He lowered his head, looking at the number in the call log that wasn't saved in his contacts. His fingers trembled slightly.
Was he going to contact that person again? But if he didn't, what else could he do? That person was right. He and his mother were like shameless, bottom - less vampires. All they did was ask that person for money. This illness was incurable. There was no way to be completely cured. She could only rely on medicine to maintain her life, just lingering on in this world.
Had he made a mistake? Maybe at the beginning, he should have jumped into the cold sea with his mother without hesitation. In that case, he wouldn't have to be in such a dilemma, and she wouldn't have to suffer anymore.
"Adong?" A female voice suddenly came from behind. Cui Jiandong was startled and turned around. Huang Zhenzhen was looking at him with concern.
"I noticed you seem a bit out of sorts. Are you okay? Does your wound hurt?"
Cui Jiandong gently placed his hand on the injured part of his abdomen and forced a smile. "I'm fine. I just felt the air inside was a bit stuffy, so I came out here to get some fresh air."
Huang Zhenzhen looked at him for a while and softened her tone. "If you're facing any difficulties or need my help, just let me know."
The place where she stood was lit by an orange lamp. The light fell on her, giving a soft glow to the edges of her hair. She stood in the light, while he stood in the dark.
Lowering his eyes, Cui Jiandong said, "Thank you, Zhenzhen. I'm okay."
Huang Zhenzhen didn't notice the alienation in his tone. She clasped her hands behind her back nervously. Thinking about what she was going to say next, her heart was pounding with nervousness. She stole a glance at Cui Jiandong. This man wasn't extremely good - looking. He was just good - looking in a clean and neat way, but that was enough for her.
She never expected her boyfriend to be as outstanding as Young Master Pei or Mr. Yan. She just wanted to find an ordinary person and live an ordinary life.
And this man who didn't know her but was willing to risk his life to protect her might be her destiny.
Finally, summoning up her courage, she said, "Adong, I have something to tell you."
Inside the private room, Zhou Yaru, who had just gulped down three glasses of juice, looked embarrassed. She lowered her voice and said to her friends beside her, "I think I've drunk too much water. I need to go to the restroom. Daisa, Xiaoxi, do you want to come with me?"
"No. Go by yourself." Daisa waved her hand and leaned over with Xu Zixi to look at the photos of the two kids on the phone.
"Okay." Zhou Yaru had no choice but to get up and go to the restroom alone. After taking care of her business, she washed her hands and walked out humming a song. When she looked up, she saw an unexpected... yet expected person.
"Miss Zhou, a word in private." Wei Shu was sneaking behind the green plants and waved at her.
Zhou Yaru immediately looked around. After making sure there were no acquaintances nearby and no one was paying attention to her, she quickly walked to Wei Shu and complained, "Don't pop up and call me like this, okay? Yuan Xi doesn't know we've contacted privately. If she finds out, I'm done for!"
Wei Shu said, "Don't worry. I've checked. There's no one else around. Our Third Master has something to say to you."
Zhou Yaru remembered the person who had been following them from afar. She coughed lightly and said, "Oh? Really? Where is Mr. Yan? Take me to see him."
Yan Yincheng was standing on the deserted terrace. He leaned on his blind stick with both hands and turned his face to the outside, feeling the evening wind brushing through his hair. Two different sets of footsteps came from behind, one after the other. The footsteps stopped not far behind him, and then Zhou Yaru's voice came.
"Mr. Yan, you wanted to see me?"
Yan Yincheng turned around and nodded. "Yes."
"During the time I was away from Haicheng, I'd like you to tell me everything about her, every single detail."
After leaving and coming back, he found that there were more people around her than before. He knew that anyone who got to know her would be involuntarily attracted to her. He was just a bit jealous, jealous that they could stand beside her openly.
But he wasn't allowed to get close.
Since she didn't want his interference, it shouldn't be too much for him to learn about every aspect of her through others, right?
Maybe touched by his expression and humble tone, Zhou Yaru told him what had happened in the past few days in detail.
"The day after you left Haicheng, Xiaoxi came back to work in the company. She had been gone for a few days, and when she reappeared, she seemed in good spirits and mood.
That night, Xiaoxi invited me, Daisa, and Zhenzhen... Oh, you may not know them. They're both secretaries in the secretary group. There's actually a little story in between.
Because of her experience in Fengcheng before, Xiaoxi's reputation in the company wasn't very good for a while. Almost no one wanted to talk to her except me. During that time, the 'Golden Amber' appeared, and everyone was extremely busy. Almost everyone was working overtime.
It was right before the final of the design competition. When Xiaoxi left the company after overtime, she happened to meet Daisa. Remembering that Daisa had once said she was being followed, she decided to send her home.
Who would have thought that when they got downstairs, they saw Huang Zhenzhen being harassed and beaten by her scumbag ex - boyfriend.
Manager Cui was stabbed by her scumbag ex - boyfriend while trying to protect Huang Zhenzhen. Xiaoxi subdued the scumbag and helped send Manager Cui to the hospital. So from that day on, Daisa and Zhenzhen became good friends with Xiaoxi."
Yan Yincheng remembered. On the early morning when they watched the sunrise together, he smelled a faint trace of blood on her. When he asked, she told him about helping a colleague deal with her scumbag ex - boyfriend.
At that time, he was extremely worried and a bit blamed her for meddling. But he also promised her that he would take care of Huang Zhenzhen's scumbag ex - boyfriend and make sure that person would spend the rest of his life in prison and never harm society again.
He remembered everything about her.
But hearing it from someone else now felt different. From Zhou Yaru's tone and the way Huang Zhenzhen protected her in the restaurant today, he could tell that they really liked her.
That was good.
Unlike him, because of his eyes, he had traveled around looking for a cure. He never stayed in one place for more than half a year. So his interpersonal relationships were very cold, and he had very few friends.
"She invited you to her place. What happened next?" He didn't realize that his expression and tone had become gentle.