“Xiao Su.” Jiang Xiaobai did not get any response after voicing out her question. She then reached out her hand to grab Xiao Su’s wrist in a discontented manner. In a gentle voice, she asked, “Please tell me now—I’ve already asked you so many times. How much did you spend?”
“Do you really want to know about it so badly?” Xiao Su squinted his eyes to look at the woman in front of him, who seemed dumbfounded. Leaning into her, he placed his lips by her ears as his warm breath circled her. Xiao Su then slowly told her a figure.
Jiang Xiaobai’s gaze was still dazzled at first, but she instantly came back to her senses when she heard the figure. She then stared straight at Xiao Su. “Y-You spent this much?” Just the thought of that amount made Jiang Xiaobai feel like her heart was bleeding. “Why did you spend so much? You’re a spendthrift for wasting such an amount of money in a blink of an eye. How long will it take you to earn them back? It wasn’t even necessary for you to spend this much…” The more Jiang Xiaobai talked about the matter, the more miserable she felt. It was as though her heart was bleeding.
The good atmosphere between the two of them had been ruined by Jiang Xiaobai. Xiao Su did not want to kiss her anymore after hearing Jiang Xiaobai call him a spendthrift. He simply turned away in bed and lay beside her. “I shouldn’t have spent the money so that I can watch you dance with another man?” He could not accept it.
What he said seemed to make sense; she didn’t want to dance with another man at all. Moreover, she did not expect the female dancer to have gone so far. She would not have told her in the first place if she knew that this would happen. Xiao Su was her boyfriend, and he had just lost a great amount of money for no reason.
Jiang Xiaobai turned around when something suddenly came to her mind. She then looked at Xiao Su with her gloomy eyes. “Anyway, are you still able to afford the wedding after spending this much money?”
Xiao Su paused for a while before looking intently at Jiang Xiaobai. She was actually worried about this? He put on a faint smile as he turned over to face her. “I’ve been single for so many years; how would it be possible for me to not have any savings? Moreover, I receive good pay from work. It’s more than enough for me to marry you.”
Facing his mocking gaze, Jiang Xiaobai flushed red as she quickly responded, “What are you talking about? I’m just worried that you might not be able to get married someday. I didn’t say I’ll marry you. Even if you want me to, I won’t necessarily agree to it!” Xiao Su was already thinking about marrying her after being her boyfriend for only a few days!
Xiao Su did not utter a word. Instead, he looked at her with a faint smile on his face. The way he looked at Jiang Xiaobai was as if he had seen through her thoughts, and she was feeling rather flustered because of it. “What are you looking at? I’m just telling the truth. Do you really think that I want to marry you?”
“Yes, that’s the truth. Are you tired? You should have an early night if you are.” With that, Xiao Su reached out his hands to help her put on her clothes properly. Then, he did not do anything else. At this moment, Jiang Xiaobai finally realized that she had spoiled the good atmosphere they were having moments ago.
She was indeed regretful. Facing a young man, she had actually let the opportunity slip. Nonetheless, she decided to forget about it. For the sake of his injuries, she stopped teasing him too. Jiang Xiaobai blinked before lying on his chest and shutting her eyes. Her breaths became paced almost instantly. After making sure that she was sound asleep, Xiao Su dozed off with a peace of mind.
…
“I’ve checked. On the day the fire broke out, Yan was the only one at the scene. However, the fire was raging, and it was impossible that no one else had noticed it. Other than that, someone has locked the door on purpose. As for now, there are two suspects who could have possibly done it. One of them is the makeup artist who showed up that day, while the other suspect is the makeup artist’s assistant. The assistant’s testimony was that she had followed the makeup artist’s order to leave the room and get some food for the bride. On her way to grab the food, the lift was not working—that was why she hadn’t been back on time.”
“Did you check the CCTV footage?”
“Yes. The footage matches her testimony.”
“What about the makeup artist?”
“According to the makeup artist, the bride and the bridegroom had to apply facial masks before getting their makeup done; these masks had to be applied for almost 30 minutes. Within the 30 minutes, she went downstairs to make a phone call. When she returned, she realized that the door had been locked from the inside, and no one was responding to her calls—that was when she felt something had gone wrong, so she quickly went to the hotel lobby to look for the hotel manager. We’ve verified her statements along with the CCTV footage and there are no differences.”
With that being said, the both of them seemed innocent. Han Qing squinted his eyes after hearing these remarks. After a few moments, he asked, “Who was the last person to leave the room?”
“It was the makeup artist. Her assistant did not return after she went out of the room. Hence, she can be eliminated as a suspect.” If the makeup artist had tweaked the door lock, the door would have been locked when she went out of the room.
“Look into the last person who left the room.”
“Alright, Mr. Han.”
Someone quietly took a peek into the ward before asking, “Is Mrs. Han not awake yet? We have our suspicions that she had been drugged. Is that why she lost her consciousness?”
“She hasn’t woken up yet. Investigate the makeup artist first. Other than that, start from the assistant as well. The moment there are any differences between their testimonies, we can start from there.”
“Alright, Mr. Han. We shall take our leave first.”
Han Qing hummed before he turned around and returned to the ward. He pushed open the door and came face-to-face with Luo Huimei. Han Qing then paused for a while before he said, “Dad, Mom, why don’t the both of you go home and take a rest? I’ll take over from here.”
Luo Huimei seemed haggard when she looked at Han Qing. She wanted to say something, but did not utter a word in the end after pondering for a while. She only nodded. “Alright. Your father and I will head home to take some rest. We’ll change shifts with you once we’ve gotten some rest. Yan hasn’t woken up yet; call us and let us know once she has woken up.”
“Alright.”
Yan felt drowsy when she had woken up. She could see the fire flaring up in her surroundings while the strong sense of smoke made it hard for her to breathe. All of a sudden, someone had dashed out from the flames to pick her up. “Han Qing!” Yan was shocked as she instantly shouted his name. Her body then sat up straight like a carp.
The sky had begun to brighten up. Han Qing, who had been staying by her side the entire time, finally saw her awake. He immediately dashed toward her. “Yan?”
Yan grabbed his hand and looked at him dazedly; it was as though she was making sure he was real. Han Qing knew what she was thinking as soon as he took a glance at her. He then tightly held her hand in return. “Don’t worry, it’s really me. I’m fine, and you’re fine as well. It’s all in the past now.”
Yan must have been traumatized from the fire that had broken out. She held tightly onto Han Qing’s hands from the moment she woke up. She wanted to say something, but she did not utter a word in the end as her lips shivered.
“You don’t have to say anything.” Han Qing held her in his arms while he touched her back with his huge palm. “Everything is in the past now, and we’re both in the hospital right now.”
Han Qing could feel a sense of warmth on his chest before he finished his sentence. After pulling Yan away, he noticed that she was shedding tears. At that moment, it was as if a knife had stabbed his heart. He reached out his hand to wipe off the tears from the edges of Yan’s eyes. “Don’t worry. As long as I’m with you, I won’t let anything bad happen to you again.”
