Chapter 9 York Is Injured

"York? What happened to you?" Before Leona could figure out what was going on, she suddenly felt that the world was spinning, and she collapsed. Fortunately, York turned over before his face could touch the ground. As a result, Leona fell on top of his body.

But when he saw that five men came out of nowhere and each of them was holding a bat, he pushed Leona away. Then the five men hit his head and body with all their might.

Although York had a Taekwondo training, he was caught off-guard, and he was no match for the five men. All he could do now was protect his head with both hands and curled up his body, exposing his back to his opponents. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of wooden bats hitting York's body resounded through the street. In the blink of an eye, a pool of blood appeared on the ground.

"Help! Someone wants to kill us! Help!" Although she was so terrified, Leona plucked up all her courage to cry for help when she saw that York was already bathed in his own blood. Fortunately, some security guards immediately rushed over to them and frightened the hooligans who beat York.

Leona ran over to York and knelt down in front of him. Between sobs, she said, "York, please wake up. Please don't scare me."

"Leona, he is seriously injured. Call an ambulance now, so he can be sent to the hospital right away," one of the security guards advised Leona. He knew her, and he had a good impression of her, so he reminded her.

"Oh, right. Thank you so much, Mr. Zhang." It was only then that Leona remembered to call an ambulance. She took out her old phone and dialed the emergency hotline.

Leona never left York's side while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. York opened his eyes. His head, face, and body were all hit badly, so they were covered with blood. His white shirt was dyed scarlet, and it looked so terrifying. He arduously lifted his bloody hand to wipe off the tears on Leona's face and managed to give her a smile. He then said in a weak voice, "You silly girl, don't cry. I'm fine. These are just minor wounds. Don't worry too much. I won't die yet, okay?"

Hearing this weak voice, Leona took his hand, put it on her face, and choked with sobs. She thought to herself, 'He obviously doesn't look good, but he still doesn't want me to worry about him. He is so silly.' Thinking that York got injured because of her, she felt really guilty, so she couldn't stop crying.

York struggled to put his hand inside his trousers' pocket and fumbled for a long time. Finally, he took out a small box. With a trembling hand, York pressed a button and the box opened. He then took out a handmade bracelet and raised it in front of Leona. He said weakly, "Leona, it's not yet twelve o'clock, so it's still your birthday. This is my gift for you. I know that you won't accept expensive gifts, so I decided to make this by myself. I hope you like it."

Leona took the bracelet from York's bloody hand. It had a heart-shaped pendant tied with a series of small beads, shining under the light of the street lamp. It wasn't perfectly done, but it was very apparent that York had exerted so much effort on it. Leona couldn't help bursting into tears again. She didn't even remember that today was her birthday. But York did. And he even prepared a gift for her.

"How... did you know that today is my birthday?" she asked between sobs. As far as she could remember, no one knew her birthday except herself and her family. But even her family seemed to have already forgotten about it.

"I... checked your file in the records section. Let me... put it on for you." York's weak voice pierced through Leona's heart. She felt so much pain looking at his languid eyes.

"I'll put it on now. Stop talking, okay? The ambulance is on its way." With tears streaming down her eyes, Leona put on the bracelet around her wrist. After a few moments, she heard the sound of the ambulance not too far from them. But this time, York was already unconscious, lying in her arms.

"York, wake up. Please, don't scare me. The ambulance is coming now. You'll be fine. Please, wake up!" Leona yelled frighteningly.

Finally, the ambulance had arrived. Leona didn't leave York until they reached the hospital. She didn't mind the blood on her body or what she looked like. She waited outside the operating room while York was undergoing surgery. Leona lowered her head and looked at the bracelet on her wrist. She knew that once she wore it, she had already accepted York's love. They were officially in a relationship now. Upon checking herself, she found out that she didn't feel any regret in her heart.

York had almost died because of her. She knew that he was the man worthy of her trust. Even if they couldn't be together in the end, at least she had shared some unforgettable experiences with him. She had memories to treasure.

"York? York? Where's my York?" Leona heard some hurried footsteps from the corridor of the hospital approaching the operating room, accompanied by a scream of a middle-aged woman. The woman was Barbara Li, York's mother. A middle-aged man, who looked a bit similar to York, followed behind her. Obviously, he was York's father.

As soon as they reached the operating room, Leona stood up and greeted them politely, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Zhao. My name is Leona Ling. I am York's classmate. He is still inside the operating room."

"I can't believe that York got involved in a fight. Was this all because of you?" Barbara Li pointed at Leona's nose and shouted angrily. She had an intuition that York was beaten by some strangers on the street in the middle of the night because of Leona.

"Barbara, stop that. Let's hear her out first." York's father, Arthur Zhao, was calm. He took hold of his wife and hinted to Leona to tell them what really happened.

Leona briefly explained everything. When she finished talking, Barbara Li pointed at her again and shouted, "I know it! My York will never go to that kind of place. This is all your fault. If not for you, he will not be injured. Just pray that he won't suffer any disability. If something bad happens to him, I will definitely not let you go."

"Enough, Barbara. Don't blame her. It's not her fault. You and I both know that York can't just watch someone being bullied. Even if it's a stranger, he will still surely help," said Arthur Zhao. He held Barbara Li's hands and persuaded her to calm down.

Although Barbara Li had calmed down a little, she didn't stop belittling Leona. She said to Arthur Zhao, "If it weren't for her, York would never go to that place. Do you really think she's a good person? She might look timid and pure on the surface, but she is actually different on the inside. She must have seduced our York." Barbara Li was really convinced that Leona had something to do with York's injuries.

"Leona, it's very late now. Why don't you go home first? I'm sure that your parents are worried about you at this moment." Since he couldn't stop Barbara Li from saying harsh words towards Leona, Arthur Zhao thought that it would be better if Leona went home first.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Zhao. York is injured because of me. I won't feel settled at home, knowing that he is still in the operating room. Can I stay for a while until I make sure that he is safe?" Leona was still terrified. She wanted to make sure that York was safe before she left, so she tried to ask for Arthur Zhao's help.

"Don't pretend to be kind to our son. Whatever happens to him, you are to be blamed. Get out of here now!" Barbara Li yelled.

All of a sudden, the red light above the operating door went off. As soon as the door was pushed open, York was pushed out on a stretcher. Barbara Li seemed to have forgotten about Leona in an instant. She rushed over to York and screamed, "York! My son, please wake up. Mom is here."

"Ma'am, your son is out of danger now. He has fallen asleep because of the anesthesia. We will take him to his ward now. He needs to stay in the hospital for a couple of days for observation after he wakes up," said the nurse who was pushing York's stretcher out of the operating room.

Leona, who stood at the corner not far away, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that York was fine. She then turned around and hurriedly went back home. It was already dawn. When she arrived home, she sneaked into the small gate in their backyard. She reached their house without having any problems at all. But when she opened the door, she was so surprised to see Cynthia standing in front of her. She didn't expect it because Cynthia had never woken up this early in the morning.