WWY Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Reaching a Consensus

The sound of angry heels faded away…

The hospital was filled with the strong smell of disinfectant. Lan He hadn’t even opened his eyes when he heard the “beep, beep, beep” of the surrounding medical equipment.

Slowly turning his head, he saw someone unexpected sitting by his bed.

It was Qing Gu.

Seeing that he was awake, Qing Gu hurriedly smoothed his slightly curly hair, leaned over, and asked, “Is there anything that doesn’t feel right?”

His tone was surprisingly gentle.

Qing Gu and his sister, Ya Gu, were completely different. Ya Gu was a shrewd and capable businesswoman, serious and rigid, while Qing Gu…

In a word, he was a spoiled rich kid.

Lan He managed a weak smile and shook his head, “I’m fine. What are you doing here?”

“Mr. He is negotiating with the police, Auntie Long is making soup at home, and my sister has company business to attend to. Among our whole family, I’m the only one with free time. If I didn’t come, who would? Lan He, you’ve been asleep for a whole day. Wait a moment, I’ll go get the doctor.” Qing Gu smiled affectionately. “Oh, I should call you brother-in-law now!”

Lan He blinked noncommittally and looked at the heart monitor beside him.

It seemed to be back to normal.

He slowly closed his eyes, trying to recall everything that happened last night: the beastly roar, the white light that filled the sky and the earth, the familiar dark gray sedan, and Qin Man’s wide-eyed, terrified expression…

His heart rate soared.

The monitor beeped frantically. The door was pushed open, and a doctor in a white coat rushed in, carefully checking his condition.

Lan He explained that he was fine, and as his emotions calmed, his heart rate slowly returned to normal.

The doctor and Qing Gu breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. The doctor said to Qing Gu, “Mr. Gu, as you can see, the patient’s condition is still unstable and he’s not fit to go home and recuperate.”

“How long will it take?”

“That depends on the patient’s recovery.” The doctor said conservatively, “At least three days.”

“Three days…” Qing Gu looked at Lan He with difficulty and nodded. “Alright, I guess that’s how it has to be.”

After seeing the doctor off, Qing Gu pursed his lips, with a hint of schadenfreude in his voice: “Mr. He is going to have a headache this time!”

Lan He leaned against the headboard and sat up. He looked at the sunset outside the window and asked, “Si’nian He? What’s he got to be headache about?”

Qing Gu poured him a glass of water, carefully testing the temperature of the cup wall: “I heard there are many things going on within the He Corporation recently. He was counting on you to be discharged from the hospital to help him handle Mr. He’s funeral. It seems that’s not going to happen.”

Lan He mocked himself and tugged at the corner of his mouth: “Actually, it doesn’t make much difference whether I’m there or not. Besides, not many people outside recognize me. He can just take charge of it.”

“But you are Mr. He’s real son after all.” Qing Gu handed him the water and pressed his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Lan He, we will take good care of you in the future!”

Lan He glanced at him, slowly removed his hand, and said lightly, “Call me brother-in-law.”

Qing Gu smiled and said in a strange tone, “Brother-in-law!”

Lan He lowered his eyes, picked up the phone on the bedside table, saw no new messages, and casually opened a news platform to browse.

Unsurprisingly, the news that he had almost been hit by a car and suffered a heart attack had once again topped the trending searches. What was even more outrageous was that some feng shui masters were even analyzing the He family’s luck based on the address of the He Corporation’s headquarters.

After a long while, Qing Gu, who had been pacing around restlessly and had tried to speak several times, finally couldn’t help but gently persuade: “Hey, don’t always look at your phone. It’s not good for your eyes!”

Lan He looked at his rimless glasses: “My heart is broken, but my eyes are fine.”

Qing Gu was rendered speechless.

Lan He put away his phone: “Do you know what happened last night?”

“From what I heard them saying, it seems that Qin Man wanted to kill you by driving his car into you. I really can’t believe that Qin Man would turn into a mad dog. Why would he do that?” Qing Gu worriedly held Lan He’s hand on the edge of the bed, like a caring older brother. “You must tell the police everything clearly!”

Lan He pulled his hand back forcefully and asked, “Where is Detective Ling?”

