Breaking news: Yan Xiu, the future successor of the Yan Group, was kidnapped and is currently receiving medical treatment in the hospital.
Gu Ting blinked twice to confirm she hadn’t misread it. Her mind, however, grew increasingly bewildered. Wasn’t the Yan Group trying every possible means to keep Yan Xiu’s kidnapping under wraps? They had even given her—a complete nobody—20 million yuan as hush money, which proved their determination. Why had the news leaked the very next day?
For a fleeting moment, Gu Ting recalled what Yan Xiu had said yesterday about letting her swindle 20 million out of the Yan family for spending money. Perhaps the word “swindle” was worth looking into.
Luo Yuan had been droning on for a long time. Turning around, he noticed Gu Ting staring at the television without saying a word, so he raised his voice. “Tingting, are you listening to me?”
Gu Ting turned around and forced out two hypocritical tears. “Brother Luo, I’m in a really terrible mood right now. That’s 5.5 million yuan. How could I possibly pay it back? I’ve merely swapped one creditor for another. If you truly care about me and view me as a younger sister, then prove it to me. Find a way to help me pay off the debt, secure commercial deals, and find work for me. Otherwise, anything else you say is just empty talk!”
Luo Yuan was thoroughly infuriated, experiencing the stifling frustration of doing a good deed without receiving a single word of thanks, only to end up covered in filth instead. The old Gu Ting would absolutely never have criticized him so bluntly. The Gu Ting before his eyes was too realistic, too sharp, and far too unsparing with her tongue. Yet, because he had a guilty conscience, he lacked the confidence to stand his ground and could only swallow this bitter pill.
Under the scorching gazes of several pairs of eyes, Luo Yuan’s expression shifted multiple times. Ultimately, he squeezed out a dry sentence: “Time reveals a person’s heart, Tingting. You’ll understand in the future.”
Leaving those words behind, Luo Yuan bolted out of the dance studio as if his backside had been pricked by a needle, refusing to stay for a single moment longer.
Gu Ting watched his fleeing figure with a cold sneer playing on her lips. Intuition told her that Luo Yuan didn’t want her to live a good life at all. On the contrary, the more miserable her situation was, the more at ease he felt. But why was that? Clearly, neither she nor the original Gu Ting held any grievances or hatred toward Luo Yuan that would warrant such hostility.
As she was pondering, Pan Ruoling squeezed her way to Gu Ting’s side. Tilting her head up, she promised solemnly, “Sister Tingting, I have money. I’ll help you, so don’t cry.”
Gu Ting wiped away the remaining traces of moisture from the corners of her eyes, unable to resist pinching the girl’s cheek. She whispered into her ear, “Tears are also a sharp weapon for deception. If you believe them too easily, you’ll suffer losses.”
Pan Ruoling looked completely bewildered.
At some point, Lin Mengmeng and Min Qingluo had both approached. One said grandly, “If you need money, I can lend you some.”
Lin Mengmeng also said, “There’s still a bit left of the pocket money my parents gave me.”
Gu Ting waved her hand with immense grandeur. “No rush! If that day truly comes, I’ll cling to your legs and pester you for loans, ensuring that not a single one of you can escape.”
Lin Mengmeng and Min Qingluo: “…” Why did it suddenly feel like they had chosen their friend poorly?
Naturally, Gu Ting would not borrow money from them; she was merely cracking a joke. Mentioning the topic of borrowing money to pay off debts inevitably brought Yan Xiu to mind. If not for the 10 million yuan Yan Xiu had helped her get for nothing, she wouldn’t have been able to produce 5.5 million yuan all at once last night, which meant she wouldn’t have escaped Brother Chong’s fatal trap.
After all, they shared a revolutionary friendship forged through living and dying together. Gu Ting felt she ought to visit him at the hospital.
When dancing ended in the afternoon, it was already three o’clock. Gu Ting left Pan Ruoling in Lin Mengmeng’s care, purchased a bouquet of fresh flowers and a fruit basket, and prepared to head to the hospital.
Seeing that it was still early, Gu Ting put her spirit of thriftiness, hardship, and simplicity to use. She scanned a shared electric scooter and set off on the road. She was well-acquainted with this vehicle and rode it with immense ease and skill.
The hospital where Yan Xiu was staying was close to the city center. The further in she rode, the more vehicles there were, so Gu Ting rode increasingly slower. While passing an intersection, she noticed several young people pointing toward the other side of the road and whispering. Gu Ting followed the direction they were pointing and saw a person lying diagonally across the street.
