APCF – Chapter 98 No, Don’t Let It Worsen

Worsening…?

Tao Xuan’s condition has worsened…?

Kidney disease was never a reasonable illness to begin with, but the last time he went home, Tao Xuan had seemed fine. How could things have suddenly taken a turn for the worse?

Now wasn’t the time to figure out the cause. Qi Xingchen shook his head to clear his mind and asked Qi Jiaze, “When did this happen? How is Tao Xuan right now? Is his life in danger? Have the doctors consulted yet… Does Liang Jing know about this?”

Being young and facing the severe illness of someone close to him for the first time, Qi Jiaze’s lips had turned deathly pale, and his hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

Hearing his brother’s urgent questions only made him panic even more. It took him several moments to process before he finally responded, “You told me to inform you as soon as possible. Tao Xuan just entered the emergency room. Brother Liang Jing, the attending physician, and other medical experts are in a meeting right now. It happened just ten minutes ago, and we still don’t know the exact situation yet. You told me to inform you first, so I called you right away!”

His words were jumbled and incoherent. Qi Xingchen took half a minute to sort them out before reassuring Qi Jiaze, “I’m coming back right now. But first, I need you to do something very, very important for me.”

Hearing that his older brother was returning, Qi Jiaze instantly felt more grounded, and his trembling subsided slightly. “Tell me, bro.”

“From now on, you must keep a close watch on Liang Jing. If he does anything to harm himself, you have to stop him by any means necessary—even if it means knocking him out. Do you understand?”

Qi Jiaze didn’t fully understand, but he had always followed his brother’s instructions without question. “Got it, bro.”

Tao Xuan and Liang Jing’s lives were more important than any acting job. Without hesitation, Qi Xingchen requested leave from the director and had An Ran book the earliest flight back to H City.

Luckily, the timing worked out—there was a flight in forty minutes. He rushed to the airport and barely made it onto the plane at the last moment.

There was no WiFi on the plane, no way to send messages or take calls. He was so anxious that he couldn’t sit still, eat, or drink.

As soon as the plane landed and he could turn on his phone, he immediately called Qi Jiaze.

The first call—no answer.

The second call—still no answer.

He gave up on that route and called Liang Jing instead… but the result was the same. It was like throwing a stone into the sea—only the endless “beep… beep… beep” of a busy tone remained in his ears.

His heart clenched tightly.

Knowing Qi Jiaze’s personality, if he made a promise, he would keep it. The fact that he wasn’t answering the phone could only mean one thing—

Liang Jing must really be doing something reckless, and Qi Jiaze was too busy stopping him to check his phone!

And given Liang Jing’s relationship with the original host, not answering the phone only confirmed Qi Xingchen’s worst fears!

Before leaving J City, he had already contacted the Qi family’s driver to pick him up. As soon as he got to the parking lot, he jumped into the car and urgently instructed, “Please drive as fast as you can—I need to get there ASAP!”

Hearing that the Qi family’s precious young master was in distress, the driver immediately treated the situation like an emergency. “Understood! As long as we don’t hit traffic, we’ll be there in twenty minutes!”

With that, he slammed on the gas, and the car shot forward several meters.

Gripping the handle tightly, Qi Xingchen continued calling Qi Jiaze and Liang Jing in turns.

Unfortunately, neither of them answered. His anxiety burned hotter by the second, and he gritted his teeth, urging the driver to go even faster. The driver nearly turned the car into a tank, racing through the streets and arriving at Jing’an Hospital in just thirteen or fourteen minutes!

Those thirteen or fourteen minutes felt like the longest, most agonizing wait of his life.

The moment the car stopped, he didn’t even have time to say thank you—he threw the door shut and sprinted into the hospital!

The emergency room was on the fourth floor. There was no time to wait for the elevator—he took the stairs, leaping three steps at a time.

The closer he got to the fourth floor, the more his heart pounded. Finally, he reached the last step—

And the moment he stepped onto the landing, he saw it.

