When Que Yining woke up again, Mom Que and Qiao Yuchu were by her side.
After noticing she was awake, Qiao Yuchu immediately went forward to help her up and raised the hospital bed for her.
“Ningning’s awake. Mom made you some congee, have a little.”
You Lanqing quickly got up from the sofa and walked over with a thermal container.
Qiao Yuchu poured Que Yining a glass of water so she could rinse her mouth.
She wanted to say something, but seeing Que Yining’s condition, she couldn’t utter a word, just watched dejectedly from the side.
You Lanqing’s eyes had been swollen from crying these past few days, and tears welled up again when she met Que Yining’s gaze.
She sniffled, lowered her head, took out a spoon, sat by the hospital bed, and forced a smile at Que Yining.
“Mom will feed you. Don’t move around, you might touch your wounds.”
You Lanqing carefully brought the spoon to Que Yining’s mouth, blew on it, and placed it by her lips.
Que Yining felt a moment of stiffness and discomfort before taking the mouthful of congee.
She could sense the sadness of the woman before her. Mom Que had previously been an elegant and beautiful lady, but now that her child had suffered such a disaster, she looked much older and more haggard, without makeup, her eyes red and swollen, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes etched with sorrow.
Que Yining dreaded facing such scenes the most. She tried her best to avoid direct interaction with these parents, worried they would realize their child had been replaced, leading to their depression and sorrow. Their kindness towards her filled her with trepidation, and seeing their sadness left her even more at a loss.
“Is it not too hot? Mom added sugar, so it shouldn’t be too bland, right?”
You Lanqing asked softly, blowing on the hot congee in the spoon.
Que Yining nodded and smiled at You Lanqing.
You Lanqing’s nose tingled. Only when Que Yining shook her head, indicating she couldn’t eat anymore, did she put down her hand and go to the bathroom to get water to wipe Que Yining’s face.
As she bustled about, her thin figure slightly stooped, Que Yining unconsciously clutched the bedsheet.
“Mom, you should go back and rest. Xiao Qiao is here with me. Go home and get some good sleep.”
When You Lanqing finished wiping her hands and was about to peel fruit for her, Que Yining couldn’t help but speak up.
“Yes, Auntie, you haven’t rested well for days. What if Ningning gets better and you fall ill? You should go back and rest properly. I’ll watch over Ningning here, I absolutely won’t leave her side.”
Qiao Yuchu chimed in, and together with Que Yining, they persuaded You Lanqing to leave.
You Lanqing couldn’t win against them and left with the thermal container, giving a few detailed instructions before she went.
Only when the door to the hospital room closed did Qiao Yuchu speak.
“I’ve already used my connections to help with this matter. Don’t let me find out which bitch did this, or I’ll sell them to Africa to be a prostitute.”
Qiao Yuchu said angrily, her heart aching at the sight of Que Yining’s face.
My bestie’s unparalleled beauty! Damn that mastermind!
“Alright, stop looking like that. It’s not like I won’t get better.”
Que Yining was amused by her expression, then pondered the mastermind behind this incident, a cold smile playing on her lips.
In front of others, Que Yining wouldn’t act cute and coquettish, saying she didn’t look good, like she did with Gu Shanxue. Her aura was still proud, just a bit diminished from before.
She asked Qiao Yuchu to call her assistant for her, and after regaining consciousness, she began to command remotely again.
That commanding presence and aura, giving off a ‘I’m the number one Alpha female in the world’ vibe, made Qiao Yuchu, seeing her not only uncrushed but even sharper and more imposing than before, sigh inwardly at her strength.
If it were her who had encountered such a thing, she probably would have broken down long ago, but Que Yining actually acted as if nothing had happened.
Actually, Que Yining wasn’t as nonchalant as Qiao Yuchu thought. How could she not care about being temporarily bedridden and unable to move freely? But caring wouldn’t help her recover faster. Right now, she needed to recuperate while also strategizing and handling all matters, so she would be prepared if the other party tried to strike again.
Since she didn’t know if the other party would strike again, surveillance cameras had already been installed in her room, and bodyguards were on duty 24/7 at the door, in case the perpetrator planned to continue their pursuit.
She had suffered even more severe injuries in her past life. Surrounded by wolves and tigers, she had been in more than one car accident.
After all, car accidents were the most direct and hardest to prevent man-made disasters. Besides reinforcing her car as much as possible, she could only be extra careful when out and about.
After one incident that alerted the enemy, those relatives truly spent a great deal to orchestrate ‘accidents’ for her. After evading an assassination attempt by a ‘mental patient,’ she was hit by a car. While barely escaping with her assistant’s bodyguard, a deliberately loosened sign by the roadside fell on her. She couldn’t escape it. Even though the bodyguard did his best to protect her, her legs were severely injured, and she was wheelchair-bound for a while.
That was her darkest time. The ugliness of human nature was laid bare before her. She felt the world was just that dark, filthy, and disgusting, so when she faced death, she didn’t hesitate at all. Seeing her enemies struggle and die was, frankly, her happiest moment.
From the first moment she laid eyes on Gu Shanxue, she simply felt that the other person was ‘clean’.
