Chapter 41

Zhou Yiheng stepped back, turned around and saw Xiao Xiao next to him, and asked quietly, "Do you think the boss is a little scary now?"

"Yes, a little bit." Xiao Xiao nodded. She also felt that Yang Ye was a little different now.

Zhou Yiheng said: "She looks like the TV series you watched yesterday"

"What?"

"Look at that TV show where they recite poems. I feel like today's boss is a lot like the emperor in the show. If I weren't sitting, I'd really kneel down to her."

"You, is this the same as last time..." The host's stuttering voice came from the phone.

"You figured it out?" Yang Ye was pleasantly surprised, her lips curled up in a gentle arc. Her calm eyes held an unwavering chill. Every word was clear and understandable, and her voice, unchanged, was filled with sarcasm. "I remember you said last time that this thing was fake, and reminded everyone to be careful to distinguish it."

"What, what, what a big melon I ate!"

"Last time, wasn't it the time when an old man came to ask?"

"I remember the previous one too. Someone said it was inherited from their ancestors, but the anchor said it was fake."

"Last time it was fake, but this time it's real?"

“Oh my god!!”

"Is the anchor reliable? Don't just say one thing after another."

The host was really panicking after seeing the screen full of negative comments. He reached out to turn off the live broadcast, but because of his nervousness, he pressed the wrong button several times.

The supervisor cuts off directly in the background.

As the screen went black, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao Xiao was a little worried, "Why is this such a big deal? Will there be trouble?"

"What's there to be afraid of? If there's any trouble, it's the host's," Zhou Yiheng said. "He's been exposed like this, how dare he say anything online?"

Xu Jingzhe reminds us, “Don’t be too happy too soon, the Internet is changing rapidly.”

The phone fixed on the shelf suddenly lit up. Xiao Xiao took it off and saw the private message that had just been sent.

"Little girl, this isn't very interesting."

"Are you trying to vent your anger on that old man? So, explain my situation online and I'll give him his things, or we'll see what happens."

"I've been in this business for so long. If you want to sell this old man's stuff, you'd better not go against me."

Her clenched hands tightened unconsciously, and even her knuckles reflected white.

"This is too arrogant." Xu Jingzhe, who was standing next to her, had already seen these warning messages.

Xiao Xiao gritted her teeth and turned to look at Xu Jingzhe angrily.

Xu Jingzhe was startled by her glare. He swallowed his saliva and walked over. When his eyes touched Xiao Xiao's phone screen, the expression on his face froze instantly.

Before they could recover from their anger, Zhou Yi flipped through his phone and found something. He pointed at the screen excitedly and said, "The anchor's account seems to have been blocked."

"What?!" Xiao Xiao was a little bit unbelievable at the sudden surprise.

"Really," Zhou Yiheng nodded.

Xiao Xiao took his phone and saw the simple prompt on the screen. Xiao Xiao still couldn't believe it, "What did you do? Report all his videos?"

"Reports still have a review period. He was blocked so quickly, it must be the internet regulator's action," Xu Jingzhe came over. "They've been cracking down on these kinds of fraudulent accounts lately, and he just walked into the crossfire."

Xiao Xiao asked: "Why did he send these threats to us?"

Zhou Yiheng said: "He's trying to warn us in his last desperate struggle."

"When the enemy comes, we will stop him; when the water comes, we will block it with earth"

Xiao Xiao asked: "So, Teacher Fang's stuff won't be available online?"

Yang Ye passed by them and picked up the phone she had left on the ground and forgot to take with her. "I've asked Li Cheng to keep an eye on Fang Zhiyang's situation. He knows a lot of people, so there should be results in half a month or a month."

By the time she left the bookstore, it was nearly dark outside. The evening breeze carried a chill, and the temperature plummeted. The warm air she'd just exhaled instantly turned into a cloud of white mist, blurring her vision. The moisture in the air seemed to have frozen into countless fine ice needles, piercing every inch of her exposed skin.

The branches of the sycamore tree stretched out lifelessly in all directions. The lush leaves had gradually withered, leaving only a few withered, yellow, and dry leaves. She stood by the road, waiting for the bus back home.

On the winter road, pedestrians are in a hurry.

His gaze casually swept to the corner beside him. The dim streetlight, which had just come on, flickered overhead, its light filtering through the chill of the evening and falling on Fang Zhiyang's thin back. He stood facing the wall, cigarette between his fingers, motionless.

Smoke came out of his mouth and was blown away by the evening breeze.

Yang Ye walked over.

When Fang Zhiyang saw that it was her, he was stunned for a few seconds.

Yang Ye's voice was filled with surprise, "Teacher Fang, why are you standing here?"

With the half-burned cigarette butt between his fingers, Fang Zhiyang extinguished it awkwardly, "Smoking is not allowed in the hospital, I couldn't help it, so I ran out to smoke two."

After just a few days of not seeing him, he looked increasingly haggard.

Yang Ye asked: "How is your wife? Is she feeling better?"

Fang Zhiyang slowly walked away, brushing off the cigarette ash. His voice was hoarse and helpless, "It's still the same. It's being maintained by the equipment. I can't say whether it's better or worse."

Yang Ye was about to say something more when Fang Zhiyang's phone rang. Looking at the caller's note, he paused, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

"Dad, please come back soon. Mom is dying again." A crying voice came from the receiver.

"Boss Yang, I, I'm leaving first." Fang Zhiyang's voice was also filled with anxiety. He spoke very quickly and rushed to the hospital.

