Ye Tiancheng chuckled beside her, not stopping the little fox from venting. He understood the little fox's petty annoyance; after all, he had kindly saved someone, only to be ignored. There was no need for him to suffer in silence.
Hearing them discuss medical fees, Ye Tiancheng chimed in, "Although I don't know the exact amount, Mingzhu found the best doctors here and booked a deluxe single room. Everything was top-notch."
"She's kind-hearted and did this with good intentions, not thinking of anything else. We'll pay this amount. If others came to the hospital themselves, it might not have been so complicated."
"This was our own doing, so you don't need to pay. It's fine if you don't, Mingzhu wouldn't mind. Just focus on recovering; you'll be alright."
Lin Yun's face truly turned green. She played along, feigning severe injury with a pale complexion, a slight sheen of cold sweat on her forehead, and dry, cracked lips. Even her great beauty was diminished, making her appear more pitiable.
However, Lin Yun insisted, "No, you absolutely cannot pay for me. I must pay what I owe, otherwise, how could I possibly have the nerve to stay here any longer?"
Ye Tiancheng didn't intend to make things difficult. After all, there was no need to push it too far. Seeing Lin Yun's insistence on paying, he said, "Then how about this? As I said, we made a big fuss, incurring many unnecessary expenses. You don't need to pay for that. If you insist on paying, perhaps just pay for the normal cost of treatment."
Lin Yun tried to refuse Ye Tiancheng a few more times, but she couldn't sway him. In the end, she transferred the money to Ye Tiancheng based on the normal cost of treatment.
The little fox, however, was still not quite finished. "That's right, Boss Lin. You didn't really need to pay before. We're not lacking this little bit of money, and Sister-in-law is kind-hearted; she definitely wouldn't mind.
"Besides, if you encountered such issues, hiring a Taoist priest or a master in the market to take a look might cost tens or hundreds of thousands, and you might even encounter swindlers and take the wrong path. Now, a meal saves all that."
"You've gained such great benefits, Boss Lin. This small amount for medical treatment is really not necessary."
Ye Tiancheng saw that Lin Yun was completely frozen by the little fox's words. He feigned a gesture and said to the little fox, "We're just helping out with a small matter; how can we discuss money with Boss Lin? What are you thinking with that little head of yours? Don't say another word."
The little fox then obediently closed his mouth. Lin Yun, dazed, quickly said, "No, no, I should still pay this money. Whatever the market price is, I'll pay that amount. I can't take advantage of Boss Lin."
Ye Tiancheng smiled dismissively, "We'll talk about this later. We offered our help; how can we ask Boss Lin for money? If you really want to thank us, a meal would be enough."
"Otherwise, wouldn't it look like we're here to scam Boss Lin?"
Lin Yun gave a wry smile and said, "Boss Ye is joking. I'm just a small flower shop owner. Compared to Boss Ye's wealth, I'm still far behind. What is there for Boss Ye to scam me for?"
Ye Tiancheng was generally low-key. However, now that he had remarried Hou Mingzhu, most of his affairs were managed by her. He himself didn't pay much attention to such things, so unlike when he dressed himself, he sometimes appeared drab, even a bit rustic.
Hou Mingzhu meticulously took care of him from head to toe, paying attention to every detail. The clothes he wore, the watches he wore, the cars he drove, though not ostentatious, exuded style and status in their understated elegance.
Otherwise, with Ye Tiancheng's own straight-man aesthetic and his rough way of living, he wouldn't have so many young girls constantly staring at him.
Therefore, Lin Yun had some discernment. She could tell that Ye Tiancheng's wealth was likely more substantial than he appeared. She just couldn't understand why Ye Tiancheng would open a seemingly ordinary book cafe here.
Initially, Lin Yun had even misunderstood, wondering if Ye Tiancheng was coming for her. However, seeing Ye Tiancheng's cold indifference towards her, she no longer thought about it.
But when it came to misunderstanding whether others liked her, Lin Yun had stumbled the most with the little fox.
The little fox's current demeanor completely demonstrated that he had never liked Lin Yun, not even a little bit. He didn't recognize her voice and needed to be reminded by others. And now, with this attitude, Lin Yun had never seen anyone like him who supposedly liked someone.
Going by this, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the little fox disliked her.
Ye Tiancheng didn't discuss wealth or anything of the sort. After his divorce, he had made himself very poor, relatively speaking. He still had some business and a small company, but he wouldn't admit to being particularly wealthy.
Although he hadn't rebuilt his career yet, he didn't have the time. He was currently fully focused on the fragments of the Fuxi Qin. As for his career, he would think about it after everything settled down.
