CH 23

Shen Yuhuai held Chen Qizhao’s wrist so that this person could rely on him to stand. “Can you still walk? I’ll take you away.”

“Yes.” Chen Qizhao blinked while the tinnitus became more severe. He wanted to disperse the overlapping dark shadows in front of him but it was just replaced with clearer phantoms. He slowed down half a beat. “Maybe… I won’t last long.”

Shen Yuhuai realized the seriousness of the situation.

The party continued and few people noticed this little episode by the window. The waiter who stayed at the wine table was paying attention to the situation around him and waiting for the orders of other guests at any time. Then after a while, he saw a young man with glasses coming over. The other person was supporting another boy with his hand and he spoke in a slightly cold tone, “Hello, my friend is unwell and needs a lounge.”

The waiter saw this and immediately said, “Please come with me.”

“Huh? Where is Chen Qizhao?” Cheng Rong and the others were chatting on a sofa. They found it wasn’t good to peek at Shen Yuhuai so they hadn’t looked over again.

As a result, Chen Qizhao and Shen Yuhuai were nowhere to be seen when they looked up.

Yan Kailin heard the words and looked elsewhere. “I don’t know. The bathroom?”

There was a lounge for guests to rest at the top of the venue. Most of the excitement tonight was focused on the party and the way to the lounge was very quiet. Shen Yuhuai helped Chen Qizhao to the lounge under the guidance of the waiter before turning around to instruct the waiter, “Go to the venue and inform Mr Chen Jianhong or the other Chen family members. Inform them of the current situation and that I need a doctor as soon as possible.”

The waiter glanced at the boy already sitting on the couch. They also had a preparatory plan in the event of such an unexpected situation. “I will notify people immediately.”

Once the waiter left, Shen Yuhuai closed the door but didn’t lock it. He poured a glass of water and walked to Chen Qizhao’s side, half-crouching down as he looked at Chen Qizhao solemnly. He noticed Chen Qizhao’s slightly dilated pupils and abnormal behavior. “Relax. Keep breathing first. I have notified people to come. You don’t need to talk. Just nod when you hear it.”

However, his appearance didn’t seem to be a reaction to alcohol. It was more like taking some type of psychotropic drug by mistake.

Chen Qizhao tried desperately to discern the situation in front of him. He saw Shen Yuhuai’s eyes and felt like he had returned to that day in his previous life. It was the same scene. Shen Yuhuai seemed to look at him like this as Shen Yuhuai pulled him out of the deep water that was about to drown.

What day was that day? It was the day when he and Shen Yuhuai met for the first time.

The entrance hall of the Chen Group’s building was crowded with people and the media. There were strong flashing lights and microphones in front of him. The indifferent and harsh words of the media reporters poured toward him over and over again. They completely blamed the Chen Group’s stocks plunging to bankruptcy and other faults on him.

The Chen family was no longer there. Chen Jianhong died of a cerebral hemorrhage, Zhang Yazhi was hospitalized with excessive grief and Chen Shiming was paralyzed in bed and receiving treatment. The shareholders of the group chose the most appropriate substitute to place the blame on after thousands of choices. He hadn’t graduated but he was already driven to bear the sudden responsibility. The group fell apart and one uncle after another whispered about his responsibilities in his ears.

For the first time, he felt the huge workload of his father and brother in the past as well as the malice of insults and condemnations from all sides.

For a good-for-nothing, taking over didn’t mean turning things around. There were indeed some old followers of his father and brother in the group but there were also villains who wanted to take advantage of the danger to make profits. More bad news came and he went from not understanding something to slowly accepting all types of information. At that time, he still retained some innocence. He was even more relieved after receiving Lin Shizong’s help. It wasn’t until the media suddenly appeared downstairs in the Chen Building and a group of employees asking for money and collecting debts that he realized that it only took a moment to crush a person.

All types of rumors spread, such as the bankruptcy of the Chen family and that he was about to run away with the money, regardless of the interests of the group’s internal employees. He was trying to let the projects rot and leave… Once he was in the spotlight, he realized why no one came out to take the initiative to bear all of this. All the reasons and insults fell on him.

