บท 3: 3 - A Promise
Ren grabbed the boy just before his head hit the pavement. He racked his brain, trying to remember if there was anything in the book about such a scene. He drew a blank.
Ren cradled the boy's slight figure in his arms. He hardly weighed anything.
"Shall we go to a hospital, Master Ren?" Pax asked as they walked back to the car.
Ren shook his head. "The child clearly doesn't want to go to a hospital. We'll take him home. Inform Dr. Gordon; let's pick him up on the way." He frowned. "About Orchid Orphanage..."
"I'll send someone to investigate immediately," Pax said. "If there's something wrong, though, we may not be able to keep your funding secret anymore, Master Ren."
"Doesn't matter if my name is revealed. It is more important that the money is used properly. If someone is siphoning off the funds and mistreating the children, we need to fix it," Ren replied.
Pax nodded.
They drove home sombrely. Dr. Gordon had arrived and was waiting for them. The child was handed over to him immediately.
Steward Paul took charge of the nearly forgotten pastries while Ren went off to take a bath.
Ren combed over the contents of the book in his head as he stood under the shower. He had an eidetic memory, so it wasn't a difficult task for him. While the Male Lead's tragic past had often been mentioned, no specific instances were given. There were vague mentions of mistreatment and abuse in his younger days but the references were ambiguous, so it wasn't clear if was physical, mental or sexual. However, his situation should have improved when he started attending a good school - there was plenty of backstabbing and betrayal after that, but not outright abuse. This was also when he met the little brother...they were classmates, after all.
The Male Lead should definitely not have had the reaction Ren saw in the alley. As a doctor, Ren had noticed that the boy was not only sick, but also injured and unstable. Ren had seen that kind of instability and terror before...and he desperately wanted to be wrong now. If what he feared was true, then...
Ren shook his head and sighed. He ought to speak to Dr. Gordon before jumping to conclusions. He made his way across the hall.
Dr. Gordon's dark face confirmed his worst fears.
Ren rubbed his temples. "Long term?"
"At least a year," Dr. Gordon told him. "A child! What kind of monsters...?!"
"How is he now?" Ren asked.
"Not awake. I've cleaned him up and started him on antibiotics and nutrients," Dr. Gordon looked at him, his eyes sharp. "Pax told me about the orphanage. What do you propose to do with the child?"
Ren sighed again. "Let him recover first..."
"He needs long term care, Master Ren. The infection and his wounds will heal in a few weeks. The mental damage...I don't know." Dr. Gordon sighed as well. "What kind of humans could be so depraved that they wouldn't even spare a child? It's a good thing this one's a fighter...the defensive wounds show that he fought as much as he could until he was overpowered. I think he'll probably have the required mental fortitude to recover fully."
Ren knew that the child would grow up to be an outstanding and successful man, but had his heart ever healed? Or had his reckless drive for success originated from the underlying pain?
Several scenes from the book flashed into his mind. The Male Lead's courage that everyone admired, his propensity to run headlong into danger, his tendency of sacrificing himself for the protagonist little brother at every possible opportunity...wasn't that textbook self-destructive behaviour? From another point of view, didn't it look like the Male Lead couldn't care less about his own life and death?!
Ren was a neurosurgeon, not a psychiatrist. For a moment, he wished he could call up Dr. Louise and discuss this case with him. She'd probably know what to do. But she wasn't here, so Ren could only find others to treat the boy.
Steward Paul appeared. "The boy is awake," he said quietly.
Ren rushed to the room, Dr. Gordon at his heels.
"How do you feel?" he asked gently, drawing up a chiar by the bedside. This was the room Ren himself had recuperated in until a few weeks ago, so it was particularly suited for convalescence.
Purple eyes looked at him warily, looking comically large on his thin face. "Who are you and why am I here?"
"I'm Ren and this is Dr. Gordon who treated you," Ren told him with a small smile. "This is my house. You fainted in the alley and didn't seem to want to go to a hospital, so I brought you here. You can use this room until you recover - I can promise that it's good for recovery. I was injured a couple of months ago myself, and healed very well in this very room."
The boy eyed him silently for a long time. "Why?" he asked finally. "You have no reason to help me."
Ren shook his head. "Maybe I do."
They watched each other wordlessly for a while. Finally, the boy held out his hand.
"I'm Fang," he said, his voice hoarse but steady. "I grew up in Orchid Orphanage and recently enrolled in Arrow High School. Thank you for saving me."
Ren smiled. "I'm Ren, as I mentioned. I run a company called Sirocco. And...if you're familiar with your new classmates, I believe my little brother is one of them. He's called Wade."
Fang's eyes widened in shock. "The other guy said that you're the one who sponsored our education...?"
"It was supposed to be a secret, but yes," Ren replied. "Tell me, Fang, are the funds being used properly? Are all the children going to school?"
The colour drained from Fang's face. "They are. I...it was my fault I ran away today...! Please don't withdraw your money! We really want to study well!"
"I won't," Ren promised quickly. "I definitely want the children to go to a good school, and I'll be keeping an eye on the situation." He sighed. "But Fang, I need your help. Will you tell me the truth?"
Fang bowed his head. "Will you...will you promise that the kids will still be able to go to school...? It's ok if I have to drop out, but everyone else need not..."
"No one will drop out, I promise," Ren said solemnly. "Including you."
Fang smiled bitterly. "I'm afraid you won't want me anywhere near your little brother once you've learnt the truth."
Ren held his gaze, his amber eyes steady and pure like solid gold. "I already promised."
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