Chapter 429: Chapter 429: Leaving Secretly
“””
When Lan Yan arrived at the hospital entrance, she was just about to call him to ask where he was when the passenger seat door was suddenly pulled open.
Turning her head, she saw the man already in the car and put down her phone.
She reminded him, “Fasten your seatbelt.”
The next second, however, the man leaned over and pressed towards her.
His gaze burned as he stared at her and asked, “May I kiss you?”
She had just opened her mouth to speak when he kissed her.
“…”
He kissed her, and at the end, he even bit her lip.
Lan Yan raised her hand to touch her lips and glared at him, “Xiao Si, are you part dog or something? Why did you bite me?”
The man gave a wicked smile, “Next time you can bite me back. You can bite wherever you want—it’s up to you.”
“Get lost!”
The smile on his face only became more pronounced.
In the next beat, he changed the subject, “Tomorrow, Dong Junhao is going into surgery.”
Lan Yan, hearing this, simply let out an indifferent “Oh.”
It had nothing to do with her—why was he telling her this?
Then, she started the car and drove away smoothly.
“Aren’t you curious about what the results will be tomorrow?” he asked.
Lan Yan focused on driving. “Not curious.”
Whatever the outcome, it had nothing to do with her.
She had agreed to Hu Yunqin’s request to temporarily release Dong Xiaoxiao, which was repayment for Hu Yunqin’s maternal sacrifice.
From now on, the two of them had nothing to do with each other.
Xiao Si saw that she truly wasn’t interested and did not bring it up again.
But he thought of someone.
“Tomorrow, I’ll take you to meet someone.” He spoke.
Lan Yan almost instantly guessed who he was planning to take her to see.
The hair she had taken from Wei Ting that day had already been discarded; she hadn’t gone through with the paternity test.
She was silent for a moment before saying, “You’re thinking of taking me to meet Wei Ting, right?”
Xiao Si was slightly startled, “You already know?”
She made a soft “Mm” sound, “I’ve already met him.”
He frowned lightly, “When did this happen?”
“The night we returned from City B.”
Xiao Si: “…”
“Xiao Yanyan, can you give me a chance to make gestures on your behalf in the future?”
Lan Yan tilted her head and looked at him in confusion.
Xiao Si said with an aggrieved look, “You’re making me feel really unfulfilled. I thought I prepared a surprise for you, but it turns out you already knew all about it.”
Lan Yan: “…”
She coughed lightly, “Then I take back what I just said—you can pretend you didn’t hear it.”
He replied, “Can the water already spilled be taken back?”
“…”
Lan Yan changed the subject, “Although I’ve already met him, he denied having had a child with Hu Yunqin.”
Xiao Si furrowed his brow slightly. “But I ran the test for you: you are indeed father and daughter.”
Just as they reached a red light, Lan Yan suddenly braked upon hearing this.
“When did you do the paternity test?” She turned to him and asked.
Xiao Si explained, “On the second day we were in City B, I asked Peng Yiming to handle it. I planned to tell you at the right moment once we returned, but I didn’t think you had already met him secretly.”
“As for why he denied it, it’s either because he doesn’t know, or there might be other reasons involved.”
Lan Yan listened to his words, lost in thought.
Wei Ting’s first impression was that of someone refined and dignified. A person like that wouldn’t lie, would he?
But knowing Hu Yunqin’s personality, if she were pregnant, she likely wouldn’t have kept it a secret from Wei Ting, right?
Suddenly, she felt like this entire situation was a convoluted mess, too intricate to untangle.
No matter what was concealed within this, she had no interest in digging deeper.
——
The next day.
At nine in the morning, Dong Xiaoxiao was wheeled into the operating room.
Dong Junhao lay in the operating room right next to hers.
The two were separated only by a wall.
From extraction to transfusion, the entire process took eight hours.
Dong Junhao’s lead surgeon was the hematology department director, while Xiao Si monitored the procedure throughout.
When the operating room doors opened, Hu Yunqin rushed forward and asked, “Doctor, how is he?”
The doctor looked at her and calmly replied, “The transplant surgery was very successful. The next part, his rejection process, will be critical, and for the following month, he’ll need to stay in a sterile chamber. Aside from doctors and nurses, no one can go in.”
Hu Yunqin felt an enormous weight lift from her upon hearing the word “successful.”
“Alright, I understand.”
“Updates on the patient’s condition will be relayed to you regularly—you don’t need to worry.”
“Alright, thank you so much.”
The doctor added, “The bone marrow donor also needs to stay in the hospital for observation for a week. If there are no issues after that, she can be discharged. A nurse will push her back to her ward soon.”
Hu Yunqin nodded, “Alright.”
Dong Xiaoxiao woke up at eight in the evening.
