Yu Han lay still, sprawled carelessly on the cold, unforgiving ground.
A dark, crimson stain bloomed steadily beneath his head, spreading like a morbid halo, the metallic scent of blood already sharp in the chill evening air.
Li Hao finally found him. The sight stole the breath from his lungs, leaving him gasping in the sudden, silent void of his shock. His steps, once rapid and purposeful, faltered, becoming agonizingly slow as his eyes locked onto Yu Han's vulnerable form, bathed in the grotesque light of the streetlamp.
His mind went utterly blank, a primal scream caught in his throat. He forgot how to breathe, his heart seizing in his chest, then hammering against his ribs with a panicked, uneven rhythm.
Every step was a struggle, each muscle screaming in protest, yet he moved, drawn by an invisible, agonizing tether. He wanted nothing more than to drop to his knees, to gather Yu Han into his embrace, to stroke his back and whisper reassurances, to tell him, I'm here, I've come for you, my Yu Han.
But the world, cruel and unyielding, shattered his fragile moment.
A harsh voice sliced through the ringing in his ears, jarring him back to brutal reality. "What the fuck are you doing here, huh? Do you want to end up like this? Get the hell out of here, or you'll be lying next to him!"
It was a perverse kind of magic, those vile words. They tore Li Hao from the precipice of despair and ignited a cold, burning fury within him.
He dragged his gaze from Yu Han, fixing his eyes on the two men who loomed over the scene. His voice, when it finally emerged, was a whisper – dangerously low, filled with a chilling,and predatory calm. "Who did this," he ground out, the possessive "my" laced with venom, "to my Yu Han?"
One of the men, a sneer twisting his lips, he scoffed, "Yeah, we did. What will you do about it?" His arrogance was a spark to Li Hao's tinder-dry rage.
Before the man could even register the shift in Li Hao's demeanor, a blur of motion. Li Hao launched his leg, every ounce of his grief-fueled strength channeled into one devastating blow.
The crack of bone on bone echoed in the alley as his foot connected squarely with the man's chest. The assailant let out a choked gasp, his eyes wide with surprise and pain, before he was sent flying, and landed with a sickening thud amidst a pile of trash bags, he groaned pitifully.
"You bastard!" the partner roared, his eyes widening in belated alarm. "Stop meddling in our business! I'll kill you!" He lunged desperately punch aimed for Li Hao's chest.
But Li Hao was a whirlwind of controlled violence. He caught the man's fist mid-air, squeezing until a whimper escaped the brute's lips.
Without a moment's hesitation, Li Hao retaliated, delivering a powerful punch that connected with a wet, sickening crunch.
Blood exploded from the man's mouth, like a crimson spray against the grimy wall. He whispered in pain, before collapsing in a heap, his body convulsing briefly before going still.
The moment they were down, Li Hao's focus snapped back to Yu Han. He sprinted, his heart a frantic drum against his ribs, falling to his knees beside him.
"Yu Han!" he choked. With shaking hands, he gently lifted Yu Han's head, cradling it, his fingers pressing tightly against the gash, trying to stop the relentless flow of blood.
The warmth of Yu Han's blood, sticky and horrifying, seeped between his fingers.
He saw the pale, and lifeless face, the eyelids fluttering but not opening, and a wave of pure, unadulterated terror washed over him.
Tears, hot and uncontrollable, spilled from his eyes, streaming down his face.
"Yu Han... Yu Han... please, open your eyes," he pleaded,"I'm here,... I'm here for you..." He rocked Yu Han gently,
"Don't leave me, please... Yu Han..." Each word was ripped from his soul, laden with a fear so profound it threatened to consume him whole.
He remembered their last conversation, the gentle curve of Yu Han's smile, the warmth of his hand in his own. Was that all it would ever be?
And suddenly, a sharp tug on his hair ripped him violently from his anguish.
The first man, surprisingly, was back on his feet, his face contorted in a mask of pain and vengeful fury.
In that instant, Li Hao's grief transmuted into a lethal, and protective instinct. His hand moved with terrifying speed, as he pulled out his gun.
There was no hesitation, no thought of consequences. His aim was steady, cold and focused. The piercing sound of the gunshot ripped through the silence, which shattered the night as the bullet found its mark in the man's leg.
He screamed, and dropped instantly to the ground, whimpering like a wounded animal.
A bitter taste filled Li Hao's mouth – the taste of a broken promise.
He had sworn to Yu Han, with his whole heart, that he would never pull a trigger again, that he was done with that life.
But these motherfuckers had dared to lay a hand on Yu Han, to inflict this pain, to threaten to steal him away. How could he possibly leave them standing? His oath stood no chance against the burning inferno of his love and rage.
