My online dating circle has millions of followers, why would she put a collar on me?

The ward was so quiet that you could hear the liquid dripping from the IV bottle.

The air was filled with the smell of disinfectant, and a faint, indescribable, chilly scent unique to hospitals.

Jiang Yi lay on the hospital bed with his eyes closed, his face so pale that he almost blended into the pillow.

His hair was still messy, with a few strands sticking to his forehead. His shirt collar was open, revealing a section of pale skin so thin that you could see the shape of his collarbone.

Su Xiaoyue sat on a chair by the bed, holding Jiang Yi's fingers in one hand and resting her chin on her other hand, looking at him.

I don't know what she's thinking.

Hearing the door open, she looked up, her gaze lingering on Gu Qinghan's face for a moment before landing on Li Zhenghua and Sun Youqing.

"Attorney Li." Her voice was a little hoarse, but very soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing the person in bed. "Thank you for making this trip."

"Miss Su, you're too kind. It's nothing."

Li Zhenghua bowed slightly, his smile perfectly timed.

He was still carrying the fruit basket, which he placed on the bedside table, moving it very quietly.

Sun Youqing stood behind Li Zhenghua, head down, clutching a folder in her hand.

From the moment she entered the room, her gaze fell on the face on the hospital bed.

She didn't speak. She hadn't uttered a single word since she came in.

It wasn't because she didn't know what to say, but because her brain seemed to have been paused at that moment.

All thoughts and judgments came to a standstill at that moment.

That face.

She had seen it countless times on her phone.

In those late-night chat logs, in the few photos he sent, and in the few she secretly saved and set to a private album.

She knew that face all too well. Even though it was pale, haggard, with dark circles under its eyes and chapped lips, and even though it looked thinner than in the photo, she recognized it instantly.

Jiang Yi.

Her "good younger brother." The one who has been calling her "good older sister" for almost a year.

The person she played games with every day, blaming each other when they lost and praising each other when they won.

The person who messaged her when she was working overtime until the early hours of the morning saying, "Sister, go to sleep early and don't stay up too late."

The fan art that sent her birthday wishes right at midnight, accompanied by a picture of her favorite game character.

The person who says, "Happy birthday, sister. I'll always be your best brother."

He was also the person who hadn't replied to any of her messages since 10:03 AM yesterday.

Sun Youqing's vision blurred.

She blinked hard, forcing back the tears, and gripped the folder even tighter with her fingers.

"Youqing." Li Zhenghua's voice came from beside her ear, carrying a hint of tension and warning.

"Take out the equipment and take some photos of Mr. Jiang as evidence."

Sun Youqing nodded mechanically and took out her camera from her bag.

Her hands were trembling, the camera was vibrating slightly in her palm, and the lens cap was tapping against the camera body with a soft, chattering sound, like teeth chattering.

She crouched down, adjusted the focus, and pressed the shutter.

The sound of camera shutters echoed repeatedly in the quiet ward, like some kind of ancient, slow-paced metronome.

The first picture is of Jiang Yi's face. Pale, thin, with dark circles under his eyes, and dried bloodstains still remaining at the corners of his mouth.

The second picture shows the back of his hand.

There were still dark red marks on the back of his hand that hadn't been wiped clean. They weren't blood, but iodine, left by the nurse when she treated his wound.

The third picture shows his wrist.

There was a faint, not-yet-completely-faded mark on my wrist, left by the handcuffs.

Every time Sun Youqing pressed the shutter, it felt like her heart was being cut with a dull knife.

After taking the last photo, she stood up and stepped back behind Li Zhenghua.

The camera was still in my hand, the screen was still lit, and the preview of the last photo was still frozen in the viewfinder.

She didn't look at the photo again, put the camera in her bag, and the moment she zipped it up, her fingers finally stopped trembling.

"Attorney Li, are the photos taken?"

Gu Qinghan walked over from the door, glanced at Li Zhenghua, and then at Sun Youqing.

Her gaze lingered on Sun Youqing's face for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly, but she quickly relaxed them.

She noticed that the young lawyer looked unwell, but she didn't ask any further questions.

Everyone has their own story, and not all stories are related to her.

"Filming is finished, filming is finished."

Li Zhenghua nodded repeatedly, put the folder into his briefcase, zipped it up, and moved faster than usual.

He wanted to leave the ward as soon as possible, not because he was afraid of the smell of the hospital, but because he sensed that his niece's condition was not right, very wrong.

She might do something that he can't control at any time.

"Ms. Gu, then we won't disturb Mr. Jiang's rest any longer. I will report back to you as soon as the materials are collected."

"Okay, I'll see you off." Gu Qinghan turned and walked towards the door.

Just then, the person on the bed stirred.

Very slight, almost imperceptible movement.

But Su Xiaoyue sensed it; she tightened her grip on Jiang Yi's fingers and leaned over to look at his face.

Jiang Yi's eyelashes trembled, his brows furrowed slightly, and his lips moved slightly, uttering an extremely faint, almost inaudible syllable.

"water……"

Su Xiaoyue picked up a cup from the bedside table, added warm water, cradled the back of his head, and brought the rim of the cup to his lips.

A little water spilled from the corner of his mouth, trickling down his jawline and dripping onto the pillow, spreading into a small, dark stain.

She dried him with a tissue and gently placed him back on the pillow.

Then Jiang Yi slowly opened his eyes.

Those eyes, with dark circles under their eyes, bloodshot and as if they had been dried out from the inside by something, slowly, extremely slowly, focused.

Start with the ceiling, then move to the IV drip stand, then to the fruit basket on the bedside table, and finally to Su Xiaoyue's face.

Su Xiaoyue's eyes reddened, but she didn't cry. She just looked at him, held his hand, and softly called his name.

"Jiang Yi."

Jiang Yi's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then slowly and laboriously moved away, sweeping across every corner of the ward.

The light swept across the white walls, across the golden rays squeezing through the gaps in the blinds, and across Gu Qinghan's figure standing at the door.

Then it fell on Sun Youqing.

Sun Youqing stood behind Li Zhenghua, about two meters away from the foot of the bed.

Her hands were in her coat pockets, clutching her phone, her knuckles turning white.

She acted extremely calmly, as if the events before her had nothing to do with her.

But her eyes betrayed her.

Those eyes were so red they looked like they were about to bleed, and deep within their pupils, something that had been suppressed to the extreme and was about to burst was churning.

However, instead of hearing Jiang Yi call her "sister," she was met with her uncle's urging and pulling.

"Let's go, stop looking."

Her uncle whispered anxiously in her ear, while Sun Youqing kept her eyes fixed on Jiang Yi.

However, Jiang Yi's eyes had already shifted from her to Su Xiaoyue.

Although he didn't know why the first person he saw when he woke up was Su Xiaoyue, Jiang Yi recognized her the moment he saw her.

He was even somewhat fearful and uneasy.

After all, it was indeed he who lied to her first.

Regardless, this girl was the one who was wronged, and now that the truth has come out, I should apologize to her.

"Miss Su... Miss Su Xiaoyue, I... I'm sorry, I... I lied to you!"