Chapter 31

Chapter 31

*

The moment the two groups came face to face, the entire corridor outside the ICU fell into a deathly silence.

The dean had originally intended to lead them forward, but seeing that neither side moved, he was instantly bewildered.

He didn't understand—he had merely greeted Shen Yi—why everyone's expressions had turned so grim, and why the atmosphere had suddenly become so tense and hostile.

Especially Yin Jihong behind him.

The look Yin Jihong gave Shen Yi shifted rapidly from initial complexity to undisguised disgust and aversion.

His voice was still hoarse, but he broke the silence first, his words dripping with venom.

"What the hell. Are you Shen family people really that obsessed with me? That desperate to stalk me? Aren't you afraid I'll call the police?" he said caustically. "You've got copycats and perverted scumbags on one end, stalkers on the other. The whole family's like this—shouldn't you get your family history checked?"

The first time he'd seen Shen Yi at the KTV, aside from a man's instinctive dislike, Yin Jihong had only found him vaguely familiar.

But he'd always been proud, and since Shen Yi hadn't provoked him at the time, he hadn't bothered digging into Shen Yi's background. Later, when Dan Jingchuan reported that the two creeps harassing Jin Mo were tied to Shentu, he'd guessed Shen Yi was one of Shentu's people.

Chen Yuanshan hadn't had the chance to elaborate on Shen Yi's identity in Xinjiang, only giving him a veiled warning before boarding the plane, away from Jin Mo—saying that his "would-be rival in love" was deeply connected to both Shentu and the Shen family.

Now, running into him here, all his guesses were confirmed—Shen Yi was the second son of Shen Gang, president of the Shentu Group and Yin Jihong's sworn enemy, and the younger brother of Shen Yuan.

Shen Yi shared a five-out-of-ten resemblance with his father Shen Gang and older brother Shen Yuan; the rest was his own unique look, which made him better-looking than both—probably from his mother.

The moment Yin Jihong's words landed, everyone's expressions shifted subtly.

No one was more shocked than Jin Mo.

She'd always known Yin Jihong and Shentu were at odds. Even setting aside that connection, the Shen family carried serious weight in S City—everyone in the Beijing circle knew their name.

And then there was the most crucial point.

In Jin Yuan's secret love affair—the one that made her and Yan Qinxuan gnash their teeth in hatred—the ultimate scumbag who'd driven Jin Yuan to lie helpless in the ICU, without even showing his face, was none other than Shen Yuan—the Shentu Group's eldest son, a married man with kids.

Yin Jihong's words were packed with information, but it wasn't hard to piece together that this Shen Yi—the new friend she'd run into multiple times—was actually Shen Yuan's younger brother.

What shocked her more was that Yin Jihong seemed to have known all along that Jin Yuan's secret crush was Shen Yuan.

...Did he have some kind of all-seeing eye?

Her gaze whipped between Yin Jihong and Shen Yi, her mind a mess.

Beside Shen Yi stood a tall, curly-haired beauty in a sharp business suit, with a harsh face that said don't mess with me. Jin Mo had seen her a few times before—she was Yu Jia, Shen Yuan's secretary and right hand, sometimes sent by him to pass messages and gifts to Jin Yuan.

Before Shen Yi could speak, Yu Jia shot back with pure arrogance: "President Yin, it's the New Year. Isn't that a bit harsh? Aren't you afraid of jinxing yourself for the whole year?"

"I'm complimenting your boss," Yin Jihong said dismissively. "No need to get all worked up defending him. No matter how hard you try, you're never getting into Shen Yuan's pants. He's already got his hands full—add you to the pile, and lightning'll be chasing him."

That one line hit Yu Jia right in the gut, twisting her surgically tweaked face into something ugly.

She clenched her fists, face red, about to fire back—when Shen Yi beside her raised a hand.

Yu Jia was clearly afraid of the second young master. One silent gesture made her choke back her words and shut up, humiliated.

Shen Yi didn't answer Yin Jihong's jab. Instead, he looked at Jin Mo and said quietly: "Jin Mo."

Jin Mo couldn't avoid it, so she nodded back, expression complicated: "...Why are you here?"

She'd asked the question everyone already knew the answer to.

But she had to ask, even though she desperately hoped this new friend wouldn't confirm the ugly truth.

Shen Yi answered evenly: "I'm here to deal with family business."

"Where's your scumbag brother?" Yin Jihong stared at him expressionlessly. "Why doesn't he come handle it himself? The girl slit her wrist over him."

Shen Yi said, "He's overseas. It's not convenient for him to come."

The dean's eyes were practically doing cartwheels.

He never imagined the suicidal Miss Jin in the ER wouldn't even be the juiciest gossip of the day. These two men before him were titans of the Beijing circle, and they'd just aired such explosive rich-family secrets right in front of him.

