Chapter 43 - Hospital
A few days later, the official statement was released, and Su Muqing's case had a result.
She had never avoided cameras when she hit people, because she knew someone would clean up after her. She acted without scruple, her methods malicious.
When the police came to investigate, it didn't take much effort to find out the exact course of events. On the day the victim died, Su Muqing gathered a group of people, dragged the victim into the restroom, stripped off her clothes and filmed a video, and also caused multiple injuries to the girl's body. This was the main reason for the victim's suicide by jumping off a building.
Because of the severe impact and the high public demand, the matter was handled quickly. By the time Ji Linxue saw this news again, Su Muqing had already been sentenced to over ten years in prison and was also required to pay the victim's family over one million yuan in compensation.
Ji Linxue was not surprised by this result at all, and even felt that the sentence was too light.
That girl suffered so much pain. Su Muqing deserved to die.
But according to Shen Shaoyan, Su Muqing still showed no sign of remorse, only regretting that she had left evidence at the time. She even wanted people to help her contact Gu Hengzhi, wanting to say a few words to him.
Gu Hengzhi naturally ignored her.
During this period, he became even busier. Originally, he could come back once a month, but now it had become once every few months.
The time Ji Linxue saw him was on his birthday.
His schedule was very full. He almost rushed over right after getting off the plane and arrived at the private room just as the waiter was serving dishes.
Shen Shaoyan teased him unceremoniously, "Hello, Chairman Gu. You're a very busy person now. Even my dad keeps praising you and telling me to learn from you."
"I envy you being so leisurely," Gu Hengzhi naturally sat down beside Ji Linxue and apologized to the latter, "I'm late."
Ji Linxue smiled, "It's okay, the dishes just started being served anyway."
"I'm not talking about that," Gu Hengzhi looked at him, his tone slightly heavy, "I've been too busy these past few months and haven't had time to accompany you."
The company was expanding into new areas, and there were several new R&D projects, leaving him completely overwhelmed.
After all, it was the first attempt, and Gu Hengzhi didn't dare to be careless. In addition, regarding Su Muqing's matter, although he didn't overtly participate, he acted as a behind-the-scenes pusher, letting the snowball roll bigger and bigger, which is how it escalated to this situation today.
The Su family's power was not to be underestimated. To get out unscathed, Gu Hengzhi put in a lot of effort.
"What do I need you to accompany me for?" Ji Linxue said, lowering his eyes, "I'm already an adult, don't treat me like a child."
Gu Hengzhi's lips moved. He wanted to say something, but he touched the envelope in his suit jacket pocket and didn't continue.
He decided to wait until it was time to cut the cake.
The dishes were quickly all served. During the meal, it was mostly Shen Shaoyan and Lu Yu talking. Gu Hengzhi didn't know why, but he kept touching his pocket, his state was strange, he seemed nervous.
But Ji Linxue didn't notice this at all, because his own state wasn't very good either.
His visa had come through, and his plane ticket was bought. There was only one week left until it was time to go to Country A.
He was a little hesitant, wondering whether to tell them now, especially Gu Hengzhi.
In the process of this struggle, both of them finished the meal without much taste, completely unaware of each other's unusual state.
After the meal, Lu Yu suggested going home to cut the cake, saying he was too lazy to bother outside. Shen Shaoyan mocked him, "No way, Little Fish, you're only 21 and you're already out of energy?"
Lu Yu sneered, "This is for your kidneys' sake. Staying up late every night, be careful of kidney deficiency before you're 25."
Shen Shaoyan's face turned green and then pale. He was silent for a long while before weakly asking, "How do I replenish them?"
Lu Yu rolled his eyes, "Go to fewer clubs and bars."
"Then you're asking for my life!" Shen Shaoyan said cheekily, following behind him, "Who told you not to play with me? It's not like I'm too bored staying home alone."
"I'm busy."
Shen Shaoyan snorted, "Both you and Heng ge are busy. One spends all day at school, the other is hardly seen for months. But I'm still better off than Xiao Xue. He locks himself in his room every day, eagerly waiting for Heng ge to come back, he's almost become a 'waiting-for-husband stone'."
Ji Linxue, "?"
He was just reading literature and coding in his room. What did he mean by "eagerly waiting"?
Also, what kind of adjective was "waiting-for-husband stone"?
Gu Hengzhi, however, heard this and turned his gaze towards him.
Just as Ji Linxue was about to explain a few things, his phone in his pocket suddenly rang. He took it out and saw Bai Chutang's name on the screen.
Bai Chutang rarely called him usually, afraid of disturbing his classes. She usually sent WeChat messages, and he would reply when he saw them. Calling usually meant something urgent.
Ji Linxue had a bad premonition in his heart. Without thinking too much, he answered.
After connecting, there was silence for a second on the other end, and then the girl's voice sounded, laced with nervous tears, "Brother Linxue, are you free now?"
"Yes," Ji Linxue calmed down, his voice steady, "What happened? Don't worry, tell me slowly."
Bai Chutang could no longer hold back her tears and said while crying, "My grandma fainted just now. We took her to the hospital, and the doctor said her condition is very bad. She's still in resuscitation."
She spoke brokenly, but Ji Linxue understood.