Qi Jiaze was standing there, his hair disheveled, his jacket either thrown or accidentally dropped to the ground, now covered in dust.

His eyes were red and swollen, full of bloodshot lines, and his hands were gripping Liang Jing against the wall with force. His voice was a mixture of shock and confusion as he questioned—

“No wonder my brother told me to watch you… You and Tao Xuan aren’t even related—so why are you helping him? You’re a medical student—you should know how important kidneys are, don’t you?”

Hearing this, Qi Xingchen’s vision went black for a split second.

Was it the storyline unfolding, or some other reason? Liang Jing had truly decided to donate his kidney!

But judging from the scene, Qi Jiaze had stopped him. That was the only thing that gave Qi Xingchen some relief. He called out to his brother, “Jiaze.”

His voice was so hoarse that even he was startled by it.

Hearing him, Qi Jiaze turned around, the tension on his young face easing slightly. His eyes instantly welled up. “Bro, you finally—you finally came!”

“Yeah, I’m back.” Qi Xingchen picked up the jacket from the floor and cleared his throat. “Go be with Tao Xuan. Leave this to me.”

Qi Jiaze had spent a lot of time around his two older brothers, and though he wasn’t as close to Liang Jing as the original host was, he still cared about him. He hesitated, unwilling to leave.

But he had always trusted his brother unconditionally. Adding to that, he was still worried about Tao Xuan. In the end, he reluctantly walked away, looking back three times with every step before finally leaving the emergency stairwell.

The door slammed shut behind him, and the stairwell returned to silence.

Since Liang Jing remained silent, Qi Xingchen had no choice but to speak first. “How’s Tao Xuan?”

Still leaning weakly against the wall, Liang Jing remained quiet for a few seconds before answering, “He made it through. He’s in the ICU now.”

“If he wants to recover completely… does he need a kidney transplant?”

“Yes.” Liang Jing gave a bitter smile. “But unfortunately, we still haven’t found a suitable donor.”

Looking back, the search for a donor had started as early as the filming of Heart of the Ocean. Director Shang Yuliang had already been looking for a match through public platforms. Both Tao Tao and Tao Xuan were public figures—they had money, connections—so in theory, finding a donor shouldn’t have taken more than six months.

Before joining the Grey Trajectory crew, Qi Xingchen himself had used his family’s influence to inquire at various hospitals.

But nothing came up.

This was likely the influence of the storyline.

Qi Xingchen’s gaze darkened. He subtly stepped two paces left, positioning himself in front of the emergency exit, then asked, “So? You’re planning to donate your own kidney?”

“You heard, huh.”

Liang Jing lifted his gaze, as if intending to look at Qi Xingchen, but the moment their eyes met, he quickly looked away. After a brief pause, he said, “My compatibility rate with Tao Xuan is relatively high.”

Hearing him say it so definitively, the tight string in Qi Xingchen’s mind suddenly snapped. His breathing grew rapid, emotions on the verge of collapse.

He couldn’t hold back anymore. He stepped forward and looked at the haggard-looking Liang Jing.

“I understand—you want to win Tao Tao’s favor by saving Tao Xuan. But are you sure this will make her like you? Do you even realize what’s going to happen to you next? I can tell you with absolute certainty—Tao Tao doesn’t like you! And I can also tell you that, not long from now, you’ll be left all alone—”

He couldn’t bring himself to say the words “die on a hospital bed.” He bit his lip, paused, then said instead, “…Your outcome won’t be good. That’s why I want you to think carefully. Besides, Tao Xuan survived the emergency, didn’t he? Starting today, I’ll have my brother intensify the search for a donor. You should also have Uncle Liang keep an eye out.”

His anxiety was overwhelming—for every sentence he spoke, he unconsciously stepped closer.

By the end, he was standing right in front of Liang Jing, looking at him with unwavering intensity. His voice was pleading.

“I believe we can save Tao Xuan. Just wait, okay?”

