Chapter 63
When Yan Liang woke up, she was in the hospital
The last memory she had was of her being in the car as the water level rose to completely flood the car.
Just before she fainted, she remembered seeing the window glass break into small pieces and the water inside flow out.
The panic she felt as she slowly choked was still stuck in her throat. She smelled the unique hospital smell of the disinfectant and frowned as a splitting headache momentarily engulfed her.
Footsteps approached her. She wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids seemed very heavy. Her eyelids trembled; it was difficult for her to keep her eyes open .
The nurse took a look at the patient and took out the case card as she approached her, “Ms Yan, are you awake ?”
It was not easy for her to open her eyes. She opened her mouth but realised that her throats and chest was burning and she could not speak.
“ The water in the stomach has been pumped out, but you will need to stay in the hospital overnight.”
Yan Liang gingerly rose from the bed. As she used her hand to support her body, she realised that there was a faint pain on the palm of her hand. As she glanced down, she saw that there were laceration marks on the palm. These had been acquired when the window had broken. The nurses had taken care of it while she was unconscious.
“Who brought me here?”
Even to Yan Liang her voice sounded very weak. The nurse finally heard her , “ This..”, the nurse turned around to look at the sofa in the corner. Apart from the wet jacket on the handle , there was nothing to indicate that anyone had ever been on the sofa.
Puzzled, the nurse turned back to Yan Liang, “ I suppose he already left..”
Yan Liang stared blankly at the wet jacket as her heart gradually collapsed. The nurse was getting ready to go out of the ward. While she was at the door, she murmured to herself, “ This is so strange.. he was so anxious that he literally tried to pull all the doctors to save this woman.. why did he silently leave ?”
As the nurse was about to disappear , Yan Liang suddenly remembered something and called out to her, “ Have you seen any files?”
The nurse turned around, completely puzzled, “What?”
“ I had them in my hands..”
Yan Liang still remembered that when the car had flooded, she had called Zhou Cheng in alarm ,and had asked him to hurry .
As she waited for a long time, the water level in the car was getting higher and higher. She could not roll down the windows. She hit the windows with her fist, her elbow , with her high heels.. her heels broke and her hand and feet were injured but the window remained unharmed. The file had scattered on the water, she had quickly collected it and clutched on to it.
How long had she been in the car , panicked and choking ?
She still remembered that fear of being suffocated to death. As the water reached the roof of the car, she stood on the driver’s seat, desperately breathing the last bit of air in the car, the water level reaching to her chin..
She was so close to Death, she could almost see what he looked like..
Until she heard a bang!
Followed by another. Bang ! Bang !
The sound knocked Yan Yan from her inertia ,as it become more and more violent, she could feel hope rise in her heart and she coughed.
When she looked out of the window, she could only see a calm face.
Was this the face of death ?
Bang ! With this, the window, which she could not break with her best efforts, finally broke and the water flooded out.
Someone gripped her hand tightly.
The determined grip pulled her out of the car; even death could not shake the determination of this person to save her.
The relentless rain hit her face and the unconscious Yan Liang seemed to wake up slightly.
Had she reached the other side ?
There was a moderate pressure on her chest as her chest was being pumped.Cold lips met hers as bursts of fresh air was pushed into her mouth.
Was this the police who was helping her ?
Or..
“Zhou Cheng..”
As her faint voice uttered the words, the other pair of lips grew stiff.
She could feel that she was picked up, and then the bumpy ride as the person rushed forward. But she did not have the strength to open her eyes, or make out the words that were being anxiously said to her. But she did remember holding on to the file with all her might, without the slightest degree of laxity..
The file was more important to her than her own life, but now it was missing. Yan Liang tried to get out of her bed. Seeing her, the nurse rushed back to help her. Through sheet perseverance she stood up but immediately felt dizzy and clutched at the nurse’s arm to stabilise her body.
“ You’re still weak!”
Her throat felt blocked. Yan Liang took a deep breath to speak but coughed instead.
The nurse was very smart. She immediately understood. “ I heard the car was washed away by the floods. Even if there was something in the car, there is no hope of finding it..”
＂……＂ “…”
“The rain is very heavy. If you were not so lucky, you could have drowned in the car. Just think of your own life, what other things are more important than your own life ?”
But this woman bent forward, loosened the hands of the nurse holding her and stood barefoot on the ground. Before she could take half a step though, she stumbled and fell back on the bed.
Yan Liang finally compromised. She closed her eyes as dizziness overtook her. When the dizziness passed, she opened her eyes and asked the nurse for help, “ Can I borrow your phone please ?”
The nurse took out her phone and handed it to her. Yan Liang immediately dialled Zhou Cheng’s number.
But when she was about to dial the last digit, anxious footsteps approached her. Yan Liang again felt a wave of dizziness overwhelm her so that her finger just hovered above the screen. At this time, the door opened.
Zhou Cheng’s figure flashed before her line of sight
His panicked eyes swept the entire ward before it rested on Yan Liang sitting on the bed. He looked visibly relieved but did not slow his pace and reached Yan Liang in three steps.
She hadn’t the faintest bit of colour on her face, Zhou Cheng subconsciously reached out to touch her cheek but paused midair and abruptly withdrew his hand, “ Are you okay ?”
No wonder the nurse knew her name! Zhou Cheng was the one who had saved her and admitted her to the hospital. Yan Liang muttered guiltily, “ I lost the file.”
How deep was her frustration, she felt as if shE had lost half of her life. The opportunity that they had waited for two years had now been personally destroyed by her. How would she make up for this?