It was an indescribable feeling in her heart; in Gu Shanxue, Que Yining harbored a sliver of hope. As for what that hope was, Que Yining couldn’t quite say.
Qiao Yuchu watched Que Yining’s thoughtful expression from the side, not daring to make a sound. Seeing the strange smile playing on the other’s lips, she felt an inexplicable chill.
She unconsciously rubbed her hands together to shake off that creepy feeling.
Just then, a nurse pushed open the door to change Que Yining’s dressing. Que Yining silently watched her movements.
After changing the dressing on her body, the nurse began to apply medicine to her face. Seeing Que Yining looking at her, she couldn’t help but offer some words of comfort.
“Don’t worry, we applied medication for you at the earliest opportunity. If you don’t have a scar-prone constitution, your recovery won’t be very slow. Our hospital’s laser scar lightening technology is also very mature.”
“Thank you.”
Que Yining thanked her softly after she finished applying the medicine. Her calm gaze somehow made the nurse’s heart tremble.
“Mr. Lin asked me to tell you to check your email. He has a new discovery and hopes it might offer you some comfort while you’re ill.”
The young nurse whispered this before leaving with her cart.
She spoke so softly that even Qiao Yuchu, who was behind her, didn’t hear.
Que Yining logged into her private email on her phone and indeed saw several emails. When she saw the contents, Que Yining’s eyes lit up.
Good, very good. What Lin Zhen found out is of immense use.
Lin Zhen found out that Deng Zhi, Que Linyang’s mistress who owns a golf course, has a son.
The child is only four years old, just old enough for kindergarten.
Lin Zhen obtained his DNA and also collected Que Linyang’s DNA for comparison. The results showed a very close blood relationship between the two, undoubtedly a father-son relationship.
Que Yining subconsciously tried to sit up but was jolted by sharp pain and lay back down.
Qiao Yuchu stepped forward to steady her, sighing in relief when Que Yining lay back down. “What did you see that got you so excited?”
Que Yining curved her lips. “Something good.”
Isn’t it something good? The electronic file of the paternity test report is right there.
Que Linyang actually has an illegitimate son out there. I wonder if Hou Manni knows about this.
This matter was much more interesting than Que Yining had thought. She sent a message to Lin Zhen, telling him to keep an eye on it.
If Que Yining’s body were fine right now, she would immediately have someone invite that little boy over as a guest to stir up this stagnant, calm water.
She blindly guessed that the mastermind behind this car accident was Que Linyang. However, Que Linyang was overly cautious, and there was no direct evidence pointing to him. Dealing with someone like him, passively waiting for him to make a move would mean being suppressed and at a disadvantage. Que Yining had to seize the initiative.
Que Yining’s fingers tapped lightly on the bedsheet beneath her. She looked at the white ceiling, an idea slowly forming in her mind.
Qiao Yuchu teased, “What good thing? Could it be that Gu Shanxue sent you a message?”
“You saw Gu Shanxue when you woke up, right? You really have to thank me for this. I said a lot of good things about Gu Shanxue in front of Uncle and Auntie.”
Qiao Yuchu finally understood. Even after suffering a setback in love, Que Yining hadn’t changed. When she liked Fu Wenjing in the past, she liked him wholeheartedly. Now that she liked Gu Shanxue, she also liked her wholeheartedly.
“And I think you have a chance. Gu Shanxue isn’t that indifferent to you. In fact, she seems to care about you a lot. That nervousness, oh, if I didn’t know better, I would have thought you two were already together.”
Qiao Yuchu tutted twice, recalling Gu Shanxue’s reaction a few days ago.
The ice beauty was still an ice beauty, with no particularly obvious emotional fluctuations on her face, but her eyes were practically glued to Que Yining. Qiao Yuchu had to stare for a while before she could read the nervousness in her body language.
“This is such a great opportunity! Has your relationship rapidly warmed up?”
Qiao Yuchu winked at Que Yining. Anyway, she felt this should be a sure thing. In the face of such a major accident, people always figure some things out, realizing that some things, once lost, can never be regained.
But Que Yining just gently shook her head, her expression unreadable to Qiao Yuchu.
“Huh?”
Qiao Yuchu looked confused. Que Yining lowered her eyes and said nothing.
Que Yining knew that Gu Shanxue probably had feelings for her, at least more than friendship. In the current situation, Gu Shanxue’s pity for her outweighed her love.
Que Yining didn’t know where things had gone wrong. She didn’t know what Gu Shanxue was hesitating or worrying about. But no matter what Gu Shanxue thought, Que Yining was the type to seize an opportunity and never let go. Since Gu Shanxue had shown her this sign, she certainly wouldn’t miss the chance to make a bold move.
Being cautious and apprehensive was something Que Yining would only feel before knowing the other person’s intentions. But now that she knew the other person also had feelings for her, Que Yining’s mindset changed rapidly.
Perhaps it was a little bit of being spoiled by affection.
“Your reaction… no way, could it be that after this ordeal, you’ve had a great epiphany? Have you decided to stop hitting your head against a brick wall and give up on liking Gu Shanxue?”
Qiao Yuchu asked tentatively, her tone hesitant.
Gu Shanxue, who was outside the door about to knock, froze, stunned in place.
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