Chapter 111

Chapter 111

When Nan Mu went downstairs, he ran into Wen Xin, who was charging up like a madman.

Wen Xin rushed up without a thought for anything else. Only when he saw Wen Miao in Nan Mu’s arms did his entire body go limp, and he leaned against the wall, gulping down breath after ragged breath.

“You are…”

Once Wen Xin had steadied himself, Nan Mu, reluctant as he was, had no choice but to entrust Wen Miao to him.

Nan Mu did not answer Wen Xin’s question. He only instructed him, “Take Wen Miao and leave this place immediately.”

Wen Xin looked at the black-clad young man in front of him in confusion. The incandescent light in the hospital stairwell was dim, and from his angle, he couldn’t clearly make out the face hidden beneath the other’s cap.

So he instinctively tilted his head, trying to adjust his line of sight and see the face beneath the brim.

“Who are you?” Wen Xin asked again.

Nan Mu raised a hand and touched the brim of his cap, using his arm to block Wen Xin’s probing gaze.

“Who I am doesn’t matter.” Nan Mu pulled Wen Xin’s attention back to the situation at hand. “Remember, carry Wen Miao out through the stairs. Don’t take the elevator, and avoid the cameras as much as possible. Don’t panic. Don’t talk to anyone. Once you’re out of the hospital, go back to school. After you get back, it’s best if you stay in the dorm and remain with your roommates. Even if you have to go somewhere else, make sure you have witnesses. Also, don’t mention what happened tonight to anyone.”

Wen Xin was completely lost. He clearly hadn’t done anything wrong, yet at that moment, unease swept through his entire body. “But there are still people upstairs…”

He wanted to say Nan Mu’s name, but after hesitating, he left it unsaid. “Someone was hurt. I haven’t had time to tell a doctor yet…”

As soon as Wen Xin had gone downstairs, he had run into someone falling from the building. And it had been the nurse who had just tried to attack Nan Mu. His legs had nearly given out from fright, and he had no idea whether she had fallen on her own or been pushed…

But when he thought of Wen Miao being on the rooftop, he was afraid she might have accidentally pushed the woman over during the struggle. That was why he hadn’t even dared call for a doctor. Instead, he had rushed ahead of everyone else and sprinted back upstairs, wanting to confirm what was happening above.

Nan Mu calmly reassured him, “I’ll handle everything here. Just take her and go.”

Wen Xin still felt uneasy. After all, that nurse had attacked and injured Nan Mu, and not long before, he and Wen Miao had also gotten into a physical conflict with her. He wasn’t sure if he could really just leave like this. After all, a living, breathing person had died right in front of him.

He remembered the scene of blood splattered everywhere. Anyone who saw it would probably feel sick.

Anxious, Wen Xin opened his hand, revealing the phone he had picked up downstairs, shattered beyond recognition. “And this phone…”

At a glance, it was obvious the phone had fallen from the roof along with the person. Although it was smashed beyond recognition, the case was still stubbornly clinging to it.

Wen Xin found the phone case very familiar. It was one of the small customized gifts A University of Science and Technology had handed out during last year’s anniversary celebration. He had owned one himself, so he recognized it immediately.

Although the person who had fallen was the nurse, he guessed this phone belonged to Nan Mu. After all, he knew Wen Miao’s phone case didn’t look like this.

When Nan Mu saw his phone, his pupils trembled. He instinctively looked up and asked, “How did you get this phone?”

Wen Xin, who had been looking at the black-clad young man, suddenly met his gaze. The instant he saw the other’s eyes clearly, his breath caught. His eyes widened, and his gaze instinctively swept over Nan Mu’s abdomen before quickly lifting again to look at his face.

Wen Xin’s astonishment was far too obvious, and Nan Mu immediately realized the mistake he had made.

He forcefully suppressed the countless thoughts that had surfaced all at once, reining in his tangled emotions. Only then did his mind slowly clear.

In almost an instant, he sorted out the crux of the matter.

Just now, the previous version of himself who had crossed over had gone back at the instant he fell from the building. That was why the phone had been left downstairs.

