Translated by Eve
Edited by Kara
A week pa.s.sed by quickly. On the morning of the eighth day of the new year, Song Xuanhe drove up to White Mountain.
Zhou Nan"s place was a hot spring villa constructed on the top of a slightly shorter mountain next to White Mountain. There were cable cars that connected the two mountains. Therefore, when Song Xuanhe had arrived at the room that had been prepared for him, he gave his car keys to the butler. He then changed clothes and headed to the cable cars to meet up with his friends.
“Xuanhe gege!” Xiao Ranyun was leaning out of the window of the cliff-side tea pavilion. Her smile was radiant. It looked like she was much happier than she had been the last time they had met. She wore puffy, purple skiing clothes, and her ponytail swayed in the wind as she shouted, “Over here, over here! Xuanhe gege, we"re over here!”
Song Xuanhe waved back. Because of the heavy snow, the shuttle bus could not pa.s.s through the mountain road. Under a villa employee"s guidance, he took another path. It took him ten minutes to reach the top of the twenty-or-so-metre-tall arched cliff. That was also where the tea pavilion and cable cars were located.
“Xuanhe gege, we"ve been waiting for you!” Xiao Ranyun giggled as she ran over to tug on Song Xuanhe"s arm. She dragged him over to the cable cars. “The last time I went skiing was last month. I can"t wait to have fun! Hurry up!”
Song Xuanhe laughed in spite of himself. It seemed like not having to partic.i.p.ate in Xiao Baicong"s coming-of-age banquet had made Xiao Ranyun ecstatic. Although she had always been lively and easy-mannered, she hadn"t been cheerful to this degree before.
“Miss, do you have to be this excited?” Zhou Nan was sitting inside the pavilion, playing poker. He placed his cards down when he saw the two of them enter. In a lazy tone, he said, “Don"t ask us to tow you while skiing if you end up using up all your energy now.”
“Then, I"ll play with a sled.” Xiao Ranyun"s head bobbed as she put on her gloves. She rushed them to move faster. “Hurry up!”
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Zhou Nan clicked his tongue, but there was helplessness in his voice. He turned to an employee, who had been waiting for instructions, and said, “Everyone"s here.”
The employee opened up a cable car. When everyone had entered, he carefully closed the door and indicated for the person in the control room to start it.
Song Xuanhe had driven for a very long time and so early in the morning. So, he rested his tired eyes as soon as he had entered the cable car. Seeing this, Xiao Ranyun lowered her voice as she chatted with Xiao Shenglin. You could tell that she was excited and happy from her tone. Zhou Nan took a sip of wine and laughed. “Are you really that happy about not having to go to Xiao Baicong"s birthday party?”
“Of course!” Xiao Ranyun turned around to look at him. “You know, every time I have to go to the Xiao Family"s main residence, I end up feeling depressed for a whole month.”
Xiao Shenglin corrected her. “Ranran, you can"t use "depressed" like that.”
When she had heard this, Xiao Ranyun paid him no mind as she waved a hand. “I end up feeling annoyed and melancholic for a month. Whenever that happens, even my a.s.sistant says that I have to take care of myself. Besides, there are already so many rules that I have to follow at home, and yet, there are somehow even more at the main residence. Just staying there is enough to make you feel stifled. I don"t want to go there at all.”
Xiao Shenglin glanced at her. When he thought about how they were in a cable car right now and thus away from any prying ears, he didn"t say anything else.
Not hearing Xiao Shenglin"s reply, Xiao Ranyun"s eyes curved into a smile. “Gege, you also dislike the main residence. Although you"ve only gone there once, I remember that you had come back with a fever. Didn"t that fever last half a month? It was probably a physical manifestation of your loathing!”
“Xiao Ranyun!”
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Xiao Shenglin startled Xiao Ranyun when he had suddenly raised his voice. Even Song Xuanhe, who had been resting his eyes, and Zhou Nan, who had been playing games on his phone, looked up. They saw Xiao Ranyun"s eyes redden.
“Sorry.” Xiao Shenglin had also been taken aback by his abrupt loss of control. When he saw Xiao Ranyun"s red eyes, he immediately apologized. “Gege shouldn"t have raised his voice. Sorry.”
Xiao Ranyun shook her head. She pursed her lips, something on her mind. In the end, she lowered her gaze and remained silent.
