The ward was a chaotic mess of people coming and going. Ji Furong walked in, frowning, "Why are there so many people? Don't the patients need to rest?"
She looked at Li Ran first, and then at Zhou Qishen last. Their eyes met, and Ji Furong remained calm, but Zhou Qishen suddenly took a step forward and called out to her with excellent memory, "Sister Ji, long time no see."
Ji Furong maintained her usual calm and indifferent expression, giving a slight nod in response. But her eyes and brows clearly conveyed: Do I know you?
She said, "If there's nothing else, you can leave now. The patient still needs to undergo a few tests, and it's not convenient for the man to be present."
A perfectly legitimate reason swept everyone away.
Li Ran and Zhao Xiyin exchanged a secret hand gesture, "Get well soon, I'll treat you to dinner."
Xiao Shun waved and said, "Sister Xi, I'm leaving."
As Li Ran passed by Gu Heping, she deliberately stepped on his foot with great skill, making Gu Heping's entire toe go numb with pain. "Damn it, you little redhead, you're so petty."
Zhou Qishen stood there for two seconds, then walked to the bedside. She sat, he stood, his gaze lowered, like a heavy, dense net. He didn't speak, but simply bent down and gently brushed the stray hairs from her forehead behind her ear.
Zhao Xiyin instinctively backed away, and Zhou Qishen's movements froze. His fingertips trembled slightly as he withdrew his hand. Without exchanging a word, Zhou Qishen left the hospital.
The driver was sent to pick someone up from the airport, and his own Land Rover was being serviced. He had arrived in Gu Heping's car that morning. Now, Gu Heping was backing up, cursing as he did so: "What kind of friend does Xiao Xi have? She's as strong as an ox, is she even a woman? She's so strong I can't even press the accelerator!"
Zhou Qishen was engrossed in smoking, with the car window open. In just a quarter of an hour, he had already smoked his third cigarette.
Gu Heping was also a meticulous person. After they reached the main road, he asked, "Do you know that doctor? You know her name. But judging from her reaction, she doesn't seem to know you."
Zhou Qishen stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and then unscrewed the lighter, but Gu Heping pressed it down with his free right hand. "Alright, alright, you're fuming your lungs. My car was just washed yesterday, and it's full of that smell."
Zhou Qishen tossed the cigarette pack to the back seat and said calmly, "Ji Furong, Dr. Ji, is Aunt Xiaoxi's friend. I met her at a dinner party four years ago."
His memory has been exceptional since childhood, especially in mathematics during high school. He possesses a naturally sharp mind; while not photographic, he can remember anything if he sets his mind to it. Zhao Xiyin is his most cherished memory; everything about her is etched into his very being.
Gu Heping was not surprised. "But judging from Dr. Ji's reaction, it seems he didn't remember you?"
Zhou Qishen sneered, "She did it on purpose."
She deliberately acted like a stranger and ignored his attempts to engage her in conversation.
Gu Heping glanced at him in the rearview mirror and teased, "Could it be that you have no taste for young or old? Tsk, Brother Zhou, you have quite the heavy taste."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Zhou Qishen said sternly.
Gu Heping dared not bring up the matter again and changed the subject, "Is Aunt Xiaoxi still in the United States?"
Zhou Qishen hummed in agreement, "Yes, her company is preparing for an IPO. I heard from the China Securities Regulatory Commission that it will be in the next two months."
"Oh, then you'll have to go back to China." Gu Heping smiled, his words carrying a heavy weight. "You're going to run into another big shot."
Zhou Qishen looked dejected, and his expression became unnatural.
Gu Heping certainly knew what kind of person Zhao Xiyin's aunt, Zhao Lingxia, was. She was fiercely independent, unlike most women, and was well-known in the daily chemical business. Nearly fifty years old, she had never married and lived a very self-centered life, but she was never short of men to entertain her—a modern-day Wu Zetian.
Zhou Qishen went through a lot of trouble to get past her when he got married. On their wedding day, Zhao Lingxia pointed her finger at him and threatened, "If you dare to treat my Zhao family daughter badly, I'll break your legs!"
With a heroic and murderous aura, Zhou Qishen was fearless, but he was afraid of this aunt.
Several years later, they are divorced and their families have broken up, but Zhou Qishen's leg is still intact.
Zhao Lingxia said she wanted to treat the Zhao family girls well.
Wasn't he good enough to Zhao Xiyin?
Zhou Qishen felt as if he had fallen into a deep abyss, his heart filled with ice. That was all he could do; he had tried his best.
After a brief silence, Gu Heping suddenly said, "I think Dr. Ji is definitely hiding something from you."
——
Zhao Xiyin stayed with Ji Furong for a day before returning home. The person in charge of the troupe called her and said she would be given five days off. These few days would be for regular training, and the formation drills would resume once she returned to the troupe. This must have been Meng Weixi's instruction; he always kept his word.
Zhao Wenchun managed to keep it a secret, saying that the troupe had extra training, so she slept there last night. Since Professor Zhao also had to teach, leaving early and returning late, no one suspected anything.
Cen Yue is so cute; she sends her messages every day to report on what's happening in the group. There haven't been any new developments these past few days, and the class schedule seems to be waiting for her to return. Zhao Xiyin held her phone and smiled, but as she smiled, her thoughts turned somber.
The following afternoon, she received an unexpected phone call.
Zhang Yijie's phone number is very memorable, ending with four 1s, which matches his status as the "number one" in the production industry. He doesn't come without a reason, so he politely introduced himself and said, "Xiao Zhao, could you call President Meng? He hasn't shown up for three days, neither at the company nor at home."
Zhao Xiyin was completely confused. "Huh?"
Zhang Yijie slowed his speech and repeated, "President Meng has disappeared. I can't find him. He has a ton of things to deal with, but that's secondary. The main thing is, I'm afraid something might have happened to him." Afraid that Zhao Xiyin would refuse, Zhang Yijie casually added, knowing the art of conversation, "He disappeared after he took you to the hospital that day."
Zhang Yijie didn't have a deep relationship with her, and having risen to his current position, he wasn't exactly a saint. Everything he said and did was purposeful. He couldn't care less about the lingering feelings between the young couple, nor could he understand Meng Weixi's heartbreak and despair.
Zhao Xiyin knew exactly what was going on and quickly deflected the question, "Brother Jie, I'm still resting at home after being discharged from the hospital. I haven't seen anyone yet, and I haven't fully recovered. I can't go out for the next couple of days as the doctor advised. If the troupe needs to rehearse, you absolutely must let me know."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then Zhang Yijie chuckled, "It's okay, you can rest."
Zhao Xiyin didn't think too much about it; she just let it go. She slept for a while in the morning, then got up to catch up on the training videos from the past few days. She watched them, pausing as she went, scrutinizing her movements to find shortcomings, and meticulously writing them down in her notebook.
Around noon, a call came in from an unknown number.
Zhao Xiyin thought it was a sales call and didn't answer, pressing the call button directly. A few minutes later, it persistently called again.
Zhao Xiyin drank her medicine, pressed the speakerphone button, and remained silent. In those two or three seconds, the atmosphere inexplicably changed. Finally, someone spoke on the other end: "Hello, Xiao Zhao, can I see you?"
The voice overlapped with certain old clips, and Zhao Xiyin knew who it was immediately without even needing to distinguish it.
Meng Weixi's mother, Yan Pinlan.