She opened her eyes to see Hu Yunqin sitting on a nearby chair.
Feeling parched, she called out, “Mom…”
Seeing her awake, Hu Yunqin said indifferently, “You’re awake.”
“Mom, I want some water.”
Hu Yunqin stared at her for a moment before eventually pouring her a glass of water.
Then, she instructed the caregiver nearby to elevate the bed for her.
“Drink up.”
After draining the water, Dong Xiaoxiao frowned slightly, “Mom, why does my back feel so sore?”
With an unchanged expression, Hu Yunqin replied, “It’s because the surgery was done on your back.”
Feeling generally unwell, Dong Xiaoxiao didn’t think too much about it.
She was far more concerned about her health, “Mom, my surgery went well, didn’t it?”
“Yes, very successful,” Hu Yunqin reassured her. “The doctor said you’ll be fine after a week’s rest, and then you can be discharged.”
Dong Xiaoxiao: “That’s good.”
“By the way, Mom, where’s Dad?”
Dong Xiaoxiao thought she’d see Dong Jian when she woke up, but she hadn’t seen him yet.
“Oh, he had work to attend to, so he left.”
Hu Yunqin then continued, “By the way, Xiaoxiao, I’ll be busy over the next few days, so I’ve arranged for a caregiver to look after you. If you need anything, just ask her directly, alright?”
Upon hearing she wouldn’t stay to accompany her, Dong Xiaoxiao’s face immediately soured.
The caregiver smiled at her, greeting, “Hello, Miss Dong.”
She shot the caregiver a look of disdain. “Mom, I don’t want her taking care of me. If you’re truly busy, call Mrs. Wu from home instead.”
She didn’t like being cared for by strangers.
Naturally, Hu Yunqin wouldn’t bring anyone from the Dong Family to the hospital—that would alert Dong Jian to Dong Xiaoxiao’s release.
“Mrs. Wu has taken leave to return to her hometown; she’s not at home. You’ll have to make do—this caregiver is professional. If you’re uncomfortable relying on her, then do the things you can manage yourself.”
Hearing her reply, Dong Xiaoxiao looked visibly stunned.
She couldn’t believe these words were coming from Hu Yunqin.
Hu Yunqin stepped forward, touching her head, her face exuding a seemingly motherly smile. “Be good. You just had surgery; you need to rest properly. Mom’s leaving now. I’ll come back to see you tomorrow.”
With that, she picked up her bag and left.
As she turned, the smile on her face vanished completely.
After leaving Dong Xiaoxiao’s ward, Hu Yunqin inquired about Dong Junhao’s condition before departing.
Inside the car, she initially intended to call Lan Yan, but upon realizing that Lan Yan likely wouldn’t want to hear from her, she opted to send a text instead.
Lan Yan was playing with Su Baobao in the yard when she received the message.
The text read: Yanyan, the surgery is over. From now on, I won’t involve myself in Dong Xiaoxiao’s matters anymore.
After reading it, Lan Yan deleted the message.
Su He happened to see it. “What are you planning next?”
Lan Yan replied, “Naturally, return her to her rightful place.”
Su He mused, “Dong Xiaoxiao’s life seems like a roller coaster ride—she’s out, then back in. Repeating this several times might just shatter her psyche.”
Perhaps only something like this would leave a lasting mark on her.
It was her own doing; had she restrained herself a little, things wouldn’t have gotten so extreme.
“Whether her psyche crumbles or not isn’t any concern of mine.”
Su He looked at her with a faint smile. “From the looks of it, your way of handling things is quite similar to mine.”
Both of them were people who vowed revenge.
Lan Yan returned her gaze, smiling faintly. “That’s because you taught me well, boss.”
Su He replied, “That’s one thing you can learn from me, but one thing you shouldn’t emulate.”
Lan Yan asked, “What’s that?”
Su He deliberately slowed her pace and uttered two words: “Boring.”
Her personality was cold, and her life indeed dull—her world revolved around work and her son.
She was thoroughly aware of her own identity.
She and Jiang Yan might appear equally aloof and distant on the surface, but in private, Jiang Yan turned into an entirely different type of person.
Su He continued, “Still, you and Xiao Si are quite complementary—one of you is tight-lipped, the other never stops talking. But in life, don’t always keep things bottled up; learn to unwind a little. You’ve been doing quite well recently—keep it up.”
Lan Yan understood what she meant; she was encouraging her not to let psychological pressure build up.
“Mm, I understand, boss.”
Any time there was even a slight shift in her emotional state, Su He would catch on instantly, always managing to smooth things over for her.
Elsewhere, after leaving the hospital, Hu Yunqin didn’t return to the Dong Family estate—instead, she went to meet someone.
——
Two days later.
A loud shout echoed from Dong Xiaoxiao’s hospital room: “Get out!”