Silence befell the cable car. Although this cable car was a means of transportation, its other important function was to let you see the scenery outside. Therefore, it moved really slowly. Furthermore, the distance between the two mountains wasn"t short. The cable car hadn"t even travelled a fourth of the way yet. If this silence were to continue until their destination, it might last longer than twenty minutes.
It was just that, no one knew what to say.
Song Xuanhe simply didn"t know how to coax girls. Furthermore, although his relationship with Xiao Shenglin was good, he couldn"t speak without knowing why the other was angry.
Xiao Shenglin felt guilty over this. He doted on Xiao Ranyun like a little sister since they had been young. Usually, unless the circ.u.mstances called for it, he would never say anything harsh. At most, he"d just warn her a bit. But now, he had exploded and scared her. He didn"t know how to coax her. Moreover, Xiao Ranyun"s words had aroused memories from long ago, memories he didn"t want to think about. He needed some time to regulate his emotions.
As such, the task of easing the atmosphere fell onto Zhou Nan. He was the same as Song Xuanhe. Although he didn"t know why his friend had suddenly blown up, after being friends for so many years, he knew what kind of person Xiao Shenglin was, and he trusted him very much. Therefore, even though he didn"t know the reason why, he would never ask his friend about something that he clearly didn"t want to talk about.
It was just that he had really been startled just now. His brain blanked out, and he couldn"t figure out what to say for a moment.
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So, the silence continued. Xiao Ranyun leaned against the cable car, her gaze lowered as she took in the scenery outside. Her slightly trembling eyelashes seemed to relay her unease.
Song Xuanhe looked away and gave Zhou Nan a signal with his eyes. Zhou Nan got what he meant but shrugged his shoulders helplessly. But midway through the action, he seemed to suddenly think of something. He squinted his eyes and coughed once before asking Song Xuanhe, “Didn"t you say that you"d spend New Year"s Day with Lin zi and me? Why did you only come today?”
Xiao Ranyun shifted. Her ear turned towards their direction.
Song Xuanhe instantly knew that Zhou Nan was planning on using him to ease the atmosphere. He raised his leg in a lazy manner and casually kicked Zhou Nan"s foot. He then crossed his legs and answered, “I was grounded.”
“You"re this old and still getting grounded? And, on New Year"s Day too. Why?” Zhou Nan looked surprised but also like he was getting a kick out of this. He stared at him, pa.s.sionately waiting to hear some new gossip. It was obvious that, even if it hadn"t been for what had happened just now, he would have asked about this anyway.
“Are you that happy hearing that I got grounded?”
“Of course.” Zhou Nan shoved a gla.s.s of champagne into Song Xuanhe"s hands. He then picked up his own gla.s.s to toast him. “Brother, how about entertaining us all with your pain?”
Zhou Nan"s words made him laugh. He said, “I beat up Song Jiabao and sent him to the hospital. Grandpa grounded me for a week.”
Zhou Nan was genuinely surprised. He widened his eyes slightly and placed his champagne gla.s.s back onto the table. He turned his head to the side and p.r.i.c.ked his ears, fully ready to listen to the whole story. “I did hear that Song Jiabao had been admitted to the hospital. But, they had said that it was because he had broken his arm again after falling down the stairs at night. I just knew it was a lie. But, Song Er, what did Song Jiabao, that idiot, do to offend you?”
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When she saw how much Zhou Nan wanted to know, Xiao Ranyun also unwittingly turned to look at Song Xuanhe, a curious look on her face. Song Xuanhe shut his eyes and said, “Guess.”
“How could I possibly guess it?!” Only getting half of the gossip was just the worst. Zhou Nan felt extremely unwell. He stuck his head close to Song Xuanhe and said, “Don"t leave me hanging. Song Jiabao has provoked you so many times before. Even when he provoked Xiao Yuanmu, you"d never gotten angry for real. Just what did he do this time?”
When he saw Song Xuanhe"s eyelashes tremble, Zhou Nan recoiled back, a shocked look on his face. “No way, is it because of Xiao Yuanmu? Didn"t you guys break up already?”
Song Xuanhe opened his eyes. “Who said I did it for Xiao Yuanmu?”
Xiao Ranyun blinked. Her voice was silvery and melodious. “Xuanhe gege, when Zhou Nan gege had mentioned Yuanmu gege just now, your eyelashes trembled.”
