If the Deep Sea Forgets You

Chapter 118: Body Reaction

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Xia Qingyi patted his face. “Hey... Older brother... Don’t sleep... Let’s reach the bedroom before you sleep okay...?”

Mo Han did not reply as he leaned on her thin shoulders with his entire body weight. Without a choice, Xia Qingyi supported his waist with a hand and placed his arm around her shoulders, trying to pull him towards his bedroom.

“Can you use some energy... to walk forward... you’re very heavy...” Xia Qingyi nagged.

They had only walked a small distance and she was already panting tiredly. When they were passing by the sofa, Xia Qingyi was not paying attention to where she was walking as she looked up to glance at Mo Han. Suddenly, she tripped over something unknown and they fell towards the sofa.

The sofa at home had armrests, which were what Xia Qingyi’s waist had bumped into. Her upper body fell onto the soft sofa.

Mo Han had fell directly on Xia Qingyi, with his head lying where her neck was. Her waist was stuck on the armrest and her legs could not even touch the floor. Her whole body could not move.

Xia Qingyi could not breath with Mo Han’s weight on her. She could not move him away as she had used most of her energy trying to carry Mo Han earlier. She tried to kick Mo Han with her legs to get him to move, but it seemed that he had fallen asleep as he remained unmoved.

Xia Qingyi tried to move her body upwards forcefully, so that her waist would not be stuck on the armrest. It would be better to have her legs on the armrest than her waist. However, she had not realized an important issue.

Mo Han was currently lying on her chest, and she was not wearing any bra.

Xia Qingyi sighed in resignation as she could not push Mo Han away no matter what she did. She had been woken in the middle of the night by his call. Now, he was sleeping here like nothing had happened while she was extremely tired.

The room was silent as Xia Qingyi felt sleepiness come to her too. She thought about just going to sleep like that and to think of a solution when she woke up the next day. That was why she turned her head and fell asleep with her hand covering the lights.

The next morning, Xia Qingyi was the first to wake. All she felt was pain in her back after having slept on the sofa for the entire night. She wanted to rub her back, though Mo Han was still lying on her.

Xia Qingyi did not know the time as she did not even know where she had placed her phone. She was wondering whether to wake Mo Han up first.

However, the moment she tried to move, Mo Han, who had been lying on her chest, woke up. His head moved, before he opened his eyes and looked up at Xia Qingyi with surprise.

Did he not wake up no matter how hard she tried to wake him last night? How did he wake up so easily now?

“You’re awake?” Xia Qingyi asked.

Mo Han had only started to notice his surroundings then. He looked down to see Xia Qingyi’s bra-less chest that was slightly showing. His cheeks turned red immediately.

Then, he realized a more important issue. He had a morning er*ction, right in between Xia Qingyi’s legs.

He got up from Xia Qingyi’s body hurriedly, trying to cover himself by standing slightly turned. It was only then that he had realized that he had slept on Xia Qingyi for the entire night.

“Ah... ah...” Xia Qingyi moaned with her jaws clenched tightly on the sofa. She had moved her body right as Mo Han had gotten up. Her waist was in extreme pain as it was hard for her to even turn her body.

Mo Han’s ears turned red at Xia Qingyi’s moans. He did not dare to continue staying here as he ran away hurriedly without looking at Xia Qingyi.

“Hm... erm... I’ll go wash my face first...”

“Hey... Pull me up! My waist hurts... I can’t get up!” Xia Qingyi tried to get some pity about what she had experienced as she rubbed her waist in pain.

For the rest of the day, Xia Qingyi kept nagging about Mo Han’s cold-blooded behavior. He had slept on her like she was a mattress for the entire night, yet he did not say anything and rushed away when he had woken up.

On the other hand, Mo Han had been absorbed by the fact that he had slept on Xia Qingyi for the entire night, and his reaction to it. He was becoming more horrified the more he thought about it.

He became slightly aware that some things had already strayed from their original course.

It was possible, that Xia Qingyi was no longer just a girl that he had helped out of pitifulness to him.

Chapter 119: Drunk

In the few days that Mo Han had returned to the country, he had yet to fulfill his promise to treat Xia Qingyi to a nice meal. Not only so, he had become busier with work for some unknown reasons. He was so busy that Xia Qingyi had almost thought that Mo Han was avoiding her purposefully.

This made Xia Qingyi very uncomfortable and the plans she had to have a nice meal could only be postponed endlessly.

Nevertheless, Xia Qingyi had still had the chance to eat a small meal as per her wish because Zhang Yang had treated her to a meal to celebrate her successful transfer to the Psychology faculty. He had also specially invited some of his friends to accompany them.

Xia Qingyi did not really want to go at first, as she felt some repulsion when she thought about Zhang Yang’s friends being policemen. It was only afterwards that Zhang Yang had said that his friends were people from the detective agency and were not anybody special.

Xia Qingyi changed her thoughts. She had thought that maybe she could ask the people from the detective agency to help her inquire about what had happened at the swimming pool that time. They might be able to find some traces of the truth.

That was why she followed Zhang Yang to the meal.

However, Xia Qingyi could not remember what she had ate, what she had said and who she had met too clearly after that day. Her memories of that night were a complete blur.

The final second of the memory she had when she was still sober was that Zhang Yang had said something to her at the dining table, though she had forgotten what.

She was constantly in a daze, as if she kept floating up and down in the sea. Her surroundings were particularly noisy, though Xia Qingyi could not hear what they were saying. She then fell head first onto something soft.

And, she lost all consciousness.

By the time she had regained consciousness, she had been woken up by the frantic knocking on the door at 3 A.M.

The reason why Xia Qingyi could remember the time so specifically, was because someone had said it agitatedly next to her when she had been woken up.

Who is knocking on the door at 3 A.M. in the morning?!

That person seemed to have gone to open the door while scolding nonstop. Xia Qingyi was incredibly sleepy. She could not move even though she was conscious.

She did not open her eyes and did not know where she was currently. There were two tiny people fighting in her head. One was saying to get up quickly to see where she was, while the other was saying to go to sleep and that everything could be settled after she had woken up.

Only, Xia Qingyi had been woken up when a cup of cold water was splashed on her before a victory could be decided between the two tiny people.

