Returning - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Crisis

Xuanhe Hui was located near the international airport, quite a distance from the hotel where Huacan was holding its annual meeting. Coupled with rush hour traffic, Xue Zi'ang arrived much later than expected.

As he walked into the restaurant, he instinctively raised his wrist to check his watch.

Time was running short. He had to get back to the annual meeting soon.

Night fell early in winter. The curtain of night had already descended. Outside the window, lights blazed brilliantly, traffic streamed endlessly. Inside, the restaurant was full of diners, soft music playing. Yet the figure seated by the window was so quiet it felt somewhat unreal to him.

How long had it been since they last saw each other? It seemed... over three years now.

But aside from this surreal, dazed feeling, he seemed to feel little else.

That lingering sense of injustice—the unwillingness and indignation that had accompanied him for three whole years—had long since been worn away, imperceptibly, without him even noticing.

He calmly walked over and sat down on the sofa. Hearing him approach, Xu Miao looked up and smiled faintly. "You came?"

"Mm." He smiled back, his heart still remarkably calm. This is good, he thought.

"I ordered dishes for you in advance. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all."

Then, silence fell between them.

Both waited for the other to speak. After a long pause, each seemed about to say something, only to hesitate again. Finally, Xue Zi'ang broke the silence: "You wanted to see me... is something the matter? Sorry, I'm pressed for time. I can't stay long."

Xu Miao bit her lip, hesitated, then began, "I have a question..."

At that exact moment, the phone Xue Zi'ang had placed on the table began to vibrate.

Xu Miao looked down, smiling wryly. "You should take that first."

It was a call from Xia Nan. Seeing the caller ID, an ominous premonition inexplicably surged through Xue Zi'ang. He swiftly picked up the phone and swiped to answer. "Hello?"

"President Xue, where did you go? Something's happened to Sister Zhao Yu!"

The hand gripping his spoon involuntarily tightened. The plastic spoon he was using for the pre-dinner dessert snapped sharply into two pieces in his grasp, making his voice quiver along with the breaking plastic. "What did you say?"

"Sister Zhao Yu seems... seems to have suddenly gotten sick."

Xia Nan's end was still very noisy, and her panicked voice carried a tearful edge. The sound transmitted into Xue Zi'ang's ear with a strange buzzing quality, as if piercing straight through his ear and stabbing deep into his heart. He had already shot up from the sofa in a frantic rush, barreling toward the exit, his voice laced with breathless urgency. "Tell me clearly, what exactly happened to her?"

"I don't know either. She was perfectly fine before, but then suddenly collapsed during her stage performance. The ambulance hasn't arrived yet. The hotel doctor came, and he said it's an allergic reaction. But how can an allergy be this severe? She seems like she can't even breathe. Her face, her hands... it's terrifying. President Xue, please hurry back. She looks so miserable. The state she's in is really too frightening. I'm so afraid she might..."

It was the dinner rush. The escalators were crowded with people coming and going. Completely recklessly, Xue Zi'ang shoved his way through the crowd and charged down, practically leaping down entire flights in a few massive strides. His labored breathing made his voice tremble even more violently. "I'm coming back right now. Tell the doctor... tell the doctor to watch her closely. I'll be right there..."

He had just hung up when Xia Nan was startled into a full-body flinch by a harsh shout. It took her two seconds to realize it was Xue Zhan, stopping Zhao Yu, whose consciousness was fading, from scratching at the red rash on her body.

Right now, Xue Zhan had already carried Zhao Yu from the stage to the less crowded backstage area. Another executive's coat was wrapped around her, but her skin was covered in red hives. Probably tormented by unbearable itching, she kept unconsciously reaching out to scratch. Xue Zhan had tried stopping her several times to no avail, so he could only tightly grip both of her arms.

Qin Yi had never seen anything like this. Normally so cheerful and optimistic, now she was so frightened she was crying inconsolably, sobbing and at a complete loss.

