"It"s not the same! This isn"t the same!" Jiang Changdai shook her head. "I"ve just acknowledged Zhenghang! You"re not in a similar situation to him. You"ve been by my side since you were a child and have never lacked maternal love. However, Zhenghang"s not like you, he was not as blessed as you were."
"Did his father and mother die, or did his family go bankrupt while the people around him dropped dead? How on earth is he not blessed?" Yan Zhiqing began to lose her patience. She was just itching to spurt out even more vicious words. "You"ve been nothing but kind to him ever since he was a child. Yet, you"ve never even given a caring glance in my big brother"s general direction. He still has a father, but what about me and my brother? Our dad"s dead! I"ve never even met my own father while my big brother has a mother like you. What"s the difference between that and having no mother at all? My brother"s the one that truly has no father or mother! You said Lu Zhenghang"s not blessed, but what about my big brother? What is he to you? How is Lu Zhenghang the one that"s not blessed?!"
"It"s not the same! This is not the same!" Jiang Changdai began to raise her voice as well. She was denying it desperately, as if doing so would somehow turn the facts that Yan Zhiqing had said into fiction.
"What"s not the same? The Yan Family had never wronged you. Yet you"ve scheme against them repeatedly. Why exactly are you scheming? Lu Zhengting is the one that did you wrong! If you have the guts, then go to his doorsteps and force him to take responsibility for you!" Yan Zhiqing stretched out her hand to the side and pointed at the air. Her finger jabbed continuously at the air as she exclaimed, "You"ve done so much wrong yet you have the audacity to talk about others. Is this sensible? You owe my grandparents so much, and now you"re plotting against them. You"re just simply… simply a…"
The word "b*tch" was hanging on the tip of Yan Zhiqing"s tongue, yet she was unable to say it out loud.
"You"ve never treated my big brother as your own, and you"ve even dragged me in front of you to s.h.i.+eld yourself from hot tea - to this day you haven"t apologized for it. You just want me to be your scapegoat! If Lu Zhenghang was the one beside you that day, would you have done the same? I think you wouldn"t have had the heart to drag him in the same way! Or rather, would you think that Lu Zhenghang would protect you? Keep dreaming!" Yan Zhiqing shouted.
Lu Zhenghang was a selfish and vile person, why would he ever protect Jiang Changdai? If problems arose, he would probably make his escape before Jiang Changdai.
Speaking of selfishness, Lu Zhengting, Jiang Changdai, and he were truly a well-matched family.
"So, you"ve kept that matter in your heart this whole time and because of that you"re bearing grudges against me, is that it? Zhiqing, that was mom"s fault. I panicked at the time and didn"t think it through. I regret doing it as well." Jiang Changdai explained.
Yan Zhiqing did not want to be entangled in this matter with her any further. However, according to Jiang Changdai"s statement, since that was her first reaction it must have been her most instinctive one.
The first thing she thought about was herself instead of her own daughter. This was why she would rather let her daughter get scalded than risk injuring herself.
Yan Zhiqing shook her head. She refused to nag her about this matter any further.
"Let go of me. I"m telling you, I"ll never let you guys get away with this!" Yan Zhiqing flung her arm with full force after being disheartened by everything going on around her.
"Keep it down!" Jiang Changdai said nervously.
The neighborhood she lived in was by no means high-end like Ding City or Sheng Town. It was not one of those one family per floor type of multi-family complexes. They still had neighbors beside them.
Today was Sat.u.r.day as well, meaning that a lot of people had not gone out and were probably staying at home and relaxing. What if the neighbors were to hear them?
When she thought of the environment she was currently residing in, Jiang Changdai once again managed to fault Yan Beicheng. She was facing financial difficulty now due to Yan Beicheng. Yan Beicheng knew of her living situation, yet he was not in the least bit concerned about her.
What kind of son was he?
"Why? Are you getting nervous now? You know what you"re doing is wrong and unethical. If words gets out you"ll be scorn by throngs of people, yet you still had the gall to do it!" Yan Zhiqing tried to swing her arms again but still could not escape from Jiang Changdai"s grasp.