It was extremely bright when she opened her eyes. She closed her eyes again straight away at the brightness. She continued to close her eyes after she had raised her arms to wipe away the water on her face. She had not yet reacted to what had happened.

“Are you awake?” Xia Qingyi finally opened her eyes with difficulty to faintly see Mo Han standing in front of her with his face dark as coal.

Xia Qingyi was confused as she looked at Mo Han, who seemed to be unbearably close to losing his temper and the unknown man that was lying next to her. She did not know where Zhang Yang had gone, but she was lying on a bed. There was a man whose face she could not see dead asleep and lying by her leg.

“Go away!” Mo Han pulled the man who was sleeping on her leg away.

Xia Qingyi finally realized that she seemed to have gotten herself into trouble.

She wanted to open her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Mo Han.

“Go back!” Mo Han did not even give her the chance to speak. He straight away grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her out of the bed. Xia Qingyi almost fell with her unstable steps from Mo Han’s pulling. She wanted to pull her hands back to put on her shoes and walk by herself.

However, Mo Han did not give her the time to put on her shoes. He turned back and stared straight into her eyes. “Xia Qingyi, if you continue to dawdle here for another minute, I’ll make sure you never get to go home!”

Xia Qingyi was frightened by his gaze. She carefully held onto her shoes with one hand while her other hand was pulled forward painfully by Mo Han.

It was only when they were out of the room that Xia Qingyi finally realized that they were at a hotel.

She saw another person leaning against the wall at the entrance of the room, which happened to be Zhang Yang.

He was dead asleep with his head tilted and face flushed red.

Chapter 120: What Are You Doing

Xia Qingyi wanted to wake him up to ask him what had happened exactly, but Mo Han did not look at him at all. He merely pulled Xia Qingyi along without looking back as they went out.

“My hand hurts.” she said softly behind Mo Han.

Mo Han kept quiet as he kept his grip tight on her wrist.

“Stop. I’m not wearing shoes and my feet hurt.” Xia Qingyi tried to drag Mo Han back, not wanting him to continue walking. She had just woken up and was extremely tired.

Mo Han stopped and turned back to glance at her, before he suddenly carried her princess-style.

Xia Qingyi exclaimed in surprise as she immediately wrapped her hands around Mo Han’s neck. She opened her eyes wide to see Mo Han’s still angry face.

“What are you doing?!” Xia Qingyi asked.

“Shut up.”

“Put me down! I want to wear my shoes and walk by my own!” she kept kicking her legs in Mo Han’s arms.

“Be more well-behaved.”

Mo Han had placed Xia Qingyi on the front passenger seat in his car. Their surrounding was so quiet that they could only hear the wind on their way back. Her wrist that Mo Han had pulled on had turned red. She rubbed her wrist as she tried to recall what had happened.

The atmosphere in the car was completely tense as the two were silent on the way back. Mo Han was angry while Xia Qingyi was afraid. She understood faintly that she had gotten herself into trouble last night and Mo Han would definitely scold her when they reached home.

As expected, the moment the door had been closed after they had reached home, Mo Han spoke in a tone that had no temperature, “I’ll only give you two minutes to explain.”

“I... I... don’t know...”

“I don’t want to hear you saying such things.”

“I’m sorry... I really don’t know... I can’t remember. I’d only gone out for a meal with Zhang Yang and his friends...”

“Went out for a meal?! You ate until midnight and did not come back! Do you know what time it is now? 4 A.M. in the morning! You went out for a meal and ended up sleeping in the hotel with those unknown men! You’re really capable, Xia Qingyi. I’ve really underestimated you!”

Mo Han inched toward her as he spoke. Xia Qingyi moved back in fear, only to find her back touching the door. She could not move any further.

“I... I didn’t mean to... I think I drank alcohol...” Xia Qingyi looked at Mo Han who had been inching forward. The distance between them was less than 10 centimeters. She was extremely afraid, desperately wishing that she could hide in the door.

Mo Han stared into her eyes. He grabbed her chin suddenly. “Haven’t I told you many times not to drink alcohol? To not drink any alcohol, not even a single drop. Did you treat my words as a joke?”

Xia Qingyi looked at him as she trembled in fear. The Mo Han in front of her now did not seem like the person she knew at all. The Mo Han that she knew was a calm and introverted person, but the person that was holding onto her chin now was too invasive.

His gaze was like that of a panther who was waiting for its prey without a sound, making others feel as though every second could be their last.

“I’m sorry... I admit my mistake. I won’t do it again.” Xia Qingyi was really afraid.

Nevertheless, Mo Han did not let go. In fact, he placed his other hand on the back of Xia Qingyi’s head, forcefully pushing her towards herself until their noses touched. Xia Qingyi did not dare to look at Mo Han as her hands shook.

Mo Han whispered softly in her ear as he lowered his head, “What did you do wrong?”

“I... won’t drink alcohol anymore... I won’t even look at alcohol from now on...” Xia Qingyi trembled.

Despite so, Mo Han did not back away as he pressed Xia Qingyi against the door. His hand rubbed her chin softly. “What did you all do in the room before I came?”

Chapter 121: Impossible to Forgive

Xia Qingyi shook her head desperately. She turned away from him, not daring to look at him. “Nothing... We didn’t do anything... I just slept...”

“Are you sure?” Mo Han’s tone become skittish as he let go of his grip on Xia Qingyi’s chin. Just as Xia Qingyi was about to let out a breath of relief secretly, she sucked in a deep breath instead at Mo Han’s next action.

He tugged his hand down from Xia Qingyi’s shirt. He then moved his hand under her shirt, hugging her waist as his hand pressed against Xia Qingyi’s skin.

“Did they do this?” Mo Han was almost biting her ear as he said this.

Xia Qingyi was so frightened that she was speechless. She glared at him, wanting to push his hand away.

“Or, did they do this?” as he said this, Mo Han’s hand slid up from the soft skin at her back. He stopped at where her bra clasp was. There was a slight pressure, and the bra clasp became undone.

Her heart started to beat erratically together with the unclasping of the bra clasp. She had never expected Mo Han to do things like this. His calloused hand started to caress her back without any reservation. It was also almost immediately that she started to push Mo Han’s hand away desperately.

