During the days he spent in the hospital, despite being plagued by pain and discomfort, Ren Yi was in good spirits because he kept receiving good news. The suspected arson-for-insurance-fraud case involving the Anjia residential complex had been formally opened, the police had obtained evidence of the crimes and a list of personnel belonging to the organization that laundered money for Purple Flame, and the leaders of the fire brigade had even come to visit him personally, reassuring him that he should trust the organization to act justly.
Moreover, although Gong Yingxian was so busy that he had no time to visit him, he still made a point of exchanging a few words with Ren Yi and sending him several messages whenever he could squeeze out a moment between meals and bathroom breaks.
Though Ren Yi was physically incapacitated, his spirit remained indomitable. Every now and then, he would send Gong Yingxian a suggestive message. Just imagining Gong Yingxian’s embarrassed and annoyed expression on the other end made the corners of Ren Yi’s mouth lift uncontrollably.
After lying in bed for three days, Ren Yi was finally able to eat and get out of bed. He asked a nurse to push him in a wheelchair to visit Feilan.
“Miss Nurse, I can actually walk,” Ren Yi said, feeling rather uncomfortable sitting in the wheelchair. “Isn’t this a bit excessive?”
“The frostbitten skin on your body has only just started healing. Don’t go looking for trouble.”
“Then when can I be discharged?”
“Ask your doctor.”
Their hospital rooms were not far apart, but Feilan had not come to see him on her own at all over the past few days. She probably still hadn’t recovered emotionally.
When they reached the door of her room, the nurse knocked before pushing it open.
There was more than just Gong Feilan in the room. A man Ren Yi had never seen before was sitting beside her bed with his back to the door, his shoulders shaking slightly. There were still tear tracks on Gong Feilan’s face as well.
Ren Yi froze in place, unsure whether to go in or leave.
“Are you family?” the nurse asked.
The man beside the bed wiped his face and turned around. “I’m her father.” When he saw Ren Yi, his pupils flickered slightly.
Ren Yi had anticipated this, so he behaved as usual. He nodded. “Hello, I’m—”
“You’re Captain Ren, right?” The man stood up and walked over to shake his hand. “My name is Yue Xingu. Thank you for saving my daughter twice.”
“Ah, don’t mention it. It’s my duty. Besides, I’m friends with Dr. Gong, and Feilan is like my own little sister.” Ren Yi smiled at Gong Feilan.
Gong Feilan managed a faint smile, her expression somewhat stiff. She was nothing like her usual lively, enthusiastic self whenever she saw Ren Yi.
Yue Xingu said, “I’ve always wanted to find an opportunity to thank Captain Ren in person, but I spend most of my time abroad handling business. This time, when Feilan was injured, I couldn’t even get back in time.” His face was filled with deep guilt.
Ren Yi carefully studied every subtle change in Yue Xingu’s expression. His self-reproach and remorse were certainly genuine. It was genuinely difficult to associate this refined, gentle father with a “bad person.”
Ren Yi reassured him, “Fortunately, Feilan wasn’t seriously hurt. She’s a very strong girl. Still, having parents spend time with them is important for a child’s growth.”
“Yes, yes.” Yue Xingu glanced back at Gong Feilan. “You two talk for a while. I’m going out for a cigarette. The driver should be bringing lunch over soon. Parking is difficult at the hospital, so I might as well go pick it up.”
The nurse and Yue Xingu left the room together. Ren Yi wheeled himself over to Gong Feilan’s bedside and smiled at her. “Still feeling so down? Have you been so frightened that you cry every night?”
“Not at all!” After saying that, Gong Feilan burst out laughing. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you grow a beard. It looks so strange!”
Ren Yi rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Doesn’t it give me the irresistible charm of a mature man?”
“No. You’re so thin and haggard now. You’re not as handsome as you used to be.” Gong Feilan looked at Ren Yi and said softly, “Get better soon.”
“I’ll be better very soon. You will too.” Ren Yi held out his hand to her, palm open.