He couldn’t see how many people were in front of him. The flashing lights darkened his eyes and he made his promise amidst the questioning voices.

‘I won’t run away, I will pay all wages and find a way to solve the debt relationship…’

In exchange, he was slandered by thousands of people. Emotional people shouted that he was a liar and threw rotten eggs at him.

Nobody believed him. No one believed he could deliver on this promise. It was as if everything he did was a joke.

Someone broke through the defense line formed by the bodyguards and the scene was chaotic.

In the end, someone took advantage of the chaos to grab his hand and led him to avoid the malicious people. Finally, they hid in a dark utility room on the first floor. He was feeling extremely embarrassed and it seemed like he could still hear the rumors from outside the door. The media and debt collectors were looking for him. He was like a turtle in a shell and no longer wanted to face anything in this place. He, Chen Qizhao, was a waste. He couldn’t do this. He didn’t have the ability to do this.

He cowardly gave up on himself and asked the person in front of him, “Did I do something wrong?”

Maybe he should listen to some of the remarks and donate money before taking his family abroad, regardless of the mess in this country and regardless of the years of effort that his Chen family put in…

“Chen Qizhao, you did nothing wrong.”

The utility room was narrow and cramped and messy cleaning tools were scattered everywhere. Shen Yuhuai held the folder in his hand and squatted down against the door of the utility room. He solemnly repeated the sentence. “You have done nothing wrong. You dared to take responsibility. This is bravery that not many people are able to do.”

The Shen Yuhuai of that time repeatedly overlapped with the person in front of him and the pair of eyes were surprisingly similar.

His surroundings seemed to be in darkness. Chen Qizhao had confused thoughts as he stared at the door behind Shen Yuhuai. “I did it.”

Shen Yuhuai was stunned. He judged the focus of the other person through Chen Qizhao’s eyes and asked incomprehensibly, “Did what?”

“I fulfilled the promise…” Chen Qizhao’s gaze fell on him as if looking through him. “But you didn’t see it.”

Shen Yuhuai didn’t see it. When Chen Qizhao’s career improved, Shen Yuhuai died.

The VX message sent out sank into the sea. It was a bottomless pit that never responded.

Just like his family, Shen Yuhuai finally left.

His only close friend was gone.

Shen Yuhuai frowned and asked tentatively, “Chen Qizhao, did you recognize the wrong person?”

Chen Qizhao looked like he didn’t understand. “Aren’t you Shen Yuhuai?”

He stubbornly repeated, “You are Shen Yuhuai. I didn’t recognize the wrong person.”

“Close your eyes, Chen Qizhao. Don’t think about anything else. What you see now isn’t necessarily true.”

Shen Yuhuai looked down at his watch and glanced at the door out of the corner of his eyes. He was waiting for the doctor and the Chen family to come over.

Chen Qizhao was still talking nonsense.

Shen Yuhuai listened carefully, but there was no logic in the other person’s words. There were only a few words that could be recognized out of the sentences.

Chen Qizhao lowered his head. It was as if due to this opportunity, he entered the memories that he didn’t want to recall for a long time. All types of people floated in his mind. Finally, his blank mind ended on Lin Shizong’s final scolding words.

He asked himself without confirmation, “Am I crazy?”

Shen Yuhuai stopped after hearing these words. He stared into Chen Qizhao’s eyes. “No. Why do you think like this?”

The moment he finished speaking, he saw Chen Shiming rushing in after pushing open the door.

Shen Yuhuai stood up. “The preliminary judgment is that it is a psychotropic drug and the ingestion route is likely to be alcohol. Does he have any other medical history? Or a drug allergic reaction?”

“You are from the Shen family…” Chen Shen immediately said, “No, he has no medical history.”

He had come over immediately after hearing the news from the waiter. Once he heard this, he instructed Special Assistant Xu to inform the rest of the Chen family to control the scene. If there was no relevant medical history, it meant someone had caused such a reaction and everything that Chen Qizhao touched needed to be investigated.

