Chapter Six: Be Vigilant
Just as she was about to approach the man to ask for his business card, someone in the crowd with sharp eyes spotted Sister Wang, the accountant, peeking out from behind the window of the temporary prefab house in a panic. They immediately shouted at the top of their lungs, "There's someone else hiding in the room! Don't let her get away!"
The sound was like cold water dripping into boiling oil; the scene instantly exploded and became uncontrollable once again. Several agitated migrant workers immediately rushed forward, violently smashing and prying at the door lock with their hands and whatever tools they could find. Lin Yu was caught off guard and was swept up by the surging crowd, pushed to the door. Being small and weak, she had no way to escape.
Terrified, Sister Wang hid under a table in the prefab house, clutching her computer and trembling. Seeing this, Engineer Feng and a few others nearby realized something was wrong and quickly pushed through the crowd to try and stop them.
The sounds of shoving, shouting, and the clanging of metal against the iron gate mingled together, further fueling the migrant workers' agitation. Even Manager Lü's attempts to stop them were muffled and indistinct.
In the midst of this chaos, someone, in a moment of madness, swung a wooden stick and smashed it violently towards the door lock!
Lin Yu was pushed backward and staggered, unable to maintain his balance. His back pressed against the door, and by sheer coincidence, his head fell right under the stick, taking a solid blow to the forehead!
With a dull thud, accompanied by a brief, sharp pain and an instant dizziness, her vision went black. Before she could even cry out, her body swayed and she collapsed limply to the ground.
Upon realizing they had truly caused trouble, the troublemaking migrant workers panicked and scattered like birds. Manager Lü was also completely flustered at this point, no longer caring about collecting the remaining payment; his face had turned pale with fright.
The specialist and Engineer Feng rushed over in a panic. Seeing the blood seeping from Lin Yu's forehead, they hurriedly helped her up and quickly drove her to the nearest hospital.
Lin Yu lost consciousness after being knocked unconscious, and when she vaguely woke up it was almost nine o'clock in the evening. However, she had lost her accurate sense of the passage of time.
With my eyes closed, my other senses became unusually acute. The air was thick with the smell of disinfectant, and a faint, almost imperceptible, cool fragrance reminiscent of white pine needles—clean yet unfamiliar. A fine, dense itching began on one side of my forehead, like countless hooked ants crawling beneath my skin.
As she regained consciousness, the pain intensified. She could feel herself lying on a not-so-soft examination bed, and the tingling sensation on the back of her hand was probably from the intravenous drip.
The room was unusually quiet. Lin Yu felt a little cold and opened her eyes slightly to reach for a blanket to cover herself. When she leaned forward, she felt the wound on her forehead tighten, and the sharp pain made her gasp instantly.
Almost simultaneously, she heard a chair being pulled back beside her, and someone stood up and walked towards her. Lin Yu opened her eyes with difficulty, following the direction of the sound, and gradually adjusted to the glaring brightness of the incandescent light.
The first thing to catch her blurry vision was a pair of long, slender legs encased in crisply pressed black trousers. The man stopped at the bedside, his hands casually in his pockets, his head slightly bowed, his expression calm and condescending as he looked down at Lin Yu.
This was the first time Lin Yu had met Jiang Chuan. Although he spent many years traveling to various project sites for work, Lin Yu still maintained basic standards for his appearance after leaving school.
Even if she wasn't as extreme as Cheng Shi, she still had some concerns about maintaining a professional image. While working in Shanghai, she consistently wore light makeup and professional attire. Unconsciously, she had been subtly influenced by the rigorous yet refined cultural environment of this international metropolis.
Shedding the awkwardness and timidity of her early days, she has become increasingly adept at dealing with people and even developed the ability to quickly switch between different states in different situations.
In a design institute with far more women than men, she was considered one of the institute's beauties, a title that originated from a half-joking remark made by the institute's director at an end-of-year dinner. But over the years, her colleagues had come to call her that, partly in jest and partly in agreement.
Lin Yu is no longer the naive young girl who first came to Linjiang from a small town. Perhaps the only thing she still retains is the bit of sensitivity and stubbornness that remains in her bones.
At this moment, Lin Yu knew without even looking that he was in a terrible state. His tight jeans and black T-shirt were covered in dust and dirt from the pushing and shoving that afternoon.
The hair tie that was used to tie her hair was nowhere to be found. Her shoulder-length hair was dry and messy, scattered on the pillow. A medical gauze was stuck to one side of her forehead, with mottled bloodstains on the edges, adorning her small face, which was swollen, sallow, and bare due to injury.
In such a situation, being stared at so closely by a strange and handsome man would make anyone feel indescribably embarrassed and at a loss.
She looked up and met Jiang Chuan's gaze, trying not to reveal her fear too much. Jiang Chuan stood there quietly, a faint smile on his lips, his black clothes making him appear even more imposing, which only highlighted Lin Yu's timidity.
