Chapter 44
Josh beckoned to him with his finger.
Josh sat up, preparing to get out of bed.
With a click, the door was pushed open from the outside. She stopped what she was doing and looked over at the sound.
The door opened a crack, and a strong, cold wind rushed in first, brushing against the long hair clinging to her face. Josh squinted and saw Chen Zhiyu enter with the wind.
Chen Zhiyu strode into the house with light steps, carrying several bags with packaging from a convenience store printed on them. He glanced at Qiao Xi sitting on the bed looking at him out of the corner of his eye, smiled and greeted her, "Awake? I bought lunch, eat it while it's hot."
He still carried the chill from outside. After putting his bags on the coffee table, he took off his coat and went to the bathroom.
When he came out again, this time he walked straight towards Josh. His warm palms encircled her waist, and he easily lifted her up and pulled her into his arms.
Josh did not offer any rebuttal throughout.
Chen Zhiyu tilted his head, looked at Qiao Xi whose eyes were still a little blurry, smiled, and asked in a low voice, "Haven't you rested enough yet?"
Josh then looked up and glared at him, her hands about to push him away, but the person in front of her quickly bent down to pick up her slippers, and then suddenly picked her up around the waist.
"Chen Zhiyu, what are you doing?!" Qiao Xi exclaimed in fear, quickly wrapping her arms around his neck to steady herself.
"Hurry up and wash up and have lunch, I have things to do later."
...
Chen Zhiyu bought milk and sandwiches.
"This is the lunch you were talking about?"
Hearing her question, Chen Zhiyu coughed awkwardly to the side and carefully explained, "Let's just eat something for now. We're already late. We'll take you to eat something nice after we finish taking your statement."
Josh looked down at the ham sandwich in her hand and only realized when she took the first bite that she hadn't eaten since last night and was starving.
He finished most of the sandwich in no time.
“I saw your colleagues as soon as I stepped out today.” Chen Zhiyu didn’t have much of an appetite and only ate a couple of bites before stopping. He picked up the hot milk beside him and drank it slowly. “They heard about what happened yesterday and probably wanted to come and see you.”
Yesterday's incident at the factory was so serious that it even alerted the police. Even if my colleagues were working overtime all day and oblivious to what was happening outside, the police would probably still contact them to find out more about the situation.
They knew it was only a matter of time. Josh's phone was broken, and they couldn't reach her, so around noon they gathered in front of Josh's door.
Before they could finish summarizing their words of condolence, Chen Zhiyu came out from inside.
Chen Zhiyu woke up an hour earlier than Qiao Xi. Seeing that Qiao Xi was sleeping soundly, he didn't wake her. He quickly tidied up and prepared to go out to buy some food so that Qiao Xi wouldn't be hungry as soon as she woke up.
Standing in front of the door, facing the anxious crowd, Chen Zhiyu truthfully told them about Qiao Xi's condition: her injuries were not serious and she was still resting.
"They mentioned that they couldn't finish their work on time yesterday because of the delay. They worked overtime this morning to finish and are preparing to take an afternoon flight back home."
"They also said that they figured you couldn't travel with them, so they came to see you first."
In this day and age, not having a cell phone is equivalent to being cut off from all contact with the outside world. Josh finished the last bite of his sandwich, looked up and asked him, "You said you had something to do this afternoon, is it to go and make a statement?"
“Yes.” Chen Zhiyu nodded. “Just now, when I went out to buy lunch, the police officer in charge of this case contacted me and asked us to give a detailed statement this afternoon.”
After a while, they said, "They said that Gu Lian is involved in quite a few cases. And we, as the family members of the victims in the fraud case and the parties involved in the kidnapping case, should stay here for a few more days."
After hanging up the phone, Chen Zhiyu glanced at the time on his phone.
After taking into account washing up, getting ready, and the drive, there wasn't much time left, so instead of going far to buy lunch, I went to the nearest convenience store.
In other words, Josh and Chen Zhiyu are indeed unable to leave at the moment. Initial estimates suggest they will have to stay for at least another week.
He could only go back after getting clear information from them. So Chen Zhiyu bought some more daily necessities.
Actually, there was something else Chen Zhiyu hadn't told Qiao Xi. The workshop was too dark at the time, and no one else could prove that Gu Lian's fall was unrelated to him.
Gu Lian is currently in the hospital and has not yet woken up. He can only leave after the police have clarified the circumstances at the time.
He didn't want Josh to worry. Anyway, this matter would be investigated sooner or later.
After finishing their meal, Josh and Chen Zhiyu didn't dare to linger any longer and took a taxi directly to the police station.
When they came out again, it was already dark.
To maintain the confidentiality of the case, investigators only disclosed part of the information to them.
Gu Lian's case involves too many aspects, and several years have passed. It will take a lot of time to thoroughly investigate it.
Some time ago, Hengcheng obtained important information and questioned Gu Lian's family.
Gu Lian's family thought the situation was urgent and secretly informed him.
This triggered Gu Lian's emotional breakdown.
The source of all this was actually a plastic woven bag that was accidentally pulled from the riverbed by several heavy stones when a body that had drowned was being retrieved from a riverside park in a neighboring city.
Inside the plastic woven bag was a skeleton. It had been dead for three or four years.
Investigators conducted a large-scale search across the country and finally identified the deceased through DNA comparison.
After careful verification, the deceased was identified as Jiang Xin, a fugitive criminal suspect. Years ago, he was suspected of using fundraising as a pretext to abscond with large sums of money from numerous wealthy businessmen in various locations.
