The lights in the venue dimmed completely. The remaining spotlight shone on the stage, waiting for the person who was supposed to appear.
The music quieted down as well, and everyone waited for the new president of Guangyu Media.
Ni Zijing silenced her phone the moment she stepped into the elevator, fearing it would affect her speech later. Beside her was the person in charge of the ski resort, who followed behind her trembling and reporting: “President Ni, I have already given the instructions regarding the rescue team issue you mentioned last time.”
“Understood.” Ni Zijing stepped forward steadily in her high heels, her long hair curled into soft waves and draped behind her. The employees following her were all older than she was, yet they were all overpowered by her formidable presence.
“Do you have any plans for tonight, President Ni? Would you like me to organize a gathering for the staff?”
“No need.” Ni Zijing refused decisively and walked faster, her voice trailing in the air: “I have to go feed a hedgehog tonight.”
The person in charge: “?”
When Ni Zijing arrived at the waiting area, the host had already reached the final part: “Next, let us welcome President Ni to the stage with warm applause!”
Amidst the applause, the sound of high heels stepped onto the stage one by one.
The straight-cut suit trousers were made of excellent fabric, wrapping around the person’s slender, straight legs. Ni Zijing walked unhurriedly to the spotlight, spoke into the microphone calmly:
“Hello everyone, I am Ni Zijing.”
Her dark eyes were calm and steady. After finishing her name, her slender eyebrows lifted unconsciously, carrying an undeniable pride and high spirits.
Many of those present were not seeing Ni Zijing for the first time.
But they had not expected that this was actually President Ni! The moment Ni Zijing spoke, countless people in the audience were shocked and speechless.
For a moment, the sound of camera shutters exploded, and the flashlights were so bright that people could barely open their eyes. Ni Zijing spoke fluently about social pleasantries, but her eyes were searching for Qiao Qiao.
She could not wait to see how Qiao Qiao would react.
However, Ni Zijing could not find her. She only saw the actress named Yu Huai sitting next to Qiao Qiao’s empty seat, looking shocked and bewildered. Not only was Qiao Qiao not there, but her assistant and agent, Zou Jingzhi, were not in the venue either.
Where were they?
Zou Jingzhi had given Qiao Qiao such strict instructions to attend the event, so Qiao Qiao would certainly not break her promise if she had agreed. Ni Zijing could only think of one possibility: the one named Qiao Yi.
Had something gone wrong?
When Ni Zijing finished her last sentence, her hand had already reached into her pocket for her phone. Not waiting for the reporters clamoring for questions, security personnel quickly surrounded her and escorted Ni Zijing to the underground parking lot.
She pulled out her phone and saw five missed calls from Ji Qinglin, the most recent one being from ten minutes ago.
Something had indeed gone wrong!
Ni Zijing closed the car door tight and dialed back. The phone rang once before Ji Qinglin picked up: “Ancestors, you finally answered! You worried me to death!”
It was very noisy on the other end, as if many people were talking at once.
“What happened?”
“It is that Qiao Yi! It is not as simple as you told me. Do you know what he did? He beat that whole group of people until they were disfigured, and one of them even has a slight fracture.” Ji Qinglin paused and continued: “I had not even gotten him out yet and was talking to people when he suddenly collapsed. We rushed him to the hospital, and do you know what we found? This Qiao Yi has broken ribs himself, it looks like he was trampled by a group of people, and he has some internal bleeding. I do not know how this kid endured it.”
Ni Zijing’s heart tightened: “Is Qiao Qiao leaving suddenly related to this?”
“She left? I just sent Qiao Yi to the hospital, and it seems someone in the hospital knows Qiao Yi’s family, so they called them directly. A middle-aged woman came over shortly after. Do you think she is his mother? I heard her say Qiao Qiao’s name, and she spoke very harshly.”
Ji Qinglin added: “Is Qiao Yi Qiao Qiao’s younger brother? What is wrong with her mother? She called and scolded Qiao Qiao on the phone. I guess Qiao Qiao was called back by her mother. Are you coming over?”
Ni Zijing checked the time.
“Help me book the next flight. I should arrive shortly after Qiao Qiao. Send me the hospital address and room number. Have a car waiting outside the airport. I am coming immediately.”
“Got it.”
Hanging up, Ni Zijing tossed her phone onto the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt.
Turning the steering wheel and stepping on the gas, the car roared out of the garage and sped away.
Ni Zijing was not a short-tempered person. Her age of twenty-seven had made her increasingly steady and restrained; she had never been this angry, even when facing an opponent’s provocations on the boxing ring.
In her mind, she pictured the scene where Qiao Qiao spoke with an indifferent tone about falling at home and breaking her bones.
Was Qiao Qiao alone at that time?