With practiced efficiency born of a past he wished to forget, Li Hao tore off his crisp white shirt, his hands trembling only slightly as he tightly bound it around Yu Han's head, a makeshift bandage against the relentless bleeding.
He couldn't be gentle now; time was a luxury they didn't have. Then, with a surge of adrenaline-fueled strength, he scooped Yu Han effortlessly into his arms, one hand supporting his waist, the other cradling beneath his knees. Yu Han felt so light, too light, in his arms.
Li Hao started to run towards his car, the cold night air biting at his exposed chest.
His tears, warm and heavy, blurred his vision, but he didn't falter. "Yu Han... stay with me, my Yu Han, stay with me," he choked, his voice was hoarse, "I'm here... I'll never let anything happen to you, Yu Han, never again... I promise..."
Li Han traversed the distance from the oppressive shadows of the dark alley to his car in a blur of desperate motion, Yu Han's unconscious form cradled precariously in his arms.
He gently, lowered Yu Han into the passenger seat before sliding behind the wheel, his own hands trembling. His gaze, raw with a terror he rarely allowed himself to show, locked onto Yu Han's ashen face.
"Yu Han," he choked out, his voice a ragged whisper against the pounding of his own heart, "I'll never let anything happen to you. Bear with me; please, just bear with me. We're going to the hospital."
He ignited the engine. The car roared to life, he accelerated it to its maximum speed in seconds. His free hand, reached for the car's screen, dialing Gang Zi's number with practiced urgency. "Get the doctors ready," he barked into the speaker, his voice tight with command despite the tremor beneath. "Yu Han's critical. Head injury."
His eyes, however, never truly left Yu Han. One hand gripped the steering wheel, a white-knuckled anchor, while the other rested protectively on Yu Han's lap.
The white shirt he had torn and bound around Yu Han's head to stop the relentless flow of blood was now a sodden, with blood. Li Han's own tears, hot and torrential, blurred his vision, mixing with the cold sweat on his brow.
He honked the horn like a madman, continuously. Red lights flashed, but ignored. Traffic laws ceased to exist, replaced by the primal, unyielding imperative of saving the man he loved.
In that moment, the world narrowed to just Yu Han, his fragile life hanging by a thread, and Li Han's desperate drive to keep him tethered to it.
In few minutes, the car screeched to a halt in front of the main entrance of the one of the biggest hospital in Beijing, just as a team of nurses and doctors swarmed the doors.
"Get him on the gurney, now!" shouted a senior nurse, already unstrapping a stretcher.
Li Hao didn't release his grip. He pressed his palm to Yu Han's forehead, feeling the slick heat of blood. "Stay with me, Yu Han. You're safe now. I'm right here."
"Mr. Li, you need to step outside," a doctor called, "We'll take over from here."
Li Han's eyes narrowed, tears tracking down his cheeks. "I'm not leaving him. Not for a second."
The doctor's assistant, a young woman with ash‑gray hair, placed a gentle hand on Li Han's shoulder. "Please, for his sake. You need to rest."
The words fell on deaf ears. Li Han's knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the cold, tiled floor, the world tilting around him.
Within moments, Gang Zi burst into the hallway, his coat flapping like a flag of alarm. He saw Li Hao curled on the floor, his face a canvas of blood‑streaked tears.
"Mr. Li… Mr. Li… what happened to Yu Han?" Gang Zi asked, his voice shaking as he knelt beside Li Hao.
Li Hao lifted his head, his eyes blood‑red and his voice hoarse. "Blood… Yu Han's head… it's full of blood." He choked on the words, each syllable a gasp.
Gang Zi's expression softened, a wave of profound sympathy washing over his face. He carefully draped his own coat over Li Han's bare chest.
Seeing his boss, the formidable Li Hao, reduced to such a shattered state, a stark contrast to his usual unshakeable composure, Gang Zi's heart ached with a pain he hadn't anticipated.
He helped Li Hao to his feet, guiding him to a nearby bench, and returned quickly with a bottle of water. But Li Hao was too far gone, too consumed by his anguish, to even take a sip.
Gang Zi couldn't bear it. He had witnessed Li Hao face down corporate empires, stared alongside him at the barrel of a gun, watched him navigate treacherous political currents.
But never, not once, had he seen him so utterly broken, so completely undone. It was a searing testament to the depth of Li Hao's love, an undeniable truth that this quiet, often stoic man held Yu Han's life above all else.
In a moment of desperate resolve, Gang Zi pulled out his phone.
He knew Li Hao's aversion, his complicated relationship with Shi Wang, but a flicker of intuition told him that family, even strained family, was what Li Han needed right now.
Taking a deep, and shuddering breath, Gang Zi dialed the number, waiting for Shi Wang to answer, praying that he could provide some anchor, some shred of comfort, to the man now teetering on the brink of collapse.