It was a pity however, that her strength was nothing compared to Mo Han’s.

Something in her brain snapped. She wanted to give Mo Han a slap, only to have both her hands caught by Mo Han suddenly. He pushed her hands up straight and pressed them against the door.

“Let me tell you, Xia Qingyi! Those men had thought of way more severe things than what I’m doing now after you were drunk!”

Xia Qingyi could feel Mo Han’s right hand moving up and down her body. The thin callouses on his palm made Xia Qingyi shiver unconsciously. Her entire body was trembling as shame washed over her. It made her start to struggle desperately.

Xia Qingyi was especially afraid of this side of Mo Han. She turned her head towards the side as tears fell uncontrollably.

Mo Han eventually stopped when he saw her tears. He slowly removed his hand from within Xia Qingyi’s shirt. He then moved his left hand that had been pressing her hands down, removing his restraint from Xia Qingyi.

He had thought that Xia Qingyi would immediately slap him. He had done something completely unforgivable from the eyes of an onlooker after all.

But, Xia Qingyi did not.

She did not do anything. Her tears fell drop by drop with her head still looking towards the side as she rubbed her wrist silently.

Mo Han’s rationality was starting to return. He had only realized the extent of his actions that he had made on impulse after he saw how she looked now.

“I’m sorry...” Mo Han took a step back as he placed a hand to his forehead.

Xia Qingyi was holding her tears back as she bent down slowly to pick up the shoes on the floor. She froze there for a long time with her head down, before she stepped emptily away from Mo Han.

Mo Han watched Xia Qingyi’s back view. Her steps were incredibly slow, which could have been due to the fact that what had happened earlier had a strong impact on her. She seemed soulless as she walked forward. He wanted to call her, though he gave up once the words reached his mouth.

Mo Han suddenly understood that Xia Qingyi’s and his innocent brother-sister relationship was probably gone after what had happened earlier.

She had treated Mo Han as her older brother. It was Mo Han who had first crossed the line.

Mo Han had thought that it was a good thing that he had found this out early nevertheless. There was still time to turn back, and things would eventually return to how they were.

It was only in the next morning that Xia Qingyi had found out what had happened exactly when Zhang Yang had called her after she had woken up. Zhang Yang had given her a glass of alcohol when they were eating yesterday. She drank it, not paying too much attention to it and had started to act up not long afterwards.

Zhang Yang had been giggling to himself as he told her. He said, “I can’t tell that you’d bite people randomly after you’ve drank, Xia Qingyi?”

“You didn’t know, but you gave us all a scare when you started to pull people around you in and bite them on their neck. We wanted to pull you, but you didn’t let us touch you. All of us at the table had been bitten twice, more or less.”

Xia Qingyi asked, “Then why did we go to the hotel afterwards?”

Chapter 122: Hotel

Zhang Yang started to babble, “That’s because you were quite drunk. I asked you where your house was, and you told me that you didn’t have a house. It was a good thing that I used the last bit of the consciousness I had to find your phone and call your older brother to tell him that you’d stay at the hotel for the night and I’d send you home tomorrow morning.”

“Who knew that you’d start to act up again after we reached the hotel. You woke my friends to continue drinking, and I was even locked out afterwards.”

Xia Qingyi was slightly relieved after she had found out the truth bit by bit from Zhang Yang. She still had no idea why she could not remember anything after drinking alcohol, not to mention not being able to control her actions.

It was no wonder Mo Han had been so angry after he had heard that she had drank. Once she thought of Mo Han, however, Xia Qingyi would remember how Mo Han had acted when he had lost control of himself. Xia Qingyi shuddered in fear at the memory of him restraining her and touching her body without any reservations appearing at the front of his head.

Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it.

The next morning, the two of them had the most awkward meal ever as they quietly ate at the dining table.

Xia Qingyi had not spoken a single word to him throughout the entire meal.

Mo Han knew the reason behind her actions. He wanted to return to their original lifestyle with Xia Qingyi, though he had realized that everything that he did was wrong.

“What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll bring it back for you.” Mo Han spoke the first sentence for the morning just as breakfast was about to be finished.

Xia Qingyi merely shook her head, “You don’t have to.”

The two never spoke again.

Mo Han returned to his workaholic self, not giving any time for himself to rest. This made the people working in the law firm absolutely miserable, though they did not dare to speak up. There were unending meetings and endless documents to tidy. They had originally thought that their boss would reduce his working hours after his three-day holiday earlier, though the fact is that they had expected too much.

Mo Han was the only one who knew that he was like this because wanted to be distracted from what had happened with Xia Qingyi. Since yesterday, he would automatically think about his palm that had caressed her body and her suppressed tears when he had stopped. Mo Han felt absolutely helpless at this. He needed to use his work to fill and distract his brain.

“Do you think that Barrister Mo has been angered somehow? What’s wrong with him today? We’d been busy the whole day and he had said that we could knock off work on time. Yet, there came another new case last minute and there’s a bunch of legal documents to read. What do I do?” one of the employees of the law firm complained secretly to his colleague sitting next to him.

“Do you still not understand our Barrister Mo? He’s known for being a workaholic. You have to be prepared that you would sacrifice your body for the legal cause of your country as long as you’re working for him!” another employee added.

“I know, I know. If this goes on, I think I’d really sacrifice myself soon.” the employee had resentment written all over his face as he drank his coffee cross-legged.

“Well, if only Barrister Mo’s younger sister was here today.” one of the employee said suddenly.

“So what if she came?”

“It’ll be a lot better if she came, alright?! Don’t you realize? Our boss would definitely let us off work within half an hour every time our boss’ younger sister came to the law firm.” the employee said excitedly.

The employee who had first complained had a light bulb moment. “Oh! What you’re saying is the truth! It seemed to be like this every time!”

“Not only so, I think boss had gone on a trip with his younger sister when he took a three-day leave without any notice not long ago.”

“Really?!”

“Yes! I heard Liu Zhiyuan say that it was boss’ younger sister who came up with the idea.”

“Wow! If that’s the case, boss has a really good relationship with his younger sister. They’d even gone on a trip together!”