“That"s right. Even Ranran saw it. Micro-expressions, you know.” Zhou Nan observed Song Xuanhe"s expression and tactfully left it at that. He then changed the topic and started discussing what they should do during the next few days.
Song Xuanhe smiled slightly as he listened to Zhou Nan speak. Xiao Ranyun also occasionally chimed in. The atmosphere once again became lively.
The cable car slowly continued to move forward. Before they knew it, they were already two-thirds of the way there. Zhou Nan had yet to finish drawing up their itinerary, because Xiao Ranyun had rejected the spa, afternoon tea, and hot spring activities Zhou Nan had arranged for her. She insisted on being with them. She even wanted to mountain-climb with them.
“The things we men will be doing will be pretty dangerous. You"re a girl, why insist on coming with us?” Zhou Nan didn"t understand. “The snowy mountain"s cold. You were already shivering this morning when we first came out. If you come along, you"ll have to spend the night on the mountain. Are you going to be able to handle that?”
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“I can handle it,” Xiao Ranyun said, “I was a member of the mountain climbing club in high school. Although I"ve never done rock climbing before, a snowy mountain like this should be easy for me. Moreover, I was just cold "cause I had just flown in from a tropical country! I"ll have acclimatized by the time we start climbing!”
When Xiao Shenglin heard this, he backed her up in a gentle voice. “Ranran was indeed in her high school"s mountain climbing club. Her school"s club has a bit of a reputation. They"ve gone on many international trips. It"ll be fine for her to come along.”
“But, what about rock climbing….?”
“Zhou Nan gege!” Xiao Ranyun puffed out her cheeks and seriously said, “Although I"m a girl, and my physical strength isn"t as good as yours, my willpower is stronger than anyone else"s! I always make sure to think over my decisions carefully before making them. If you keep on questioning me, I"ll start wondering whether you"re just s.e.xist.”
Zhou Nan was taken aback by her serious tone. He then shook his head. “I only arranged those activities for you, because a lot of girls I know don"t like doing the stuff we"re going to do. I don"t hold any prejudiced ideas against women. If you really want to go with us, you"re absolutely welcome.”
Xiao Ranyun turned to look at Song Xuanhe. Song Xuanhe nodded. “Come if you want.”
With everyone"s acknowledgement, Xiao Ranyun smiled. A second later, her smile fell, and she suddenly became dejected. “It would have been good if Dad could have come too.”
Xiao Shenglin ruffled her hair but didn"t say anything. Song Xuanhe and Zhou Nan also knew about what was happening with Xiao Nan. Therefore, they also remained silent.
Xiao Ranyun mumbled, “But, it"s fine like this. The main residence might be thrown into chaos this year….”
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Song Xuanhe"s eyelashes quivered again. He turned to look at Xiao Ranyun, but she didn"t expand on what she had said. Instead, she once again looked out the window with keen interest.
The four of them had just spent an hour skiing and were about to have lunch. As they pa.s.sed by a racing course, they heard a cry of alarm. The other guests also turned to look towards the source of the voice. Song Xuanhe and Xiao Shenglin exchanged glances before walking over.
After climbing up a steep incline, they saw a man lying by the trees, his eyes shut. Next to him was a panicked middle-aged lady, hollering for help. She had been the one who had cried out earlier.
When she saw them, she promptly asked, “Are either of you doctors? My husband has asthma. He suddenly fainted just now. Can you save him?”
Song Xuanhe looked around them and asked, “Where"s the instructor?”
“The instructor went to call for a doctor!” The lady hugged the man, seemingly afraid that he"d be too cold. Her tone also gradually turned calm. “If you can, could you please help me go ask them to make an announcement asking if there are any doctors amongst the guests here? It might take a long time before the instructor is able to bring back a doctor from the first-aid area.”
Song Xuanhe and Xiao Shenglin exchanged glances upon hearing this. Even Zhou Nan and Xiao Ranyun looked perplexed. This was a high-cla.s.s ski resort. The guests were all rich and influential people. There were instructors situated everywhere to help prevent accidents from occurring, and the medical team was amply staffed. Even if a doctor hadn"t come over yet, they shouldn"t take very long to arrive.
Moreover, an ordinary person would prefer the ski resort"s medical team over a stranger.
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Although they were confused, they didn"t say anything about it as someone else"s life was currently on the line. Zhou Nan furrowed his brows and pondered for a few seconds before saying, “I think I saw someone I know just now. He"s a doctor. If I haven"t mistaken him for someone else, I"ll be back soon.”
