The doctor examined Yan Zhiqing and her symptoms were normal. Yu Zi immediately called the two elders. Hearing that her granddaughter was alright, Old Lady Yan cried tears of joy, even Old Master Yan"s eyes turned red as he stood by her side.
"Elder Sister-in-Law, this is good news, don"t cry," Yu Zi consoled as she held Zhiqing"s hand.
Seeing that Yan Zhiqing"s turning red from hearing what she said, Yu Zi continued, "Elder Sister-in-Law, Zhiqing heard you crying and she"s about to cry too. Don"t let her worry as she just woke up."
"After this incident, Zhiqing has grown up," Old Lady Yan felt consoled as she said. "Please pa.s.s the phone to Zhiqing, I want to talk to her."
"Grandmother wants to talk to you," Yu Zi told Yan Zhiqing. She held the phone close to Yan Zhiqing"s ear.
Yan Zhiqing"s hand was weak and she had no energy to lift it. Even though she was given nutrition through an IV drip every day, it was merely to answer to the body"s nutritional needs but not giving her proper energy like how solid food would be able to provide.
"Grandmother," Yan Zhiqing said. Her voice was hoa.r.s.e. The caregiver would use a cotton bud dipped in water to wet her lips every day to prevent it from drying. However, she had not drunk any water and her throat was parched with her voice sounded hoa.r.s.e and scratchy.
"You just woke up and have not drunk any water. Don"t speak anymore, take a good rest. I am alright, I just wanted to tell you that your brother is on the way back. Once he arrives home, we will immediately come and visit you at the hospital," Old Lady Yan said.
Even over the phone, one could hear that Old Lady Yan"s voice was whimpering.
Other than feeling dazed when she just woke up, her mind gradually returned after hearing Yu Zi and Old Lady Yan"s conversation and she recalled what happened before she got hurt.
Jiang Changdai was by her other side, grasping her hand. Yan Zhiqing wanted to duck but she had no energy to do so.
Now that she was fully awake, her memories came rus.h.i.+ng back like a tidal wave.
She was rolling down the stairs and reached out her hand to Jiang Changdai in the hopes that she would catch her and pulled her, but Jiang Changdai had hesitated.
Why?
Why did she hesitate?
Was it so that she would roll down the stairs and die and would not affect the Lu father and son"s plan?
She would forsake her daughter"s life for the father and son?
She used to bear grievances to Yu Zi, Lin Chu, and the two elders, but they were the ones who cared for her when she was in trouble.
She could hear everything that Lu Zhenghang spoke to Jiang Changdai today. Her mother was close to killing her, but Lin Chu and Yu Zi blocked her to protect her.
She could feel Lin Chu and Yu Zi wiping away her tears.
The people whom she distanced herself from were the ones who were sincere in helping her and treating her nice. She had always thought that these good people were out to get her and harm her. There was no need to even mention Lu Zhenghang. Lu Weining never showed up at all. Her biological mother had conspired with outsiders to harm her.
Yan Zhiqing fragile heart could not bear it anymore and she started to cry.
"Don"t cry, my good child. I will hang up first. You take a good rest. We will be there in no time," Old Lady Yan consoled.
Yu Zi retrieved the phone and plucked a tissue to help Yan Zhiqing wipe away her tears. She joked, "Don"t cry. You have not had a drop of water and you are already dehydrated. If you cry more, whatever fluid you have left will all flow out and you can preserve yourself."
Yan Zhiqing could not help but laughed. She was crying and laughing, and her mood was turning better when she heard Jiang Changdai spoke by the side, "Zhiqing, it"s all my fault, can you forgive me as your mother? Zhiqing, I will try my best to compensate you and treat you well. Whatever with the past has gone. Can we treat it that nothing happened and start all over again, okay?"
She was implying for her to let go of the matter related to Lu Zhenghang.
