Chapter 42 Lincheng
Because of Jiang Jizhou's final outburst and his concern for Ms. Yu's condition, Yu Bai didn't sleep a wink all night.
The next morning, with dark circles under her eyes, she packed her bags, sent a message to Anya asking for leave, and took the 7 a.m. flight to Lincheng.
Three hours after arriving at Lincheng International Airport, Yu Bai hurriedly exited the airport, where Chi Qinghe was waiting for her.
After several months apart, Chi Qinghe hadn't changed much; he remained refined and easygoing. He was still holding a delicate bouquet of flowers, and when he saw Yu Bai, a smile appeared on his lips as he presented the flowers to Yu Bai.
Yu Bai accepted the flower, its fragrance filling the air.
"Long time no see, bye-bye." Chi Qinghe's voice was gentle and warm, calm and unhurried.
Yu Bai smiled and said, "Long time no see."
Chi Qinghe gentlemanly opened the car door for Yu Bai, who bent down to get in, fastened her seatbelt, and then Chi Qinghe started the car.
"How is my mother now?" Yu Bai asked Chi Qinghe, his eyes filled with worry.
Chi Qinghe gave a reassuring smile, "Don't worry too much, Bai Bai. Your aunt has been moved to a regular ward and her condition has stabilized."
Yu Bai breathed a slight sigh of relief. "That's good."
Chi Qinghe smiled and said, "Take a nap, Bai Bai. Your dark circles look like a panda's."
Yu Bai smiled sheepishly. Ahead was a traffic jam hotspot, with vehicles moving in and out of control. Yu Bai hadn't slept well all night, and her sleep on the plane had been restless. Now that Chi Qinghe was there, she felt at ease, so she closed her eyes for a short nap.
Chi Qinghe turned his head to look at Yu Bai's peaceful sleeping face, his eyes filled with a smile.
Yu Bai didn't know how long he had been asleep when he heard Chi Qinghe's voice.
"in vain."
She slowly opened her eyes and saw Chi Qinghe's face approaching. He smiled and said, "We're at the hospital, bye-bye."
"Oh, oh." Yu Bai sat up, rubbed her sleepy eyes, unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out of the car.
The air outside was chilly. Having just stepped out of the warm car, Yu Bai couldn't help but shiver. She pulled her coat tighter around herself. Chi Qinghe walked over from the other side of the car. She smiled at Chi Qinghe and said, "Let's go inside."
"good."
The two walked side by side toward the ward. Yu Bai felt uneasy. When they reached the ward door, Yu Bai took a deep breath before pushing it open. The ward was very nice, bright, spacious, clean and warm.
Ms. Yu lay in the hospital bed, looking much thinner and pale and haggard.
"Bai Bai is back."
Ms. Yu's voice was much weaker than when she last called, and she seemed more dependent.
This feeling was unfamiliar. Ms. Yu had always been extremely strong-willed and had a very assertive personality, but she had become frail and weak in the face of age and illness. Yu Bai felt a pang of sympathy and her eyes welled up with tears. She walked to the bedside and said in a sobbing voice, "Mom."
"It's good that you're back." Ms. Yu smiled. "Why are you crying? I'm fine. Thanks to Qinghe for staying by my side, finding a renowned professor in the field to perform the surgery for me, and arranging a VIP ward for me."
Yu Bai pursed her lips, turned her head to look at Chi Qinghe, who stood tall and straight like a cedar tree, and said, "Thank you."
"It's nothing, taking care of your aunt is what I should do," Chi Qinghe said calmly.
“I took a week off to take care of you here,” Yu Bai said to Ms. Yu.
Upon hearing this, Ms. Yu smiled and generously instructed Yu Bai, "Okay, okay, this is a good opportunity to spend more time with Qinghe and cultivate a relationship."
Yu Bai blushed, "I'm taking care of you, and you're still thinking about these things."
Ms. Yu snorted, "I don't need you to take care of me. The best thing you can do for me is to settle your marriage."
Yu Bai was a little angry and stopped arguing with her. Seeing that Chi Qinghe's expression was still normal, she said embarrassedly, "Don't listen to my mother's nonsense."
