Strawberry Pop Pop Pop - Chap 43

Chap 43
Gu Nuan vomited a pool of acidic water and suddenly became motionless.
As if dead.
Han Yongnian frowned, gave him two slaps, but there was no response.
“Damn!” He cursed and picked up a bottle of “artificial Alpha pheromones,” only to see the
small print at the bottom: “Not for use by minors; severe side effects may result in death.”
Han Yongnian was shocked and terrified, then quickly turned and ran out of the warehouse.
To avoid anyone discovering the “body” and to buy himself some escape time, he locked the
warehouse door.
But as soon as he left, Gu Nuan suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath.
He had been pretending earlier, both to save himself and to survive. The brief moment of
clarity left Gu Nuan exhausted, and his consciousness became increasingly blurry, almost
on the verge of passing out. He was drenched in cold sweat, trembling uncontrollably.
The warehouse was dimly lit, and Gu Nuan’s vision hadn’t fully recovered yet. He fumbled
in his pocket for his phone but couldn’t find a way to call for help.
He couldn’t see clearly, and he couldn’t press the buttons properly.
He struggled to make a sound and used the phone’s voice function, saying, “Dial…”
Dial his dad’s number.

Gu Nuan couldn’t complete the sentence. He was continuously vomiting from the effects of
the pheromones until there was nothing left in his stomach. Under immense pain and
torment, Gu Nuan’s last traces of consciousness were fading, and he was breathing weakly,
as if awaiting the arrival of death.
This gloomy rainy day was a complete disaster.
The glutinous rice cake in Han Yang’s hand fell to the ground as he ran, getting soaked by
the rain and crushed by passing vehicles, becoming a sticky mess.
Han Yang couldn’t catch a ride and had been running all the way, falling and getting back
up.
He prayed in his heart, hoping that Gu Nuan would be okay. However, when he opened the
large door of the warehouse, he found that Gu Nuan was in the worst state possible.
The doctor said that Gu Nuan had been attacked by pheromones, causing moderate damage
to his glands, but he hadn’t been raped. However, Gu Nuan was severely injured, with
multiple bruises all over his body, and he remained unconscious.
When the doctor uttered the words “out of danger,” Han Yang couldn’t help but lean against
the wall and vomit.
But nothing came out; he felt completely empty.

Gu Yuanchen sat beside him in the hallway, while Ji Mu stayed with the unconscious Gu
Nuan in the hospital room.
“The police have already contacted me, and they’ll be coming over shortly. It was your
classmate, Xu Minghao, who reported it; he’s currently at the police station,” Gu Yuanchen
said after ending a call, looking at the distraught Han Yang and patting his shoulder wearily.
“Are you hungry? I’ll go get you some food.”
Han Yang stared blankly at the ground, with the words “Xu Minghao” and “police station”
echoing in his ears.
Suddenly, he stood up in realization.
“It was Xu Minghao. He’s the one who harmed Gu Nuan.
He did it on purpose.
Why?
Just because he dislikes himself, he hurt Gu Nuan?
Why did he target Gu Nuan?
Gu Nuan almost died.

If Gu Nuan dies, I will die too.
And I will kill Xu Minghao before I take my last breath.
He harmed Gu Nuan; he’s the one who harmed Gu Nuan.”
Han Yang was continuously haunted and hypnotized by the voices in his head. He mumbled
to himself, and the hospital’s cold, antiseptic smell made him shiver. Han Yang got up,
decisively went to a nearby supermarket, and bought a fruit knife, hiding it in his coat
pocket.
He lost his sanity, and if it weren’t for Gu Yuanchen intervening in time to stop him, Han
Yang’s life would have been ruined.
It was also during this incident, while Han Yang was being held back by Gu Yuanchen, that
Xu Minghao snatched the fruit knife and slashed it across Han Yang’s face.
Luckily, someone restrained Xu Minghao, and the knife blade only left a long blood mark
under Han Yang’s left ear.
The things Han Yongnian had done to Gu Nuan had already reached Xu Minghao’s ears, and
he couldn’t escape the consequences as well. His life was ruined. He was driven mad, and
was determined to drag someone down with him, and Han Yang was the most suitable
candidate.
Xu Minghao cried and screamed, “Isn’t it your damn dad’s doing? Han Yongnian ruined me!
Both of you damn bastards ruined me—”
“Han… Yongnian?”
Han Yang was startled, blood still flowing from behind his ear. His body seemed to freeze.
He repeated in disbelief, his eyes red, “Han Yongnian? You said Han Yongnian…”
“It was your damn father who wanted to rape Gu Nuan! He kidnapped Gu Nuan, it was him,
all of this damn mess is his doing!” Xu Minghao kept angrily shouting before being forcibly
taken away.
Gu Yuanchen covered Han Yang’s wound with his hand, and eventually, he picked up Han
Yang and said loudly to the driver, Zhang, “Quick, drive to the hospital!”
But Han Yang felt like he had a lump of lead in his mouth, unable to utter a word.
— Han Yongnian wanted to rape Gu Nuan.

