Song Junhan was hospitalized for a week, followed by another week of recovery at home.
For over half a month, he hadn't appeared at the Xia Corporation. News of his car accident and subsequent rescue by Xia Qingtian had spread throughout the entire company.
Compared to this life-saving grace, the minor troubles Xia Qingtian had caused during their brief holiday seemed utterly insignificant.
The arrogant, overbearing, and wicked eldest daughter of the Xia family didn't seem so terrible anymore.
After all, what real harm could an eighteen-year-old girl do?
Xia Qingtian's reputation began to improve, while Su Wan, who had been so aggressive at the hospital that day, was starting to be the subject of gossip.
However, nobody was foolish enough to openly speak ill of her, knowing she was the daughter of a director. These rumors were only whispered in private, and Su Wan remained unaware.
She had no time to pay attention to such matters lately. She worked during the day and visited Song Junhan after work. On a whim, she had even started learning to make soup, keeping herself quite busy.
Yet, with precious ingredients like cordyceps, bird's nest, ginseng, and deer antler, Song Junhan grew thinner and thinner.
This greatly distressed Su Wan.
Aside from Song Junhan's poor absorption of tonics, Xia Qingtian's attitude and that bright smile in front of the car headlights had caused him to wake up from nightmares multiple times during the past half month.
Logically, even if his plan wasn't flawless, Xia Qingtian should have remained ignorant.
But how could she have known...
Song Junhan had lost over ten pounds in the past half month, tormented by this thought. Su Wan found herself wiping away tears several times during each visit.
His crying annoyed Song Junhan, but he couldn't say anything and had to comfort Su Wan.
"You seem to have lost more weight?" Su Wan's nose twitched with sadness as she watched Song Junhan sip the soup she brought.
"Perhaps it's because I'm returning to work tomorrow, so I've been thinking a lot about work matters and haven't been sleeping well," Song Junhan replied with a faint smile.
"Don't worry about company matters. Although we're not in the same department, I'll do my best to help you," Su Wan promised.
"Su Wan, thank you," Song Junhan said, a smile gracing his lips. His seemingly affectionate gaze made Su Wan's cheeks flush.
"Then, I'll see you at the company tomorrow." Su Wan's heart fluttered. She simply pursed her lips, smiled shyly, and got up to leave.
Song Junhan escorted her to the door, reminding her to be safe on her way. As soon as the door closed, he shed all pretense of a smile, his eyes becoming icy.
"Is Miss Su gone?" At this moment, a man emerged from the study. He appeared to be twenty years older than Mr. Xia, with graying temples, a thin and frail appearance, and he coughed lightly from time to time.
"Mhm," Song Junhan replied casually and headed back to his room.
"You and Qingtian..." The man seemed to want to inquire about Song Junhan but was coldly interrupted.
"There's nothing between her and me." Song Junhan was already annoyed and flustered by Xia Qingtian's attitude. Hearing her name so suddenly only fueled his anger. "She's the esteemed eldest daughter of the Xia family; she looks down on me completely."
"Qingtian isn't that kind of girl!" the man said with a frown. "When she was little..."
"I'm tired." Song Junhan had no desire to listen to the man's nagging. He went straight back to his room and closed the door.
The man watched the tightly shut door, sighed softly, shook his head, and returned to his study.
"Damn it!" Song Junhan cursed under his breath, his gaze becoming increasingly sinister and cold.
One day, he would trample all those who looked down on him under his feet!
Never, ever would he be like his father, living a clean but pathetic life.
What was the use of a good reputation? Money and power were what mattered most.
With this thought, Song Junhan's gaze grew more resolute.
Anyone who stood in his way would die.
The next day, Song Junhan returned to his post.
The suit that had fit him perfectly now hung a little loosely.
However, his cast had not yet been removed, so everyone's attention was immediately drawn to his injury. Throughout the day, hardly anyone noticed his ill-fitting clothes.
Song Junhan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't have any extra money to buy new attire at the moment.
What truly gave Song Junhan a headache was that everyone he encountered praised Xia Qingtian for being beautiful and kind-hearted. He even had to echo their sentiments and express his gratitude for the life-saving grace to appear normal.
For several days in a row, Song Junhan was so angered he felt like spitting blood.
Meanwhile, on the top floor of Gu Corporation Entertainment, a handsome man with golden hair was sprawled across a sofa. A strip of fair, soft skin peeked out from between his pink shirt and dark jeans: "My dearest, I've thoroughly investigated the entire car accident case for you. Quite efficient, wouldn't you say?"
"Mhm," the man sitting behind the desk responded perfunctorily, his gaze fixed on the documents in his hand.
After sending Xia Qingtian home that day, he had immediately contacted Bai Yuqi, a private investigator with whom he had a long-standing collaboration, to look into the circumstances of the car accident.
He found the recovered facts rather surprising.
It turned out Song Junhan had intended to hire someone to hit Xia Qingtian, but for some reason, Xia Qingtian had managed to turn the tables on him.
Song Junhan, the employer, was the one who ended up in the hospital. Looking at the copy of his hospital records in the file, it was clear that Song Junhan had been quite badly injured.
However, based on the analysis of the skid marks at the accident scene, Song Junhan hadn't intended to kill Xia Qingtian but rather to... injure her.
He recalled the car accident that had first drawn his attention to Xia Qingtian.
At that moment, the doubts in his heart were completely resolved.
It was likely that the car accident Xia Qingtian was supposed to have suffered was also orchestrated by Song Junhan, all in order to… make Xia Qingtian marry him.
After all, according to the original timeline, Xia Qingtian had indeed married Song Junhan after becoming paralyzed.
But Xia Qingtian not only evaded the first trap but also managed to retaliate the second time.
"Interesting." A smile played on the man's lips as he recalled Xia Qingtian in his arms.
"My dearest, since I've been so helpful this time, shouldn't I get a raise?"
"Gu dearest? Mr. Gu? Gu Yaoyang!"
"I heard you," Gu Yaoyang finally shifted his gaze from the documents.
"So, about the raise..." Bai Yuqi flipped over and lounged on the leather sofa, looking at Gu Yaoyang with a grinning smile, as if he were looking at a pile of banknotes.
"A raise is impossible," Gu Yaoyang glanced at the calendar on his desk, then looked back at the other man and said, "Next month, on the 7th, the pair of enamel-enameled eagle-head ewers your grandfather has been searching for will be auctioned in C City. The estimated成交价 is around 17.6 million."
"Holy crap! Is that true or not!" Bai Yuqi sprang from the sofa like a startled carp and rushed towards Gu Yaoyang, bracing his hands on the edge of the desk, his eyes wide. "I was following this auction too, and I hadn't heard anything about a pair of enamel-enameled eagle-head ewers being displayed. Dearest, how do you know? How do you seem to know everything? Are you trying to steal my job?"
Gu Yaoyang's expression remained unchanged. He merely glanced at the other man. "If I were you, I'd hurry up and raise the money."
"That's right. I won't charge extra this time. Find me again next time there's work!" With that, Bai Yuqi scurried out of Gu Corporation.
"I don't know everything." Gu Yaoyang picked up his water glass and took a sip, glancing at the documents on his desk. The corners of his mouth curved into a subtle arc. "At least, not from now on."