Chi Qinghe smiled and said, "It's alright. I haven't been back to Lincheng in a long time. We can take a walk together."
Before Yu Bai could answer, Ms. Yu laughed and said, "Did you hear that, Yu Bai? You should take the initiative."
Yu Bai's face darkened, and she remained silent. After not seeing him for several months, Ms. Yu had completely accepted Chi Qinghe and treated him with more warmth and affection than her own daughter. It was truly a case of favoring outsiders. She muttered, "I know."
After chatting with Ms. Yu in the ward for a while and having lunch, Ms. Yu wanted to take a nap, so they asked her to leave the ward.
Outside the ward, Yu Bai said seriously to Chi Qinghe, "That's just how my mother is, don't take it to heart."
Chi Qinghe smiled gently, "It's alright. Should I take you home first so you can unpack your luggage?"
"Okay, thank you for your help."
"fine."
Chi Qinghe drove Yu Bai back to her apartment complex. Yu Bai only had one suitcase, and Chi Qinghe insisted on helping her carry it.
Having not been home for a long time, Yu Bai pushed open the door and looked around, feeling a surge of emotion. The layout of the house had remained unchanged for many years, but it was somewhat messy and no longer so spotless that one couldn't bear to step on it. The flowers in the vase on the coffee table had withered. Every few days, Ms. Yu would change the water and flowers before they withered, probably because her health had been poor recently, and she was no longer as diligent as before, to the point of being almost obsessive about cleanliness.
After putting down his luggage, Yu Bai turned to Chi Qinghe behind him and said, "Please sit down first."
She found the kettle and boiled a pot of water. Then she threw away the flowers in the vase, poured out the water, and replaced it with clean water. She unwrapped the bouquet that Chi Qinghe had given her, put it in the vase, and the white lilies and blue lilies of the valley were elegant and fresh. Yu Bai leaned closer to smell its fragrance, but when she looked up, she saw Chi Qinghe sitting on the sofa, quietly watching her. Yu Bai suddenly felt a little embarrassed, so she put the vase on the coffee table.
She dragged her suitcase into the bedroom, tidied up quickly, and when she came out, the water had already boiled. She poured water for Chi Qinghe.
"Would you like some tea?" Yu Bai remembered that there seemed to be some Xinyang Maojian tea that someone had given to Ms. Yu at home.
"Okay." Chi Qinghe nodded.
Yu Bai immediately rummaged through drawers and cabinets looking for tea leaves, finally finding them in a corner. She stood up and noticed that Chi Qinghe's gaze was following her every move. It was not an aggressive gaze, nor was it annoying, so she didn't pay it any mind.
Yu Bai put tea leaves in Chi Qinghe's cup, while he put plain water in his own.
She sat on the other side of the sofa, some distance from Chi Qinghe, enough for three more people to sit. Chi Qinghe smiled helplessly, "Am I that scary?"
Yu Bai shook his head. "No."
She moved a short distance towards Chi Qinghe.
Silent like tea leaves sinking to the bottom of water, Yu Bai felt somewhat awkward. She rarely spent time alone with Chi Qinghe, and since Chi Qinghe showed no sign of leaving, she didn't want to send him away.
Chi Qinghe picked up his water glass, took a sip of tea, and glanced at Yu Bai's face. Her long eyelashes were trembling rapidly, revealing her nervousness and unease. The tea tasted a little bitter, so Chi Qinghe put down the glass.
Chi Qinghe broke the silence and asked Yu Bai, "Have you been busy with work lately?"
Yu Bai smiled and said, "It's alright."
After a pause, Yu Bai asked Chi Qinghe, "And you?"
"Me? Just a free man." Chi Qinghe leaned back on the sofa, playing with the sandalwood beaded bracelet on his wrist. It was a gift from a temple to his mother when he was seriously ill when he was young, and he had worn it ever since.
"Isn't your company going public? Shouldn't you be very busy?" Yu Bai had a vague recollection; Chi Qinghe seemed to have mentioned his game company's IPO.
