Chapter 230: Reluctance To Part

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414

This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.

The three of them spoke quietly in the hospital room. Cui Jiayu saw breakfast on the table. She was tired and hungry, so she picked up a meal box and ate while discussing the case details with them. As she spoke, she held the meal box out toward Ruan Yesheng and Lin Tingyu.

"Try some. It tastes pretty good."

"I'm not hungry yet." Lin Tingyu looked at Ruan Yesheng. "Ruanruan, have some?"

"I'm not hungry either." Ruan Yesheng shook her head.

"Alright. You can all become immortals. Immortals don't get hungry." Cui Jiayu muttered and kept eating.

Not long after, Xi Mo slowly opened her eyes and murmured drowsily, "...Yesheng."

Her voice was soft and exhausted. The moment Ruan Yesheng heard it, her heart trembled. She quickly leaned over.

"...I'm here. I'm here. What do you need? I'll get it for you."

Her eyes were full of joy that Xi Mo had woken up safely, and blurred with tears.

"I just... wanted to call your name and see if you were here." Xi Mo's vision gradually became clear. She looked at her carefully and smiled.

"Of course I'll be here." Ruan Yesheng coaxed her through tears.

When Lin Tingyu and Cui Jiayu saw Xi Mo wake up, they hurried over. Lin Tingyu visibly relaxed, while Cui Jiayu let out a long sigh.

"Thank goodness you're okay."

"Thank you for saving me." Xi Mo said gratefully. "It's a little inconvenient for me right now. When I'm better, I'll thank you properly. If there's anything you want, tell me now so I can prepare it."

Whenever Xi Mo thanked someone, she either gave money, work opportunities, or expensive gifts. She believed real gratitude should be shown through real actions.

Knowing her personality, Lin Tingyu joked, "Then I won't refuse. Tell Lu Qingming to give our company a few more projects."

"No problem." Xi Mo agreed at once.

"I don't really want anything special. I don't have a business to worry about. Every day, the moment I open my eyes, it's either investigating cases or investigating cases." Cui Jiayu thought for a moment. "How about giving me more signed items? It's better if it's those out of print ones.”

"That's even easier." Xi Mo smiled, though her tiredness was obvious.

She turned to the breakfast boxes on the table. There were many kinds of breakfast. Most were untouched. Only Cui Jiayu had opened one.

She immediately understood and gently said to Ruan Yesheng,

"Why didn't you eat breakfast?"

"I wanted to eat with you. Lu Qingming came earlier. He bought all this."

"I know. That's just like him."

"Your dad came too. He saw you before he left." Ruan Yesheng said.

Xi Mo froze.

Ruan Yesheng always wanted Xi Mo's once lonely heart to know how much love still existed in the world. She wanted Xi Mo to know everyone had either worked to save her or cared deeply about her.

"Your dad was on a business trip somewhere else yesterday. After Lu Qingming called him, he first told Lu Qingming to find you while he rushed to catch a flight. He arrived at your room after four in the morning. He came again when breakfast was delivered."

"Your uncle, Jian Sun, also came around two in the morning. He handled many of the discussions with the doctors. Sister Jian Hui is still working at an excavation site and couldn't come back. She called me to ask about you. After hearing you were safe, she felt relieved. She said she'll visit when she has time."

Ruan Yesheng carefully passed on every bit of concern.

"Tangtang wanted to come too. She insisted she's your assistant and had to take care of you. I was worried because it wasn't safe at night and she lives far away, so I told her to come during the day. After she learned what Gu Qisong had done, she was angry and heartbroken. She kept saying she must have been blind to trust him so much, and after scolding herself, she started scolding Gu Qisong too. Tangtang used to be timid and never cursed. That was the first time I'd ever heard her curse someone."

"Tingshuang mostly asked Tingyu about you. She's very worried too."

"What about Tingshuang? Is she okay by herself?" Xi Mo asked Lin Tingyu.

Lin Tingyu said, “Auntie has already come back and is taking care of her at home."

Only then did Xi Mo relax.

