Chapter 48
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These words had everyone sighing in relief. Zhao Ying Fang wanted to rush up and look at He Chen when he was pushed out of the operation room, but a nurse blocked her way.
The doctor said, “The patient is currently unconscious, so we still need to observe him further for treatment.”
He Chen was very quickly pushed away. Although Zhao Ying Fang was barely able to see him, the large stone in her heart dropped. She also suddenly felt that her legs had gone soft as well. He Jing Long supported her and suggested, “Now that Chen’er is out of danger, you should go home first and rest.”
Zhao Ying Fang was still unwilling to leave. “No need. I’ll keep watch here.”
“Will you watching here make him recover faster? If you faint, those doctors and nurses will have to take care of you first instead of taking care of Chen’er.”
Zhao Ying Fang pursed her lips, finally somewhat persuaded. He Jing Long continued, “You came to the hospital first thing in the morning and have been crying for a very long time. You haven’t eaten either. Go back first; It’ll be enough if I stay here and keep watch.” Once he said this, he ordered the aunt from the kitchen to accompany Zhao Ying Fang back.
Zhao Ying Fang didn’t refuse again. Every three steps she took, she would glance back. He Xiu gazed at Jian Yan and said to her, “You should go home first too.” Originally they came back from France with jet lag, but they had been in a rush up until now—neither of them had slept a wink.
Jian Yan declined. “I’m fine. I would constantly pull all-nighters when I was working before.”
He Xiu’s brows furrowed. “Before is before; now is now. In the future, I won’t allow you to work all night.”
“…” She felt that Eldest Master He was probably used to acting as General Manager, truly taking responsibility over a large area.
“Moreover, today’s the 30th. Don’t you always keep your mother company while celebrating Chinese New Year?” He Xiu questioned.
Jian Yan sighed helplessly and gave in with those words. “Then I’ll return first and will come back tomorrow to find you.”
“Mn, I’ll send you off.”
He Xiu helped her carry her things downstairs after he said this. Contrary to expectations, Jian Yan called out to He Jing Long before leaving. “Uncle He, I’m taking my leave first.”
“Okay, today has been arduous.”
He Xiu’s brows jumped up but he didn’t say anything.
On the ground floor of the hospital, she hailed a taxi. He Xiu informed the driver of the address and then watched as the car drove farther away before returning back to the hospital.
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Jian Yan beat back a yawn as she sat in the car. In the end, she turned on her phone to check for any messages. Lin Zhen had sent her quite a few, all asking if she had returned yet and whether she helped them buy those items.
The corner of Jian Yan’s lips drew back as she sent a reply, telling them that she will deliver the items to the studio another day. Just as she sent the message, Jian Yan’s mother called, and she hurriedly picked up. “Mom, what happened?”
Jian Yan’s mother said, “Didn’t you say you were returning home today? Have you arrived yet?”
“I arrived in the morning, but He…the director’s younger brother was in a traffic accident. His surgery just finished, so I’m leaving the hospital right now.” She had not spoken to her mother about the matter of her and He Xiu yet. She originally intended to bring him to meet her mother during Chinese New Year, but He Chen’s accident cropped up, so they might have to delay it for a few days.
Jian Yan’s mother was shocked. “In a traffic accident? Is it serious? It wouldn’t happen to be that traffic accident on the news, right?” That traffic accident in early in the morning had been so serious that all the news channels were still showing news reports on it. Jian Yan’s mother had naturally knew of it.
Jian Yan replied, “He’s fine for the time being; it’s just that he hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Oh, it’s good that he’s fine. Roughly when will you arrive?”
Jian Yan calculated the time and answered, “Probably in half an hour.”
“Okay, then Mom will wait for you at home.”
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While Jian Yan and her mother chatted harmoniously, He Xiu and He Jing Long stayed silent the entire time outside the room at the hospital. He Jing Long glanced at He Xiu sitting to the side, seemingly wanting to find something to talk about. Just as he opened his mouth to start speaking, though, He Xiu got up to walk to the side and dialed a number.
