. You have truly disappointed me."

Chapter 33

Gu Elena’s lips trembled, as if she wanted to defend herself, but under his icy gaze, she stammered, unable to finish a single complete sentence.

Julian grew anxious; he was desperate to help Gu Elena justify herself.

"It’s not true! It wasn't Gu Elena’s doing! She’s not that kind of person! Why won't you listen to her explanation? Listen to her!"

He tried to reach out to grab the other Julian, but his hand passed straight through his body.

The Julian in the dream buttoned his clothes one by one, and only after dressing neatly did he glance at Gu Elena again: "If you want to marry, then let’s marry. But I’m telling you, apart from the status of the Cheng family’s daughter-in-law, you will get nothing else."

Having said that, he left the bedroom.

Only Gu Elena remained, wrapping herself tightly in the quilt, curled up on the bed, sobbing helplessly.

Julian wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't even manage to drape a piece of clothing over her.

He couldn't help but blame himself: why did he harbor such deep prejudice against Gu Elena even in his dreams? Why did he refuse to believe her?

He sat beside Gu Elena, unable to suppress a bitter laugh.

"Julian, if you treat her like this, you will regret it sooner or later."

Gradually, Gu Elena’s quiet whimpering turned into a loud wail. She was choked with sobs, yet she repeated over and over: "Brother Julian, I... I really like you. I didn't... didn't climb... climb the social ladder..."

"Why don't you believe me... why..."

Julian’s eyes widened slightly, his gaze trembling, his heart pounding wildly.

He looked at Gu Elena’s shaking shoulders, unable to believe his ears. Gu Elena actually said she liked him? How was that possible? She had always only wanted to draw a clear line between them.

She was probably thinking right now about how to repay his life-saving grace.

Julian shook his head, struggling to calm his emotions.

"What are you thinking? This is your dream. You hope she likes you, so she naturally will."

His gentle gaze rested on Gu Elena; Julian lowered his lashes, concealing the desolation in his eyes.

The scene shifted to the day of the wedding.

There were no relatives or friends, no crowd of guests, and not even parents from either side were present.

"Mom and Dad are on a business trip to another province. I will be living at the military district from now on, and Xu Rou has gone to school. You can manage this house yourself."

Julian’s tone was nothing short of indifferent, while Gu Elena only hung her head, pinching the hem of her clothes.

The new dress had been worn for two years and was getting old, but it was the most decent outfit she had. Julian never knew that she had listened to the aunts in the compound and used her meager savings to buy a new bedsheet.

Seeing her like this, Julian’s brows furrowed even deeper.

"We all come from the same village; why can't you learn something from Xu Rou? She could get into the University of the Capital through her own efforts. What about you? Do you only want to find a man to marry?"

Gu Elena looked up, tears shimmering in her eyes, her voice choked: "Brother Julian, I didn't... I also studied hard, I..."

What cut her off was Julian’s cold sneer.

"Then I truly don't know what it is you’ve been studying. From now on... you’re on your own."

After saying this, Julian left the house.

Only Gu Elena remained, day after day in the empty house, cooking, cleaning, and lost in a daze.

At first, she could still go out to walk around, but later, after being mocked so much, she no longer cared to go out. She became the laughingstock of the compound, a topic of after-dinner gossip, and even her father was splashed with dirty water.

"You say, if Gu Anguo were still alive, what rank would he have held?"

"He would definitely be a higher rank than Chief Cheng; he was his old leader, after all."