Chi Qinghe looked somewhat disappointed, but still had a faint smile on his face as he patiently said, "That was two years ago, and it's already been listed on the stock exchange."
Oh, is that so? Yu Bai felt even more embarrassed. She smiled and said, "Oh, congratulations."
"Thank you, Bye-bye."
Yu Bai's adorable little expression fell into Chi Qinghe's eyes, and he immediately lost his temper.
"And what about you? How's your career as a journalist going?" Chi Qinghe turned the conversation to Yu Bai.
"I really like it," Yu Bai replied earnestly, her eyes filled with a devout faith in her profession.
"I'm glad you like it." Chi Qinghe stared intently at Yu Bai, not missing a single expression from her.
Yu Bai smiled and said tactfully to Chi Qinghe, "Why don't you go back and get some rest? I'll take care of my mother afterwards. I'm sorry to have troubled you the other day. You helped me a lot when I wasn't around."
"Okay, then you should get some sleep too. I'll pick you up if you need to go to the hospital." Chi Qinghe got up.
Yu Bai quickly refused, "No need to trouble yourself, I can drive myself."
“But your aunt would definitely want us to visit her together. I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it alone, and I don’t have anything urgent to do lately,” Chi Qinghe explained slowly.
Yu Bai thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright then, thank you for your trouble."
After seeing Chi Qinghe off, Yu Bai collapsed onto the sofa. Exhausted from the long journey, she pulled a blanket over herself and drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up, it was already six o'clock in the evening. The sky outside the window had darkened, with a few stars shining through.
She quickly sat up and checked her phone. Chi Qinghe hadn't sent her any messages, but the architect Yue Sinian, whom she had added at the dinner party, had sent her a message.
[Miss Yu, are you busy?]
Yu Bai replied to the message.
No, what's wrong?
[It's nothing, I just wanted to talk to Ms. Yu about the interview.]
【I'm sorry, Mr. Yue, I'm currently out of town and may not be back in Nancheng for a few days. We can schedule an interview then, or a phone interview would be fine too. I'm very sorry.】
Is there something important?
【Yes. 】
[It may be presumptuous of me to ask, but may I inquire about what it is about?]
Yu Bai was a little confused when he saw Yue Sinian's message, but he still replied vaguely.
These are some personal matters.
【OK. 】
When no further messages came in, Yu Bai rubbed his head, got up and called Chi Qinghe to ask him to pick him up and take him to the hospital.
-
Inside the upscale club, the dim, multicolored lights shone on Jiang Jizhou's face, highlighting his exquisite and captivating features. He leaned back on the sofa, tilting his head slightly, looking dejected.
Meanwhile, Yue Sinian was gloating. A beautiful woman was sitting next to him, feeding him fruit.
"Stop bothering me, Zhou. I'll call a beauty for you, I guarantee she'll be prettier than Yu Bai."
Ever since he sent the message to Yu Bai, he's been acting like he's about to die.
After Yue Sinian met Jiang Jizhou, he unexpectedly learned that Jiang had an ex-girlfriend named Yu Bai, whom he loved very much. At that time, Yue Sinian tried to entice Jiang to meet other women, but Jiang rejected them all and remained chaste for his ex-girlfriend. Yue Sinian wanted to meet this rumored ex-girlfriend. Later, he finally met Yu Bai, but Yue Sinian felt that she was nothing special, as bland as plain water, and uninteresting.
Jiang Jizhou glanced coldly at Yue Sinian, a hint of ruthlessness flashing across his face.
Yue Sinian immediately admitted his mistake, "I was wrong, I was wrong."
Jiang Jizhou sat up, picked up his wine glass and gulped it down. The spicy, icy liquid flowed down his throat, but pain welled up in his heart. He put down his glass and looked at Yue Sinian. Yue Sinian's hand was already on the beautiful woman's chest, and the woman giggled and pressed against him. Jiang Jizhou subconsciously recalled the intimate scene between Yu Bai and that man, and he immediately felt nauseous.
Jiang Jizhou stood up and said expressionlessly, "I'm going to Lincheng tomorrow."
"Where are you going?" Yue Sinian looked up at him.
"Find her."
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