Because Aunt Jiang was always living alone, He Xiu would celebrate Chinese New Years with her every year. There were still many people at the He Mansion even with him missing anyway. At the moment, however, he might end up staying at the hospital the entire time, so he intended to call Aunt Jiang to tell her.
“He Xiu ah, did you come back from France?” Aunt Jiang soon accepted the call.
He Xiu hummed in confirmation before saying to her, “He Chen got into a traffic accident. I might stay at the hospital tonight.”
“Traffic accident? How are things right now?”
“He’s fine for the time being, but I cannot keep you company tonight.”
“It’s fine; it’s fine. Do you want me to come to the hospital to visit?”
“No need. Be careful at home by yourself.”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
He Xiu and Aunt Jiang chatted for a bit more before he hung up. He Jing Long saw him return but didn’t open his mouth again to speak.
Father and son remained silent all throughout the night. The aunt from the He Family sent them dinner.
“Madam fell asleep with great difficulty. I have not waken her,” the aunt informed them as she brought them dinner.
He Jing Long nodded and said, “Don’t call her; let her sleep.”
The aunt asked, “How is Young Master He Chen’s condition?”
He Xiu answered, “Still quite stable.”
“That’s good. Madam can feel relieved once she wakes.” The aunt handed He Xiu a steaming bowl of chicken soup as she said, “Eldest Master, you donated blood today and still need to replenish blood.”
This time, He Xiu didn’t refuse again. “Mn, thank you.”
It was simple fare, and once the aunt left with the lunchbox, He Xiu and He Jing Long descended into heavy silence once again. The sky darkened until a nurse came to urge them to return home and wait for news instead of staying there when they couldn’t even visit the patient. He Jing Long tactfully declined the nurse’s good intentions and stuck to waiting outside the ward.
He Xiu glanced at him and finally began talking. “You should return home first. I’m fine with staying here alone to keep watch.”
He Jing Long declined. “You just returned from overseas. It’s better if you go back and rest.”
“I’m fine. I frequently worked throughout the night.”
He Jing Long pursed his lips, not knowing what to say. A moment passed, and he suddenly blurted, “This is the first time in so many years that we’ve celebrated Chinese New Years together. Although, it’s at the hospital.”
He Xiu didn’t shift his gaze over, not adding to his words. He Jing Long paid this no mind and continued to talk to himself, “Last time when I saw Miss Jian wearing that evening gown, I thought she was very breathtaking. This time when I saw her wearing ordinary clothes, she is still very beautiful. She really seems to be like your mother, just as fond of fashion.”
Although he mentioned Jian Yan and He Xiu’s mother, He Xiu merely raised a brow, still not replying. He Jing Long sighed and said, “I know you definitely don’t want to hear my opinions, but since it’s concerning your future partner, I have already thought this over seriously before. You are the General Manager of Starlight General Merchandise. In the future, you might take over He Zhi. You’ll be shouldering a billion yuan business, and your wife should be someone capable of assisting you in this undertaking. But so many years have passed, though, and I think I might have been mistaken.”
He broke off at this point, his gaze settling on a far off place. “I hope you will ultimately be with someone you who moves your heart, rather than choosing someone who would be the most useful after weighing the pros and cons.”
He Xiu thinned his lips, silent for a moment, before he stood up from his chair. “The night is cold. We should return home and wait for news.”
He walked away when he finished speaking. He Jing Long stared at the ward for a moment before following behind him.
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In the evening, Jian Yan watched television with her mother while wrapping glutinous rice balls. When it was almost midnight, the glutinous rice balls also floated to the top of the pot. She fished up the piping hot glutinous rice balls and snapped a photo, sending it to He Xiu. 「Happy New Year~! I’m eating glutinous rice balls!」
He Xiu saw her message and chuckled. He immediately dialed her number. Jian Yan glanced at her mother before surreptitiously running out to the balcony to accept. “Are you still at the hospital?”
