Chapter 59 [VIP]
Chapter summary: "The number you dialed is currently switched off."
Ni Zhenzhen left, and Xu Tianzhou never saw her again after that day.
Xu Tianzhou lamented more than once that he was not even as good as that swindler who pretended to be mute. At least for a considerable period of time, he could see her often, unlike himself, who could only find solace in the constantly flashing red dot on his phone.
Recently, Cinda Group has been making intensive preparations for a second rocket launch, riding the wave of its successful launch. In the commercial space industry, one success proves nothing; only continuous and stable successful launches can make a launch vehicle project commercially viable.
That morning, Xu Tianzhou returned from his business trip but didn't go home to rest. Instead, he rushed to the company for a meeting. The meeting ended late at night. Xu Tianzhou returned home and sat in the silent darkness for a while before taking a shower and changing his clothes.
Before going to sleep, Xu Tianzhou habitually turned on his phone. After glancing at it, he was about to lock the screen when he suddenly realized something was wrong.
At this moment, the little red dot that always worried him was neither at the company nor at home, but in an unfamiliar place. He zoomed in on the image and looked at it repeatedly for a while before finally confirming that Ni Zhenzhen was indeed at the hospital.
How did she end up in the hospital?
Arriving at the hospital this late is definitely not a good thing.
A barrage of negative thoughts overwhelmed him, and Xu Tianzhou's heart nearly leaped out of his chest. He quickly got up, hastily threw on some clothes, grabbed his car keys, and went downstairs.
Xu Tianzhou sped to the hospital. It was pitch black outside, except for the emergency room lights. The pale light was devoid of any warmth, like an icy abyss that could drown a person at any moment.
Xu Tianzhou couldn't imagine how scared she must have been staying there.
He got out of the car and stumbled over. The bleak white expanse rapidly expanded before Xu Tianzhou's eyes until it turned into a blinding red, like a fiercely burning fire.
He was like a moth, rushing towards it without a second thought.
Anyway, even if things get worse, this is still the best-case scenario...
To Xu Tianzhou's relief, Ni Zhenzhen was not seriously injured. As soon as he entered, he saw her standing in the center of the hall, as if she knew he would come and deliberately stood in the most conspicuous position to wait for him.
She looked perfectly fine, with no external injuries or signs of illness, which put him at ease for a moment. But then he felt a pang of heartache because of the exhaustion she couldn't hide all over her body.
Ni Zhenzhen was indeed waiting for someone.
That evening, while she was working overtime at the company, a colleague fainted. Ni Zhenzhen was quite frightened, but fortunately, a colleague reacted quickly and immediately took the person to the hospital. She was originally standing in the lobby waiting for her colleague's family to arrive when she unexpectedly saw Xu Tianzhou.
Ni Zhenzhen suddenly opened her eyes wide, her surprise evident.
Xu Tianzhou also woke up in that instant. How could she possibly be waiting for him? It was all just his own wishful thinking.
Ni Zhenzhen looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "You..."
Xu Tianzhou walked over, and just as he was about to ask her why she came to the hospital, someone else had already arrived in front of Ni Zhenzhen before him.
He was a man of similar age to Ni Zhenzhen, dressed in a suit and exuding elegance. He seemed to be quite familiar with Ni Zhenzhen.
Xu Tianzhou felt inexplicably nervous. He didn't know how Ni Zhenzhen would introduce herself—as her ex-husband or a friend.
It turned out he was overthinking it. The man clearly saw him, but instead of asking Ni Zhenzhen who he was, he casually nodded to her, then told her about the situation inside while taking off his suit jacket and draping it over her shoulders.
This action not only instantly took away Xu Tianzhou's breath and heartbeat, but also startled Ni Zhenzhen.
Just as she was about to say no, the man leaned down and whispered something in her ear. Ni Zhenzhen was slightly startled, and her face quickly flushed with a suspicious blush.
She didn't refuse again, but lowered her head, lowered her eyes, and thanked the person softly.
The man smiled, though it was unclear whether it was because it was just a small favor or for some other reason.
The two continued talking. Xu Tianzhou could tell that she didn't have time to deal with him right now. He just didn't understand why she was doing this, since the weather wasn't cold and she wasn't wearing too little clothing. Could it be...?
Xu Tianzhou couldn't believe it, but Su Wenjin had actually been right. He had waited so long, yet she already had someone else. No wonder she rejected him; this was the reason.
After finally finishing her work, Ni Zhenzhen had time to ask Xu Tianzhou why he had come. She instinctively clutched her suit jacket, and when she turned around, she realized that the person who had been at the door just moments before was nowhere to be found.
Ni Zhenzhen chased after them and stood in front of the emergency room looking around. She even called out twice, but unfortunately, she still found nothing.
Ni Zhenzhen was worried.
She took out her phone and found Xu Tianzhou's number. She could have reached him with just a tap, but she didn't dial it immediately.
Ni Zhenzhen sighed and locked her phone, but a moment later she unlocked it, locked it again, and unlocked it again, repeating this process over and over.
She still remembered what Xu Tianzhou looked like. He didn't look well. Although he was wearing a shirt over his clothes, the shirt underneath was clearly a nightgown, and he was wearing pajama bottoms. He was in such a hurry that he didn't even change his clothes. Was he feeling unwell?
"It's a brain tumor."
Xu Tianzhou's words in the car echoed in her ears again, and Ni Zhenzhen made a call without hesitation.