The two chatted quietly in the pantry, making use of the little time they had while refilling their cups. They did not notice Mo Han, who just so happened to be standing by the door.

“I didn’t know boss had a younger sister last time. Now that I know, I’ve realized that our boss is absolutely whipped and protective of her.”

“Yes, yes, yes! I think so too.” she kept saying nonstop.

Chapter 123: Unanswered Call

“You don’t even know about it! When I brought some documents to our boss’ office that day, I saw his younger sister sleeping on the sofa while our boss was reading documents on the sofa as well. I didn’t notice much then. It was only when I was leaving that I’d saw that his clothes had been placed on his younger sister. Also, let me tell you. I also saw his younger sister tugging onto his sleeve yet our boss didn’t even push her away.”

“Really?!”

“Of course it’s real, I saw it for myself.” the two heads almost touched as they quietly chatted.

Mo Han had heard every word of their conversation, though he merely kept quiet outside the door. Eventually, he walked away quietly.

People often said to not listen to others’ words as most of their words are a lie. Their words are just things they had seen from their point of view and they did not even care about what you were thinking.

Only, those people had gotten the saying that the spectators can see the chess game better than the players.

Mo Han did not know if he was currently the player according to others, or if he was the spectator that he thought he was. All he knew was that he need some alone time to calmly and carefully think about his current circumstances. He needed to be rational and calm, and not to be impulsive and narrow-minded.

That was why he needed to stay away from Xia Qingyi for a few days.

Xia Qingyi, on the other hand, had remained silent for these few days.

Mo Han would see Xia Qingyi’s tightly closed bedroom door whenever he returned home. Even though they could interact with each other once they were home, Mo Han felt that they were separated by two entire worlds.

Mo Han had once thought about when Xia Qingyi and he could return to their original lifestyle where they could talk normally to each other. He thought that it would probably take a week at most. His younger sister’s temper came and went easily. They would soon return to how they were before.

However, Mo Han had never expected that the reason for them to return to normal conversations was a missed call.

He had received a missed call from Xia Qingyi at 9 P.M.

Mo Han could still remember it very clearly. The exact time he had received the missed call was 9.38 P.M.

This timing had been branded into the small fragments of his memory in the future, and became a hidden scar within his heart.

Even after many years, Mo Han had always felt that many things had changed because of this missed call.

That call had rung for a long time, though Mo Han did not pick it up as he stared at the flashing name on the phone. He had placed his phone in a corner, waiting for the screen to dim.

Mo Han had thought that the call was Xia Qingyi trying to reconcile with him. She had lost patience after all, with her temper coming and going easily. Mo Han reminded himself to give himself some time alone. He was supposed to be the rational and calm Barrister Mo, not the impulsive and possessive older brother he had become in front of Xia Qingyi.

Mo Han had been notified by his secretary that it was time for a meeting the moment his phone screen had dimmed. He left his seat for the meeting, leaving his phone on the table with a document in hand.

Ten minutes later, there was a new notification on Mo Han’s phone that there was a new message.

Xincheng Avenue 3.

The sender of the message was Xia Qingyi.

Mo Han did not see it however.

The meeting went on for about 20 minutes. After Mo Han had returned to his office, he sat down and was about to call a staff at the courts when he saw Xia Qingyi’s message.

This place was actually not far from Mo Han’s law firm. He had no idea why Xia Qingyi had sent an address, though he had vaguely felt that there was some meaning behind it. That is why he had wanted to call Xia Qingyi to ask about it.

Only, the voice that had sounded on the phone was a cold female voice. “Sorry, the mobile phone that you had dialed has been turned off.”

Chapter 124: Pain

It was only now that Mo Han finally realized that something was wrong. The same cold words were heard when he called her again. The repeated words kept ringing in Mo Han’s ears. His head was in a mess, with his thoughts tangled together. It was only suddenly that it had dawned on him that something bad might have happened.

Mo Han did not dare to continue that line of thought as he ran out with his jacket hurriedly. He did not even tell his assistant as he called while running.

He needed to go to that place immediately. Something must have happened at the address that Xia Qingyi had sent him.

This thought pushed through the others to fill his head as his steps quickened.

It was only when he walked out of the building that he realized that it had somehow started raining heavily outside.

The unexpected rain had engulfed the entire city in fog. Heavy droplets fell and hit the water puddles on the ground, as some smaller droplets splashed out. The unique loud splatter of the rain lingered in Mo Han’s ears. He could even faintly hear the sound of cars driving on the wet streets from afar.

Mo Han merely paused for a second before he used his hands to cover himself slight as he ran into the rain. He kept calling Xia Qingyi nonstop, though it was the same robotic voice that had answered every time.

Mo Han was starting to feel frustrated. The more time passed, the longer he ran and the longer Xia Qingyi did not pick up her phone, the faster his heart beat.

He only wanted to ran faster to reach that place faster. He wanted to see Xia Qingyi. He wanted to see her now.

“Go away... Go...!” Xia Qingyi screamed as she struggled with all her strength, trying to push away the person that had held her down.

“Stupid b*itch! Stay still!” The man that had pinned her on the floor suddenly grabbed her hands and pressed them next to her so that she could not move. He spat on the floor, telling the person next to him, “This girl is feisty enough!”

Xia Qingyi had noticed someone following behind her when she had walked to the entrance of a coffee shop. She had glanced at the glass window of the coffee shop unintentionally, before she saw a man wearing a black baseball cap following behind her.

There was something wrong with his gaze as he did not dare to look at her. There was no reason for him to not look at her if he was a complete stranger.

Xia Qingyi wanted to shake him off quietly without batting an eyelid. Though, it was when she was at a corner when she realized that it was not only a man following her. Thinking that she would not be able to handle it, she could only put on her earphones and call Mo Han.

The call did not go through however, and she had been stared at closely by her pursuers. She was ready to ask for help from the people around her, though with a look ahead, she froze in her steps.

She had walked into a long alley unknowingly. The end of the alley that she was at only had street lamps that shined a dusky yellow, some old buildings and the road surface was filled with potholes. Meanwhile, there was a brightly lit and busy street on the other side of the alley. It would be Mo Han’s law firm after walking through that street.

