“Mr. Li, Ms. Li went elsewhere today once you left. She met with your third uncle, Li Cenbei.” Li Heng’s men reported.
Li Heng’s men, who followed Pei Huan, handed him a recording and said, “This is a recording of their conversation. Unfortunately, we couldn’t secure a clearer recording because we were too far away.”
Li Heng squinted his eyes as he took the recording from his subordinates and listened to it carefully. His gaze soon turned sharp. “Where did Pei Huan go after that?”
“She went straight back to Wutong Residence, but she didn’t seem to be in a good mood.”
Li Heng waved his hands. “Send two other men to follow Li Cenbei. Let’s see what other tricks he has up his sleeves!”
Once everyone had left, Li Heng stood by the window sill and looked out into the dark sky. He stretched out his hands and clenched his fists tightly as his eyes burned a terrifying gaze.
I did not plan to push things. However, they’ve left me with no choice.
Li Heng composed himself and called Fu Chengyan, “I’ve figured it out. It was Li Cenbei who injected the virus into Pei Huan. It seems that I’m next on his list. As for Bao…” Li Heng paused. “I plan to place Bao in your care for now!”
“Alright!” Fu Chengyan’s gaze hardened as he asked, “Do you need my help?”
“Everything’s still in the stage of deployment, but you should increase the manpower at K Nation. I’ve sent out some men in search of the ghost doctor, and I’m hoping to receive good news soon.”
“Got it!” Fu Chengyan nodded. After he hung up, he turned and saw Pei Huan standing behind him. He squinted his eyes and asked, “Why aren’t you asleep?”
“Chengyan, I need to talk to you.”
“Is it about Bao or Li Heng?” Fu Chengyan asked. Pei Huan was slightly surprised, smiling bitterly. “Both!”
Fu Chengyan nodded. “Is Bao with Nuan right now?”
“Yup!” Pei Huan nodded. “Thank you, Chengyan!”
“Let’s talk in the study.”
Once they were both in the study, Fu Chengyan gestured Pei Huan to sit down. “What is it? I’ll do my best to help you within my abilities.”
Pei Huan paused before saying, “It’s about my mother’s illness. Is it possible for you to find a suitable bone marrow match for my mother? If we can’t, what happens then?” Pei Huan glanced at Fu Chengyan with a solemn look.
Fu Chengyan pondered slightly and sighed. “Huan, I know how tough this is on you. I also grew up under Aunt Ning’s care, and she treated me like family. In fact, I – more than anyone else – hope that Aunt Ning’s illness can be cured as soon as possible. However, you should know that the chances of finding the right bone marrow match are extremely low. Your husband’s condition doesn’t cut it. Therefore, I had to look for someone else. I might find it soon enough though…”
“You may never find it too, right? Or even if you found a match, my mom would already have passed?” Pei Huan’s voice trembled as she swallowed nervously. Her face went pale, “This is all my fault. My mother wouldn’t have become like this if I hadn’t abandoned my parents to run away from the sad memories.”
“Huan, this isn’t your fault. No one expected this to happen!” Fu Chengyan patted Pei Huan in comfort. “You should think on the brighter side. Who knows, we might be in luck and find a match instantly?”
“How is that possible… My mom, she…”
“Huan, as long as there’s a glimmer of hope, don’t give up.” Fu Chengyan stood up and looked at Pei Huan condescendingly. “You’re a fighter, and fighters don’t give up so easily. Besides, even if you and everyone else fails… I believe that the Ning family will pull through this!”
“Ning family?” Of course, my mother is from the Ning family.
A wave of realization then hit Pei Huan. “I can go to the Ning family and ask them for help!”
Pei Huan got up and was ready to leave, but Fu Chengyan halted her. “Huan, don’t worry. I have already sent Pei Jingxiu to take care of this matter.”
“Pei Jingxiu?” Oh, right. Jingxiu is Mr. Li’s adopted son from the Ning family. He was also raised by Ning Xin for a short while. He must have been here when Ning Xin fell ill.
“So you’ve already prepared ahead for this?”
Fu Chengyan nodded. “I believe you know Ning Xi, don’t you? She’s the daughter of the Ning family who wandered alone and away from the Ning family. She’s now amid a medical examination in Jiang City. The report will be out in a couple of days!”
Pei Huan let out a sigh of relief upon hearing those words.
Fu Chengyan motioned her to sit down. “Alright, we’re done talking about Aunt Ning’s matter. What else did you want to talk to me about?”
Pei Huan nodded. “I met Li Heng’s uncle today, Li Cenbei!”
Fu Chengyan raised his eyebrows, yet he was not the slightest surprised when he heard this. Instead, Pei Huan was dumbfounded. “Aren’t you curious about what I talked to him about?”
Fu Chengyan’s mouth twisted into a scowl. “You both have a long history of three years. Therefore, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d meet him.”
“Then, aren’t you curious why I decided to meet him?” Pei Huan asked. Before Fu Chengyan could answer, she continued, “I confronted him because I wanted to know if he was the culprit who injected the virus into me.”
