Chapter 63
Combining the contents of the two phone calls
"Your friend is drunk and causing trouble here."
"The person is in my hands."
These two sentences are full of threats no matter which angle you look at them from.
Guan Nan never expected that "Rongshuli" was not a ghostly, chaotic, and terrifying nightclub or bar, but rather a very ordinary barbecue restaurant.
The boss was stunned when he saw the police officers who had come with him.
"What's going on?" The shop owner immediately stepped forward to explain, "Officer, there are no bad people here. We're all doing legitimate business. We don't sell meat."
The police officer placed his hand on the eight large pieces of equipment: "Who was it that just made that phone call?"
"What call are you making?" the boss asked, looking completely bewildered.
At this moment, Guan Nan stepped forward and raised her phone: "Call me and tell me that Chen Fei is causing trouble in the banyan tree, and that you have her in your hands now."
Boss: "That's impossible. I wouldn't make a phone call like that if there was any trouble here. I run my business honestly and don't get involved in any illegal or criminal activities. Saying that would just be asking for trouble."
After he finished speaking, he noticed that the police officer and Guan Nan both had serious expressions on their faces, so he immediately turned around.
Facing a room full of curious people looking up to join in the fun.
The boss, his face dark, said, "Go to the front desk and ask who just made the call."
"Yes...it's me." A waiter wearing a Rongshuli uniform came out of the kitchen carrying a plate. "Boss, it's that one, that crazy woman. She hit people with a bottle. We said we were going to call the police, but she insisted on hitting people."
After the waiter finished speaking, the boss seemed to remember something.
But upon seeing the police arrive, his expression, which had just improved slightly, darkened again. "What did you say on the phone? Why did they call the police?"
The waiter said aggrievedly, "I told her that her friend was causing trouble, that we had her in our hands, and that there were too many people looking to pick up the body now. If we didn't come soon, we would give up on her."
"······"
"······"
"······"
"Who taught you to make a phone call like that? Are you trying to kill me?!" The boss gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred, veins throbbing on his forehead. "Officer, it's all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding! It was our new colleague who made the call, he didn't explain himself clearly..."
After a lengthy explanation, the police gave the new waiter a verbal reprimand, and the waiter readily admitted his mistake.
Taking advantage of the moment, Guan Nan followed another female waitress into the backyard. In the backyard, Chen Fei, who had gotten into a conflict with someone, sat on a chair, far away from the others.
Although the floor was cleaned up, the mess from before was still visible.
When she got closer, she found that Chen Fei's eyes were still red, her clothes were wrinkled, and there were marks on her body from being hit.
"Why are you here?" Chen Fei looked up, saw the person who came, and her throat tightened.
Guan Nan squatted down beside her, took a few tissues from the table, gently wiped away her tears, and then lowered his head to wipe her hands clean, saying in a low voice, "If I don't come, who will?"
Chen Fei, who appears carefree and easygoing on the surface, is actually soft and sensitive inside. She keeps everything to herself and always greets everyone with a cheerful smile. In addition, she has a younger sister who is a year younger than her and is superior in every way, constantly overshadowing her. No one understands her sadness.
Except in special circumstances, Yena will never go out or look at her phone after 11 PM.
In the vast city of Fuling, she had no one but Guan Nan.
"Beautiful lady, is this your friend..." The person on the other end walked up, and after seeing her face clearly, the expression on his face changed from stunned to surprised, "How come it's you?"
Guan Nan, who was squatting down, looked up at the man who was walking over with a flippant air. She stood silently in front of Chen Fei, her eyes somewhat cold: "What is it?"
Clearly, she no longer recognized the other person.
"······"
"Hey, are you alright? Stop getting all smitten with girls!"
Hei Zi immediately turned around and scolded, "Don't talk nonsense."
“It’s nothing,” Hei Zi turned around again, still smiling despite her coldness, and explained, “We were just chatting, sitting at the table next to your friend, and for some reason, your friend suddenly…” He paused, then offered Chen Fei an excuse, “She probably drank too much. Why don’t you take her home, or maybe to the hospital?”
Guan Nan didn't know why the other person was being so friendly, but she didn't let her guard down: "Thank you."
Before helping Chen Fei leave, Guan Nan noticed the scratches on the arms and shoulders of the woman sitting in the chair wearing a vest, and then glanced down at Chen Fei's fingernails.
For a moment, it was impossible to tell who was causing the trouble.
Then I heard a conversation over there: "You just let them go like that?" "They're gone, so what's the big deal?" "I was the one who got beaten up, of course you're not making a fuss!" "They hit us, so what? We're all on the same side, what's the big deal?"