Zhou Nan quickly skied away. Song Xuanhe and Xiao Shenglin also stepped forward to help. Meanwhile, Xiao Ranyun comforted the trembling lady with a gentle voice and calm expression. Other guests had also rushed over. When they saw what was happening, they all offered their help. There were some questioning murmurs about why the medical team was being so slow.
About five or six minutes later, the doctor still had yet to come. An instructor who had come over had made a call but was only told that the team was still on the way. The middle-aged woman, who was holding onto Xiao Ranyun, paled more and more. Song Xuanhe furrowed his brows. Although the unconscious person was dressed in thick clothes, he was lying down, motionless. There was no way to really protect him from the snowy mountain"s frigid winds.
“A doctor"s here!”
Zhou Nan had quickly skied back over. Next to him was a man wearing goggles. Everyone"s gazes turned towards Zhou Nan. The man beside him took off his goggles and walked over to the unconscious man. He squatted down and started to examine him.
Song Xuanhe raised a brow when he saw the other person"s face. Zhou Nan followed after the man and asked, “Yu Yan, can you help him?”
Yu Yan avoided Zhou Nan. In a flat voice, he simply said, “The patient has asthma. Everyone, give him s.p.a.ce. Don"t surround him. h.e.l.lo. Have you brought his inhaler with you?”
When the lady had seen Yu Yan"s seemingly professional examination, she sighed in relief. But upon hearing his question, she gritted her teeth and shook her head. “No.”
Yu Yan frowned. “Is it on him?”
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The lady pursed her lips tightly. “No.”
Song Xuanhe had been backing up when he heard this. He paused. Zhou Nan whispered, “He has asthma but didn"t bring his inhaler? Does he want to die?”
Xiao Shenglin shot him a look to shut him up. Xiao Ranyun blinked at Zhou Nan. Everyone waited for Yu Yan"s diagnosis.
By the time Yu Yan had made his diagnosis, the instructor had finally brought the medical team over. The medical team was huge, and they had also brought a stretcher with them. They came over and thanked Yu Yan for his “enthusiastic help.” They then lifted the guest up with intentions of taking him back to the infirmary.
The lady was holding onto the end of the stretcher, her face pale but calm. “This doctor is my husband"s presiding physician"s friend. He understands my husband"s condition well. I want him to be involved in the treatment.”
The medical team was taken aback. The lady looked at Yu Yan, a pleading look in her eyes.
Yu Yan furrowed his brows slightly. Song Xuanhe and the others also just so happened to notice her expression. They couldn"t help but look at each other.
“Madam, saving your husband"s life is our greatest priority right now. Please trust us. We are professionals. We will do our best to save your husband. Although this doctor may be your husband"s presiding physician"s friend, he is not the presiding physician. Our team has a tacit understanding. Adding a member will mess up our rhythm. I hope that you will put your husband"s life first.”
As soon as that person had said that, everyone turned to look at the lady. However, she was insistent. “My husband"s illness is special. It is not a typical case. I will be more rea.s.sured if there was someone who understood his condition by his side. I hope that you will understand the caution that a wife has for her husband"s life and safety.”
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One had mentioned “life” while the other had mentioned “life and safety.” It had only been two additional words, but the meaning had completely changed.
At this moment, Song Xuanhe and co. had realized that something was fishy. Even the guests who had arrived later had realized that there was something abnormal about this.
“Alright,” Zhou Nan said, “I hold some shares in this ski resort—my family"s ski resort. That means I have the right to get involved. A guest"s safety is extremely important. A guest"s requests and concerns are also very important. It"s fine if your team isn"t used to working with outsiders. Just let Yu Yan be present. After all, he"s a specialist in respiratory medicine. I"ll be more rea.s.sured if he were to be there.”
The shareholder had spoken. The medical team would naturally not refuse. Several people lifted the stretcher up, and Yu Yan got onto the bus after them. Only the instructor"s—who had brought the medical team over— expression changed.
Zhou Nan ruffled his own hair, feeling agitated, as he watched the people leave. He clicked his tongue. “What"s going on now? Let"s go. It"s none of our business. Let"s eat.”
