Chapter 50

On the south side of the first floor of the Huanyu Building, there is one of the largest coffee shops in the CBD, with nearly 30 tables in total, both indoors and outdoors. It was almost full when it opened at 10 a.m. Some people were wearing noise-canceling headphones and scrolling on their phones, some were typing rapidly on their laptops, and some were dressed in suits and ties, clearly employees of nearby office buildings, using this place as a temporary meeting place.

Among them, a middle-aged couple with shifty eyes seemed out of place, occasionally drawing sidelong glances from passersby. The weather was already cool, and there had been a lot of rain lately. Feng Xin, wearing flip-flops, rubbed her muddy, dirty toes back and forth on the back of her other foot. Meng Xianglan, on the other hand, was meticulously dressed—too meticulously dressed, with glittery eyeshadow, bright pink lipstick, her hair hastily styled into a high bun with hot tongs, a tight leather skirt, flesh-colored stockings, and platform sandals, looking like a model straight out of a 2000s barbershop magazine.

They had been waiting here for almost an hour. They sat on the steps outside the coffee shop before it opened, and as soon as it opened, they rushed in and grabbed a good spot by the window, even bumping into the staff member who opened the door, causing him to stumble.

Meng Xianglan watched the people coming and going listlessly, muttering, "Why aren't they here yet? Could they be scammers?"

Feng Xin glanced at her sideways: "How could that be? The 50,000 yuan was clearly deposited into your account, didn't you see it?"

Meng Xianglan muttered, "That's what makes it suspicious. What kind of society is this? Why would someone give you so much money for no reason?"

Feng Xin's lips curled into a smirk: "Why can't it be my lucky break? I think that little bitch Yan Qing has some tricks up her sleeve. She hooked a big spender this time, transferring 50,000 yuan to me without even asking a question." As he spoke, Feng Xin habitually spat on the ground, saying with considerable regret, "If I had known that spendthrift was a fool, I should have asked for more. I think he really cares about that little slut; even if I asked him for 100,000 or 200,000, he would have given it to me obediently."

Feng Xin's spitting was so loud that people at several nearby tables and the waiters all turned to look at him with surprise and disdain.

Feng Xin didn't care at all. He was fearless and shameless wherever he went, acting as if he were in an empty place.

Meng Xianglan chuckled shrilly, then sighed deeply, "After raising her for so many years, I'm finally seeing some return on my investment. Look at me, how much I've toiled for your niece all these years, my skin is all wrinkled now." As she spoke, she pressed the corner of her eye with great heartache, as if she could press away those drooping crow's feet.

Feng Xin rolled her eyes at her: "How did I make you worry for nothing? Where did you get those gold bracelets and necklaces? Didn't you get to spend any of Jiang Xiaoman's money?"

Meng Xianglan was displeased: "He's been dead for so many years, why bring up that ghost again? Is that interesting?"

"Don't act all innocent after getting a good deal! You're living a good life because your man fought for it." Feng Xin picked up the free lemonade on the table and took a big gulp. Looking at the white-collar workers in suits and ties in front of him, a sudden surge of anger rose within him. "These bastards, acting all high and mighty like pigs with scallions sticking out their noses. They dress like respectable people every day, eating and drinking, bragging, playing on the computer, and money just rolls into their pockets. You ask them if they can farm? Can they weave? What value have they created? Why do they live so comfortably?"

Meng Xianglan laughed again: "You silly thing, when did you become so..." Meng Xianglan wanted to say "critical thinking", but she couldn't think of the word after thinking for a long time. Her attempt to show off her literary skills failed, and she was slightly unhappy. She turned her attention to Feng Xin and said: "You talk as if you know everything about farming and weaving."

Feng Xin said, "I don't understand, that's why I'm not convinced! Everyone's the same, why am I the only one suffering? I've never even been inside this coffee shop! Humph! From now on, I'm going to live this kind of life, lying in bed with people bringing money to my door!"

Meng Xianglan mocked him, "Well, you can just lie in bed and dream." Suddenly, she composed herself and nudged Feng Xin with her elbow.

Feng Xin was staring at a pretty girl drinking coffee alone across several tables when he impatiently cursed, "Stop touching me!" But Meng Xianglan was still arguing with him. He turned around angrily and saw that there was another person in front of him, dressed in a suit and shirt, with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Feng Xin?"