This was the plot advancing early. This storyline was originally supposed to happen when Bai Chutang graduated from high school, which is when she turned eighteen. It was a foreshadowing set by the author for Gu Hengzhi and Bai Chutang's initial meeting, so that they could have a reasonable connection later.
But perhaps due to the changes in Su Muqing's plotline, the main characters' romance plotline accelerated.
"Which hospital are you at? I'm coming over now."
Bai Chutang reported a place name, and Ji Linxue said, "I'll be right there."
After hanging up, he realized that the other three people were all looking at him. Shen Shaoyan asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Who's in the hospital?"
"Grandma Bai is in the hospital."
He said this towards Gu Hengzhi. The other two didn't know who Grandma Bai was and were still in confusion. Gu Hengzhi nodded, "I'll go with you."
Saying this, he said to the confused two next to him, "You guys go back first. We'll be back after we finish."
"Okay," Lu Yu knew that they couldn't help much even if they went, so he pulled Shen Shaoyan and left.
Gu Hengzhi also took Ji Linxue and drove to the hospital.
The scenery outside the window changed, Ji Linxue quietly looked outside, his thoughts scattered.
Gu Hengzhi did not break the silence. The two were silent all the way and soon arrived at the hospital.
When they arrived, Bai Chutang and Bai Chuyun were standing outside the resuscitation room, waiting anxiously.
Seeing them come, the two quickly came forward. No matter how mature and strong Bai Chutang was, she was still just a girl who had just entered high school. She couldn't help but tear up, "Linxue Ge, Grandma will be alright, right?"
Although he already had a bad premonition in his heart, at this moment, all he could do was comfort her.
"She will definitely be safe," Ji Linxue rubbed her head, his tone gentle, "Tell me what happened."
Bai Chuyun was still young. She was shaking the whole time when facing the situation, so the person who spoke could naturally only be Bai Chutang.
Bai Chutang narrated the whole story precisely. Originally, they were having dinner at home, but after only a few bites, Grandma Bai suddenly collapsed. They were terrified and immediately called 120 to send her over.
After arriving at the hospital, both of them were completely lost. Ji Linxue was the only person they knew in C City, so they had to trouble him with the call.
After hearing the details, Ji Linxue's heart was heavy, but all he could do now was pray. He said to the two, "Have you eaten?"
The two sisters looked at each other and shook their heads simultaneously.
Grandma Bai had trouble after only two bites, how could they possibly eat anymore.
"I'll go buy some for you. What do you want to eat?" Ji Linxue said.
"Anything is fine."
Ji Linxue asked Gu Hengzhi to stay and accompany them, while he went downstairs to buy four portions of wontons.
When he went upstairs again, he heard that Grandma Bai had passed the critical danger and been transferred to the intensive care unit, but visitors were not allowed yet.
All three were standing outside the door. Gu Hengzhi and Bai Chutang were talking about something. Bai Chutang's face was full of gratitude, looking at Gu Hengzhi with shining eyes.
He walked over, but the two stopped talking.
"Here are the wontons," Ji Linxue handed the things over, giving one portion to Gu Hengzhi as well, "It's so late, eat something."
It was already eleven o'clock at night. Even Ji Linxue felt a little hungry, let alone Bai Chutang and Bai Chuyun, who hadn't eaten dinner. As soon as they took the wontons, they started eating large mouthfuls, not caring about their image at all.
Ji Linxue ate a couple of bites, and asked seemingly casually, "What were you two just talking about?"
Bai Chutang wanted to say something, but meeting Gu Hengzhi's gaze, she finally chose to shake her head, "Nothing. Linxue ge, thank you today. Sister and I will stay here tonight, you guys go back first."
Ji Linxue pursed his lips. Gu Hengzhi seemed to know what he wanted to say and squeezed his cold hand, "This is a hospital. What are you still worried about? Let's just come back tomorrow."
Bai Chutang also chimed in, "Yeah, Brother Linxue, you go back and rest first. It's so late, it will be midnight by the time you get back."
Since both of them said so, Ji Linxue had to agree.
Even after getting into the car, he was still somewhat absent-minded and didn't notice that Gu Hengzhi next to him was also in an unusual state.
At this moment, a exquisitely packaged gift box was suddenly handed over from beside him. Ji Linxue was startled and subconsciously took it, "What is this?"
"You didn't forget that today is your birthday, did you?" Gu Hengzhi was a little helpless, "A gift for you. Happy birthday."
"Thank you," Ji Linxue was really caught off guard by Grandma Bai's incident and felt his mind was turning much slower than usual.
"Do you mind if I open it now?"
Gu Hengzhi, "I don't mind."
Ji Linxue opened the box directly in the car. Inside was a sapphire blue wristwatch. He had some understanding of these luxury goods now. It was worth probably several million yuan.
"Thank you," Ji Linxue lowered his eyes, "But next time, please don't give me such expensive things."
He had no pursuit of luxury goods. A shirt from a certain online shop for a hundred yuan could be worn for several years. He wouldn't wear something this expensive at all. It was better not to waste the money.
"Being able to spend money on you is a happy thing for me," Gu Hengzhi said lightly, holding the steering wheel, "I just think this watch is very suitable for you."
"This is too valuable."
Before, Gu Hengzhi knew his personality and would never buy overly expensive items, fearing that he wouldn't accept them. Why this time...
It was as if he was doing it on purpose.
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