As she spoke, Liao Li couldn't help but complain, "I knew something would happen when you took Yu Ning back to that house. With your stepmother, it was a clear choice for you not to live in the Fang family's house. If you had lived there, with your intelligence, you wouldn't have survived for more than a few days."
"...Why are you telling me all this?"
Liao Li's expression froze. If Fang Bai hadn't asked, she wouldn't have realized she would be saying these things to him.
Why? She had clearly seen that Chang Suyao was no ordinary person three years ago, but back then, she never considered telling Fang Bai. If Lu Xia hadn't persuaded her to remind Fang Bai, she would have been completely indifferent to him three years ago.
Liao Li admitted that she and Fang Bai did not have a good relationship.
Liao Li chuckled. "What can't be said?"
Fang Bai: "..."
There's nothing I can't say, but the person you mentioned with low intelligence who won't live more than a few days is the original owner of this body, not her.
Liao Li did not close the bedroom door when she entered.
When Ji Yuning went downstairs to the bedroom, she saw Fang Bai sitting on the bed, his body half-covered by the blanket, giving off a coy and inviting vibe, while Liao Li sat at the foot of the bed, carefully wrapping bandages around Fang Bai's feet.
Perhaps because the bedroom environment was too cozy, Ji Yuning felt that the two people were not like a doctor and a patient, but more like "good friends" helping each other.
Ji Yuning remained silent, standing motionless at the doorway.
The moment Ji Yuning appeared, Fang Bai caught a glimpse of a dark shadow in his peripheral vision, and he immediately noticed that the shadow was standing still.
Fang Bai turned his head and met Ji Yuning's gaze.
But when Fang Bai saw Ji Yuning's outfit, he was taken aback. It was a very ordinary outfit: a white short-sleeved shirt and straight-leg suit pants. But it didn't seem like Ji Yuning's style. It gave the impression that she was going to meet someone important.
Fang Bai quickly came to his senses. He didn't care what Ji Yuning wore, as long as she liked it.
Fang Bai's lips curled slightly as he asked softly, "Why don't you come in?"
Liao Li finished bandaging Fang Bai at this moment. She pulled the blanket over Fang Bai's exposed calf and said, "Don't cover this foot. Let it breathe."
After saying that, Liao Li turned around and called out to Ji Yuning, who was walking in, "Yuning."
Ji Yuning nodded and called out softly, "Aunt Liao."
With Ji Yuning around, Liao Li's voice instantly became as gentle as Fang Bai's, "Fang Bai told you, right? I'll take you for a medical check-up."
Ji Yuning hummed in agreement: "I did."
"I won't go with you," Fang Bai said, looking at Ji Yuning. "After the medical examination, you can call Uncle Li to pick you up."
While applying medicine to Fang Bai, Liao Li accidentally spilled some on her hand. She wiped her hand with a wet wipe and stood up, saying, "Yu Ning is so old, how could she not know this?"
Liao Li threw the tissue into the trash can and walked up to Ji Yuning. "Alright, come with Aunt Liao. Let her get moldy in bed all by herself."
Fang Bai: "..."
She genuinely disliked Liao Li's mouth.
-
One o'clock in the afternoon.
Fang Bai received a call from Liao Li.
After the call connected, Liao Li asked immediately, "Has Yu Ning gotten home yet?"
Fang Bai stayed in bed the whole time and didn't hear Wu Mei say whether Ji Yuning had returned or not. "I don't know, I'm in my room."
"Are you really going to get moldy in bed? You can get some exercise, it's fine." Liao Li's words, accompanied by laughter, reached my ears.
"It hurts with any movement." After saying that, Fang Bai changed the subject, afraid that Liao Li would tease her again, "Have all the tests been done? What were the results?"
Liao Li: "There are a few items that haven't come out yet, but the ones that have come out don't have any major problems, just some minor issues."
Fang Bai frowned. "What?"
Liao Li looked at the report in her hand and said, "He has some stomach problems and is also a little malnourished. He should eat more nutritious food and eat less spicy and cold food. Otherwise, he is very healthy."
"Then what's wrong with her having menstrual cramps?" Fang Bai asked.
Liao Li: "It's a normal physiological phenomenon."
Fang Bai gave a soft "hmm," his worried heart finally at ease.
There was a commotion on Liao Li's end, and then Liao Li said, "OK, I have a patient here, I'll hang up now. Just send me a message when Yu Ning gets home."
After Fang Bai said "okay," Liao Li hung up the phone.
Fang Bai held her phone, staring at the screen in thought for a while. Although she hadn't left the room, she guessed that Ji Yuning hadn't returned home yet.
Fang Bai didn't ask Wu Mei, but after thinking for a moment, he clicked on the black avatar in the list.
Fang Bai: [Where are you?]
Ten minutes later, Ji Yuning replied: [Outside.]
Looking at the two emotionless, seemingly meaningless words, Fang Bai, interpreting them as nothing more than a question, asked, "Are you going to play outside?"
Ji Yuning: [Mm.]
Fang Bai thought for a moment and then transferred the money to Ji Yuning.
Before the other person could send a message, Fang Bai said first: [Have fun.]
Finally, I'd like to add: [Take the money.]
