Chapter 119: Return
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
At 5:43 in the afternoon, online opinion suddenly exploded.
It happened without warning, catching not just casual onlookers off guard, but also throwing fans into a panic.
The reason was simple. A well-known marketing account that specialized in entertainment gossip suddenly posted on Weibo at exactly 5:43: “Xi Mo’s situation this time is very dangerous. Fans should prepare themselves.”
It was the usual trick—vague wording to stir up speculation. The more rumors it sparked, the happier the account would be. They didn’t care about the truth, only about how much traffic and attention this “firsthand info” could bring. Fans were the weapon they used to fan the flames.
And entertainment fans were the easiest to take the bait. Some of them clearly knew it was a trick but still couldn’t help biting. The moment that post went out, Xi Mo’s fans swarmed in. The reposts and comments were instantly filled with tension.
Some came in blasting like firecrackers.
"You're stirring things up again! What do you mean very dangerous, what do you mean be mentally prepared? Can you say it clearly? If you have even a little conscience, then stop using others to make up rumors!"
"Hmph, out of attention again? You're flying with lies."
"This blogger always lies. Anyone with a brain won't believe it."
There were also people very worried.
"What happened to Goddess Xi? Why is there danger? Can you say it more clearly? What else do you know? Please stop being mysterious, tell us. Please, blogger, reply, please, good people have a safe life."
This comment got a short reply from that big account, and it stayed at the very top: "She was sent to the hospital by ambulance, and has been getting emergency treatment all afternoon. Whether she can be saved is still not certain."
Once that reply came out, things really went out of control. The comments under that reply piled up like a skyscraper reaching to the clouds.
"What happened?! Why would she need an ambulance and emergency help? Today is the wrap up party, it's not acting, there shouldn't be any accidents. Also, I watched the whole livestream, she looked really good, not like someone who's sick. Blogger, can you say it more clearly, please please!"
"I won't listen, I won't listen, I don't want to hear it! You shameless marketing accounts, you're all lying to me!"
"The blogger can't even explain it clearly, it's clearly fake news! If the company doesn't give an official update, I won't believe anything! Don't make stuff up, don't spread rumors!"
"I've hated her for a long time. She's being rescued now? Then tell me, when will she die?"
"What kind of psycho hopes someone dies? Trying to take revenge on society?"
"Don't reply to people like that. They say bad things on purpose to make fans mad, just to get attention. Don't fall for it!"
"Passing by, just here for the drama."
They were all thrown into the same pot, all kinds of voices mixed together — shock, anger, sadness, breakdown, cold indifference, and even nasty people happy to see trouble. However the world is, this place is the same. For a moment, you could see all the faces of the world.
After that marketing Weibo came out, all kinds of related news started flooding in. Each marketing company raises dozens or even hundreds of accounts. Once they lit the fuse, the internet couldn’t stop the spread anymore.
The top three hot searches were all taken over by Xi Mo, and every one of them was about her being in danger of dying.
Some sounded so real, others were so fake even a fool wouldn’t believe them. Even those fortune-telling superstition accounts came to join the fun, acting all mysterious and started reading Xi Mo’s birth chart. They said her chart showed she was fated to face disasters this year. That’s why she first had that hotel fire, then got hospitalized from overwork, and now her life was hanging by a thread.
A bunch of passersby in the comments were begging those “masters” to read their fate too.
The fans were about to lose it. They rushed to the company’s Weibo, leaving messages asking the company to stop playing dead and come out to explain already.
But some sharp-eyed fans noticed one person’s comment. That person said: “I work at the hospital Xi Mo is in. I saw it myself. She really is hospitalized because of an allergy. But her life’s not in danger. The allergic symptoms already went down. Fans, don’t worry. When she wakes up, the company will probably give you all an update. Don’t believe random rumors.”
After the person running the company’s Weibo quietly liked that comment, more people saw it.
So, a lot of calm fans were finally able to breathe a little, waiting anxiously. No matter how wild things got online, they just wanted to wait for Xi Mo to appear.
Someone else also mentioned: “Ruan Yesheng is in the hospital too. No one knows what really happened. Both of them were pushed out of the ambulance one after the other.”
