49 Don’t be afraid, come on!

The next morning at eight o'clock sharp.

Ni Yue, Zhang Chenling, and Mr. Wang's two sons who had rushed over, the four of them pushed the bed and sent Mr. Wang into the operating room.

Following behind them was a large group of people, including the families brought back from the United States by the two sons, several unidentified men in suits, and the old butler, Uncle Zhong, a total of nearly twenty or thirty people.

…The atmosphere was inexplicably solemn, and the scene was comparable to a funeral.

But as soon as the thoughtful old man entered the operating room, his two sons simultaneously dropped their serious masks, took out their phones, and started talking on the phone in English. Fortunately, my English wasn't bad, so I could hear that one of them was talking about a multi-hundred-million-dollar deal that was about to be signed, and the other was talking about how he wanted to get Blackpink's Lisa to be the spokesperson for his clothing brand at all costs...

The eldest son finished showing off first. He put down his phone, cast a distrustful look at my cousin and me, then pulled Uncle Zhong to the corner and whispered, stealing glances at us from time to time.

I seriously suspected he was asking Uncle Zhong about us, asking him if the two bath girls had hooked up with his father, Lao Deng...

Ni Yue sat outside the operating room writing her memo.

Zhang Chenling beside him was fidgeting.

She almost didn't sleep the whole night last night, and her eyes were red and swollen. She was in no mood to pay attention to her two sons' performance. Her blurry vision was fixed on a round lamp on the wall outside the operating room door.

The bright red light seemed like a sharp blade, piercing her eyes and causing great pain.

…

"Cousin, I've decided to go back to my hometown!" Zhang Chenling suddenly grabbed Ni Yue's arm and said, "If my mother isn't seriously injured, I'll be back in a day or two."

Ni Yue's artistic creation was interrupted, and before he could react, Zhang Chenling handed him another mobile phone.

"This is Shangshanruoshui's work phone. Although our online ordering system is now live, many people may still call to inquire and place orders. I may not be able to answer the phone at all times these days, so I'm temporarily leaving this phone in your care."

"Also, Xu Zhiqian returned to Shanghai at noon. Our new teammate, Sister Shuang, was supposed to start work tomorrow. I'll add her to the group chat and ask her to go out with you guys to take a shower this afternoon. Sister Shuang is an old subordinate of mine and has a lot of experience. You can discuss anything with her."

"Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you that Qian Xiaohu called me last night and said he wanted to join Shangshan Ruoshui. I didn't agree immediately, but I didn't refuse either. You can find time to talk to him. After all, you have a deeper connection with him..."

"No, what's going on?"

Ni Yue was trying hard to digest Zhang Chenling's words. When she heard the name "Qian Xiaohu," she was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth. She had to interrupt her, "Qian Xiaohu? Did I hear correctly? The Qian Xiaohu who gave Uncle Qian bedsores, almost got into a fight with me and Xiao Ma, and is now working as a delivery boy?"

"Hmm~" Zhang Chenling nodded.

“He wants to be a bath assistant???”

"My first reaction was the same as yours, but I didn't have time to confirm his feelings, so I'll leave that task to you! However, my principle is that we shouldn't rush to judge someone with one blow! After all, a cat that catches mice is a good cat, regardless of whether it's black or white!"

Ni Yue curled his lips, "But he looks like a rat to me!"

"...When I'm not around, Shangshan Ruoshui will rely on you! Oh, and Xu Zhiqian! I'll read the messages in the group when I have time, but if you have urgent matters, it's best to voice me directly!"

Seeing Zhang Chenling getting up to leave, Ni Yue quickly called her over, "Cousin?"

"What?"

"Looking at your attitude, you're not planning on not coming back for a month or two, are you?"

Ni Yue suddenly felt overwhelmed.

"Of course not!" Zhang Chenling smiled, but her expression was awkward. "I don't know the situation at home yet. Staying for a day or two is ideal. What if..."

"Okay, okay!" Ni Yue interrupted her quickly, "I wish you a speedy return. I'll take care of things here, so you can rest assured!"

Zhang Chenling left in a hurry, leaving Ni Yue alone and in a mess.