No one answered the first call, but Ni Zhenzhen was not giving up and called again. This time she got a quick response, a mechanical female voice saying, "The number you dialed is currently switched off."
Ni Zhenzhen let out a breath, realizing that he probably didn't want to answer her call.
The man also came out and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
Ni Zhenzhen shook her head, "It's nothing."
At the end of the month, Ni Zhenzhen received an invitation to the Xinda Group's upcoming anniversary celebration. Although she knew she would definitely run into him, Ni Zhenzhen did not decline the invitation.
The sale-leaseback agreement between the company and Cinda is about to expire, and she needs to take this opportunity to sound out their intentions, whether they want to renew the lease or terminate it. She needs to formulate her next work plan based on their attitude.
To Ni Zhenzhen's surprise, Xu Tianzhou did not appear at the celebration.
Not only Ni Zhenzhen, but all the guests present found it strange.
At the reception following the ceremony, everyone who had greeted Su Wenjin would casually ask why Xu Tianzhou wasn't there. However, whether facing company executives or business partners, he would always vaguely brush it off with a "something came up."
Since reuniting with Xu Tianzhou, Ni Zhenzhen has been unable to calm down for even a day. She is always absent-minded because of Xu Tianzhou's words "start over" and because of the day he suddenly appeared in the emergency room and then disappeared again.
Ni Zhenzhen told herself that he was the most deceitful person.
She had been with him for so many years and had been deceived by him for so many years. He could keep anything he didn't want her to know perfectly well. The so-called "brain tumor" was also a good example. But she didn't know how to explain his appearance at the hospital and Su Wenjin's hesitation when faced with questions from guests.
Ni Zhenzhen had opportunities to ask Su Wenjin directly, but she suppressed her impulse. She talked to Su Wenjin about the expiring contract, Cinda Group's aircraft import plan, and her views on domestically produced aircraft.
She was like an asteroid orbiting the sun, chatting about everything from work-related to non-work topics, but she never asked the question she had always wanted to ask but dared not: why wasn't Xu Tianzhou here?
Su Wenjin remained calm and didn't bring it up unless Ni Zhenzhen asked.
It wasn't until someone else asked why Xu Tianzhou hadn't come that Su Wenjin showed some unease. His gaze flickered almost imperceptibly over Ni Zhenzhen, and he gave the same excuse, "Something came up."
What could be more important than a 30th anniversary celebration?
To Su Wenjin's surprise, the person was incredibly insensitive and kept asking probing questions. Even though she wasn't directly involved, Ni Zhenzhen's heart couldn't help but race. She quickly looked up and waited for Su Wenjin's answer along with the person.
Having been through countless battles, this little matter was no challenge for him. Su Wenjin chuckled and said half-jokingly, "Of course it's a very important matter."
"What is it?" the man continued to ask.
“Then you’ll have to ask him.” Su Wenjin raised her glass, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
Ni Zhenzhen felt empty inside after Su Wenjin turned down her questions several times, leaving the other party dissatisfied.
After seeing the person off, Su Wenjin turned to Ni Zhenzhen and asked, "Where were we just talking about?"
“…” Ni Zhenzhen couldn’t remember either.
She smiled awkwardly, and Su Wenjin followed suit with a smile.
However, Su Wenjin's smile quickly disappeared.
Because Ni Zhenzhen was looking up at him, her expression somewhat serious, "He..."
Although it was only one word, Su Wenjin's expression changed, and her gaze darkened.
Well, he's not a saint; he had his own selfish motives regarding Xu Tianzhou and Ni Zhenzhen's relationship.
Anyway, Xu Tianzhou had instructed him not to mention this to anyone, and that "anyone" naturally included Ni Zhenzhen. Therefore, he would definitely not let Ni Zhenzhen know about Xu Tianzhou's current situation, unless…
Unless Ni Zhenzhen asks her directly.
From afar, as he saw her gracefully walking down the red carpet in a long black dress, he silently prayed that she wouldn't ask about it. However, at the same time, a voice suddenly appeared, saying, "Ni Zhenzhen will definitely ask."
Now that things have come to this, it's obvious who won and who lost, but he insists on pretending to be confused.
Su Wenjin held a wine glass, the dazzling crystal chandelier above him making the golden liquid in his hand gleam, and also revealing the eagerness on his face.
This is his last chance.
He was about to suggest introducing Ni Zhenzhen to new friends when Ni Zhenzhen finally stopped hiding her true feelings, "What's wrong with him? Did something happen?"
“He…” Su Wenjin’s hand holding the wine glass slowly fell, and she sighed.
He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then leaned closer and whispered the truth, "He's in the hospital."
"Hospitalized? What happened?"
Su Wenjin didn't speak. Xu Tianzhou had said that he couldn't mention it to anyone, and he didn't know whether he should stop there or just tell her everything.
Seeing his troubled expression, Ni Zhenzhen couldn't help but recall what Xu Tianzhou had once said. Could it be...?
She instinctively covered her mouth, only to find her voice weak and hoarse when she opened it, "It can't be..."
Su Wenjin nodded, "Yes."
It turns out that when he said he had a terminal illness in the car last time, he wasn't lying to her; he just didn't want her to be sad.
Tears streamed down her face, and Ni Zhenzhen felt as if she were falling off a cliff and plummeting downwards.
Su Wenjin was terrified. He grabbed Ni Zhenzhen and said in a deep voice, "Don't panic."
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