They vanished without a trace, their whereabouts unknown.
Police initially suspected a revenge killing. They quickly launched an operation, meticulously investigating all the victims he had committed in the past, attempting to identify the suspect.
After much investigation, they finally traced it back to Gu Lian, and through further details, they discovered that he was also involved in the sensational fraud case that had rocked the city years ago.
The phone call from Gu Lian's family, which tipped them off, was undoubtedly the final straw. Jiang Xin's remains were discovered, and the police had already become suspicious of him.
He can't escape it anymore.
But Gu Lian was still unwilling to accept it. He resented the injustice of fate and had not yet succeeded in turning his life around.
Why should he be ruined while others can make a comeback? Gu Lian turned her envious gaze back to Josh, whom she had just recognized.
She had nothing, her family had left her, so why was she able to get through it and live a normal life?
He hates Josh for having the courage to start over.
Jealousy drove him mad; killing one was the same as killing another, so he was determined to take one more with him before he was caught. He could only blame Josh for appearing in front of him at that crucial moment. She was just unlucky.
He suffers, and no one else can expect to be happy.
Josh and Chen Zhiyu stayed there for a few more days. During this time, because their rental agreement expired, they found a hotel not far from the city police station to stay in. They actively cooperated with the investigation.
A few days later, the cooperation was finally completed.
Because he needed to be available to answer questions at any time, and also to recover from his injury, Josh took a week off from work. When he got home, he didn't rush to cancel his leave; he wanted to stay home for a few more days.
Josh still has faint bruises on her body, and it hurts occasionally. Chen Zhiyu supervises her applying medicine every day.
For Josh, this accident was undoubtedly an unexpected disaster. In the days leading up to her return to Hengcheng, she had several recurring nightmares, waking up in the middle of the night. Chen Zhiyu was worried about leaving her home alone, so he asked Liu Weifeng for a few more days off.
During the call, Liu Weifeng learned about Qiao Xi's predicament. Since he was too busy himself, he sent Yang Ling to visit her and see if there was anything he could do to help.
Yang Ling wasn't the only one who came to visit Josh; her colleagues who had returned earlier also did.
Josh had just received her new phone and was bombarded with messages the moment she logged into WeChat. Her colleagues, upon hearing that they had gone home, wanted to visit her.
Josh naturally had no reason to refuse.
The next day happened to be Saturday, and the group arrived in the morning carrying large and small bags of gifts.
We chatted from morning until noon.
Previously, it was just Chen Zhiyu and Qiao Xi living in the house.
Although Chen Zhiyu enjoys spending time alone with Qiao Xi, it's still a bit of a novelty to have a group of people come over for fun occasionally.
Besides, no one else ever comes to our house except for that annoying Tang Ning.
At first, Chen Zhiyu was a little at a loss when faced with a large group of people in the living room. After calming down, he went downstairs and bought some meat and vegetables, planning to have them stay for lunch.
Josh's friend is his friend.
Rather than saying this group of people came to visit a patient, it would be more accurate to say they were having a feast in various ways.
From morning till night, the house was filled with laughter.
At first, Chen Zhiyu was very enthusiastic about it. As the male head of the household, he would take them around and chat with them about Josh's recent health condition.
Later on, it was as if these people had nails stuck to their feet; they simply refused to move.
Chen Zhiyu and Qiao Xi arrived home yesterday evening, and neither of them had a chance to enjoy some time alone together.
Now that he's finally back, Chen Zhiyu is annoyed by the crowd surrounding Josh, unable to squeeze in.
One or two people kept surrounding Josh. The two of them hadn't even had a proper chance to be affectionate, and Josh needed rest even more.
If Josh hadn't seemed to be in good spirits, he might have actually tried to kick him out.
During this time, Josh made eye contact with him several times across the crowd. Chen Zhiyu sighed, feeling as if they were separated by an insurmountable chasm, like the tragic lovers separated by the Milky Way.
As evening approached and the setting sun streamed into the living room, Xiao Yao stretched, glanced at the sky, and realized it was time for them to leave.
After seeing the guests off, Chen Zhiyu breathed a long sigh of relief. Now he could finally enjoy some time alone with his partner.
Chen Zhiyu leaned against the door, arms crossed, an uncontrollable smile playing on his lips. He stared at Qiao Xi, who was sitting on the sofa playing on her phone. After a while, he snapped his fingers and said, "Hey."
Josh looked up and saw this flamboyant look on his face. She tried hard to suppress her laughter. "What are you doing?"
Chen Zhiyu's posture remained unchanged. He pointed to the door, looking relieved and finally free. "Finally gone. Why didn't you say your colleagues talked so much?"
Josh leaned back on the sofa and looked at him. "So?"
"so?"
Josh beckoned to him with his finger.
Chen Zhiyu always felt like he was a roly-poly toy that Qiao Xi played with, his mood entirely dependent on her slightest actions. He couldn't stand it, and he took a step forward to go over.
Knock knock, the door that had just quieted down rang again.
Hearing the door open, Chen Zhiyu's face darkened, but he still asked Qiao Xi, unwilling to give up, "Did you order takeout?"
Josh shook his head, suppressing a laugh. "No."
“That’s Aunt Li, but didn’t she just come here last night?” Chen Zhiyu said softly, his hand on the doorknob.
Josh turned his head and laughed for a while, then stopped teasing him. "Tang Ning is here. I just saw her message."
As if on the same wavelength, the knocking on the door outside began to grow impatient.
Tang Ning banged on the door and shouted loudly, "Chen Zhiyu, open the door for your sister!"
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