Even though Yan Zhiqing"s throat was hurting from dehydration, she could not help but chuckle twice. One of her legs was broken, her neck and back were hurt as well. When she chuckled, it was as if her bones were shaking in pain and hurting her so much.
Jiang Changdai grasped her arm which was in a cast. It was obvious that it was broken, but Jiang Changdai did not care if she was in pain and whether or not if her wound would be affected and just held on to her arm tightly.
The caregiver poured some warm water in a soft plastic cup and put a straw in it. She held it at Yan Zhiqing"s mouth and said, "Ms. Yan, drink some water first. Don"t suck too hard, you will feel pain. I"ll squeeze the cup so the water will go up and you don"t need to worry about it."
Yan Zhiqing could not move her neck and grudgingly agreed with an "OK". The caregiver elevated the head of the bed slightly to let Yan Zhiqing drink conveniently. She squeezed the plastic cup for the water to go up the straw and into her mouth. It was just enough for Yan Zhiqing to soothe her throat and she would not let her drink further.
"Wait till you have recovered and you can have a good drink," the caregiver said.
Yu Zi saw Yan Zhiqing was wounded all over and was concerned that she would be worried. She explained, "You rolled down the stairs and broke a leg and an arm. After treatment and removing the cast, your limbs will not be affected so don"t worry. Your back was hurt very bad so that will be quite painful, but you were fortunate that no bones were broken and it"s only bruises and contusions on the surface. You can"t turn over yet, so your back wound is only being treated with creams without any ma.s.sage, so the recovery is a bit slow. Wait till you can turn over, the bruises will subside after ma.s.saging it. Don"t worry, you may be hurt quite badly but it can all be treated. Once you recover, you will be just like before."
She knew Yan Zhiqing is studying in a film school, she could not afford to be disfigured on her face and body.
Yan Zhiqing blinked and glanced at Jiang Changdai before saying, "Can you let go of my hand? It"s wounded and it"s in pain."
Jiang Changdai was not willing to do so, as if she was afraid that if she were to let go of Yan Zhiqing, she would tell the truth to tackle Lu Zhenghang.
Yu Zi put on a long face and said, "Ms. Jiang, you should be concerned with Zhiqing"s condition!"
Jiang Changdai froze and looked uneasy. She glared at Yu Zi and lowered her head to see Yan Zhiqing looking at her with a cold and sneering expression. She could not describe her feelings and felt a bit agitated before she released Yan Zhiqing"s arm lamely.
Yan Zhiqing did not look at her anymore. After pondering why she got hurt, her facial expression changed. Her unhurt arm hurriedly grabbed Yu Zi"s hand and asked anxiously, "My bag, where is my bag?"
"It"s here," Yu Zi replied as she turned around to take the bag hanging on the clothes stand.
The bag had been hanging there all the while. n.o.body had the mood to think about it what more looked at it.
Yan Zhiqing"s hand did not have much strength, she felt tired after grabbing Yu Zi"s hand. Her hand laid on the bed, and she tried hard to lift it and pointed to the bag that Yu Zi brought over. "Phone…the phone inside…there"s evidence of Lu Zhenghang faking to be part of the Yan Family," she stammered.
Yan Zhiqing was not aware that Lu Zhenghang had organized the press conference hastily, and that he was slapped in the face by Yan Beicheng and Wen Ren. Lu Zhenghang"s plan was foiled and would not affect anything anymore, as such, Yan Zhiqing"s evidence would not affect anything too. Bringing it out would only slap Lu Zhenghang"s face harder.
She did not know and was worried that Yu Zi did not understand and quickly explained, "I heard Lu Zhenghang telling her that he wants to deceive the Yan Family, and pretend to…"
Yan Zhiqing could not bring herself to mention the word "mother".
Yu Zi did not think that Yan Zhiqing already knew about the matter and she was surprised, but after that she accepted it. Yu Zi"s mind thought fast and immediately understood that when Yan Zhiqing was at Jiang Changdai"s house and Lu Zhenghang was also present when she got hurt that afternoon.