"Just go back with me for now and stop shouting outside!" Jiang Changdai said, "Regardless of whether you insist on telling the Yan Family, come home with me for now and try to calm down."
"If I want to calm down, I"d find another place to do so. I"m not willing to stick around for another second to watch you and Lu Zhenghang"s mother and son bonding time. I get sick to my stomach when he"s around!" Yan Zhiqing said as she burned with rage. "Let me go!"
Jiang Changdai refused to let go and the two began to pull each other aggressively by the staircase.
Yan Zhiqing clenched her teeth as she tried to shake Jiang Changdai off with all her might. Soon, she loosened her grip on the handrails of the stairs and grabbed onto Jiang Changdai"s arm in an attempt to pry open her fingers one at a time.
Jiang Changdai was using all her strength trying to drag her back up the stairs whilst Yan Zhiqing, on the other hand, was trying to drag herself the opposite direction as if her life depended on it.
Jiang Changdai"s fingers began to feel sore from Yan Zhiqing"s prying. Just as she was about to let go, Yan Zhiqing"s feet shook from the sudden movement, causing her thin heels to slip. She was standing on the narrow edge of the staircase when she lost her balance, causing her to fall headfirst down the flight of stairs.
Jiang Changdai had been refusing to let go of her the entire time, but it was precisely at the moment she had decided to loosen her grip that Yan Zhiqing lost her balance. Yan Zhiqing swayed and waved her hand in an attempt to maintain her balance, but it was no use.
Amidst the panic, she did not even have the time to support herself by grabbing onto the handrail before plummeting down. Yan Zhiqing"s eyes began to widen in fright as she instantly stretched out her hand toward Jiang Changdai, hoping Jiang Changdai would pull her back.
However, Jiang Changdai was too stunned by the situation and stood there as if her mind had gone blank, not knowing what to do. She covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes were filled with fear. She looked on helplessly as Yan Zhiqing began to roll down the stairwell, producing loud thuds sounds as her body plummeted against the stairs.
Yan Zhiqing rolled downward and finally halted as she slammed into the corner of the stairwell. Her body was curled up in the corner and twisted in a noticeably painful manner. She appeared to have lost her consciousness immediately upon impact.
Jiang Changdai finally released her hands that were covering her mouth and started to scream at the top of her lungs. "Ahh! Ahhhhhhh! Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Zhiqing! Zhiqing!" Jiang Changdai shrieked as she dashed down. However, she was too afraid to touch Yan Zhiqing.
Lu Zhenghang was drawn out by her yelling and immediately saw the unconscious Yan Zhiqing lying down by the corner of the wall. He was shocked by the scene.
"What should I do? Zhiqing… Zhiqing fell down the stairs!" Jiang Changdai was stunned as she said, "I… I didn"t want to! I wasn"t planning on hurting her! It"s because I let go of her hand, if… If…"
If only she had caught Yan Zhiqing"s hand in time, then Yan Zhiqing would not have slipped down.
Just a moment ago, when Yan Zhiqing was reaching her hand out, she was too stunned, and her reactions were a split second too slow. Hence, she was unable to pull her back.
The image of what had happened replayed in her mind continuously, if only… if only she could have pulled her back…
Jiang Changdai began to weep in despair. Her words began to slur as she continued crying.
"What should I do? What do we do now?" Jiang Changdai"s head began to spin as she clutched onto Lu Zhenghang"s arm tightly.
Lu Zhenghang"s mind began to race. It would be ideal if he were to drag the situation on for a while longer, up until the point that Yan Zhiqing would not wake up anymore. She would no longer be able to say anything that would ruin his plan!
Before he could think of a pretext, he heard a man and a woman coming over. One of them came down from upstairs and the other one came up from downstairs. Once was coincidentally Jiang Changdai"s neighbor that lived on the same floor while the other was the inhabitant of the house below hers.
The two of them had confused expressions of their faces as they tried to make sense of what was happening.
"What happened? I heard a terrifying scream just now." Jiang Changdai"s neighbor, the middle-aged man asked.
The middle-aged woman that came up from downstairs saw the pa.s.sed-out Yan Zhiqing on the corner and immediately exclaimed before proceeding to ask, "Oh my! What"s going on here?"