Ever since Qi Xingchen had returned to this world, he had never looked at Liang Jing so seriously—never spoken to him in such a soft, imploring tone. For a moment, Liang Jing faltered, almost instinctively wanting to agree. But in the next second, he snapped back to reality. Raising a hand, he ruffled Qi Xingchen’s hair.

“I don’t know how you found out about all this. Maybe it’s… something unique to the current you—” He hesitated, then said, “A special ability, like foreseeing the future? But I want to tell you—yes, I chose to save Tao Xuan for Tao Tao, but I don’t like her.”

Qi Xingchen’s brows furrowed. “You don’t like her? Then why—?”

“…I can’t say. I just—I can’t bring myself to say it.”

As if recalling everything he had experienced recently, Liang Jing’s once-handsome face twisted slightly. Qi Xingchen’s heart sank. A sharp, burning anxiety spread through him—both urgent and painful. Under normal circumstances, he would never pry into someone’s scars. But this was an emergency. He had no time to worry about hurting Liang Jing. Lowering his voice, he pressed him with a sharp, measured tone—

“Since you already know I’m an outsider in this world, I won’t hide it from you anymore. Right now, I’m the only one who can save you. So tell me—why?”

Liang Jing still shook his head. His stubbornness made Qi Xingchen’s arms tremble. Rage surged through him. Unable to hold himself back—he swung a fist, landing a punch on Liang Jing’s face!

“Tell me!”

Qi Xingchen was not weak.

Liang Jing stumbled back two steps, his shoulder slamming hard against the wall with a dull ‘thud.’ He froze, holding his face for a long moment, as if unable to believe what had just happened.

The motion-sensor light flickered off. In the darkness, Qi Xingchen heard him mumble—

“You hit me? You actually hit me over this?”

“Fine, fine!” Liang Jing lowered his hand, letting out a bitter laugh. “Since you want to know so badly, I’ll tell you everything. A little over a month ago, I made a terrible mistake while drunk—I ruined Tao Tao’s innocence. At the time, the way I chose to compensate her was by offering to marry her.”

“Our Liang family has been a scholarly household for generations, though in recent years, we’ve moved into business. Our wealth runs deep. My parents are gentle people, their marriage harmonious—they’re the kind of wealthy couple that many actresses dream of marrying into. I thought Tao Tao would agree.”

“But instead, she refused, saying she wanted to focus on her career. She wanted to pretend that night never happened. I did feel guilty about it,” Liang Jing admitted, “but I won’t lie… I also felt relieved. I don’t love Tao Tao. If I married her, I wouldn’t necessarily be a good husband—I was afraid of letting her down.”

Because deep in his heart, there was someone else he couldn’t let go of. Someone he still wanted to try and pursue.

“But just as I was starting to return to normal life, Tao Tao suddenly called me. She said—her period was late this month. As a medical student, I immediately understood what that meant. I bought a pregnancy test for her, and the next morning, she showed me the result—Two lines. She was pregnant. This was an innocent life. I wanted her to keep the baby—I would raise it. I also promised to compensate her for everything she might lose due to the pregnancy. If she ever changed her mind and wanted to marry into the Liang family, I would gladly accept.”

“Luckily, she agreed. We decided to have the child. But… but…”

At this point, Liang Jing’s voice weakened.

“But she was too busy with work, and I… I couldn’t be there to take care of her. The baby didn’t make it. Losing the child was a huge blow to her. I couldn’t just stand by and watch her endure all that pain alone. I tried everything to make up for it. But in the end, I realized—no amount of compensation could make up for a lost life. Then today… Xiao Xuan’s condition worsened. The double shock was too much for her, and she fainted on the spot.”

Liang Jing’s voice dropped. It was hard to tell if he was laughing at himself, or mocking Qi Xingchen.

“So now you know, huh? I couldn’t control myself, made a mistake, accidentally became a father… then accidentally lost the child… Pretty ridiculous, isn’t it? Do you want to laugh? If you still don’t think it’s funny enough, then let me tell you something even more ridiculous. I, Liang Jing, like men. Or, to be more precise—I only like one man.”