Lin Yu felt the man was scrutinizing her closely, as if he were giving her a soul ultrasound. She maintained a state of "I don't understand if the enemy doesn't move," and returned his gaze with a slight wariness.
Fortunately, he finally had a change of heart and took the initiative to break the deadlock. "How are you feeling?" His voice was unhurried, but as clean and crisp as warm jade striking stone, with a hint of nonchalant weariness at the end.
"Who are you?" Lin Yu endured the throbbing pain in his temples, maintaining basic vigilance and showing a clear defensive attitude towards the strange man in front of him.
"The doctor said you only have a mild concussion, the injury isn't serious." He didn't answer directly, but instead quietly observed her with his fox-like eyes, continuing unhurriedly, "You might experience intermittent amnesia later. But don't worry, it's all temporary. Also..."
He thought for a moment, seemingly believing that this question was more important to the girl. "...There's a high probability she won't have a scar."
Men often pause slightly at the end of a sentence, as if waiting for the climax of a piece of music, or as if pondering how to make their words flow flawlessly. The brief silence before speaking is like a raindrop hanging in the air, making people hold their breath for no reason.
"If it's not a doctor, could it be someone from the company?" Lin Yu couldn't help but wonder. "Where's Sister Wang?" Normally, the company should at least leave one female person to accompany the patient in case of any inconvenience during this time, but Lin Yu scanned the entire room and couldn't find Sister Wang.
"You mean your colleague?" the man asked casually. "He should be downstairs eating right now."
He wasn't from the company, otherwise he would have recognized Sister Wang. He wasn't a police officer either, as police dispatches require at least two people per team. Despite the dizziness caused by the concussion, Lin Yu's brain began to work at high power, and he quickly sorted everything out.
She took a deep breath and adopted a businesslike attitude. "I will pursue your company's responsibility within the bounds of reason and law. Please communicate with my legal department before making any further statements."
Hearing this, the man raised an eyebrow in surprise and chuckled, "Miss Lin, you truly are a designer. Your mind works very quickly!"
He leaned forward slightly and handed over a business card. "Hello, my name is Jiang Chuan, and I'm the lawyer hired by Green Company to handle this accident."
Green was probably the name of the manufacturer's company; Lin Yu neither remembered nor cared. Having worked on projects for so long, he'd encountered dozens, if not hundreds, of manufacturers contacting him.
However, based on the analysis this morning, such small manufacturers most likely don't have the funds to support a legal team. The person in front of me is most likely a lawyer from an outsourced law firm.
Logically speaking, such minor disputes are usually left to newcomers to practice on, but the person in front of her gave her the feeling of being experienced and even cunning. He didn't seem like a greenhorn at all.
Lin Yu quickly weighed the options and decided to retreat as a strategic move, waiting for the company representatives to arrive before making any decisions. "Look at me now, I really can't talk to you about anything," she said bluntly, even sounding weak and listless.
"You yourself said that a mild concussion can cause intermittent amnesia. We might reach an agreement today, but I might forget everything by tomorrow. So... let's leave it at that for today." Lin Yu bluntly told him to leave.
However, Jiang Chuan remained unmoved. He naturally pulled the chair behind him closer and sat down beside Lin Yu's bed. He deliberately adjusted his posture to be at eye level with her, creating a false impression of equality and intimacy.
After being forced to observe his exquisite features up close, Lin Yu instantly became even more nervous and awkward, subconsciously tensing her body. This was probably the moment when her psychological defenses were weakest since she woke up.
“Ms. Lin, please don’t misunderstand.” His tone softened, sincere and harmless. “I’m a lawyer from Jingwei Law Firm. I just happened to be handling other matters nearby. I didn’t come here specifically to stake out the place.”
He paused briefly before continuing to explain, "Our client is currently cooperating with the investigation at the police station and will absolutely not cause you any further harm. I came here mainly to get a preliminary understanding of what happened, and more importantly, to visit you on behalf of the company to check on your injuries."
After saying that, he raised his hand and gently patted the fruit basket on the bedside table. This did not attract Lin Yu's attention; she remained staring blankly at the ceiling, afraid that any movement would aggravate the wound on her head.
No wonder, it was just a coincidence that she was passing by. She returned Jiang Chuan a fake smile, but her eyes were cold. "How did they let you in?" Lin Yu was still incredulous that the first person he saw when he woke up was the defendant's lawyer.
Jiang Chuan seemed amused by the question, casually resting his elbow on his lap, propping his chin up with his hand, and feigning deep thought for a moment. After a while, he suddenly leaned closer to Lin Yu and said in a low voice, enunciating each word clearly, "Because your Sister Wang said..."
He paused deliberately, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. "I don't look like a bad person."
He looked at Lin Yu, then gave him an extremely friendly smile. His white teeth were like sharp, gleaming knives, as if they were about to slit Lin Yu's throat.
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