Xu Jialan’s nose tingled slightly. “Thank you, Master.”
“Since when are you so polite with your master?” Old Liang pretended to be angry.
Xu Jialan smiled. “My mistake, I shouldn’t be formal with you.”
Old Liang nodded with satisfaction. “That’s more like it.”
Not long after Xu Jialan woke up, police officers came to take her statement.
Since the Medical Association had matters to attend to, Old Liang didn’t stay long before hurriedly leaving.
Xu Jialan truthfully reported the Laboratory situation.
Several police officers exchanged glances.
“Professor Xu, are you saying someone was illegally manufacturing drugs in the university Laboratory?”
Xu Jialan, pale-faced, shook her head. “I’m not certain, but nitrogen chloride is extremely unstable and classified as hazardous material. It wouldn’t normally appear in a Laboratory.”
She wasn’t a judge and couldn’t convict anyone.
The police nodded. “Understood. We’ll investigate this matter thoroughly and may need your assistance later, Professor Xu.”
Xu Jialan nodded. “I probably can’t be discharged yet, but you can contact other technicians at the Laboratory if you have any questions.”
“Alright, we won’t disturb your rest any further.”
After having Xu Jialan confirm her statement and sign it, the police officers left.
…
The hospital room fell quiet.
Xu Jialan closed her eyes as drowsiness gradually washed over her.
Lying on the hospital bed, she fell into a deep sleep.
Several hours later, Xu Jialan slowly woke up.
Just then, a doctor came for rounds.
The doctor replaced Xu Jialan’s IV bottle and smiled.
“When did Professor Xu get into a relationship? How come there was no news about it?”
Xu Jialan was taken aback. “What?”
“A handsome man came looking for you earlier, and he brought flowers too,” the doctor said with a sly smile, lowering her voice. “And he’s not just ordinarily handsome.”
The doctor recalled the man who had appeared – his profound eyes sharp and penetrating, his features clearly defined, his thin lips curved with a hint of roguish charm, and those long legs… simply incredible.
Xu Jialan turned her head and indeed saw a bouquet of white roses on the bedside table.
There was a card nestled among the flowers.
Xu Jialan reached out, picked up the card, and opened it.
[Wishing you a speedy recovery.]
In the lower right corner was a flamboyant signature.
She was very familiar with this signature.
Seeing Xu Jialan frozen while looking at the card, the doctor grew curious.
“What sweet nothings did your boyfriend write? The person who could capture Professor Xu’s heart must be truly special.”
Hearing this, Xu Jialan snapped back to reality, closed the card, and curved her lips into a complicated smile.
She explained, “He’s not my boyfriend.”
The doctor was stunned. “Ah?”
Xu Jialan lowered her gaze slightly, looking at the card in her hand. “We’re just… ordinary friends.”
Or perhaps, just high school classmates.
They couldn’t even be considered friends yet.
The doctor’s mouth fell open. “I’m sorry, Professor Xu, I misunderstood.”
Xu Jialan smiled gently. “It’s fine.”
“Well then, Professor Xu, you should rest well. I won’t disturb you any longer.”
Having said that, the doctor didn’t dare stay longer and quickly left the room.
What a huge misunderstanding, and to have mentioned it in front of the person involved – how embarrassing.
The room fell quiet once more.
Xu Jialan looked at the card in her hand, her eyes concealing emotions too complex to decipher.
So it was true after all.
The person who appeared in the laboratory and saved her was really him.
Shen Xichuan.
Xu Jialan silently murmured the man’s name.
…
Elsewhere.
Just after leaving the hospital, Shen Xichuan received a phone call.
He tapped the car’s Bluetooth system, turning the steering wheel as he drove out.
“Brother, what’s up?”
A deep male voice came from the other end of the line, “I heard you rescued a girl from the fire.”
Shen Xichuan paused briefly, “Saving people is my duty, regardless of gender.”
The man chuckled lightly, “Yet after saving her, you specially bought a bouquet of flowers and sent them to the hospital.”
Shen Xichuan pinched the bridge of his nose, somewhat helpless.
“Brother, what exactly are you trying to say?”
There was the sound of pages turning on the other end, as if someone was signing documents.
After saying “done,” the line went quiet for a moment before he spoke again.
“I want to say that Mom is already planning to arrange blind dates for you. Candidates are being screened.”
Shen Xichuan glanced at the traffic lights and slowly pressed the brake.
“I’m not going,” he said flatly.
Shen Yankai hummed in acknowledgment, “You can refuse to go, but you will have to get married eventually.”
Shen Xichuan: “…”
He sighed in frustration, “Brother, you know I don’t want to get married this early.”
Shen Yankai swiveled his office chair, stood up, and looked down at the view outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
“I know, but you also know how worried Mom is about you.”
Hearing no response from Shen Xichuan, he paused before continuing, “After graduating from high school, you suddenly changed your career choice and insisted on becoming a firefighter, going against the family’s wishes. But in the end, everyone supported your decision and let you pursue what you wanted.”
“But Xichuan, don’t forget the agreement you made with the family back then. Ten years—it’s almost up, isn’t it?”
After saying this, Shen Yankai waited two seconds without letting Shen Xichuan respond before hanging up.
He lowered his gaze, tapped on his phone screen, and sent something to Shen Xichuan.
Shen Xichuan’s eyes darkened as he started the car again.
It wasn’t until he returned to his apartment that Shen Xichuan saw what Shen Yankai had sent him.
An address, along with a message.
Shen Yankai: 【Saturday noon, Private Room 302.】
Shen Xichuan remained silent for a moment, didn’t reply, turned off his phone, placed it casually on the kitchen island, and poured a glass of water.
After drinking most of it, he stopped, his deep pupils sharp and intense.
The words Shen Yankai had just spoken echoed in his ears.
Shen Xichuan unconsciously tapped his fingers on the table.
Marriage?
For some reason, when the word “marriage” came up, a clear and beautiful face surfaced in his mind.
The man closed his eyes and cursed under his breath, “Damn, I must be going crazy.”
He finished the remaining water in his glass, set it down, picked up his phone, and walked into the bedroom.
…
Xu Jialan stayed in the hospital for three days and wasn’t discharged until Friday.
On the day of her discharge, Old Liang said he would pick her up, but Xu Jialan refused.
She told him she would go home first to drop off her things and then head to the Liang Family for a meal. Only then did Old Liang agree not to come to the hospital.
The one who picked Xu Jialan up from the hospital was her assistant, Fang Zhiyun.
Xu Jialan sat in the passenger seat, looking down as she scrolled through content on her tablet.
“What were the laboratory’s test results regarding the laboratory explosion case?”
Fang Zhiyun turned the steering wheel while speaking, “The bottle containing nitrogen chloride has been completely shattered. It’s quite difficult to identify who did this by checking for fingerprints or DNA on the bottle.”
“However, they’ve detected the DNA of a suspicious individual from other locations. All relevant reports have been submitted to the police station, so we should get results soon.”
After listening, Xu Jialan gave a faint “hmm” and continued scrolling through her tablet.