The two middle aged women worked together to drag Wang Fengqin out. She rubbed her aching body and stared with a livid expression at the temporary operating room of the clinic, which had been left in complete disarray.
“That little bitch has really grown some nerve! If I catch her, I’ll skin her alive!”
“And you still have time to think about that? Half of your daughter’s ulcerated cornea has already been cut away. If she doesn’t get a new cornea transplanted, that eye of hers could rot away!”
Doctor Liu walked over to Wang Fengqin’s side and naturally wrapped an arm around her stout waist, though a trace of disgust flickered through his eyes.
“Old Liu, what do we do now?”
Wang Fengqin took a deep breath and suppressed all her emotions. Her large body leaned into Doctor Liu’s embrace, causing the thin Doctor Liu to stumble back a step from the shift in balance.
“There are only two options right now. First, find a new cornea for Zhang Duo. Second, I’ll disinfect her eye and reattach the damaged cornea.”
“With so little time, where am I supposed to find a new cornea?”
“No one else will agree to donate one, unless you donate it yourself.”
Wang Fengqin shuddered in fright. There was no way she was donating a cornea to her daughter. She had no intention of becoming half blind herself.
“If we use the second method, will my daughter’s eye still have a chance to recover her sight?”
Wang Fengqin was still worried. At the same time, her hatred for Ye Jin deepened. If that little bitch hadn’t run away halfway through, would her daughter have had to suffer like this?
“As long as a new cornea is found and transplanted within a month, she’ll be fine.”
“And if we can’t find one?”
“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
Wang Fengqin fell silent and reluctantly accepted the situation. Doctor Liu curled his lips into a smile, as though he had already anticipated her choice.
The moment Ye Jin jumped down from the windowsill, she twisted her ankle. Combined with the lingering effects of the anesthetic, her body lost control and toppled toward the ground.
Just as she thought she was about to land flat on her back, two arms as sturdy as steel caught her firmly by the waist and steadied her.
Ye Jin was about to thank him when she turned around and saw a young man dressed in black. Beside his right ear was a red mole. A hunting rifle was slung across his chest, and two dead rabbits hung from either side of his neck.
“It’s you?”
After a brief moment of eye contact, both of them spoke at the same time.
“You know me?”
Ye Jin was shocked. She searched through all her memories and found no impression of him whatsoever.
Logically speaking, a man with such striking looks and such a tall, powerful physique should be unforgettable after just one meeting.
“You still remember me?”
Gu Yan asked excitedly, only to become somewhat disappointed after hearing her response.
“I don’t. Did we know each other before?”
Gu Yan stared at her face for a long while. Oval face, willow leaf brows, large eyes framed by long lashes, a delicate nose, and a small mouth. Every feature came together beautifully. Yet she simply could not remember him.
“No.”
Gu Yan shook his head and forced out the single word. Confusion and sincerity shone in her eyes. She was definitely not pretending. She truly did not remember him.
“Oh no, they’re catching up!”
Two fierce looking men were charging toward her with long strides.
Ye Jin had no time to continue talking with Gu Yan. She turned and ran toward the woods.
“Who are they? Why are they chasing you?”
Gu Yan’s gaze sharpened. The muscles in his arms bulged as he instinctively entered a fighting stance.
“They’re not good people. If they see you with me, they’ll definitely cause trouble for you. Come run with me!”
In her panic, Ye Jin grabbed his arm. She tugged once but could not move him at all. Gu Yan grinned, suddenly finding the situation rather interesting. Then he started running alongside her.
After only a few steps, he asked,
“Where are you planning to go?”
“East. I’m going to my grandma’s house!”
Ye Jin pointed in a direction.
Gu Yan seemed to transform into a motor powered machine. Grabbing her hand, he sprinted eastward at full speed.
“Alright, let’s go!”
They had only run for a short distance when the anesthetic took effect. Ye Jin’s entire body went weak. Her legs felt as heavy as lead. Walking was difficult enough, let alone running.
Without a word, Gu Yan scooped her up into his arms.
“Forgive the offense. They’re gaining on us. You won’t make it like this.”
Gu Yan ran for half an hour straight before finally stopping in front of a small courtyard under Ye Jin’s directions.
