Z City Municipal Hospital.
In the corridor, Jiang Shining lay unconscious on a hospital bed. Gu Yan and his bodyguard stood before the moving bed as two medical staff swiftly pushed it toward the operating room.
“Doctor, doctor!”
“Emergency!”
Jiang Shining was rushed directly into the emergency room.
A doctor stopped Gu Yan in his tracks. “Sir, I completely understand how you feel, but aside from the patient, no one else is allowed inside the emergency room for now.”
Gu Yan’s expression darkened.
The doctor grew nervous looking at the man who clearly held significant influence. “We must maintain a sterile environment. Please understand.”
Z City was not his territory.
No matter how anxious he was, Gu Yan could only sit on the bench outside the door.
A bodyguard beside him tried to console him. “Mr. Gu, that young lady will be fine.”
Gu Yan remained silent.
The heart-stopping scene at the mall entrance kept replaying in his mind like a film, especially the smile the girl had given him before losing consciousness.
He rested his forehead on his right hand, his fingers trembling slightly.
“Not many people knew about my itinerary in Z City.”
“Investigate! Find out what exactly happened with that attack!”
Gu Yan’s voice was icy, as if laced with frost.
“Yes, sir.”
The bodyguard accepted the order.
Just then, ding.
The emergency room doors swung open.
“Are you the family member of the injured patient who was just brought in?”
The same doctor who had been at the door earlier approached Gu Yan once more.
“I… am.”
Gu Yan hadn’t yet confirmed the identity of the person inside, but he still claimed the role.
He stood up immediately and asked, “How is the person inside doing?”
It was a sharp knife typically used for deboning pork.
The assailant had been sent with deadly intent. Gu Yan knew the girl who had taken a knife for him likely wouldn’t be in good condition.
He had already prepared to transfer her to a hospital in the capital and arrange for top domestic experts to perform surgery.
“The situation is quite optimistic.”
“She was very lucky. The mascot costume was thick and happened to block the weapon. There are no wounds on her body.”
Gu Yan’s previously grim expression froze slightly.
He stared blankly at the doctor. “What did you say?”
His voice was hoarse and disbelieving.
Just then, ding.
The operating room doors were pushed open.
Jiang Shining, who had been rushed in just minutes earlier, was wheeled out again. The mascot costume she had been wearing was now removed, replaced by a pure white dress. There were no signs of injury on her body, only an IV drip attached to her arm.
The doctor spoke again, “She fainted due to heatstroke from the hot weather. She can be discharged after the IV drip.”
“It’s good for young people to work part-time to support their studies, but wearing such thick clothing in such hot weather can easily lead to heatstroke. You should be more careful.”
After giving his instructions, the doctor returned to the operating room.
The operating room doors closed.
Only Gu Yan remained, gazing at the sleeping Jiang Shining.
An unknown amount of time passed before Jiang Shining gradually regained consciousness.
She slowly opened her eyes to see a pristine white ceiling and the distinct smell of disinfectant unique to hospital rooms.
Where was she?
After a moment of confusion, memories of earlier events flooded back. Jiang Shining quickly realized what had happened and immediately reached a hand toward her abdomen.
Yet her flat stomach was neither bandaged nor in pain.
“Don’t move around. You’re still on an IV drip.”
Hearing this, Jiang Shining turned her head.
Gu Yan was sitting there, using one hand to pull the blanket covering her a little higher.
In that movement, she caught sight of the Patek Philippe watch on his wrist.
Dazzling and expensive.
A single watch was enough to keep Mother Jiang and her working for a lifetime.
“During the day, I didn’t expect you to step in front of me. Thank you for saving me.”
“What’s your name?”
Here it comes!
Jiang Shining shifted her gaze from the watch to Gu Yan, offering a faint smile.
“Jiang Shining.”
“Uncle, my name is Jiang Shining.”
She repeated her name.
Jiang Shining knew she closely resembled her mother, at least seven or eight parts alike.
Especially when she smiled.
The window by the hospital room door was open.