Gong Feilan placed her hand in his palm, and Ren Yi gently closed his fingers around hers. In a soft voice, he said, “Feilan, you’ve survived two such serious accidents. That means you’ve got one hell of a tough life. Even Heaven wouldn’t dare mess with you. If you survive a great disaster, you’re bound to be blessed afterward.”
Gong Feilan’s eyes reddened. “But I… I’m a little scared. I never imagined someone would want to kill me.”
“You weren’t his target. We were. That’s why your brother wants to send you abroad. You’ll be safe from now on.”
“What about you all? When will you be safe?”
“We’ll be safe once we catch the bad guys. A lot of other people will be safe because of it, too. That’s your brother’s duty. Do you trust him?”
Gong Feilan nodded.
“I trust him, too. He’s the smartest, most persistent person I’ve ever met, and the one with the strongest ability to get things done. Do you know why bad people take desperate risks and resort to desperate measures when they’re cornered? Because your brother has driven them into a dead end. They’re scared, too. They’re panicking.”
Gong Feilan wiped away a tear. “Then you have to catch them. You absolutely have to stay safe.”
“I promise you that we’ll be the ones who win in the end.” Ren Yi gazed at Gong Feilan with a resolute look.
Gong Feilan sighed softly. “Actually, I don’t want to go to America. I have friends here, my brother, and you.”
“You’ll make new friends. Besides, you’ll be able to see your father more often over there.”
Gong Feilan lowered her head. “So what? I’m… not close to my dad.”
Ren Yi cautiously asked, “Has he not been around since you were little?”
“Mm. He and my mom don’t get along. As far back as I can remember, they’ve never gotten along, and they hardly ever appear together.” Gong Feilan pouted. “I think it’s so pointless. They might as well get divorced.”
“I believe that even if they don’t get along, they both love you.” Ren Yi patted her head. “Let the adults decide their own affairs. You just focus on being yourself. We all hope you can grow up happy and safe.”
Gong Feilan smiled.
In a casual tone, Ren Yi asked, “What kind of person is your father?”
“He…” Gong Feilan hesitated. “I’m not sure how to describe him. He’s pretty nice, I guess. He never loses his temper with me, and he buys me whatever I want. But we’re just not very close. My mom is very domineering, so he seems comparatively… comparatively low-key.”
“You’ll have a chance to get to know him and grow closer to him now. That can’t be a bad thing, right?”
Gong Feilan shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Ren Yi looked at her gently. “Trust me. Things will get better and better.”
Gong Feilan nodded firmly. “I believe you.”
Ren Yi smiled.
“Oh, right! Tell me what happened that day. That bastard pressed something sour-smelling against my face, and then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was already in the hospital. I heard all kinds of thrilling things happened that day.”
“You’re not scared anymore?”
“It’s a story about justice triumphing over evil. Why should I be scared?” Gong Feilan looked at Ren Yi with eager anticipation.
“All right. We only survived thanks to your brother.”
Ren Yi vividly recounted everything that had happened in the cold-storage warehouse that day. Of course, the part where he and Gong Yingxian confessed their feelings to each other was a secret belonging exclusively to the two of them. He wasn’t ready to share it with anyone yet.
Gong Feilan’s eyes shone as she listened. “Wow, it sounds like a movie! I wish I’d been awake for it.”
“Thank goodness you were asleep. If you’d woken up, you would’ve panicked and gotten flustered, and we’d have had to deal with the extra burden.”
Gong Feilan gave a mocking laugh. “I think you’re just afraid I’d have woken up and become a third wheel.”
Ren Yi immediately grew wary, but still pretended nothing was wrong and brushed her off with a couple of insincere “hahas.”
Gong Feilan blinked mischievously. “You two can be so smart sometimes, and so stupid at other times. Do you really think nobody can tell how you keep flirting with your eyes?”
