Yu Jin's heart skipped a beat as he quickly thought of how to respond.
However, Chi Shanshan didn't seem to want to expose anything. She merely smiled with deep meaning, continued her injection work, pushed two vials of medication into the elderly man's body in succession, and then picked up a third vial, injecting it into her own arm.
“?”
Yu Jin was completely stunned.
Now, he was absolutely certain there was nothing wrong with the medication. But the problem was, how could she snatch even a patient's medicine?
He looked at her in confusion, only to hear her say:
“Sedatives, they help with sleep. I haven't been sleeping well lately, so I'm trying a dose.”
“...”
Yu Jin's expression became rather complex.
Wasn't she just a total menace?
Sure, she'd sleep like a baby after an injection, but had she considered what the old man would do with one less dose?
As his daughter, how could she be so selfish!
Of course, complaining in his head was one thing, but he didn't dare say it out loud. Yu Jin could only pretend to be a well-behaved boy, continuing to deal with this stranger and her parent.
Hmm?
Why did he have to pretend?
He was a well-behaved boy.
He smiled awkwardly and said to Elder Chi:
“Unc—Uncle, you just had a sedative, so you should get some rest. Otherwise, the drug's effect will go to waste. Once you're fully rested, I'll chat with you more about Chi Shanshan. How does that sound?”
Elder Chi was highly pleased with being called "Uncle" and smiled with relief:
“Good, then I'll sleep for a bit. When you get old, your energy is never great. Make yourself at home, and I'll have Shanshan keep you company.”
With that, Elder Chi reached out to feel for the terminal at the head of the bed and made a call.
Once the call connected, Elder Chi said with some displeasure:
“Shanshan, where are you? Your friend is here at our house. Why aren't you here?”
Before he could finish, Chi Shanshan snatched the terminal away from his side. She let out a sigh:
“Now you know why the old man has to stay here. I'm clearly standing right next to him, yet he seems unable to recognize me.”
Just as she finished speaking, Elder Chi said angrily:
“Nonsense! Give me back the terminal! I'm calling Shanshan. Why are you causing trouble?”
Chi Shanshan looked somewhat helpless:
“You're calling Shanshan, then who am I? The one causing trouble isn't me, it's you. Alright, go to sleep now. Stop fussing.”
“You're Shanshan?” Elder Chi laughed out of anger. “If you're Shanshan, doesn't that make me your father?”
Chi Shanshan nodded solemnly. “You are my father.”
“...”
Elder Chi looked at her with a half-smile and snorted. “If you really let your father find out, you'll be in for a rough time.”
Chi Shanshan casually grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl at the bedside and took a bite.
“Alright, I've had the good fruit. Are you going to sleep or what? If not, get down and let me sleep.”
“...”
The phrase “the twilight of a hero” was far too literal of a description in this case.
In the end, Elder Chi was a father, and no father could ever win against his daughter. He glared at Chi Shanshan, opened his mouth to speak but said nothing, and ultimately chose to “capitulate.”
He turned and released his hold on Yu Jin, laughing it off:
“I'm old, old. No one listens to me anymore. Shanshan should be here soon. Little Yu, make yourself comfortable. I might really have to sleep for a bit. Old people sleep a lot, sometimes it's out of their con—”
Before he could finish his sentence, the old man actually started snoring.
As the old man drifted off to sleep, Yu Jin's feet relaxed, and he regained his freedom.
Chi Shanshan lowered the headrest of the bed and made the old man comfortable. Then, she dragged a stool over from the side and sat down by the bed, looking rather sleepy herself.
She waved to Yu Jin and asked:
“Do you want to come over and sleep for a bit too?”
“?”
Was that appropriate?
Yu Jin didn't move. Instead, he took a step back.
Seeing that Yu Jin had no interest, Chi Shanshan rested her head against the side of the bed. Yawning repeatedly, she said listlessly:
“The old man is fine. You've seen him, so you should be reassured. Since you don't want to stay, go mind the things you ought to mind. Although the old man always talks nonsense, there's one thing he got right. If no one risked their lives, Haicheng wouldn't be where it is today. You young people ought to work harder. Otherwise, who's going to support those of us at the top? Run along now. My snoring isn't pleasant to hear, so don't embarrass me.”
“!!!”
