Chapter 41: The Childhood Sweetheart Returns Home
At eight o'clock in the morning, Aunt Wang came to deliver breakfast to Bai Zhenzhen and the others. Just then, Aunt Zhang also had Secretary Wang bring over some light breakfast.
There were more than a dozen items. Bai Chuxiong instructed his secretary, Wang, to send some of them to Zhao Yongchang, who had stayed at the hospital to keep watch the previous night. He was very grateful to Zhao Yongchang for taking charge this time; otherwise, Bai Chuxiong's condition might not have stabilized so quickly.
Bai Zhenzhen and Shen Huai'an stayed up all night in the ward, and they were both hungry, so they ate breakfast with Bai Chuxiong.
After Zhao Yongchang's teacher arrived at work in the morning, he had a nurse push Bai Chuxiong to undergo a detailed examination. After the results came out, he told them with a very serious expression that Bai Chuxiong's illness could not be delayed any longer.
Her emotions, which had just calmed down, surged again. Bai Zhenzhen bit her lower lip, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"However, Mr. Bai's current condition is not suitable for long-distance travel. We plan to rest and adjust his condition first before making any decisions."
Seeing his daughter like this, Bai Chuxiong couldn't bring himself to say he wanted to give up. He knew his own body well and hadn't dared to gamble before, but now that he had arranged a way out for his daughter, it wasn't a bad idea to take a chance.
Shen Huai'an listened quietly to the doctor's instructions. He had asked his boss for two days off this morning and planned to stay at the hospital with Bai Zhenzhen to take care of her.
The morning was spent undergoing examinations and listening to the doctor's analysis of his condition. Bai Chuxiong stopped talking about giving up. He hadn't even seen his grandson born yet; how could he not feel regret?
I took a two-hour nap on the cot in the ward in the afternoon. When I woke up, I received a call from Zhu Jie. Afraid of disturbing Bai Chuxiong, I went to the corridor outside to answer the call.
Over the phone, Zhu Jie reported the latest situation of the company to her. Thanks to Zhou Minghui's help, Li Tiejun soon couldn't hold back and confessed to many of the things Li Tiemin had done in the company. The other shareholders had long wanted to kick them out of the company. As soon as they noticed the signs, they called the police and had Li Tiemin arrested and sent to the detention center.
Already living in fear and constantly worried about being implicated, Li Tiemin quickly succumbed to interrogation upon entering the detention center and viciously confessed to all the issues that Li Tiejun had not been found out about.
Since you're so heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless too. With the mindset that if I'm not having a good time, neither of us should have one, the two of them were ruthless, exposing each other's secrets. The police were so busy recording the details in their interrogation logs that they could hardly keep up.
Furthermore, due to the revelations made by the brothers Li Tiejun and Li Tiemin, the third aunt's husband also suffered as a result.
Bai Zhenzhen's third aunt's husband originally worked as a gatekeeper at the company. Later, Li Tiejun sent him to the construction site to help Li Zhiqiang. Unexpectedly, Li Zhiqiang directly recruited him into the gang, letting the second aunt's husband watch the warehouse. The two of them colluded to switch building materials. Now that the matter has been exposed, he also has to pay the price for his greed.
Zhao Xiuying had three daughters and two sons. The eldest child in the family was Bai Zhenzhen's mother, Li Wenjing. The younger siblings were originally taken care of by their eldest sister. After their eldest sister passed away, her husband treated them very well. Unexpectedly, the couple raised a group of greedy and ungrateful children.
My third and fourth aunts, along with their spouses, were also ousted from the company by the shareholders because of this incident. The Li family is now in complete chaos.
Liu Lihua, in particular, followed Bai Zhenzhen's advice and not only sold her house and emptied her savings, but also borrowed a lot from her parents' family to raise money. She even took out Zhao Xiuying's savings for her funeral. Now that the money is gone and Li Tiejun and his son haven't come out, she's going crazy looking for Bai Zhenzhen.