Ni Zijing could not imagine the mood Qiao Qiao was in going to the hospital right now, having accepted a request from her brother to help, only to be blamed by her own mother.
She could not do much, the only thing she could do was accompany her.
Beilin City First People’s Hospital.
Ji Qinglin was waiting outside the operating room with Ms. Luo, who was presumably Qiao Yi’s mother.
It had been nearly two hours since she finished her call with Ni Zijing, and Qiao Yi had already been in the operating room for an hour after being anesthetized.
The surgery required a guardian’s signature. Ji Qinglin saw the middle-aged woman sign her full name: Luo Ying.
She felt this was a muddy mess, but she could not leave. She had to at least wait for Ni Zijing to arrive, after all, this matter had been entrusted to her by Ni Zijing.
Qiao Yi was the one she had brought to the hospital. Ms. Luo had only nodded coldly at her when they first met and had not said another word since, but when she faced Qiao Yi, she was crying and calling him heart, my heart.
Could this really be Qiao Qiao’s mother?
Ji Qinglin thought of Qiao Qiao’s polite and modest demeanor and wondered how Qiao Qiao had grown up under the oppression of such a parent.
However, it was strange that the child’s father had not yet arrived.
Qiao Qiao changed into a wide, floor-length skirt that covered her completely. Although sitting in a wheelchair, she was covered by a long wool blanket, pushed over from afar by Sister Zou.
Ji Qinglin hurried up to meet them: “You came so fast. Does your foot hurt?”
Qiao Qiao shook her head and thanked Ji Qinglin for her hard work. Ji Qinglin felt embarrassed by the formal thanks: “Do not be a stranger, we are friends.”
Sister Zou pushed Qiao Qiao to Luo Ying, and Qiao Qiao called out: “Mom.”
Ji Qinglin’s heart skipped a beat. Was she really her biological mother?
Luo Ying frowned as she looked at Qiao Qiao in front of her: “You still know I am your mother? You kept Qiao Yi’s condition a secret from me. If you had kept hiding it, what would have happened if something had gone wrong with my son?”
Qiao Qiao looked at the lit operating light: “How is Qiao Yi?”
Ji Qinglin hurried over: “They say one rib is broken, which is not a big problem. There is splenic hemorrhage, and the doctor is performing repair surgery.”
“Still not a big problem?!” Luo Ying suddenly stood up, her voice sharp: “The problem is huge! You are not the one injured, so you do not know the pain. Do you even have your brother in your heart, huh?”
Ji Qinglin cursed internally. How little did this aunt care about her own daughter? Did she not see that Qiao Qiao arrived in a wheelchair? Not a single word of concern.
Qiao Qiao had heard similar words many times before and had already become numb. She did not expect Luo Ying to care about her, so she simply covered her injured spot.
Luo Ying was an educated person. At first, Qiao Qiao thought Luo Ying did not like her because she preferred boys, but later Qiao Qiao realized that was not it.
Luo Ying was very kind to other young girls; it was only toward her that she was indifferent.
Qiao Qiao realized that Luo Ying just did not like her, nothing more.
“How much longer will it take?” Qiao Qiao gave up communicating with Luo Ying and asked Ji Qinglin directly.
“Probably another half hour.” Ji Qinglin checked her phone.
Luo Ying stood in front of Qiao Qiao, her tone disappointed: “Why do you not care about your brother at all?”
“Qiao Qiao, you cannot take your anger toward me out on your brother.”
“Do you not know how serious internal bleeding is, hmm?”
Qiao Qiao raised her eyes to Luo Ying and said coldly: “Have you said enough? I did not come here to be lectured by you.”
She considered herself to have built up enough mental strength to face Luo Ying. Perhaps because she was injured herself, she unexpectedly felt a trace of pain at this moment.
The kind of pain that surged from the depths of her heart, unable to be controlled.
Ji Qinglin thought to herself that this mother was truly something; if it were her, she would not even have come!
She stood next to Sister Zou behind Qiao Qiao and clearly saw several messages pop up on Qiao Qiao’s phone, one after another.
Ji Qinglin had good eyesight and caught a glimpse of everything.
Little Assistant: [Damn, damn, damn!]
Little Assistant: [Qiao-jie, Qiao-jie! Do you know who President Ni really is! Do you know! How could you not be there at the scene!]
Little Assistant: [Video]
Little Assistant: [Everyone has gone crazy. You should have seen the look on Yu Huai’s face! President Ni and you are such a perfect match.]
Little Assistant: [I am definitely, absolutely shipping you and President Ni as a couple.]
Little Assistant: [Starry eyes]
Ji Qinglin suddenly felt something was not right.
Qiao Qiao opened the video.