Feng Xin jumped up: "It's me! Manager Hao?"

"Sorry, I just finished a meeting. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Assistant Hao pulled out a chair and sat down. The waiter brought over lemonade, and Manager Hao glanced at the table, took out his phone, scanned the code, and ordered three coffees.

After ordering drinks, Manager Hao asked, "You said on the phone that you had something to discuss in person. What exactly is it?"

Instead of asking directly, Feng Xin asked, "Are you one of Boss Shen's subordinates?"

The colloquial term "subordinate," which has a rather江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) feel, amused Assistant Hao. He raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "I am his assistant."

Feng Xin chuckled, rubbed his hands together, and unconsciously became arrogant: "Oh, nice to meet you, I'm Yan Qing's uncle."

When Feng Xin asked Manager Hao for 50,000 yuan on the phone, he was still suspicious of Shen Hanyang and Manager Hao, so he didn't mention his relationship with Yan Qing, only saying that Yan Qing owed him money. Later, when he found that there was indeed an extra 50,000 yuan in his account, he finally believed that Yan Qing had really hooked up with a rich man.

After revealing his identity to Assistant Hao, Feng Xin stopped here, seemingly anticipating a round of flattery.

However, when Assistant Hao's phone rang, he picked it up to reply to a message, completely ignoring Feng Xin's words.

Feng Xin felt awkward for a moment, then cleared his throat and began to speak confidently: "Actually, I've always known about Qingqing and Boss Shen's relationship. This child, I'm her only uncle, and she always asks me first about everything. She only dares to do things after I give her my approval..."

Manager Hao suddenly looked up from his phone: "Mr. Feng, I have an important meeting later. Let's not beat around the bush and get straight to the point, okay?"

Feng Xin was taken aback.

The coffee arrived, and Meng Xianglan sipped it with gusto, occasionally glancing back and forth between Feng Xin and Assistant Hao with her slanted eyes.

Feng Xin wiped his nose, then resumed his usual nonchalant manner, slumped into a seat, and glared at Assistant Hao: "Here's the situation. I practically raised my niece from infancy, and she's still in school, not contributing a single penny to the household. Her brother, oh, that's my son, is also of school age. Every day when I open my eyes, there are four mouths to feed; I'm really struggling!"

Throughout Feng Xin's speech, Assistant Hao's gaze and fingers remained fixed on his phone, as if he were chatting with someone. He seemed to be listening to Feng Xin, yet also seemed to be merely giving perfunctory responses.

Feng Xin was somewhat displeased, but he could only continue, "I was just thinking, Qingqing and Boss Shen's relationship is quite stable, so I don't have any worries about her. But I still have to support her younger brother, don't I?"

Feng Xin waited for Assistant Hao to respond, but Assistant Hao kept sending text messages on his phone with his eyes lowered.

Feng Xin, still seething with anger, said, "I was thinking of telling you about my difficulties and seeing how Boss Shen could make arrangements. After all, I'm considered his elder..."

Assistant Hao finally raised his eyes, looking at Feng Xin with an ambiguous expression. Feng Xin felt a sense of fear.

Assistant Hao seemed to have been holding back for a long time. He let out a long sigh and asked bluntly, "You still want money, right? How much do you need? Give me a number."

Feng Xin and Meng Xianglan exchanged a glance and held up five fingers. Just as they were about to say "five hundred thousand," Assistant Hao spoke first, "Five million? Okay. I'll transfer it to you via mobile banking."

Feng Xin doubted he had misheard, but Assistant Hao tapped on his phone and said after a while, "It's turned around, take a look."

Feng Xin exclaimed "Ah!", but Meng Xianglan pinched him and frantically gave him meaningful glances before he finally pulled out his phone.

Five million, it's definitely in my account...

Feng Xin and Meng Xianglan's expressions slowly changed, from white to red, from shock to ecstasy.

"Did you receive it?" Assistant Hao asked.

Feng Xin and Meng Xianglan were stunned for a long time before they finally reacted, nodding vigorously: "We received it, we received it! Oh, you've been a great help to us, thank you so much!"

Assistant Hao smiled and said, "President Shen instructed me to do my best to handle things on your end."