And then Wen Xin had picked it up…
It suddenly dawned on him.

So that was why, after he had asked Xu Yang to recover the number, he discovered that no one had used it for more than ten years, yet someone had still been paying the phone bill all this time…

After he transmigrated here, he had bought that number as a temporary way to contact Wen Miao. Other than Wen Miao, no one knew it was his number.

He had never been able to figure out who had been paying for it all these years.

But now, at last, he knew who that person was.

Nan Mu lifted his eyes and glanced at Wen Xin.

That was right.

Back then, he had clearly fallen from the building together with Nurse Xiao Ai, but downstairs there had only been Wen Miao and Nurse Xiao Ai. His own body had vanished without a trace. If he were Wen Xin, he would have been deeply suspicious too.

And after Wen Xin found this phone that seemed to belong to him, he had kept topping up the number. Perhaps he had been waiting for the day someone could get through to it and tell him what exactly had happened on the rooftop during the time he had gone downstairs to call a doctor.

Wen Xin stared at him, mouth hanging open. “You…”

Nan Mu turned slightly away, avoiding Wen Xin’s gaze. He shifted Wen Miao in his arms toward him and cut off his question. “We can talk about everything later. This place isn’t safe. Take Wen Miao and go first.”

Wen Xin was full of questions, but Nan Mu was so calm and composed that he instinctively followed his lead. He half-crouched so Nan Mu could place Wen Miao onto his back.

With Wen Miao on his back, Wen Xin asked, “What about you?”

Nan Mu adjusted his mask. “I still have something to take care of… You two hurry up and leave.”

Wen Xin gritted his teeth. With Wen Miao on his back, he could only force down all the questions crowding his mind for now.

When he turned the corner on his way downstairs, Wen Xin instinctively looked back. He saw the young man in black gripping the stairwell door, then pushing it open and walking in without hesitation.

===

The thing Nan Mu still needed to take care of was getting himself discharged from the hospital.

That night, after learning that Nurse Xiao Ai had sneaked into his ward, he had asked the doctor to confirm his condition the very next day.

His condition had stabilized long ago, and he was already fit for discharge. But Nurse Xiao Ai had told the doctor that he himself was worried about his condition and had requested a few extra days in the hospital. The doctor had seen plenty of patients like that and had never thought to confirm it with him, which was how Xiao Ai had managed to keep both sides in the dark.

So if he went to complete the discharge procedures today, it would not seem strange in the doctor’s eyes.

More importantly, however, Nurse Lin had personally seen “him” carrying Nurse Xiao Ai as they fell from the building together. If he continued to stay in the hospital, Nurse Lin would inevitably become suspicious. The best solution was to take advantage of the fact that Nurse Lin was occupied with the fall and had no attention to spare, use someone else’s identity to process his own discharge, and disappear completely from her sight.

Nan Mu went straight to his attending physician’s office, claiming to be “Nan Mu’s older brother” and saying he was handling the discharge procedures for his younger brother.

The doctor did not suspect anything. On top of that, everyone in the office kept talking to him about the nurse in their department who had fallen from the building. So the doctor hurriedly issued Nan Mu a discharge slip and payment form, then rushed off with the others to deal with Nurse Xiao Ai’s fall.

Nan Mu took the payment form to the payment center first. He had previously deposited a sum of money into the hospital account.

There was still money left in the account, so the hospital refunded him a portion. It relieved his current predicament of having no money on hand.

As he walked out, he heard police sirens outside. The flashing police lights were especially eye-catching. A crowd had gathered at the entrance to watch the commotion, whispering among themselves as they speculated about what had happened. Hospital security guards were doing their best to maintain order. Even stretchers had been brought over. Up ahead stood a group of people in white coats, their faces ashen and brows furrowed, whispering urgently to one another, but no one dared to make a decision.

The incident had happened too suddenly. They had to wait for the police to arrive and examine the body before they dared deal with the scene.

The area was a complete mess. Nan Mu held the payment form in his hand, kept his composure, and pretended nothing was wrong as he brushed past the crowd and left the hospital.