Guan Nan: "..."
······
Upon arriving at the hospital, Guan Nan first registered and then took Chen Fei to the second floor to clean her wounds.
Just as I was going upstairs, I saw a car speeding into the hospital's open space. Before it even came to a complete stop, a tall, big man grabbed another man and rushed into the lobby.
The man was completely disoriented, frantically pacing around and calling out, "Doctor, doctor—"
The quiet hall was suddenly filled with the sound of his shout, which brought out a line of nurses. They thought there was a critically ill patient and hurriedly brought out the ambulance.
The woman who had parked her car rushed in, still wearing her pajamas and holding her phone.
As the ambulance drove past, Guan Nan paused for a few seconds in shock.
That indifferent face, which had seemed aloof and distant when we met again a few days ago, was now pale and lying in the ambulance with its brows furrowed in pain.
Guan Nan watched as the ambulance was wheeled into the emergency room. The man and woman were separated at the door, with the man supporting the woman and comforting her.
She wanted to follow them, but thankfully she still had some sense and led Chen Fei upstairs.
After cleaning the wound, I received a tetanus shot.
At this moment, because Chen Fei had a low-grade fever and was asleep while receiving an IV drip, Guan Nan took the opportunity to go out for some fresh air. A few minutes later, two people came out of the door, and coincidentally, they were the same two people who had been shouting in a panic in the hall earlier.
Guan Nan moved two spaces to the side.
The night breeze was slightly cool. The man draped a coat over the woman's shoulders and listened to her irritable mutterings.
“I’ve told him so many times, you can’t eat food that’s been sitting overnight, why won’t he listen?” The woman picked up her long hair, which was in the way, and tied it up in a few quick movements. “He’s been like this since he was a child, he learned it from my grandfather. He’s been poisoned several times but he hasn’t learned his lesson. I’m so fed up with him. He’s just like that mentally challenged child, so stupid.”
The man asked incredulously, "How many times have you been poisoned?"
“I used to lie to him, saying that if he ate leftovers with my grandpa again, I'd have my dad beat him up. I'd scare him by saying my dad could kill a cow with one punch. He believed me when he was little, but he stopped believing me when he grew up. But even now, he's just like his grandpa, a stubborn old man. What era are we living in? You can't even eat leftovers, especially raw pickled ones, because there are so many parasites and bacteria…”
Guan Nan was scrolling through her phone out of boredom when she heard this and suddenly remembered what Jiang Li had said to her one night.
It turned out that the person who suffered from food poisoning was him, not his grandmother.
She couldn't help but recall that night when she had just moved out of Tangzi Lane, carrying a simple bag of luggage, sitting alone on the bus, feeling lost. His words from that night still seemed to echo in her ears.
Every word, every sentence, every detail is deeply moving.
"I reckon he won't be able to leave the hospital for at least a week," the man said, shaking his head frankly after hearing her words.
The woman sneered, "No need. He's too tough. He'll last three days at most."
As they talked, the two moved on to other topics, all related to work. Guan Nan pursed her lips, not listening any further, and slowly got up and walked towards the infusion room.
Guan Nan gripped her phone tightly, standing in front of the porridge shop across from the hospital, her mind still a little fuzzy.
"Little one, what would you like to order?" The owner, carrying a steamer basket, saw her standing in front of him staring blankly at the menu for a while, and reminded her with a smile, "The steamed buns aren't ready yet, how about some flower rolls?"
After regaining her composure, Guan Nan ordered a bowl of millet porridge.
After a moment's hesitation, she added, "Two portions, packed separately."
"good."
"...Could you please add another serving of candy?"
"Can."
"Um...do you have a spoon?"
"have."
"Habit······"
"some."
As Guan Nan was carrying two bowls of porridge and about to turn away, she caught a glimpse of the Meiyijia convenience store next door still open. She paused, hesitated, and asked the owner, "Excuse me, if I drink porridge and then Sprite, will I get poisoned?"
The boss was taken aback when he first heard this question. "No," he replied.
“Okay,” Guan Nan nodded. “Thank you.”
······
Guan Nan stood outside the infusion hall.
When I came out, the man not far away across from me had his eyes closed. After a few quiet sounds around me, he took out a mask with one hand and put it on, but his presence was still too strong and dazzling, and his sharp light could not be concealed.
She walked inside, deliberately avoiding the man, and quietly placed the bag beside him.
Just as Guan Nan walked away, she heard someone shout.
—Guan Nan.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com