It was deep in the night when Hana yawned and exited her room. A sudden thirst had woken her up. Having a big house had its disadvantages—like this. In order to reach the kitchen, she had to walk at least 500 meters.
As she passed by her brother's room, she froze.
The soft sound of sobbing echoed from inside.
Hesitantly, she cracked the door open, revealing her brother curled up on the bed, crying his heart out.
All month, Yunfeng had been trying to put on a brave front, acting like everything was okay.
But it wasn't.
Nothing was okay.
He barely ate anything.
Every meal, he only pushed the food around to make it seem like he had eaten, and when hunger became unbearable, he'd snack in secret. In the mornings, he'd smile and talk to them, but every night, he'd cry himself to sleep, clutching his stomach.
Hana gritted her teeth. She didn't know what had transpired between him and Muchen, but it was clear that Muchen had hurt Yunfeng deeply. Initially, she planned to have a conversation with him to figure out what happened—because from Yunfeng's side, they had learned nothing. He had kept everything under wraps.
But soon, her mother had firmly instructed her to block Muchen's number. Hana was reluctant, but she complied.
"But I think I need to intervene..." she thought to herself.
She unblocked Muchen's number and called him, but it didn't ring. Instead, it went straight to a busy tone.
"Did he block me too?" Frowning, she walked to the kitchen. As usual, she checked his fan groups with her alternate ID. Since discovering her brother's relationship with Muchen, the fan group had kicked her out. Thankfully, she still had her backup ID to log in.
As she sipped her water, she checked for updates. Suddenly, her hand shook, and she placed the glass down to steady herself. She reread the news article.
Muchen and his assistant were in an accident.
Hana lost her calm instantly. She rushed to Yunfeng's room to tell him, but stopped short at the door. Yunfeng was already devastated by the breakup. Telling him about the accident might push him over the edge.
She sighed softly. "Guess I'll have to check it out myself."
Determined, she packed a small bag with clothes and spare cash and left the villa. It took her an hour to find a bus stop. She checked the bus schedule—one heading back to their city was due in half an hour. While waiting, she scrolled through the internet. The news feeds were filled with strange videos—people going crazy. It was said to be a new variant of rabies, turning its victims into violent, volatile beings.
Hana frowned. "That's new…" She thought back to their move to this village area because of Yunfeng's condition. The family had even requested she take a month off from school to care for him.
"Why did Jai and the soldiers move here too?" she wondered, but she didn't have the answer. Yunfeng hardly talked to them about anything. He spent all his time locked away in his room.
"It won't be so bad. Just a few rabid people..." she reassured herself.
The bus arrived as scheduled, and Hana hopped on. As the bus drove toward the city, she noticed something strange—while the roads leading into the city were empty, the roads going out were packed with cars, stuck in congested traffic. She couldn't help but find it odd.
"Just a few rabid people are making them panic this much… Hmm." She continued to play with her phone.
After seven hours, she finally reached the city. It was already night by the time she rushed straight to the hospital.
The hospital was unusually busy, with many injured people being brought in. Hana squeezed through the crowds of stretchers and made her way to the nurses.
"Hi, I'm looking for my brother. His name is Muchen. He was admitted here."
"Sorry, we only allow family," the nurse said without looking up as she tended to another patient.
"I'm family," Hana replied, showing the nurse a photo of Muchen and Yunfeng. "Technically, he's my brother-in-law."
The nurse glared at her. "Not family," she said curtly. "Can't you see I'm busy? Leave."
Pouting, Hana slumped into the waiting area. Suddenly, she spotted a familiar figure. She rushed toward him through the crowd.
"Shao!"
The man froze in surprise. "Lin Hana?"
"Yes!! How's Muchen?"
Shao sighed, exhaustion written on his face. "He's in a coma… The doctors are checking on him."
"Oh my god," Hana's heart raced. "Can I see him?"
Shao led her to the VIP rooms. Inside, Muchen lay unconscious with a serene expression. His body was connected to various machines, and doctors surrounded him, performing tests.
Tears welled up in Hana's eyes at the sight. A star like Muchen had been reduced to this.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
"He was on his way to find Yunfeng when…" Shao trailed off, shaking his head.
Suddenly, Muchen stirred. He opened his eyes and gazed at Hana, confused.
"Yunfeng… Yunfeng..." he murmured holding out his trembling hand.
"Yunfeng, he...he didn't come" Hana awkwardly held his hand.
"I'm so pissed," Muchen groaned, trying to sit up. A sharp pain in his abdomen made him grimace and curl into a ball.
"What's wrong?!" Panicked, Shao ran to him. "Doctor, do something!"
The doctors rushed into action.
"Do the ultrasound again. It might be a mistake," the oldest doctor ordered.
The younger doctors quickly complied. "It's the same. It's a healthy fetus."
The room fell silent.
Muchen stared at them in disbelief. "Come again?"
The doctor looked at him excitedly. "You're five weeks pregnant. This.... this is a medical miracle!"
All Muchen could hear was a loud buzzing in his ears. "I'm… pregnant!!!"