Song Xuanhe and the rest of them didn"t discuss what had happened just now. Although they had realized that something fishy was going on, it wasn"t like they could resolve it. First of all, they had no proof. Second of all, they weren"t righteous warriors. Furthermore, it was obvious from the way the lady had been purposefully hiding something that this wasn"t something outsiders could meddle in.
Zhou Nan"s exclusive private room had already had White Mountain"s local delicacies prepared. Song Xuanhe wiped his hands clean with a wet towel and then handed it over to the waiter. He then paused and turned to Zhou Nan. “Did you say that Yu Yan specialized in respiratory medicine?”
“You know him?” Zhou Nan raised a brow in astonishment.
“Not really.” Song Xuanhe recalled the first time he had met Yu Yan, and his lips twitched. “He was the doctor who had treated me a while back. I had always thought that he was a surgeon.”
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“He sometimes dabbles in surgery. Well, to be more precise, he covers his friends" shifts.” Zhou Nan smiled. “His medical knowledge is ample and comprehensive. Don"t worry.”
“I believe that.” Song Xuanhe looked at the flat, wooden design of his chopsticks. In a flat voice, he said, “When I had beaten up Song Jiabao last time, he had been covering for our usual doctor, so he had been the one to come to my place.”
“On Lunar New Year"s Day?” Zhou Nan"s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Song Xuanhe nodded. Zhou Nan seemed to have suddenly recalled something and burst out into laughter. “No wonder he was busy that day. He went to deal with your family.”
When he had heard Zhou Nan"s ambiguous words, Song Xuanhe seemed to sense something. “You"re close?”
Advertis.e.m.e.nts “I guess,” Zhou Nan said casually, “My first love. Would you consider that close?”
Song Xuanhe paused, his expression turning a bit enigmatic. “Were you guys on and off? Did you guys go to the same high school?”
Zhou Nan looked shocked. “How did you know?”
Song Xuanhe"s expression turned even more strange. He had had his suspicions, but he had now confirmed Yu Yan"s ident.i.ty: he was one of Xiao Yuanmu"s seven pursuers. He was the future Xiao Family physician.
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When he had seen the other"s name at the hospital in the past, although Song Xuanhe had wondered about it, it had only lasted a moment. After all, there were many people who had the same name in this world. He had thought that he probably wouldn"t b.u.mp into one of Xiao Yuanmu"s future pursuers so easily.
Moreover, Yu Yan was supposed to appear in the later half of the story. The place he would appear at wasn"t supposed to be China, either. It was supposed to be America.
Furthermore, the only thing Song Xuanhe had known about Yu Yan—aside from the fact that he would be Xiao Yuanmu"s family doctor in the future—was that he had used to work at a large hospital in China and had ended up leaving his native country for some reason. One of the speculated reasons he had left the country had been the ex-boyfriend with whom he had been on and off.
The reason why this speculation existed was because, in the later half of the book, Xiao Yuanmu had been injured because of a rival company"s trap. At that time, Xiao Yuanmu had been suspicious that someone in the Xiao Family had also been involved. Therefore, he had been in a dark mood. At that time, Yu Yan had vaguely talked about his ex-boyfriend to comfort Xiao Yuanmu. He had said, “Even I am still able to believe that there are genuinely good people out there, despite having such a heartless ex. Don"t start to doubt everyone in this world because of something as small as this.”
When Song Xuanhe had first read that, he hadn"t known if Yu Yan"s words had been true, because the author hadn"t written about it in detail. The way it had been written had been dry. Furthermore, it had been Yu Yan, who had always been quiet and taciturn, that had said this. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like he had made it up to console Xiao Yuanmu.
——After all, the book"s protagonist, Xiao Yuanmu, hadn"t believed it either.
Song Xuanhe had never expected that the Doctor Yu who he had met a long time ago was actually one of Xiao Yuanmu"s pursuers, Yu Yan. Furthermore, Yu Yan had been telling the truth. What was even more surprising was that Yu Yan"s “heartless ex” was actually Zhou Nan.
The author has something to say:
Advertis.e.m.e.nts Zhou Nan: Destiny, too wonderful for words.
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Eve: *side eyes Zhou Nan* Looks like you"re going to need a wingman of your own my dude.
Kara: (；๏д๏) Zhou Nan…my dude, what did you do that was bad enough for you to be labeled as the “heartless ex?” You better not hurt Yu Yan in this life, otherwise you"ll be meeting my good friends: right fist and left fist. (งಠ_ಠ)ง