Gu Ting stopped her scooter and joined the ranks of the young people. After listening to a few sentences, she asked curiously out of inquisitiveness, “Since you’re paying so much attention to the person on the ground, why don’t you go over and help her up? Could that person be a scammer, intentionally extorting money?” Gu Ting had heard plenty of news regarding this matter.
Several young people chattered away: “We don’t know if she’s a scammer either, but we saw her lying there from afar just now, and no one has paid her any mind.”
“I think she looks like a scammer. Look at how the other passersby aren’t even bothering with her. She probably just wants to trick us students because we’re young and easy to fool!”
“I actually want to save her, but my family’s financial situation doesn’t allow it. When I become filthy rich one day and encounter this kind of situation, I guarantee I won’t even blink; I’ll march right up and help her!” Saving someone was somehow described with a death-defying momentum akin to carrying a bomb.
Gu Ting was left utterly speechless. Her eyesight wasn’t great, so she stepped forward two paces to observe. Judging by the clothing, the other party appeared to be an elderly grandmother. Gu Ting grew somewhat anxious now; elderly people could not afford to take a fall.
Had she encountered this kind of thing a year ago, struggling along the poverty line, she wouldn’t have dared to stick her head out. Today was different from the past. She decided to align herself with Yan Xiu and act as a living Buddha for once. Thus, she asked the young people to turn on their phones’ video recording functions while she also recorded with her own phone, marching across the road with valiant strides to save the person.
The moment she helped the elderly grandmother up, the surrounding crowd gathered like iron filings drawn to a magnet, kicking off a frantic wave of discussion.
“Look, she helped the old lady up! She helped the old lady up!”
“To dare help an old lady with bare hands in broad daylight—it seems her family is truly wealthy!”
Gu Ting, who was currently pinching the elderly grandmother’s philtrum, couldn’t help but twitch her hand.
She lifted her head and said, “Uncles and aunts, I grew up in an orphanage, graduated from university just a year ago, and had my entire fortune swindled by a scumbag. I’m a total pauper.”
A man nodded. “It seems her family really has no money. No wonder she dares to help an old lady with her bare hands; even if someone wanted to extort money from you, they wouldn’t get a thing.”
“Don’t worry, so many of us are recording this. If she really extorts you, we’re all eyewitnesses.”
Gu Ting: “…”
There were also some people on the side looking worried. “Beautiful girl, remember absolutely not to advance any fees yourself when you get to the hospital! Otherwise, it will be hard to get it back!”
“Oh dear, young people are too kind-hearted. This kind of person is the easiest to get extorted!”
“Beautiful girl, remember to record the entire process. You must stay alert!”
The chaotic barrage of worries drifted over, causing Gu Ting’s heart to tighten involuntarily. However, the situation didn’t allow her to hesitate too much. She saw that the elderly grandmother was still breathing, though she didn’t react even when her philtrum was pinched. Fortunately, someone nearby helped dial 120.
In less than five minutes, an ambulance arrived. Gu Ting saw that the ambulance happened to come from the Xiqiong Hospital where Yan Xiu was staying. She was instantly overjoyed. Swiftly locking the shared electric scooter, she slid directly into the backseat of the ambulance.
Money ought to be saved when it could be saved, after all.
The ambulance traveled at high speed, arriving at the hospital in less than ten minutes. Gu Ting watched as the elderly grandmother was rushed into the emergency room.
The situation she had worried about previously did not occur. The old lady’s bag contained a sufficient amount of cash, so there was no need for Gu Ting to advance any medical fees.
Gu Ting waited outside the emergency room for half an hour until a nurse emerged to say that the old lady had been brought in just in time. Her condition had stabilized, and her life was out of danger, though she still needed to be observed in the emergency room for another half hour. Her hanging heart finally settled down.
Once she confirmed that the nurse had contacted the old lady’s family, the excitement of saving a life didn’t have much left, replaced instead by a sense of relief—she finally didn’t have to worry about her own wallet. Greasing her soles, despite being a good person who had saved someone, she departed with the stealthy, hurried strides of a hit-and-run perpetrator.
Yan Xiu stayed in a luxury ward of the hospital. The entire floor was exceedingly quiet, so quiet that even the sound of flipping a book page felt clearly audible.
Gu Ting knocked with moderate force. A male caregiver opened the door, and the very first thing he did upon meeting her was to silence Gu Ting. “Mr. Yan is currently taking a nap. He only accepts visitors in the morning, didn’t you know?”
Gu Ting, who hadn’t given advance notice, was left rather speechless, thinking to herself that visiting a friend shouldn’t involve so many rules. However, considering that Yan Xiu was recovering from injuries after all, she endured it. She simply handed the fruit basket and flowers to the male caregiver. “My name is Gu Ting. When he wakes up, tell him I’ll come back another day.”
