After finishing their morning cultural classes and a brief training session, Long Aotian and his two friends left the school and took a car to the hospital.

"Will Shen Mengjie be discharged tomorrow?" Xu Shuai asked.

"Yeah, the doctor said she needed at least three days of observation, so she should be able to leave tomorrow," Li Longlong added.

"Sigh, what’s going to happen to Shen Mengjie now?" The school’s punishment had already been decided, and continuing her studies was almost impossible. The key issue was that Shen Mengjie still refused to reveal who the man involved was—clearly, she intended to shoulder all the blame herself. How foolish!

But deep down, they couldn’t help feeling furious at the man who still hadn’t stepped forward.

"Alright, don’t overthink it. What’s done is done, and dwelling on it won’t change anything," Long Aotian said with a light sigh.

Though he said that, he couldn’t help but feel that the person responsible for all this had no sense of responsibility. How could someone as smart as Shen Mengjie end up with such a man...?

Even if they were in love, they should’ve taken precautions.

And now, look what happened.

"What’s Huang Fei’s attitude toward Shen Mengjie?" Xu Shuai asked quietly.

He had left early that day and didn’t know what happened afterward. Later, because he felt uncomfortable, he hadn’t asked Li Longlong about it. But after Long Aotian’s reassurance earlier, he felt less conflicted and finally brought it up.

"He’s probably disappointed, but he hasn’t gone back to the dorm. Instead, he’s been staying here. Do you think there’s a chance..."

Long Aotian shook his head, understanding what Li Longlong meant. "No, I don’t think so. Staying here is probably his way of putting a final end to his feelings for Shen Mengjie."

"Come to my place tonight. I’ll ask your sister-in-law to cook something good, and we’ll have a drink with Huang Fei. He’s not doing well."

"Alright." None of them were in high spirits, so they didn’t dwell on the terms "sister-in-law" or "brother’s wife."

As they spoke, they arrived at the hospital entrance.

After getting out of the car, the three headed straight for the inpatient ward.

When they reached the floor, they spotted Huang Fei from a distance, sitting on a bench outside, his head bowed and his hands gripping his hair.

"Old Huang!" Li Longlong called out.

Hearing his name, Huang Fei looked up.

When he saw Long Aotian smiling and waving at him, his own prejudice made him interpret that smile as mocking and scornful!

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and walked toward the three.

"He’s going to apologize later. Don’t hold it against him—we’re all brothers. Li Longlong and I will back you up," Long Aotian said, nudging Xu Shuai with his shoulder.

Xu Shuai nodded. Truthfully, he had been upset at the time, but afterward, it didn’t matter as much—after all, Huang Fei hadn’t actually meant to hurt him.

"Let’s go." Patting Xu Shuai’s shoulder, the three walked toward Huang Fei.

Xu Shuai cleared his throat, about to say, "You little punk, finally ready to apologize? Buy me a few drinks tonight, and I’ll forgive you!"

But before he could get the words out—

BAM!

A fist landed squarely on Long Aotian’s cheek!

For a moment, Xu Shuai and Li Longlong were stunned.

Their minds went blank, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

Huang Fei had just punched Long Aotian in the face...

Long Aotian hadn’t expected Huang Fei to attack him either. Completely unprepared, a trickle of blood immediately seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"You bastard!" Huang Fei panted heavily, cursing as he moved to strike Long Aotian again.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Li Longlung lunged forward, grabbing Huang Fei’s clenched fist.

Xu Shuai did the same. "Huang Fei, what the hell are you doing?"

"Let me go! Don’t stop me, or we’re no longer brothers!" Huang Fei struggled, glaring at Long Aotian with hatred before trying to kick him.

The commotion in the hallway drew the attention of patients peeking out from their rooms, and the nurses at the station at the end of the corridor rushed over.

Three staff members—one male doctor and two female nurses—hurried toward them.

The nurses tried to calm the onlookers, urging them to return to their rooms, while the doctor stepped between Huang Fei and Long Aotian.

"What’s going on here?"

Long Aotian wiped the blood from his split lip, frowning at Huang Fei. "This is a hospital. If you have something to say, let’s take it outside."

"There’s nothing to say between us, Long Aotian. I really thought of you as a brother, but you just saw me as a joke, didn’t you?" Huang Fei grew more agitated, to the point where Xu Shuai and Li Longlong could barely restrain him.

Long Aotian’s frown deepened. "I never thought of you that way."

"Really?" Huang Fei laughed bitterly, tears welling in his eyes. "Then what did you do to Shen Mengjie? How can you keep pretending like this, letting a woman take all the blame for you?"

"Long Aotian, you disgust me!"

Huang Fei’s words left not only Long Aotian but also Xu Shuai and Li Longlong completely bewildered.

The implications were too heavy, freezing their thoughts.

Taking advantage of their momentary shock, Huang Fei broke free and grabbed Long Aotian by the collar.

"You piece of—"

"Stop it, Huang Fei!" The voice was weak with exhaustion.

Hearing it, Huang Fei’s raised fist trembled but didn’t fall.

He stared at Long Aotian for a long moment before finally letting go with a bitter laugh. "I don’t have a brother like you anymore."

Without another word, he turned and walked away.

Watching Huang Fei’s retreating figure, Long Aotian turned to Xu Shuai and Li Longlong. "Go after him. Make sure he’s okay."

The two exchanged glances, then nodded and ran after Huang Fei.

"What did Huang Fei mean by that?" Long Aotian asked, looking at Shen Mengjie.

"Come inside," Shen Mengjie said quietly before turning and walking back into her room.

Once inside, she sat on the edge of the bed.

Despite two days in the hospital, she looked even more exhausted than before—her usual vibrancy and confidence gone.

She was like a shattered porcelain doll, pieced back together but covered in cracks, fragile to the touch.

The old Shen Mengjie had been bold, sharp-tongued, and effortlessly charming, treating romance like an entertaining game.

As she once put it, she was "a natural-born hunter."

"Can you now—"

Before Long Aotian could finish, Shen Mengjie interrupted. "You’re a good person."

"What do you mean by that?" He didn’t understand.

"Nothing." She smiled faintly, her eyes glistening. "I was just thinking... if I had met you back when I needed help the most, would you have helped me? Would my life have turned out differently?"

If the old Shen Mengjie had said something like this, Long Aotian would’ve thought she was teasing him.

But ever since Shen Mengjie's mother appeared, and now with this incident, these two events have made him feel the pressure and coercion Shen Mengjie faces from her family. That's why she said there was no way to change it...