The sound of a door slamming shut echoed throughout Imperial?Military Hospital as Doctor Dong's voice full of rage follows behind.?He stood in front of the door, and his expression was grim. One could even see how furious he was at this moment.
Yue Ling stood waiting outside of the room. She had promised Jianan?that she would be with him throughout the entire checkup. However, when they arrived at the room, the little boy asked her to wait outside.
She stares at Doctor Dong with creased eyebrows. The doctor's?breathing had turned rapid, and his expression was one she had never?seen before.
Could it be that Jianan wouldn't proceed with the checkup?
"Doctor Dong, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
Hearing her question, Doctor Dong tones down his anger. He inhales?a deep breath and rubs his forehead.
"Something did happen."
His hand lowers from his face, and he looks at Yue Ling with seriousness.
"Who is that child? In what condition did you find him?"
Yue Ling's eyes moved from the elderly man to the door. It was as if she could see Jianan sitting inside.
"He is the younger brother of a boy my subordinates saved from Red Moon."
She doesn't hide anything and proceeds to tell Doctor Dong everything about how they came into contact with Liu Ye and his siblings.
"We were able to get to them before?anymore harm could be done on them."
Doctor Dong listened until the end. However, the more he heard his?blood boiled more inside.
He inhales a deep breath that makes his body tremble. He could see a quizzical expression Yue Ling and sighs.
"I asked because that child has a scar on his back."
He used the stethoscope to listen to Jianan's heart then on his back to check his lungs during the checkup.
However, his hand accidentally touched a bump that didn't seem right to him.
He asked Jianan to raise his shirt, and it was then that he saw the scar. Although it seems to have healed with proper care, he couldn't help but grow angry.
Questions flooded his head, and he wanted to ask, but he didn't want to scare the boy.
This was the reason why he had stepped out of the room.
Yue Ling frowned when she heard Jianan had a scar on his back. She didn't know because she never asked. Fortunately, she made an appointment with Doctor Dong. If she hadn't, she probably would have never known about it.
Doctor Dong's anger did not subside. He closes his eyes as he thinks back to the scar on the little boy's back.
"It's bad. Well, it was bad."
His eyes open, and he looks at Yue Ling.
"His wound has healed due to proper care, though it left a scar. But considering the type of stitching he received and coming from a doctor who has dealt with many injured patients, I can assure you that his injury was deep and very painful. It was an injury even a grown man would not have been able to withstand the pain."
Just imagining how Jianan got the injury, Doctor Dong was furious. He?curses inside and pray that whoever harmed the boy will suffer a painful death.
"If the person who did this to him had aimed two centimeters higher, he would have been paralyzed."
Yue Ling's eyes trembled at the pain Jianan suffered. He is only ten, yet, he had to endure such harsh treatment.
If her subordinates had saved Liu Ye earlier, would she have been able to prevent such mishaps from befalling the small child?
Her hand curls into tight fists, and she forces back the anger rising
Doctor Dong knew she was angry despite remaining calm on the outside.
He has watched her grow up from a young age and knew exactly what kind of person she has become.
He nods his head without saying a word, and Yue Ling opens the door.
As she enters the exam room, he leans against the wall to calm himself down.
Inside the room, Yue Ling sees Jianan sitting on the exam bed. His short legs dangle down and swing like a child waiting for his mother to come to pick him up.
Her eyes fixated on his tense expression, and her heart grew soft. She doesn't walk toward him but stops.
He was like any other child full of life on the outside, but he was a child whose spirit was on the brink of shattering on the inside.
Jianan stared down at the floor as he waited. He didn't know what he did that upset Doctor Dong and made the man storm out the room.
When he heard the door open and the sound of footsteps, he didn't dare to lift his head. He remembers his father once beat him up for looking up.
His father said he is a child and children should never question adults. However, not hearing the footsteps anymore, his heartbeat began to race.
He steals a hesitant glance to the side. He was expecting to see Doctor Dong, but his eyes lit up when he saw that it was Yue Ling.
He hops down from the exam bed and runs to her but is stopped by her hand.
Yue Ling's voice sounds with eyes that appeared vacant. However, inside, she was trying to suppress any incandescent feelings in her.
Once her emotions were under control, she softly smiled at him.
Jianan thought she was angry at him, but he smiled back at her with a nod when he saw her smile.
Yue Ling comes to a stop in front of him and sits on the exam bed with him.
Hearing the question, Jianan assumed she was referring to the checkup. He shakes his head but looks down.
"It wasn't scary. Doctor Dong treated me nicely."
He bit his lower lip with hesitation before asking the question in his mind.
"Did I do something wrong? Doctor Dong looked very upset."
He knew he could ask Yue Ling because she is not like his father.
Yue Ling's emotion stirred again, but this time with sadness. She raises her hand and pats the boy's head.
"You didn't do anything wrong, and Doctor Dong wasn't angry."
She sighs a smile then corrects her words.
"Actually, he was angry."
Her words made Jianan turn stiff. However, before his thoughts could run wild, her following words caused him to look at her in confusion.
"He was angry at the wound on your back."
Jianan stares at Yue Ling with a puzzled expression. He didn't understand.
Why would Doctor Dong get enraged over a wound?
"Jianan, I know you were scared."
Able to read his mind, Yue Ling slightly adjusts her body to face him at a better angle.
"You can be honest with me. How did you get the wound on your back?"
She needed to know because she was worried about him and his siblings. However, if he doesn't want to tell her, she will not pressure him.
Jianan grew solemn when asked about the injury on his back. He also understood why she had him if he was scared.
His head lowers, and his hands fidget together.
He contemplates whether he should tell a lie or tell her the truth.?However, after carefully thinking, he decides on the latter.
He was able to squeeze out the words, but his eyes tear up as the past repeats itself in his mind.
"He is a very scary man."
Yue Ling could see how hard it was for him to tell her. She gently strokes his head and smiles with a pitiful expression.
"It's alright. If it's too hard for you to tell me, we can stop here. You don't need to tell me anymore. I understand."
Jianan exclaimed in refusal. He shakes his head and looks up?at her with eyes on the verge of tears.
"I want to tell you."
His head shakes again, and this time, he looks at her with a stern?expression to show how serious he is now.
"No, I need to tell you."
He meant his words. Yue Ling may be a stranger who helped him and his siblings, but he trusts her. He knows that she will not hurt him or disregard him like others.
If he were to tell someone his story, he wants that person to be the woman sitting next to him.
Yue Ling is taken aback, but she sighs inside, seeing his serious face and red eyes. Her head gives a slight nod to let him know she will listen.
This time, Jianan didn't hesitate one bit. He takes a deep breath before parting his mouth.
"After the bad men took Ye away, father was still angry. He got mad at everything. Sometimes, he put me in the dark closet when Jie was at school. He would forget about me and leave me inside for a long time. When Jie came home, she would let me out. Jie always protected me like how Ye did for us."
His childlike voice goes on and tells his story. His voice cracked every two words with difficulty despite fighting back his tears.
However, no matter how difficult it was for him, his voice didn't stop.
"Then Jie got angry at father and yelled at him for being a bad father."