Before getting up to leave, Assistant Hao asked again, "Where do you currently work?"

Feng Xin, sounding drunk and dazed, said, "Huh? No job? Just staying home!"

Assistant Hao laughed: "You're in the prime of your life, why don't you consider finding something to do?"

At this moment, Assistant Hao was like a god who would grant his wishes. He slapped his thigh and actually began to confide in the other person: "I didn't even finish elementary school, I don't have any skills, what can I do? Nobody will hire me anywhere!"

Assistant Hao nodded: "Okay, I'll keep an eye out for you. Our company has some openings, like handling packages or driving. There aren't any high educational requirements. The salary isn't high, around ten thousand yuan a month, with five social insurances and one housing fund, holiday benefits, and a small year-end bonus. If you're interested, you can give it a try. It's not good for a grown man to stay at home all the time."

Feng Xin was stunned again. Meng Xianglan tried to wake him up by poking him hard, but to no avail, so she could only answer for him: "That's wonderful! Please help us find something for her uncle to do! This place has heating in winter and air conditioning in summer. I liked it as soon as I arrived! It must be very comfortable working here!"

Emerging from the coffee shop, the two were still in a daze, as if in a dream. Meng Xianglan snatched Feng Xin's phone and counted the bank text messages over and over: "Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions... It really is five million!"

Feng Xin cursed, "What are you yelling about? Look at you, so pathetic! You think this little bit of money is enough to get rid of you?"

"What are you pretending for? Who was so excited they couldn't even speak just now?"

"Women are all talk and no action!" Feng Xin sneered. "It seems this guy surnamed Chen really has some power. We can't let this money tree slip by easily."

"What? Five million is already the first prize in the lottery, and you want even more?"

Feng Xin glanced back at the towering Huanyu building and chuckled, "Of course. That's what I deserve! I'm her uncle, no one can get my niece for free!"

The changing of seasons in S City is always abrupt and lacks a smooth transition. Just two weeks ago, there was still a fleeting glimpse of the lingering heat of late summer, but after a few days of continuous rain, the temperature plummeted.

Yan Qing will graduate next March. During this time, she has been busy revising her graduation thesis and attending job fairs, and has not had much free time to perceive the changes around her.

It was another busy day. She dragged her tired body to bed, glancing at the time; it was almost midnight. Gu Feimeng was engrossed in watching videos under the covers. The window was slightly ajar, letting in a breeze that brought a strong autumnal feel to the dormitory. Yan Qing lay on her side, facing inwards, the thin blanket not keeping her warm enough, so she pulled it high up to her chin. The dormitory lights were off, only a small glow emanating from her phone screen. She didn't usually like using her phone, but now she stared blankly at the WeChat chat interface, her fingers unconsciously swiping across the screen.

Shen Hanyang's chat box has been pushed to a very low position; you have to scroll a few times to find it.

She then realized that their conversation had stopped four weeks earlier.

Shen Hanyang's WeChat profile picture was a landscape photo of a tranquil lake under the sunlight. She vaguely remembered that when she first met him, his profile picture was of a snow-capped mountain. Back then, she chatted with him about Cheng Jiaming's studies, but never received a reply. She thought that this person was indeed as cold as an iceberg, just like his profile picture. Later, their roles reversed, and Shen Hanyang sent her more and more messages, more and more frequently, but she didn't notice when he changed his profile picture.

For some reason, seeing Shen Hanyang's profile picture evokes all the sensory memories of him, whether it's his voice, the way he looks at her, or the restraint and coldness of his fingers on her skin when he holds her hand...

Gu Feimeng let out a series of giggles, startling Yan Qing. She had lost count of how many times her thoughts had strayed off course, teetering on the edge of danger. Sometimes she truly didn't know what she was doing. She knew very well that she had her own order. This order was built up little by little over twenty-seven years, like a sandbar settling over the long years—solid, yet heavy. But this order was showing signs of crumbling imperceptibly because of someone's approach.

It was late at night. A dormitory door slammed shut in the corridor, the sound of the lock clicking coldly, carrying a frosty chill. Yan Qing, however, looked like she had just been through a fierce battle, covered in a thin layer of sweat. She couldn't lie still any longer. Glancing across from her, she saw Gu Feimeng was in the middle of a great time. Since it was still early before bed, she got up to take a shower.