Thunder sounded suddenly, and bean-sized rain droplets started to fall. Xia Qingyi’s heart started to beat erratically. She took a few deep breaths to try to calm her throbbing heart, as she stabilized her steps to continue forward.

Her hand was in her pocket as she tried to use her memory and the faint light available to send an extremely short message to Mo Han while she walked.

The sound of rain echoed in her ears. The person behind her started to get closer to her as he stepped on rain water. He was coming closer and closer.

Xia Qingyi looked at the brightness of the street not too far away from her. She started to run faster and faster.

Everything would be fine as long as she could get out of this alley.

Her hair was drenched as it stuck softly to her face. The raindrops fell into her eyes, which made her vision unclear. All she could do was run in the direction where there was light in the distance.

It was then that Xia Qingyi saw a man standing in the middle of the dark alley in front of her. He was smiling at her darkly and Xia Qingyi was sure that she would never forget that scary feeling for the rest of her life.

She was caught by that man. The man kicked hard at her stomach and she fell to the ground. Xia Qingyi did not have the chance to even stand up when the man in front of her kicked hard at her stomach and towards the side of the pole next to them.

Xia Qingyi’s abdomen felt like exploding as she clutched her stomach, sweating from the pain. She lay on the floor, unable to move for a long time. The heavy rain fell on her as she was completely drenched. Xia Qingyi felt that every part of her body stank as she lay in the dirty and muddy water.

Afterwards, a man took advantage of the situation and came up to her to give her a slap.

It took Xia Qingyi a long time before she came to after the slap. She turned her head to the side and breathed heavily with her mouth. Her abdomen, waist and legs were in extreme pain. It was so painful that she was shaking throughout, and she could not hear anything.

Chapter 125: Death

“Sh*t! Isn’t it just catching a woman? Why is it so hard?!” A man at the side spat on the floor.

“It’s raining so heavily today too! How do we get her back?!”

Xia Qingyi started to regain a bit of her hearing as she started to struggle away. She used her strength to pinch the man that was on her, “Go away!”

The man that was on her gave her another slap after the painful pinch, before he grabbed her wrist and twisted it relentlessly.

A wave of pain came as Xia Qingyi screamed. She knew clearly that her arms could not be used in the short term.

Her teeth clattered together in pain as her forehead was covered in cold sweat, though it was washed away by the heavy rain immediately. The only feeling she had was that it was extremely cold. It was as though every part of her had been submerged in ice.

“Hurry up! It’s raining so heavily here! Let’s take her somewhere else first, in case we get found by others!”

“Go where?! Don’t you see the bright lights over there? There might be more trouble!”

“Then we should settle it on the spot. The higher-ups only told us to discipline her anyway.”

“Hey... I think this girl looks pretty alright. How about we enjoy ourselves first?” A man said as he squatted and caressed Xia Qingyi’s face.

“Come on...! It’s raining so heavily...”

“It’s so exciting to do it outside on a rainy day! I don’t care about anything else, let’s talk after I’ve enjoyed myself.” With that, the man had already pushed and replaced the man that had originally held her down.

Xia Qingyi could hear what they were talking about. When that man straddled her, she felt so disgusted that she could vomit as she used her barely movable hand to strangle his neck.

However, the moment her hand moved up, her hand was caught by that man. He then took the belt from his pants and used it to tie her hands to the pole next to them.

That man leaned down, wanting to kiss her. Xia Qingyi shook her head desperately, as she shouted uncontrollably, “Go away! You crazy man! Go away! Ah!”

The man held her head and smashed it down on the floor with strength. Xia Qingyi started to lose her consciousness slightly after the strong and violent impact.

All she felt was that her head seemed to have a hole in it as a liquid flowed out. She could no longer feel pain, as if her soul no longer belonged to herself. She watched unfeelingly as the man sitting on her started to do things to her, yet she could not do anything. Her body had no longer listened to her.

The man sitting on her was tearing her clothes in the rain, while the other men surrounding them were laughing. In the dark and freezing night with heavy rain, she was panting heavily and lying on the muddy floor while a pair of revolting hands were moving all over her body without any reservations. The man also had his mouth kissing and biting every part of his body.

Xia Qingyi was really tired. She felt as if there was no chance that she could resist any more. She imagined the way she was suffering all these while lying on the icy cold floor. It was hard to even breathe.

Just let it pass like this, just let it go.

She could die after it had passed. She would not feel any pain after she had died.

Xia Qingyi thought in a daze.

In the transience of the light, it seemed as if she had said this before, but she could not remember the scene.

It’s alright however. She had already forgotten everything of her past anyway, it would not matter if she could not remember such little things.

Xia Qingyi’s consciousness started to disintegrate. She felt as if every of her senses had disappeared. She had even thought that her soul had left her body, and was floating in the air.

Chapter 126: I Am Here

Just as she was floating in the air, the sudden sound of a voice pulled her back to consciousness.

“What are you doing?!”

The voice was really familiar. Xia Qingyi thought for a second in her trance before she remembered that it was Mo Han’s voice.

Mo Han was standing in the rain as he looked at the crowd standing about three meters away under a dusky yellow street lamp. His heart skipped a beat at the moment he saw them, knowing that there was about an 80% possibility that they had something to do with Xia Qingyi’s message.

Mo Han had never felt so nervous before. He closed in on the group of people step by step as his body trembled slightly. It was the first time he had prayed so sincerely that what he would see was not what he had imagined it to be.

“I advise you not to be a busybody!” one of the man shouted angrily at the sight of Mo Han walking over.

Mo Han continued to walk forward as he looked only at the center position.

“You don’t understand human language do you?!” that man walked towards Mo Han, leaving a small gap opened to reveal the center position.

Mo Han took a glance, and his mind exploded.

The outcome was a lot worse than he had expected.

Mo Han twisted the wrist of the man that had charged towards him. With a crack, his bone position changed. He screamed in pain and was kicked to the ground by Mo Han.

The remaining men rushed up to fight with Mo Han after seeing that one of them had been taken down. Mo Han, on the other hand, merely stared at Xia Qingyi, who was lying on the ground with her top torn into bits and pieces. His eyes hurt at the sight before him. He could not bear to look any further after just a glance.