Was it because she found out about their matter and hence fell down the stairs?
If it was, Jiang Changdai was a lunatic! Did she not consider Yan Huaiyuan"s daughter to be a human being?
She was distracted as she was thinking and did not notice Jiang Changdai"s face had paled and she was now in a panic. She suddenly rushed over and s.n.a.t.c.hed the bag away from Yu Zi"s hands.
The phone was still in the bag, Yu Zi had not taken it out yet.
Jiang Changdai held the bag and rushed out. Yan Zhiqing was bedridden and could not move at all. As she watched Jiang Changdai running away, her eyes were full of disappointment and sorrow.
She was willing to go all out to protect Lu Zhenghang. Yan Beicheng aside, Jiang Changdai had never even treated her like that.
Yan Zhiqing"s tears flowed out again. Yu Zi had no time to care about Yan Zhiqing"s emotions. She would need to get it back regardless if Yan Zhiqing"s evidence would still be useful or not. As a lawyer, having another piece of evidence was akin to having another weapon in hand.
Yu Zi did not think much and gave chase. The two bodyguards were faster than Yu Zi. As soon as Jiang Changdai dashed out, they were already going after her.
Jiang Changdai ran very quickly as if she was on an adrenaline rush after taking strong drugs. She ran so fast that even the two tall and strong bodyguards took a while to catch up with her.
Perhaps this was the moment that she was strong as a mother!
From far, she could see the elevators in front and there were three persons waiting for it to arrive. She never turned back to look, as doing so might slow her down; however, she had to turn back to look now and saw that the two bodyguards were catching up with her fast, closing the distance between them.
Jiang Changdai glanced at the elevator floor indicator panel. She clenched her teeth and continued to run forward and saw the fire escape staircase door in front. She rushed up, opened the door and dashed in.
The bodyguards were close behind and were about to catch her when Yu Zi, who was also following, shouted, "Stop!"
Jiang Changdai was sprinting down the stairs when she felt her blouse was tugged. She was shocked, and without thinking, she pulled herself to the front to get away from the bodyguard who was tugging her blouse.
Her toes tipped dangerously at the edge of the stairs as if she did not treasure her life.
The bodyguard actually did not grab hard. He had only wanted to slow her down, block her escape route and catch her.
As such, he was only using his fingertips to tug her blouse. Jiang Changdai was so tensed up that she did not look properly and just pulled forward. The bodyguard subconsciously tried to stop her, but his fingertips could only have this much strength.
Jiang Changdai"s strength of resistance was strong and her blouse slipped away from the bodyguard"s fingers. Without the bodyguard"s obstruction, Jiang Changdai"s body leaned forward so hard that even she herself could not balance and fell facedown.
"Catch her, quick!" Yu Zi shouted. Even though she disliked Jiang Changdai, she still could not bear to see Jiang Changdai getting hurt in front of her. If she were like that, there would be no difference between her, Jiang Changdai and the Lu father and son.
Even without her telling what to do, the bodyguard had already reached out to grab her, but he still missed her narrowly. Jiang Changdai gave a loud yelp and tumbled down like a ball.
The hospital"s staircase was wider than the one at her house, but it was also much longer. Jiang Changdai shrieked as she rolled down until she could not do so anymore, and Yu Zi could only hear loud thumps.
Jiang Changdai finally came to a halt at the landing on the bottom of the stairs, unconscious.
Yu Zi ran down the stairs quickly. The bodyguard did not dare to touch or move Jiang Changdai. Compared with Yan Zhiqing, Jiang Changdai was luckier as she fell in the hospital.
Yu Zi did not bring her phone as she rushed out to chase her. One of the bodyguards ran to get the doctor, and they took her away in a hospital carrier.
Yan Zhiqing"s bag was left there. Yu Zi picked it up and returned to the ward, wondering how to explain what happened to Yan Zhiqing.
She suddenly felt that everything has its destiny.