Although she made all kinds of promises, she was really unsure in her heart. After all, she usually regarded herself as her cousin's follower. Even if some troubles happened occasionally, she was never afraid because she knew that her cousin would protect her and make up for her. But now she was asked to temporarily replace her cousin and act as the general manager. This was a big challenge.

Don’t be afraid, come on!

She silently encouraged herself.

I opened the memo on my phone, created a new document, and wrote down every detail of what my cousin had told me.

“Boom!”

There was a sudden thunder outside. I looked out the window and saw that it was already pitch black.

The rainstorm is coming.

Zhang Chenling didn't have time to go home and pack her luggage, so she took a taxi to the nearest Hongqiao Airport. As soon as she got in the car, she bought a plane ticket and took off at 10:30.

But when she arrived at the airport at nine o'clock, she found that flights were delayed on a large scale and the waiting hall was crowded with passengers, many of whom were sitting on the floor.

Stumbling among the crowd and luggage, she tried to find an empty charging station to fully charge her phone.

Suddenly, her foot was tripped by a leg that stretched out from somewhere. "Ouch!" She fell forward to the ground like a dog eating shit.

My palms were sweaty, and my phone flew out with a "whoosh", hitting a hard-shell suitcase not far away, bouncing high up, falling freely, and then breaking into two pieces with a "crack".

I rolled to my feet and took a closer look. Fortunately, it was the phone case that had fallen off.

Picked it up and fastened it together tightly—"Huh?"

She suddenly remembered that she had sandwiched an important thing between the phone and the case. She opened it again to check, and found it was empty. As expected, it was gone.

"Where did it fly to?" She bent down and scanned the area with her eyes like radar, but she didn't see any trace of that thing. "What the hell is this!"

So, with the place where she fell as the center, she gradually expanded her search range.

Still can't find it.

She broke out in a sweat without realizing it. Her usually flowing hair stuck to her face and neck, trapping her like ropes. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, as if they weighed a thousand pounds. Her heart felt like a ball of wet cotton, making her feel suffocated.

It felt like I would collapse in the next second.

"Sister, are you looking for this?"

A clear child's voice sounded behind her. She quickly turned around and saw a little girl in a pink polka-dot dress holding something high in her hand - even if it was held between the fingers of a five or six-year-old child, the object seemed so small.

She took it as if it were a treasure, tears of gratitude streaming down her face, "It's mine! Thank you, little girl!"

…

There was thunder and lightning outside, and the rain was getting heavier, so Zhang Chenling's flight was inevitably delayed.

She found a corner and sat down against the wall, holding the treasure she had just lost and found in her palm, looking at it over and over again.

It was an old black-and-white photo, the size of a postage stamp and already yellowed and faded - a family portrait taken in the early 1990s.

There are three people on it: her, Chen Hongmei, and Zhang Chenguang.

Chen Hongmei was less than 40 years old that year, about the same age as Zhang Chenling is now, but she had aged prematurely because of raising a pair of children alone, with wrinkles all over her face; Zhang Chenguang had just graduated from junior high school that year and was about to enter a technical secondary school to study auto repair. Like every mechanic, he had a shaved head and looked silly; Zhang Chenling, with two ponytails, was less than ten years old and was in elementary school. At that time, she hated studying very much, but liked to rummage around in second-hand erasers and pencil cases at school, and from time to time she would earn a few dollars to buy soda and candy.

Thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye, but Zhang Chenling still clearly remembers that day. In that simple photo studio, the three of them faced the camera and smiled happily.

The plane was delayed for five hours before taking off.

After arriving at Shenyang Airport, Zhang Chenling immediately took a two-hour bus ride. When she arrived at her hometown, it was already late at night. Regardless of the fatigue of the journey, she rushed straight to the hospital.

I ran to the ICU door, but didn't see any relatives or friends I knew.

"Where have all the people gone?" She paced in circles at the ICU door, feeling confused and lost, just like when she was looking for photos at the airport that morning.

Finally, she grabbed a doctor who was walking out of the ICU and asked anxiously, "Excuse me, is there a patient named Chen Hongmei in there? How is she doing now?"

"Chen Hongmei?" The doctor frowned and quickly searched his brain. "Is she the one whose son is named Chen Guang?"

“Yes, yes, yes!”

"She was taken away two hours ago!"