Hearing the commotion, Su Yi rushed in from outside. Shocked by the tense scene inside the room, she quickly shoved the crowd aside. “Brother Mu, are you alright?”
Bai Shijin was panicked and his mind went completely blank. Mu Nian, whom he was supporting, was trembling all over with rapid, shallow breathing.
He could faintly guess that Mu Nian’s heart condition was acting up. Having encountered this situation for the first time, he had no idea what to do other than hold him tightly.
Glaring furiously, Su Yi cursed, “Jiang Qiong, you fucking take your dog and get out! With so many people crammed in here, the air isn’t even circulating. Do you not know that President Mu has a heart condition?”
Seeing Mu Nian’s ashen face, Jiang Qiong panicked for a split second before sneering sarcastically, “I heard President Mu often acts recklessly, taking advantage of his own illness. I thought people were just joking, but it turns out to be entirely real.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Bai Shijin roared, “Are you going to get out yourself, or do I have to beat you until you roll out?”
Startled, Jiang Qiong stood frozen in place.
The person behind him grew anxious and urged, “Let’s go, Brother Jiang. This guy doesn’t look like he’s joking. If it actually comes to blows later, what good is it going to do us?”
Only then did Jiang Qiong let out a cold snort and lead his people away.
Mu Nian’s legs could no longer support him. He grabbed tightly onto Bai Shijin’s arm to keep from falling to the floor.
“Brother Mu, how are you feeling?”
Struggling, Mu Nian shook his head, his lips moving as he gasped out, “Medicine.”
Panicking, Bai Shijin asked, “Where is the medicine?”
Calmer than Bai Shijin, Su Yi efficiently directed, “The medicine is in Brother Mu’s office. Shijin, hurry and take him there.”
Hearing this, Bai Shijin hooked his arm under Mu Nian’s knees and scooped him up horizontally, carrying him outside.
With his eyes half-closed, Mu Nian leaned weakly against Bai Shijin’s chest.
Amidst his dizziness, he caught the faint, fresh, and vibrant herbal scent radiating from Bai Shijin, which gave him a deep sense of security.
Bai Shijin broke into a light jog all the way to the inner office, gently laying Mu Nian down on the bed.
Mu Nian pointed toward the cabinet. Catching his meaning, Bai Shijin retrieved a small bottle of pills and hurriedly fetched a cup of warm water.
Lifting Mu Nian up so he rested half against his shoulder, Bai Shijin carefully fed the medicine into his mouth bit by bit.
Mu Nian took a large gulp of water, some of it trickling down the corner of his lips. With a heart full of aching sympathy, Bai Shijin wiped it clean using the pad of his thumb.
“I have made a fool of myself in front of you.”
Mu Nian felt humiliated; as a company president, he possessed no real power and had been insulted by a model accompanied by a mob. A sudden surge of hot blood rushed to his head, triggering his illness entirely from sheer aggravation.
Gently laying Mu Nian back down into a flat position, Bai Shijin smoothed out the blanket and covered him. “Get some rest. Don’t overthink things.”
Weakly, Mu Nian murmured, “Thank you, Shijin.”
Noticing that Mu Nian’s complexion had improved somewhat, Bai Shijin suppressed his burning anger and asked, “That person just now mentioned the Duan family? What is going on?”
Mu Nian paused. “The company isn’t entirely mine. Qin Quan is DEW’s other president. Before we started the business, we agreed to manage our respective teams while sharing company resources. In the past, when he failed to land major orders, Jiang Qiong always stayed by my side. Now that he has latched onto the Duan Group, he’s simply trying to take deliberate revenge on me.”
Lowering his gaze in contemplation for a moment, Bai Shijin asked again, “What about the person named Ye?”
Mu Nian’s breathing hitched, and his body noticeably stiffened. “How on earth do you know about that?”
Fabricating an excuse, Bai Shijin replied, “Sister Su showed me around the company, and I saw a photo on the wall, so I asked about it.”