The shower water poured down from the showerhead, the sound of it hitting the tiled floor much like the heavy rain that day. She listened blankly. Actually, she had finished showering long ago, but she stood under the running water for a long time before slowly emerging.

Emerging from the bathroom, Gu Feimeng had already climbed out of bed and was eating a late-night snack with her legs up. "Your phone kept ringing," she said while munching on a chicken foot.

Yan Qing wiped the water droplets from her hair, picked up her phone, and saw that Huang Qian had called three times in a row at 12:50. She rarely acted in such an urgent situation. Yan Qing quickly called back.

"Girl, Gong Meiping has fallen!"

Gong Meiping was taken to the hospital by an ambulance. When Yan Qing arrived, the old lady was lying unconscious on the emergency room bed.

Huang Feihong had swollen eyes from crying, while the nanny paced anxiously beside him. Huang Qian was still on a business trip in the south, 1500 kilometers away from S City, and had already missed the last flight back to S City when she received the news. With a clueless little one at home and a nanny who couldn't make decisions, she had no choice but to call Yan Qing.

The nanny sighed and shed tears: "Auntie went to bed at 9:30. Then I went to sleep too. I didn't notice when Auntie got up. I wanted to go to the bathroom, and when I passed by her bedroom door, I saw her lying on the floor. I really watched her go to bed before I went to sleep." The nanny explained in a tearful voice, probably afraid of taking responsibility.

Yan Qing comforted her for a moment, told her to take good care of Huang Yanxiang, and then went to find the doctor to ask about the situation.

The ER doctor said, "We took X-rays first, and there's no bone fracture. The brain CT scan results aren't out yet. We'll check for bleeding when they come back."

Huang Yanxiang asked tearfully, "Doctor, will my grandma die?"

The doctor comforted the child: "Don't cry, little one. There are so many uncles and aunties here; they will give your grandma the best treatment."

Huang Yanxiang had to go to school the next day, and Yan Qing tried her best to persuade her to go back to sleep. But the little girl was more determined than anyone else, preferring to lie on the hospital chair and doze off rather than leave her grandmother's side.

It was almost three o'clock. Yan Qing had no choice but to put her arm around Huang Yanxiang and let her lean on her shoulder for a nap. The weather was getting cooler, so she took off her coat and draped it over Huang Yanxiang. After a while, Yan Qing also started to feel drowsy, so she rested one hand on the armrest of her chair and closed her eyes to wait.

The emergency room at night is not as noisy as it is during the day, with only the occasional hurried footsteps passing by.

In a daze, I heard a male voice gurgling and vomiting, sometimes vomiting, sometimes talking loudly, which sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet hospital.

"Brother Chen, I'm so happy to see you today!"

The man's voice next to me was low, and I couldn't hear what he was saying.

The man vomited again. The doctor shouted, "Bai Shaolin, come in!"

Yan Qing slightly opened her eyes, and a white coat flashed in front of her. It was the doctor in charge of treating Gong Meiping.

"Gong Meiping's family members, please come in with me for a moment."

Yan Qing gently released Huang Yanxiang and followed the doctor inside.

"The CT scan results are in," the doctor said, pointing to the film images on the viewing light. "Look at this area, a clear hematoma, a typical sign of a brain hemorrhage. I just heard from your housekeeper that she saw the old lady lying on the ground in the middle of the night, with her cane lying to the side. She suspected that the old lady had fallen while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. But I think she got the order wrong. The old lady probably got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage, lost consciousness, and fell."

Yan Qing asked, "Is there any danger to his life?"

The doctor shook his head, his expression not relaxed: "It's hard to say. The old lady is quite elderly, and she hasn't regained consciousness yet. The bleeding has penetrated into the ventricles, and even if she does regain consciousness, there's a high chance of long-term effects—sensory, motor, and psychological..."

The man who had been vomiting and yelling earlier was now shouting at the top of his lungs again: "I don't need a stomach pump! Brother Chen! Where's Brother Chen?!"

The doctor glanced back and frowned: "Another one who's drunk."

The doctor over there also called out, "Where are Bai Shaolin's family members?"

A familiar male voice rang out: "Sorry, I just answered the phone."

Yan Qing was startled when she saw Shen Hanyang's profile.