Chapter Twenty-Eight: Blood and Scars

I was awakened by the nurse who came to change the IV. When I opened my eyes, I realized that morning had already broken. I yawned and stretched lazily. Then I saw that Hua Jingjing was already awake, looking at me with a complicated expression.

Seeing her alert, I was overjoyed and asked with a smile, “You’re awake? Do you feel any better?” As I spoke, I placed my palm on her forehead to gauge her temperature, relieved to find it had returned to normal.

Hua Jingjing didn’t reply, merely closing her eyes and allowing me to touch her.

I continued, “Last night was really dangerous. Your fever wouldn’t break and you were unconscious. If we’d been even a minute later getting you to the hospital, you might not have lived to see this morning’s sun. It was a close call!”

Unable to hold back, Hua Jingjing opened her eyes and said, “And whose fault is that? If it weren’t for you, would I be lying here now?” I quickly glanced at the beds around us—luckily, no one was paying attention. Lowering my voice, I said, “Miss, perhaps you’ve forgotten—if you weren’t the one lying here, it’d definitely be me. And I might not have been so lucky as to end up in the hospital. If you’d left me in the wilderness, dead and forgotten, you’d be a murderer. And murderers get the death penalty if they’re caught, you know.”

As expected, fear flickered in Hua Jingjing’s eyes, but she stubbornly retorted, “What murderer? Are you trying to scare me? I… I didn’t expect the laxatives to be so severe. If I’d only known… Hmph! Don’t think that just because you brought me to the hospital, I’ll be grateful or forgive you. The humiliation I suffered last night—I’ll make you pay for it, every single bit. Our account isn’t settled yet.”

Remembering how she had lost all dignity in front of me last night, she trembled with anger, finally turning her back on me, refusing to speak. I was speechless. I’d nearly run my legs off trying to save her in the early hours, spent all my money, and still got no thanks—only threats to settle the score. Why did I even bother?

I sighed and said, “Fine. We’ve got plenty of time to settle our accounts. But tell me your home phone number so I can notify your family. They should be here to take care of you.”

At my words, Hua Jingjing’s whole body tensed. She turned around in panic, “No. Don’t tell my family—especially not my father! If he finds out, I’m done for.”

I was puzzled. “Why? Is your father that strict? You can’t even tell him you’re sick and in the hospital? What kind of logic is that?”

“You really don’t get it!” she said. “My father is a powerful man. I can’t even lie to him. There’s no way I could hide the reason I’m in the hospital from him. If he finds out I’ve been fooling around with you, he’ll strip me of my position as deputy general manager. And you—don’t even think about keeping your job at Lady Green Company. If he wants to fire you, it’s as simple as a word.”

I asked deliberately, “Who is your father, anyway? He sounds impressive.”

Hua Jingjing stared at me wide-eyed, “I’ve spelled it out and you still can’t guess? You really are something. At least try to remember my surname.”

In fact, I’d already guessed, but wanted her to say it herself. I said, “You’re in the hospital and can’t go home or to work for at least a couple of days. Do you really think you can hide it from your father? Won’t it come to the same in the end?”

“That’s why we need to come up with a convincing excuse,” Hua Jingjing said. “If the company and my family believe I have a good reason to be away, everything will be fine.”

I laughed. “That’s not easy. Don’t look at me—I can’t make up a convincing lie.”

She shot me a glare. “I wasn’t counting on you! Just do as I say.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I’m the patient, and you’re the reason I’m sick! By your own admission, I nearly died. You got me into this mess—you should be responsible, shouldn’t you?”

“This… was your own doing. If you hadn’t tried to set me up, none of this would have happened.”

“I don’t care! I’m the one lying in the hospital now. You have to help me—there’s no room for negotiation. Oh, and you just reminded me—how did you find out about my plan? It was supposed to be top secret.”

I replied, “I told you before: if you don’t want people to know, don’t do it. Did you really think your scheming was hidden?”

Smart as ever, Hua Jingjing immediately caught on. “Someone tipped you off? Who?”