“Busy, probably?” Qing Gu pointed towards the door. “He left two of his colleagues guarding outside. He was very worried last night. Well, you’re such an important person. If something happened to you in front of him, his career would be over.”

As soon as he said that, Ling Tuxi arrived.

The door was knocked on and then pushed open. Ling Tuxi came in carrying large and small bags. The most eye-catching was a huge fruit basket.

He nodded to Qing Gu as a greeting, put down the things, sat on the stool beside the hospital bed, and carefully looked at Lan He’s face: “I heard you woke up. How are you? Feeling better?”

Lan He smiled at him as if in a good mood: “No feeling. Probably about to die.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Even though he knew he was joking, Ling Tuxi couldn’t help but look at the monitoring equipment. “Qin Man’s car crashed through the bridge railing two kilometers away and plunged into the river. He died on the spot.”

“Oh.” Lan He wasn’t surprised at all.

At that speed, it was fortunate that he drove into the river. If he had crashed into something else, the casualties would have been much greater.

Ling Tuxi took an apple and a small knife provided by the fruit store from the fruit basket, put on disposable gloves, and planned to peel the apple for him.

Seeing this, Qing Gu quickly came to take over: “Let me do it!”

Ling Tuxi dodged his hand and said half-jokingly, “No need, I peel apples better!”

He wasn’t bragging. He peeled the apple quickly and well. When he was almost done, Lan He suddenly sighed: “Is the case going to be closed, Detective Ling?”

Ling Tuxi shook his head: “We can’t close the case just like that, without a head or tail. We need further investigation. For example, your fingerprints left on Mr. He’s medicine bottle, whether he deliberately framed you, and what the motive was.”

Speaking of this, Lan He’s expression became somewhat lonely.

Ling Tuxi keenly observed the change in him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“To be honest.” Lan He sighed a long sigh. “I’m very disappointed in Doctor Qin. We’ve always had a good relationship. In the three years since I returned to China, I’ve spent more time with him than with Si’nian He. He’s more like family to me. When I’m bored, I would pull him to play chess with me. Almost every day.”

“You mean you don’t think he would deliberately harm your He family?”

“At least he shouldn’t harm me, but there’s no way. The facts are right there.”

In fact, his performance confirmed what Ling Tuxi had learned before.

According to Auntie Long, Lan He and Qin Man were very good friends. Originally, Qin Man was a very rigid person, keeping his distance from everyone, but since Lan He returned to China, he gradually smiled more, was very active in the He family every day, sometimes helping to clean the room, and even helping the gardener prune branches. He was becoming more and more easygoing.

Lan He unconsciously looked at the tip of the knife slowly turning under the apple peel: “Actually, there’s one thing I didn’t pay attention to before, so I didn’t mention it. I don’t know if it will help you solve the case. Qin Man borrowed money from me two months ago, but I didn’t have any money. All my expenses come from my father’s account. I told him to go to my father. If my father didn’t agree, I would speak for him. Later, I forgot about it. I don’t know if he went or not.”

“Borrowed money?” Ling Tuxi put down the knife, turned the apple around, and thought for a long time, subconsciously taking a bite.

Lan He was speechless and reached out.

Ling Tuxi stared at his hand for a long time, thinking that this hand was really beautiful, white and long, well-proportioned but not lacking in strength.

Then, he suddenly realized that the apple in his hand was missing a piece and felt extremely embarrassed: “Sorry, I’ll peel another one for you!”

Qing Gu quickly stopped him: “Hey, hey, let me do it. Detective Ling, you go take care of your business. Don’t worry about this side. Our family will take good care of him!”

When he said “our family,” Ling Tuxi didn’t react at first. Later, he realized that Qing Gu was Lan He’s brother-in-law, and suddenly felt strange.

Since Qin Man had borrowed money, indicating that his personal financial situation had been problematic, it was indeed necessary to investigate thoroughly.

So he got up: “Alright, then Mr. He, take good care of yourself. I’ll come to see you again when I have time. If you need anything from the police, please contact me.”

Lan He asked, “Contact you by text message?”

Ling Tuxi nodded: “Yes, anytime!”

His gaze was very firm, so firm that Lan He couldn’t bear to be harsh, and could only secretly roll his eyes at his back.

