Returning - Chapter 140
Chapter 140: Surveillance
The inpatient department was exceptionally quiet at night. Apart from the occasional footsteps echoing from the corridor, there wasn't a single sound within the hospital room.
Peering through the curtains at the world outside, Zhao Yu estimated it would be dawn soon. Tilting her head slightly to the side, she could faintly make out a figure in the darkness.
Just like the night before, Xue Zhan had said he would leave after she fell asleep. But she had felt no drowsiness whatsoever, and he hadn't left either.
She knew perfectly well, of course, that there was nothing seriously wrong with her body.
Taking emergency contraception that many times was bound to cause harm. The last time, when Xue Zhan had forcefully fed her the pill, she had indeed felt some discomfort, but it was nowhere near serious enough to require hospitalization.
Even the vomit back at the villa had been something she deliberately induced by triggering her gag reflex. The sole purpose had been to make the scene even more shocking for him, to push his fear and remorse to the absolute limit.
She truly had schemed with every fiber of her being, resorting to any means necessary. But hidden beneath all those machinations was the gnawing insecurity that had followed her all along. After all, in this world, the only one you could ever truly rely on was yourself—and she lacked the ability to rely on herself.
She had long grown accustomed to pretense, to lies and deception. Now that she had laid everything bare, with not a single bargaining chip left in her hand, it felt as though her entire being, inside and out, had been exposed naked before him. That sensation of having no shelter, of being completely seen through, left her at a loss.
She knew that Xue Zhan, sitting beside the bed at this very moment, surely had no more desire to sleep than she did. He must be staring at her through the darkness too, carefully pondering everything that had happened these past days, earnestly contemplating the nature of their relationship.
She had long since passed the age of naive innocence. It was impossible for her to suddenly place her wholehearted trust in a man just because of a few sweet words, to pin all her hopes entirely on him.
What's more, his unusual reactions lately had all been the result of her deliberate manipulation. Whether he was consumed by fury or unusually soft-hearted when faced with her vulnerability, it was all merely a specific display born from his loss of rational control. Once he fully detached from that state, would his attitude toward her remain the same? And to what extent would his so-called willingness to help her actually go?
Just as she cautiously turned over, his voice reached her. "Sleep."
"Mm." She responded softly, "You should go back and rest too."
Xue Zhan sat quietly for another moment before rising from the chair and slowly pulling the door open to walk out.
Having adjusted to the darkness for so long, the corridor lights made him instinctively squint. Only then did he feel an unprecedented wave of exhaustion crashing over him, overwhelming and absolute.
He had navigated the business world for many years and weathered countless major storms, yet he suddenly felt that none of those corporate tempests had tormented him quite like the violent ups and downs of these past days.
He couldn't remember the last time he had closed his eyes. They were painfully dry, his body felt weightless and unsteady, and even his thoughts struggled to coalesce. Still, he went straight to the company.
After finishing up the tasks left over from yesterday afternoon, people gradually began arriving for work. He took a quick shower in the bathroom, changed into a fresh set of clothes, then picked up his phone and dialed Ling Jianyuan.
Zhao Yu finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep a little past nine in the morning. But she hadn't slept long before the incessant ringing of her phone on the bedside table jolted her awake.
She opened her eyes and glanced at the screen. It was an unfamiliar number, but judging by the persistent calling, it couldn't be a wrong number.
"Hello."
"It's me." Ling Jianwei's voice.
Zhao Yu was surprised. "How did you get my number?"
"I asked Qin Yi for it." His tone sounded extremely urgent. "Where are you? I have something very important to discuss with you."
Zhao Yu froze. A bad premonition suddenly welled up in her heart. Had Ling Jianyuan exposed her situation to the Zhuang family? But the three-day deadline hadn't passed yet, and he didn't seem like someone who would go back on his word.
An hour later, Ling Jianwei burst into the hospital room in a hurry. The first thing he asked was, "Why did you go to Huacan?"
"Why are you asking that?"
"What exactly happened four years ago? Is there some kind of… grudge between you and the Zhuang family?"
Zhao Yu stared intently back at him. "What do you know? Did your elder brother tell you something?"
Ling Jianwei paused, then lowered his voice. "I was afraid he would cause trouble for you, so I tapped his phone."
Zhao Yu was utterly stunned. She couldn't believe this was something he would do—he who was so famously known for being obedient and well-behaved.
Ling Jianwei continued, "I heard Xue Zhan call him to set up a meeting, so I hid in his office beforehand. I overheard their entire conversation. Are you… trying to get revenge on the Zhuang family?"
Seeing that Zhao Yu wasn't answering, Ling Jianwei took out his phone, placed it in front of her, and played a recording.
"Is Director Xue so confident that I will agree to your proposal?" This was Ling Jianyuan's voice.
"Because we are the same kind of people." This was Xue Zhan's voice. Even from the tone alone, one could discern his characteristic confidence and arrogance. "Putting interests first."
Ling Jianyuan seemed to chuckle softly. "Somehow, I get the feeling Director Xue isn't putting interests first here, but rather… putting beauty first?"
Xue Zhan also laughed. "When I can have both fish and bear's paw, why should I give one up? It's the same principle as when President Ling married Miss Chen back then, acquiring both her hand and the Chen business simultaneously. All President Ling needs to do now is wait. A few months' time won't cause any significant loss to Yiyuan."
After a brief silence, Ling Jianyuan's voice sounded again. "What exactly is the deep grudge between Zhao Yu and the Zhuang family? Although, I'm even more curious—just how much charm does this Miss Zhao possess, to make both the Xue uncle and nephew willingly take such a huge risk for her?"
"Wouldn't that question become perfectly clear if President Ling went and asked your dear younger brother?"
What the two discussed afterwards, Ling Jianwei hadn't recorded, and Zhao Yu had no way of knowing. But from this truncated snippet of audio, she could roughly understand that Xue Zhan had gone directly to Ling Jianyuan to lay his cards on the table.
Had he already decided to help her go against the Zhuang family? In such a short time, he had made this decision alone? Yet there was clearly no plan at all.
And the fact that he had actually gone before Ling Jianyuan to stake everything on a single throw—his confidence and boldness truly shocked her.
Seeing Zhao Yu in a constant daze, Ling Jianwei asked again, "What exactly happened four years ago? This deep grudge my brother mentioned… back then, after we… after Zhuang Ye discovered us, you disappeared. The Zhuang family couldn't have done anything to you back then for it to be a deep grudge. Was it before that…"
Zhao Yu looked at him fixedly, still silent.
Ling Jianwei grabbed her wrist. "Tang Xi, please tell me. I've never been able to figure it out. Why did you suddenly… that day in front of Zhuang Ye, you said it was because he hadn't been by your side during that period and you wanted some excitement, that's why you… with me… But you're clearly not that kind of person. I don't believe you're that kind of person."
Zhao Yu abruptly smiled. "Then what kind of person do you think I am?"
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