But Xi Mo’s fame right now was so huge that she completely buried all the other news. There’s no way many people would pay attention to that one line.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Ruan Yesheng’s fans were super worried, but there was no company they could ask. They could only wait nervously, quietly sending prayers, and hope that by checking news about Xi Mo, they could find even just a little clue about Ruan Yesheng’s condition.
6:50 p.m.
Xi Mo slowly opened her eyes.
The room light was halfway on, so it wasn’t too bright. She felt a little dizzy and closed her eyes again for a few seconds before slowly opening them, getting used to everything in front of her.
Her face tilted to the side, and soon she could clearly see this was a hospital room. There was an IV bottle hanging next to the bed, and the liquid was slowly dripping down. The table nearby was very clean, with nothing messy on it.
Lu Qingming was sitting on the chair beside her bed. He was frowning while looking at his phone, fingers moving fast, busy replying to messages.
Xi Mo looked at Lu Qingming for a moment, and her mind slowly came back together.
The image of Ruan Yesheng lying on the stretcher, her face pale and barely hanging on, suddenly rushed into her mind. It made all her pores explode like fireworks. She was so shocked that her whole body jumped, and she didn’t care she was still getting an IV—she sat up right away and tried to get out of bed.
Her phone—where was her phone?
Should she call Ruan Yesheng? Or go ask a nurse or doctor? She couldn’t even tell which should come first. Her head was spinning, but she only had one thought now—she had to know how Ruan Yesheng was. She had to contact her as fast as possible.
Ruan Yesheng… how is she now?
She didn’t dare to imagine. The fear of not knowing made her suck in a sharp breath.
Lu Qingming saw she was awake, and that cold face of his finally relaxed. He stood up right away, his eyes full of joy, but his voice was calm as he said, “You’re getting medicine. Don’t move yet. Lie down.”
Xi Mo had almost treated him like air before, but now she finally saw his face clearly.
Lu Qingming’s eyes were full of red veins, his face looked tired, and his suit was all wrinkled and messy.
Xi Mo had never seen him look so out of shape.
But soon, an even bigger question rose in her heart.
If it was someone else sitting by the bed, Xi Mo would understand. But Lu Qingming being here? That was something she couldn’t figure out.
When did Lu Qingming start caring so much about Ruan Yesheng? He even came to the hospital room to see her?
It didn’t make sense.
Xi Mo frowned and stared at Lu Qingming for a while. After a bit, she was sure the care in his eyes was something she had seen before—it was just like how he used to look at her. Her whole body suddenly froze.
It was like a bolt of lightning cutting through the dark sky. In that flash of light, she found something that made her hands shake.
“Mirror… do you have a mirror?” Xi Mo’s lips trembled. Like she was under a spell, she looked down at her open hands.
Long fingers—these were hands made for playing piano.
And the voice that came out of her mouth was so familiar. It was more proof, hitting her right in the face.
Actually, by this point, she already knew what had happened. But she still didn’t feel sure, scared this was just a dream. She had to see it with her own eyes.
“I didn’t bring a mirror. Use the phone camera?” Lu Qingming didn’t understand why Xi Mo, just like after the hotel fire, woke up asking for a mirror. But still, he handed her his phone.
Xi Mo took his phone. Her fingers shook a little and hovered over the camera button, but she didn’t tap it right away.
After a long while, she seemed to make up her mind and finally opened the camera.
Lu Qingming didn’t take selfies much, so his phone opened to the regular photo mode. Xi Mo took a deep breath and carefully switched to the front camera. That’s when she saw her own face on the screen.
The face that belonged to Xi Mo.
She froze and couldn’t speak for a moment, like everything in front of her was floating in smoke, not real at all. But when she looked closer, it was clearly her own face.
For the past few months, she had wished for this moment all the time.
And now that this moment was here, she couldn’t get used to it.
Was it real? Or was she running a fever and already confused, so now she was seeing things?
She secretly pinched her hand. The pain was real. The heavy stone pressing on her heart finally loosened a little. This wasn’t a dream.
