"Gou Wen has a sister," Xia Qingtian said, cutting to the chase and skipping the usual pleasantries. "Can you help me check on her?"
"What?" Gu Yaoyang was completely taken aback by Xia Qingtian's opening statement. A flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes before he replied, "Okay, I'll get it done for you as soon as possible."
"Thank you." After Xia Qingtian hung up, she immediately started contacting the next person.
Three lives were involved here, and time was of the essence. She couldn't afford to waste a single second.
Gu Yaoyang listened to the dial tone, then sighed softly. He lowered his gaze, feeling an emptiness in his heart that was difficult to bear.
His assistant, who had followed him out, didn't know what to say upon seeing Mr. Gu in this state. He could only turn back and inform the people resting in the conference room, "Today's meeting is postponed. You can all get back to your work."
Meanwhile, upon arriving at Z University, Xia Qingtian headed straight for the laboratory.
Here, Professor Tang finally noticed Er Ya's peculiar expression and the two people she had hidden.
"This is ridiculous!" Professor Tang said with a dark expression. "What is this place, a stray dog shelter, or a garbage dump? You bring anything and everything back here!"
"I wasn't being ridiculous..." Er Ya felt guilty and ashamed, her voice lacking its usual vigor.
"I'm going to a meeting. Before I get back, you'd better get rid of them all! Not a single one is to stay!" Professor Tang wiped the blood from his hands and said irritably.
Honestly, what had he done to deserve this? He'd been forced into an emergency surgery during his break. If the knife had gone half an inch deeper, the person wouldn't have survived. What if he had died here?
Er Ya, that scatterbrained, clueless girl! She'd pick up anything!
"Hmph!" He shot Er Ya another glare before walking away with his hands behind his back.
Er Ya stuck her tongue out at Professor Tang's retreating back before her head drooped again.
Although she was being stubborn and refused to admit she was wrong, she was indeed reflecting.
Really...
Xia Qingtian arrived just in time to witness this scene and quickly said, "Er Ya, take me to see them."
"This way, this way!" Seeing her backbone arrive, Er Ya, like a defeated rooster, immediately puffed out her chest and started walking with a spirited stride.
Reflection?
That was not a skill she had acquired.
Er Ya led Xia Qingtian to a partitioned area and pointed at the pale-faced Gou Wen. "Professor Tang has already pulled out her knife. She lost a lot of blood, but thankfully, there are many medicinal herbs here, and the bleeding has stopped. She was also given a painkiller, so she's fine now, but..."
"But what?" Xia Qingtian shifted her gaze from Gou Wen to Er Ya.
"Professor Tang said her poison has already entered her vital organs, and medicine is powerless." Er Ya omitted Professor Tang's string of angry scolding before pursing her lips and shaking her head. "In short, she won't live much longer."
Hearing Er Ya's words, Xia Qingtian's gaze shifted. She looked at Gou Wen's pale face and couldn't help but recall their previous meeting in Kyoto.
Had Gou Wen already been poisoned then?
Xia Qingtian tried to approach Gou Wen, but after just two steps, she was blocked by a man. It wasn't Ah Hu.
The man in front of her was much more refined than the Ah Hu she had met before.
"Tang Ruiyang, move aside." Gou Wen finally spoke. She raised her head and looked at Xia Qingtian. "Let her come over."
Only after hearing Gou Wen's words did Tang Ruiyang step aside. He clenched his fists at his sides, his eyes full of caution as he looked at Xia Qingtian.
Xia Qingtian then walked towards Gou Wen step by step. "This knife... looks quite serious."
"Xia Qingtian, I've always underestimated you," Gou Wen said, looking up at Xia Qingtian. "You actually hid the Tang family's most prominent figure in a place like this. Is this what they call 'the greatest talents are often found in humble places'?"
"She's not the Tang family's most prominent figure," Xia Qingtian said, looking at Gou Wen. "Her name is Er Ya, and she's my friend. Her full name is..."
"Tang Youli." Gou Wen's gaze shifted, as if suddenly understanding something. "As expected of twin sisters, you look so alike... Ah Long probably couldn't tell the difference either."
She understood now. No wonder Ah Long had suddenly betrayed her.
It made sense.
On that day, she had only observed that Ah Long hadn't approached Xia Qingtian. She hadn't considered that Ah Long had seen Tang Youli beside Xia Qingtian and mistaken Tang Youli for Tang Youxi, thus seeing through her lie and wanting to kill her to prove his innocence.
"If your sister looked exactly like you, would you be able to recognize her immediately?" Xia Qingtian asked Gou Wen calmly.
Gou Wen didn't reply. She just looked up at Xia Qingtian. "You knew all along?"
"I only found out today," Xia Qingtian paused. "She feels very guilty, so I... deduced it."
"She... feels very guilty?" Gou Wen lowered her head and reached for the wound on her abdomen, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
She, Shen Yao, had finally found Shen Ying after searching for so many years.
She had found her sister.
But during their first reunion, Shen Yao had almost killed Shen Ying, and Shen Ying... had stabbed her.
It hurt...
It hurt a lot.
More than when she had cut Shen Yao's name into her own body after the poison took effect yesterday.
Her sister, whom she had searched for so many years, the organization had always claimed they were looking, were in the process of looking, had always been looking...
But the person was right under her nose, wasn't she?
No wonder, no wonder the organization didn't want her to approach Suzuran.
No wonder the organization had imprisoned her in that seaside villa, intending to keep her there until she was completely depleted.
It made sense.
Thinking about how she had worked for the organization for so many years, how she had risked her life again and again, just to find her sister.
And the result...
They had reunited in a form of sibling rivalry.
How ridiculous.
Gou Wen smiled, but the smile soon faded.
A tear rolled down her cheek. She looked up at Xia Qingtian. "How much of this was your doing?"
"?" Xia Qingtian blinked her eyes. Could she say she was innocent?
"You don't have to answer me. Even if you did, it would be a lie, and I don't want to hear it," Gou Wen said, wiping away her tears. "I want to speak to you alone."
"Er Ya, wait for me outside." Xia Qingtian waved her hand.
"Hmm..." Er Ya hesitated for a moment, then picked up the short knife she had previously removed from Gou Wen's abdomen and handed it to Xia Qingtian. "She looks a bit out of her mind. Here's a knife for self-defense."
Xia Qingtian looked at the blood-stained knife in her hand and managed a slight, reluctant smile. "Thank you."
Er Ya gave an okay gesture and pointed at the distressed Tang Ruiyang. "You, come out with me."
Tang Ruiyang looked at Er Ya, then at Gou Wen. Seeing Gou Wen nod slightly, he followed Er Ya out.
Only Xia Qingtian and Gou Wen were left in the partitioned area.