Qing Gu took over the position and picked an apple that was both red and large from the fruit basket. Unfortunately, his movements were slow and the apple was peeled in a mess, far worse than Ling Tuxi’s level.

“I also don’t think Qin Man seems like that kind of person. What’s going on with him? Could it be that he took the risk to get money?”

“It’s not necessarily. The thing with the medicine might just be a mistake at work. After realizing he’d made a mistake, he ran away. Later, he was wanted, and when he ran out of options, he started going crazy. Isn’t that just human nature?”

Seeing through Lan He’s perfunctoriness, Qing Gu changed the subject: “My sister is very worried about you. She’ll come to see you later.”

“Don’t let her come.” Lan He moved his neck, nonchalantly, “I don’t want her to see me in this state.”

“Don’t say that. You’re married now, and of course your daily life will be taken care of by us. Lan He, we’re family. Don’t be so distant!”

Lan He chuckled, half in self-deprecation and half in disdain.

Ya Gu still came, wearing a serious and capable professional suit, carrying a limited-edition bag. The always slightly downturned corners of her mouth indicated that she didn’t smile often, or perhaps, that she was very reluctant to come.

After all, in the Gu family, Old Man Gu was like heaven, always having the final say.

Seeing his sister, Qing Gu acted like a mouse seeing a cat, pointed to the outside of the door: “I’m going to have a cigarette. You guys talk!”

And disappeared quickly.

Lan He had neither good nor bad feelings about this woman he had only seen once during marriage registration. They were just husband and wife in name only. They only needed to put on a show for the public when necessary, and there was no need to compete in acting skills with each other.

Moreover, half of the reason he agreed to the marriage was because he was forced by Weiyu He, as for the other half…

He showed a distant smile: “Ms. Gu, it’s really not necessary for you to come see me amidst your busy schedule!”

Ya Gu’s red lips formed a beautiful arc: “I’m very sorry about Mr. He’s matter. How are you? Qing Gu said on the phone that you are recovering well.”

“Indeed, not bad. But that’s all it will ever be in this life. Sorry, I’m holding you back.”

Lan He’s words sounded sincere enough, but it seemed like he had touched Ya Gu’s sore spot, and her face gradually turned cold: “If your physical condition allows, I hope you can let Mr. He rest in peace as soon as possible, and put our wedding on the agenda as soon as possible!”

Lan He raised his eyebrows: “So anxious?”

Ya Gu looked at him coldly, her red lips tightly pursed: “From the moment I agreed to the marriage, I was destined to become a laughingstock in the circle. I don’t really care, but you know the public opinion now, right? If you want to shatter the rumors, even if it’s just a show, your He family and our Gu family both need a wedding of the century.”

Lan He thought for a while, suddenly smiled cunningly, and nodded: “Okay, after I handle my father’s funeral, I’ll plan it carefully.”

Ya Gu then relaxed her expression with satisfaction.

“Ms. Gu, I’m curious.”

“What?”

“Are you really willing to be tied to a useless person like me?”

Ya Gu looked at him arrogantly: “I’m willing to do anything that is beneficial to the company. Besides, men? Heh, if I have to have one, whether it’s you or someone else, it’s all the same to me.”

Lan He shrugged: “Very good, consensus reached.”

Ya Gu said: “I hope you can take good care of your health, because I hate Si’nian He. If it weren’t for you, I would never cooperate with him. My father would be unhappy again.”

“Got it.” Lan He nodded, seriously saying, “Madam, I think that if you want me to live a little longer, you should leave as soon as possible.”

The sound of “Madam” made the corner of Ya Gu’s mouth twitch violently. Without saying a word, she picked up her bag and turned to leave.

“Tap, tap, tap——”

The sound of angry high heels gradually faded away, and Lan He suddenly felt a little comical.

When they had dinner together on the day of the wedding, they both left some leeway out of respect for their elders. Today was their real attitude.

They were being open and honest, and each would do their own thing.

Two days ago, Lan He didn’t care at all about these complex emotional relationships because he wouldn’t invest any feelings. But from the moment that wet person stood in front of him, he felt that he had to clarify the essence of this marriage with Ya Gu.

He didn’t expect her to bring it up first. Very good.