Wang Qi, ultimately much more mature and composed, helped Xue Zhan control Zhao Yu's flailing hands while gently comforting her. "Don't be afraid. The ambulance will be here any minute. Just hold on. Let me talk to you, okay?"

Zhao Yu's consciousness was actually still clear. She even knew she wouldn't die—after all, she had experienced this exact situation twice before. But this intense feeling of suffocation was truly unbearable, and her skin indeed itched terribly.

She grinned lopsidedly at Wang Qi, trying to tell her it was fine, but couldn't produce a single sound. She could only breathe desperately.

"It's here, it's here." A doctor in a white coat approached, holding a syringe. "Lay her flat. Lift her skirt. Inject into the thigh."

Looking at the object in the doctor's hand, Xue Zhan hesitated. "What is this?"

"Epinephrine. The best drug for desensitization."

Xue Zhan didn't entirely trust the doctor assigned to the hotel's medical room, so he instinctively glanced at Zhao Yu. Only when Zhao Yu nodded at him did he follow the doctor's instructions, supporting her shoulders to lay her flat, then pulling the hem of her dress up above her knees.

Her legs—every time she wore a skirt, he would see them. He had even once seen them completely. They were very pale, very straight, and slender. But at this moment, covered in those red welts, they could almost be described as ugly and horrifying.

Following the doctor's further instructions, he placed several layers of clothing under her back and beneath her legs. Only then did Xue Zhan hold down her leg so the doctor could inject into the outer side of her thigh.

The doctor was already in his forties, clearly very experienced. Seeing everyone so terribly tense, he first smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, she'll be fine. I've encountered many patients like this. As long as treatment is timely, not a single one was in life-threatening danger. Her condition isn't even one of the most severe cases."

Sure enough, it wasn't long before Zhao Yu's condition began to improve. The doctor examined her carefully and said, "Inject again. After this dose, we probably won't need any more. I'll accompany her in the ambulance in a moment."

When the ambulance arrived, Zhao Yu's condition had largely stabilized. The doctor boarded the ambulance with her. Xue Zhan instructed Wang Qi to follow. Xia Nan and Qin Yi also wanted to go along but were stopped by the ambulance medic.

Only after the group had left did Xue Zhan ask Xia Nan, "How many people know that Zhao Yu is allergic to orange juice?"

If such an accident hadn't occurred today, and if he hadn't heard it from Wang Qi, even he wouldn't have known about it.

Xia Nan shook her head. "I'm not sure either. Probably not very many. We only found out after we'd gotten close to Sister Zhao Yu."

Xue Zhan's gaze was deep and somber. He pondered for a moment, then said calmly, "Everyone, go back out now."

It had only been a minor interlude. Such a grand annual meeting certainly had to continue. Outside, the scene quickly returned to normal, cheerful music rising again as performers for the next program took the stage one after another.

Yu Fei had come with her father. As VIP guests, father and daughter sat at the same table, right next to Xue Zhan's. When Xue Zhan emerged from backstage, he had barely reached the side of the stage when his sharp, piercing gaze had already landed on her.

She was so frightened that her entire body flinched. She quickly averted her eyes, pretending to calmly watch the performance on stage. But deep inside, that feeling of terror hadn't dissipated at all.

She had merely overheard Zhao Yu's conversation with the waiter. On a moment's impulse, she had wanted to make that woman embarrass herself, to vent the anger she couldn't unleash upon Xue Zhan. Who knew Zhao Yu's reaction would be so severe? She had almost become a murderer.

Xue Zhan had only suspected Yu Fei on intuition before, but that exchanged glance just now completely confirmed his guess.

He just didn't quite understand—where had Yu Fei learned about Zhao Yu's allergy to orange juice? Even if she had deliberately investigated beforehand, coming to commit the act in person today—wasn't that unbelievably stupid?

Just then, his other secretary walked over, bent down, and whispered in his ear, "President Xue, that waiter has been taken to the lounge. Would you like to question him personally?"

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