An office building in the center of the lake.
In a small office, Ji Yuning sat in a swivel chair, while across the table sat a woman in a suit, with a neat hairstyle and frameless glasses perched on her nose.
The woman listened to her phone ring twice, her voice devoid of emotion, and said, "Miss Ji, I wonder if you understood what I just said?"
Ji Yuning lowered her eyes and said, "Mm."
“Okay, then I’ll continue,” the woman said in a flat tone, “If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me.”
Ji Yuning nodded: "Thank you."
The woman remained expressionless and said coldly, "I was merely following Chairman Lu's orders. Miss Ji, there's no need for you to thank me."
Ji Yuning didn't speak again, but a cold sarcasm welled up in her indifferent eyes.
-
Ji Yuning didn't get home until 7 p.m. After changing into slippers and stepping out of the entryway, she immediately saw Fang Bai holding Bei Bei on the living room sofa, lounging lazily.
The melodious sound of a piano was playing in the living room. Ji Yuning recognized it as a recording of Fang Bai playing the piano earlier.
Speaking of which…
Ji Yuning glanced at the piano in the hall; it seemed like Fang Bai hadn't played the piano in a long time.
Ji Yuning said it seemed so because she didn't know if Fang Bai played during weekdays.
Regardless, the woman used to play the piano for a little while every day.
Hearing a sound other than the piano music, the person and the cat lazily half-opened their eyelids and looked at Ji Yuning at the same time.
Upon smelling Ji Yuning's scent, Beibei slowly stood up in Fang Bai's arms, stretched, jumped out of Fang Bai's embrace, and trotted over to Ji Yuning's feet.
The little head rubbed against Ji Yuning's feet, letting out a few soft meows.
Ji Yuning scooped Beibei into her arms and stood up. At the same time, the piano music in the living room stopped, followed by Fang Bai's voice: "Have you eaten? If not, go wash your hands. Dinner will be served soon."
Fang Bai's reaction was completely different from what Ji Yuning had expected. She thought Fang Bai would question her about what she had done, but Fang Bai didn't. Instead, Wu Mei, who came out of the kitchen, stepped forward and asked with a worried look, "Xiao Ji, what have you been doing? Why are you so late?"
Ji Yuning stroked Beibei's fur: "Nothing happened."
Seeing that Ji Yuning didn't seem to be in any trouble, Wu Mei said kindly, "Don't stay out so late next time. Come back before it gets dark. It's not safe for a little girl to be out alone."
Ji Yuning replied, "I understand."
Wu Mei was still cooking in the pot. After exchanging a few words with Ji Yuning, she turned around and went back to the kitchen.
Only Fang Bai and Ji Yuning remained in the living room.
Beibei jumped from Ji Yuning's arms to the ground, and then quickly returned to Fang Bai's side and lay down.
Just as Ji Yuning was about to go to the kitchen to wash her hands, Fang Bai stopped her and said, "The person from yesterday has been caught."
Ji Yuning turned around and asked silently.
"The old man told me that the man said someone gave him 500,000 yuan and asked him to tamper with the car."
Fang Bai hadn't originally intended to tell Ji Yuning this, but Ji Yuning's unusual behavior today made him realize that if he didn't tell her, it would only make her less vigilant.
She couldn't control Ji Yuning's physical and mental freedom, nor could she send someone to investigate what Ji Yuning was doing, so she couldn't protect Ji Yuning without any problems.
She was merely a minor cannon fodder character in the book, and compared to the accomplished female protagonist, her protective instincts were negligible.
The right thing to do is to tell Ji Yuning the truth.
Fang Bai considered his words carefully, then met Ji Yuning's calm gaze and said, "That person said the person who called him had a very obvious Beijing accent."
Seeing Ji Yuning's brows furrow slightly, Fang Bai knew that Ji Yuning already had a guess in her mind.
After giving the hint, Fang Bai shifted the blame to her, saying, "Maybe the old man's business has made someone jealous, and they want to use me to get revenge on him. Even though I'm the target, you should still be careful when you're out and about."
Ji Yuning half-lifted her eyelids and said, "Mm."
Sunday.
Fang Bai got up in the morning and didn't wait for Wu Mei to bring her breakfast; she slowly went downstairs by herself.
There was no one at the table, only a used bowl on the table.
Fang Bai walked to the kitchen, just as Wu Mei heard the sound and turned around.
Fang Bai asked, "Has Xiao Ning eaten?"
"After eating, he went out again with his schoolbag on his back."
Fang Bai slowed down his pulling out of the chair. "You went out again?"
Wu Mei nodded: "Yes, she said she was going to the library to study with her classmates."
Fang Bai sat down and said in a low voice, "I understand."
It was as if a switch had been flipped. For three consecutive weeks, Ji Yuning went out every Saturday and Sunday under the pretext of studying at the library, and didn't return home until around six or seven o'clock in the evening each time.
At first, Wu Mei would ask Ji Yuning a few more questions, but gradually Wu Mei stopped asking and just told her to be careful.
Throughout the entire process, Fang Bai didn't say a word except for transferring money to her. He would only occasionally tell Ji Yuning to be careful, without asking any other questions.