Chapter 38
I'm out of the sanatorium
A gentle breeze blows, and the sky is clear and blue.
Xu drove Jiang Fengyi towards the sanatorium. The buildings on both sides of the road receded into the distance, and the rolling hills gradually came into view.
Along the way,
Jiang Fengyi looked tense, checking the map several times to calculate how much longer it would take to arrive.
"take it easy."
Xu lowered the car window, letting the mountain breeze into the car to dispel the chaotic thoughts in Jiang Fengyi's mind.
"I'm here with you."
She gripped the steering wheel with one hand and placed the other on the back of Jiang Fengyi's hand, gently stroking it with her thumb to transfer the warmth of her palm to him.
A cool breeze blew in, and Jiang Fengyi turned her head to look out the car window. The frustrations and worries on the road were quickly left far behind by the vehicle and could no longer be caught up with.
"Yes, I'm here with you!"
She turned her hand over and grasped Xu Que's hand, feeling her heart filled with love.
*
Jiang Fengyi finally stopped making things difficult for the staff during breakfast and quietly finished her own meal.
How can I have the energy to deal with Jiang Fengyi if I don't eat my fill?
During free time, Jiang Xuan didn't go downstairs; instead, she sat alone in her hospital room reading magazines.
Jiang Fengyi and her group arrived just in time.
"It seems the nursing home is working well; my mother looks much calmer than before."
Jiang Xuan looked up and asked only, "When can I leave?"
Jiang Fengyi told Xu Que and the bodyguard to wait outside the ward, and then went inside herself.
The door closed.
The two of them were left alone in the empty private hospital room.
One sat, the other stood; they were clearly very close, yet it was as if an invisible wall separated them, like the Chu River and Han border.
They are incompatible and clearly distinct.
Jiang Fengyi spoke first: "When would Mother like to go out?"
Jiang Xuan snorted, "I want to leave now!" She didn't want to stay in this lousy place for even a second longer!
To everyone's surprise, Jiang Fengyi at the door actually nodded: "Okay."
"I'll have someone process your discharge paperwork."
"I knew you were just pretending..." Jiang Xuan's words were cut off as if someone had suddenly grabbed his throat, his voice sharp, "What did you say!"
I told you that if you want to go out, I'll have someone process the paperwork for you.
Jiang Xuan stared at Jiang Fengyi suspiciously: "What exactly are you planning to do?"
"I don't believe you're that kind."
"What are my plans?" Jiang Fengyi chuckled. "Mother will know what my plans are after she leaves."
She turned around, placed her hand on the doorknob, left a cryptic remark, and then turned the doorknob and left.
"Your mother will soon find out what the Zhao family plans for you."
The staff below were very efficient. Before Jiang Xuan could even figure out what that meant, the discharge procedures were already completed.
This time, Jiang Fengyi didn't come in alone; Xu Que was with her as well.
Upon seeing that familiar face again, Jiang Xuan couldn't help but feel angry. She had been locked up in the sanatorium because of this person!
"you......"
Xu greeted her familiarly, "Aunt Jiang, it's been a long time. You look much better than before."
“It seems the sanatorium has good feng shui,” Xu said, deliberately jabbing at her lungs. “You can come and stay here often when you have time.”
Jiang Xuan was so angry that she yelled at Jiang Fengyi, "Look at the kind of person you've chosen as your partner!"
She immediately stated her position: "As long as I am alive, I will absolutely not allow her to enter the house!"
Before Jiang Fengyi could speak, Xu said shyly, "I've already entered Jiang Fengyi's house, and I never intended to enter yours."
Jiang Fengyi rarely saw Jiang Xuan speechless, so she couldn't help but take a few more glances before explaining her purpose.
"Your discharge procedures are complete. Please come with us. Whether you want to go home or to the Zhao family's house, just let the driver know in advance."
"I hope you won't regret your decision today."
Jiang Fengyi started saying some nonsensical things again, which made Jiang Xuan frown. She said in a deep voice, "I will only regret not leaving sooner!"
Just before getting on the bus,
Jiang Fengyi glanced at Jiang Xuan's expression, then turned to the driver in front and said, "Take her back to the Zhao family."
Jiang Fengyi and Jiang Xuan did not ride in the same car. After she finished speaking, she left and returned to You Xuque's car.
After Jiang Xuan and the others, who had originally planned to return to the Zhao family, left, Jiang Xuan suddenly said to the driver, "Don't listen to her, let's go back to the Jiang family."
She was used to contradicting Jiang Fengyi.
The driver nodded in agreement.
*
On the return trip, the driver took the car, while Xu Que and Jiang Fengyi sat in the back.
Jiang Fengyi's smile never faded after she got into the car; her mood was visibly cheerful, quite different from when she arrived.
"So happy?"
Xu leaned closer, rested his hand on the center console of the back seat, and accidentally pressed a button with his fingertip.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—"
The baffle slowly descended.
Xu stiffly turned her head: "Would you believe me if I said I didn't do it on purpose?" Her fingertips continued to move, and the barrier that had just been lowered quickly retracted.
The commotion made the driver in front look back curiously. Even though the two of them hadn't done anything, it was as if there were pink bubbles floating in the air.
If you accidentally break one open, it will release a sweet and delicious aroma.
On the day Jiang Xuan arrived home, news of Jiang Fengyi's car accident was still trending on social media.
Unaware of the truth, the Zhao family members sat around the council hall, constantly speculating about what had happened.
Zhao Rufei found the matter suspicious: "The news of the car accident has been trending on social media for several days. Even if Jiang Fengyi is injured and unconscious, Jingjiang's public relations department should have taken some action."