God knows, when he first saw Shen Yi show up, he thought Shen Yi was the one who'd put Miss Jin in the ICU.

"Even if President Shen were in S City, he has no reason to be here," Yu Jia couldn't help interjecting. "Besides, Jin Yuan's suicide has nothing to do with him. He hasn't contacted her in over two weeks—how could he have set her off?"

At that, Jin Mo frowned deeply.

She looked up at Yu Jia, her voice turning cold: "So you think Jin Yuan's suicide has nothing to do with Shen Yuan at all?"

Yu Jia sneered dismissively: "Of course! President Shen didn't hold a gun to her head and make her slit her wrist!"

"Even if Shen Yuan wasn't there, he's the one who put the knife in her hands," Jin Mo said coldly. "Yuan Yuan made the wrong choice herself, sure—but Shen Yuan kept leading her on, letting her fall deeper and deeper. He's not blameless."

"If Jin Yuan had half the game you and Yan Qinxuan have, she'd already be Mrs. Shen," Yu Jia scoffed. "She couldn't lock it down, and she wouldn't let go—no wonder President Shen got sick of her. What's his fault? Jin Yuan threw herself at him. Why would he say no?"

Jin Mo's face turned ice-cold. Her hands slowly curled into fists at her sides—she was truly pissed.

"Dean Wu." Just as she was about to speak, Yin Jihong suddenly spoke up in a low, drawn-out voice. "Do you still want to keep this hospital running? How did you let a dog in here? If it bites someone, who's responsible?"

Dean Wu had been thoroughly enjoying the juicy rich-family gossip and didn't catch on at first: "Huh? What dog?"

It wasn't until he saw Yu Jia across from him, eyes wide with fury, that it finally clicked.

Dean Wu had lived long enough to have mastered the art of playing both sides. He couldn't afford to offend either side, so he jumped in to smooth things over: "Heh heh, President Yin, how about I take you all to see Miss Jin's condition first?"

Yin Jihong didn't just refuse the olive branch—he torched it.

He tilted his head toward the dean: "If you insist on keeping that dog here, I don't mind closing this hospital down today."

When the Yin family's young master said something, true or not, you took it seriously.

He could be this arrogant because he genuinely dared to do anything—and had the power to back it up.

"Yin Jihong! Don't push people too far!" Yu Jia, shocked that Yin Jihong would disrespect the Shen family so openly even in front of Shen Yi, shrieked on the spot, face red. "When I get back and tell President Shen about this—"

"So what if you tell Shen Yuan?" Yin Jihong swept her with a cold glare. "Even when you beat a dog, you check who its owner is—but you don't even register on my radar. You're beneath me. You disgust me."

"Yu Jia, go back first."

The next second, Shen Yi spoke.

Yu Jia shook with rage. She shot Yin Jihong one last vicious glare, but in the end could only swallow her anger and mutter, "Yes, Second Young Master," before stomping off in her heels, storming out of the corridor.

"Momo, let's go." Yin Jihong acted as if Shen Yi didn't exist. He called out to Jin Mo and brushed right past him.

Jin Mo, her mind on Jin Yuan, didn't stick around to talk to Shen Yi either and hurried after him.

Once they were far away, Shen Yi slowly turned around, his gaze heavy as he watched Jin Mo's retreating back.

-

Inside the glass doors of the ICU, Jin Yuan lay quietly, on a ventilator, her face deathly pale, eyes tightly shut.

In just one month, she'd lost even more weight since Jin Mo last saw her. The arm sticking out from under the blanket was scary thin—almost just skin and bones.

Jin Mo's eyes instantly welled up at the sight.

She couldn't reconcile the lifeless figure before her with the Jin Yuan from college—the one who'd run down the teaching building steps with a grin, launch herself at Jin Mo, and chatter nonstop about what to order for dinner.

Loving the wrong person had cost her such a devastating price.

"Everything that happened today, including Jin Yuan's condition, needs to be kept strictly under wraps across the entire hospital." Yin Jihong's voice sounded beside her, addressing Dean Wu. "You know what the Yin Corporation does. I guarantee that if any info leaks, it'll reach me the second it does. Whether this hospital stays open is up to you."

Dean Wu had never in his life met someone who threatened to shut down his hospital left and right, but he was completely helpless against this Young Master.

"Mr. Yin, don't you worry." Dean Wu gave a nervous chuckle, nodding over and over. "I want to stay alive, and I want to keep my hospital."

Yin Jihong asked, "What are the ICU visiting hours?"

Dean Wu answered quickly, "Usually three in the afternoon, once a day, fifteen minutes per—"

"Until Jin Yuan moves to a regular ward, let Miss Jin and Miss Yan visit twice a day, thirty minutes per visit. They can pick the times themselves."

With that, Yin Jihong turned to Jin Mo. "Momo, where's Yan Qinxuan? Call her back. The dean can set it up for you two to go in now."

