An Yao’S Observation Diary Chapter 8
bySunday, April 6th, Strong Winds
I rushed forward without a second thought.
Everything happened too fast then, and none of the combat techniques I knew came into play. I instinctively shielded An Yao tightly in my arms, taking the full force of the heavy blow directly on my back. It exploded with a loud bang. Intense pain instantly spread across my spine, quickly turning into a searing burn.
An Yao trembled violently, the color draining completely from his face. “…Doctor Lin?”
The Clinic immediately erupted in noise.
Several patients shot up, and Liang Yue directly pulled out her phone, pointing it at the man. “What are you doing! Public assault is illegal!”
“What am I doing?” the man roared. “I’ll do whatever I want!”
“I’m his father! It’s only right for a father to hit his son! Even the King of Heaven can’t stop me!”
He raised his hand, preparing to strike again, but I abruptly clamped down on his arm. The man instantly became enraged and tried to struggle, but I wasn’t about to give him the chance.
I followed through, locking his arm upward, engaging my core, and sinking down, directly lifting his entire body and forcefully hurling him toward the glass door. With a loud crash, the man slammed heavily into the glass door, making the tightly closed door rattle.
I have been gentle for so long that many people forget my actual gender.
I wanted to step forward, but An Yao, behind me, lightly grabbed the corner of my clothes.
“An Yao, it’s okay.” I turned my hand and grasped his icy fingertips. “I’m here.”
The man lay on the floor. Seeing me approach, he struggled to get up, but his dislocated arm rendered him powerless. He could only flop around on the tiled floor like a dead fish, all his previous arrogance gone.
“Y-you stay away!” His voice cracked like a comical duck. “Murder is illegal!”
“It’s fine,” I smiled. “I’m a doctor.”
I walked closer and crouched down, deftly grasping the dislocated arm, pushing and sliding it to easily restore the joint to its correct position.
“Do you know?” I lowered my voice. “I have thousands of ways to torture you until you wish you were dead, to make sure you can never walk again, forced to crawl on the ground like a cockroach.”
“Even if you call the police, it won’t matter. After all—”
I smiled. “I know exactly where to cut.”
The man shook like a sieve, his face covered in cold sweat, his legs trembling as if he might lose control of his bladder and bowels right there.
“I have a bad temper, and I only say some things once.” I kindly opened the door for him. “Stay far away from here, or I’ll break one of your arms every time I see you.”
“Guess how many arms you have for me to break?”
The man’s pupils constricted. He immediately scrambled and crawled out of the Clinic, quickly disappearing from sight.
I slowly exhaled and gently closed the glass door. At this moment, I couldn’t focus on anyone else; my mind was entirely on An Yao. An Yao was curled up in the chair, his small face deathly pale, his lips completely colorless.
Ignoring everything else, I quickly picked him up in a bridal carry. His breathing was frighteningly shallow, as if the man, upon leaving, had taken all his vitality with him.
I held him tight. “An Yao, it’s over.”
“I’m here.”
I walked straight into the staff room and locked the door behind me. But An Yao showed no change despite being removed from that suffocating environment. He remained curled up in my arms, his hands gripping my clothes so tightly that his fingertips were pressed white.
“An Yao,” I called softly. “Can you hear me?”
An Yao didn’t speak, only burying his face deeper.
My heart suddenly clenched.
Could An Yao have entered a Stress-Induced Stupor? I frantically searched through various medical knowledge in my mind, but none of it seemed useful. I suddenly regretted not having minored in psychology, leaving me to watch him be tormented by fear.
I tried to observe An Yao’s condition again, but suddenly felt a tremor in my arms, and something wet and warm dropped down. First one drop, then a second, a third, continuously hitting my palm, gathering into a small pool.
“Doctor Lin…” An Yao lifted his face, tears silently streaming down. “I’m sorry… I caused you trouble again.”
“Why are you apologizing?” I fumbled to wipe his tears. “This isn’t your fault.”
“B-but…” An Yao was sobbing so hard he could barely breathe. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been hurt…”
“What kind of injury is this?” I sighed. “I’ve been scratched worse than this when giving vaccines to children.”
“I only called you dense as a joke, why are you really so dense?” I cupped his face and squeezed it lightly, feeling exasperated, but without using force. “The person you should be thinking about right now is yourself, not taking the blame, and certainly not worrying about me.”
An Yao shook his head. “I-I’m not important. Doctor Lin is the most important…”
I didn’t speak, only tightening my arms to pull him deeper into my embrace.
An Yao, what kind of life did you live before? What kind of experiences made you feel like your very existence is a burden?
My heart ached unbearably, yet I felt helpless.
How can I save him? How can I help him? I don’t know.
I can remove diseased tissue, but I cannot remove the hidden dangers lurking in the shadows for An Yao. I drove that man away today, but what about next time? As long as the gambling debts exist, as long as that damned legal Guardianship relationship remains, An Yao will never be truly safe. If the man actually goes to the police, according to procedure, perhaps…
“Doctor Lin…” An Yao’s faint crying came from my arms. “Please, please don’t keep me…”
“Staying here will only implicate everyone.” He frantically wiped away the endless tears with the back of his hand. “Being able to meet you during this time has been the happiest moment of my life.”
“I shouldn’t ask for too much,” An Yao choked out. “I’m already content.”
My breath hitched. “No.”
“You can’t leave.” I grabbed his hand. “What will you do if you go back? What if he tries to hurt you again? What if—what if—”
“What if he grabs you again… to pay off his debts?”
An Yao’s eyelashes were stuck together with tears, casting shallow, fragmented shadows. “I don’t know.”
“B-but I can’t stay here either,” he whispered. “Doctor Lin, you don’t know, he’s a complete lunatic. He’ll end up hurting everyone in the Clinic…”
I cut him off. “No.”
“I said I would protect you, and I will.” I said. “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
An Yao’s breathing paused, seemingly transforming all his unspoken words into a quiet sob. He finally fell silent, burying his face deep into the crook of my neck, breathing lightly and shallowly.