She looked back at Ruan Yesheng and listened carefully.

"Thanks for telling me all this. I slept through everything. Otherwise I wouldn't have known everyone's kindness."

"I'm not finished yet. There's also Shen Qingbie." Ruan Yesheng smiled, trying to summarize because Shen Qingbie had so much to say.

"When she heard you were hospitalized again, she became very anxious and insisted on a video call. Your face looked so pale then, and I figured you probably wouldn't want her to see you like that, so I politely refused and just called her instead. I told her to visit when she had time. Later, Yu An also asked about you. Shen Qingbie must have told her."

Xi Mo's heart tightened.

"Shen Qingbie knows? Has my hospitalization already been reported?"

Everyone else who knew made sense. They were either family or employees. If Lu Qingming realized she had disappeared, he would naturally notify them or ask Feng Tangtang if she knew anything. Lin Tingshuang would also know through Lin Tingyu.

But Lu Qingming would never contact Shen Qingbie.

Shen Qingbie was busy filming. Since Yesheng was so worried, she probably wouldn't have told Shen Qingbie herself.

That meant Shen Qingbie most likely learned it from outside news.

Whenever Xi Mo was hospitalized, it was hard to keep it secret. Before, every hospital stay would trend online, and fans would complain the company failed to protect her.

She just hadn't expected the news to spread this quickly. She also wondered whether anyone outside knew what had happened in the residential complex. Although Jian Ye had chosen a quiet neighborhood late at night, and outsiders probably hadn't seen anything, there were no guarantees.

"The entertainment reporters don't know yet. Maybe during the day people online will hear you're hospitalized. But I don't think anyone knows what happened at the complex. There weren't any outsiders there. The people Lu Qingming and Cui Jiayu brought were all people they trusted, so they'll keep it secret. Don't worry."

"Shen Qingbie knows because she knows one of the seniors you were supposed to meet yesterday. That senior mentioned during a chat that you got sick and were taken to the hospital. Shen Qingbie doesn't know what actually happened. She just thinks you're recovering in the hospital."

Xi Mo finally understood.

If the news had already spread online, Gu Cen, Li Siran, Gu Ru, and other friends in the entertainment industry would have contacted her already. So far, they clearly didn't know yet.

Thinking back to everything that had happened, Ruan Yesheng still felt shaken.

"We really have those seniors to thank too. When you never showed up and nobody could reach you, they felt something was wrong because that's unlike you. They asked Lu Qingming what happened. He called you, but your phone was off. Gu Qisong's phone wasn't off, but he wouldn't answer or reply. Lu Qingming immediately realized something was wrong. He quickly arranged for people to investigate and called me to say you might be in danger."

"I... I immediately asked Tingyu and Jiajia for help. They rushed over right away. The three of us worked with Zhou Wenxu to find you."

"As for those seniors, Lu Qingming already explained everything. He told them you fainted because you were sick and had been hospitalized, so you couldn't keep the appointment or contact them in time. He asked for their understanding and said you'd apologize in person after leaving the hospital."

Xi Mo listened, feeling fortunate that so many people cared about her. Even in such an emergency, they were able to help her maintain good relationships with her seniors in the industry without causing a major uproar and making it to the top of the trending searches.

"The reason we found you so quickly was really thanks to Jiajia." Ruan Yesheng looked gratefully at Cui Jiayu.

"She used the police system to locate Gu Qisong's phone. Normally that takes time because of procedures, but Jiajia managed to locate the building very quickly. The location wasn't completely accurate, so we couldn't tell which room you were in. Luckily there was almost nobody in the complex that night. Jiajia noticed one apartment with one brightly lit room and another with only dim light. She felt something was strange and finally identified your exact location. Without her, all we could've done was worry."

Cui Jiayu became embarrassed and blushed.

"Well... I'm not that amazing."

Lin Tingyu looked at the ceiling.

"It helps when you know the right people."

Cui Jiayu choked on her words but couldn't deny it. Under normal circumstances, none of that would've happened so quickly. But emergencies called for special measures.