Dean Wu: "..."

Who's the dean here, you or me?

-

After Chen Yuanshan parked, Cheng Shu—having gotten yet another insane order from Yin Jihong—said a quick goodbye and took off from the parking lot.

Chen Yuanshan fiddled with his car keys, walked into the inpatient building, then turned a corner and stepped back outside.

On the drive over, he'd noticed a chain coffee shop he frequented next to the hospital, so he decided to grab a coffee and pick some up for Yin Jihong and the others too.

After grabbing the coffees, he walked back through the hospital entrance, bag in hand.

He'd barely taken two steps when someone lightly bumped his shoulder.

Having spent his life straddling the line between light and shadow, he was hyper-aware of his surroundings. Normally, if anyone got within two meters, he'd have sensed it way before—no way he'd let someone get close unnoticed, let alone "bump into" him.

He silently questioned this rare lapse in his situational awareness and instinctively turned his head.

In his line of sight, a graceful figure hurried past—clearly the one who'd bumped him.

She was a sweet-faced, pretty girl.

She wore a gray coat and black skirt, with a white hat on her head. She kept running toward the inpatient building without stopping, turning back to give him an apologetic smile and a wave. "Hey handsome, I'm in a rush, sorry—"

Chen Yuanshan stood there, watching her disappear into the inpatient building, rooted to the spot for several seconds.

In that moment, he felt something in his chest stir—so faint, so gentle.

As if all the blood in his body had somehow converged, beating out a tender melody.

In the near future, he'd finally learn the name of that melody—love at first sight, a heart won over in a single glance.

...

Jin Mo had just texted Yan Qinxuan when the latter appeared at the end of the hall, out of breath.

She jogged over, doubled over to catch her breath, and said, "Momo, I'm here. Tianli said something came up at home, so I just got him into a car."

"No rush." Jin Mo gently rubbed her back. "Brother Ji worked it out with the dean. We can go see Yuan Yuan now."

Yan Qinxuan looked up, spotted Yin Jihong leaning against the wall, and clasped her hands together in genuine gratitude. "Young Master, thanks so much for helping with Yuan Yuan. If it weren't for you, who knows how long we'd have to wait to see her, or whether she'd get proper care in the hospital."

"No need for thanks. Just badmouth me less." Yin Jihong waved a hand lazily, his tone still flippant. "You're still as lovesick as ever. Careful you don't give your heart to the wrong guy."

That Yan Qinxuan thought Yin Jihong was erratic and unreliable—just as Yin Jihong shared Jin Mo's dim view of Lu Tianli—was something both sides knew full well.

The difference was that Jin Mo, gentle by nature and considerate of Yan Qinxuan's feelings, would never badmouth Lu Tianli in front of her. But Yin Jihong had no filter—he didn't care about saving face or coddling anyone's feelings.

Miss Yan was fiercely loyal to her people. At his words, she immediately took offense, all her genuine gratitude evaporating in an instant. She shot back, "Don't you get poisoned from licking your own lips all the time?"

"Nope." Yin Jihong curled his lips into a smug grin. "I'd die of sweetness instead."

Jin Mo was caught between exasperation and amusement as a rolling-eyed Yan Qinxuan dragged her off to change into protective gear for the ICU.

But the smile on Yin Jihong's face vanished the second she turned away.

His whole demeanor turned ice-cold in an instant, all his earlier nonchalance and flippancy completely gone.

He slowly turned, his gaze cutting across the empty corridor to land on Shen Yi, who'd been standing in the distance the whole time, never once leaving.

——————————

Author's note:

Red envelopes still dropping at random! Keep hitting me with bookmarks, comments, and nutrient solution—love you all! Also, follow my author page! And check out my next novel, "The Crane," on my page—a Beijing circle story (might switch to a Beijing circle ensemble piece), all mature adults and steamy dynamics, haha.

God!!! I absolutely love this kind of scene! Who in this world doesn't love drama? Who doesn't love gossip? Who doesn't love a showdown? (Here I am channeling Dean Wu, eating popcorn up close, hahaha!) Puppy! Go at it with the second male lead! Charge! Go all out!

Yin Puppy, seriously, you go after everyone—rivals, enemies, even your wife's best friend and your brother's future wife. That mouth of yours, sharper than crane's crest poison, I'm in awe!

This chapter, ahhhh!! I told you! True love is never too late! I'm giving our ancestors a bunch of God's-eye-view Easter eggs that weren't in previous stories!! Shanmei! I've been good to you! I've already shown you your future wife!!

Mystery solved, folks—all the character threads are connected now. Jin Yuan's crush is Shen Yi's older brother. And good news: I'll add an extra chapter during the May Day holiday! A working stiff wrote it with blood, sweat, and tears! Praise me!

Tomorrow I'm off to Beijing for a book signing~ See you all on 5.1~