Yan Zhiqing came back often so the neighbors were familiar with her.
Jiang Changdai"s lips quivered before she replied, "We were quarreling, and she… the heels she was wearing were too high. She couldn"t keep her balance and accidentally rolled down the stairs."
The middle-aged man glimpsed at one of the high heels that were on the staircase and did not doubt her story.
Jiang Changdai lowered her head in guilt. She was too afraid to look at them nor did she dare tell them that she was partly responsible for the accident. She simply let them a.s.sume that Yan Zhiqing had lost her balance after getting too worked up.
"Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and call an ambulance!" The middle-aged woman quickly climbed up and said.
Lu Zhenghang"s expression could not help but turn malicious as these two busybodies decided to meddle in his affairs, ensuring that he was not able to delay calling for help. Thus, he could only take his mobile phone out and dial 120 for an ambulance.
After this, Lu Zhenghand hung up his phone and proceeded to bend over to try to pick Yan Zhiqing up.
The middle-aged man behind him unexpected shrieked and said, "What are you doing?!"
Lu Zhenghang was so frightened by the shriek that he jerked backward. He turned around to look at the middle-aged man"s expression that still appeared normal, then he replied, "There"s some time before the ambulance arrives, so I"ll just carry her down to save time."
"You look like an educated man who belongs in the elite cla.s.s of society. How can you not have the common sense to know that under these circ.u.mstances, an injured person shouldn"t be moved? You need to wait for the paramedics to arrive and check her vitals, then they"ll decide how to proceed. What if you cause permanent damage by moving her around?" The middle-aged man said in an angry tone.
Lu Zhenghang did, in fact, know this, but he wanted to find an excuse to worsen Yan Zhiqing"s injuries. Once again, his scheme had been ruined by the middle-aged man"s meddling. Thus, he was only able to grit his teeth and stand at the side as they patiently waited.
Once the paramedics came and lifted Yan Zhiqing up into the ambulance, the two neighbors went home as well.
It was a coincidence that the nearest hospital to Jiang Changdai"s house was Chu Tian Hospital.
Lu Zhenghang said to Jiang Changdai outside the operating room, "It"s not good for me to stick around. I should head out soon as Chu Zhaoyang is a good friend of Yan Beicheng. All the doctors and nurses here know Yan Beicheng, and if I were to be seen, Yan Beicheng will find out and undoubtedly get suspicious. Moreover, once Yan Zhiqing wakes up, I doubt she"ll be happy to see me."
Jiang Changdai thought this made sense and nodded. She agreed that Lu Zhenghang should leave immediately to avoid being seen.
Unfortunately for them, Chu Zhaoyang had already found out about them when Lu Zhenghang and Jiang Changdai had first arrived with Yan Zhiqing.
Even if they were not particularly close, Yan Zhiqing was still Yan Beicheng"s little sister. No matter what, they were still related by blood.
Yan Zhiqing was badly injured as she lay in the operating room. When the surgeon realized her ident.i.ty, he quickly gave Chu Zhaoyang a call.
At this moment, the old princ.i.p.al was still at home with them.
When Yan Beicheng received the phone call from Chu Zhaoyang, he excused himself and went to take the call somewhere else. Then, he listened as Chu Zhaoyang explained the situation to him. "Yan Zhiqing"s in the hospital. Her body seemed to have suffered from fall-related injuries; her spine and cervical vertebrae were injured. Her legs are also broken while her head has received severe trauma. She"s still in the operating room as we speak."
After listening to Chu Zhaoyang, Yan Beicheng"s expression darkened. His fingers clutched his phone tightly as he felt the temperature around him suddenly drop.
"Do you know the details of the fall?" Yan Beicheng asked.
Chu Zhaoyang shook his head. "The hospital doesn"t know much. She was brought in by ambulance, and Jiang Changdai and Lu Zhenghang came with her. However, Lu Zhenghang left soon after sending her over, so only Jiang Changdai stayed behind and waited. Because the surgeons wanted to prepare for the surgery, they didn"t inform me of the details. We still have to wait and see."