However, his current comfortable life was thanks to Hou Mingzhu. Hou Mingzhu loved him and remarried him. He was using Hou Mingzhu's money.
While Ye Tiancheng wouldn't refuse his wife's kindness, allowing Hou Mingzhu to manage his life and use her things, it was because they were one as a couple, with no distinction between them. Hou Mingzhu was good to him now, and he would be good to Hou Mingzhu. When he had the capability and free time, he would help Hou Mingzhu. It was a reciprocal relationship.
However, Ye Tiancheng would not take Hou Mingzhu's possessions as his own as a matter of course. These were two different matters. Hou Mingzhu's assets could not entirely be considered his wealth.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng didn't dwell on the topic of wealth. "There's no point in discussing this now. There are more important matters at hand."
Ye Tiancheng reminded Lin Yun, "We still need to understand what happened to you, Boss Lin. Otherwise, if the matter isn't resolved promptly, your luck will continue to decline. Before long, you might not even be able to stay in this hospital with peace of mind."
Lin Yun shivered instantly. She remembered that hospitals were often the settings for ghost stories and horror tales. Furthermore, hospitals were places where birth, aging, sickness, and death were common occurrences. She had already encountered something supernatural, and her luck was definitely not good. If her situation wasn't resolved, and she continued to stay in the hospital...
Thinking this, she almost didn't want to stay in the hospital any longer and just wanted to move out that night.
Seeing her reaction, Ye Tiancheng understood somewhat. Knowing he had scared her a bit too much, he comforted Lin Yun, "However, Boss Lin, you don't need to worry too much for now. As things stand, nothing will happen to you while you're staying in the hospital. You can stay with peace of mind. Even if something happens, aren't we here now?"
"Just tell us everything you encountered today as best as you can, and we'll see if we can find the root cause. We'll deal with the rest later."
Lin Yun nodded quickly and said, "Okay, where should I start?"
Ye Tiancheng thought for a moment and said, "Start with how you inexplicably ended up in that alley."
Lin Yun pondered her choice of words and began to recount her experience that evening to Ye Tiancheng. "Well, tonight, I finished processing orders at my shop and then closed up and went home. I remember your shop wasn't closed yet at that time, right?"
The little fox nodded in agreement, "Yes, when Fatty Ge and I were closing up, Boss Lin had already closed and left."
Lin Yun continued, "Since there weren't many tasks, I finished relatively quickly. I didn't want to go home too late, as it's not very safe for a woman to travel alone late at night. I'm here by myself, with no one to accompany me home, so I generally don't travel at night."
"As you know, when I open my flower shop, I arrive late and leave early. Whether it's winter or summer, it's never dark at those times. When I get home, it's always still light."
There was no objection to this. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had been here long enough to know the opening and closing times of the flower shop next door. Lin Yun usually arrived between nine and ten in the morning, definitely after nine, and left precisely at five in the afternoon, always leaving early and never staying late.
Situations like today, where Lin Yun had a last-minute issue and didn't leave the shop until late in the afternoon, after dark, were rare.
After all, Lin Yun herself had told the little fox that if it weren't for the orders she had to process, she wouldn't have come.
"If I had known I would encounter something like this, I would have apologized and postponed those orders until tomorrow, rather than coming to the shop so late and going home after dark."
Lin Yun sighed dejectedly. Today was simply a day of bad luck for her. "Anyway, I went home later than usual today, and a little earlier than Ye Li and the others. But there was no way, as it was already dark by then."
"Then I thought about taking a taxi, but for some reason, I couldn't find any taxis when I walked out. I don't know if it was bad luck or what. When I tried to order one through the ride-hailing app, no one accepted the order for a long time, until the system automatically canceled it. I had no choice but to take the bus."
"However, I don't usually take this bus because there's no direct route from the flower shop to my home. After getting off, I still have to walk a considerable distance to get home."
"When I got to the bus stop, I realized it had already passed the last bus's departure time by a few minutes. At that moment, I thought, 'It's over, I might not be able to get home.' But then I was fortunate that the last bus seemed to be delayed, and there was still a bus to catch, so I got on."
Lin Yun paused here. She had noticed subtle changes in Ye Tiancheng and the little fox's expressions. However, since they didn't interject or ask her anything during her pause, Lin Yun continued.
"I only realized later, after something had happened, that the delayed bus was problematic."
"Because it took a long time to get home by bus, and I was already very tired, I fell asleep on the bus without realizing it. When I woke up again, I found myself in that alley and encountered those terrifying things."
"I realized I was in a strange, dark alley. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but when I pinched myself, it hurt, and I knew it was real."
"I wanted to leave quickly, not understanding what was happening, and then I encountered those things. They wouldn't let me go and grabbed my legs, which is why I cried out for help."