Chapter 114: Little Fish Fears Cats
Ruan Yu didn’t remove her makeup or change her clothes. Still wearing the borrowed evening gown, she followed Teng Hao straight to the Teng residence.
When she and Teng Hao arrived, Rui Shu was escorting a doctor downstairs from the second floor. Seeing Ruan Yu, Rui Shu nodded politely at her.
“He’s upstairs. You can go up first. I’ll see Dr. Zhao out,” she said, once again speaking with the tone of the lady of the house.
But Ruan Yu couldn’t be bothered with that now. She immediately rushed up to the second floor.
The door to Teng Yi’s room was slightly ajar. Pushing it open gently, her eyes instantly fell on the man lying in bed.
He was dressed in a white shirt, the collar loosened by two buttons from the doctor’s examination. The disheveled state somehow accentuated a sickly yet striking beauty.
“Teng Yi…”
Ruan Yu called his name softly, but the man on the bed remained unconscious, his eyes tightly shut.
An inexplicable fear gripped her.
“Teng Yi.” She sat on the edge of the bed, grasping his cold hand as tears immediately spilled down her cheeks. “Don’t scare me like this.”
Teng Yi still showed no response.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Ruan Yu quickly let go of his hand, wiped away her tears, and moved back from the bedside.
The person who entered was Rui Shu.
Noticing Ruan Yu’s reddened eyes, Rui Shu reassured her, “Don’t worry. The doctor just gave him an injection. He’s only asleep now.”
“Why did he suddenly faint?” Ruan Yu asked.
Rui Shu shook her head—she didn’t know either.
After returning to the bar, Teng Yi had gone upstairs. Rui Shu had been busy attending to guests and hadn’t checked on him until one of them tried to leave but found their car blocked and unable to move.
She called Teng Yi, hoping he’d come down and reposition the “obnoxiously parked” Mercedes. But the call went unanswered. Puzzled, she went upstairs and found him collapsed in the practice room on the second floor.
“Practice room?”
The bar’s second floor was a practice room? No wonder it had seemed so reminiscent of the old Xiyou days.
“That room has always been locked. I only found out today that the bar’s second floor hides such a large practice space.” Rui Shu’s gaze lingered on the sleeping Teng Yi. “I thought he’d given up dancing, but it turns out he hasn’t. He’s too good at hiding and closing himself off—not just that practice room, but his heart too. Even as a psychologist, I often can’t figure him out.”
“You’re a psychologist?” Ruan Yu was stunned.
Rui Shu nodded. “Last time we met, it was too rushed for a proper introduction. I’m Teng Yi and Teng Hao’s psychologist—and also their cousin.”
Cousin?
Ruan Yu was completely dumbfounded.
The woman she had been jealous of for so long… was just Teng Yi’s cousin?
“What?” Rui Shu laughed. “Do I not look like their cousin?”
“You seem… very youthful, and with foreign features, so I didn’t expect you to be…”
“I do have foreign ancestry. My grandfather was American, and my father is half-Chinese, half-American. Before coming here, our family lived in the States. ‘Rui Shu’ is the Chinese name my mother gave me.”
Ruan Yu nodded. Now everything made sense.
“About the incident with Mimi last time—I’ve been meaning to reach out and apologize, but I didn’t have your contact information. I’m really sorry. I had no idea you were allergic to cat fur and ended up putting you through that.”
“It’s fine. It was my own carelessness. I don’t blame you.”"Why wouldn't he blame me? You don't know—after that day, Teng Yi had people thoroughly clean the house and then forbade me from bringing Mimi home ever again."
Rui Shu found it strange. Teng Yi had always liked Mimi before—how could he just shut her out like that?
Unable to make sense of it, she went to confront Teng Yi, only for him to dismiss her with a simple, "Because Xiaoyu'er is afraid of cats."
Xiaoyu'er is afraid of cats.
At first, Rui Shu thought Xiaoyu'er referred to the little fish in the outdoor fish tank. It wasn’t until Teng Hao told her that Xiaoyu'er was a person that she vaguely understood everything.
"The Xiaoyu'er in his heart... is you, isn’t it?" Rui Shu looked at Ruan Yu.
Ruan Yu flushed instantly.
"I knew it was you," Rui Shu murmured. "I could tell from the day you had that asthma attack at home—you were different in his eyes."
"I..."
"Save him. Please save him." Rui Shu suddenly grasped Ruan Yu’s hands. "For the past six years, he’s been living in hell. If no one reaches out to pull him back now, I’m afraid he’ll grow accustomed to it—and never break free or wake up again."
Six years ago, Teng Hao had suddenly fallen from the stage, sending Teng Yi’s life into a sharp turn. From then on, misfortune followed like a chain reaction, one link after another, leaving him unprepared.
After Teng Hao’s accident, Shen Bing put aside her business to seek medical treatment everywhere for her son. Yet despite all efforts, Teng Hao remained unconscious.
