It had been days since Li Xiuying"s accident and Lin Meirong was dreading in antic.i.p.ation of hearing the woman"s inevitable death. Li Xiuying couldn"t possibly survive in that accident. No, Lin Meirong refused to believe that the woman she loathed with all her heart would be able to survive. She paced around the room still in her silk sleepwear, biting her thumb nervously as she waited for the news of Li Xiuying"s death to be announced on the television. It was big news when it happened and people had been on the edge waiting for the Li family"s announcement about Li Xiuying"s condition.
Last time Lin Meirong heard, Li Xiuying and her companion were in a critical condition and she felt ecstatic with the news. She could almost see it, feel it. The freedom she could attain once Li Xiuying was out of her way.
However, the news about Li Xiuying suddenly stopped and was barely covered on the evening news which dampened her mood. The Li family must be hiding something from the public.
"You"re worrying too much. Lady Li wouldn"t be able to survive that accident. It"s only a matter of time before the Li family confirms her death." Yao Qigang lazily slumped on her couch, sipping an expensive wine he took from her collection.
"But if she survives, then what would happen to me?" Lin Meirong argued.
What if the Li family decided to come after her? She would be doomed beyond salvation if that happens.
"If she survives then she"s one h.e.l.l of a lucky angel." The man laughed. "But really, I don"t think she would be able to make it considering the impact was enough to kill a person."
Lin Meirong said nothing and sat across him. Yes, it would be better for her if Li Xiuying died. It would save her from a lot of trouble later if she died.
---
A week had pa.s.sed by since Li Xiuying"s death and Shen Zichen felt that he wouldn"t be able to finish his workload at this rate. It was already night time but he still had two more surgeries to be done and a pile of paper works to be completed.
He entered his office and immediately saw his phone ringing on top of his desk. He didn"t need to look at it to know that it was his mother calling him at this hour.
Lu Xinyi, the ever perceptive person she was to her children, knew by now that he was keeping himself busy at work to cope with his grief over Li Xiuying"s death.
He leaned back in his chair and picked up his phone to answer the call.
"Mom,"
"Zichen, are you home? You haven"t visited us for days now." He heard his mother"s voice at the other end of the line.
"No, mom. I"m still at work. I wouldn"t be able to see you until this weekend," he said truthfully.
Lu Xinyi sighed dejectedly. She should have known that her son would act this way.
"I see… then you better not forget your promise to Qing Qing and Lingtian. They"ve been looking forward to seeing you."
Shen Zichen a.s.sured his mother and ended the call after a few minutes of conversation with her. Once the call ended, he ran his long fingers through his hair. Just like Li Chuntao, he felt empty and broken but he wouldn"t let anyone see it.
He leaned forward, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers wondering how Li Chuntao was faring now. He hadn"t heard anything from her since Ying"s pa.s.sing though he couldn"t blame her.
If it wasn"t for Ying, Li Chuntao wouldn"t bother to speak to him at all, or so he thought. Remembering their last encounter where she accused him of failing to protect Ying and breaking his promise, Shen Zichen a.s.sumed that she wouldn"t want to see or talk to him anymore.
He knew this and yet he couldn"t help but feel bothered by it.
Why? Why did the mere thought of Li Chuntao turning her back on him bothered him?
Shen Zichen wasn"t sure at all. This was the same feeling he felt when she told him she was leaving to pursue medicine abroad years ago.
He pushed these unwanted thoughts away from his mind and glanced on the stack of papers that required his attention. He"d better finish all of these before going home.
---
Shen Zichen arrived home at one in the morning, absolutely exhausted from his long day. He dropped his car keys on the dresser with a loud clang followed by his watch before moving towards his king-sized bed, undoing the top b.u.t.tons of his dress s.h.i.+rt.
However, no matter how he tried to keep himself busy, the memory of Ying and her sudden death pained him at the end of the day. He"d been like this since her death and he knew it wasn"t healthy.
After taking a quick shower, he threw himself on his comfy bed and sighed. Maybe he should take a break from work to grief properly before it takes a toll on his health. It didn"t take a long time for him to fall asleep and retire for the night.
He woke up to the sound of the shrill ringing of his phone on the nightstand. With bleary eyes, Shen Zichen peered at his bedside clock to see the time and saw that it was past two in the afternoon.
Thank heavens that he didn"t have to go to work today or he"d have been very late. He tumbled out of his warm bed to answer the phone.
"Shen Zichen speaking," he said, not bothering to check the caller ID to see who woke him up.
"Young Master Shen, did Miss Chuntao call you?" It was Hou Chen"s voice that cut through the phone. "I"m sorry for calling you but we couldn"t find Miss Chuntao as she left in a hurry."
Shen Zichen was startled and completely awake the moment he heard that Li Chuntao was missing. He immediately rose to his feet and grabbed clothes from his dresser, intending to go outside.
"Chuntao is missing? What happened?" He asked.
With a trembling voice, Hou Chen tried to explain what transpired an hour earlier at the Li twins" penthouse.
"Miss Chuntao suddenly thrashed everything in her room, breaking everything within her reach. We think Miss Ying"s death had caused her to act like that. She said she wanted to kill herself…"
Shen Zichen could hear the woman crying and he stood frozen in his spot.
"Chuntao!"
"Su Ling tried to stop her but she sneaked out before we managed to block her. Please, Master Shen, if you know where Miss Chuntao is, let us know. Master Yuren and everyone else has already gone out looking for her."
"I"ll see what I can do,"
The line went dead after he hung up. He stared at his phone for a moment before rus.h.i.+ng to get dressed, picking up his car keys once he slipped into his shoes. He ignited the engine of his car while sorting down the possible places Li Chuntao would go to.
He"d expected that Li Chuntao couldn"t take her twin sister"s death well but to kill herself? That didn"t seem like the Li Chuntao he knew.