"I can't say. There are orders from up there… banning us from talking. What's more, this is only my guess. Could be girlfriend, could be sister, I can't be sure, I'm just guessing based on the fact that their surnames are different…"
"Must be his girlfriend! If not, why would he guard her so closely?"
A lively discussion began amongst the nurses.
Lu Jinnan turned around and saw that Lin Nuan had already raised the bowl of porridge to feed Bai Xiaonian. His throat itched with the impulse to smoke, so he suggested to Fu Huai'an, "Old Fu, let's talk in the smoking zone!"
…
Smoking zone.
Lu Jinnan agitatedly took a few puffs, then threw the halfway-smoked cigarette out the window. The cigarette landed on the window, and sparks bounced off from it…
Lu Jinnan turned around, and his deep gaze landed on Fu Huai'an, who was sitting on the long bench with his legs crossed; he had a cigarette in his fingers and didn't say a word.
"Old Fu!" Lu Jinnan furrowed his brows tightly as he called out to Fu Huai'an, prompting him to say exactly where the Guangxia Pharmaceuticals boss' son and daughter were.
"The son and daughter of Guangxia Pharmaceuticals' boss were sick of their impoverished days, so the brother wanted to latch onto Young Master Wang by using his sister. He was enraged after failing to extort money from Young Master Wang, so he viciously thrashed the fellow. While they were entangled in a fight, Young Master Wang accidentally lost his footing and fell off the building. The pair of siblings were afraid they might get into trouble if the police were to check the surveillance cameras, so they dared not send Young Master Wang to the hospital. Instead, they drove Young Master Wang's car into the city and dumped him in a bustling area. By the time Young Master Wang was discovered and sent to the hospital, the siblings had already escaped Haicheng, their whereabouts unknown…"
Lu Jinnan knew very well what Fu Huai'an meant by "their whereabouts unknown"—that meant dead and that even their corpses wouldn't be found!
Since those two had revealed their desire to take revenge on Lu Jinnan, it wouldn't be wise to keep them alive…
This was a strange world; it was precisely these types of unimportant and minute characters that would end up doing something so unexpected and shocking. Fu Huai'an couldn't keep the two ticking time bombs around.
"Before that, I want to see them!" Lu Jinnan clenched his jaws.
Fu Huai'an had probably already seen this coming. He casually extinguished his cigarette at the top of the bin by the side. "We shouldn't allow room for complications…"
After all, the Wangs of Haicheng West were also investigating the siblings' whereabouts right now…
Furthermore, the Wangs of Haicheng West had their suspicions about Fu Huai'an's version of the story. Everyone knew that Lu Jinnan was Fu Huai'an's right-hand man and that he was someone with blood on his hands, so the Wangs were bound to start checking with Lu Jinnan.
"Just stay in the hospital and take care of Bai Xiaonian…" Fu Huai'an stood up as he finished, not giving Lu Jinnan a chance to protest.
"Old Fu!" Lu Jinnan's brows were furrowed. "There's a saying 'die knowing the truth'. If I don't get to make things clear to them, I'll feel pent-up!"
Golden sunlight shone into the room through the bright windows; it had a warm glow to it, but with the accompanying breeze through the open windows, its occupants could still feel a slight chilliness.
Lu Jinnan's silhouette was cold and tough, and there was a fierce determination in his eyes.
After a long while, Fu Huai'an finally relented. "Ok…"
…
Lin Nuan didn't ask Bai Xiaonian anything when she entered the ward, only bringing the bowl of porridge to her. As she fed Bai Xiaonian the millet porridge, she tried to digest the image of Lu Jinnan feeding porridge to Bai Xiaonian just a moment ago.
"You've got game! Totally can't tell you could be that ferocious… to actually bash up both the Lu brothers!" Bai Xiaonian said half-jokingly, a weird smile on her pale face because smiling pulled certain facial muscles that caused her immense pain.
Lin Nuan glanced at Bai Xiaonian nonchalantly, then delivered a spoonful of porridge to her mouth and said, "Drink the porridge first, after you're done with the porridge… the two of us have a lot to talk about!"
Bai Xiaonian could tell Lin Nuan was really angry. After drinking a mouthful, she declared, "You'd better ask me now. The way you're saying we'll talk after I'm done drinking the porridge reminds me of the time when I flunked my test when I was little. My dad told me to eat first before walloping me. The wait was tormenting. All I felt was panic until the feather duster finally landed on me!"
Lin Nuan didn't reply, merely wearing a slight smile on her lips as she delivered yet another spoonful to Bai Xiaonian's mouth.
Lin Nuan had left the house in a hurry that morning, so she didn't even have time to pat on some toner; her hair was also just casually bunched up while she was in the car, so she looked a little washed-up overall.
"Why don't… you wallop me first? Let's eat after you're done walloping me instead!" Bai Xiaonian asked testingly.
Seeing as Bai Xiaonian had stopped eating, Lin Nuan set down the spoon in the bowl and drew a napkin and handed it over to Bai Xiaonian.
As Lin Nuan moved, her signature scent entered Bai Xiaonian's senses; this familiar and comforting scent caused her eyes to redden. She wiped her mouth and nose with the napkin, knowing Lin Nuan must have been worried sick yesterday.
Actually, Bai Xiaonian's condition wasn't as good as the front she presented…
She had a splitting headache, and there wasn't a spot on her body that didn't feel uncomfortable. She was only putting up a strong front because she didn't want Lin Nuan to worry about her.
"When you were in the operating room, Lu Jinnan admitted he forced himself… on you. Based on your temper, you should have thrashed him and chased him out of the room just now, but you actually let him feed you porridge…"
Lin Nuan stood by the head of the bed and stared at Bai Xiaonian. Surely she didn't develop feelings from getting forced by Lu Jinnan?
Lin Nuan felt that there had to be more to the story. Bai Xiaonian and Lu Jinnan must have been in contact in private previously, just that she wasn't aware of it…
Bai Xiaonian's ears flushed. "He forced himself upon me? Why not say I forced myself upon him?"
Bai Xiaonian silently cursed in her heart about 180 times. Was he out of his mind? How was she to face anyone after he went around blabbing nonsense?
"Bai Xiaonian!" Lin Nuan frowned, not sure whether to laugh or cry with the way Bai Xiaonian was spiting her, her heart still aching a little.
Lin Nuan clearly saw the way Bai Xiaonian's eyes were reddened.
"Maybe I really am cheap!" Bai Xiaonian reached out for Lin Nuan's elbow and got her to sit by her bedside. She stared at Lin Nuan with her reddened and watery eyes before explaining, "At the start, Lu Jinnan and I squabbled the minute we saw each other. The period when my dad was hospitalized, Lu Jinnan's father was hospitalized as well, so the two of us met almost every day. As we squabbled, sparks started flying between us…"
Lin Nuan didn't utter a sound. She knew how vicious Lu Jinnan's tongue was…
And she also knew how shrewd a tongue Bai Xiaonian had.
Even if Lin Nuan was given 180 chances to make a guess, she'd never have linked the word "love" to Bai Xiaonian and Lu Jinnan.
"I've been keeping this in my heart, thinking that I was the only cheap one. I didn't expect Lu Jinnan to share the same sentiments… he too felt those sparks, so the two of us flocked together like birds of the same feather, hitting it off instantly."
Lin Nuan was rendered speechless.
Bai Xiaonian was using all sorts of absurd terms on herself in a bid to get a laugh or some sympathy out of Lin Nuan…