The courtyard was old and worn, but it was kept remarkably clean. Fresh vegetables grew in the patch of land outside the entrance.
Not long after her mother passed away, her father ignored her grandmother’s objections and married Wang Fengqin. Furious, her grandmother moved back to the old house in Zhang Family Village and cut off all contact with her father’s family. Even so, she would occasionally bring things over and secretly visit Ye Jin.
Coughing sounds echoed repeatedly from inside the house.
Ye Jin’s heart tightened immediately.
“Grandma, I’m back!”
Ye Jin called out from the doorway.
Leaning on a cane, the elderly woman hurried shakily out of the house.
“Jinjin, my precious granddaughter! You’ve finally come back to see Grandma.”
Grandma squinted at the young man carrying Jinjin in his arms.
Ye Jin’s face instantly turned red with embarrassment. She struggled to jump down, but Gu Yan tightened his grip and refused to let her go.
“Young man, you’ve got a strong body, but that doesn’t mean you can bully my precious granddaughter. This girl injured her leg, didn’t she? Hurry and carry her inside so she can rest.”
Gu Yan responded with a simple acknowledgment.
Following Grandma’s directions, he carried Ye Jin into the room and laid her on the bed.
The moment Ye Jin touched the mattress, the anesthetic fully kicked in, and she drifted into a deep sleep.
No one knew how much time had passed.
When Ye Jin opened her eyes again, everything around her was pitch black.
“Ah!”
The terror of blindness washed over her.
Ye Jin let out a frightened scream.
“Jinjin, did you have another nightmare? Were you dreaming about your mother again?”
The bedroom door opened, and warm orange light spilled into the room.
Ye Jin squinted uncomfortably as her eyes adjusted.
Grandma lovingly helped her sit at the Eight Immortals table. Gu Yan, who had been sitting outside in the courtyard, stood up and carried a steaming bowl of scallion and shredded pork noodles out from the kitchen.
Ye Jin stirred the noodles with her chopsticks, revealing two fried eggs hidden underneath.
“I figured you’d wake up soon, so I cooked the noodles in advance. Your body’s weak. You need to eat more eggs and build up your strength.”
Under the dim yellow light, Grandma sat across from her with a warm smile, her face full of affection. From time to time, she reminded her to be careful because it was hot and told her there was more in the pot if she wasn’t full.
Grandma watched until she finished every bite before yawning and returning to her room to sleep.
“Boy, I’m going to bed. You’re not allowed to bully my good granddaughter. Otherwise, my cane won’t show any mercy!”
“Don’t worry, Grandma. I’d bully anyone before I’d bully her. If anything, I’d help her bully other people instead…”
Gu Yan’s voice faded toward the end.
Grandma did not catch the last sentence, but she was too sleepy to pursue the matter.
Now that the two of them were alone, an awkward silence settled between them.
Only after Grandma closed her bedroom door did Ye Jin speak.
“Thank you for saving me today.”
“I just happened to be passing by. By the way, who were those two men? Why were they chasing you?”
“They’re my uncles in name only.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Gu Yan was extremely concerned about Ye Jin’s situation and immediately pressed for details.
“They’re not my real uncles. They’re the two older brothers of my stepmother, Wang Fengqin. My situation is too complicated to explain in just a few sentences.”
Ye Jin sighed.
She owed today’s escape entirely to Gu Yan. Otherwise, she would certainly have been caught, and the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“What are you planning to do next? Stay at your grandma’s house or go back?”
“Go back.”
Ye Jin answered without the slightest hesitation.
That nightmare of a place might be as dangerous as a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den, but if she wanted to recover her mother’s jade pendant and learn the whereabouts of her younger sister, she had to return and face it.
Gu Yan’s expression turned serious. He pulled a small bottle from his pocket and stuffed it into her hand.
“Take this. It’s a secret weapon I carefully made myself. If anyone ever bullies you, spray this straight into their eyes!
You don’t trust me yet, but I genuinely want to help you. How about this? If you ever need help in the future, go to the pine forest behind the mountain. There’s a crooked neck tree in the woods. If anything happens, write me a note and leave it there.”