He suddenly remembered something. “However, he previously said that his heart was uncomfortable.”

Shen Yuhuai paused. “He has a heart disease?”

Chen Shiming couldn’t judge it. As soon as something happened, he found that his understanding of Chen Qizhao was far from enough. He thought it was just a child pretending to be sick during adolescence. “No, the examination was normal. It might be due to staying up late.”

The doctor also followed. The preliminary judgment was just like Shen Yuhuai’s conclusion. It was a drug reaction.

The amount of intake couldn’t be determined so the best way was to directly enter the hospital to draw blood for an investigation.

Shen Yuhuai didn’t delay. He immediately lifted up Chen Qizhao and his words were clear. “My car is outside. Go directly to the hospital.”

The doctor said, “The nearest hospital is the Third City Hospital. It isn’t far away.”

Special Assistant Xu carried out Chen Shiming’s order. He immediately notified the Chen family before contacting the organizer of the party to call the police to control the scene. He kept all the things that Chen Qizhao touched according to the information from the surveillance.

“I checked and it is the composition of a certain psychotherapeutic prescription drug. Ordinary people who mistakenly take it will be emotionally agitated and do extreme actions. There is also a negative hallucinogenic effect but there is no addiction. You can rest assured. Judging from the results of his drug test, he shouldn’t have ingested much. It is very strange that he had such a serious reaction.” The doctor frowned and explained carefully. “However, it is also related to the amount of alcohol he drank and it depends on the follow-up observation. If the patient doesn’t show any unusual signs then it might just be that his tolerance to this drug isn’t high.”’

Zhang Yazhi, who rushed to the hospital, said anxiously, “He didn’t drink like this before.”

The doctor told her, “Madam, don’t worry. The current situation is good. Wait for him to wake up and then observe him.”

Zhang Yazhi kept talking to the doctor.

Outside the VIP ward, Chen Jianhong took a few steps away in the corridor and looked at Chen Shiming with a heavy expression. “Did your people find out the results?”

The scene was well protected. Chen Qizhao had only touched a limited number of things. Finally, it was found that there was a drug reaction from a glass of champagne on the wine table. Chen Shiming said, “According to Yan Kailin and the other people at the same table, the champagne he drank was directly given by a waiter. They had finished drinking and stopped the waiter at random to ask for champagne.”

“What about the other people’s alcohol?” Chen Jianhong asked.

Chen Shiming answered, “Only his glass of wine has a drug reaction.”

Fortunately, Chen Qizhao only drank a few sips of the champagne in that cup and didn’t overdose.

Chen Jianhong’s heart sank. Then it wasn’t an accidental ingestion. The person who gave the drug targeted Chen Qizhao. He was thinking about this when he glimpsed the young man standing outside the ward and Zhang Yazhi talking to the doctor. The young man waited a long time before finally handing Zhang Yazhi the report in his hand.

“That is Yuhuai right?” Chen Jianhong asked.

Chen Shiming nodded. “This time, it is thanks to his help.”

Chen Jianhong nodded. “Don’t forget to thank him.”

Shen Yuhuai handed the report to Zhang Yazhi and glimpsed Chen Qizhao sleeping quietly through the glass from outside the ward. He thought about Chen Qizhao’s words that had no logic and he couldn’t help his expression sinking.

In particular, the other person’s rhetorical question.

He asked, ‘Am I crazy?’

It was like a loneliness that was on the verge of despair that was calling out for help.

—

Chen Qizhao had a very deep dream. He had a headache as he seemed to hear someone shouting in his ear. Finally, his discrete and chaotic memory boiled down to one point. He woke up and saw a plain white ceiling and the IV drip in the upper left position. His chaotic memory finally returned and he remembered that he followed Shen Yuhuai to the lounge. His memories after that were completely confused.

He was about to get up when he was stopped by a voice.