Zhao Ruxuan didn't think that much about it: "Maybe she hasn't thought about a public relations statement yet."
"You still haven't figured it out after all this time?"
"Perhaps the boss is not here, so the work efficiency is low."
Zhao Rufei retorted directly, "Do you think their public relations department works as efficiently as you do?"
She continued to raise questions: "Then why hasn't a single picture of Jiang Fengyi being injured been released?"
Zhao Ruxuan looked at her sister with a puzzled expression. Why couldn't her sister understand the question that she could figure out? "That's the Jiang family. Without the Jiang family's permission, how could any photos have been leaked?"
"Yes!" Zhao Rufei finally understood.
This time, her sister was completely confused: "What?"
"How could such a serious car accident involving the current leader of the government so easily become a trending topic? Was it because the Jiang family couldn't stop it in time, or...?"
Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Ruxuan blurted out, "How could the Jiang family not have time to stop them, unless the media doesn't want to stay in the industry anymore?" Her voice trailed off as she began to realize something was wrong.
Zhao Rufei continued, "...Or did Jiang Fengyi deliberately spread this rumor?"
"You mean Jiang Fengyi fabricated the news about her car accident?" Zhao Ruxuan covered her mouth in surprise. "What would she gain from that?"
Zhao Rufei fell silent; she couldn't figure out what Jiang Fengyi was after.
After a moment of silence, Old Mrs. Zhao slowly spoke.
"Many of the senior executives at Jingjiang were promoted by Jiang Xuan. Although they are not capable of competing with Jiang Fengyi, they can still occasionally trip her up at work."
“They are all very important senior executives; it’s impossible to dismiss them all at once.”
"Perhaps Jiang Fengyi is worried that we will tell them that she locked Jiang Xuan in the sanatorium," Old Mrs. Zhao sneered. "So she can only use the car accident as a pretext to buy time."
Zhao Rufei asked, "Why don't we join forces with Jingjiang's senior management? Wouldn't that leave Jiang Fengyi isolated and helpless in the company?"
She couldn't help but imagine: "We'll leak the information to them, they'll denounce Jiang Fengyi, they'll fight each other to the death, and we'll reap the benefits."
Old Mrs. Zhao interrupted her without any mercy.
"Don't deal with those people. They're just trying to squeeze money out of us while also trying to extort money from Jiang Fengyi. They only care about profit, not friendship."
"We must not let them catch us doing anything wrong. If they have any dirt on the Zhao family, we'll be in big trouble."
Zhao Rufei immediately dismissed the idea.
"So, are we just supposed to wait and wait?"
Grandma Zhao nodded firmly: "We can only wait. As long as we confirm that Jiang Xuan has shares, we will send someone to 'pick her up' from the sanatorium."
It's just a sanatorium, not a prison.
Zhao Ruxuan then asked, "There's no sure when we'll get there. Why don't we take a gamble and bet our shares on Aunt Jiang?"
"What if he's not here?"
Zhao Ruxuan said indifferently, "Then wouldn't that still be the same result as now?"
"At worst, we'll just have to bleed a little and pay some compensation to the sanatorium."
Grandma Zhao and Zhao Rufei, who were discussing countermeasures, stopped at the same time. After thinking about it carefully, they realized that what she said made sense.
Surprisingly, Zhao Ruxuan didn't receive any rebuttal, which made her even more enthusiastic as she began to plan: "Then I'll take my bodyguards and storm into the sanatorium, and just..."
Just as she was about to talk about showing off her skills, the maid Xia knocked on the door.
Xia was the only one standing at the door. Further away, several servants stared at her back and said, "We all have to thank Xiao Hong this time. She knew that going in wouldn't bring any good things, but she still took her in for us."
"I'm going to treat her to dinner when I get my salary this month."
"Then I'll buy her a dress when I get paid."
"Then I..."
Xia was only in charge of the garden. When she saw her close friends refusing to serve each other, she asked what was wrong. When she heard that no one was willing to serve the employer, she volunteered.
In the council chamber,
Grandma Zhao glanced at Zhao Ruxuan, who understood and immediately fell silent.
"Enter."
After Xia came in, she held up her phone and said cautiously, "Grandma, your phone is ringing."
She bent over, her lowered eyes taking advantage of the lowered head to freely survey the area.
Sure enough, I heard my employer's stern reprimand.
"Don't bother me with these trivial matters anymore!"
Grandma Zhao thought it was an unimportant call and was about to hang up when Zhao Rufei, who had sharp eyes, saw the name on the screen and quickly stopped her.
At the same time, he said to the maid, "This is none of your business. Go out now."
The door slammed shut again.
The ringing continued, and Zhao Rufei quickly gestured for Grandma Zhao to look at the screen.
"Grandma, it's Aunt Jiang on the phone!"
"What?!"
Without hesitation, Mrs. Zhao answered the call.
The stern tone that had been scolding the servants smoothly transformed into a kind and gentle one.
"Child, you didn't suffer in the nursing home, did you?"
She deliberately let out a heavy sigh.
"Sigh, if I could visit you at the sanatorium, I could sleep more soundly at night, but unfortunately Fengyi refuses."
"You know she always keeps her word, and we dare not disobey her."
Grandma Zhao seized every opportunity to sow discord between Jiang Xuan and Jiang Fengyi, and she had played a significant role in bringing their relationship to this point.
She was about to add a few more words when she heard Jiang Xuan speak from the other end of the phone.
“I’ve been discharged from the nursing home and I’m at home now.”
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