After a long silence, Mu Nian said, “His name is Ye Jing. He was Qin Fan’s older brother. He passed away three years ago.”
Bai Shijin’s pupils contracted sharply. He would never have guessed this answer in a million years, no matter how hard he tried.
“He passed away right when the company was just starting out. Over the years, batches of employees have come and gone, so none of them know about it, and I haven’t brought it up either.”
Curious, Bai Shijin asked, “He was so young. How could something like that happen?”
Mu Nian’s just-stabilized breathing began to quicken again. “Can we not talk about this anymore, Shijin? I’m a bit tired and want to sleep for a while.”
“I am sorry.”
Seeing Mu Nian looking so frail, Bai Shijin felt deeply remorseful. How could he cross-examine a sick person like this?
Just as he was about to leave, Mu Nian seemed to remember something and grabbed his hand. “Shijin, could you call Qin Fan? Skipping class is one thing, but I need to make sure he’s safe.”
Bai Shijin was held back by Mu Nian’s icy-cold hand. Lowering his gaze with a faint sense of unease, he agreed with a soft affirmative, stepped further away, and dialed Qin Fan’s number without even daring to turn on the speakerphone.
After ringing for a moment, the call connected, and a coquettish male voice came from the other end: “Hello? Who is this?”
Bai Shijin’s blood ran cold. Feigning nonchalance, he asked, “Where is Qin Fan?”
“Mm. Are you looking for Qin Fan? He was too tired last night, so he is still sleeping.”
Bai Shijin abruptly hung up the phone.
Unable to hear the voice on the other end, and noticing Bai Shijin’s grim expression, Mu Nian asked, “What’s wrong? Is something the matter with Qin Fan?”
Suppressing the fury raging inside him while his knuckles turned white, Bai Shijin exhaled quietly without giving away his emotions. “He’s fine. He stayed up all night playing games at an internet cafe, so he’s still sleeping.”
“This kid,” Mu Nian let out a long sigh. “Oh well, as long as he’s fine, then I can rest easy.”
With that, Mu Nian closed his eyes.
Bending down, Bai Shijin tucked the blanket around him, set a cup of hot water on the bedside table, and quietly walked out.
Su Yi was waiting outside. Seeing Bai Shijin emerge, she quickly asked, “How is Brother Mu?”
“He took his medicine and fell asleep,” Bai Shijin replied.
Su Yi let out a sigh of relief and cursed, “Jiang Qiong is truly sick in the head. Brother Mu used to treat him quite well; if it weren’t for Brother Mu, how could he have made it this far? And now, just because he’s latched onto the Duan family, he actually has the nerve to come here and provoke us openly, without even bothering to put up a pretense.”
With a pale complexion, Bai Shijin lowered his gaze, concealing the displeasure in his eyes. “He won’t be arrogant for much longer.”
“As long as the Duan family’s contract stands, he’ll probably keep acting arrogant.”
“Let’s leave him aside for now,” Bai Shijin said, his eyes as cold as a deep pool. “Is Brother Mu’s heart really this fragile?”
“It is,” Su Yi said. “He can’t experience intense emotions or be subjected to stress, and that’s considered mild. Once, during an outdoor photoshoot, the wind blew over some equipment. Brother Mu ran a few steps too fast to save a little girl, passed out from oxygen deprivation, and ended up hospitalized for several days.”
Even a completely unrelated person could cause such a violent reaction in Mu Nian. What would happen if Mu Nian found out about Qin Fan’s infidelity?
Yet, he couldn’t keep it a secret from Mu Nian forever. Qin Fan was utterly repulsive. After taking a walk with Mu Nian, he could still slip away from school to book a hotel room with someone else. He claimed he would change, but showed not a single sign of actually doing so.
A severe headache throbbed behind Bai Shijin’s temples, and he found himself unable to come up with a foolproof solution.
For now, his only option was to first deal with Qin Quan and Jiang Qiong, who were relying on the Duan Group for backing.