Ling Fenghan helped Xia Qingtian back to the hotel room. Before entering, Ling Fenghan cautiously looked to both sides, his expression somewhat nervous.
Xia Qingtian immediately understood that her guess was correct.
But she still pretended to know nothing, only saying apologetically, "The room is a bit messy. I was in a hurry when I went out earlier and didn't have time to tidy up."
"It's fine." After closing the door, Ling Fenghan gave a dry laugh and said, "This is how hotels are. You never know when something might happen. You've already kept it quite neat."
Xia Qingtian's hotel room was on the same floor as Ling Fenghan's, and the room layout was similar. There was a suitcase at the foot of the bed, half-opened against the wall.
A U-shaped pillow and a makeup bag that wasn't closed were piled on top. Xia Qingtian's clothes from the day were casually thrown on the bed.
The white first-aid kit was right next to the suitcase.
After Ling Fenghan helped Xia Qingtian sit down, he went to get the first-aid kit and opened it.
There weren't many medicines, all pre-packaged. The packaging boxes had handwritten labels and detailed usage instructions, clearly stating what not to eat together and when to avoid alcohol.
As if afraid Xia Qingtian would take the wrong medicine, several red exclamation marks were added.
In the adjacent compartments were gauze, tweezers, rubbing alcohol, and iodine swabs – items for treating external injuries.
From headaches and fevers to bruises and sprains, from acute gastroenteritis to rapid-acting heart medication…
Everything was clear at a glance, which surprised Ling Fenghan.
After getting the supplies for external injuries, Ling Fenghan returned to Xia Qingtian's side. He gently brushed aside her dark hair to treat the bump on the back of her head.
As the cool disinfectant touched her swollen scalp, Xia Qingtian flinched.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Ling Fenghan's movements paused.
"A little," Xia Qingtian said, holding her hair and lowering her head.
Seeing this, Ling Fenghan apologized again with embarrassment for bumping into Xia Qingtian.
Xia Qingtian said she didn't mind.
After the medicine was applied to her head, Xia Qingtian, in turn, had Ling Fenghan apply medicine to his.
While Xia Qingtian was applying medicine to Ling Fenghan's head, he noticed a large bruise on her elbow, which was also scraped.
"Oh, this? I can reach it. I'll deal with it myself later," Xia Qingtian said, following Ling Fenghan's gaze to her elbow and giving a hearty laugh.
"I'm sorry." Ling Fenghan didn't know what else to say.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. You didn't do it on purpose," Xia Qingtian said as she put the items back into the first-aid kit, changing the subject. "It's a good thing Xiaoxiao is so thoughtful, otherwise it would have been quite troublesome."
"Xiaoxiao?" Ling Fenghan looked at Xia Qingtian, a face with a shy smile appearing in his mind. "Your assistant?"
"Yes, that's her." Xia Qingtian was quite fond of Li Mengxiao. "She talks a lot, but she's very reliable. Having her here has been a great help."
She had wanted to tell Wen Ning that she didn't need an assistant, but thankfully Wen Ning insisted.
"By the way, why were you running so urgently today?" Xia Qingtian asked Ling Fenghan. "Were you being chased? Or..."
"It's nothing, just..." Ling Fenghan's gaze shifted slightly. "I just suspected reporters were following me."
"Reporters, huh..." Xia Qingtian didn't think any reporter could make Ling Fenghan this worried.
However, she knew she wasn't very familiar with Ling Fenghan at the moment. If she asked too many questions, it might make him uncomfortable, and worsening his condition would be bad.
Just then, Ling Fenghan's phone alarm rang. He immediately appeared somewhat flustered and uneasy. "I have a video conference. I should head back."
"Okay," Xia Qingtian replied, nodding. "See you tomorrow."
"Yes, no need to see me out. You should rest. I'm really sorry about today." After apologizing repeatedly, Ling Fenghan left Xia Qingtian's room and closed the door. Ling Fenghan breathed a sigh of relief. The moment he turned, he ran into a pair of eyes filled with slight surprise.
"Mr. Gu?" Ling Fenghan was also taken aback to see the person in front of him. At that moment, his phone alarm rang again.
"Let's go to your room first." Mr. Gu had some questions he wanted to ask, but he knew that standing outside Xia Qingtian's room was definitely not a convenient place to talk.
Ling Fenghan brought Mr. Gu back to his room. Before closing the door, he nervously looked around again. Confirming that no one was there, he then firmly closed the door.
After entering the room, Ling Fenghan immediately rummaged through his suitcase for a small white medicine bottle.
After taking the medicine, he finally relaxed.
It was then that Mr. Gu asked, "Why did you come out of Xia Qingtian's room?"
Ling Fenghan was startled for a moment, then realized that Mr. Gu probably didn't want his artists to be involved in scandals.
Especially since he was currently gaining popularity, and Xia Qingtian was related to the upcoming virtual idol. It was normal for Mr. Gu to ask.
After all, he had nothing to hide.
So, Ling Fenghan recounted how he had discovered being stalked by private fans, then bumped into Xia Qingtian, causing her injury, and how they had applied medicine to each other.
Mr. Gu frowned upon hearing this, with only one thought on his mind: she was injured.
"You should rest first," Mr. Gu said, and then directly left Ling Fenghan's room.
Ling Fenghan remained alone in the room, feeling utterly disoriented.
That was it... he just left?
After a moment of confusion, Ling Fenghan acutely sensed footsteps near the room door.
These footsteps didn't move away but seemed to linger by the door.
Ling Fenghan's heart leaped into his throat. He felt as if his limbs were filled with lead.
"It's a hallucination... it must be a hallucination..." Ling Fenghan kept telling himself.
After a long while, when the outside seemed quiet, Ling Fenghan finally tiptoed to the door and gathered the courage to look through the peephole.
Just then, a fleeting, dazzling flash of light flashed from the peephole.
*Click.*
In that instant, Ling Fenghan jolted, his mind completely blank.
He quickly engaged the hotel room's security lock and then rapidly hid himself at the very back of the wardrobe in the room, curled up and trembling.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gu arrived at Xia Qingtian's room door. After hesitating for a moment, he first sent Xia Qingtian a message.
When he didn't receive a reply from Xia Qingtian, Mr. Gu knocked on her door.
When there was no response for a long time, Mr. Gu called Xia Qingtian's mobile phone. He could hear the phone ringing faintly from inside the hotel room, but no one answered.
Mr. Gu's eyelids twitched, and a bad feeling struck him.
He immediately contacted the hotel staff.
After the door was opened, they discovered the room was empty, with only Xia Qingtian's mobile phone lying innocently on the floor by the door.
Xia Qingtian was gone.