After the car accident, my boyfriend got straight

**Jiang Hua Hospital Emergency Center**

An emergency stretcher was urgently pushed into the emergency room by medical staff, with Shen Li following beside it, dressed in a wrinkled short-sleeve shirt and shower sandals, anxiously trailing behind until the doors of the operating room closed.

Half an hour later, Bai Yun and Shen Qinglin arrived at the hospital. Shen Qinglin had successfully managed the Shen Group over the years, amassing significant financial power and influence. Upon his arrival, the hospital director personally came to greet him.

In the hallway, Bai Yun saw her son, covered in injuries, his clothes wrinkled, and wearing sandals, clearly having rushed to the hospital in a hurry.

Shen Li seemed to sense their gaze and slowly looked up at her.

“Mom.”

Just that one word made Bai Yun’s eyes turn red. She knew her son well—Shen Li was as proud and strong-willed as Shen Qinglin, but seeing him now in such a vulnerable and panicked state was a clear sign of the tremendous blow he had suffered.

“What happened? Last time I saw him, he was fine. And you, with all these injuries—what’s going on?”

Shen Li lowered his head, his face full of guilt and regret. “Mom, it’s all my fault. I was too impulsive and shouldn’t have said those things that provoked him. I really should be punished. If anything happens to him, I…”

Bai Yun interrupted him. “Enough. Complaints won’t help us now. We need to wait for the doctor to come out.” Bai Yun, worried about Jiang Shiyu’s condition, couldn’t focus on blaming her son. Shen Li’s eyes flashed with pain, but she didn’t see it, as her gaze remained fixed on the doors of the operating room.

After a long while, the operating room doors opened, and Shen Li was the first to rush forward, asking about the situation.

The doctor told them that the situation was not optimistic. Jiang Shiyu had a heart condition that required surgery as soon as he reached adulthood. He had delayed it for so long, and a major car accident in between had put immense stress on his heart, which had remained unstable. Even without today’s stimulation, he wouldn’t have lasted much longer.

Bai Yun’s face turned pale upon hearing the doctor’s words, and she staggered back, caught by Shen Qinglin.

Shen Li, with red-rimmed eyes and the marks from the boxing ring making him look fierce and frightening, asked in a hoarse voice, “Doctor, what should we do now?”

The doctor said they couldn’t wait to go abroad; surgery had to be performed immediately. They would have a meeting to discuss the details, and the surgery would start as soon as the family signed the consent forms.

Originally, Bai Yun had planned to take Jiang Shiyu abroad during the winter break for his check-up and possibly surgery if conditions were suitable, as previous check-ups had been done abroad. But the accident had happened unexpectedly.

Due to the urgency, after discussions with the hospital doctors and the overseas physicians who had previously treated Jiang Shiyu, his surgery needed to be done immediately. When the nurse handed the consent form to Bai Yun, her hand trembled so much she nearly dropped the pen. At that moment, Shen Li stepped forward and took the pen from her.

She looked up in surprise. “Son?”

Shen Li lowered his head, his expression determined and serious. “Mom, I’ll sign it.” He then signed his name on the document.

“Jiang Shiyu, I sign this surgery consent form for you. If something goes wrong, I will stay with you.”

The surgery lasted several hours. During this time, the clock on the wall became meaningless, every minute and second felt like torment. Bai Yun couldn’t endure it, and Shen Qinglin supported her, helping her to sit on a chair. Shen Li stood as close to the operating room as possible, like a statue, almost unblinking as he stared at the door marked “Surgery in Progress.”

Finally, after nine hours, at four in the morning, the operating room doors opened, and the doctor walked out, removing his mask.

“The surgery was successful.”

Shen Li had never realized how important those four words would be to him. His tense body suddenly collapsed, and he staggered back a couple of steps, being caught by a nearby nurse.

Although the surgery was successful, Jiang Shiyu’s post-operative risks remained high. He was transferred directly to the intensive care unit, and Shen Li and the others didn’t get to see him, only receiving the notice that the surgery had gone smoothly.

Shen Li leaned against the wall, recovering from the shock, and saw his parents waiting in the lobby. Bai Yun looked exhausted and worn out, with a tired expression on her face.

Shen Li went over to them. “Mom, you and Dad should go back. I’ll stay here.”

Bai Yun brushed off Shen Qinglin’s support, straightening up with a serious expression. “We’ll deal with your matters after Shiyu is better. You need to reflect on yourself. I’ll have the driver bring you some clothes and shoes. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to check on Shiyu.”

Shen Li hung his head in silence. The injuries on his face, which had been treated, looked even more frightening, combined with his dazed and desperate expression, giving him a pitiful and forlorn appearance. Bai Yun’s gaze lingered on his wounds, her eyes filled with compassion, but she ultimately said nothing.

Bai Yun and Shen Qinglin left, and Shen Li found the ICU, sitting in the hall with a random seat, his gaze fixed on the large door of the intensive care unit as if he wanted to see someone inside.

