The phone rang for a long time before it was finally answered. Ruan Yufei was crying, sobbing, and gasping for breath, unable to utter a complete sentence for a while. Xing Zheng asked her sternly, "What are you crying about? What happened to Yangshuo?"
"At the hospital... Azheng, I'm scared, can you come over?" Ruan Yufei was sobbing uncontrollably, her words fragmented, but Xing Zheng understood. He asked for the hospital's address and said, "Wait," before heading over.
At this moment, Xing Zheng was chatting with Zhou Yue in his consultation room. After the call, Xing Zheng rushed to leave. Zhou Yue didn't even have time to ask what had happened before he was unable to stop him.
Xing Zheng sped to the hospital and found Ruan Yufei in the emergency room. Ruan Yufei was squatting in the corridor, crying. She was frail, her head buried in her knees, only her trembling shoulders visible. Xing Zheng went up to help Ruan Yufei up and then saw the wound on her head, which was still bleeding. "Why didn't you let a doctor treat it?"
"Yangshuo..." Ruan Yufei answered irrelevantly, her mind only on Yangshuo. Xing Zheng pulled her inside to find a nurse to stop the bleeding, apply medicine, and bandage her wound.
With Xing Zheng by her side, Ruan Yufei was very cooperative. The nurse had tried to persuade her for a long time, but she refused to let them bandage her wound. Xing Zheng resolved it in a few words.
After Ruan Yufei's bandage was done, Yangshuo's condition was also about to be resolved. The doctor saw Xing Zheng and greeted him first. Then, he informed them about Yangshuo's injuries, "It's a burn, the skin on his left arm is scalded. If you're not at ease, you can be hospitalized for observation for a day or two. It will heal with timely medication, and scars can be addressed with surgery later."
Ruan Yufei kept crying. Even after the doctor spoke, she was still sobbing uncontrollably and unable to respond. Seeing Ruan Yufei crying like this, the doctor said to Xing Zheng, "Please comfort Miss Ruan. She's been crying for over an hour."
The nurse went to arrange Yangshuo's hospitalization. Xing Zheng took the mother and son to the ward. Yangshuo had fallen asleep, his body wrapped in bandages. After Ruan Yufei entered the ward, she cried even harder.
Xing Zheng found tissues to wipe the tears from her face and asked with a frown, "How did Yangshuo get injured, and you, where did the wound on your head come from?"
"It's all my fault, I blame myself for being too clever and not taking good care of Yangshuo..." Ruan Yufei was in despair. She grabbed Xing Zheng's sleeve, like a desperate and helpless child.
Xing Zheng looked down at her hand, not pushing it away, and said, "Answer my question just now."
Ruan Yufei shook her head, "It's not anyone else's fault, it's just being too clever..."
"I came to the hospital for a follow-up examination yesterday and met Assistant Zhuang. He said he was bringing food to Miss Lin... I wanted to apologize to Miss Lin, so I stewed Tremella and Red Date Soup to see her. I didn't expect it to make things worse..." Ruan Yufei bit her lip. "Miss Lin must hate me even more... I shouldn't have been so clever."
Xing Zheng stared intently at Ruan Yufei, understanding her meaning. "You went to see her?"
Ruan Yufei couldn't decipher the meaning behind Xing Zheng's expression. She was timid and nodded slightly, then apologized again, "I'm sorry, Azheng, I seem to have caused you trouble again."
"What did you say to her?" Xing Zheng asked again.
"I just brought Yangshuo to apologize to her. I don't know what I said that angered Miss Lin. She doesn't seem happy when she sees me..." Ruan Yufei asked, "Did she misunderstand my relationship with you, which is why she treated me like this?"
"It doesn't matter how she treats me, but Yangshuo he..."
"You stay here with Yangshuo. A caregiver will come to look after you later." Xing Zheng listened to Ruan Yufei's explanation but didn't express any opinion. He left, leaving Ruan Yufei standing blankly in the ward. She clenched her fists nervously.
Is Xing Zheng going to find Lin Mei now? Will he blame Lin Mei for Yangshuo? If not, then wouldn't her and Yangshuo's injuries be in vain?
During the lunch break, Lan Lan and Feng Feng left. Lin Mei lay alone on the bed. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she was woken by the sound of a door opening.
She frowned in displeasure and looked closely, only to see Xing Zheng arrive. His face was expressionless. As he walked closer, she could see the suppressed anger in his eyes. Was he here to settle accounts with her?
Lin Mei was not afraid of him. She lay on the bed and met his gaze. Xing Zheng sat down by the bed and pulled her up. This movement aggravated the injury on Lin Mei's lower body, causing a wave of pain that made her face turn pale. At this moment, the man in front of her grabbed her chin and aggressively questioned her, "Yangshuo came to see you?"
As soon as he asked, Lin Mei knew the reason for his anger. It turned out to be because she had "hurt" his son. Having already guessed this would happen, Lin Mei didn't bother to defend herself. Her sleepiness vanished, and she smiled indifferently, "Yes, he came to see me, so what?"
Xing Zheng: "His arm is scalded, did you do it?"
Lin Mei: "Did his mother tell you?"
Xing Zheng: "I'm asking you now." He sounded very angry, his tone gritted, as if he were about to strangle her to death.
Since he cared so much about this child, if she admitted it, she would likely face his "abandonment." Lin Mei smiled even more brilliantly than before. "That's right, I did it. I can't stand some people pretending to be pitiful in front of me and affecting my mood, so I had to use my methods to make them leave."
Lin Mei had never spoken such sharp and sarcastic words before. This ability was brought out by reality. After she finished speaking, she succeeded in making Xing Zheng's expression even gloomier than before. In an instant, the man's hand moved to her neck and fiercely gripped it.
Her breath was taken away, and Lin Mei instinctively opened her lips. The man leaned down and bit her lips fiercely, biting her as if trying to kill her with every bite.
After a while, Lin Mei's mouth was already full of the taste of blood. When Xing Zheng had bitten enough, he let go of her and left. Lin Mei's mouth was full of the taste of rust. She covered her mouth and gagged. After a few minutes, she calmed down.
Lin Mei lay back on the bed. Recalling Xing Zheng's angry appearance just now, she closed her eyes. Ruan Yufei's scheme to sow discord had worked. Xing Zheng must now believe that she was the culprit who scalded Yangshuo. Her son was so important to him that he wouldn't keep a troublemaker around.
Lin Mei was badly injured and couldn't go to work at the bank on Monday. She took two days off. Only when she could walk again did she go to work. During these three to four days, Xing Zheng never appeared again, nor did he contact her via WeChat or phone. Lin Mei thought this was the end.
This was for the best. As for Xing Zheng's condition and his brotherly feud with Xing Yan, she wouldn't investigate anymore.
Lin Mei continued her life as usual. Without Xing Zheng, her life returned to a routine of going to work and coming home. There were no entertainment activities on weekdays.
She used to go to Xing Zheng's place every Friday night, but she didn't need to go this week.
Lin Mei bought some fruit and went home. As soon as she entered the door, she received a call from Xie Qin Jia, "Lin Mei, are you free tomorrow? It's my birthday tomorrow night, come over!"