"I"m on my way to the hospital now." Chu Zhaoyang said, "Jiang Changdai is still there, but I still feel rather uneasy about the matter. It doesn"t matter if Lu Zhenghang"s is still there"
Yan Beicheng nodded. He did not respond with words of grat.i.tude or whatsoever. Since they were brothers, there was no need for him to be so polite.
"I"ll be there immediately." Yan Beicheng hung up the phone and went back to the living room. He was unable to keep a calm expression as he walked in. His thoughts began to rapidly connect the dots regarding Jiang Changdai and Lu Zhenghang"s relations.h.i.+p, such that he was unable to suppress his fury.
Lin Chu saw this and immediately stood up and walk toward him. She whispered, "What"s wrong? Did something bad happened?"
Yan Beicheng proceeded to tell Lin Chu what had happened.
Lin Chu was also taken aback and began to feel panicked. Then, she grabbed onto Yan Beicheng"s arm. "What happened? How"d she get hurt that badly?"
Yan Beicheng was only able to shake his head. "Old Chu doesn"t know the details. I"ll go over to check out the situation and start investigating."
Since it was a matter involving Jiang Changdai, Lin Chu was unable to feel at ease until she found out the truth.
"Let"s go take a look." Lin Chu turned around and said to Yan Beicheng. "I"ll follow you."
Yan Beicheng wanted to reject her as he did not know the situation at the hospital. If Jiang Changdai was there and started causing trouble, what if Lin Chu got hurt as well?
Lin Chu knew what Yan Beicheng was thinking and insisted, "Since Jiang Changdai"s there, I"ll not feel comfortable letting you go alone. No matter what, she"s your mother and there"s a lot of things you can"t say to her. But I don"t care about that, I won"t let her wrong you in any way."
Yan Beicheng paused for a while before letting out a sigh. He had no idea how to refuse her. The fact that Lin Chu was being protective of him did also make him feel warm inside.
He was a grown man who was both strong and capable. Ever since he had begun independently running Yan Hui, there was never a moment where he needed anyone to protect him.
Even the two elders felt that he had grown up and now possessed the ability to settle matters on his own. He handled everything by himself, and even if there were difficulties, they were merely trials and tribulations to him. Yan Huaian was a big man as well and, like him, he was not good at expressing himself other than to the ones he loved.
Therefore, no matter how many difficulties he was facing or trouble he was in, he would always handle matters on his own. There was no one that would feel worried that he would be unable to handle things, and no one would worry about him getting hurt. However, ever since he had gotten together with Lin Chu, even though Lin Chu knew of his capabilities, she would still worry about him and want to do her best to protect him.
This feeling made him feel warm inside. Her concern for him made him feel an unspeakable joy during times of trouble.
Yan Beicheng could not help but grin and nod, indicating that he was agreeing to let her tag along.
The old princ.i.p.al and Dai Huimin overheard the two"s conversation and quickly stood up.
Then, the old princ.i.p.al said, "This is a serious matter. You two quickly go and see to it, we"ve been here long enough anyway and should head back."
"That"s right." Dai Huimin said, "If you need anything don"t hesitate to let us know."
After this, Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu left with them. Lin Chu called a cab for the old princ.i.p.al and Dai Huimin to fetch them back before following Yan Beicheng to the hospital.
While they were in the car, Lin Chu kept frowning. Yan Beicheng saw this and said, "Stop frowning, it"ll ruin your state of mind. It"s not good for your body."
Lin Chu stopped frowning and turned her head to ask, "It"s not weird for Yan Zhiqing and Jiang Changdai to be together, but why was Lu Zhenghang there as well? Why"d he tag along?"
Yan Beicheng pursed his lips. After a short while, he began to sneer. "I don"t know what he"s planning. I"m not surprised that Lu Zhenghang and Jiang Changdai were together, but why was Zhiqing hurt that badly? Since she was with Jiang Changdai and Lu Zhenghang, I can only suspect that Jiang Changdai and Lu Zhenghang had done something that had caused her to get badly injured."
Lin Chu hit her leg once out of anger. "Can"t they just stop it!"
Yan Beicheng saw this and proceeded to quickly grab her hand. "Stop that, even if you"re angry, you can"t forget to take care of yourself. Moreover, why would you hurt yourself because of those people anyway?"
