Chapter 392: It's All My Fault That He

Xia Xuan's smile lingered on her face for a long time; she said hoarsely, "You don't need to apologize to me—at least since we met, being with you has made me happy most of the time."

Even if it ended hastily, she held no grudge against him.

People always move forward; after today, she won't look back.

Chen Songbai said, "I hope we can be together again in the next life."

At first hearing, Xia Xuan felt something was off about that.

But upon reflection, it actually made sense.

Next, they will go through divorce proceedings; Chen Songbai will marry Miao Yijia according to the wishes of both families' elders, and for the rest of their lives they will have no further relationship. To rekindle their fate, they can only wait for the next life.

Chen Songbai turned and walked out of the ward resolutely.

His tall, slender back revealed endless sorrow and despair.

Xia Xuan's unease grew stronger; she instinctively wanted to chase after him, but reason restrained her impulse. Her feet were firmly planted on the spot—she shouldn't run after him, and she had no standing to entangle with Chen Songbai any further.

Soon, Chen Songbai's figure disappeared from sight; Xia Xuan stared blankly, her heart feeling as if it had been left behind with him.

Miao Cuixia, believing she had won this confrontation, held her head high and said proudly to the two sisters, "You saw it—Songbai has made up his mind; from now on, whether you're Xia Xuan, Wang Xuan, or Li Xuan, it has nothing to do with him. I hope you're sensible and stop contacting us."

Xia Xuan's eyes were dim; facing the provocation, she didn't utter a word.

Miao Cuixia pressed on, "The loss of the child—his uncle's family isn't pursuing it, and I have no right to say anything; consider yourself lucky…"

In the hallway, someone suddenly shouted, "Someone jumped off the building!"

For some reason, Xia Xuan's heart clenched sharply, then a fine, piercing pain spread from her chest, chilling her limbs. Recalling Chen Songbai's last few words before he left, she panicked and ran out.

A crowd had gathered in the hallway, all having run out after hearing the scream.

Some had witnessed it themselves, others had heard rumors elsewhere; they gathered and chattered about it.

"It was a young man, tall and thin; he fell right before my eyes and got caught on the magnolia tree below."

"I don't know why he couldn't see reason…"

"Such things aren't rare in hospitals; he probably had a terminal illness, didn't want to waste money or endure pain, and saw death as relief."

"It's pitiful for his family—how could they bear it?"

Xia Xuan's vision blurred; she couldn't see anything clearly, and she grabbed someone at random, asking urgently, "Where is the person who jumped? What's their name?"

"Who knows what they're called." The person whose arm she grabbed looked bewildered, "Doctors and nurses carried them away for rescue."

Another person shook their head and sighed, "I fear the odds are against him."

Looking on the bright side, fortunately this is a hospital, so there won't be much delay, and he can receive timely treatment.

Seeing Xia Xuan's condition was off, Xia Xi supported her; sure enough, the next second Xia Xuan's legs gave way and she nearly knelt. She looked at Xia Xi helplessly and said, "Sister, sister, it's Songbai."

Xia Xi comforted her, "Not necessarily; don't speculate wildly—first give him a call."

"Yes, call, call." Xia Xuan was at a loss; after Xia Xi reminded her, she fumbled for her phone, and she could find Chen Songbai's number by instinct and dialed it.

From the receiver came a series of "beep" sounds, one after another, ringing in her ears—agonizing and endless.

During that long series of beeps, Xia Xuan's heart felt as if it were being roasted over fire, tormented to the point of death.

Her eyelashes trembled; with blurred, tear-filled eyes she looked at Xia Xi, her lips quivering several times before she managed to say, "Sister, no one answered."

Even Xia Xi didn't know how to comfort her; the description those people gave matched Chen Songbai, and his words to Xia Xuan sounded like a final farewell.

It seemed they would never have a chance to meet again in this life.

Xia Xuan didn't give up; when no one answered, she kept calling. Over and over she dialed, until finally someone picked up, and she burst into tears of joy, "Chen Songbai, you didn't—"

"Hello, may I speak to the owner's partner?" a strange female voice came from the phone.

Xia Xuan startled, then softly replied, "I am."