He grabbed Qi Xingchen’s chin, forcing him to look into his eyes.

“And that man is you.”

After hearing Liang Jing’s confession, Qi Xingchen couldn’t tell if he felt more shocked—or more furious.

Shocked— because Liang Jing actually liked him?!

The original host had confessed before, and Liang Jing rejected him. So how could he suddenly like him now?

Furious— because if Liang Jing was telling the truth, then Qi Xingchen was almost certain—

Tao Tao had lied to him!

Because Qi Xingchen had read the original novel, Night’s Peach Blossom. The novel explicitly hinted that Tao Tao’s first night was with the male lead.

Which meant—if Tao Tao was following the storyline correctly, she couldn’t have been with Liang Jing.

Qi Xingchen shook his head violently, throwing off Liang Jing’s hand.

“Liang Jing, listen to me! All the information you have right now—everything you think you know—is just what Tao Tao fed you. In reality, nothing happened between you two. She was never pregnant!”

The moment the confession left his lips, Liang Jing regretted it. He knew Qi Xingchen didn’t like him.

And he was terrified—terrified that after hearing it, Qi Xingchen would deliberately distance himself… and never talk to him again.

But seeing that Qi Xingchen hadn’t even focused on his confession, Liang Jing secretly let out a breath of relief.

“I saw the pregnancy test,” Liang Jing said coldly. “It was real. You don’t have to lie to me just to save me.”

“I’m not lying.”

Qi Xingchen’s gaze sharpened.

“I read the book. Brother, Brother Liang!”

Before Qi Xingchen could finish his outburst, Qi Jiaze suddenly pushed the door open.

“Tao Xuan is awake!”

Tao Xuan is awake?!

Everyone in the room cared about Tao Xuan’s condition. The moment Qi Jiaze finished speaking, he turned and ran back inside.

Liang Jing and Qi Xingchen immediately stopped arguing and followed after him into the hospital room.

Lying on the hospital bed, Tao Xuan slowly turned his neck, as if searching for something.

The moment his gaze landed on Qi Jiaze, his eyes lit up.

Then, he saw Qi Xingchen and Liang Jing.

A weak smile appeared on his pale face as he said in a hoarse voice, “Professor Liang, Xingxing-ge, you’re both here. That’s perfect… I have something to tell you.”

To keep him from using too much strength, Liang Jing and Qi Xingchen stepped closer to his bedside. Still lying on his side, Tao Xuan slowly reached out both hands—thin, pale, and covered in tubes.

One hand trembled as it grabbed onto Liang Jing. The other shakily reached for Qi Xingchen.

“Just now, Jiaze told me… Professor Liang wants to donate his kidney to me.

“But… I don’t want it.”

With great effort, Tao Xuan turned his head toward Qi Xingchen.

“Xingxing-ge, do you remember? I once asked you… what your relationship with Liang Jing-ge was. Back then, Jiaze said you two were just like us—just good friends. So I tried to imagine myself in your place. If Liang Jing-ge gave me his kidney… that would be like Jiaze giving his kidney to someone else. I would be devastated. And I don’t want you to feel that pain.”

His voice grew softer.

“If it weren’t for you, I never would have met Jiaze. And Jiaze… Jiaze adores you. He admires you more than anyone. If you were sad, he would be sad too. Right, Jiaze? Compared to my fear of dying… what scares me more is… you two not liking me anymore.”

Saying so much at once drained Tao Xuan. He gasped for air, panting for two whole minutes before he could continue.

“So, Professor Liang, I don’t want your kidney. Even if you transplant it while I’m unconscious, the moment I wake up, I’ll find a way to remove it myself. Please don’t worry too much about me. I’ll do my best to survive…At least until the college entrance exams are over. Jiaze and I made a promise—to take the exam together. And I never break my promises.”