It was as if Mo Han had gone crazy, as he fought the men surrounding him with red eyes. He could not be rational whenever he thought that these men were the ones that had put Xia Qingyi into this state. He wanted to kill all of these men, not to spare anyone.

There were five of them fighting Mo Han together. One of them was holding a pole and smashed it down with his strength, only to be stopped by Mo Han in his tracks. He then pulled that person over using the pole and punched his back. He kicked that person hard in his stomach next, and that person fell to the floor, unmoving.

The men had been knocked out by Mo Han in a flash and they could not get up anymore. It was only then that he relaxed his wrist and walked towards Xia Qingyi.

Mo Han recalled that he had walked many paths in his life.

When he walked towards the judge during a court hearing during his first time as a defense lawyer.

When he had walked blankly towards his mother after seeing his father hit his mother.

When he walked towards his father’s corpse alone in the dark mortuary in the hospital after receiving the news of his father’s death.

But there was never a time that felt like this moment.

Every step felt like he was stepping on knives. He wanted to finish walking this path as soon as possible, yet he slowed down. He did not dare to face everything that was in front of him.

It was still raining as Mo Han finally finished walking this path under the dusty yellow street lamp. He stopped by Xia Qingyi’s legs.

He saw Xia Qingyi lying on the ground, covered in mud. She had both of her eyes shut tightly. Her wet hair stuck to her pale skin. One of her hands were tied to the pole. Her upper body was naked, with barely any clothing covering her. She was still wearing her jeans, though the button had been pulled off.

Mo Han’s eyes turned red again. He stabilized his emotions as he took a few deep breaths, before he took off his shirt shakily and covered her upper body with it.

“You... what did you do to her?” Mo Han said as he bit his teeth, returning to step hard on one of the men’s hands.

That man’s accomplices had already ran while they could, and he was the only one left on the ground struggling. His hand hurt from Mo Han’s stepping, to the point that he felt it was going to be maimed. “Ah! ... I didn’t do anything! We merely beat her up. It was Old Zhao! He wanted to rape that girl. We advised him not to do it and he wouldn’t listen. In the end, he couldn’t take off that girl’s pants as it was wet from the rain. He didn’t have the chance to do anything before you arrived.”

Mo Han was so angry that he wanted to explode as he listened to that man’s words. He stepped on that man’s hand harder until there was a crisp sound of bones breaking. That man cried out in pain as he begged for forgiveness while writhing on the ground.

Amongst the cries of agony in this desolate rainy night, Mo Han could hear a soft voice from behind him.

“Older brother... Older brother...”

Chapter 127: It Hurts

Amongst the cries of agony in this desolate rainy night, Mo Han could hear a soft voice from behind him.

“Older brother... Older brother...”

Mo Han’s heart beat intensely. He moved his leg to stabilize his shaking steps towards Xia Qingyi.

“Older brother... It hurts...” Xia Qingyi moaned.

Mo Han wanted to break down after hearing her words. He knelt on the ground, untying the rope around her wrist carefully. He supported her back and hugged her in his embrace. Mo Han tried so hard to stop himself from stuttering. “I know... I know... I’m calling the ambulance immediately.”

“Stay still. Hold on for a while.” Mo Han tried to console Xia Qingyi as per usual, though his trembling hand as he called the ambulance betrayed him.

“It’ll be fine soon! It won’t hurt in a while.” Mo Han kept hugging Xia Qingyi’s cold body after calling the ambulance. He did not dare to let go.

“Help me... put my clothes on properly...” Speaking had became extremely hard for Xia Qingyi. With every word she said, she felt a scorching fire burning in her chest.

Xia Qingyi’s shirt on the floor had been torn into pieces and could not be worn anymore. Mo Han carefully wrapped her in the jacket that he had placed on her earlier, as he buttoned up the shirt one by one shakily.

“It’s worn properly now. You’re fine. No one can see anymore.”

Xia Qingyi felt a little bit of warmth. Her tired consciousness had reached its limit and she was about to fall into deep sleep.

“You’re fine. You’re fine. I’m here now.” Mo Han move to caress Xia Qingyi’s face, only to touch a sticky liquid at the back of her head accidentally.

Under the dim light from the street lamp, he saw a patch of dark red on his palm. It was the color of blood mixed with dirt.

Mo Han’s voice was hoarse and shaking. “Be good and don’t go to sleep. Talk to me.”

But there was no more sound from Xia Qingyi. Her head was leaning against Mo Han’s chest, while her hand fell on the dirty ground. Mo Han hugged her as he desperately wiped away the blood on his hands with his shirt. He held back his churning emotions and placed Xia Qingyi’s injured hand on him instead.

Mo Han could not do anything. He did not dare to touch Xia Qingyi any further, afraid that her injuries would be made more serious by him. He just knelt there with her in his arms. Every second of him looking at Xia Qingyi’s pale face was a torture to him. He kept looking around the alley corner, trying to see if the ambulance had reached.

In his memory, he had waited for a very long time. It was such a long wait that he had almost lost control and wanted to carry Xia Qingyi to the hospital. The ringing of the ambulance only arrived from afar in the hazy and rainy night.

However, the truth was that he had only waited for ten minutes. It was just that every minute had felt like a year to Mo Han.

“Please wait outside first and go settle the administrative procedures at the first floor. We will inform you if anything happens.” The nurse and doctor outside of the emergency room forbade Mo Han from entering again and pushed him out after they had gotten Xia Qingyi into the emergency room.

“You’re injured too. Why don’t you go clean up your injury first?” A nurse at the side advised him nicely at the sight of some blood traces on Mo Han’s arm, as well as his disheveled appearance.

Mo Han turned his gaze away from the emergency room to look at his arm. He merely looked at the blood on his shirt, and his words were emotionless. “I’m fine. This is her blood.”

Once the administrative procedures had been settled, Mo Han kept waiting at the entrance of the emergency room. Though, it had not been long since he had sat down when the public address system of the emergency room suddenly sounded. “Can the relative of Xia Qingyi, the relative of Xia Qingyi, please proceed to the emergency room now.”

His heart skipped a beat as he stood up and walked to the entrance of the emergency room. He then saw a doctor came out that said, “Who is the relative of Xia Qingyi?”

