Chapter 61

Hearing her tone, I immediately felt annoyed. “Manager Chen, does going out to a gathering mean we’ve offended someone?”

“Right now, I just want to get to the bottom of things,” Chen Hui said calmly. “Let’s go back to the ward first, and we can talk about everything later.”

I shrugged and led her to the ward. Zhao Qian and Xue Ya were whispering to each other when they saw Chen Hui following behind me.

Zhao Qian hurriedly said, “Manager Chen, you’re here, Aya. This is our manager.”

Xue Ya smiled slightly at Chen Hui and said, “Hello, Manager Chen. I’m sorry to have bothered you so late.”

Chen Hui nodded, placed the two fruit baskets on the bedside table, and then said, “Tell me in detail what happened.”

Zhao Qian glanced at me, then slowly began to recount the whole story: “After work, Xiao Tang and I…”

Chen Hui listened and nodded. After a while, she said, “I understand. You two should focus on recovering. I will urge the police to handle this for you.”

“Manager Chen, regardless of whether your company can provide a solution,” Xue Ya said from the side, “although Zhao Qian left after work, I know he is never the type to provoke others. Someone must be targeting him in secret, and he never makes enemies. So I have enough reason to believe that it was done by your company’s staff. I will have a lawyer contact your company about this matter later.”

Chen Yao said calmly, “Although the incident happened after they had finished work, the company will try to provide appropriate compensation. However, the specific details of the compensation will depend on the police investigation, not on what I say. There are specialized personnel to handle this kind of matter.”

“That would be best,” Xue Ya said. “Then I’ll have my lawyer contact your company’s colleague who specializes in handling these kinds of matters tomorrow.”

Although the two women were exchanging words calmly, they were subtly clashing with each other.

Zhao Qian tugged at Xue Ya’s hand. “Aya, Manager Chen will handle this. If it doesn’t work, we can go back and try again.”

“Alright then.” Xue Ya nodded, then said to Chen Hui, “Manager Chen, I’m really sorry about this. I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”

“You all take good care of your injuries first. I’ll head back now.” Chen Hui stood up and said calmly, “If you need anything, just give me a call.”

Zhao Qian originally wanted Xue Ya to go back and rest, but Xue Ya insisted on staying to keep him company. Helpless, I went outside to smoke another cigarette.

During that time, Wang Qin called me and asked why I hadn’t gone back yet. I thought about it and told her about my injury. As soon as Wang Qin heard that I was injured, she became a little anxious and asked, “What happened? Did Li Qiang send someone to do this? I’m coming to see you right away.”

I said, somewhat speechless, “It shouldn’t be him. I’m fine now, so you don’t need to come over for now, lest he sees something that arouses suspicion.”

“But…” Wang Qin paused, then said, “I’m worried about you!”

Hearing Wang Qin’s concerned tone, I suddenly felt a warmth in my heart. It turns out that it feels quite nice to be cared for. First, my cousin was in a hurry to come back from abroad, and now Wang Qin is preparing to come and take care of me.

However, it would be fine if his cousin came, but if Wang Qin came, Li Qiang would definitely have some suspicions.

“It’s okay, don’t worry too much, it’ll be fine in a few days,” I said with a smile, trying to reassure you. “Just stay home and wait, we can contact each other on WeChat if anything comes up.”

“Alright then…” Wang Qin knew it wasn’t appropriate to go out now; if Li Qiang found out, the two of them would be doomed.

That night, Xue Ya stayed with Zhao Qian at the hospital. I was once again fed a bellyful of dog food by these two, which made me so angry that I wanted to move to another ward.

However, Xue Ya went back the next morning. I didn’t ask her what she was going out to do, but since she runs a company, she must have something to do.

Zhao Qian and I went out for a few more cigarettes. The doctor came and changed our dressings again. When I saw the wound, I was secretly relieved. Luckily, the knife wasn’t big, or we would have been in serious trouble.

When it was lunchtime, my cousin suddenly rushed over, looking travel-worn and carrying a briefcase. She hadn’t even changed out of her uniform, clearly indicating that she hadn’t had time to go back home before coming to see me.

“Silly boy, how are you?” My cousin hugged me tightly, and tears streamed down her face like pearls from a broken string.

I quickly said, “I’m fine, sister, don’t cry, it won’t look pretty if you keep crying.”

“I’m going to cry anyway, so you can protect yourself!” my cousin sobbed. “Can’t you even protect yourself for my sake? Do you know how worried I was all night last night?”

“I’m sorry…” I was so touched by my cousin that I wanted to cry. I patted her back with my uninjured hand and whispered, “Sis, my colleague is here with us.”

“Sister-in-law, I’m sorry, I didn’t take good care of Xiao Tang last night.” Zhao Qian, who was bandaged up like a rice dumpling, said apologetically, “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten injured.”

The cousin blushed deeply at being addressed as “sister-in-law,” but she didn’t object. She simply whispered to Zhao Qian, “It’s alright. You’re more seriously injured than him. Focus on recovering first.”

“Sister-in-law, you are so beautiful.” Zhao Qian grinned. “No wonder Xiao Tang always rushes home after work. It turns out he’s keeping a mistress.”

