Chapter 007: She Must Stay in the Zhou Family and Find the Real Culprit
She hung up the phone.
Wen Ni’s fingers trembled as she gripped her mobile, saying, “My grandmother suddenly took a turn for the worse and was rushed to the emergency room. I have to go to the hospital now.”
Zhou Chengli quickly said, “I’ll take you.”
But before he could finish, Min Xianshu interjected, “You have a lunch engagement this afternoon. Let Jingyi go instead.”
Zhou Jingyi: “…”
Of course, Min Xianshu would never allow Zhou Chengli and Wen Ni to be alone together.
Once abandoned by Linchuan, she latched onto Mingfan. Now that Mingfan was dead, to remain in the Zhou family, who knows whom she might try to attach herself to next?
Zhou Chengli looked at Zhou Jingyi.
Zhou Jingyi could only nod.
Min Xianshu gave Wen Ni a stern warning, “Behave yourself, and don’t say anything inappropriate to your uncle.”
Wen Ni had no mind for anything else now. She only wanted to see her grandmother as soon as possible and learn about her condition.
She nodded frantically and followed Zhou Jingyi out.
The moment they left, Min Xianshu slammed her hand on the table. “Four hundred million for Wen Ni? Zhou Chengli, are you out of your mind? I don’t even have a hundred million in assets!”
Zhou Chengli replied calmly, “What else can we do? If you offer less, do you think Wen Ni will willingly leave?”
Min Xianshu retorted, “In any case, I can’t accept four hundred million.”
“My mind is made up. Stay out of it,” Zhou Chengli said.
With that, not wanting to listen to another outburst, he strode out.
Min Xianshu’s finely manicured fingers dug hard into the edge of the table, her gaze sharp as a blade.
Four hundred million was nearly half of Mingfan’s life’s work—why should Wen Ni be allowed to take it all? Not to mention four hundred million, even forty million would never pass her hands to Wen Ni!
She narrowed her eyes, a plan already forming.
She would make sure Wen Ni left the Zhou family in disgrace.
—
On the way, Zhou Jingyi glanced at Wen Ni several times in the rearview mirror. His black eyes were cool and indifferent, devoid of emotion.
Silence stretched between them all the way to the hospital.
Before the car had even come to a full stop, Wen Ni rushed out, racing toward the inpatient wing.
Gasping for breath, she arrived at the emergency room door. “Brother!”
Ji Yingqi hurriedly took her arm to steady her. “Don’t worry. The nurse just came out and said it was because Grandmother’s coughing reflex weakened, so she couldn’t clear her own phlegm. The accumulated secretions blocked her airway, causing sudden suffocation. Luckily, it was caught in time.”
Ji Yingqi had been a stray child her grandmother picked up before Wen Ni was even born, raised by her grandmother’s hand—he’d been by her side even longer than Wen Ni herself. She’d always regarded him as her own brother.
“Ni Ni, are you all right?” he asked, concern plain in his eyes.
Wen Ni knew he was referring to Zhou Mingfan’s death. She couldn’t tell him the truth—not now. She feared he would go to the Zhou family to demand justice for her.
She shook her head, insisting she was fine.
Ji Yingqi pressed his lips together, as if wanting to say more but holding back.
He stood there, immaculate in a white shirt and black suit trousers, his demeanor gentle and serene. “Ni Ni, there’s something I’m not sure I should tell you.”
“Brother, what is there you can’t tell me?” Wen Ni quickly took his hand.
He drew a deep breath, then pulled a round sandalwood bead from his pocket and pressed it into her palm.
Wen Ni looked puzzled. “Is this a prayer bead?”
He answered softly, “I found it in Grandmother’s hand the day she was taken into emergency.”
Wen Ni’s face changed dramatically.
Ji Yingqi’s deep black eyes brimmed with restrained emotion. “I suspect Grandmother didn’t fall on her own.”
Wen Ni stood frozen.
He looked at her with pain in his eyes. “There’s something else. Grandmother never wanted me to tell you.”
“Tell me, please,” Wen Ni pleaded.
He tightened his grip on her arm, his voice hoarse. “Aunt Man’s death wasn’t an accident. There’s every chance the Zhou family was involved.”
Wen Ni’s nails dug into her palm, the air around her like frozen daggers, pinning her in place.