Her own body had a seafood allergy and was close to death. Now she was back in her body, safe and sound. Did this mean Ruan Yesheng had also gone back to her healthy body and everything was okay?
Lu Qingming was watching her face. He felt something was off, but since she just woke up, he didn’t ask too much. He only said, “You should rest. Do you want to eat something? I’ll ask someone to bring food.”
Xi Mo handed the phone back and asked, “Where’s my phone?”
Lu Qingming opened his bag and handed her the phone. “I charged it for you. The battery is full. But don’t go online right now. I’ll handle the public opinion stuff. Leave it to me.”
“I won’t go online,” Xi Mo said. “I just need to make a call.”
She paused, then softly asked, “I remember it was Ruan Yesheng who took me to the hospital. Where is she? Why haven’t I seen her?”
After spending so long with the crew, Lu Qingming could tell how much she cared about Ruan Yesheng. He explained in detail, “She got in the ambulance with you. I followed with Gu Qisong. When we got to the hospital and opened the back of the ambulance, both of you had passed out. Then another doctor took her away. But I already told Gu Qisong to keep an eye on her, so don’t worry.”
“She passed out too?” Xi Mo’s heart jumped. “Did the doctor say anything?”
“I’m not too sure,” Lu Qingming said.
Xi Mo held the phone tighter. “Can you help me buy dinner?”
Lu Qingming frowned and hesitated a little. “I’ll let my assistant do it. Should it be something light?”
“Can you buy it yourself? I don’t trust anyone else,” Xi Mo said in a low voice.
Since she said that, Lu Qingming nodded. “Alright. Wait here for me.”
After sending Lu Qingming away, Xi Mo quickly opened her phone and dialed Ruan Yesheng’s number.
The long dial tone rang again and again. Each beep brought hope, but also fear.
Xi Mo's palms were sweaty. After a while, the call finally went through, and the call timer showed on the screen.
But there was no sound from either side, like both of them were just staying quiet for a long time.
After a while, just when Xi Mo started thinking she might be imagining things, Ruan Yesheng’s soft voice came through, shaking a little, “Xi Mo?”
That soft call broke all the tension inside Xi Mo at once, but she didn’t know what to say. She just gave a small “Mm” to show she heard it.
Ruan Yesheng sounded nervous and said, “I just went to wash my face, so I didn’t pick up your call right away.”
“It’s okay.” Xi Mo asked, “Is there anyone with you?”
Even though they had just escaped death, even though both their hearts were full of emotions, even though they had so much to say, their talk now sounded very calm and very simple.
Even if under that simple voice, there was strong control.
“No,” Ruan Yesheng said. “Gu Qisong was here before, but I told him to go buy me food.”
“I also told Lu Qingming to help me buy food,” Xi Mo answered.
Ruan Yesheng heard that, then gave a small laugh and said, “Then are you coming over?”
Right now, Xi Mo felt that the idiom "two hearts beat as one" might be one of the most beautiful words in the world. She said, “I’m coming.”
Ruan Yesheng hung up the phone and started pacing back and forth in the hospital room. Her heart was beating fast, and she couldn’t tell if it was from the huge joy of switching back, or the happiness that Xi Mo was safe, or maybe something deeper.
After a while, she walked to the washroom and carefully fixed her appearance in front of the mirror.
She looked at the familiar face in the mirror and gave a small smile. It was normal to feel not used to it. She understood.
About ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door—tok tok tok—polite and proper, but sounding very gentle.
Ruan Yesheng’s smile grew deeper. She walked quickly to the door and reached for the handle.
Xi Mo was standing outside, her hand also resting on the handle at the same time.
The two of them were separated by just one door. At this moment, it felt like they had gone around in a big circle, only to come back to the beginning.
But their hearts were no longer the same as before.
It was still Ruan Yesheng who turned the doorknob first and opened the door.
With the door between them, Ruan Yesheng stood inside. Xi Mo stood outside. The two of them looked at each other.
“Xi Mo, welcome back.” Ruan Yesheng’s smile was lit with bright light.
“Ruan Yesheng, welcome back.” Xi Mo answered her in a soft voice.
Author's Note:
Welcome back, both of you.