I didn’t answer, just said, “Since you’re the patient, I’ll help you this once. What do you want me to do?”

She sneered at me. “Won’t say? Fine, I’ll find out eventually. Only I and some people on General Manager Chen’s side knew… Could it be…”

She trailed off, confused by her own suspicions, and decided to let it go for now. “First, ask the doctor to move me to a different room. It’s too crowded here, and the conditions are terrible. I want the best single room. Go arrange it.”

I smiled. “Miss, single rooms are expensive. I already spent all my savings saving you earlier—I can’t afford your hospital bills. Maybe you can pay for it yourself?”

She snorted. “Of course. As if I’d rely on a pauper like you. Where’s my car? Get my bag and phone from it.”

“Your car’s still out in the suburbs. Who knows if it’s even there anymore?”

“It’ll be there. It’s got the world’s best anti-theft system—no one can get in without my key.” She took the remote from her pocket and handed it to me. “Now can you go arrange my room?”

Ten minutes later, Hua Jingjing moved into the hospital’s most luxurious single room. Forty minutes after that, I took a taxi back to the suburbs and found the Ferrari. I simply had the cab tow the Ferrari back to the hospital—at the cost of three hundred yuan.

I opened the Ferrari’s door, found her purse and phone, and returned to the elegant hospital room.

When I entered, I found Hua Jingjing no longer hooked up to an IV, sitting on her bed lost in thought, her expression strange. I handed her the phone and purse. “Here are your things.”

She took them with a nod and said, “Close the door. I want to talk to you.”

I said, “Just say it—why close the door?”

Hua Jingjing frowned. “Just do as I say and close it. Stop fussing!”

Shrugging, I closed the door and turned back, waiting for her to speak. She said, “Why are you standing so far away? Come here, to the bedside.”

I felt a sudden sense of foreboding as I looked at her strange expression. “It’s fine. Just say what you want.”

She insisted, “No. You have to come over. I want to ask you something really private—I can’t say it out loud. What, are you afraid I’ll eat you alive?”

Unable to resist her goading, and despite my misgivings, I walked over to the bedside. Hua Jingjing beckoned me closer.

Cautiously, I leaned in—and saw her right hand suddenly swing out, slapping my left cheek. Even though I’d been prepared for something, I couldn’t dodge in time. My head jerked aside, so the slap wasn’t solid, but her fingers raked painfully across my face.

Stung, my temper flared. I grabbed her collar and yanked her up from the bed, raising my hand to hit her.

But I saw that Hua Jingjing, eyes tightly shut, was gasping for breath, her face pale and her body weak from the effort. I hesitated and couldn’t go through with it.

She opened her eyes and cried, “Go ahead! Hit me! You might as well kill me—I can’t live like this anyway!”

Furious, I snapped, “Are you crazy? You were fine a minute ago. What’s gotten into you now?”

She said, “You know perfectly well. I just went to the bathroom and found—there was dried blood back there, and when I touched it, it was all sore. What did you do to me, you pervert?”

So that was it! Both annoyed and amused, I said, “What do you think I did? I only wiped your backside, that’s all! Ridiculous! What do you take me for?”

She didn’t believe me. “Impossible. It’s been hurting all along, and when I touched it, there was blood and wounds. If you only wiped me, how did that happen?”

I sighed. “I used cigarette pack paper to wipe you. It was too rough, and I didn’t know how gently or hard to do it. Who knew your skin was so delicate that it would bleed at the slightest touch?”

Relief and joy spread across Hua Jingjing’s face. “Really? You really didn’t do anything else? Don’t lie to me!”

I was exasperated. “Do you think I’d lie? Besides, even if I wanted to do anything, I wouldn’t choose that part of you. After all that diarrhea, it was filthy—do you think I’m some kind of deviant?”

Her doubts dispelled, Hua Jingjing broke out in laughter. I gave her a gentle shove, sending her back onto the bed. Suddenly, she seemed to think of something, wiped the smile from her face, got up, and grabbed my shoulder, earnestly asking, “So, does that mean you saw me naked back there?”