After the car accident, my boyfriend got straight

In the spacious single-patient room, the caregiver had opened the window early in the morning to let in a wave of fresh air. Shen Li, who had undergone surgery, was covered in tubes and monitoring equipment, with one leg in a cast suspended in mid-air and his head wrapped up like a ball.

Jiang Shiyu woke up from a nightmare, repeatedly reliving the events before the car accident in his dream. The massive truck crashed into the front of the off-road vehicle, and before he could react, he was pressed into Shen Li’s arms. 

The warm liquid splashed on his face—he knew it was Shen Li’s blood. His chest hurt terribly, he was terrified, and he wanted to call out to him, but no matter how he opened his mouth, he couldn’t make a sound.

“Shen Li!” The scream erupted from his throat as he suddenly opened his eyes, breathing rapidly, his amber pupils filled with fear.

Hearing the noise, medical staff entered from outside the room and quickly approached him.

“Quick, call the doctor over. The boy in bed 02 who didn’t have surgery has woken up. Hello, can you hear me? Please look over here and follow my finger…”

He finally managed to catch his breath, only to be surrounded by nurses asking questions. His body hurt, and each breath felt like exhaling molten lava. His heart was pounding as if it would leap out of his throat.

“Shen… Li, Shen Li, where is he?” He spoke with a voice that was hoarse and dry, like a broken gong.

“Hey, don’t move. Lie down. The doctor will be here soon.” A nurse hurriedly supported him, preventing him from struggling to get up.

His chest hurt so much that he felt like he was going to die. His beautiful amber eyes were tinged with a red hue, looking so pitiable that it made anyone who saw him feel heartache.

“Oh dear, stop moving. Young Master Shen is right next to you. Look, he’s lying there just fine. Please, stop moving.”

Usually, when dealing with difficult patients, medical staff might get a bit impatient after a while. But the boy lying in the hospital bed was exceptionally beautiful. 

His small, oval face, skin as tender as a newborn’s, and big, round amber eyes like a cat’s made one’s heart soften. He looked just like a little prince living in a castle, making people naturally speak to him in gentle tones.

Hearing this, Jiang Shiyu turned his head to look and immediately saw Shen Li lying in the bed next to him. His leg was in a cast, suspended in mid-air, his head wrapped in gauze, and his chest covered with monitoring equipment.

Anxiously, his eyes turned red, and his voice took on a sobbing tone. “How is he? Is he okay? How did he get so badly injured?”

“The doctor said it’s fortunate you were in an imported, modified car with a very sturdy crash design, which absorbed most of the impact. Young Master Shen’s two most serious injuries are his leg and his head, both of which have been treated. 

As long as he cooperates well with the hospital for follow-up treatment, there shouldn’t be any major long-term effects.”

Jiang Shiyu stared unblinkingly at the boy in the adjacent bed, his eyes brimming with tears.

“You are very lucky. According to the people at the scene, during the crash, Young Master Shen held you tightly in his arms. 

Aside from losing consciousness from the impact, you weren’t hurt. However, Mr. Shen and Mrs. Bai insisted that you undergo a full body examination when you wake up, especially of your heart.”

As the nurse finished speaking, the doctor entered the room. After a brief examination, he asked, “Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?”

Jiang Shiyu, snapping out of his daze, felt nervous seeing the room filled with doctors and nurses. His fingers involuntarily curled, and when he moved, he realized his right hand was tightly held by someone at the bedside.

Turning his head, he saw that Shen Li’s hand was also hanging off the side of his bed, gripping his wrist tightly. The edges of his bandaged skin showed bruises, indicating how tightly he was holding on.

The doctor, noticing him looking at their joined hands, explained, “Since being brought to the hospital, he’s been holding your hand. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t separate them, so we had to leave it as is.”

He nodded slightly without speaking.

The doctor continued to inquire about his condition. His health had always been fragile. Even though Shen Li had protected him during the crash, he was still subjected to intense pressure. His heart was much weaker than that of an average person, and any minor disturbance could trigger a condition.

“I…” His soft lips parted, and his delicate brows furrowed, clearly showing signs of discomfort. “I hurt a lot.”

He was in excruciating pain, worse than during his previous heart attacks. Besides feeling as if an invisible hand was squeezing his chest, his entire body ached, as if it was about to fall apart.

Seeing this, the doctor immediately prepared to move him to the examination room, but when his eyes fell on the two clasped hands, he said, “Try again to separate them. We must get them apart.”

When Jiang Shiyu heard the doctor suggest forcibly separating Shen Li’s hand from his wrist, he hurriedly spoke up to stop him, “Doctor, don’t. Let me try, okay?”

A few minutes later, a nurse helped him down from his bed, allowing him to sit by Shen Li’s bedside. The medical staff then left the room, leaving the two of them alone.

Jiang Shiyu, holding his chest and enduring the pain, leaned over the edge of the bed, breathing shallowly. His soft lips touched the knuckles of Shen Li’s hand, which was tightly gripping his wrist. He looked pitiable, like an abandoned kitten.

“Shen Li, I’m fine now. We’re both okay. Please, don’t worry anymore.”