“It will take atleast a day to recreate the file, and Liang Ruiqiang will only stay in the country for a few days. We must try to see him before he goes back to New York. “
Zhou Cheng was speechless. He looked very confused and quickly interrupted her, “ Didn’t you already send the file to the hotel ?
Yan Liang stared blankly at Zhou Cheng. He turned and addressed the nurse, “ Could you please ask the doctor to come?”
After the nurse left, Zhou Cheng tried to sort out the whole story: “ After your phone call, I immediately tried to call you back. Since I was with Liang Ruiqiang at that time, I couldn’t attend to your call. When I called back, the person at the other side told me that you were already in the hospital, but your condition was not serious. He also told me that the file had been sent to Liang Ruiqiang.”
Yan Liang found it hard to believe such good news, with a hoarse voice she said apprehensively, “ That.. Liang Ruiqianq.. he.”
“ His secretary called me just when I arrived at the hospital. He is convinced of our sincerity and is willing to evaluate a co operation agreement with us.”
Yan Liang’s heart finally relaxed. Her whole body, her hands, knees, elbows were all black and blue as she had repeatedly banged them against the window. Her whole body now hurt. She sat quietly on the bed not daring to move. But her mind was whirling. If they agreed to co operate she needed to plan ahead, every step will decide whether she succeeded or failed..
She was still in debt. She could only rely on Liang Ruiqiang to strike Jiang Shi Jun. Two years ago, the acquisition had destroyed Xu but had also fatally harmed Li Bo. If not for her agreement with Jiang Yu Nan, Jiang Shi Jun would have sold off the entire products chain of Xu. In such a situation., how would she convince Liang Ruiqiang not only to invest but also to allow her to act in his name ?
How would she convince Jiang Shi Jun to sell Xu to Liang ?
The insidious desire to avenge herself was quietly burning in her. Zhou Cheng could see a glow in her face completely contrasting with the general pallor , “ I would like to personally meet Liang Ruiqianq.”
He looked incredulously at her, “Now ?”
Yan Liang solemnly nodded.
Zhou Cheng’s face immediately became stern and he refused, “ Now you need to stay in the hospital, you can’t go anywhere.”
Yan Liang was trying to convince him when the doctor walked in the ward and checked her vitals.
Zhou Cheng intended to leave the ward temporarily when Yan Liang stopped him , “ please get me some clothes from the nearby shopping mall.” She thought a bit and added, “ I will be discharged from the hospital in two days.”
Zhou Cheng left and the doctor stood by the bedside, “Please lie down , we will measure..”
She interrupted the doctor, “ Can I be discharged now ?”
Through sheet perseverance, she was able to convince the doctor finally to release her. When Zhou Cheng came back Yan Liang took the clothes from his hands and went to the bathroom to change.
Zhou Cheng felt this was wrong, “ You can’t..”
“……” “…”
Zhou Cheng shook his head again and again, “ Are you crazy ? The wind can blow you away , you are so weak, you’re not well enough to leave the hospital, and you want to meet Liang Ruiqiang now ?”
But Yan Liang did not respond to what ever he said behind the closed door of the bathroom, even when he knocked on it.
Soon she emerged from the bathroom fully dressed in a little black skirt which emphasised the pallor of her skin. Before Zhou Cheng could speak, she said, “ If the doctor is allowing me to leave, shouldn’t I be listening to him ?”
This Yan Liang only existed in his memory. In the last two years, she only seemed to have been picking thorns. Zhou Cheng could not resist this Yan Liang. She took this opportunity to walk out of the ward while Zhou Cheng helplessly followed in silence.
*** ***
Yan Liang was discharged immediately.
She sat in Zhou Cheng’s car. The relentless rain kept pouring down so that the windshield was blurred and she could not see anything.
Zhou Cheng could not help but worry about Yan Liang . Her face was pale, and her body looked as if she would collapse any second now.
But he didn’t say anything and started the car.
As he drove, the wipers continued wiping the windshield,
Yan Liang had her eyes closed. As she sat there, her head was full of different thoughts – who was helping her secretly?
Would she be able to understand once she met Liang Ruiqiang ?
How would she convince Jiang Yu Nan to destroy the agreement ?
Apart from the wedding night two years ago, Yan Liang had never seen him angry, could she drive him to a rage ?
How would she lure Jiang Shi Jun into her trap ?
Her head ached more and more.
She felt the car finally stop. She opened her eyes. The surrounding scenery was very familiar.
Why would Liang stay here ? This was the Xu house..
She could feel a roar in her ears, and Zhou Cheng’s voice seemed to be coming from far away .“Listen to me. First you rest. We can meet him some other time. If we go now, it will cause more harm than good.”
As Zhou finished , he brought the umbrella to her side of the car and pulled the door, “ I’ll take you to the main building,”
“ If you won’t take me to to Liang Ruiqiang , I will go myself.”
She tried to be brave and moved to the drivers seat. But as she moved, she suddenly blacked out. This was her body punishing her for her waywardness. Zhou Cheng bent his body into the car and helped her out.
Zhou Cheng accompanied her to the house, bid farewell and left. Yan Liang opened the door , and walked in. It was evening but the rain had not stopped and the sky was dark.
She went straight upstairs. She held the bannister as she slowly made her way up.
She was trembling all the way till she finally reached her bedroom
Just before she entered the room, she placed her forehead against the wall as she rested for a while. She couldn’t hear any sound in the house because of the roaring in her ears, but suddenly a light caught her sight
She looked into the room and realised that the door to the bathroom had opened. In the light from the bathroom, she could see the figure of a man.. Jiang Yu Nan.
Heat issued from the bathroom, he had obviously taken a hot bath.
But he looked strangely pale.
Miumiu : Any thoughts as to who her secret guardian angel is ?