The male caregiver took the items and was just preparing to see the guest out when a slightly low, raspy male voice drifted out from inside.
“Is that Gu Ting?”
Yan Xiu had presumably just woken up. His voice was low and raspy, carrying a trace of lingering laziness that caused Gu Ting to inexplicably think of a cat. When Gu Ting stepped into the ward and saw him in person, she felt that Yan Xiu shared even more commonalities with a cat.
Slightly disheveled hair, bleary sleep-filled eyes, cool white skin, lips that had turned rosy due to a slight pursing motion, and a somewhat sluggish movement as he propped himself up into a sitting position… he truly resembled a large cat that had just woken up.
“What are you smiling about?” Yan Xiu sat up properly, a trace of amusement unbiddenly coloring his slightly hazy eyes.
Before Gu Ting could answer, the male caregiver on the side revealed an expression of surprise instead. Since the young Mr. Yan had been rescued yesterday, his expression had never been this relaxed.
Gu Ting kept clicking her tongue in admiration at the massive ward. Hearing his question, she replied, “Free of debt, free of care—I’m happy! There’s actually a home theater inside the ward. This isn’t recovering from an illness; it’s clearly coming to enjoy yourself. Is this the life of the wealthy? Luxurious, far too luxurious…”
The smile on Yan Xiu’s face deepened by another fraction. He said to the male caregiver, “Kaifeng, go downstairs and buy a few bottles of water. I’m not used to drinking the hospital’s water.”
Du Kaifeng’s gaze shifted rapidly back and forth between Yan Xiu and Gu Ting once before he replied, “Alright, young Mr. Yan, call me if you need anything.”
Seeing Yan Xiu nod, he closed the door and departed.
Suddenly, only the two of them were left in the room. The ward was incredibly quiet, so quiet that even the sound of breathing became distinct.
Yan Xiu broke the silence first. “Does it feel a bit like the cave from the night before last?”
Gu Ting sat down casually on the sofa across from him and shook her head. “If the cave had air conditioning, a refrigerator, a sofa, and a home theater, I could live inside it for the rest of my life. How is your body doing?”
Yan Xiu froze briefly, then his beautiful eyes lowered slightly, projecting a sense of sickly laziness. “It’s alright, it’s just that movement is a bit inconvenient. Even eating a piece of fruit takes quite a bit of effort.”
Listening to him, Gu Ting couldn’t help but feel sympathetic. Yan Xiu had been so powerful and fierce when fighting the kidnappers, yet at this moment, he was lying on the bed looking sickly with restricted movement, which was indeed uncomfortable. Furthermore, that caregiver just now was a large man after all, clumsy and careless, so he likely didn’t take precise enough care of him.
Gu Ting stood up from the sofa. “What fruit do you want to eat? I’ll help you.”
Yan Xiu’s smile faded slightly as he said with a hint of helplessness, “Getting juice all over my mouth looks a bit unseemly. Never mind.”
Hearing this, Gu Ting’s sympathy grew even stronger. She said bluntly, “I’ll just wipe it clean for you, it’s a small matter.”
Yan Xiu hesitated slightly, but in the end, he still smiled. “Thank you.”
A moment later, Gu Ting peeled a plate of oranges and placed them on the nightstand beside Yan Xiu’s hospital bed. Yan Xiu curled his lips into a smile at her, picked up a segment of orange, and popped it into his mouth. The orange was crisp and sweet. Yan Xiu ate unhurriedly, and within a short moment, a bit of juice was left near his mouth.
Gu Ting kept her promise, taking a tissue to wipe it off for him. Originally, it was nothing out of the ordinary, except that when she lifted her eyes, she met his smiling and candid gaze, causing a tiny bit of awkwardness.
“Cough… Whether in a den of thieves or a hospital, you maintain a good attitude as always, still able to laugh.” If it were anyone else going through this ordeal, they would have turned bitter and hateful if not completely darkened. Unlike him, who looked bright and untroubled when he smiled.
Yan Xiu tilted his head slightly, thinking, and finally summarized: “When it comes to attitude, I truly cannot compete with you.” Taunting the nefarious leader of the kidnappers to draw hostility was something an ordinary person with an average attitude truly couldn’t pull off.
Gu Ting: “Heh heh… you flatter me, you flatter me.” Having my kidneys harvested hundreds of times in the alternate world, my heart has long since grown as cold and hard as a slaughterhouse knife. How could my attitude not be uniquely outstanding and detached from the mundane world?
Seeing that there was no one around, Gu Ting suddenly closed the distance.