After Amnesia, I Learn I'm a Scumbag Top?! - Chapter 74

Chapter 74

An hour later, Pei Ji and Chu Tinghan returned to the hospital simultaneously, fully dressed.

Kong Chuan was waiting for them at the entrance. As soon as he saw them, he hurried over, sidling up to Pei Ji and asking, utterly puzzled, “Where did you go? You just woke up! You’re lucky it was only superficial injuries this time, but it’s snowing outside. Why would you leave your warm hospital room in this freezing weather?”

What else could I be doing? Pei Ji thought. Chasing after him, of course! Isn’t it obvious we came back together?

But not wanting to be too blatant, he casually replied, “Something came up.”

Kong Chuan frowned, trying to decipher what this “something” could be. Lost in thought, he suddenly met Chu Tinghan’s cool gaze.

He glanced at Pei Ji, then back at Chu Tinghan, and a flash of insight struck him. He instantly understood what this “something” really meant.

So, you went on a date?

Even a snowstorm can’t stop a patient from romancing? Pei Ji sure is persistent.

I never realized he had the potential to be such a lovesick fool back in school.

Kong Chuan clicked his tongue in amazement. Since Pei Ji was deliberately concealing something, Kong Chuan decided to play along and pretend he didn’t know.

A few seconds later, Pei Ji suddenly remembered something crucial. He stopped abruptly, fixing Kong Chuan with a complex stare.

Kong Chuan felt a little uneasy under that intense stare. Though he didn’t know why, he had a sinking feeling it couldn’t be good. Pei Ji’s eyes burned into him like those of a sworn enemy—the kind who tears lovers apart.

What’s going on?

Feeling uncertain, Kong Chuan instinctively took half a step back, creating some distance. “W-what’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

After a long, heavy silence, Pei Ji finally spoke in a low, somber voice: “Do you remember what you said about me when I woke up after my car accident?”

“…Huh?” Kong Chuan was utterly bewildered. Why bring up the accident now? What did that have to do with anything?

He gazed at Pei Ji with a bewildered expression, appearing almost innocent. But Pei Ji remained unmoved, his gaze still sharp and piercing.

Panicked and unable to recall the memory, Kong Chuan stammered defensively, “Wh-what did I say about you?”

Pei Ji thought to himself that Kong Chuan must have a selective memory, coldly spitting out two words: “Scumbag.”

Kong Chuan’s eyes widened abruptly as he frantically searched his memory. After a moment, he finally recalled the incident.

When Pei Ji had woken up after the car accident and asked why he had broken up with Chu Tinghan, what exactly had Kong Chuan replied? Hmm… It seemed he had said something like, “You said you were tired of playing around.”

Kong Chuan meticulously replayed the memory, scrutinizing it for any flaw, but he couldn’t find a single one. He had simply stated the unvarnished truth, without a shred of embellishment.

Almost a year had passed since that incident. Why was Pei Ji still clinging to this?

Moreover, judging by Pei Ji’s tone, he was deeply dissatisfied with Kong Chuan’s “tired of playing around” comment, even glaring at him with resentful eyes.

But Kong Chuan didn’t believe he had said anything wrong. He had merely stated the facts.

What, Pei Ji can dish it out but can’t take it?

He had dumped Chu Tinghan so ruthlessly and decisively back then. Now that they were back together, did he want to manually erase that memory and cultivate an image of himself as a devoted, virtuous man?

At that thought, Kong Chuan suddenly realized he barely recognized the friend he’d known for nearly a decade.

Back in college, Pei Ji had seemed so innocent and pure-hearted. Who could have imagined that just a few years later, he’d be living the life of a scumbag?

Kong Chuan mourned the loss of his pure-hearted best buddy and abruptly stiffened his resolve. “I swear to heaven, every word I said to you back then was the absolute truth. If I’m lying, then let…”

Before he could finish, a sudden gale howled past, whipping up the snow-covered ground into a swirling vortex. White flakes mixed with dust danced wildly across the darkened sky.

The blue sky that had finally emerged after the snowfall instantly darkened again.

Kong Chuan: “…”

No way… is it really that effective? Heavens, I didn’t even finish the oath! Could you at least let me get the whole thing out first?

Just to be safe, Kong Chuan promptly clamped his mouth shut.

Pei Ji gazed at the darkening sky, struck by the sudden power of the oath. Out of consideration for their years of friendship, he offered a well-meaning reminder: “Think carefully. What exactly did I say back then?”