“I am. What’s wrong?”

“How are you related to her?”

“We’re brother and sister. I’m her older brother.”

“Alright, please follow me.” The doctor pushed open the door of the emergency room and signaled for him to follow him into the emergency room.

Chapter 128: She’s Not in Good Condition

“What happened to her?” Mo Han asked.

The doctor led him inside. He did not have the chance to answer him before Mo Han heard Xia Qingyi shouting from inside.

“Go away! Ah...! Don’t touch me! ... Scram!”

“Miss, you’re in the hospital now. You’re alright. Please relax. We’re treating to your injuries.”

On a hospital bed at some distance away, Mo Han saw Xia Qingyi struggling with oxygen tubes attached to her. There was a patch of blood belonging to her on the bed sheets, as well as blood that had dripped onto the floor.

The doctor said, “Your younger sister... she’s not really cooperating with the treatment... her head keeps bleeding and there’s a slight fracture at her left hand. We need to stitch and bandage her wounds immediately, but she seems to have remembered something bad and keeps struggling.”

Mo Han stared at her, frozen on the spot as he kept quiet for a long while.

“Please help to try to make her understand and calm down.”

Mo Han walked forward slowly. The nurses at the side automatically made way for him as he touched Xia Qingyi’s hand that had been firmly held against the bed by the nurse. He glanced at her wrist to find some blood traces caused by the friction from the rope.

If there was someone present that knew Mo Han, they would definitely not believe that this person in front of them with such an expression was him.

People knew him as always rational, calm, objective and sometimes heartless. Yet, the gentleness and heartache revealed in the eyes of this person in front of them touched every stranger present. There was no way they could be the same person.

“Everything is over now. You’re in the hospital now. I’m with you too. Be good and let them treat you. Let’s go home after you’ve covered.” Mo Han’s tone was surprisingly gentle as he held down Xia Qingyi’s struggles.

“Ah... Go away... No...” Xia Qingyi kept shaking her head.

“Open your eyes and take a look. I’m your older brother. I’m the only one next to you right now.” Mo Han bent down to whisper softly by her ears to calm her down.

Xia Qingyi might have had heard his voice as she slowly stopped moving her restless body. She opened her eyes to look at Mo Han with her pale face. Tears fell as she whimpered weakly, “I’m afraid... Older brother...”

A part of Mo Han’s heart hurt at the sight of her tears. There was a lump in his throat as he wiped Xia Qingyi’s tears away. His lips trembled as he spoke, “Don’t be afraid... Don’t be afraid... You’ll be alright soon. I’m here with you.”

“Older brother...” Xia Qingyi was still moaning.

“Don’t be afraid... You’ll be alright soon. We’ll go home once you’re alright. I’ll bring home nice food. Didn’t you always want to eat seafood? I’ll take you to eat seafood... and the red bean pastries. I’ll buy as many as you want to eat...”

Mo Han bent down, unable to hold back as he placed a kiss on her forehead. Slowly, Xia Qingyi gradually calmed down. She closed her eyes as she breathed slowly. A layer of sweat on her head mixed with the bloody water on her face. Mo Han slowly pushed away her hair, as he caressed her face. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

The nurse that had been sitting by the side hurriedly picked up the stitching tools with the other staff around her at the sight of Xia Qingyi calming down. They got ready to clean her wound at the back of her head.

“You should go out and stay away for a while. We have to clean up her wounds.” the nurse said to Mo Han.

“I’ll stay here with her. She’s afraid of the pain.” Mo Han replied softly as he stared at Xia Qingyi’s quiet sleeping side face profile.

“It’s not that painful. We would give her anesthesia.”

“I’ll just sit by the side. I won’t disturb you.” Mo Han said, “I’m afraid that she would act like just now if I’m gone.”

“The sight of her wound might be a little... Are you sure you can stay?”

Mo Han grabbed her hand softly. “She’s the one enduring the pain on the bed. There’s nothing much about me just looking at it.”

The doctor could not say anything else as he pulled the curtain to separate Xia Qingyi and the other patients. He gave her an anesthetic shot and shaved off a small part of her hair at the back of her head. He then cleaned the blood and dirt around the wound, before he picked up the stitching thread and started to stitch up the wound.

Mo Han stared as Xia Qingyi lay there on her side, while the doctor wearing a mask was stitching up her wound intently behind her.

If he could ignore her pale and white face, ignore her dirt covered body, and ignore the hands of the doctor behind her that kept stitching, the way she was in deep sleep now looked extremely like a child.

Chapter 129: In Jail

Only, Mo Han suddenly thought of the fact that he could not help to share the burden of all the pain that she had suffered. He could only look at her pale face and accompany her.

For the first time, Mo Han felt absolutely helpless.

After the doctor was done cleaning up the wound on her head, he took out the gloves and mask. He carefully placed Xia Qingyi’s head back on the pillow to prevent placing any pressure on the wound. As he moved Xia Qingyi into the right position, he said, “I gave six stitches. There might be a scar afterwards, but because it’s at the back of her head, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue as her hair can cover it.”

The doctor continued to say, “You have to bring her to get a CT later. It won’t be just a simple stitching and bandage if there is internal bleeding in her head. Also, we need to check if there is internal bleeding in the other parts of your sister’s body. There is also a slight fracture on her left hand. After you’re done with the CT, you can bring her to the orthopedics to get her into a cast straight away. She might not be able to move her arm for about two weeks.”

Mo Han merely nodded at the doctor as he caressed her hand.

“She needs to stay in the hospital for observation for some time. She needs to recuperate as well. Her body’s condition isn’t good as she’s very weak.”

Mo Han replied, “I understand. Thank you, doctor.”

After the doctor had left, Mo Han followed the nurses and pushed Xia Qingyi to the various checkup rooms for her tests. They went from the department of cardiac and neurology to the department of orthopedics. The results were that there were no problems and that she does not need any surgeries. The only problem was that her body’s condition was so bad that she needed a long time to recuperate. When it was all over, Mo Han kept holding onto Xia Qingyi’s hand as he sat next to her. He finally relaxed as he listened to Xia Qingyi’s stable breathing with the aid of an oxygen mask and the subtle beeping of the electrocardiograph machine. It was only then that he felt slightly exhausted as he sat unmoving on the chair for a long time.

