Chapter 22: Who Gave You the Audacity to Touch My Things?

Min Baixuan felt a thrill of electricity shoot from his fingertips straight to his heart; he swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

As soon as the pillow was adjusted and Mother Qiao settled into bed, she let out a long, contented sigh. To avoid disturbing her rest, the two of them stepped out shortly after. They were on the VIP floor, where the hallways were sparse, clean, bright, and eerily quiet.

"Brother Min, thank you for taking such good care of my mother all this time. I truly don't know what I would have done without you," Qiao Yiran said, her eyes shimmering with gratitude. Her delicate, fair-skinned face had the ethereal purity of a first love.

"Don't cry," Min Baixuan said, his heart aching with tenderness. He reached out to touch her cheek, wiping away her tears with gentle care.

"Brother Min, I won't be able to come see my mother for a long time again. I have to ask you to keep looking after her for me." Qiao Yiran gripped his other hand, her hold tight and solemn.

Min Baixuan’s handsome face flushed a deep red. "You can leave it to me. Your mother is my mother, too; I will make sure she is well taken care of."

Qiao Yiran nodded, tears of emotion spilling over once more. "Thank you, Brother Min. You make me feel like family."

The word "family" was complex; it could imply kinship or romance, as spouses were family, too. Min Baixuan instinctively categorized himself as the latter, his hand trembling as he wiped away her tears.

Seeing his shaking yet infinitely gentle hand, Qiao Yiran looked up, confused but concerned. "Brother Min?" Her voice was soft and sweet, and she blinked her almond-shaped eyes at him with an air of innocence.

Min Baixuan felt as if his heart had been struck. The atmosphere between them turned sweet and intimate, only to be shattered by the sound of footsteps approaching from down the hall.

"Qiao Yiran." The cold, sinister voice sounded like a demon from the abyss, echoing through the corridor.

Qiao Yiran was struck with terror, as if a thunderbolt had exploded in her chest. She recoiled violently, yanking her hand away from Min Baixuan and putting distance between them.

Min Baixuan, still confused by the situation, felt a pang of hurt at her sudden, heartless rejection.

"Is this how you visit your mother?" Wei Xifeng’s dark, brooding gaze locked onto them, more terrifying than the stare of a wild beast.

It really was Wei Xifeng. Qiao Yiran had never expected to run into him at the hospital. Having stayed by his side for three years, she knew how much he loathed hospitals; even when he had helped her mother, he had never once been willing to accompany her to visit.

Qiao Yiran retreated, her shoulders hunching in fear.

Wei Xifeng’s eyes fell upon Min Baixuan’s hand, his expression twisting with cruel, murderous intent. "Who gave you the audacity to touch what belongs to Wei Xifeng? These hands of yours..."

Realizing his intent, Qiao Yiran screamed and lunged to block his path. "No! You can't! Brother Min’s hands are for surgery, for saving lives. I will never let you ruin him!"

"Wei Xifeng, there is nothing between Brother Min and me! I am only grateful for his care for my mother. We are just ordinary friends. We aren't as filthy as you think!"

Qiao Yiran felt a hollow ache in her chest, unsure how much of their intimate moment he had witnessed. Yet, she truly only saw Min Baixuan as an older brother, as family.

She felt a surge of shame and anger, her voice rising. "Wei Xifeng, you are the truly filthy one! You agreed to let me come to the hospital alone, but you were secretly monitoring and following me! You are a paranoid, sick, total lunatic!" Qiao Yiran was furious and felt suffocated. She had no human rights, no freedom—was she doomed to be a bird in a cage for the rest of her life?

At this thought, tears welled in her eyes, fueling her grief and agony over her fate.

Before Wei Xifeng could respond, Jiang Liwu stepped out from behind him. "It’s a misunderstanding. There was no spying or following. We are here because I scheduled an appointment for Xiaofeng to see a doctor."

Only then did Qiao Yiran notice Jiang Liwu. Hearing this, she was struck dumb with shock—Wei Xifeng was actually willing to see a doctor. Realizing she had been reading too much into things, her humiliation deepened, a flush of red creeping from her collarbone up to her face.

She clenched her fists tightly. "Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not doesn't matter. I won't let you ruin Brother Min’s hands." She stared directly at Wei Xifeng, her gaze firm and defiant.

"Don't worry, with me here, such a thing will never happen. Right, Xiaofeng?" Jiang Liwu turned to look at him.

Under Jiang Liwu's gaze, Wei Xifeng pressed his thin lips into a straight line. He struggled to suppress the manic, violent impulses within him. The conflict between Jiang Liwu’s persuasion and his own inherently savage, possessive nature made his nerves twitch.

"Right," Wei Xifeng replied, his reason firmly choosing Jiang Liwu.

Qiao Yiran’s mouth hung open in disbelief. Was it really that easily resolved? Wei Xifeng listened to Jiang Liwu so readily, yet he never listened to her. Whatever she said was irrelevant; it was always Wei Xifeng commanding her to be obedient, allowing no room for argument or rebellion. He treated her as if he were training a pet.

And how could a master ever care about the thoughts of a pet?

In that moment, Qiao Yiran realized her status was different from Jiang Liwu’s. Wei Xifeng treated her with the condescension of a superior, yet he placed Jiang Liwu on equal footing.

Qiao Yiran bit her lip hard, tasting blood, but she did not let go.

"It’s getting late, and our appointment is almost up. We should go," Jiang Liwu said, checking his phone before leading Wei Xifeng away.

Wei Xifeng followed obediently, but as he passed Qiao Yiran, his expression darkened. "Wait outside," he commanded, leaving no room for refusal.

Qiao Yiran kept her head down, her eyelashes trembling violently. She felt humiliated and trapped, yet utterly helpless. She stood stubbornly in place for a moment before looking up. "Brother Min, I should go—"

"Don't go," Min Baixuan said, grabbing her hand tightly.

After what had just happened, Qiao Yiran felt an involuntary resistance to his touch. She was terrified that Wei Xifeng would reappear, or if not him, his bodyguards.

"Brother Min, please let me go."

"I won't. Yiran, don't be afraid of him. Why should you listen to everything he says? Has he always bullied you like this?" Min Baixuan looked at her with pained, pitying eyes.

Qiao Yiran remained silent, though her tears flowed all the harder.

"Yiran, leave him. Let me help you."