Xingyu froze. He looked at Weiran, who just raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean? Did you hear something?”

“Well, I—I was visiting my mom at the hospital. She’s fine, she’s just been having a hard time since my dad—”

“Get to the point, Chen Rang’er. Do you know where Xiaokai is?”

“I—I thought maybe you’d hidden him on purpose. It says Zhang San26 on the door, but he looks just like Xiao-ge, so I thought that maybe—”

Xingyu was already grabbing Weiran and pulling him toward the door. “What hospital? What room?”

“It’s at my dad’s southern location, room sixty-eight.”

“Rang’er, you’re there right now?”

“Yes, I’m—”

“Stay right outside his door. Make sure no one goes inside the room unless you’re absolutely certain it’s a medical professional.”

“M-Mr. Liu, what’s going on?”

“Just stay there. We’ll be there soon.”

XIAO-XIAO WAS UNRECOGNIZABLE.

Xingyu brought along identification and everything to get the “Zhang San” removed from Xiao-Xiao’s door, but now that he was standing in front of his brother, he wasn’t sure it would even help. He was almost confused as to how Chen Rang’er was capable of recognizing Xiao-Xiao like this.

His face was so beaten and bruised that his eyes had become swollen shut. There were tubes going into his nose, his mouth, his arms. A monitor beeped steadily on one side of the bed. He was covered in bandages.

Weiran whispered, “Oh, god,” and then fell to his knees at the side of Xiao-Xiao’s bed. “Oh—oh god, oh god—”

“How long has he been here?” Xingyu’s voice was strangely steady compared to the storm inside his chest. The nurse checked Xiao-Xiao’s file.

“It’s been four days since we received Mr. Zhang—ah, I’m sorry. Mr. Liu.”

“Has he woken up at all?”

“No.”

“What kind of injuries does he have?”

“He has an orbital rim fracture, a nasal fracture, a broke arm, a broken leg, three broken ribs, a concussion, and his hands…someone pulled his fingernails off.”

Xingyu’s knees buckled.

“It was like he was hit by a truck. We’ve performed the necessary surgeries, so he’s out of danger. Now it’s just a matter of waiting until he wakes up.”

Xingyu had the strong feeling that that “truck” was Bai Xue. He wanted to brace himself against the wall, wanted to fall to his knees like Weiran, wanted to fall apart, but everything that built him up to this point kept him on his feet. He kept his gaze away from Xiao-Xiao and trained on the nurse, afraid that he would lose what little control he had if he caught a glimpse of those bandages again.

“You said he’s your brother?”

“Yes,” said Xingyu. “Younger brother.”

“Do you have any idea what happened to him?”