Chapter 98

"Call Zhong Ning and tell her I’m injured. I originally planned to fly back last night, but something held me up," said Xie Shiqing. "Make it sound more serious."

So the assistant dialed Zhong Ning’s number.

Following Xie Shiqing’s instructions, she emphasized her boss’s injuries and did her best to dramatize how she had wanted to return the night before but was helplessly delayed by an unexpected situation. She said Xie Shiqing had just woken up after surgery.

The assistant turned on speaker mode, and Zhong Ning’s voice came through the phone’s speaker. "Is she badly hurt?"

"She twisted her ankle. The scan showed a hairline fracture in her lower leg. She’s already in a cast."

Zhong Ning said, "I’d like to speak with her for a bit. Can you hand the phone to her?"

The assistant passed the phone over, and Xie Shiqing made a gesture. Taking the hint, the assistant tactfully left the ward and closed the door behind her.

"Ning Ning." Xie Shiqing spoke in a very weak voice.

It wasn’t an act—now that the anesthesia had worn off, her leg genuinely hurt, and so did her arm. She didn’t need to fake the breathy, strained tone.

"Don’t break up with me," she said. "I saw your message and wanted to come back and talk to you face to face, but I ran into an accident when leaving the film set."

There was no response of concern from the other end of the line. After a brief silence, a slightly distorted voice came through the phone, "Let’s talk about all this when you’re back."

"You’re not coming to see me?" Xie Shiqing said in disbelief.

"…I have class now. I’m hanging up."

The call ended, and the ward fell into silence.

What was going on? How could this happen? This wasn’t how she imagined it would go at all!

Shouldn’t Zhong Ning be anxiously asking about the severity of her injuries, then forgiving her immediately?

How could the sob story not work?

How could this be? This wasn’t right!

Xie Shiqing clutched the phone in vain, trying to dial back, but the assistant’s phone didn’t have a screen reader enabled—she couldn’t do it at all.

Damn it!

Damn these eyes!

"Come in!" she shouted. "I want to be discharged. Get me the discharge papers and book a flight. I’m going back to Fengcheng. Hurry up!"

The assistant had worked with her long enough to know exactly how unreasonable and heartless her boss could get when she lost her temper. Without a word of protest, she turned on her heel and left the ward the moment she entered.

She didn’t even bother mentioning any of the doctor’s orders about staying under observation for a few days.

She had a backup phone in hand—she might as well let the one in her boss’s possession stay there. Now wasn’t the time to worry about getting a phone back.

Xie Shiqing deftly activated the screen reader, turned on the voice broadcast feature, and called Zhong Ning again.

The ringtone rang for a long time. It rang all the way until it automatically disconnected—no one picked up.

Was she really in class, or was she deliberately not answering, unwilling to talk to her?

Xie Shiqing’s hand began to tremble. She didn’t know if it was because she had accidentally brushed against the wound on her arm, or if it was simply from panic.

There was no reason for such a reaction. Her judgment had been completely wrong—again!

Whenever it came to Zhong Ning, all her inferences and assumptions failed her.

It felt like standing on a rooftop with only a small section remaining above water, while floodwaters surged from every direction. No people in sight, no birds or beasts—just a world deafeningly loud with chaos, and she alone, the only living being.

A seizure-like panic clutched Xie Shiqing’s throat tightly. Her once calm and confident calculating ability shattered instantly. Her expectations were wrong, and so were her thoughts.

This wasn’t right. This shouldn’t be. It made no sense… She could hardly think anymore, her mind echoing the same sentences again and again, replaying Zhong Ning’s final words before she hung up.

So indifferent.

Even upon hearing about her injury, her reaction had been calm—bordering on cold.

Someone who usually spoke in a gentle and cheerful tone suddenly used such a flat voice—that could only be apathy.

She doesn’t care about me…

Xie Shiqing stood there in a daze, thinking, ‘She doesn’t care about me…’

Her fingertips trembled violently, as if she’d been thrown naked into a snowfield. Even her face and lips turned a frozen shade of purple.

“The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later…”

Assisted into a wheelchair and then dragged all the way to the airport, lifted onto a private jet, Xie Shiqing didn’t utter a single word.

She sat with her eyes closed, like a lifeless doll slumped in the chair.

They couldn’t break up. She had to find a way to smooth this over. She had to make Zhong Ning come back to her, just like before.

They couldn’t break up.

After the plane landed, she didn’t go anywhere else—she went straight to find Zhong Ning.

Today, Assistant Hua only had one task on her schedule: to inspect various shopping malls, and Zhong Ning had gone with her.

Zhong Ning rarely spoke, simply observed, occasionally jotting things down in her notes.

Assistant Hua certainly didn’t treat her like just a tag-along. Any place that needed an explanation, she offered a concise but clear briefing.

By the time they reached the second shopping mall, Xie Shiqing arrived.

Seated in a wheelchair, pushed by her assistant, she came straight toward her—as if guided by telepathy. The moment she drew near, tears began to fall.

She was still wearing a hospital gown, with a piece of gauze on her forehead, her arm wrapped in bandages, and a thick cast on her leg like a white sock covering her foot.

Hearing a description over the phone and seeing it with one’s own eyes were two completely different things.

The woman’s face was pale as snow, curled up in loose blue-and-white stripes like a bird gasping in a cage. Her misty pupils reflected Zhong Ning’s own figure—expressionless, like someone wearing a mask.

"Ning Ning…" Xie Shiqing choked with emotion, her tears pooling in her eyes.

Zhong Ning took a step forward. Out of habit, almost instinctively, she moved as if to wipe away the tears on the other woman’s face—but she stopped immediately.

"…I’m still working."

"I’ll wait until you’re done, okay?" Xie Shiqing quickly said. "I’ll just follow you. I won’t bother you."

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