“20 minutes?” Ye Moxuan’s discontent was obvious in his tone. Then, Han Muzi quickly explained herself. “I’m passing by a supermarket, so I wanted to buy something here. Since you are already at the entrance of my unit, can’t you just wait for a while?”
“Which supermarket? I’ll fetch you.”
“No need!” Han Muzi rejected his offer in panic. If I let him come over to fetch me, wouldn’t he find out about it? Han Muzi took a deep breath to calm herself down. “You don’t need to come and fetch me. I’m just buying a few things, so it’ll be fast. You can go back home first if you’re tired of waiting. I’ll find you later in the night.”
After she finished talking, the other side of the phone went silent for a long while before he finally agreed. “Fine.”
As soon as the call ended, Han Muzi let out a huge sigh of relief while holding on to her chest. Her heart was accelerating at high speed. If I tell too many lies, will I feel all the guilt after? However, at this point, how could she dare to tell Ye Moxuan the truth? According to his temperament, he would rush over with no questions asked if she told him that she was at the hospital. By then, things would be a whole lot complicated when he realized that she was here to see Ye Linhan.
Although she knew she shouldn’t come to visit Ye Linhan, her heart wasn’t cruel enough to stop her. That was why she reminded herself to go back immediately after asking the doctor for confirmation on whether his life was in danger.
“Miss Han, you still have work at this time?” Manager Yi couldn’t help but ask her after she came over.
Listening to him, Han Muzi gave him a glance. “No. It’s family business. What is it?”
“Nothing. I assumed that you had unfinished work at this time, so I felt a bit sorry for asking you to come over.” Manager Yi smiled, then he couldn’t hold back his words. “By the way, Miss Han, do you have a boyfriend?”
Han Muzi was silent for a while before she replied, “Manager Yi, don’t you think your question is a little weird?”
“Huh?”
“The situation of your Vice President Ye is still unknown at this time, and you are asking such a question. Do you think it’s appropriate?”
Han Muzi’s eyes were sharp, and it sent a shiver down his spine while he broke out in a cold sweat. Manager Yi smiled awkwardly afterward while wiping the cold sweat on his forehead. “Hehe, I… was just trying to make small talk with you, Miss Han, but I didn’t know what to say. Miss Han, if you’re offended by my words, then I won’t say things like that again. I’m so sorry.”
Upon hearing that, Han Muzi retracted her eyes and diverted it toward the ward in front.
The surrounding sank into an awkward silence while Manager Yi glanced at the side of Han Muzi’s expressionless face, but he didn’t dare to speak. They could only keep on waiting like that. After some time, the doctor finally came out. “Which of you is the patient’s family?”
Han Muzi stood stationary while Manager Yi went up to him after stalling for a second. “Hello, doctor. I’m the patient’s friend. His family is not here, so you can just tell us everything.”
“The patient suffered from acute gastroenteritis, but he is fine now. We just need to observe him for a while, and if he doesn’t show any other symptoms, it’ll be fine for him to leave the hospital at night. Young people like him should be more wary of their diet.”
“Okay. Thank you, doctor. I will pass on your words to him.”
After the doctor was gone, Manager Yi took the first step toward the ward but realized that no one was following him from behind. He couldn’t help but turn his head to look at Han Muzi. “Miss Han, aren’t you coming in?”
She let out a faint smile. “Since he is already fine, then I won’t go in.”
“Uhh…”
“You can take over now, Manager Yi. Take good care of your Vice President Ye. I have other things to do at home, so I’ll be leaving now.” Afterward, Han Muzi left straight away without waiting for his reaction.
Han Muzi departed the hospital without even stopping. After she left, she immediately called a cab and gave the driver her address, then she took out her phone to have a look at the contact records.
She found out that 15 minutes had passed since her last call with Ye Moxuan. If she hurried back now, it would take at least another 15 minutes. Sigh, I really should have asked for more time just now. But if I asked for too much time, Ye Moxuan would be suspicious of me. But now, I can’t get back in time.
Han Muzi retracted her sight and looked toward the driver. “Sir, can you go any faster? I’m in a hurry.”
The driver became discontent with her. “Young people like you only know how to go fast and never take note of safety. It is peak hour at this point in time. How can I go as fast as you want me to be?”
“I’m sorry. I know it’s a little difficult for you, but I still hope that you can be as fast as possible. Please.” Han Muzi looked toward the driver while showing a pleading gesture. The driver squinted at her, then he retracted his eyes. “I will try to go as fast as possible, but I can’t assure you that if there’s traffic.”
As someone once said, ‘when ill luck begins, it does not come in sprinkles, but in showers’. This was what it meant.
She was in a hurry to get back but was met with traffic ahead, and to make things worse, it was during peak hour. The road was heavily congested with cars as Han Muzi looked at the situation worryingly. As she watched the time fly by a second at a time, she didn’t know how to explain it to Ye Moxuan later.
“Sir, how long will this traffic last?”
“It’s hard to put a finger on it. This is a serious congestion. Sometimes it would take half an hour, but sometimes it would even take an hour; both are possible. However, we are not too far behind the jam, so maybe we can slowly nudge over this.”
Slowly nudge over this. There wasn’t much time left, so Han Muzi looked at her phone and sent a text over to Ye Moxuan. ‘I can’t get back for the moment. Can you wait for me a while longer?’
As soon as the text was sent, she got a phone call. Han Muzi felt a real headache when she saw the name—Ye Moxuan—on her phone. Then, she braced herself and answered the call.
“Where are you? Why aren’t you back yet?” Ye Moxuan’s voice was low, and it seemed as though he was upset about the long wait.
Han Muzi bit her lower lip and blinked her eyes. “I-I’m stuck in traffic…”
“Aren’t you at the supermarket below? Why would there be traffic?”
Han Muzi choked on her breath since she didn’t know how to answer him.
Both parties went silent for a while, and Ye Moxuan sensed that something was wrong, so he spoke in a deep voice, “Where are you now? Tell me your location, and I’ll come over to pick you up.”
Han Muzi remained silent for a second before replying to him, “I’m stuck in traffic. There’s no use for you to pick me up. Your car can’t reach here.”
Ye Moxuan took a deep breath. “You really have a way of winding me up, Muzi.”
“Don’t be mad. Why don’t I get off the cab now and walk back?” As Han Muzi was speaking, she was already preparing to get a move on until Ye Moxuan rebuked, “How can you walk with so many cars around? Sit back quietly.”
Her movements stopped accordingly while she felt a bit of grievance in her heart. “Then what should I do now?”
“What can you do?” Ye Moxuan asked resignedly. “Wait for the traffic to pass. I’ll wait for you downstairs at the entrance.”
Listening to his words, Han Muzi suddenly felt bad. She bit on her lower lip as she didn’t know what else to say. After ending the call, she was even more flustered. I was lying, and he doesn’t know anything about it.