Yu Jin's pupils shrank as he listened. Only at this moment did he realize that Chi Shanshan knew everything!
She had known all along that he was here to confirm the old man's safety, and she had even discovered the existence of red-haired Yu Jin. Yet, she had said nothing and had even found an excuse to bring him to see Elder Chi.
She was “helping” him!
It made sense. Those in high positions were broad-minded and experienced; they likely valued stance and results over rules and procedures.
At least he hadn't come with ill intent, so did she not care about the other details at all?
He looked at the figure beside the bed with a complex expression, feeling as if she could see right through people's hearts.
What a “person at the top”!
Just a second-generation descendant, yet she possessed such keen insight.
His mind was a mess, and Yu Jin didn't want to waste any more time here. Since the old man was fine, he should redirect his focus to the fierce battle downstairs.
Yu Jin quietly closed the ward door for the two of them and walked away.
However, right after Yu Jin left, a bewildered female voice came from the terminal that Chi Shanshan hadn't hung up.
“Hello? Hello? Can you still hear me? Dad, who are you talking to?”
...
The path leading out of the psychiatry department felt more like venturing deeper into it.
Yu Jin passed by Ah Lan's ward and saw her lying flat on the floor of the hallway right beside her bed, sleeping peacefully.
After a brief daze, he realized that perhaps in her “reality,” the hallway was where her bed was located.
Walking out of the convalescent zone, the Roomology conference had already dispersed. Only the old man from earlier remained in the corridor, rubbing his hands as he walked in circles.
Seeing Yu Jin walk over, he stepped forward and asked excitedly:
“Are the results of this year's Nobeli Prize out? Is it me?”
Yu Jin's lips twitched. Unwilling to crush the old man's beautiful hopes yet not wanting to worsen his psychiatric condition, he could only throw out a hasty “It's still being evaluated” before quickly departing.
To his surprise, hearing this, the old man seemed to guess something. His eyes dimmed, and he wrung his hands in regret, sighing:
“It's actually not me? That's fine. I have another idea in mind. If the Daydream Project can be realized, I will definitely win next year!”
Yu Jin didn't hear what the Roomology “expert” was muttering. He stepped into the “toilet,” entered the elevator through the “stall,” and went all the way down amid the angry denunciation of the toilet-paper-clutching bro.
The exact same question played in his mind over and over again:
Had Xia Jie been brought to justice?
Not yet.
Red-haired Yu Jin had left a step ahead of him. After Yu Jin closed the door to the ward, he discarded the patient's gown in his hands, disguised himself as a bystander in the hospital, and made his way down to the lower floors to lean against a window and watch the battle.
The fight was still ongoing and looked highly intense. Neither side could get the upper hand over the other, but in reality, as long as this dragged on indefinitely, Xia Jie was bound to lose.
The Bureau could always call for reinforcements. Even if Xia Jie could fight a hundred men alone, there was no way he could fight a thousand or ten thousand.
A person's stamina and willpower were finite; it was only a matter of time before he was brought to justice.
Yet, at some point, an inappropriate, dark thought arose in Yu Jin's heart.
He was thinking that if Xia Jie escaped with severe injuries, it wouldn't be completely unacceptable. At least that way, he would have the chance to follow him, slay the murderer with his own hands, and make him pay in blood for Group 4.
Wasn't the materialization of red-haired Yu Jin precisely for this moment?
Just as he was thinking this, a sudden shift occurred on the battlefield below.
The ground of the front courtyard, which had been cracked open by the fierce battle, suddenly exploded with a loud boom for some unknown reason. Continuous explosions thundered as billowing smoke rose, obscuring everyone's vision.
Yu Jin's heart skipped a beat. His main body quickly stopped the elevator, rushed out at a middle floor, and alongside red-haired Yu Jin, pressed against the windows of different floors. They stared intently at the edges of the smoke, fearing Xia Jie would take the chance to flee.
The sound of explosions was endless, and the scene was in complete chaos. Yu Jin stared for a long time without seeing Xia Jie's figure. Instead, he saw a severely injured Bureau agent. His back was drenched in blood as he stumbled out of the rolling thick smoke. Looking left and right for a moment, the agent gritted his teeth and hobbled toward the outer perimeter.
Yu Jin's brow furrowed. He felt that this person's movements were highly suspicious.
...
Rate on N.U.