The video was barely ten seconds long and looked like it had been recorded in a rush. The familiar face in the frame was glowing with energy, and even under the intense lighting, her skin remained flawless. Black hair and red lips, her lips parted slightly, and a pleasant, slightly magnetic voice rang out: “Hello everyone, I am Ni Zijing.”
I am, Ni Zijing.
In that moment, Qiao Qiao was strangely quiet. Uncontrollably, Sister Can Can, no, she should say Ni Zijing, flashed through her mind.
“Qiao Qiao, I am the one who can promote you, I can give you everything.”
“I, what should I give you, exactly?”
“I think this one is something that President Ni would like, do not change it.”
So, Sister Can Can was actually President Ni.
Qiao Qiao felt her eyes stinging. She reached out to rub them, a suffocating feeling trapped in her chest. Her voice remained calm, but she did not look up, quickly locking her phone screen.
She said to Sister Zou: “Can you let me go to the rooftop for some air? I feel a bit stifled here.”
Ji Qinglin hesitated whether to speak. She felt Qiao Qiao’s reaction was a bit strange; it was too calm.
She was stopped by Zou Jingzhi shaking her head.
“You are not staying here to watch over your brother, where are you going?” Luo Ying was a bit angry: “I think you have stayed in the entertainment industry for so long that you no longer put your heart into your home.”
Zou Jingzhi, who had remained silent until now, could not help speaking coldly: “Ms. Luo! Qiao Qiao turned down her work and came here while injured herself. I hope you, as an elder, can show some self-respect.”
After saying that, Sister Zou pushed Qiao Qiao into the elevator.
Once they reached the rooftop, the gorgeous night view came into full view. Qiao Qiao turned her head slightly and said: “Sister Zou, you can go back down. It is cold here, I want to be quiet for a while by myself.”
Sister Zou’s eyes grew damp upon hearing Qiao Qiao’s voice. She took off her scarf and wrapped it around Qiao Qiao: “I will not disturb you. Let me know when you have calmed down, and I will come up.”
She knew that Qiao Qiao was in pain right now, but she would stubbornly hold it in front of others.
She needed to give Qiao Qiao some space.
“Okay.”
In fact, Sister Zou was still worried. She stood behind Qiao Qiao for a while, seeing that Qiao Qiao was just staring blankly at the traffic and the skyscrapers, before she finally took the elevator down.
She just arrived outside the operating room when she saw Ni Zijing, dressed in a dark grey suit, running over looking travel-worn.
Ni Zijing had arrived at exactly the right time.
She saw Qiao Yi being finished with surgery and pushed out. The woman beside him rushed forward eagerly to ask the doctor about the situation, acting like a completely different person from before. She did not even ask a single question, did not even glance at them, and followed the doctor pushing Qiao Yi toward the ward.
Sister Zou was a woman of the world, so she greeted her naturally: “President Ni.”
Ni Zijing nodded, her eyes searching everywhere: “Where is Qiao Qiao?”
“She was just scolded by her mother, and then she found out that you are her new boss.” Ji Qinglin pointed to the elevator: “She went to the rooftop to catch some air and calm down. You should hurry up and apologize.”
Sister Zou also added: “She has been up there for a while. President Ni, go up and check on her.”
When Ni Zijing reached the rooftop, she saw her little hedgehog curled up, resting on her knees, crying softly.
It was a very repressed cry; even when no one was around, Qiao Qiao would not cry out loud. Waves of sadness flooded her throat; she wanted to suppress it, but could not keep it all back.
Intermittent, broken sobs.
Ni Zijing recalled the first time she saw Qiao Qiao several years ago; she had also been crying, fragile and curled into a small ball in the warm sun.
Ni Zijing had simply remembered her.
She walked toward Qiao Qiao step by step and crouched down in front of her.
Qiao Qiao knew Ni Zijing had come over, and could even feel Ni Zijing placing a hand on her back, patting it rhythmically.
“It seems I really cannot bear to see you cry. I want to hold the whole world in front of you like a treasure,” Ni Zijing’s voice was gentle, yet incredibly clear.
“I am always thinking about what I can give you. On the way here, I decided.”
Ni Zijing pulled Qiao Qiao’s scarf tighter, fearing she would catch a cold. She simply stood in the way of the wind, but she did not expect Qiao Qiao to suddenly lift her head and look at her with wet, teary eyes.
Qiao Qiao’s vision was blurred by tears, yet she could feel that Ni Zijing’s eyes were very bright, brighter than the stars in the sky, brighter than the lights at night.
Her scent was also sweet, fragrant, and warm.
Qiao Qiao paused before speaking, her voice trembling with tears, soft and mellow.
“Are you going to sexually harass me, President Ni?”