Unfortunately, no one is at the Cuihu Bay villa now. Bai Zhenzhen has even changed her phone card, so she can't contact anyone. Her second uncle Li Tiemin's wife and children have also come to make a scene, cursing Liu Lihua and her husband for having bad intentions, cursing Li Zhiqiang for being incompetent and only causing trouble, and even cursing Zhao Xiuying for being biased.
After Li Tiemin was arrested, all the crimes he had committed were investigated and the money his family had earned over the years had to be used to pay fines. If they didn't pay, they would be severely punished. They had finally had a few good days, but now they were back to square one. She was devastated.
Secretary Wang, acting on Bai Chuxiong's instructions, blocked all the calls coming from the Li family, but still made a point of explaining it to Bai Zhenzhen.
Bai Chuxiong's illness was kept very secret. Only the hospital director and the doctor treating him knew about his condition. The Li family could not find the hospital for the time being.
Bai Zhenzhen is currently living in the family housing allocated by Shen Huai'an. The Li family doesn't even know about this place, so they are now completely helpless and can only wait to be punished by law.
Finally, something went smoothly. Although she couldn't see those people being arrested with her own eyes, she still felt a sense of relief.
After hanging up the phone, Bai Zhenzhen was walking down the corridor back to her ward when a young man in a suit walked towards her. His gaze immediately stopped when he saw her.
“Zhenzhen?” The young man recognized her almost instantly, and was both surprised and delighted to confirm, “It really is you.”
Bai Zhenzhen looked over when she heard the voice, and after thinking for a moment, she spoke up, "Zhang Chenglin, what are you doing here?"
"I was just about to ask you that. I never expected that our first meeting after I got back would be at the hospital," Zhang Chenglin said in a light tone, then asked with some concern, "Zhenzhen, what brings you here?"
"It's nothing, I'm just visiting relatives." Bai Zhenzhen didn't tell the truth. The Zhang family's business in Pengcheng also involved real estate, making them competitors with the Bai family. Even if she didn't understand, she wouldn't be foolish enough to reveal Bai Chuxiong's illness to him.
She immediately changed the subject, "Weren't you abroad? Why did you suddenly come back?"
"After finishing my studies, I stayed in the financial district of the United States for two years to gain experience. This year, my grandmother fell ill, and I rushed back as soon as I heard the news," Zhang Chenglin truthfully told the reason for his visit to the hospital. "My plane just landed this morning, and after a short rest this afternoon, I rushed to the hospital to visit her."
The Zhang and Bai families used to have a good relationship and the two families had frequent interactions. Bai Zhenzhen was often invited to Zhang Chenglin's house for meals by his grandmother and mother. The two had known each other since childhood, but their contact had decreased significantly after their promise to study abroad together failed.
Bai Zhenzhen didn't react much when she saw him again. She just felt that Zhang Chenglin had changed a lot. She didn't recognize him at all just now. However, Grandma Zhang used to be very good to her. She could take some time to visit her later.
Bai Zhenzhen had no intention of continuing to reminisce with him. She nodded, said goodbye, and turned to leave.
Zhang Chenglin called out to her again, "Zhenzhen, you haven't changed much since then, I recognized you at a glance..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Huai'an suddenly walked over from the side and asked, "Have you finished the call? Why haven't you gone back yet?"
"I'm done playing, and I'm just about to go back." Bai Zhenzhen turned her head and waved her phone at him.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhang Chenglin's smile faltered for a moment, but he quickly regained his gentle smile. "Is this Zhenzhen's husband? It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Zhang Chenglin, and I'm Zhenzhen's friend. I just returned from abroad today, and I didn't expect to run into you here."
Shen Huai'an then looked at him, nodded slightly, and said in a light voice, "Hello, I am Shen Huai'an."