"Your husband jumped off the building; he's being resuscitated, we're…"

Having heard only the first few words, Xia Xuan felt as if her soul had been sucked out; the phone slipped from her hand with a "smack" and hit the floor. She didn't catch a word of what the person said afterward, and her head buzzed.

"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?" the person on the phone asked anxiously, receiving no response.

Xia Xi bent down, picked up the phone, and continued the call: "Sorry, could you say that again— which operating room? We're in the hospital; we'll be there right away."

The other party gave the specific location; Xia Xi replied "Okay," hung up, looked up at Xia Xuan, who was already streaming with tears.

Xia Xi half-embraced her, walked to the public bench by the wall, seated her comfortably, stroked her hair, told her to wait a moment, then turned and strode purposefully toward Miao Yijia's ward.

She pushed the door open; everyone inside froze. Miao Cuixia wore a look of disgust: "Why are you back again…"

Xia Xi stared at Miao Cuixia, her eyes flashing with anger and sorrow: "Your son jumped off the building; he's being resuscitated in the operating room—you'd better go see him."

As soon as she said that, everyone's faces changed, especially Chen Songbai's parents. Chenfu glared, incredulous, while Miao Cuixia flared: "What nonsense are you spouting? You're cursing my son!"

Having said that, Xia Xi no longer concerned herself with the rest; she left the ward, found the dazed Xia Xuan sitting in a chair, pulled her up, and said, "Let's go."

Xia Xi supported her as they walked toward the operating room; behind them came a frantic patter of footsteps—Chen Songbai's parents chasing after them.

The doctor emerged holding the surgical consent form, asking family members to sign. Only then did Miao Cuixia realize Xia Xi's words were true; her vision darkened and she nearly fainted. Chenfu also couldn't bear the blow—he seemed to age ten or more years instantly; his once vigorous face looked withered, and he staggered backward until his back hit the wall.

Xia Xuan took the pen, signed her name, her hand shaking badly; the final horizontal stroke of the character "Xuan" she drew out long, a wavy, twisting line.

Miao Cuixia came to her senses and wailed at the doctor, "How could my son jump off the building? He was fine—why would he lose the will to live, how could he…"

The doctor declined to answer such questions and urgently began the surgery.

Miao Cuixia clutched her collar, sobbing uncontrollably—a stark contrast to the fierce, domineering woman she had been in the ward. No one else was around; Xia Xi looked at her, voice flat: "You really don't know why your son committed suicide?"

Miao Cuixia's sobbing cut off abruptly, and she glared at Xia Xi fiercely.

Xia Xi felt no pity for her, instead probing her wound: "You obviously know. It's you, it's your family who drove him to a dead end; he could only escape control this way."

"You're talking nonsense!" Miao Cuixia shouted until her voice went hoarse.

"No matter how much you deny it, you can't change the facts," Xia Xi said.

Miao Cuixia wanted to rush over and tear Xia Xi's mouth apart, but she was overcome with grief, utterly devoid of strength. The one lying in the operating room was her only son, whom she had raised with bitter hardship, doing everything for his good—how could he be so heartless as to abandon her and walk away?

When Chen Songbai jumped, someone had already called the police; officers arrived at the hospital to investigate the cause and course of the accident.

Chen Songbai's uncle and aunt were panicked, never expecting such consequences—Chen Songbai had jumped off the building, and his life or death in the operating room remained uncertain.

Miao Yijia even more so came to know what it meant to be heaven one second and hell the next.

She thought Chen Songbai, under pressure from both families' elders, had chosen compromise, and that once she was discharged and her health recovered she could marry him; who would have thought he would actually choose to resist by ending his life.

Miao Yijia lay on the hospital bed, tears streaming over her temples and into her ears, when she suddenly burst out laughing at the ceiling.

Chen Songbai said, "In this life I would rather die than marry you."

Turns out it was true.

He would rather die than marry her.

The police finished taking statements from Miao Fu and Miao Mu; next was Miao Yijia, seeing her both crying and laughing, seeming somewhat abnormal, they hesitated and said, "Ma'am, hello, may I ask if you can..."

Miao Yijia: "It's me, it's all my fault that harmed him."