Lin Chu let out a heavy sigh. Right now, she was only thinking about getting to the hospital as soon as possible. They could talk about it again after Yan Zhiqing woke up.
Once they arrived at the hospital, Yan Beicheng held Lin Chu"s hand as they followed Chu Zhaoyang from behind.
When they arrived, Yan Zhiqing had just finished her surgery and was being wheeled into one of the wards. She was lying on the bed with an oxygen mask over her mouth and had protective gear wrapped around her neck. She was also still unconscious.
Initially, Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu entered the ward but did not see Jiang Changdai anywhere. Then, Lin Chu turned her head and noticed Jiang Changdai was sitting on the sofa that was quite a distance away with a pale expression on her face. She was not sitting right beside Yan Zhiqing.
Lin Chu then tugged at Yan Beicheng"s sleeve to signal to him to look over. He immediately noticed Jiang Changdai there as well, looking very cold and detached.
Jiang Changdai pursed her lips and stood up. She looked at Yan Beicheng once without saying anything, then walked toward the hospital bed indifferently. After this, she sat down and held Yan Zhiqing"s hand.
"How did Zhiqing get hurt?" Yan Beicheng asked coldly without greeting her.
Jiang Changdai"s thin lips were pressed into a single red line. She could not look Yan Beicheng in the eye, so she turned her back to him and did not reply.
At this moment, the surgeon in charge of Yan Zhiqing came in with Chu Zhaoyang behind him.
Yan Beicheng understood what needed to be done and nodded. Then, he said to Lin Chu, "Come follow us."
He was not comfortable with Lin Chu being left alone in the ward with Jiang Changdai.
Lin Chu turned around to look at Jiang Changdai once more. She saw her pale expression and her downward gaze. She looked like she was worrying about Yan Zhiqing, but also seemed as if she was feeling guilty of something.
Lin Chu worked in public relations, hence she had a knack of discerning what someone was thinking just by reading their body language.
When she followed Yan Beicheng out of the ward, the doctor said, "We"ve given Miss Yan a thorough examination. The injuries on her body were due to a fall. Her neck, back, and limbs suffered some serious trauma. Her head suffered some bad impact, and it was not just once. The injuries on her body were scattered over various areas. From my experience, it could be because she had rolled continuously from a great height."
Yan Beicheng squinted as his expression turned gloomy. The doctor could not help but stop talking as he did not dare to speak further.
Chu Zhaoyang went on to say, "She"s not conscious now because her head has suffered a serious impact. It"s hard to tell when she"ll regain consciousness. We"ve run a CT scan to check her brain and everything seems normal."
"I"ll figure things out, but I know that Jiang Changdai and Lu Zhenghang are connected to this matter. Please take of Zhiqing while she"s here, especially when it comes to visitations." Yan Beicheng said.
Chu Zhaoyang nodded. "Don"t worry about it."
Yan Zhiqing"s surgeon also listened clearly by the side and immediately understood what he needed to do in the future.
Yan Beicheng gave the emergency center a call as he tried to figure out what had happened.
Then, he found out that Yan Zhiqing had been brought over from Jiang Changdai"s place. According to the two neighbors, Yan Zhiqing had tumbled down the stairs while she was quarreling with Jiang Changdai.
After hanging up, Yan Beicheng explained to Lin Chu what had happened, then they entered the ward together. He let Lin Chu sit down on the sofa so that she would not get too involved in what was to come.
Then, he said to Jiang Changdai, "What actually happened? There are elevators where you live. What kind of emergency was it that Zhiqing had to use the staircase instead of the elevator?"
Jiang Changdai would not reply, especially after getting criticized by Yan Zhiqing earlier. Every word that came out of Yan Zhiqing"s mouth was with regards to her ill-treatment of Yan Beicheng. However, the more Yan Zhiqing talked about it, the unhappier Jiang Changdai became.
Now that she was facing Yan Beicheng"s in person, it only solidified her belief that she had acted justly; he undoubtedly deserved the harsh treatment she had given him. Now, she did not even want to look at him in the eye.