Chapter 28
Ever since Cheng Man left, Tao Zhi's eyelids started twitching, and her chest felt stuffy and she seemed to be having trouble breathing.
She thought she might be too tired, so she decided to go out for a walk, see the scenery and eat something good, maybe she would feel better.
As she reached the department store, her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a sudden surge of panic. She stopped and stood there, waiting for the dizziness to pass. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her: Could something have happened to Cheng Man?
Tao Zhi was desperately trying to recall what she had said and done in the past two days. Oh, she had threatened the dean. Although she was telling the truth, if Young Master Li started to make a move, would someone be desperate enough to vent their anger on Cheng Man?
Tao Zhi felt restless when she thought of this. She immediately stopped a car, paid a hundred yuan, and asked the driver to take her to the bookstore as quickly as possible.
The car shot out like an arrow.
Speaking of Cheng Man, after she entered the yard, she squatted in the shadow at the foot of the wall and listened to the sounds outside with her ears pressed close to her chest.
Strange, why is there no sound at all? Cheng Man frowned.
She looked back and saw the door was closed, so it didn't look like anyone was home.
Cheng Man stood up with confidence. The courtyard wall was quite high, and she couldn't see outside clearly even if she stood on tiptoe.
A heavy "humph" came from above my head.
She tilted her head back, and half of it was visible against the wall.
Having been discovered, Cheng Man immediately left the yard. Being on the road with many roads extending in all directions was better than being in a small, enclosed yard.
Li Hui crossed her arms and looked at her sideways: "Run, why don't you run anymore?"
Four people surrounded her, and Cheng Man remained silent to the end.
Li Hui walked up to her and patted her cheek. "I have some bad news for you. This is my territory. I've lived here for eighteen years. You want to escape? No chance."
Now was a good opportunity. Cheng Man immediately attacked, her left hand climbing up to her shoulder, her arm extending to lock her whole body. With a quick knife move of her right hand, she struck her neck hard, and Li Hui fainted instantly.
Great, one solved. Cheng Man looked up. Wang Yu stood at the front, Guo Ying at the back. Zhang Qianqian stood by the road, shivering, and no one paid her any attention.
As the saying goes, strength can defeat skill. Cheng Man secretly groaned in her heart. She had no confidence at all against Wang Yu.
There was no one on the left, so Cheng Man saw the opportunity and immediately ran to the left. Wang Yu caught up with her and grabbed her shoulders with such force that Cheng Man felt like her bones were about to break, and she stopped running.
Cheng Man didn't look back. She pried the hand off her shoulder with all her strength and bit it. Wang Yu screamed "Ah-ah-ah" in pain.
Wang Yu could no longer bear it. He clenched his fist and punched Cheng Man in the head. Cheng Man swayed, but still didn't let go. Wang Yu bent his elbow and hit her in the back of the neck. Cheng Man groaned and almost fell down. Fearing that she would die here, she immediately let go and kept her distance.
She touched the blood on her lips and shook her dizzy head. The other party was also a ruthless person, and she had to find a way to protect herself.
In a flash, Wang Yu pounced and grabbed her legs. Cheng Man was startled and subconsciously wanted to kick, but Wang Yu was stronger than her.
Cheng Man quickly bent down, hugged Wang Yu's head, and pressed her whole body weight on her. Unfortunately, she was too light and had no effect on Wang Yu.
Cheng Man pinched, hit and hammered Wang Yu's head, face and limbs, all suffering from Cheng Man's beatings like raindrops.
Wang Yu could protect her head but not her body. She suddenly turned over and pressed Cheng Man underneath her.
Cheng Man's feet were loosened, she bent her knees and kicked Wang Yu in the stomach. After a strong kick, she kicked Wang Yu down.
The two of them got up at the same time. Cheng Man stood firm first. She accelerated and rushed over, knocking Wang Yu to the ground again. She was so angry that she cursed: "Idiot, why are you still standing there? Come and help me."
Cheng Man grabbed her hair, ready to confront her head-on. At that moment, a sharp pain shot through the back of her head. Coupled with a sweeping kick from Wang Yu, Cheng Man fell to the ground with a thud. After a muffled thud, she felt a warm current slowly flowing out from the back of her head.
Cheng Man raised her head with difficulty. It turned out that Guo Ying was holding a wooden stick, which was raised very high, blocking the blue sky and the sunlight, and casting a large shadow in front of Cheng Man.
This was the last scene Cheng Man saw before she lost consciousness.
**
Tao Zhi ran around the bookstore, both upper and lower floors, but didn't see Cheng Man.
She ran to the door and asked the cashiers, "Girls, have you seen a thin girl, about 1.63 meters tall, with fair skin, big eyes, and wearing a black sports suit?"
Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.
Tao Zhi's heart sank. Could it be that Cheng Man didn't come to the bookstore?
After expressing her gratitude, she walked back along the way she had come, specifically looking for those small roads and alleys.
As I passed a store, I heard a loud voice coming from the back door: "What are you doing?"
Tao Zhi hurried over to see what was happening and found that the delivery man had thrown the ingredients on the ground. She left disappointed.
The sun rose higher and higher, and the weather became hotter and hotter. Tao Zhi wandered around the bookstore like a headless fly for several circles.
When passing by a store, Tao Zhi went in to buy a bottle of water. She saw a phone on the table and asked the owner if she could borrow it.
The boss said, “Just pay.”