At the door of the emergency room.

The choking and unpleasant smell of disinfectant and the dry air were mixed with tension and despair.

Fang Hui crouched in a corner, his hands clutching his head, his fingers buried in his hair. He felt as if half of himself had been hollowed out, with no strength left in him.

Hearing the hurried footsteps coming over, Fang Hui moved his body and slowly raised his head. He looked at Fang Zhiyang, who also had a worried and panicked look on his face.

His hands slid down from the top of his head and passed over his cheeks.

He rubbed his tired and stiff face vigorously, took a long breath, gritted his teeth, supported his knees against the wall and stood up, "Dad"

After walking a few steps in front of Fang Hui, Fang Zhiyang stretched out his hand to grab Fang Hui, but when he looked down, he found that his hands were also shaking.

Fang Zhiyang's voice was hoarse: "How is it?"

"I suddenly fell into a coma and the doctor didn't tell me the reason."

My mind went blank for a moment and my body swayed.

He stared at the closed emergency room door; the cold metal panel seemed like an insurmountable barrier. Even in this hospital, with its heated and air-conditioned rooms, Fang Zhiyang still felt cold.

I don’t know how long it took before the door of the emergency room was opened.

After standing for so long, Fang Zhiyang's legs were numb, and the slightest movement caused him to ache. He didn't react at all, and it was only when Fang Hui called him that he finally responded.

The doctor took off the mask on his face and said, "She is stable now, but her condition is getting worse day by day. You should have a plan in mind."

Fang Zhiyang's eyes became hot and his legs suddenly went limp. He barely managed to hold on to the wall next to him so as not to kneel on the ground.

Fang Hui went to hold his arm and asked nervously: "Dad, are you okay?"

"It's okay, it's okay." His body couldn't stop shaking. He closed his eyes and opened them in confusion.

Fang Zhiyang said to himself, "It's okay, I'm fine"

At the end of the corridor, Yang Ye watched everything that had just happened. An inexplicable, indescribable feeling lingered in her chest. It was like a tangled mess of threads, densely entangled and impossible to untangle.

"Who are you looking for?" The nurse came up from downstairs and saw Yang Ye standing at the stairs. He didn't look like a patient who got lost while seeing a doctor, nor did he look like a family member looking for someone.

"Sorry, I took the wrong way," said Yang Ye.

She hurried down a few steps, her steps becoming slower and slower.

"Zhao Zhao, mother will probably be inseparable from your father for the rest of her life."

The familiar voice was pulled repeatedly, coming from afar bit by bit, carrying with it a lot of unspeakable grievances and helplessness that was almost seen through.

She was so absorbed in the distant sound that she paid no attention to the steps below her feet. As she took a step forward, her footing suddenly gave way, and she nearly fell.

In a panic, Yang Ye instinctively reached out to grab the handrail next to him.

"Mother"

Looking at the body covered with white cloth being carried out of the house.

The police told her that her mother had hanged herself in her room last night.

"This is impossible. How could my mother commit suicide?" Yang Ye didn't believe it. She grabbed the police officer's collar and questioned loudly.

"Mrs. Xue, please calm down. We have checked the situation in your house and asked the servants. It is true that your mother was the only one in the room last night. No one else was there."

The police officer comforted her, "Besides, we also found a letter from your mother to you in her room."

"Maybe it's because of your father's departure that she couldn't bear it."

"You're talking nonsense. My father passed away three years ago. She was able to survive three years ago, so why can't she survive three years later?" Yang Ye's eyes were red. He held back his tears and took the letter forcefully.

Yang Ye forgot how she returned home that day. She sat by the bed holding the letter for a long time, until the sun set, darkness covered the sky outside, and the dawn of the next day shone again.

She was stunned for a long time before opening the letter in her hand.

"My dear, by the time you read this letter, I've probably already met your father. Don't be afraid of my sudden departure. I'm naturally very happy to see your father. I married into the palace at the age of thirteen, and now I'm forty, half a decade later. I've spent all my days with the prince. After he left, I didn't know what to do with my life. I was completely confused and depressed, and my life was running non-stop."

"Zhao Zhao, Shangyang is a worthy man. Your father originally disapproved of your marriage, but after looking around, he is the only one who can protect you in these troubled times. Zhao Zhao, I wish you a good life. No matter how long it takes, your father and mother will always bless you in heaven."

"The second son invited a foreign doctor to Fu Jin that day, and the doctor said Fu Jin was suffering from depression."

The street lights gradually lit up, and the dim light seemed particularly fragile in the thick night and cold air.

As I watched the children running past me, the phone in my pocket rang.

Yang Ye picked up the phone.

"I have already transferred the money for the bottle."

"Thanks," she said, pulling the scarf from her face. "Does he know I bought the bottle?"

"I told him that I was a friend of mine who had just recently found a blue and white porcelain vase of this vintage."

"He believed it?"

"I didn't believe it then, but now that the money is in my pocket, I should believe it now, right?" Liu Guoxing had just walked out of the teaching building when the cold wind blowing in from the door made him stumble. He shook his body and said, "By the way, I'll bring the bottle to you when I don't have classes next week."

"I can't afford this, and I don't feel comfortable keeping it here."

"Or should I put it in college for you?"

“I’m giving it to your university museum.”

She turned off her phone, shrank her neck from the cold wind, pulled up the scarf she had just pulled down, tightened her white down jacket, looked up at the dark sky, and said, "It's getting colder and colder."