In a corner outside the film set, where no one was around, Ye Xingchang's voice was low and pained: "I promised Zhao Honghui that I wouldn't tell anyone your secret. But now, I need your help."
"What is it?" Xie Yuyao asked.
“My grandfather went to the battlefield and suffered many injuries. Now that he’s old, his body can’t take it anymore. He’s taken too many painkillers and his body has developed a tolerance, so they don’t work anymore,” Ye Xingchang explained. “Do you have any way to help him improve his health, or even just reduce his pain?”
Xie Yuyao said, "I want to see what's wrong with him first."
“Okay, we’ll try to keep this a secret, and we won’t even tell my grandfather.” Ye Xingchang said apologetically. “I have no other choice. All the famous doctors in Kyoto are helpless. You are the only one I can think of.”
"It's alright, I'll ask you for help if I need anything, don't worry about it," Xie Yuyao said. "I'll go tell Director Zhu first, I'll be out soon."
Ye Xingchang nodded and watched her walk back to the film crew.
Xie Yuyao returned to the filming location and said, "Director Zhu, I have an urgent matter to attend to and would like to ask for leave to go out."
"when?"
"Now."
Director Zhu frowned. "Your scene is next, and the set is almost ready."
"I'm so sorry, but I really have something to do," Xie Yuyao insisted.
She knew that Ye Xingchang's grandfather was definitely suffering from illness. Although she could give the spiritual spring water to Ye Xingchang to take back, that would attract too much attention. It would be better for her to go to the scene and act according to the situation.
Seeing that she was unusually persistent, Director Zhu asked, "What's the matter that's so urgent? How long are you going to be gone?"
"The timing is still uncertain, but I will be back as soon as possible." Xie Yuyao was unsure whether she could tell others about Ye Xingchang's grandfather's illness, so she could only leave it at that.
She knew that the higher one's position, the more confidential one's health condition needed to be. She trusted Director Zhu's character but didn't want to take this unnecessary risk.
"You can't just disappear like that," Director Zhu said warily.
Xie Yuyao smiled and said, "No, I'm just helping a friend out. If I can't make it back tonight, I'll let you know."
"Alright, go ahead."
After Xie Yuyao left, Director Zhu announced that they would not film this scene and would instead film another one.
"Director Zhu, why are we changing the shooting schedule? We're about to start filming, where is Xie Yuyao?" Yao Qian asked as she walked over.
"She had to take leave, so we'll film other things first," Director Zhu said.
Upon hearing this, Yao Qian immediately began to complain: "How can she be like this? She takes leave every few days without giving any advance notice. If everyone acted like her, how could we film?"
"Alright, that's enough. She really had an emergency to leave. Besides, the number of times she goes out is less than a fraction of the number of times you go out," Director Zhu said irritably.
Yao Qian pouted and retorted, "How can she compare to me? She's an actress, and the crew rules state that actors can't easily go out."
"That's to ensure the personal safety of the actors. Xie Yuyao is a local, unlike others." Although he didn't know why Xie Yuyao seemed not to have contacted her family, every family has its own problems, and he wouldn't ask about it and cause trouble.
Yao Qian disagreed with Director Zhu's statement: "What if something really happens and you're blamed?"
"No, it won't happen." After saying that, Director Zhu turned around and went to talk to the actors who were going to appear in the next scene.
Seeing that Director Zhu always defended Xie Yuyao, Yao Qian was so angry that she muttered to herself with a dark face, "Xie Yuyao, you'd better not cause any trouble outside!"
At this moment, Xie Yuyao had already gotten into Ye Xingchang's car and was heading towards Kyoto Hospital.
After parking at the hospital, Xie Yuyao followed Ye Xingchang and hurried to the VIP ward.
In the ward, a thin old man lay on the bed, his forehead covered with beads of sweat, veins bulging, and occasional groans leaking from his clenched teeth, enduring unspeakable pain.
Beside his hospital bed, a doctor and two nurses were massaging his acupoints in an attempt to relieve his pain.
Besides, a man and a woman were standing next to the hospital bed, comforting the elderly man.
Everyone's attention was focused on the person in the hospital bed, and they didn't notice two people walking into the ward.
"Dad, Mom, is Grandpa feeling better?" Ye Xingchang asked softly.
Upon hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Ye turned around and shook their heads.
"Yaoyao? What brings you here?" Ye's mother asked in surprise, her suspicious gaze silently shifting between Ye Xingchang and her.
"I came to see the commander." Xie Yuyao said, only to realize that her hands were empty, and she was extremely embarrassed.
It is truly impolite to visit a complete stranger empty-handed.
Seeing this, Ye's parents smiled kindly and asked Ye Xingchang to take Yao Yao to the family lounge outside for a while. The two of them then went to the outer room.
Xie Yuyao saw the kettle and tea tray on the table, picked up the kettle, opened the lid and saw that there was still about half a cup of warm water in the kettle.
Ye Xingchang turned his back, his eyes warily scanning the inner room and the front door, keeping an eye on Xie Yuyao. Meanwhile, Xie Yuyao took advantage of the fact that no one was around and replaced all the water in the kettle with spiritual spring water.
On the way there, Xie Yuyao had already outlined several options: first, to drink the spiritual spring water directly; second, to make a medicinal wine to treat the symptoms; and third, to use the spiritual spring water to brew traditional Chinese medicine.
The second option would largely expose Xie Yuyao; at the very least, Ye Xingchang's grandfather would know, so it was immediately rejected. The third option was the most effective, but it required Xie Yuyao's presence. As for the first option, Ye Xingchang could use a kettle to take the water home and then switch it out, providing some cover.
Ultimately, the two decided to use the spiritual spring water to solve their immediate problem first, and then look for an opportunity to implement the third plan later.
Therefore, as soon as Xie Yuyao picked up the kettle, Ye Xingchang knew what she was going to do and turned around to "keep watch".
Hearing the sound of tea being poured behind him, Ye Xingchang turned around and saw Xie Yuyao nod slightly. He then picked up an enamel cup filled with warm water from the tea tray and went into the inner ward.
"Let's give Grandpa some water first."
When Ye's father saw him carrying a water cup, he thought about how his father had endured so much pain for so long without drinking a drop of water, so he sat down on the edge of the bed and helped the old man sit up.
Ye Xingchang patiently pressed his grandfather's acupoints with one hand to force him to open his mouth, and quickly handed him a water cup with the other hand, feeding him the whole cup.
"Grandpa, would you like some more?"
Commander Ye's voice was weak: "Another cup, please."
Since the onset of pain this morning, every minute and every second has been torture; he has lost track of how much time has passed.
The water his grandson handed him earlier washed away the blood from his mouth, which he had bitten open in pain, and moistened his parched throat like sweet dew, making him want to drink more.
"Please wait a moment, I'll go pour it." Mother Ye immediately took the water glass from her youngest son and walked towards the outer room.
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