It wasn’t until they successfully descended the mountain that Wen Ran finally understood what had happened.
Si Yan had actually been trapped in a pit for an entire day. She asked Ruan Tang, who had been crying nonstop, “Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
Ruan Tang pointed tearfully at the people who had captured her and said, “I did tell them, but they didn’t believe me. They’ve been unwilling to help with the rescue all along.”
The team she pointed at consisted entirely of burly men. One of them spoke up, “You don’t have a single communication device on you. We thought it might be a trap. We’ve encountered similar setups in wilderness games before—how were we supposed to know you weren’t bait from another team?”
The absurdity of the situation was such that even Xu Shi’an felt like laughing when he heard it.
Wu Ge interjected, “Alright, now isn’t the time to shift blame. Let’s focus on finding him quickly. It’s raining outside, and we can’t afford to delay any longer. I appreciate everyone’s help.”
He asked Ruan Tang, “Do you still remember roughly where he fell?”
Ruan Tang whispered, “I remembered during the day… but it’s been so long now, I’ve forgotten.”
Great! Everyone facepalmed in exasperation once again.
With her system, Wen Ran could, of course, locate the target, but she wasn’t the original host and certainly didn’t feel any pity for men. Letting Si Yan endure a bit more rain in the mountains suited her just fine.
The group, clad in raincoats, scattered across the mountain in search of him. Si Yan was on the verge of despair, his mind flooded with dark thoughts—was Ruan Tang deliberately trying to harm him? Why had no one come for so long?
The rain had drenched him completely, and the wound on his leg from hitting a rock was soaked. Si Yan was in terrible condition, having gone without food all day, cold and starving.
Alone in the wilderness at night, even a man could feel fear. Si Yan felt as if he had been abandoned by the world. Would anyone ever find him?
Just as he wondered if he might die in the mountains, a flashlight beam swept past, and a woman’s familiar voice sounded like heavenly music to his ears.
“Ah Yan!” It was Wen Ran who had found him.
“I’m here!” Si Yan’s voice was weak.
“How are you? We finally found you.” Wen Ran had slipped away from Xu Shi’an to come alone—after all, such a golden opportunity to score points didn’t come often.
“My leg is injured; I can’t move.” Seeing Wen Ran tie a rope to a nearby tree and prepare to descend, Si Yan quickly warned, “It’s very steep down here. Hurry and notify the others to come rescue me!”
Wen Ran replied, “The others are spread out looking for you. They won’t get here that quickly.”
Due to the rain, the mountain slope was slippery. Si Yan watched as Wen Ran, gripping the rope, missed her footing twice and nearly fell, his heart pounding with fear.
Fortunately, Wen Ran managed to climb down to where he was, though she dared not make any sudden movements because a steep slope lay below them. If they fell from there, even recovering their bodies would be difficult.
Wen Ran hurried over to check Si Yan’s injury while simultaneously reaping the Affection points.
The man pulled her into a tight embrace. “How could you come alone!”
Si Yan had been terrified out of his wits. Seeing Wen Ran risk everything to save him filled him with both joy and fear.
He was truly afraid—if he lost Wen Ran, who else would be foolish enough to love him unconditionally like she did?
“Ding, Si Yan’s Affection points +5.”
“You’re injured. I couldn’t rest until I saw you with my own eyes.” Wen Ran gently patted Si Yan’s back, comforting him as she said, “The others will be here soon.”Despite being a full-grown adult and a domineering CEO, Si Yan had been raised in privilege since childhood. With Si’s mother shielding him from major troubles, he had never truly weathered significant storms. Today’s incident had cast quite a shadow over him.
Even after being rescued, he refused to let go of Wen Ran’s hand, insisting she stay by his side even at the hospital.
When Xu Shi’an learned that Wen Ran had disregarded her own safety to climb down and accompany Si Yan, his expression turned extremely grim—he almost wished Si Yan had broken his leg.
But upon discovering it was Ruan Tang who had pushed Si Yan, he felt a surge of relief, grateful that the person with him during the day had been Wen Ran.
Xu Shi’an glanced at Ruan Tang sitting by Si Yan’s hospital bed, her face full of concern as she gazed at him.
Who would have thought Ruan Tang had such capabilities?
Xu Shi’an reflected that given Wen Ran’s nature, no matter how harshly he spoke to her, she would never resort to such malicious actions.
What had Wen Ran done when he used to anger her? It seemed she would hide away and cry silently.
He still remembered their argument the night before she married—she had wept bitterly but never uttered a single harsh word to him.
Seeing Wen Ran looking exhausted from keeping vigil over Si Yan, he said, “Enough. We’ve been at it all night. Even iron men need rest. Go get some sleep.”
Wen Ran wanted to refuse, but Xu Shi’an added, “Whoever caused the trouble should take responsibility.”
This was clearly directed at Ruan Tang. The whole group had been busy all night, and dawn was approaching—was no one going to get any sleep?
“Then I’ll stay and take care of A-Yan,” Ruan Tang volunteered.
Si Yan stiffened upon hearing this—he didn’t dare accept her offer. But seeing how tired Wen Ran looked, he couldn’t bear to make her suffer further. “I’ll just stay at the hospital alone,” he said.
They couldn’t inform the Si family about this. Although it wasn’t Wen Ran’s fault, Si Yan knew his mother well—even if she didn’t say anything, she would secretly blame Wen Ran for bringing him here.
Xu Shi’an found a hotel near the hospital for Wen Ran to stay in.
Fortunately, the Si family only knew they were out having fun. Since Si Yan’s injury wasn’t serious and he could be discharged after a few days of rest—as long as he avoided strenuous movement—as long as they kept quiet, the Si family would never know anything had happened.
………
Whether out of shame or not, Ruan Tang left the next day and never contacted Si Yan again afterward.
During those days in the hospital, Wen Ran and Si Yan were alone together, their relationship rapidly deepening. Sometimes, the man would look at her with intense affection in his eyes.
This change didn’t go unnoticed by another person.
At noon, Wen Ran was alone in the Si family kitchen, simmering soup.
Since returning from the hospital, she had been personally preparing soup for Si Yan every day, claiming it was to nourish his health. In reality, she had the servants deliver another portion to Xu Shi’an at Wen Corporation to help his stomach condition.
Using the same tactic on two men, and both responded positively—each believing the soup was specially prepared for them alone. They would finish every drop.
She followed the recipe from the original host’s memory. Recently, Wen Ran had been frequently receiving Affection points from Xu Shi’an, and she hummed cheerfully.
Seeing her so happy only worsened Si Huaiyu’s mood.
The man pressed close behind her and said, “Does serving Si Yan make you this happy?”
Startled by the sudden presence behind her, the woman dropped the bowl she was holding onto the kitchen counter.She turned her head and immediately met the man’s gloomy face. “L-Little Uncle…”
“So afraid to see me?” Si Huaiyu raised his hand and brushed the back of it against Wen Ran’s cheek.
The woman quickly shook her head. “No.”
“Then why are you avoiding me?” Si Huaiyu was well aware that Wen Ran had been deliberately keeping her distance these past few days.
“Just because Si Yan gave you a little kindness, you’re eagerly clinging to him?” The man’s words carried a barely perceptible anger. “Do you enjoy being someone’s nanny that much?”