Extremely Handsome: My Perfect Man

Chapter 04 Dangerous Scene！

"The car door is open, stretcher team, lower, move—"

"The victim's head suffered a severe impact—"

"Two victims have been confirmed dead!"

Those chaotic and noisy sounds intertwined, slicing through Ava's nerves repeatedly, swirling like a tornado—she had no idea if she was alive or dead, nor did she know where she was. Everything was muddled, a long and sticky nightmare, blending reality with illusion.

"Ava! Ava!"

Someone was calling her name.

In that moment, it was like Ma Liang regaining his magic brush, and the dragon growing its pupils.

She tore through the veil of nightmares and found herself once more!

Ava slowly opened her heavy eyelids.

The surroundings were dark, with the sound of medical equipment at work.

Ava involuntarily moved her right arm—the IV bottle and metal stand clinked softly. As her consciousness and thoughts gradually returned, pain and dizziness overwhelmed her mercilessly.

Meanwhile, someone pulled open the curtains, and the sunlight, cleansed by the rain, was blindingly bright.

Ava instinctively closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she finally took in her surroundings.

Without a doubt, this was a hospital room, and a male and a female doctor stood before her.

She was half-lying on a strong chest.

With the sound, she could also feel the chest behind her vibrate:

"You're awake? Fully awake? Are you uncomfortable? Can you speak?"

"..." Ava tugged at the corners of her mouth but said nothing.

When she met Liam at her building's entrance, they had ended up at the hospital after a struggle. Not only did they check her arm, but they also insisted on a full-body examination.

If it were any other day, she would have pointed a gun at Liam or kicked him far away before rushing to work. But Liam's gentle words made her feel bewitched, and she followed him to various departments. Now, this was the last one...

She must have been too tired, dealing with a case last night, getting home, and then receiving Lucy's call, sleeping for less than two hours. When the curtains were drawn and the lights were off, she drifted into a hazy dream.

"Ava?"

That call brought Ava back to reality.

Her tightly pressed lips moved slightly, and after a long while, she asked, "How do you know my name?"

But she didn't seem interested in his answer—she could guess. If he could follow her, knowing her name wasn't surprising.

Ava struggled to leave his embrace and sat up.

"I don't know how I offended you, but please leave me alone! If you're truly in trouble, go to the police station. Not just me, any officer will help you."

Ava finished firmly, raised her right hand, and yanked out the IV needle from her hand, tossing it aside—

"I need to go to work!"

Ava leaped off the bed.

"Miss Ava!" The female doctor by the instruments chased after her, "We haven't even told you..."

The doctor's words and her figure disappeared behind the door.

The room returned to peace.

Peace.

More accurately, dead silence.

Liam's gaze stayed fixed on one spot.

His embrace and heart felt empty.

The male doctor, reading documents by the instruments, glanced at Liam with a silent smile.

Five minutes later, after finishing his review, he spoke.

"Mr. Lee, as you can see, that's her current state."

After a while, Liam's gaze slowly shifted.

"Too, how's Ava's arm?"

The doctor called "Too" was named Tom, a refined and handsome man. He replied lightly, "What can I say? It was bullets, two of them, at close range, passing straight through. It's a miracle she can still use that arm normally."

Liam clutched his chest, coughing softly.

"To be honest, when she was brought in, she was on the brink of death. I didn't dare move, didn't even perform her surgery." Tom chuckled, "I was afraid of seeing her face, terrified of remembering she was Ava. If she died under my knife, I'd never be able to face you again."

Liam pondered the incongruity—two bullets through the arm shouldn't have been fatal, nor should they have scared the top surgeon at a private hospital.

He frowned, staring directly at Tom, "What happened?"

"..." Tom shrugged, "It was Tang Zhou's idea. So, we all told you she was only shot twice, in the arm. Actually, there was a third bullet, here—"

Tom pointed to his heart.

Liam's coughing grew more severe.

At that moment, it felt like that bullet pierced his heart too!

"That's why she was transferred out of the CID, not entirely because of you."

Tom stood, placing documents and medical records before Liam, "I know you're here not just for her arm. Ever since that incident, since I noticed Ava's symptoms, I've been researching a condition in psychiatry—"

"PTSD"

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."

Liam silently opened the documents.

"PTSD manifests in three ways, and Ava is a classic case—avoidance and numbness symptoms."

"The incident, watching you being taken away covered in blood, and all that followed forced her to use forgetfulness as a shield—"

"After the incident seven years ago, she was in a coma for a month. When she woke up, she didn't remember me. Tom? Sorry, don't know."

"Facing reality was too painful, so she chose 'continuous amnesia', conveniently forgetting those two years. She forgot you, Tang Zhou, and me."

"Others might not understand, but you and I know Ava was a timid girl. You, Mr. Lee, were untouchable, a figure on a pedestal, why couldn't you win her over? Do you remember?"

Liam set down the documents, looking thoughtfully at Tom.

"Because you were too high and mighty, too overbearing. She had never encountered someone like you, so she was afraid—afraid of you, your family, your circle, everything around you. Even if she liked you, she didn't dare be with you."

Liam frowned, glaring at Tom.

Before his downfall, as the Lee family's heir, he could do anything except win Ava's heart...

Tom, of course, brought up his biggest regret, relentlessly hitting his sore spot.

"Back then, her grades in police school were poor. Under your pressure, I, a top medical student, even helped her with her studies... such a girl could never have become a good police officer."

"But as you see, she's made countless contributions in the CID. Her forgetfulness was self-preservation. Her strength and transformation were also self-protection because she knew her parents couldn't protect her anymore, and even you were imprisoned. She could only rely on herself, becoming what she is now."

"Her obsession with work is also a form of self-protection."

Thoughts swirled in Liam's mind, only to be rejected one by one.

"Mingxiu."

Tom patted Liam's shoulder gently, "Don't worry, PTSD can be treated. I've consulted experts. I'll give you some contacts, take Ava there."

To Tom's surprise, Liam decisively responded with, "No!"

Tom raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"If the past causes her so much pain that she chose to forget, why should I force her to remember? Treating her means making her relive those painful memories."

Tom pushed Liam forcefully, exclaiming, "Are you crazy? She'll never remember what you did for her, what you sacrificed! Even for an ordinary person, spending your best years in prison is devastating, let alone for you! What life could you have had? You ruined it! You ruined yourself and your brother Tang Zhou's views on love—he hasn't approached a woman for years because of you! If not for meeting his wife, he'd be single forever!"

Liam clicked his tongue, "But he met her, didn't he? Tang Zhou's situation is unique, don't bring him into this."

"Mingxiu, silent love isn't noble, it's foolish!"

"Foolish it is." Liam tidied Ava's medical records, stood up, and declared:

"If making her remember means bringing her pain, then I refuse!"

Tom forced a twitching smile, "..."

Liam laughed lightly, "Come on, Zhen. Why dwell on the past? You said it yourself, I never won her over. It's better if she forgets. This time, I'll show you all, I'll win her heart!"