The two men exchanged a glance. One had a gentle demeanor and looked like an English gentleman in a custom-made suit, while the other had a cool and aloof look and was equally adept in a simple white shirt and black trousers.
After only one glance, Shen Huai'an lowered his head again, took Bai Zhenzhen's hand, and said, "Aunt Wang gave you a bowl of bird's nest and white fungus soup. Do you want to go back now?"
Bai Zhenzhen nodded and said to Zhang Chenglin without hesitation, "Go see Grandma Zhang, we're leaving now."
After the two walked a short distance hand in hand, Shen Huai'an put his arm around Bai Zhenzhen to avoid the oncoming patient. Bai Zhenzhen did not resist and even looked up at him with a smile, saying something to him.
From a distance, the two looked just like an ordinary couple with outstanding looks, showing their affection for each other.
But this scene was extremely jarring to Zhang Chenglin.
He turned and went to the nurses' station. Instead of asking about Grandma Zhang's ward, he smiled and inquired about Bai Zhenzhen's condition with the nurse.
The young nurse blushed and asked them what their relationship was, as required by regulations; they were not allowed to disclose patient information without permission.
"I'm sorry, it was my oversight. My family and Miss Bai's family are old friends. I just returned from abroad and didn't have time to ask her about the details, so I wanted to ask you about it now. If you can't tell me, that's okay, I'll think of another way." Zhang Chenglin was very frank and made a point of explaining that he didn't mean to make things difficult for her.
The nurse was captivated by his gentlemanly demeanor and gentle tone, and had already picked up the medical record to tell him Bai Chuxiong's room number.
A thoughtful look flashed across Zhang Chenglin's eyes. He then thanked the polite nurse and left.
After Bai Zhenzhen returned to the ward, Bai Chuxiong asked her why she had been gone for so long while answering the phone.
"I ran into Zhang Chenglin outside just now. He said Grandma Zhang is sick and he came back from abroad to visit her," Bai Zhenzhen explained, then followed Shen Huai'an to the table to eat bird's nest and white fungus soup.
Bai Chuxiong took off his glasses, put down his newspaper, and asked her, "You didn't tell him I was hospitalized, did you?"
"No way! I didn't say anything nonsense!"
Shortly after he finished speaking, Zhang Chenglin knocked on the ward door with some newly purchased gifts.
"Uncle Bai, I apologize for the intrusion," Zhang Chenglin explained, adding that he had just learned of Bai's hospitalization by chance and had come to visit him.
Bai Chuxiong wore a polite smile and said, "It's just a minor ailment, nothing worth your visit. Cheng Lin, did you just come back from abroad?"
"Yes, I just landed in Shenzhen this morning..."
During this time, Zhang Chenglin also tried to inquire about Bai Chuxiong's health, but Bai Chuxiong deflected his questions with words.
Unable to get the answer he wanted, Zhang Chenglin quickly took his leave, saying he didn't want to disturb his rest.
"Thank you for coming today, Huai'an. Please see Cheng Lin off for me," Bai Chuxiong said, a satisfied smile on his face. "This is my son-in-law, Shen Huai'an. He works at the procuratorate now. You two can take this opportunity to get to know each other."
Zhang Chenglin's eyes flickered slightly. He turned and said goodbye to Bai Zhenzhen before following Shen Huai'an out of the ward.
After Bai Zhenzhen and the others left, she revealed a frustrated expression, "Why did he suddenly come over?"
“It’s alright, they can come and go as they please,” Bai Chuxiong shook his head and picked up the newspaper again.
Speaking of which, the Zhang family once intended to marry his daughter, but they used some methods that Bai Chuxiong particularly disliked, so he directly rejected the Zhang family and also stopped Bai Zhenzhen's plan to study abroad with the Zhang family's son.
Merchants are inherently profit-driven, and Bai Chuxiong had long been aware of this, so he would never marry his daughter to such a family.
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Author's Note: Here I am! [dog head with rose in hand]
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