“Lie down. The doctor said that you need to rest for two days for observation.” Chen Shiming was sitting beside him. “It is thanks to your good luck this time. You didn’t drink much champagne or it wouldn’t just be a good night’s sleep. You won’t…”

Chen Qizhao didn’t move. He stared at Chen Shiming for a while before remembering the strange waiter. He didn’t speak but his mind was thinking quickly about what happened at the venue. He couldn’t think of anyone else so it could only be Lin Shizong. He just hadn’t expected Lin Shizong to dare take out drugs so blatantly when the Chen family was present.

At that time, he had noticed a problem but the wine glasses were randomly arranged by the waiter and the people around him also took it by hand. He had just taken the glass in front of him but if someone else took away his wine glass, he wouldn’t be the one who had the accident. Under such circumstances, Lin Shizong dared to do it… it meant that in order to teach him a lesson, he could disregard the safety of others.

Seeing that he was quiet and didn’t speak, Chen Shiming wanted to say something to him. Finally, he didn’t say anything.

Forget it. He eventually said, “Mom just went to the doctor’s side. It is thanks to Shen Yuhuai this time…”

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the VIP ward was pushed open. Chen Jianhong and Lin Shizong walked in, followed by their assistants.

Chen Qizhao’s eyes fell on Lin Shizong, whose expression didn’t change. The moment he entered the ward, he put on a look of caring for the younger generation. It wasn’t until Lin Shizong’s gaze came over that Chen Qizhao lowered his head to avoid this person’s gaze. He half-narrowed his eyes and looked at his clean and beautiful pair of hands on the plain white quilt. There were calculations in his eyes.

Lin Shizong thought this was a well-disguised game. Wouldn’t it be a pity if he didn’t suffer the consequences..?

“It is all my fault this time. The organizer’s staff wasn’t checked properly so people took advantage of it.” Lin Shizong looked at Chen Qizhao, who was lying on the hospital bed with a pale face. He said apologetically, “Jianhong, you can rest assured. I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly. Once the police give the results, I will definitely give you an explanation.”

Chen Qizhao didn’t speak. He didn’t seem to be in good condition. He didn’t look at anyone and avoided all eyes.

Lin Shizong didn’t show his face. He still talked to Chen Jianhong while apologizing both inwardly and outwardly. His posture was good enough. He had heard that the Chen son’s reaction to the drug was very obvious. The intake might be insufficient but based on the words from other people, he had been talking nonsense. It was estimated that he wasn’t awake yet.

Chen Jianhong naturally knew that this matter didn’t have much to do with his old friend but Chen Qizhao’s accident made him feel very bad. Therefore, he didn’t say anything else. He saw Chen Qizhao’s slightly evasive appearance and said, “Let the child rest. We will go outside and speak.”

The two of them left. Chen Shiming noticed Chen Qizhao’s pale face and couldn’t help asking. “Is your body uncomfortable? I’ll go and call the doctor.”

Chen Qizhao’s gaze stayed on the door and his voice was weak. “Have you found the person who drugged me?”

“I’m still investigating. The other person’s mouth is very strict. Have you offended anyone recently?” Chen Shiming still rang the service bell to call the nurse to come in and check Chen Qizhao’s situation. Then he noticed Chen Qizhao’s slightly distracted gaze and wondered, “What’s wrong?”

“I haven’t offended anyone.” Chen Qizhao’s voice was a bit quieter. “Brother, what about the two people who bid against me last night?”

Chen Shiming frowned slightly. “Why?”

Chen Qizhao hesitated.

Chen Shiming looked solemn. “Is there anything wrong with those two people?”

Chen Qizhao’s voice was hoarse. He seemed to be suspicious. “Do you think… they are vengeful because I stole the item from them?”

“I will have Xiao Xu check those two people…” Chen Shiming heard these words and noted it down. Then he noticed Chen Qizhao’s expression change and there was a subtle strange feeling in his heart. He confirmed it. “You still have something to hide from me. How can you suddenly suspect those two people?”

Chen Qizhao removed the calculations in his eyes and complained thoughtfully, “I saw one of them yesterday… he seemed to have a good relationship with the man who was standing next to Uncle Lin. I saw them hiding in a corner and talking.”