"Where's Zhou Wenxu?" Xi Mo thanked Cui Jiayu again before asking.

Knowing Zhou Wenxu, she was certain he blamed himself for recommending Gu Qisong. Carrying that burden, he probably hadn't gone far from the room.

"He'd been sitting in the hallway outside your room the whole time. Sometimes he'd come check on you, then leave again." Ruan Yesheng sighed. "He looked very anxious. Earlier I went outside to ask if he wanted breakfast, but he wasn't there. Maybe he stepped away for a while."

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414

This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.

Xi Mo lowered her head thoughtfully, then looked at Ruan Yesheng with concern.

"You know all these things. Did you stay awake all night?"

"I can testify." Lin Tingyu said. "Ruanruan didn't sleep at all."

Ruan Yesheng replied, "Tingyu didn't sleep either. I can testify."

Lin Tingyu pointed at herself.

"I at least dozed off for a while."

Xi Mo's heart softened.

"Let's eat breakfast together."

"Okay." Ruan Yesheng smiled brightly.

"I haven't eaten either." Lin Tingyu added.

Xi Mo quickly said, "I said 'together.' Of course that includes you."

Lin Tingyu smiled with satisfaction.

Cui Jiayu protested, "You're not inviting me?"

"I think you've almost eaten enough to look like those fish in the park with round bellies." Lin Tingyu said. "Balloon fish."

Cui Jiayu almost fainted from anger. How had she ever been blind enough to like such a heartless person? She had even confessed, only to fail completely because Lin Tingyu didn't like her. That would forever remain the greatest embarrassment of her life.

Thinking that Lin Tingyu's heart only belonged to Lin Tingshuang, she had finally accepted it. She figured Lin Tingyu could just bother Lin Tingshuang instead.

But then she remembered Lin Tingyu never bothered Lin Tingshuang. She treasured her like a precious jewel that might melt in her hands.

Cui Jiayu nearly fainted again.

"Of course I won't leave you out. Everyone eats together." Xi Mo smiled weakly. "I'll go wash up first."

She supported her tired body and prepared to get out of bed.

Ruan Yesheng quickly held her.

"Lean on me. The doctor said your leg was hurt when you fell from the car. It's not serious, but don't force it at first. You have to let me support you whenever you walk."

She carefully helped Xi Mo toward the bathroom.

During breakfast, everyone told Xi Mo what they had learned from investigating Jian Ye and Gu Qisong.

Lost in thought, Xi Mo asked Cui Jiayu,

"What about Jian Ye's car?"

"Don't mention it." Cui Jiayu said. "We found it, but it was useless. Nobody was inside. She abandoned it somewhere and ran away."

The more she spoke, the angrier she became. "But no matter where she runs, I'll catch her."

Xi Mo said, "Don't worry. Do your investigation. I'll fully respect whatever your police procedures require. Don't make things difficult for yourself. It's your duty."

Cui Jiayu replied, "Your priority right now is getting better."

Xi Mo nodded and quietly continued eating.

After breakfast, Lin Tingyu found an excuse to take Cui Jiayu out to buy something.

The door closed.

Only Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng remained.

Ruan Yesheng helped Xi Mo lie back on the bed.

Xi Mo looked through the document box Cui Jiayu had brought. Her expression was complicated.

When she saw the photo of Ruan Yesheng with a large red X drawn over it, she quickly took it out and gently stroked it.

"I'm sorry." Xi Mo said.

"Why are you apologizing?" Ruan Yesheng asked.

"I want to ask Cui Jiayu to give me this photo back." Xi Mo said. "But I can't. It's evidence. I can't make things difficult for her. But..."

"You can't bear seeing my photo crossed out?" Ruan Yesheng immediately understood and laughed.

Xi Mo nodded.

"Actually, there's a way to remove it. But that would damage the evidence, and I can't... do that. I can't do either of those things for you. I'm sorry."

Ruan Yesheng leaned over and kissed Xi Mo on the lips.

She thought: My adorable blockhead.