This sentence echoed in Han Yang’s mind, breaking him into pieces.
“Ah—” he almost howled in despair, overwhelmed by pain, writhing in agony. At that
moment, his heart felt like it was about to explode, the pain almost unbearable.
That fruit knife should have pierced his heart.
Han Yang was taken to the hospital, and during that period, he was extremely
uncooperative with the treatment, leaving a scar under his left ear. He wanted to remember
his wrongdoing, remember whose blood flowed in his veins, and bear the burden of his
sins.
As long as Han Yongnian existed, he had no right to love Gu Nuan.
He didn’t deserve it at all.
The commotion at the police station was considerable, and to prevent the media from
reporting Gu Nuan and Han Yang’s situation, Gu Yuanchen stayed up all night.
Meanwhile, the exam results came out.
Due to his hand injury, Han Yang’s performance suffered, and he only achieved second
place.
Unfortunately, C University revoked Han Yang’s scholarship because of the incident and
accepted the third-place student after him.
The gloomy atmosphere lingered in the Gu family, and whether it was Gu Yuanchen, Ji Mu,
or Han Yang, whenever the three of them crossed paths, there was nothing but silence.
Finally, as they watched Gu Nuan’s slow recovery in the hospital and witnessed Han Yang
growing increasingly thin at home, Ji Mu couldn’t hold back any longer and silently cried
while sitting on the couch.
Han Yang, in a daze, watched Ji Mu cry and slowly knelt in front of him.
“Han Yang?”
“…”
“Han Yang, get up.” Ji Mu didn’t look at him.
Han Yang remained silent, and Ji Mu wiped his face. After regaining some composure, he
grabbed Han Yang’s hand. “I’m not crying because I blame you. I’ve never blamed you.”
Han Yang shook his head.
In just half a month, he had lost seven or eight pounds.
“Uncle Ji,” he muttered, his state of mind deteriorating to an extreme point, and the
glimmer of hope in his eyes had vanished. “I want to leave here.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? You’re taking the college entrance exam this year;
what do you mean by saying this?” Ji Mu was bewildered. “You don’t want to go to
university anymore?”
“I won’t go anymore.” His voice was hoarse, and he had cried so much that not a single tear
remained. “Now, whenever I see Gu Nuan, I hate myself. He’s become like this because of
me, and I can’t pretend it’s not my fault. I feel like I’m dying… Uncle Ji, I wish I could just
die.”
He raised his head, his eyes hollow, containing an endless vortex.
Han Yang was once again trapped in it, unable to break free.
He forcefully covered his face, suppressing his painful emotions.
“I’m a disaster; I shouldn’t stay in the Gu family…”
“I harmed my mom and Gu Nuan…”
Han Yang believed that he had been a jinx to Li Li from the moment he was born.
He had tainted Li Li’s life, shackling her legs and preventing her from escaping. For many
years, Han Yang had lived in a dark swamp, almost suffocating.
It was Gu Nuan who had reached out and held his hand when he was on the verge of giving
up. Together with Ji Mu and Gu Yuanchen, they pulled him out step by step.
At that moment, Han Yang had believed, against all odds, that he could find happiness.
But reality was not so kind. Gu Nuan almost lost his life because of him.
Just as Li Li had said years ago, “If you follow me, we’ll both have a hard time.”
So, it was better for him to stay far away from Gu Nuan.