Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Returning to Sui City, it was already deep into the night.

Perhaps it was because the night wind was a bit chilly; Chen Mo felt an unusual chill seeping through his back, making him frown involuntarily.

The two groups dispersed in different directions. Old K was the only one from the new recruits who had an assistant come to pick him up, but unfortunately, with the assistant included, there wasn't enough room for one more person.

Yuan Hao offered, "I'll just take a taxi."

"You go ahead," Chen Mo glanced at the time and said to the others, "You're all heading in the same direction, so it's convenient. I'll go separately, saving you the trouble of having to make a detour."

As Chen Mo was their leader, it wouldn't be right for the subordinates to leave while he stayed behind.

Even the two colleagues from the sales department were taken aback and hurriedly declined, "President Chen, how can that be? You should go first; we're not children anymore, we can manage on our own."

Just as they were declining, a low-profile black luxury car glided smoothly over.

The rear window lowered, revealing the familiar profile of CM's boss.

Xi Siyan turned his head, as if merely greeting them, and asked, "Why haven't you left yet?"

"President Xi," the colleagues bowed slightly with a smile, "We're about to leave."

Xi Siyan's gaze swept over to Chen Mo standing beside them, then calmly said, "I'll give President Chen a ride. It's late, everyone should get home quickly."

Yuan Hao was the first to react.

He pushed the other two colleagues into the car, hastily said goodbye to Chen Mo, and urged the assistant to drive off.

In Xi Siyan's car, besides the driver Xiaolin, there was only him.

As soon as Chen Mo got in, Xiaolin raised the partition immediately.

Chen Mo looked up at the partition without speaking, then asked the person beside him, "What about the others?"

"Han Qian will take care of them," Xi Siyan glanced at him, put aside the notebook on his knees, and said, "You haven't been resting well these days. I saw you working on documents during the flight. Rest a bit; I'll wake you when we arrive."

Chen Mo rubbed his temples and didn't refuse.

He wrapped himself in his coat, leaned against Xi Siyan's lap, adjusted his position, turned over, and closed his eyes in a comfortable pose.

He didn't feel particularly sleepy, just a headache from overthinking.

Chen Mo still had many questions to ask him.

For example, where did the investigation of UA stand? Was Lunaer truly under control, or had he escaped back to his country as the rumors suggested? And, would you like to rest too?

These questions circled in his mind, but as soon as he closed his eyes, overwhelming fatigue washed over him.

His head rested on Xi Siyan's lap, and he smelled the familiar scent.

He managed to murmur, "Are you staying tonight?"

"I need to stop by the company," Xi Siyan draped his coat over him, "There are some issues with the evidence provided regarding UA; I need to resubmit it to the police system."

Chen Mo recalled the two attacks: "Be careful. Even though we're in the country, they might act recklessly."

After Xi Siyan assured him, Chen Mo nestled into Xi Siyan's waist and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Midway, he felt cold again.

His throat was dry.

He opened his mouth to call out to Xi Siyan, realizing his voice was barely audible. But he received a quick response, feeling Xi Siyan's palm on his forehead, and the tension in his voice.

He was making a phone call.

"Yes, he has a fever, rising quickly... We're on the way, about ten minutes away..."

So it was a fever.

Chen Mo guessed he was arranging for a doctor.

Without opening his eyes, his mind was hazy.

It felt like being pinned down by a nightmare, knowing he should wake up but unable to move his limbs.

This reminded Chen Mo of the years when he was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. His knee inflammation occasionally caused a low fever, and every night he struggled awake from nightmares, only to be overwhelmed by intense desires. He smoked, led his team in business battles, filled every spare moment, demanding much of himself and those under him.

Chen Mo had thought this might be a survival instinct.

He needed these emotions—anger, resentment, and frustration. If the past Chen Mo had given up these supports, he might have rotted in the mud long ago.

But why, now, when he felt his limbs bound and his soul sinking, could he not muster the strength to struggle free?

Because he knew someone was catching him.

The arm around his shoulder was firm, and the voice in his ear was real, saying, "We're almost there."

Feeling the car stop, Chen Mo finally opened his eyes vaguely.

He saw the outline of Xi Siyan's chin, made sharper by his serious expression.

Chen Mo struggled to sit up, his lips brushing against Xi Siyan's chin, murmuring, "I'm fine. I'm a bit regretful, what should I do?"

Xi Siyan held him close, rubbing his forehead, still concerned about his fever, and softly asked, "Regretful about what?"

"How did I miss you?"

Chen Mo spoke very softly, so softly that he thought only he could hear and care about it. Even if Xi Siyan had heard him, Chen Mo didn't think there would be any issue; after all, it was just a sigh of exasperation.

After saying this, he clung to Xi Siyan's shoulder and sat up, touching his forehead. His mind was still not fully awake: "I felt a bit cold at the airport, thinking it was nothing, but I ended up catching a cold."

While speaking, he turned his gaze away, thus missing how Xi Siyan paused, slowly clenched his hand, and the extreme restraint it took to keep calm, evident in the narrowing of his pupils.

Xi Siyan's heart was in turmoil.

He even doubted whether he was being overly sensitive or had misheard.

Without those so-called premonitory dreams, he wouldn't have associated it with something inconceivable. Moreover, he hadn't had such dreams for a long time, especially after declaring their feelings and getting back together. He had almost forgotten the shock and impact those dreams once brought, except for dealing with threats around Chen Mo.

But now he suddenly realized that there were things he knew nothing about.

