“Didn’t we…?” Xi Xiaye frowned.
“Lingshi wants to know about Ah Mo’s situation every day.”
Xi Xiaye understood things from just that one sentence, so she nodded. “Alright then, but I’m visiting my parents at University A tonight.”
His expression darkened when Ah Mo was brought up, so Xi Xiaye quickly changed the topic back to work. “By the way, I’ve given my sign of approval for the materials that arrived a while ago. I told Vice President Zhang Lan to explain to you. Remember to check if there are any problems.”
“I haven’t looked at it yet, but it should be fine,” he replied.
“Mmm, it was stuck at Chief Sun’s side for several days. I’ll look for some time to establish a good relationship with them, or else, we’ll suffer in the long run! Fortunately, Vice President Wen and Manager Liu are here to save the day,” Xi Xiaye said.
“Don’t worry. Let me handle it if there’s anything. It’s fine to have a few days of delay. Prioritize being cautious.”
He held her hand and continued forward.
“Christmas is coming soon. Su Nan still has to work on another fashion show despite this weather,” Xi Xiaye looked over the misty lake surface as she said.
“The forecast said it’ll be sunny tomorrow afternoon, so don’t worry.”
“It’ll take quite a few days to return to the usual weather. The issue of accumulated water here is pretty severe. I got Qi Lei to take a look at the proposal done by your side before, and he said we could use the water drainage system.” Qi Lei’s face appeared in her mind when she spoke about him. “I wonder how they’re doing right now. Why haven’t we gotten any news by now?”
“If they are being hidden on purpose, it’ll be like searching for a needle in the vast sea. I’m sure they can prioritize saving themselves.” Mu Yuchen was calm because from Li Si’s report this morning, he had a hunch…
“I hope they can get back soon. Besides, we can’t let the perpetrator go unpunished. I keep thinking of the photos every time I go to sleep the past few days…”
“It won’t be long. Don’t worry, alright?”
She took a deep breath and nodded at him.
…
The rain slowed down in the afternoon, and it seemed like it was going to be sunny soon.
Ah Mo carefully opened the door and went inside the room with a glass of warm water.
Inside the dimly-lit wooden house, Qi Lei was sitting on an old sofa as the doctor was cleaning his wounds. Technically, the man was the only person in the small village who had some medical knowledge. He was roughly 40 years old and seemed to be a strong middle-aged man.
His tone was heavy with a dialect as he advised, “Don’t come into contact with water. The wounds will be difficult to heal due to the weather right now, so be careful. You’ve lost too much blood, and it’s best you rest for a few days.”
Qi Lei nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Uncle Chen!”
“How are you feeling?” Ah Mo moved over and asked.
“I’m fine, but his condition is a little dire. Let’s rest here for two days. We’ll find ways to contact the others.” As Qi Lei endured the sharp pain when his wound was being cleaned, he glanced over at the bed on which Yang Sheng was sleeping on right now.
Uncle Chen had gotten all of them clean clothing to change into, and they were much more comfortable than they had been in their muddy clothes.
“I took a look around the area just now. It’s pretty hidden. I pushed the car down the mountain valley, so it won’t be easy for them to locate us. We can make plans once your injury gets better in a few days,” Ah Mo sat down beside Qi Lei and said.
Uncle Chen noticed that they were not particularly secretive around him, so he asked, “The signal isn’t really good here, thus communication might be difficult. You youngsters don’t look like bad people to me. Are there people trying to harm you?”
“Just some conflict about work. Sorry for troubling you!” Qi Lei smiled. He suddenly took off the ring on his finger and looked at it for a while before handing it over to Uncle Chen. “Uncle Chen, we literally have nothing else with us. While this ring might not be much, please take this as a token of appreciation for saving our lives.”
Uncle Chen knew his stuff, so he hesitated for a moment before glancing at them.
“Keep it. I’m afraid we’ll be troubling you in the next few days!” Qi Lei put the ring into his hand. The three of them had no valuables with them, and they could not even afford a simple meal.
“Alright, don’t worry. You lot are my guests, so please help yourselves.” Uncle Chen kept the ring while Qi Lei shot several glances at it before finally lowering his head.
“Rest well. I’ll go and whip up something to eat in the kitchen!”
Uncle Chen finished bandaging Qi Lei’s wound before leaving.
“Thank you!”
…
Ah Mo looked at Qi Lei after Uncle Chen left. He then asked, “Does that ring mean a lot to you?”
Qi Lei smiled and shook his head. “Not really, my mother gave it to me as a birthday present. She likes jewelry a lot and would give me some at times, but she’s already gone now, and I should learn to let go of the past,” he spoke calmly.
“CEO Wang is someone who deserves to be respected. Master once said that she’s one heck of a businesswoman.” Ah Mo was not sure how he could comfort him, so he patted the back of Qi Lei’s hand.
Qi Lei had a peaceful smile on his face. “It’s all in the past now.”
“True, but I believe I can see hints of her in the future you.”