The hospital was exceptionally quiet at four in the morning. Besides the beeping of machines, occasional footsteps could be heard. The moonlight had long since disappeared, and the black night had descended, creating a stark contrast with the white interior.

In the quiet hall, even the display screens on the walls had stopped scrolling, and everything seemed to be at a standstill. Shen Li could only hear his own breathing, his heavy heartbeat pounding loudly in his chest.

It seemed not long ago that he had felt another person’s heartbeat, that person’s wrist cold but with an unusually fast pulse. At that time, Shen Li thought it was just Jiang Shiyu’s jealousy and shyness causing the rapid heartbeat. It turned out it was a sign of his heart condition.

He bowed his head, clutching his head with both hands, his fingers tangled in his hair, pulling it hard. Pain and regret overwhelmed his heart, and fear and apprehension gripped his chest like an invisible hand, making it hard for him to breathe or think. Once he started to think, the terrifying emotions would engulf him.

So… was this how Jiang Shiyu felt when he saw him fighting?

His own self-righteousness had made him think Jiang Shiyu was merely anxious, but in reality, it was fear—fear of something happening, fear of losing him. Yet, he had reassured him, saying everything was fine and under control.

“You are never afraid, only thinking about how to show off,” Jiang Shiyu’s words felt like a sharp blade, piercing his chest, blood flowing from the wound as he couldn’t fight back.

Shen Li, like a dying beast, buried his head in despair, no longer resembling the rebellious figure he had been in the boxing ring that afternoon.

The next morning before eight, Bai Yun arrived again, bringing a caregiver with her. She said that Shen Li couldn’t stay with Jiang Shiyu in the hospital all the time, so she had hired the caregiver who had previously taken care of Jiang Shiyu during his car accident period.

Shen Li initially refused, insisting on taking care of Jiang Shiyu himself. Bai Yun asked if he wasn’t going to classes with the semester nearing its end. He replied that he wasn’t, almost causing Bai Yun to lose her temper.

“You can skip classes, but the caregiver is non-negotiable.”

Jiang Shiyu woke up in the late afternoon, just before dinner. The ICU allowed one person in for a visit. Seeing Shen Li’s pitiful state, Bai Yun couldn’t bear to deny him entry and let him go in first.

The Shen family had invested in Jiang Hua Hospital, so Jiang Shiyu’s surgery was performed by the top specialist, and he was in a single patient room post-surgery. Shen Li entered the room to see Jiang Shiyu lying in bed, surrounded by various beeping machines, with a transparent mask still on his face.

Jiang Shiyu’s eyes were half-open, not fully conscious. His condition had always been weak, and his recovery post-surgery was slower than usual, with the anesthesia taking longer to wear off.

When Shen Li came in, Jiang Shiyu took a while to turn his eyes towards him. Still feeling the effects of the anesthesia, his vision was blurry, and he struggled to recognize Shen Li’s outline.

Behind the mask, his lips moved slightly. Shen Li couldn’t make out what he was saying but instinctively moved closer.

Jiang Shiyu, seeing his appearance more clearly, seemed to have aged a lot in just a day and night. His stubble was visible, his face bruised and swollen, a scary yet somewhat humorous sight.

Shen Li didn’t touch him, who was covered in tubes, only daring to sit by the bed and watch him, his emotions inscrutable.

Jiang Shiyu weakly raised his pinky finger, the movement slight and feeble.

Shen Li noticed and slowly extended his hand, intertwining his pinky with his. The two fingers formed a hook, and Jiang Shiyu’s weakly raised finger curled around Shen Li’s pinky.

Shen Li felt tears welling up in his eyes, his taut muscles nearly cramping. He didn’t dare to apply too much pressure, fearing it might harm him. His uncontrollable emotions made his expression appear distorted.

The pinky, weak like a newborn kitten, moved slightly as if trying to comfort him.

Shen Li looked at Jiang Shiyu’s face, which was mostly covered by the transparent mask. His lips moved inside the mask.

This time, he understood his lip movements.

“Don’t be sad.”

At that moment, he lost control, tears streaming down his face. Jiang Shiyu’s expression turned frantic behind the mask, his entire body almost limp, only his pinky capable of moving feebly.

He kept trying to hook Shen Li’s finger with his pinky, his eyes blinking anxiously, causing the nearby monitoring equipment to show erratic data.

Nurses and doctors rushed in, startling Shen Li, who hadn’t had a chance to wipe his tears away.

When he left the room, Bai Yun was still in the lobby. Seeing her son with reddened eyes and a face full of disbelief, she was stunned.

Shen Li, her son who hadn’t cried since he was six, was now crying in his lifetime.

After leaving the ward, Shen Li didn’t show any embarrassment about his tears but turned to look through the ICU doors, anxiously checking on the situation inside.