Kong Chuan racked his brains, finally dredging up a sliver of forgotten memory.

He remembered there being two more words before “I’m bored of this”…

What were they again?

Kong Chuan strained his mind to the breaking point, but the answer eluded him. Just as his face crumpled in distress, a clear voice beside him gradually overlapped with the blurry sound from his memory.

“Music… I’m bored of this.”

That’s it!

Kong Chuan looked up excitedly, only to meet Pei Ji’s dangerous gaze.

Pei Ji narrowed his eyes and demanded, “Now you remember? Why did you only tell me the second half back then? Who was the one swearing up and down that it was absolutely true, or even willing to take a deadly oath?”

Kong Chuan: “…”

A simple six-word sentence, yet he had to pause dramatically in the middle, even reversing the word order.

Shouldn’t a normal person say, “I’m bored of music”? Who puts “music” at the beginning and the most easily misinterpreted part—”I’m bored of this”—at the end?

Those four words, strung together, were bound to spark all sorts of inappropriate thoughts, weren’t they?

Kong Chuan desperately tried to salvage the situation, thinking that in such a chaotic and noisy environment, mishearing that phrase was… understandable, perhaps even excusable.

He swallowed hard and guiltily lowered his head again.

Seeing Kong Chuan’s ostrich-like reaction—burying his head in the sand—Pei Ji immediately understood the truth.

He suggested Kong Chuan get a referral to an ENT specialist to check his hearing, or maybe go back to school and retake basic Mandarin classes. How could a top medical student from a prestigious university misunderstand such a simple sentence?

Because of Kong Chuan’s unwavering certainty and Pei Ji’s trust in his friend, Pei Ji had been completely convinced that he had wronged Chu Tinghan, becoming an unprecedented and unparalleled villain—a man who abandoned his husband and child.

Fortunately, now that his memories had returned, he could finally clear his name.

After regaining his memories, Pei Ji clearly recalled that this incident had occurred roughly a year ago.

At the time, he had finally emerged from the shadow of false accusations of bullying and the Program Group’s forced withdrawal. His spirits lifted, he wrote a new song. But the song was mercilessly savaged by online trolls; within seconds of its release, a deluge of curses flooded in. Misinformed netizens joined the fray, clamoring for him to leave the entertainment industry altogether.

He had thought it would be a second start to his career, but instead, it plunged him deeper into the abyss.

He was stained with scandal, while Chu Tinghan’s career soared. If I truly love him, he thought, I can’t drag him down. I can’t let my presence destroy everything he’s worked so hard to build.

So he planned to leave and sever all ties with Chu Tinghan. But Chu Tinghan reacted wildly, imprisoning him in his own home, even requiring bodyguards to accompany him on dog walks.

It was around that time that Kong Chuan called. If Kong Chuan hadn’t wished him a happy birthday during the call, he might have completely forgotten.

His mood was abysmal, and he had no patience for idle chatter. Yet Kong Chuan persisted in reminiscing.

Kong Chuan asked about the puppy in Pei Ji’s social media posts and its other “dad”—Are you dating? Did you get the dog with your partner?

Partner? Pei Ji scoffed inwardly. I’m not worthy to be Chu Tinghan’s partner. But explaining the truth was too complicated, and he feared Kong Chuan would press for details. He answered curtly, “We broke up.”

“Why did you break up?”

There was no response on the other end of the line. Kong Chuan figured Pei Ji didn’t want to answer, so he tactfully changed the subject. “Um… I really like your new song. Those trolls are clearly paid by someone else. Don’t let them get to you—the music world needs a genius like you.”

To his surprise, after a long silence, Pei Ji let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Music? I’m tired of it.”

But the words were laced with a sigh, and a loud truck honked as it passed nearby, so Kong Chuan didn’t quite catch the full sentence. He only remembered the four words: “I’m tired of it.”

Those four words were all too easy to misinterpret. He mistakenly thought Pei Ji was finally answering his question about why they had broken up.

As his memories flooded back, Kong Chuan finally understood the situation and felt deeply apologetic.

“Um… I’m sorry. It’s all my fault—I didn’t hear properly and made you think you were a jerk.” Realizing his mistake, Kong Chuan immediately offered a sincere apology and bowed deeply to Pei Ji, his sincerity almost unnerving.