Ren Yi couldn’t help feeling embarrassed. If anyone else had said that, he could have shamelessly played along. But when it came to this little girl—Gong Yingxian’s younger sister—he really just…
Gong Feilan hooked an arm around Ren Yi’s neck and said with a cheeky grin, “Then I’ll give you one last chance. Do you want to be my boyfriend or not? If you say no, I’ll have no choice but to call you sister-in-law from now on.”
Ren Yi said helplessly, “If you dare call me that in front of other people, I’ll post that especially ugly photo I secretly took of you last time on the internet.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
They played around and teased each other for quite a while before Yue Xingu returned with lunch. The three of them ate together, though the atmosphere was a little awkward.
Just as they were finishing, Yue Xingu’s phone chimed. The notification sound was unusually loud. Few people in this day and age still used the sound for text messages, so Ren Yi immediately found it suspicious.
Yue Xingu picked up his phone and glanced at it. His expression changed.
Ren Yi noticed the subtle shift because he had been observing the man the entire time.
Yue Xingu said apologetically, “Feilan, something’s come up. Dad has to leave now. Is it all right if I come see you again tomorrow?”
“Okay.”
Ren Yi had a vague feeling that Yue Xingu might really be hiding a secret.
As soon as the man had left, Ren Yi said, “Oh, right! It’s time for my injection. If I don’t go back soon, the nurse will scold me again.”
“Oh. Have you eaten enough?” Gong Feilan glanced at Ren Yi’s bowl.
“I’ve already had two bowls. I’m full. I’ll head back first, then. Let’s play games together tonight.”
“Sure.”
Ren Yi wheeled himself a couple of steps, but found the wheelchair cumbersome. He simply got to his feet and dragged it along behind him. As he walked, he called Gong Yingxian. He remembered that Gong Yingxian had already begun investigating Yue Xingu, so it was quite possible that his phone was being monitored.
However, the call was disconnected after ringing only twice. Usually, when that happened, Gong Yingxian was busy with something important. After thinking for a moment, Ren Yi called Tan Haochun instead. Tan Haochun was in charge of technical matters.
“Hello, Captain Ren? Why are you—”
“Are you monitoring Yue Xingu’s phone?” Ren Yi asked bluntly. “I was just with him. He received a text message and hurried off. His expression was unusual, and I want to know what the message said.”
Tan Haochun paused, quickly processing what Ren Yi had told him. “Give me a moment. I’ll check.”
Before long, he came back on the line. “It’s a string of numbers. Obviously a code.”
Ren Yi furrowed his brow. “What’s Dr. Gong doing?”
“I’m not sure. He’s out in the field, anyway.”
Ren Yi thought to himself that using a code even for a text message only made things more suspicious. Where exactly was Yue Xingu going? Could it have something to do with Purple Flame?
After returning to his room, Ren Yi hesitated for a moment—but only for a moment. He changed clothes as quickly as he could, grabbed his phone, hat, and mask, and rushed out.
Because of the heavy foot traffic, the hospital elevators were incredibly, incredibly slow. Their rooms were on the seventeenth floor, so Yue Xingu might still be waiting for the elevator or might only just have gone downstairs.
When Ren Yi reached the elevator lobby, he saw Yue Xingu moving into the elevator with the crowd. Ren Yi headed for the emergency exit and went downstairs via the stairwell.
All the way down, the skin on his frostbitten thighs and arms was cracked and stinging. His injured lungs also couldn’t handle any strenuous activity—although normally, climbing a few flights of stairs was little more than a warm-up before a meal for him.
Just running down seventeen floors left Ren Yi gasping for breath, his entire body aching. He gritted his teeth and waited around the corner, keeping his eyes on the elevator. He knew it stopped on practically every floor, so Yue Xingu would definitely be slower than him.
He waited a full three or four minutes before the elevator finally reached the first floor. Yue Xingu emerged and headed toward the parking lot, with Ren Yi quietly following behind.
The moment Yue Xingu got into his car, Ren Yi hurriedly flagged down a taxi.
“Driver, follow that silver car up ahead!”