Yuan Ye turned his head at the sound, and seeing Li Sheng’s mother with red-rimmed eyes, still wearing the outfit meticulously prepared for attending her eldest son’s wedding, for some reason felt a bit heartbroken: “Hello, auntie. I am Li Fan’s friend. My name is Yuan Ye.”
Cui Yinghui nodded: “Thank you. With my family in such a mess, you must be very busy. I’ve delayed your time. I’ll have someone make some food later; you go inside the room and rest for a while.”
Yuan Ye smiled and refused: “Li Fan is my friend; taking care of his younger brother is only right. I still have matters at the company, so I’ll be leaving in a while.”
“Go inside the room and rest for a bit before leaving. You’ll have to work later, and it’s very tiring.”
Unable to decline repeatedly, Yuan Ye had no choice but to follow Cui Yinghui into the hospital ward. Cui Yinghui invited him to sit down and went out to fetch water. Li Sheng’s expression gradually relaxed as he fell into a deep sleep. Sweat had dampened the hair on his forehead, and his lips, pale from excessive blood loss, parted slightly, exhaling hot, scorching breaths. Yuan Ye walked over and placed his hand on Li Sheng’s face—warm, soft, and smooth. Whether deliberate or unintentional, his fingertips brushed and played near Li Sheng’s lips. His dense eyelashes cast a patch of shadows and trembled slightly. The anesthetic had worn off, and he must have been in a lot of pain.
The moment Yuan Ye withdrew his hand, several people rushed in from outside the door. It was Li Fan and a few relatives. Seeing that Li Sheng was already sleeping, they closed the door lightly and quietly. The moment Li Fan looked up and spotted Yuan Ye, after merely confirming Li Sheng’s condition, he invited Yuan Ye to step outside with him.
The two went downstairs and found a nearby café. Li Fan’s tie was nowhere to be found, and a button on his shirt had been ripped off. Knowing that Li Fan was enraged to the extreme, Yuan Ye remained silent all the way, waiting for him to bring up the matter. After a long while, Li Fan lowered his voice and said: “I need you to help me with a favor. I know you have connections. I am in a sensitive period right now and cannot make any moves. Perhaps there are already many pairs of eyes staring at us. I shouldn’t have dragged you into the muddy waters, but at this time, no one is more trustworthy than you.”
Yuan Ye tapped the table twice with two fingers, paused for two seconds, tapped once more with his index finger, and then stood up angrily, slamming the cup on the table: “You motherfucker, you come to me with this kind of stuff? Do you think I have heaven-reaching abilities? What kind of relation do I have with you? What right do you have to make me manage your messy business?”
With that, Yuan Ye left. Li Fan stared fixedly at the opposite chair for about five minutes before standing up to compensate for the cup Yuan Ye had broken.
When Li Fan went back upstairs, Li Sheng had already woken up. Looking still very weak, he leaned against the head of the bed, sipping the porridge Cui Yinghui had people bring over: “How is it? Has the anesthetic worn off?”
Li Sheng nodded: “Mm, it hurts a bit now.”
“Let’s handle the discharge procedures in a bit and go home to recuperate. As for your company, I’ll go talk to them.”
Li Sheng shook his head: “No need, I’ve already spoken up. Fortunately, there aren’t any overly important matters during this period.”
“Yeah, you’ve worked hard.”
“Hard what? I’ll just take advantage of this period to have a good rest.”
“Alright, I’ll go process the discharge, let’s leave in a bit.”
Cui Yinghui perceived Li Fan’s urgency and knew that something must have happened. It wasn’t appropriate to ask questions in a public place, so she simply sped up feeding Li Sheng.
The nurse processing the discharge advised Li Fan to let Li Sheng stay in the hospital for observation for a few more days, but ultimately, under Li Fan’s insistence, the discharge procedures were still completed, while muttering precautions with an impatient expression.
Li Sheng’s discharge was very swift. As soon as it was finished on one end, a driver was called over the phone to pick up Li Sheng and his entourage. After tossing and turning through all this, Li Sheng grew drowsy again and fell soundly asleep the moment he lay on the bed; no one went to disturb him. As soon as Li Fan got home, he and his father, Li Hongwei, were discussing something in the study. Cui Yinghui was anxious yet unable to ask, knowing they must be even more anxious than her and that something grave must have happened for them to dare make such violent moves in front of so many high-status people.
Li Fan stood by the window while Li Hongwei sat on the sofa. The father and son remained silent, continuously smoking cigarettes. After a long while, Li Fan finally spoke: “Dad, otherwise let me make another trip to Myanmar. They’ve already tracked down our family. Even if higher-ups keep my identity under wraps, there’s not much point anymore. Little Sheng getting injured this time is just a small matter; next time, who knows what will happen.”
“Sending you there is just sending you to your death. Once you’re dead, they’ll still hunt down and exterminate our family. You just obey the arrangements of your superiors; I’ll handle the rest of the matters. You and Yingying must be sure to be careful when going out recently, and have a few more people protect you. Little Sheng can just stay at home—it happens your mother misses him.”
“Dad, when I saw Little Sheng collapse, I really wanted to kill both of them.”
“Fortunately, you weren’t that stupid.”