Even the strongest woman would crumble when faced with a son on the brink of death.
Shen Bing poured all her resentment, bitterness, fear, and grievances onto Teng Yi. She believed—and so did he—that all of this was his fault.
During that time, the relationship between mother and son deteriorated rapidly.
One was forever hysterical; the other, forever silent.
Rui Shu’s family tried their best to mediate, but it was useless. Both were suffering—so similarly, yet so differently.
This torment only ended with Shen Bing’s car accident.
In their first year in the U.S., Shen Bing died in a crash caused by drowsy driving. Before passing, she tearfully reconciled with Teng Yi and apologized. But this reconciliation and apology only stabbed deeper into his heart, leaving him more wounded and in greater pain.
After Shen Bing’s death, everything fell onto Teng Yi’s shoulders.
His mother’s business, his brother’s life, the overwhelming medical bills—and a future devoid of hope.
No one knew how Teng Yi endured it. Not even Rui Shu’s family, who saw him breathing every day.
For others, suffering was measured day by day.
For him, it was second by second.
After their first Spring Festival in the U.S., Teng Hao finally woke up.
Just when they thought God had finally taken pity on the brothers and shown them mercy, they realized the previous hardships had only been the beginning.
The force of Teng Hao’s fall from the stage had caused permanent spinal damage. He was disabled—unable to stand, walk, or run like a normal person again.
How could such a proud young man accept spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair?
Teng Yi knew his brother too well. So he conspired with the doctors to keep the truth from Teng Hao, focusing instead on treatment to help him recover as much as possible.This unspoken truth brewed into another catastrophe.
Teng Hao had been convinced he could still stand up again. He struggled to pull himself together from the grief of losing his mother, actively cooperating with treatment and rehabilitation, dutifully taking his medication... When he overheard the nurses chatting and learned the true extent of his condition, his breakdown was more devastating than anyone could have imagined. Like a crystal ball, he was shattered into pieces in an instant, completely unprepared.
That day, Teng Hao threw everything he could get his hands on in the room at Teng Yi, who neither dodged nor avoided the blows, only fearing that Teng Hao might hurt himself.
The dynamic between the brothers reverted to what it had once been between Shen Bing and Teng Yi—one forever hysterical, the other forever silent. But in Teng Yi's silence, there was an added layer of fear. He was terrified that Teng Hao, like Shen Bing, would suddenly leave him.
He had once confided in Rui Shu, "He can hate me. It doesn’t matter if he hates me forever. I just want him alive."
But at that time, for Teng Hao, living had lost all meaning. He refused to eat, drink, or accept any treatment.
Teng Yi stayed by his side every day, and this went on for six months. During that time, Teng Hao attempted suicide countless times, but fortunately, Teng Yi discovered and stopped him each time. Yet, if someone is determined to die, no amount of prevention can hold them back. Despite Teng Yi’s relentless efforts, he couldn’t stop it. During their second Spring Festival in the U.S., Teng Hao swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills, walking straight to death’s door.
Rui Shu would never forget that night—how the critical condition notices for Teng Hao were issued one after another, how Teng Yi knelt in the hospital corridor, clutching the doctor’s white coat, begging them to save his brother. For two years, this man had grown accustomed to being blamed, resented, even cursed. He had always remained silent, restrained, enduring. But in that moment, he lost all control, letting his emotions pour out like a madman.
Later, when Teng Hao woke up, Rui Shu’s father played the hospital surveillance footage for him over and over again. He said to Teng Hao, "No one has suffered more than your brother these past two years. Not you, not even your late mother. Look at him—what does he have left? If you can bear to leave him alone in this world, then go ahead and die. If you do, your family will soon be reunited in heaven."
Teng Hao watched the footage of his brother’s breakdown and wept uncontrollably. From that moment on, he finally gave up any thoughts of suicide and began to recover. He became a different person—sunny, gentle, and understanding, much like the Teng Yi of the past.
This transformation was both heartening and heartbreaking.
Life gradually improved, but Teng Yi still couldn’t let his guard down. He continued to worry about his brother’s treatment, education, and future. He remained busy with the company’s affairs, year after year. Time mercilessly wore him down, making him increasingly silent, cold, and insecure.
By the time Teng Hao was finally able to stand on his own, everyone thought Teng Yi could finally lay down his burdens and live his own life. But who could have guessed that he would collapse completely?
Like a spinning top at full speed, stopping meant falling.
"Severe depression and moderate anxiety," Rui Shu’s voice was soft, but the weight of her words struck Ruan Yu’s heart hard. "Originally, I wanted him to stay abroad for treatment, but he insisted on returning. I didn’t understand what significance Liaocheng held for him—until I met you."Ruan Yu's tears kept falling, but she dared not make a sound. She feared disturbing his peaceful slumber at this moment, disturbing what might not be a sweet dream.
"Save him. Now, only you can save him."
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