Pei Ji: “……”

He wasn’t actually angry about the misunderstanding, just speechless.

Yet, upon further reflection, Pei Ji realized Kong Chuan had inadvertently done something good.

If Kong Chuan hadn’t miscommunicated and led him to believe he was a heartless scumbag who abandoned his husband and child, he might never have sought out Chu Tinghan to take responsibility and settle down with him.

After waking from the car accident, Pei Ji’s memories only stretched back to his eighteenth year. At that age, he hadn’t even met Chu Tinghan, let alone developed any strong feelings for a stranger named Chu Tinghan.

If Pei Ji had relied solely on his eighteen-year-old memories, Chu Tinghan would never have existed in his future world.

In that sense, Kong Chuan could grudgingly be considered their… Cupid?

With this realization, Pei Ji’s resentment mysteriously dissipated by more than half.

Weighing the good against the bad, Pei Ji decided to take the high road and let the matter slide for now.

Turning the page on the scumbag affair, Pei Ji finally remembered the real issue: “You said on the phone that the hit-and-run driver had been found. Where is he?”

Kong Chuan hesitated. “In the video.”

Confused, Pei Ji frowned, casting an puzzled look at him.

After glancing around to confirm they were momentarily safe, Kong Chuan lowered his voice. “It’s a long story, and this corridor is full of prying eyes. Let’s head back to the hospital room first. Your manager and Aunt Jiang are waiting for you there.”

Not long after, they rushed back to the hospital room. The first thing they did upon entering was close the door and station a bodyguard outside to keep watch.

“How did you find the hit-and-run driver?” Pei Ji asked bluntly as he walked in.

He remembered that the surveillance cameras at the accident site had malfunctioned, cutting off their most crucial lead. Finding the perpetrator would be difficult.

Yet, just a few days later, the driver had already been apprehended. The police had worked much faster than he’d imagined.

But the truth turned out to be far more astonishing. It wasn’t the police who had found the culprit, but a paparazzi.

“…A paparazzi?” Pei Ji asked, thinking he must have misheard.

The paparazzi solved a crime? That was utterly unheard of.

An Zhu gathered her thoughts and explained everything in detail. “After you and my brother publicly announced your relationship, many people suspected your marriage was fake—a publicity stunt. With both of you at the peak of your popularity—one a rising star, the other a seasoned veteran—you naturally attracted the paparazzi’s attention. One paparazzo had been following you recently. When he saw you drive off alone after the music festival, he immediately gave chase, thinking he might find proof of your sham marriage. Instead, he filmed the entire car crash.”

After a pause, she added, “The video he shot captured the entire car accident—from the moment your car was hit to Xu Wangxuan abandoning his vehicle and fleeing the scene. Every detail is crystal clear.”

The whole thing was so surreal that Pei Ji was stunned for a moment before he fully grasped what she meant.

Could this… be considered a blessing in disguise?

An Zhu noticed his incredulous expression and sighed, “Isn’t it bizarre? I thought so too at first. But when you consider everything Xu Wangxuan has done over the years, maybe heaven couldn’t stand it any longer and came to punish him.”

Qiao He, standing guard by the door across the room, immediately chimed in with enthusiastic approval: “Exactly! That must be it!”

Pei Ji frowned slightly. The way things were progressing so smoothly made him uneasy. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “Would a paparazzo really be this benevolent?”

In his experience, paparazzi were mercenaries who worked for money. He’d never encountered one with such a strong conscience.

An Zhu suddenly fell silent, pressing her lips together as she subtly shifted her gaze to Jiang Xuehua.

Sensing the flurry of eyes turning toward her, Jiang Xuehua calmly explained, “I bought back the video. If we hadn’t, it might have fallen into the hands of our opponents. Xu Wangxuan still has considerable fame, and even though his industry reputation isn’t great, he brings in money for the company. Moreover, rumor has it he has a special relationship with General Xu at Huanyu Media, so they won’t give him up easily. To protect him, they’ll likely find a scapegoat to take the blame.”

Sure enough, Chu Tinghan’s phone suddenly rang. On the other end was his assistant, Guan Nan.

“Director Chu, someone has turned themselves in at the police station. He claims to be a friend of the car’s owner and says he borrowed the car for a joyride the day of the accident. Due to a driving error, he unfortunately crashed into your lover’s car. He wants to negotiate in person. Would you… be willing to meet him?”