"Where's that punk!" Father Xue was already panting with anger when he reached the door of Xue Guangxi's room. He slid it open abruptly, startling the boy who had just woken up. He jerked from the sudden action of the door.

Father Xue surged forward. "YOU RASCAL!!! WHAT ELSE WILL YOU DO?!!" He grabbed his hospital gown's collar with his left hand, and with his right, he landed a blow on his own son's face. He couldn't control himself.

"YOU'VE CAUSED US TOO MUCH TROUBLE, YOU!!!" He roared.

Zhao Feiyan came running from behind. "Stop! Mingli! He's hurt too! My baby! Stop it, will you?! Guangxi! Guangxi!" Mother Xue kept on tugging her husband's arm. When she realized her actions don't have bearings, she ordered the guards at the door.

"Stop him! Seize him!"

The guards gingerly and hesitatingly looked at each other. "Do as you're told!" Zhao Feiyan commanded. The guards started off and followed her. They apologized first before grabbing the Xue Master.

"Hey, lady! You must be blind! This kid hurt his sister! This kid will be our family's downfall! This kid – so selfish, so problematic, so rebellious! Your son should be beaten to let him know what he had done!"

"Xue Mingli! You just hit this kid, your own son!! What if he incurs some more broken bones? Have you thought of that? What if he twisted his neck from your blow? You fool! He's not well! Can't you see?!" Mother Xue was crying hard again. She stood by Guangxi's bedside. "Honey, are you okay? My baby!" She cried some more while ma.s.saging the cheek that was. .h.i.t.

"Hmph! We are in a hospital! Then let the doctors treat his broken bones if he has any more of it! If he's not my son I would have beaten him to death by now! Rascal!" Xue Mingli stopped resisting. The guards loosened their hold on their master. Then he fled from the room, fury still apparent on his red, red, face.

"Mother, where's Xu-jie?" Xue Guangxi inquired. He was scared of what he would hear, just basing from the fit of anger that his father had just thrown at him. He was extremely scared.

"Mother, it was an accident, believe me! It rained hard. The roads were too slippery. The tires slid and skidded. I'm sorry, Mother…"

"W-Where's Xu-jie, Mother? Please tell me. Please."

Mother Xue's crying heightened. "She's still under observation, Guangxi. She's not yet out of harm's way. Still fighting for her life."

"She hit her head. There's swelling inside her head. It hasn't subsided yet. She's in an induced coma." More tears fell from her cheeks. She was getting weaker by the second.

Upon hearing the news, Xue Guangxi started crying too. "Her injuries were more severe than mine. I'm sorry, Mother. Now, I understand Father completely. I'm really sorry, Mother. It was an accident. I swear, it was…"

"Hush, child. Let's just pray for her recovery. Let's pray for the swelling to finally subside so that she can open her eyes again. n.o.body wanted it to happen."

"But Guangxi, you should have come back to Beijing as soon as you met your sister here. In the first place, you shouldn't have come here." She said mildly while her tears continued to flow uncontrollably.

She was clasping Xue Guangxi's hand lovingly, while sharing her thoughts. "My heart is bleeding for the both of you."

"Are you sure you haven't injured your neck from your father's blow?"

"Mhmm." Xue Guangxi nodded. He was still crying, probably out of guilt and remorse and self-hate.

"How am I going to face Brother-in-law?" He asked loudly.

"Figure that out. He's here too, staying with your sister. He couldn't keep his eyes away from her although she's on the other side of the ICU's window."

"But for now, Guangxi, try to sleep. Get some more rest." Zhao Feiyan urged him while wiping her own tears. She had to be strong for her two children.

"But Xu-jie…"

"She will be alright. She's a fighter, isn't she?"

"Yes… But…"

"No buts. Sleep some more. Recover fast. I'll ask the doctor if we can take you on a wheelchair so that we can pay your sister a visit. For now, sleep some more, dear."

Xue Guangxi gasped for air. He had been crying quite a lot, wailing like a child, even. His sister had been too kind to her – always tolerant and helpful and sweet. Sure, she was rough at times, but then it was kind of loving too – the way she had been rough to him.

If anything, he had been too ungrateful. He's realizing it now. The more he realized it, the heavier the downpour of his tears fell.

'I only have one sibling left, and she's in danger now because of me! Why are my injuries this light? We should have exchanged places! I'd gladly exchange my place with hers…'

'My life is a mess... While hers is way better. She's on the right track.'

'She's always worried about me. Always putting me first on her list. Even now that she's married, she still takes care of me.'

'I can't even do the same to her! I can't keep her safe in my company!'

'I cannot be entrusted with a life.'

"Calm down, Guangxi, mhmm? Stop crying." Mother Xue soothingly rubbed her son's back with her palm. Using her other hand, she gently brushed her thumb against Xue Guangxi's cheeks, wiping his tears away. "She'll get better." She said rea.s.suringly. That was what she was hoping too.

She leaned in towards him and kissed him on both cheeks, and then she hugged him tight. Although she asked him to stop crying, she too, cried again, while hugging her youngest child. It was a heart-wrenching scene.

"She'll get better. Let's pray for it."

Still wailing, and while his snot flowed down his nose, Xue Guangxi exclaimed, "I promise I will do well from now on. I won't be a problem anymore. I just want her to wake up and get well and heal soon." He sniffed in between phrases.

"Do that now, Guangxi. That's good. That's good! Your sister will be glad to hear it!"

"En." He wailed and sniffed some more.

"Xu-jie… I'm sorry, Xu-jie…"

"Hush, hush child." Mother Xue tightened her embrace around Guangxi, her hand soothingly rubbing his back, while she too intensified her wailings.