A gentle breeze drifted in, carrying the faint scent of pear blossoms from outside the hospital.
Jiang Shining’s ink-black hair, draped over her shoulders, fluttered in the wind. Her smile was as gentle as the pear blossoms outside the window, and for a moment, it seemed to pull Gu Yan back to the time many years ago when he first met his white moonlight.
Gu Yan was momentarily stunned.
Jiang Shining… Jiang Wan…
“Both surnamed Jiang.”
Too much of a coincidence.
After searching for twenty years, a spark of light instantly flashed in Gu Yan’s eyes, and the calm that had once been unshakable on his face gradually began to crack.
Unable to hold back, Gu Yan asked, “What’s your mother’s name?”
Seeing Gu Yan’s unease, Jiang Shining knew he had already begun to suspect.
“Jiang—Wan.”
Jiang Shining said calmly, then looked at Gu Yan. “Uncle, why do you ask?”
“Uncle, why do you look so pale?”
Feigning ignorance, Jiang Shining looked curiously at Gu Yan, who had stood up and was now frozen in place.
Gu Yan finally snapped back to reality.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his hand resting on his suit pants tightened slightly. “It’s nothing.”
At this moment, only one thought filled Gu Yan’s mind.
Found!
Just then, Jiang Shining spoke again. “Uncle, do you know my mother?”
After years of searching, he finally had an answer today.
Gu Yan looked at the young girl, who was the spitting image of his first love, with a complex expression.
“Yes… I do.”
His voice was slightly hoarse.
“We… knew each other a long time ago.”
They met, fell in love, and then his first love disappeared.
Gu Yan couldn’t understand why Jiang Wan had suddenly cut off contact all those years ago. Now, after so many years, he never expected to see the child of his former lover.
Her daughter was already so grown up.
And she had even put herself in danger for him.
Gu Yan opened his mouth. “Your father—”
As soon as Gu Yan spoke, Jiang Shining knew it wasn’t good.
Tragic love stories, miscommunication tropes—if things weren’t handled carefully, her father and mother might end up wasting more years apart.
“Uncle, I don’t—”
Knock, knock.
A knocking sound interrupted them.
Both of them turned to look at the door.
A bodyguard in a black suit entered directly, then looked at Gu Yan. “Mr. Gu, we’ve found out.”
Jiang Shining was taken aback, then glanced at the clock hanging in the hospital room.
It was only three in the afternoon.
From the attack to now, only two or three hours had passed. The efficiency of the people around her wealthy father was unexpectedly fast?
Truly, the elite workhorses under a domineering CEO.
Gu Yan gave a meaningful look.
The bodyguard immediately understood, closed his mouth, and stood straight, awaiting orders.
Gu Yan turned to Jiang Shining on the bed, trying to soften his voice as much as possible. “Uncle needs to step out for a moment.”
Gu Yan didn’t want to discuss such dirty matters in front of the child.
“Mhm, mhm.”
Jiang Shining nodded obediently.
She understood!
In the world of business, full of schemes and deceit, this kind of attempted murder was definitely not something a small fry like her should be listening to.
Watching Gu Yan walk out, Jiang Shining recalled the plot from the original story.
According to the storyline, the person who framed her wealthy father was an assassin arranged by a rival company. To keep tabs on Gu Yan’s movements, they had even planted a mole within his company.
The treacherous world of business is full of deceit and cunning.
Although her wealthy father had resolved the matter and uprooted the opponent, it had still cost him considerable effort.
If given the chance.
Perhaps her own subtle probing would have made things go more smoothly.
Jiang Shining’s thoughts drifted aimlessly as she pondered the path ahead.
Half an hour later, the door to the hospital room was pushed open again.
When he entered this time, she clearly noticed that Gu Yan’s expression was not good.
Jiang Shining sat quietly on the hospital bed. “Did something happen?”
After all, she was just an ordinary person who had coincidentally taken a knife for the CEO of the Gu Corporation—a stranger who had crossed paths with him by chance.