Chen Mo: "You can drop me off here. I'll go on my own. We can talk later on the phone."

As soon as Chen Mo stood up, Xi Siyan pulled him back.

With heavy dark circles under his eyes, he asked, "What made you think work is more important than you? Leaving your boyfriend at the hospital entrance once wasn't enough?"

Chen Mo was taken aback, then laughed, "I don't mind."

Xi Siyan ignored his response.

Asking more questions at this moment was inappropriate.

Chen Mo's body temperature was alarmingly high. Despite appearing fine, from Xi Siyan's perspective, the rising fever reddened his eyes and made his lips pale.

Xi Siyan acted decisively, wrapping him up and bringing him out of the car.

Twenty minutes later, Chen Mo was hooked up to an IV.

The blood test results showed a viral infection and mild anemia. Xi Siyan arranged for a VIP ward. And under Xi Siyan's insistence, a full day of comprehensive examinations awaited him tomorrow.

"Aren't you sleepy?" Chen Mo, not planning to sleep, leaned against the headboard without taking off his shoes, asked Xi Siyan, who had just walked in after making a call.

Xi Siyan: "I'm fine."

Chen Mo scrutinized Xi Siyan's expression closely.

From the moment they entered the hospital, Chen Mo sensed something was slightly off, though he couldn't pinpoint what exactly. It felt like Xi Siyan was harboring some emotion.

Chen Mo frowned slightly: "Is it really okay not going to the company?"

"Hmm, it's not urgent," Xi Siyan said, adjusting the drip rate of the IV.

Chen Mo said, "Don't hide anything from me. Even if UA is under investigation, it won't be resolved overnight. This is a critical period. If something urgent comes up, go take care of it. I'm not in serious condition; Yuan Hao can come by tomorrow for the checkup."

Xi Siyan didn't interrupt him, letting him finish.

Once Chen Mo stopped talking, Xi Siyan calmly said, "Finished? Now sleep."

At this point, Chen Mo knew he couldn't persuade him.

But considering that Xi Siyan had been on a high-intensity business trip for three days, rushing back late at night, and that he himself had a high fever,

Chen Mo lifted the blanket and patted the space beside him, "Then come up and keep me company for a while, will you?"

"The bed is too small," Xi Siyan glanced at the single bed, then looked into Chen Mo's eyes, "You need to rest properly. I can sleep on the sofa later."

Chen Mo insisted, "Come up. Or do you want to stay up all night arguing with me?"

Xi Siyan stared at him for a few seconds before giving in and walking around to the other side of the bed.

The hospital's metal frame creaked under the pressure as Xi Siyan silently drew Chen Mo into his chest. In a perspective Chen Mo couldn't see, Xi Siyan rested his chin on Chen Mo's head. The room fell silent for a few seconds.

"Just now in the car..."

Chen Mo asked, "Hmm? What happened in the car?"

Just as Xi Siyan was about to speak, a nurse pushed the door open.

This topic was left unresolved.

Xi Siyan didn't like the feeling of knowing there was a problem but not addressing it. So when the nurse came in, his face was cold. Perhaps due to his stern expression, even the nurse's hands trembled while changing Chen Mo's medication.

But Chen Mo didn't pay much attention and started talking about his plan to go home early the next morning to fetch some items.

Xi Siyan didn't respond but instead looked at the nurse and suddenly asked, "Are hospital single beds not meant for two people?"

The nurse paused mid-action, her voice low and muffled, "Y-yes, I suppose."

"Suppose?" Xi Siyan stared intently, "Show me the medicine bottle. I don't remember needing to add any medication."

Only then did Chen Mo sense something was wrong.

The nurse's eyes suddenly hardened, and she pulled out a knife from her pocket, lunging directly at Chen Mo's neck.

Xi Siyan reacted incredibly fast, pushing off the bed with one hand and sweeping her away with his leg.

The nurse stumbled and crashed into the medicine rack, causing various items to shatter on the floor.

Chen Mo immediately hit the emergency button.

Ten minutes later, both Xi Siyan and Chen Mo's phones rang simultaneously.

Chen Mo's phone received numerous messages from colleagues who knew he was staying at "Rhine Ark."

"President Chen? Are you okay?!"

"Brother Mo, I just heard that your house caught fire. Are you okay?"

"Mr. Chen, the news has spread throughout the circle. How are you doing?"

Chen Mo looked at the videos and pictures showing thick smoke billowing from his floor, then glanced at the "nurse" pinned to the ground by Xi Siyan's bodyguards who had appeared out of nowhere. The veins on his forehead throbbed.

The call Xi Siyan received came from someone he had stationed near Chen Mo's home.

It was from the Xi family.

They briefly reported the situation and apologized: "Mr. Xi, I'm sorry. We temporarily withdrew our personnel because Mr. Chen was on a business trip. According to the surveillance footage, someone did enter Mr. Chen's residence yesterday afternoon. It appears most likely that the fire was caused intentionally. However, whether the target was Mr. Chen himself or some important documents he kept at home remains unknown."

Xi Siyan's fear reached its peak in that second.

Many people knew Chen Mo's whereabouts, but few could predict that he would be going to the company tonight. If Chen Mo hadn't had a fever tonight, he might very well have been sleeping at home right now.

Alone, in that raging inferno.

And the nurse before him confirmed one thing.

"The target wasn't the documents."

It was Chen Mo's life.

The atmosphere around them froze like an iceberg, and the tone of Xi Siyan's voice made the two bodyguards instinctively lower their heads, not daring to look up again.