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The heavy silence in the master bedroom of the Liang Estate was only broken by the faint hum of the air conditioner and the occasional beep of the medical monitor.
A tall man stood beside the massive four-poster bed, his sharp, sculpted features set in a stormy expression.
He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, the jacket unbuttoned, revealing a dark silk shirt underneath.
His name was Liang Rui—the patriarch of the Liang family and chairman of Liang Conglomerate.
On the bed, pale against the crisp white sheets, lay a young man.
Tubes ran from the back of his hand to an IV drip.
An oxygen cannula rested beneath his nose.
His face looked so striking and proud in its stillness and his long lashes cast soft shadows against his high cheekbones.
Beside him, seated in an antique armchair, was a beautiful woman in her early fifties.
Even now, she wore her pearl earrings and a cream cashmere shawl, her grooming immaculate.
"Dr. Sheng," Liang Rui said, his voice low and firm as he turned to the doctor standing nearby, "it's been five days. He hasn't woken up. What exactly is wrong with my son?"
Dr. Sheng, a man in his late forties with silver-streaked hair and a calm demeanor, adjusted the IV line with careful precision.
He checked the saline bag and then tapped lightly on the side of the monitor.
"Chairman Liang," he said with practiced calm, "physically, Young Master Liang is stable. There's no internal bleeding. The surgery was a success. But he took a strong blow to the head during the attack. His body simply needed time. His vital signs are also stable. I believe he'll regain consciousness very soon."
"He's getting better," Madam Liang, the woman added gently, placing her hand over her husband's. "You need to have patience."
"But it's been—"
Before Liang Rui could finish his sentence, a low groan cut through the air.
Everyone froze.
On the bed, Liang Yexuan's fingers twitched slightly.
His brow furrowed.
Then, slowly, his eyelids fluttered open.
A moment of stunned silence.
"Yexuan?" Madam Liang rose from her chair so quickly it scraped against the marble floor. "Yexuan, you're awake…"
The young man blinked, eyes struggling to adjust to the light.
His throat felt like sandpaper.
He parted his lips, voice hoarse.
"Water…"
Madam Liang immediately reached for the glass of warm water sitting on the bedside table.
She supported his back, placing the rim to his lips.
He drank slowly, each gulp helping to ease the dry burn in his throat.
After a moment, he let out a soft breath and leaned back against the pillow.
His voice was still weak, but steady enough.
"…What's going on?"
Liang Rui stepped closer, his commanding presence casting a shadow over the foot of the bed.
"You were attacked," he said gravely. "Three months ago, on your way back from a business trip, you were attacked. We only found you recently. You've been in a coma for five days since."
Liang Yexuan's brows furrowed. "Three… months? Attacked..."
His eyes closed briefly, as if searching through fog.
Then—flashbacks struck like lightning.
---
He remembered the road. His sleek black car speeding through the rain.
The sudden loud bang as a tire burst.
His driver pulling over to check.
Then—the ambush.
Masked men surrounding the vehicle. Gunshots. Blood.
He'd thrown open the car door, drawing the pistol from under his seat.
He took down one, two...
But there were too many.
He was shot in the shoulder.
A blade glinted in the dark—stabbed into his abdomen.
He kept fighting. His men were falling around him. Screams. Groans. Then—
Crack!
Something hit the back of his skull.
The world spun.
Darkness consumed him.
---
Back in the present, Ah Yan— No, Liang Yexuan groaned, clutching his head with one hand.
The pain was sharp and deep, like his brain was swelling inside his skull.
His hand went up instinctively to the back of his skull.
He winced. "I remember... fragments. Fighting. Gunfire. My driver—he was shot. The others... were they—?"
Master Liang's eyes darkened. "Your team was nearly wiped out. Thirteen were confirmed dead. Eight still in a coma."
Liang Yexuan's jaw clenched. "I see."
Dr. Sheng rushed forward. "Don't strain yourself. You've suffered blunt trauma to the back of your head."
He pulled out a penlight and checked Yexuan's pupils.
Then he took out a portable EEG monitor and began a quick scan.
After a few tense minutes, he nodded.
"Good news. No signs of major brain injury. But from your reaction, it seems there's some retrograde amnesia. Likely due to the blunt force trauma. Some of your short-term memory is affected—specifically, the last three months. It may come back gradually. Or it might not."
Liang Yexuan exhaled, jaw clenched.
He wasn't afraid of pain—he'd endured worse.
But memory loss?
That was dangerous.
He turned to his father, eyes sharp. "Who found me?"
Liang Rui exchanged a glance with Madam Liang, then answered solemnly.
"A little girl. In a small district two hours outside the capital. She nursed you—"
"A girl?" Yexuan murmured, trying to recall the face.
But there was only darkness.
He changed the topic.
"Who took me there?"
"We're still investigating," his father said grimly. "But whoever planned this... they covered their tracks too well."
He didn't respond immediately. Instead, his thoughts shifted to the company.
"…What about the company?" he asked after a pause.
"I've been handling it in your absence," Liang Rui said. " I told the public you were handling offshore affairs."
"What about Grandpa?" he asked, voice lower now.
"We didn't tell him," Liang Rui said. "He's old. His heart… wouldn't take it."
Yexuan nodded slowly, eyes clouding over.
The old man had raised him, and if he'd thought his grandson was dead…
He couldn't imagine...
After a few moments, he lay back, eyes half-lidded.
"I want to rest," he said.
They nodded walking out of the room after telling him to rest.
---
Liang Yexuan stared at the ceiling.
The chandelier above spun slowly in his vision.
He turned his head slightly, hand reaching out to the bedside table.
He was looking for his phone.
It wasn't there.
He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
Whoever had dared to lay a hand on him—whoever had planned that ambush—had made a mistake.
A fatal one.
"You dared to touch me?"
His lips curled slightly at the edge.
Not a smile.
A cruel smirk.
One that could have shocked Lin Yue if she saw it.
"I'll show you who Liang Yexuan is."
His fingers tightened into a fist.
"I'll drag you out of the shadows and make you regret the day you were born."
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