“We returned home. I just finished taking a bath.”
“Oh.” Jian Yan nodded. “Have you eaten anything?”
“I’ve eaten.”
“Then you should go rest earlier. You didn’t sleep very much on the airplane.”
“Mn, you as well.”
The two of them fell silent afterwards, only the sound of them breathing echoing through the dimly lit night scene. Suddenly, the quiet shattered as fireworks exploded in the sky, painting dazzling strokes of colour upon the pitch-black sky.
Jian Yan subconsciously looked up and watched as fireworks ascended one after another. She exclaimed in excitement to He Xiu, “Fireworks were set off! So beautiful!”
He Xiu walked to the window and also looked up at the fireworks outside the window. “Mn, this year seems especially beautiful.”
“Yan Yan, what are you doing standing outside? Come in and eat glutinous rice balls.”
Jian Yan’s mother could be heard in the distance through the phone. He Xiu chuckled softly and remarked to her, “You should quickly go eat those glutinous rice balls; it will get cold later.”
“…Oh, then I’ll hang up first.”
“Wait a minute,” He Xiu called out. He reminded her, “You haven’t forgotten what you promised me about taking me back home to see your mother during Chinese New Year?”
“I haven’t forgotten, but He Chen’s current situation…is it convenient?”
“As they say, evil lasts for a thousand years.1 He’ll definitely wake up very quickly.”
“…” Jian Yan pursed her somewhat chapped lips and replied with a rather stiff sound of agreement. “Oh.”
He Xiu quirked his lips and said to her, “Happy new year! Go eat glutinous rice balls; I’ll go to sleep.”
“Okay, good night!”
Jian Yan returned inside and was caught in her mother’s strangely insightful gaze for a long time. Jian Yan acted as though nothing had happened and ate two glutinous rice balls before she could no longer bear the heavy gaze. She raised her head to look at her mother as she admitted, “Mom, just say directly whatever you wanted to say”
Jian Yan’s mother inquired, “Who did you sneakily go make a call to just a moment ago? It wouldn’t happen to be that very handsome Director He from your company, is it?”
“…” Jian Yan coughed and picked up her phone. She smiled to her mother and said, “Mom, here! I’m sending you red envelope to celebrate the new year!”
She generously handed over a red envelope of ￥888 to her mother as she said this, trying to slip away.2 After she gave it to her mother, though, she also sent He Xiu a red envelope containing ￥888.3
After she finished eating a bowl of glutinous rice balls, she saw, between the messages of blessings that hid the sky and covered the earth, that He Xiu had sent her a red envelope as well.
After opening it, she unexpectedly found ￥5200 inside along with a note.4
「This red envelope represents my heart. I love you.」5
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Author’s Note:
Uploaded late 『covers face』
《 Previous Chapter? MWFRL? Next Chapter》
Notes:
1. Philosophy! Full saying (rough orz) → A good person doesn’t have a long life while evil lasts for a thousand years. In other words, good people are too pitiful. Bad people (evil) normally live for very long periods of time until that fortuitous moment of retribution strikes them. It means that kindhearted people are pitiful. ?
2. In Chinese numerology, 888 means triple fortune, a strengthening of the meaning of the digit 8. For this reason, addresses and phone numbers containing the digit sequence 888 are considered particularly lucky, and may command a premium because of it. ?
3. It’s talking about WeChat and how you can send XXX amount of money in a red envelope to people. Though it should be noted that even though WeChat began the digital payment trend in China, other companies like Alipay began using it as well. Why red envelopes? -link- ?
4. The numbers 5-2-0 are Chinese slang for “I love you.” O.O ￥5200 = $753.61 USD at the moment… ?
5. Moonclipse’s comment: //instant K.O. to my heart ?
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