“Shut up!” I snapped, annoyed. “You’re the one who’s been deceiving my feelings all this time, you bastard! And yet…”

“You really think your sister-in-law is someone you just met?”

“Hehe…” Zhao Qian chuckled, winking. “These days, who doesn’t have a few secrets?”

I ignored her and turned to my cousin, saying, “Sis, why don’t you sit down and rest? You must be exhausted from the flight.”

“I’m not tired, I’m just worried about you.” My cousin sat down on the edge of my bed as instructed, then glanced at the head of the bed and asked with some confusion, “Who bought these fruit baskets?”

Seeing my cousin’s exhausted face, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her and said, “This was brought over by our manager. How about I wash an apple for you to eat?”

“Let me do it,” my cousin said, taking a few apples outside to wash.

Zhao Qian smiled and said to me, “Little Tang, you son of a bitch, you’re not honest. I never expected your girlfriend to be a flight attendant. I was even thinking of introducing my sister-in-law to you.”

“Get lost!” I laughed and cursed, then suddenly remembered Wang Qin’s matter and couldn’t help but ask, “Old Zhao, why can’t I access that website you gave me last time?”

“With such a beautiful girlfriend, why are you going to those kinds of websites?” Zhao Qian chuckled mischievously. “Are you planning to look at pictures to liven things up?”

“Help you my ass!” I cursed irritably. If I told him that she was actually my cousin, he definitely wouldn’t believe me. This guy has a dirty mind.

A little while later, his cousin came over with a few apples. Zhao Qian took one and started eating it without even cutting it.

“Sis, you should eat too.” I shifted my body onto the bed. “Sit down first. Your legs must be sore from wearing high heels for so long.”

“If you’re better, you have to give me a massage.” My cousin looked at me with concern. “Don’t be so careless next time. Before you do anything, can’t you think about what I’d do if something happened to you?”

My cousin’s words touched me deeply, and I nodded solemnly, “It won’t happen again next time. This was just an accident. Next time, I’ll think of you first.”

“I don’t need your verbal promises; you have to follow through,” my cousin said, frowning. “Otherwise, I’ll be very angry.”

Seeing my cousin pouting, I felt really sorry for her, especially since she looked so tired, which showed she hadn’t slept well last night. So I got out of bed and pulled my cousin to lie down on the bed. “Sis, you should get some sleep.”

“No!” My cousin struggled to get up, her pretty face flushed red with embarrassment, and whispered, “Your colleague is still here.”

“I feel sorry for you.” I used my uninjured hand to press my cousin down on the bed without saying a word. “Now you should get some sleep, or I’ll be very angry.”

As I spoke, I placed one hand on her shoulder and gently massaged her. My cousin was a little nervous and shy. She glared at me with her beautiful eyes, but probably because Zhao Qian was there, she didn’t react. She said softly, “Then I’ll take a nap. Remember to wake me up later.”

“Okay, go to sleep, or I’ll get really angry,” I said, deliberately keeping a straight face.

“You stingy little thing.” My cousin glared at me, but obediently closed her eyes. However, she secretly pinched the back of my hand lightly, like tickling me.

Zhao Qian looked on with a sudden realization, then winked at me, looking as sleazy as could be.

Just then, Zhao Qian’s phone rang. He picked it up, glanced at it, gave me a wink, and went outside.

My cousin didn’t get much rest last night, so she fell asleep in bed after a short while. Her sleeping posture looked extremely cute, with a beautiful curve at the corners of her mouth. She was practically a sleeping beauty.

Looking at my cousin’s beautiful sleeping posture, I didn’t have any thoughts, but I felt an indescribable warmth in my heart.

Suddenly, my phone, which was on my bedside table, rang. I picked it up and saw that it was a message from Chen Yao: “Tang Zheng, did you go out and cheat on someone and get beaten up?”

“How dare you talk like that?” I replied irritably. “What do you mean I got beaten up for cheating on my wife?”

“My cousin was very worried last night, saying that you had been taken to the hospital. She didn’t sleep well at all and took the earliest flight back this morning.”

Chen Yao replied, “If you didn’t get beaten up for stealing a woman, what else could it be for stealing a man?”

I really don’t know how to explain this woman’s logic. I replied somewhat speechlessly, “There was a bit of an accident, but it wasn’t about stealing a woman or a man. I don’t even know how I got stabbed a few times. Luckily, I survived.”

Chen Yao didn’t say anything, but instead sent me a video call. I hesitated for a moment, then decided to go outside to answer it, since my cousin was resting right now.

Once outside, I connected the video call. As soon as it connected, Chen Yao bombarded me with questions, “Tang Zheng, where are you hurt? Are you alright?”

“It’s alright, I’m not going to die,” I said with a smile. “I’m waiting for you now, why haven’t you come back to pamper me yet?”

“Little brother, are you really that impatient?” Chen Yao giggled, then said, “We still have several days before we go back.”

“For several days, my cousin…” My heart suddenly clenched.

Chen Yao snorted, “Of course my cousin took leave to go back. If she hadn’t taken leave this month, she would have been promoted. But because of you, you little bastard, she definitely won’t be promoted. It’s almost the end of the month, and you really are something…”