Tao Zhi pressed the number and waited for a long time, but no one came to pick her up from home. It seemed that Cheng Man did not return home.
She originally wanted to call Cheng Jun, but she couldn't remember the phone number for a long time, so she had to give up.
She took a sip of water and was about to leave when a few young people came in.
A man with a cigarette in his mouth said, "Hey, have you heard? There's a woman lying in front of Lai Zi's house. I heard she's covered in blood. I don't know if she's dead or not."
Another non-smoker asked, "Did you see that?"
"I took a look from a distance but didn't dare go over. Do you think it was Lai Zi..."
This aroused the curiosity of those people: "Let's go and take a look, then we'll know."
Tao Zhi's heart skipped a beat, and she fell behind the group of people and followed them to see the scene.
From a distance, she saw the clothes, and combined with what those people said, her legs suddenly became weak, as if all her strength was drained away. Fortunately, someone behind her supported her and said, "Auntie, auntie, are you okay?"
Tao Zhi took two minutes to calm down, and everything returned to normal. "It's okay, I just lost my balance. Thank you."
She calmed herself down, strode over, and saw Cheng Man lying on the ground, with the blood from the back of her head seeping into the soil.
Tao Zhi bit her tongue, telling herself she had to stay calm. She felt Cheng Man's pulse, then bent down and picked her up. Then she asked the onlookers, "One hundred yuan, is there anyone who can take us to the hospital?"
Under the onslaught of money, no one asked who Tao Zhi was or why he wanted to touch the people on the ground. When they heard that there was money to be made, several people rushed out: "Me, me, me."
"Is there a cart?"
"Excuse me, excuse me." An older woman drove a tricycle over.
Tao Zhi didn't bother to pick and got into the car with Cheng Man in her arms. She then asked two young men to go with her so they could help testify after they got to the hospital.
After watching Cheng Man enter the emergency room, Tao Zhi turned and headed to the police station. Causing someone to fall unconscious is a serious act of assault, and the police immediately responded.
Tao Zhi had already paid the three officers at the hospital. Now she asked them to take the police officers to the scene for an investigation while she hurried back to the hospital to be with her daughter.
Tao Zhi was in the hospital. She used a public phone to call the old man and asked him to tell her sister-in-law.
After an unknown amount of time, Tao Zhi, sitting at the door of the emergency room, heard the sound of footsteps.
Cheng Xiangmei looked anxious and immediately held her hand: "Sister-in-law, how is Manman?"
"Still checking."
"Is he awake?"
Tao Zhi shook his head.
Cheng Xiangmei said, "I've already told the second brother, he will keep an eye on this matter."
The second son of the Li family, Li Jinsheng, is a popular figure in the government department. Tao Zhi never asked what his specific position was.
"Amei, I'm going to trouble you again."
Cheng Xiangmei shook her hand firmly and said, "Let's not talk about this now."
The two of them sat outside quietly, watching the second hand tick by.
The door to the emergency room opened, and the doctor came out and called out, "Where are Cheng Man's family members?"
Tao Zhi and Cheng Xiangmei both went forward to greet them.
The doctor said: "The patient has woken up, which is a good sign."
Tao Zhi's voice was a little hoarse: "Is she okay now?"
"Everything has to wait for the medical report. She has suffered a severe brain injury and is very fragile now. She needs the best care from her family."
The nurse pushed out the medical stretcher. The doctor told Tao Zhi and the others, "Follow the nurse. She'll tell you. After she's settled the patient, you can go through the admission procedures."
Tao Zhi nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, thank you, doctor."
The cart rattled loudly. Tao Zhi walked closely beside the bed, holding Cheng Man's IV bottle. She looked at her pale face, tears nearly falling.
I walked through the corridor and arrived at the inpatient area. The room was noisy with conversations, the sound of equipment, crying and shouting, all kinds of sounds intertwined together, as lively as a vegetable market.
Tao Zhi asked the nurse, "Didn't they say the hospital should remain quiet?"
The nurses were also troubled: "They are all relatives visiting the patients. When we talk about one thing, another one comes."
Cheng Xiangmei leaned over to take a look. "There are too many people here. It's not suitable for rest."
She asked the nurse, "Is there a single room?"
"That's called the high-ranking cadres' ward."
Cheng Xiangmei waved his hand and said, "Let's live there."
The nurse smiled and said, "Auntie, you can tell from the name that this is not for ordinary people to live in."
Cheng Xiangmei wanted to ask, what were the conditions? Tao Zhi stopped her with a look.
Tao Zhi continued, "Excuse me, besides the ward for high-ranking officials, are there any other wards with fewer people?"
The nurse hesitated for a moment and said, "We have double and triple rooms. Considering your condition, we can arrange them for you for an additional fee."
"Then we'll stay in a double room. What do you think we should do?"
Tao Zhi helped the nurse push the cart. They turned around with difficulty, then squeezed into the elevator and went up one floor together.
Cheng Xiangmei accompanied Cheng Man, and Tao Zhi went to find the head nurse. They paid the money and changed their beds smoothly.
The corridors on this floor were much quieter. Tao Zhi was very grateful to her sister-in-law. She asked one more question in exchange for a better environment.
Cheng Xiangmei muttered, "I'll ask the third brother to intervene. Maybe I can even get admitted to the high-ranking cadre ward."
Tao Zhi replied in a whisper, "Manman is just a little girl. We should cherish her blessings. It would be better for her to get better soon."
She suddenly felt that what Tao Zhi said made sense.
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