Returning - Chapter 186
Chapter 186: Quagmire
The exposure of Cui Lan's case was undoubtedly detrimental to Lanxi. Although a scandal of this magnitude couldn't topple an industry-leading giant, the stock price would inevitably take a hit. If the situation wasn't properly handled over the weekend, there was no telling what might happen when the market opened on Monday.
Thus, Xue Zhan and Shang Lu didn't stay long at the hospital before leaving again. Even though they had already weighed the pros and cons of this matter long ago, as new shareholders of Lanxi, they dared not be the slightest bit negligent.
It wasn't until past ten in the morning that a nurse came to notify them that Ji Sui was awake and his condition was essentially stable; family members could apply for visitation.
In that moment, Zhao Yu felt a dizzying sensation wash over her, as if she were entirely in a dream, utterly unreal.
After sitting dumbfounded on the stool for a good few seconds, tears suddenly slid down her cheeks.
But she didn't dare visit him. Ji Sui was physically weak right now; seeing her would likely only agitate him further, and she truly had no idea how to face him.
Zhuang Ye also didn't dare visit. In the current state of things—between him and Ji Sui, between the Zhuang family and Ji Sui—they had fallen into an ambiguous, awkward relationship that defied explanation. He, too, didn't know how to face him.
By the fourth day, Ji Sui was finally transferred to a regular ward.
He was in a deep sleep when he was moved out of the ICU. When he awoke again, he discovered an extra figure beside the bed.
Perhaps she was simply too exhausted from the past few days; Zhao Yu was sleeping soundly. Even though the posture of lying slumped over the hospital bed was clearly uncomfortable, she hadn't moved a muscle.
He watched her in silence for an indeterminate amount of time before slowly reaching out, wanting to touch that face he knew so well. Yet his trembling hand froze just centimeters from her hair.
He and she were never truly familiar. Even though he had learned about her past, he still hadn't experienced her true self firsthand.
Right now, they were nothing to each other. The casual gestures he could once freely make towards her now felt foreign and jarringly abrupt.
When Zhao Yu woke, she instinctively looked up at the person on the bed, only to meet a pair of deep, unfathomable eyes.
After a brief daze, she could only avert her gaze as if trying to escape and whispered, "Awake? Are you feeling unwell? Do you want me to call a doctor?"
Ji Sui's gaze slowly settled on her shoulder. Once upon a time, it was she who had lain on the sickbed, and now the tables had completely turned—it was she standing by his bedside, looking at him with that complex expression.
He moved his lips and said, "I deleted… you."
He was still on oxygen; his voice was very faint and hoarse to an extreme, but she understood him clearly.
Assuming he was telling her to leave, Zhao Yu forced a self-mocking smile, preparing to turn and walk away, when his voice came through again in fits and starts: "I have… no relationship with you… anymore. Whatever I do… has nothing… to do with you…"
Therefore, whether I live or die also has nothing to do with you. And this gunshot wound—there's absolutely no need for your guilt or remorse.
Zhao Yu was visibly stunned, standing frozen by the bed, looking at his pale face beneath the oxygen mask, her eyes growing increasingly hot.
"Ji Sui." After blinking fiercely several times and still failing to control the tears that spilled over, Zhao Yu continued to look at him fixedly, wanting to say she was sorry, yet unable to get the words out no matter how hard she tried.
How could everything she had done be erased by a simple apology?
His instincts urged him to reach out and wipe away her tears. His fingertips twitched, then stopped again. After a long silence, he glanced around the inside and outside of the ward and asked, "Are you… the only one here?"
Zhao Yu didn't quite grasp his meaning and answered, "Zhuang Ye is here too. He went downstairs to settle the bill."
Actually, Xue Zi'ang was also outside, but she figured Ji Sui probably wouldn't want to hear that name.
Ji Sui said, "Have Zhuang Ye… take you back. Don't stay here."
Given their earlier exchange, Zhao Yu vaguely sensed he wasn't just trying to drive her away. After pausing for two seconds, she still asked, "Why?"
Ji Sui looked down at his own chest: "She won't… let this go easily. I don't know… what she might… do next either. Don't let those bodyguards… leave you…"
Zhao Yu understood. He meant that Zhuang Yiqing, driven to a desperate corner—someone who had been willing to use her own father's secret to provoke Zhuang Ruyun—would surely do something extreme against her as well.
But what he didn't know yet was that Zhuang Yiqing was implicated in the case and under investigation. In just a few short days, the charges had spiraled from hiring someone to commit assault to accepting bribes. Several companies she had personally invested in were also facing problems, and her assets had been frozen. At least for these next few days, she would be in no position to come after Zhao Yu.
"Don't worry, the bodyguards are right outside." She didn't tell him about the current state of the Zhuang family. Instead, she couldn't help but ask, "Did you know long ago that Zhuang Ruyun was illegally hiding firearms?"
He often visited that shooting club. Not only did Zhuang Ye go with him, but sometimes Zhuang Ruyun would clamor to go too, and he couldn't bring himself to refuse her every time. Many members there were military enthusiasts, and there were quite a few who illegally hid firearms. After Zhuang Ruyun got acquainted with those people, she naturally found a way to obtain a real gun.
"So you… guessed early on that Zhuang Ruyun would open fire one day, and therefore never truly left the Zhuang family, just waiting for that day to come?"
Ji Sui shook his head, then nodded. In fact, he had originally been more worried the gun would end up in Zhuang Yiqing's hands. After all, the one currently in a desperate situation was Zhuang Yiqing, and she knew about that gun. If pushed too far, who knew what insane act she might commit? He just hadn't expected her to push Zhuang Ruyun over the edge first.
But none of that mattered anymore. The Zhuang family's debt of kindness had to be repaid. No matter who it was whose bullet he took, to him, there was no difference.
Zhao Yu looked at him sorrowfully: "You could have clearly avoided all of this."
If he hadn't given the equity in his hands to her—an enemy of Lanxi—leaving him with a guilty conscience towards the Zhuang family, how could he possibly be lying in this hospital bed right now?
The truth was, even he himself probably hadn't expected to end up lying in this hospital bed, rather than in a cold, sterile morgue.
Because what he had chosen to offer up was his very life.
Ji Sui moved his lips, but only dropped his gaze, no longer looking at her.
He had no other choice.
All he possessed was the equity in Lanxi… and this life.
Since she wanted the equity… then this life could only be given to the Zhuang family.
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