“Miss Dong, please don’t get upset. I’ll leave now.”
The caregiver was already terrified of her.
From the previous afternoon, Dong Xiaoxiao’s emotions had been spiraling out of control—she’d been snapping at people and cursing unnecessarily.
The reason was simple: Hu Yunqin hadn’t visited.
Two days ago, Hu Yunqin had promised to come visit her, yet by now, the second day, she’d seen no sign of her.
On top of that, she hadn’t even called her.
The caregiver hadn’t gone far before Dong Xiaoxiao called her back again: “Stop right there!”
The caregiver looked at her nervously. “Miss Dong, is there something else?”
“Hand over your phone to me.”
After hesitating briefly, the caregiver handed her the phone.
Dong Xiaoxiao dialed Hu Yunqin’s number, but no one picked up.
She tried again. Then a third time. Still no answer.
Next, she dialed Dong Jian’s number—again, it refused to connect.
At this point, anger swelled within her, quickly followed by a growing sense of fear and foreboding.
Both numbers unreachable—what did this mean?
“Why can’t I reach them?”
The caregiver, faced with her sharp questioning, looked baffled.
“I’m just an ordinary caregiver, Miss Dong; I wouldn’t know anything about your family’s circumstances.”
The caregiver eyed the phone in her hand, genuinely afraid that this temperamental young heiress might suddenly smash it in a fit of rage.
“Miss Dong, if you tell me your home address, I could go check in person. Since you’re not in a condition to leave the hospital yet, it wouldn’t be good for your health. I can run the errand for you.”
The caregiver tried to sound as conciliatory as possible, desperately avoiding offending her.
Hearing her suggestion, Dong Xiaoxiao reluctantly gave her the address to Lake Heart Villa.
By six in the evening, Lan Yan appeared.
Seeing her, a mixture of anger, hatred, fear, and unease flickered in Dong Xiaoxiao’s eyes.
She stared at Lan Yan with full suspicion, “What are you doing here?”
Lan Yan gave her an enigmatic smile before casually pulling a chair over and sitting down.
With relaxed indifference, she said, “Came to check on how Miss Dong is recovering.”
With a hostile tone, Dong Xiaoxiao snapped, “There’s no need for your fake concern!”
Lan Yan let out a cold chuckle. “It’s hardly fake concern—it’s not genuine concern either. I’m no saint to care whether you live or die. I just came to confirm whether you qualify for discharge yet.”
Dong Xiaoxiao’s glare was filled with confusion, “What do you mean by that?”
Lan Yan countered, “What do you think I mean?”
“Lan Yan, if you’ve something to say, say it directly! Don’t play riddles with me—I don’t have time for your games!”
“Miss Dong, still so impatient. But judging by your robust demeanor, you seem to be recovering quite well.”
“…”
Lan Yan’s crimson lips curled slightly, her smile laced with poison. “Since that’s the case, you ought to be returned to where you belong.”
Her smile was like a blooming flower tainted with venom, making one’s spine shiver.
Dong Xiaoxiao had already been unsettled after failing to contact Hu Yunqin and Dong Jian; now, with Lan Yan’s sudden appearance, her anxiety deepened.
Lan Yan’s words conveyed half their meaning before she abruptly left.
She arrived suddenly and departed just as unexpectedly.
It was only after seven that the caregiver returned.
“Miss Dong, I’m sorry. I went to the villa address you gave me, but no one was there.”
“What? How could no one be there! Are you sure you didn’t just skip out?”
Dong Xiaoxiao refused to believe her.
The caregiver quickly waved her hands, “I swear, I really went, Miss Dong! Look, I even recorded a video for you.”
Luckily, she had the foresight to document her visit.
She immediately opened her phone, showing her, “Here, isn’t this the address you provided? I didn’t go to the wrong place.”
Dong Xiaoxiao frowned as she stared at the video playing on the screen.
It was indeed Lake Heart Villa. But why was it deserted?
This was impossible!
What was going on here?
No, she couldn’t stay in the hospital any longer!
But her last shred of rationale held her back—she didn’t immediately throw off the covers and leave.
Looking at the caregiver, she asked, “Do you have cash?”
The caregiver was puzzled but nodded, “I do, but not much—only two hundred yuan.”
“Give it all to me then—I’ll pay you back later.”
After hesitating, the caregiver handed it over.
She didn’t care what Dong Xiaoxiao needed the money for.
Taking the money, Dong Xiaoxiao sent her away. “Alright, you can go now.”
The abrupt change in attitude unsettled the caregiver.
But since she had been asked to leave, she obediently left.
After all, who knew if her mood might flip again later?
At ten that night.
Dong Xiaoxiao quietly snuck out of the hospital.
Lan Yan immediately received a notification of her departure.
“””