It was only when dawn was breaking that Mo Han had left Xia Qingyi’s side for a while to go out and give Liu Zhiyuan a call. He told him that he would not be at the law firm for these few days, that his work would be passed to Barrister Liao and that to call him only when there were things that could not be settled.

After he had ended the call to Liu Zhiyuan, he pondered for a moment before he called Old Zhang from the police force.

“Old Zhang, please help me with something.”

Old Zhang was a little surprised as Mo Han did not ask for help from others usually.

“What is it?”

“Something has happened to my younger sister. She’s in the hospital now.”

“What happened to her?”

“There were a few men that had surrounded her in an alley last night. They hit her and almost...” Mo Han paused before he continued, “Please help me investigate their background.”

“Do you want it to be a public investigation or a private one?”

“A public investigation. I want them in jail.” Mo Han’s voice was cold.

“Alright, I understand. In that case, I’ll get some men to go down to the hospital to take her statement after she wakes up.”

“Please wait for a while. I’m scared that she’s emotionally unstable now. I’m scared that she might... think of the bad things.”

“Then where did the incident happen? What time was it? I have to know these details.”

“It was at Xincheng Avenue 3 at around 9 P.M. There should be still some traces left.”

“Alright, I got it.”

Mo Han had wanted to end the call after that, though Old Zhang asked again, “Your younger sister, how... are her injuries? Do you want her to take an injury identification?”

Mo Han kept quiet for a while as he leaned against the wall. “She... hasn’t woken up yet... I’ll let her decide after she wakes up.”

After Mo Han had ended the call, he took several deep breaths as he leaned against the wall. It was then that he felt the need to smoke. His fingers were itching against his leg. Now that he had thought about it, it had been a long while since he had smoked.

Mo Han could not hold back the urge eventually as he got up to walk to a corner outside of the hospital. He got a cigarette from a middle-aged man next to him and started to puff out smoke after he had lit the cigarette.

He had always inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaling out the smoke when he smoked. The cloudy smoke diffused in front of him. His deep eyes appeared to be extra charming under the contrast of the smoke, though it was completely clashing with the slight stubble present on his chin and his crumbled clothes.

Chapter 130: Regaining Consciousness

The middle-aged man that had given him the cigarette was standing by the road and wanted to talk to him, though he had retreated from his reticent attitude. Mo Han had kept a distance from him as he leaned against the tree. His face was stern as he remained silent.

He finished the cigarette, having only taken out the cigarette only when the spark was about to burn to the end of the cigarette. He kept it between his fingers, not extinguishing it.

The middle-aged man asked, “Do you want another cigarette?”

Mo Han shook his head. He looked at the cigarette in his hand as he seemed to think of something. He then waved his hands and extinguished the cigarette stub on the rubbish bin next to them.

Before he left, he nodded and said, “Thank you.”

Mo Han walked to the hospital ward that Xia Qingyi was staying at. The moment he had reached the entrance, he heard the sound of ceramic breaking.

Mo Han quickened his steps and entered the ward, only to see Xia Qingyi lying at the edge of the bed with her body slanted. Her hand was stretched towards the table, though she had yet to retract her hand, which was still attached to a drip, as it fell on the bed once more.

“What are you doing?” Mo Han moved to support her and helped her to lie on the bed properly. He checked her hand, where the blood had flowed backwards. Mo Han carefully placed her hand back to its original position and forbade her from moving.

An oxygen tube was still attached to Xia Qingyi’s nose. She looked extremely uncomfortable as her eyebrows were furrowed together. She did not speak either.

Mo Han looked at the broken cup and the spilled water on the floor. He asked, “Do you want to drink water?”

Xia Qingyi nodded her head.

Mo Han help her lightly sit by the side of the bed. He went to get a new cup and filled it with water, before bringing the cup to her mouth.

Xia Qingyi drank the water with small sips. It was then that her expression relaxed as she squinted at Mo Han with half-opened eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Han asked uneasily since she kept looking at him.

“When did you become like this?” Xia Qingyi’s voice was coarse and dry, though it was laced with slight humor, “You look so unkempt, even your beard had grown out.”

Mo Han wiped away the remaining water droplets next to her mouth. His lips stretched into a smile as he kept quiet.

“How long have I slept?” Xia Qingyi asked.

“About a night.”

Xia Qingyi closed her eyes again, “You smoked?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t smoke anymore. The smell is unpleasant.” Xia Qingyi said softly.

“Sure.”

Xia Qingyi’s head started to hurt again. She could faintly tell that the back of her head had been stitched. The pain from the unhealed wound made her sweat. Her body was sore all over for unknown reasons, and she did not have any strength to move at all.

“I’m sorry, that I didn’t pick up your call.” Mo Han suddenly said with a low voice after a period of silence.

“It’s alright. It seemed like that outcome would be like this even if you did pick up the phone.” it was apparent that Xia Qingyi did not care about these things.

“I’m sorry I came late.” Mo Han caressed her hand. He had his head down, and his voice was hoarse.

Xia Qingyi was a little surprised as she had never heard such a speaking tone from Mo Han. He looked like a lonely king of the animal kingdom that was downcast because he had lost his territory.

Though, Xia Qingyi’s thoughts changed in the next second. A king of the animal kingdom would not let himself lose his territory.

And Mo Han was not a king of the animal kingdom. He was a calm, steady and charismatic lawyer.

“You didn’t come late. I’m still alive at least, and those men didn’t get their way.”

Xia Qingyi could feel Mo Han’s grip on her hand clearly tightened, trembling as she said this.

“I could have been earlier.”

Xia Qingyi’s energy from the sip of water started to dissipate. She felt extremely comforted as she listened to Mo Han’s deep voice. She was tired, as sleep started to wash over her again.

“Older brother, I want to sleep for a while. I’m too tired.” Xia Qingyi’s eyelids could not stay.

“Let’s chat again when I’m awake.” Xia Qingyi propped herself up, wanting to lie back down on the bed despite the fact that this movement was too difficult for her currently.

Mo Han quietly agreed as he helped her lie back down on the bed. He carefully covered her with the blanket.

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