“And?” Fu Chengyan glanced at Pei Huan. “What’d he say?”
“Of course he denied it. What else could he say? Nonetheless, I can’t guarantee that I understand him inside out, but I did spend three months with him. Hence, I can confirm certain things.” Pei Huan pursed her lips. “I was wondering if Li Cenbei was involved in the things that happened between Li Heng and I? Why does Li Heng always disappear whenever I’m in trouble?”
Pei Huan forced a smile and continued, “Although I do hate Li Heng, I’m not stupid. I had it all figured out ever since I got back. For example, why’s Li Cenbei always the first to appear whenever I’m in trouble? Why would he always rescue me in time? Consequently, the misunderstanding between us would intensify. If he claimed that he isn’t Li Cenbei, I wouldn’t doubt it. But the fact is that he is indeed Li Cenbei, and his relationship with Li Heng and the Li clan is on thin ice.”
“I’m glad you’ve figured it all out, but why are you telling me all this today? What do you want me to do?”
“Chengyan, could you think of a way to help me with the virus? I have no idea what it is. However, if Li Cenbei is indeed the culprit who injected the virus into me, he must be using me as a way to leverage against Li Heng!”
“You don’t want to be Li Cenbei’s pawn against Li Heng?” Fu Chengyan nodded knowingly. “Are you trying to break off your relationship with Li Heng?”
Pei Huan hesitated before nodding gravely. “I don’t know when the virus will hit me, nor do I know when I will die. It is the only way to keep Li Heng away from trouble. He has been held back by the Li clan most of his life, and I know how much Li Heng desires a whole family.”
“You don’t resent him anymore?”
Pei Huan’s lips twitched before she replied, “Chengyan, I plan to leave once my mother’s surgery is done. As for Bao… He is Li Heng’s son. I know he’ll take good care of Bao even if I’m not in the picture.
“Huan…”
“Chengyan, listen to me. I don’t want to regret this!” Pei Huan sighed as she rose from the sofa. “So, please don’t tell Li Heng about this.”
Fu Chengyan squinted as he watched Pei Huan leave. He then pursed his lips, picked up his phone, and began scrolling through his call log. “This is all I can do for you. You’re on your own now!”
Deafening silence was heard on the other end of the phone. Li Heng took in a deep breath before he thanked Fu Chengyan and hung up on the call.
Ning Xi immediately rushed to Sheen City when she received Pei Jingxiu’s call and went directly to the hospital for a blood test. According to Su Shaoqing, it usually took at least a week to get the report – the shortest time would also take up to three to four days. Yet, Li Heng was running out of time. Eventually, the report took two days to come out despite the hospital working overnight to produce the results.
The miraculous thing was that Ning Xi’s blood type had matched exactly with Ning Xin’s. In other words, she was no doubt a member of the Ning family. It was great news to both Li Heng and Pei Huan. The bone marrow report was the last thing to verify. If the bone marrow pairing were a match, Ning Xin would be sent for operation immediately. However, it was not good news to Pei Jingxiu.
Pei Jingxiu stared at the report with a solemn look on his face.
Ning Xi stood beside him as she watched Pei Jingxiu’s slender fingers crush the report. “Aren’t you happy?”
Pei Jingxiu glanced upwards and stared at Ning Xi intricately.
Ning Xi could feel her heartbeat speed up; it was pounding in a way she was not familiar with. She blamed it on Pei Jingxiu’s cold gaze. His intense stare had caused Ning Xin to feel uncomfortable, “What’s wrong with you?”
Pei Jingxiu shifted his gaze and handed Ning Xi the report. “Congratulations, you’re now the Young Madam of the Ning family!”
Ning Xi frowned at Pei Jingxiu’s words. “I…” She didn’t expect this because when she had met Pei Jingxiu, she was merely a crook in Jiang City. She was a crook that desperately wanted to survive. She didn’t want to starve or go cold while living in the street. Therefore, a group of kids and she committed various crimes in the streets and alleys of Jiang City to survive.
She had been arrested and locked in juvenile prison in the past. Yet, it never stopped her from returning to her old ways. It was the only way she could survive.
Things changed when she met Pei Jingxiu. To Ning Xi, he was both an angel and a devil.
The man took her out of hell and placed her into another purgatory.
Ning Xi pressed her lips together. I never imagined myself to be a Young Madam of a wealthy family. Even when Pei Jingxiu found her, provided her with necessities, and equipped her with knowledge and values to become a good person, she still felt like a lowly criminal deep down.
Pei Jingxiu had assured her that no matter what she had done in the past, neither good nor bad, Buddha will forgive her as long as she was focused on doing good. However, she had never believed his words. She only worked hard because she desired a better life for herself.
But she now belonged to the upper-class, and she did not need to work for anything she desired.
Ning Xi pursed her lips. She tried to force a smile, but she could not bring herself to do so. “Maybe there’s been a mistake made?”