Like a kitten, he gently traced his fingers over Shen Li’s knuckles, his voice sweet and soft. “Let go, you’re holding on too tight. My hand hurts. I’m really okay now, don’t worry.”

“See, I can even kiss you.” Jiang Shiyu puckered his lips, pressing a pink kiss on Shen Li’s dark hand, even playfully nipping it with his small teeth.

The boy in a coma seemed to sense something; his iron-like grip loosened slightly. Jiang Shiyu, noticing this movement, smiled, but the action pulled at his chest, causing him to cough.

“Ah-choo, ah-choo…”

In the next moment, the fingers on his wrist tightened again, and the comatose Shen Li frowned deeply, looking very uneasy.

The effort of getting out of bed had exhausted him. His heart suddenly ached sharply, and combined with the coughing, he couldn’t catch his breath and fainted right next to Shen Li.

When he woke up again, he found himself covered in various monitoring devices. He had always been frail, frequently falling ill and being hospitalized so often that it felt like a second home. 

As he opened his eyes, his mind was still foggy, and he thought it was just another routine hospital visit due to fainting from low blood pressure.

Instinctively, he called out, “Shen Li.”

There was no response. He called again, but still, no one answered. Ever since moving to the Shen family, Shen Li had always been by his side during hospital stays. He would always see him upon waking up. Why wasn’t he here today?

He felt a bit scared and called out urgently several times, alarming the nurse, who then came in and saw that he was awake. “You’re finally awake.”

He stared blankly at the unfamiliar room and medical staff. His brain, slowly booting up, began to recall the recent events. The car accident, Shen Li, all the blood.

Shen Li!

He remembered talking to him before he fainted, asking him to let go. Now, looking to his side, he saw that it was empty. The hand that had tightly gripped his wrist was gone, leaving behind a frightful bruise on his thin wrist bone.

“Where’s Shen Li? Where’s he?”

Emotionally agitated, he struggled to get up, causing the IV line in his hand to shake. The nurse quickly came forward to calm him down.

“Young Master Shen is fine. He’s in the room next door. Please lie down; the needle might dislodge.”

Hearing that Shen Li was okay, he slowly calmed down, but his eyes kept glancing towards the door. He looked at the nurse who was examining him with innocent and beautiful eyes.

“Can I go to the next room to see him?”

Jiang Shiyu had always been good-looking. As a child, he was a soft, fair little bundle that everyone adored. Growing up, due to his health, he spent a lot of time in the hospital and rarely saw sunlight. 

The first time Shen Li saw him, he thought he looked like a delicate glass doll, precious and fragile. After being taken in by the Shen family, Shen Li took meticulous care of him, and his health gradually improved. 

He transformed from a glass doll into the most cherished little prince of the castle.

The little prince’s pleading expression, with his watery cat-like eyes, was impossible for anyone to refuse.

Not to mention the nurses, brimming with care and concern, who, upon seeing his pitiful request, almost wanted to wheel him over to the next room themselves.

However, that was unrealistic. His heart had been severely impacted and was already in a dangerous condition, requiring bed rest. His fragile body, which Shen Li had painstakingly nurtured back to some semblance of health, had been set back by the car accident. 

While Shen Li’s injuries appeared severe, as long as he woke up, he would be fine. But for Jiang Shiyu, even though he was awake, he would likely have to stay in the hospital for at least half a month.

As the nurses refused his request, his long eyelashes lowered, unable to hide the disappointment that flowed from his amber cat-like eyes.

Everyone exchanged looks, and it was clear they all felt the same: Damn, we feel terrible about this.

That evening, after the nurses completed their final rounds and left, Uncle Shen and Aunt Bai Yun, who had visited Jiang Shiyu in the afternoon, had arranged for special care for him, reassuring him not to worry.

The nurse had gone out to fetch some water, leaving him alone in the empty room. Leaning against the bed, with the white wall behind him, he knew that on the other side of that wall, Shen Li was lying there.

The needle had already been removed from his hand. His veins were thin and his skin was pale, so each time he received an IV, his hand would turn blue and swell if not done correctly. In the past, Shen Li would always be by his side, carefully reminding the nurses of these details and covering his eyes during the needle insertion to prevent him from looking.

He silently repeated Shen Li’s name in his heart, blinking as his long, crow-feather-like lashes glistened with moisture.

As the night wore on, the number of people in the hallway gradually dwindled, and the hospital grew quieter. He stared at the doorway, fingers clutching the white bed sheet. Suddenly, he threw off the covers and got out of bed barefoot.

Moving silently like a cat, he slowly crept to the door. Seeing no one in the hallway, he opened a crack and slipped out, quickly making his way to the next room. He turned the handle and slipped inside.

He rarely did anything so stealthy, and his breathing was inevitably a bit rapid. Standing by the door, he placed a hand over his chest to feel the rhythm of his heartbeat. Thankfully, it was only slightly fast.

In the darkness, a low, hoarse voice suddenly sounded, “Who is it?”

Jiang Shiyu, like a startled cat, nearly jumped in place. He turned his head, eyes wide, and found himself locking gazes with the person lying in the hospital bed.