Her grandmother’s injury was no accident.
Her mother’s death was connected to the Zhou family.
A heavy darkness settled in the depths of Wen Ni’s eyes.
Ji Yingqi looked at her, heart aching, and spoke softly, “Grandmother didn’t want you to know these things. I’m telling you now so you’ll be careful in the Zhou house, for your own safety. If you get the chance, get out of that quagmire.”
Leave?
Wen Ni closed her bloodshot eyes.
Until this moment, she had wanted nothing more than to escape.
But now—how could she?
She had always questioned why her mother would have taken her own life. She had just become a cultural heritage inheritor, just begun the brightest chapter of her life as a woman. The dragon robe she wove with such devotion was only half finished; her beloved youngest daughter was not yet grown—how could she bear to leave?
Wen Ni’s molars bit down hard, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably.
Just as Ji Yingqi finished speaking, Zhou Jingyi approached.
A few steps away, Zhou Jingyi glanced at Ji Yingqi’s hand on Wen Ni’s wrist and looked away, unconcerned. “How is the old lady?”
Wen Ni drew a deep breath, forcing back the hot tears in her eyes. She turned and said, “Uncle, you don’t need to worry. She’s out of danger now. Let me introduce you, this is my brother, Ji Yingqi.”
Ji Yingqi stepped forward, extending his right hand, his face as handsome as carved jade and his voice clear. “You must be the Zhou family’s Fifth Master. I’ve heard much about you.”
Zhou Jingyi lowered his gaze, his refined features utterly composed, a regal air about him. He reached out unhurriedly and shook Ji Yingqi’s hand.
After about three seconds, both men released their grip.
Zhou Jingyi stepped forward, striding toward the balcony.
Without a word, Wen Ni slipped the bead into her pocket.
Before long, the emergency room’s fingerprint-activated door finally swung open.
Wen Ni and Ji Yingqi hurried forward.
The doctor said, “Don’t worry, the patient is out of danger.”
A weight lifted from Wen Ni’s chest.
She thanked the doctor again and again.
Her grandmother was taken to her ward.
Wen Ni fetched warm water and carefully wiped her grandmother’s hands and feet. She stayed at the hospital until evening, and only then prepared to leave.
Coming out of the room, she didn’t see Zhou Jingyi. She assumed he had already left.
Ji Yingqi came over from a distance. “Shall I take you home?”
“No need,” Wen Ni replied. “I’ll be staying at the Zhou residence for quite some time. If you need me urgently, send Ning Sui. You mustn’t come yourself.”
Ji Yingqi frowned, not understanding, but agreed.
A determined light flickered in Wen Ni’s eyes. “I’ll find out the truth.”
No matter whether it was about her mother or her grandmother, Wen Ni would not hesitate.
She said, “I won’t be able to come out often. Please take care of Grandmother for me, Brother.”
He nodded. “That’s my duty, Ni Ni.”
He watched her thin figure as she walked away, step by determined step.
…
Wen Ni composed herself and walked toward the taxi area.
Passing the parking lot, she spotted Zhou Jingyi in the distance, leaning lazily against his car, smoking.
Pale smoke curled around his downcast black eyes. His face was striking, both elegant and arresting.
Sensing her gaze, he turned his head, eyes narrowing as he met Wen Ni’s lingering look. “Are you planning to spend the night here?”
She hurried over and opened the car door. “If you were to keep me company, I wouldn’t mind.”
Zhou Jingyi stared at her in silence until she got in the car, but he did not follow.
Wen Ni asked deliberately, “Are you spending the night out here?”
He moved to the back of the car as Wen Ni reached to close the door, but his hand stopped her.
His arm rested casually on the car, his eyes on her. “Wen Ni.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d uttered her name, but every time, his low, husky voice felt like flirtation to her, no matter how impatient his tone.
She raised her eyebrows. “What is it?”
“If you want to stay in the Zhou family, don’t get involved with me,” Zhou Jingyi said.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Had he seen through her?
Wen Ni smiled, “So if I don’t want to stay, I can get involved with you?”
“If you want to leave, I can send you away right now,” Zhou Jingyi replied.
Wen Ni leaned out of the car, gazing up at him. “I’m only staying in the Zhou family for your sake, willing to give up a fortune of four hundred million just to be a widow.”