Jiang Changdai made Yan Zhiqing fell down the stairs. Today, Jiang Changdai s.n.a.t.c.hed Yan Zhiqing"s evidence and ended up falling down the stairs too. From the looks of it, her injuries might be more critical than Yan Zhiqing"s.
"What is it?" Yan Zhiqing asked softly. Her throat felt better after sipping some water just now. She noted her bag in Yu Zi"s hands, but there was no sign of Jiang Changdai. She asked, "She…is she gone?"
Yu Zi shook her head and replied, "She was rus.h.i.+ng ahead with the bag and we were chasing her. She took the stairs in a hurry and fell down from it."
Yu Zi looked at Yan Zhiqing with a grave expression, lowered her head and said, "I"m sorry."
Yan Zhiqing"s mind went blank for a while and did not know what to say. She opened her mouth and after a while then asked, "Is she severely injured?"
"She was unconscious after falling. We got the doctor to help and she"s not in surgery. I"ll visit her later," Yu Zi said.
"Thank you for what you did this afternoon," Yan Zhiqing suddenly said. Her eyes looked down and she felt embarra.s.sed to look at Yu Zi.
Yu Zi was stunned and did not understand. She asked, "What happened in the afternoon?"
"I was actually conscious that time," Yan Zhiqing explained. Her neck was confined in a cast, she could not lift or lower her head and could only turn her eyeb.a.l.l.s to look. "I was conscious, but I could not move and open my eyes. I…Lu Zhenghang was here, I heard him said that he will stop my medication to delay me from waking up and spoiling his plan. I…"
Yan Zhiqing"s mouth moved but she could not bring herself to say the word.
She inhaled deeply a few times before continuing, her voice whimpering and trembling, "I did not expect my mother to agree and promise him to do this."
"No wonder you cried," Yu Zi"s voice was slightly dull and her tone of voice was low. She felt pitiful for Yan Zhiqing.
She did not like her previously as Yan Zhiqing was always immature and arrogant, even helping Jiang Changdai to blame Yan Beicheng and even did the same to the two elders this year. Coupled with the fact that she was never nice to Yan Ningbai, Yu Zi had never been polite to Yan Zhiqing as well.
However, after seeing what Yan Zhiqing experienced, she felt Yan Zhiqing was a pitiful character. After her mother betrayed her, whatever nice deeds she had done to Jiang Changdai were now just ironic and sarcastic.
"If not for you and Lin Chu arriving in time, I do not know what will happen," Yan Zhiqing finally could not hold it in and cry. "I did not think that she could be so cruel. I wouldn"t feel so bad if she was cruel to other people, but why would she treat Lu Zhenghang so well but was not concern for me and my brother? We are all her children; does she need to rank and grade us? I don"t expect her to treat all of us fairly but don"t go overboard! She might feel very comforted to fall down the stairs for Lu Zhenghang."
Yu Zi placed her hand gently on her shoulder, not daring to exert any strength. When she was crying, Yan Zhiqing"s face showed pain.
"Don"t worry. Lu Zhenghang"s plan has been foiled. You may or may not have heard about it. Lu Zhenghang was worried that you will wake up and hurriedly held a press conference this afternoon claiming that he was Huaiyuan"s son," Yu Zi said.
Before she could finish her words, Yan Zhiqing got anxious and wanted to raise her head. Despite her neck being confined by the cast, she still tried hard to look up. "I have evidence, I have evidence!"
"Don"t panic, take it slowly. Since you have evidence, there is no need to fear and we will sure debunk his lies. Later when Beicheng is here with the two elders, you can pa.s.s it to Beicheng and let him handle it. There is no harm to wait for a while more," Yu Zi a.s.sured.
Yan Zhiqing calmed down. Yu Zi took out Yan Zhiqing"s phone. There was no need to search as only one audio recording was in it. She played the audio recording, confirming that it was indeed the conversation between Jiang Changdai and Lu Zhenghang before stopping it and switching it off.