Chapter 375
Chapter 375
Naturally, I was moved when I heard Song Xiaotian had been detained because of me.
The night I was captured, I had kept my call with Anning connected until I lost consciousness. That meant Anning knew that the current An Yutong was actually Liang Yi.
They must have searched for both me and Liang Yi that very night.
With Song Xiaotian’s temper, he naturally wanted to settle the score with her.
But he had been far too impulsive. Going to Liang Yi’s school to cause trouble was guaranteed to bring the police down on him.
I asked Seventh Master, “Couldn’t his father or his wife get him out?”
Seventh Master sighed. “How could they? He went to a school in broad daylight and tried to attack someone. No one would dare pull strings for him. Let him stay in there and learn his lesson.”
Most importantly, Liang Yi and An Yutong’s parents refused to settle. They were determined to keep Song Xiaotian detained for the full fifteen days.
Something else had happened while I was missing.
This was what shocked me most of all.
The home of Liang Yi’s biological parents had mysteriously caught fire. The blaze was enormous and burned the house to the ground. Fortunately, no one was hurt because they escaped in time.
As a result, Liang Yi’s parents had stopped causing trouble at An Yutong’s residential complex and were currently dealing with their own affairs.
The police later determined that it had not been an accident. Someone had deliberately set the fire.
But they still had no idea who the arsonist was.
I asked Seventh Master whether he knew who had done it.
He said he had no idea. Everyone had spent the entire time after my disappearance searching for me. How could they have spared any attention for whoever torched Liang Yi’s home?
Still, he suspected Boss Xu might have hired someone to do it.
Liang Yi’s parents had repeatedly caused scenes at Boss Xu’s residential complex, making his properties impossible to sell. He had a perfectly understandable motive.
But he wasn’t the greatest suspect. That distinction belonged to Liang Yi herself.
Because on the night of the fire, Liang Yi had not returned to An Yutong’s home.
Seventh Master said, “Don’t worry about anything else for now. Stay in the hospital and recover. You were unconscious for three days and practically crossed the gates of hell. Want to see what you look like now?”
He took out a mirror and held it up for me.
The moment I saw my reflection, I frightened myself.
I had always been thin, with sharp facial features. Now they were even sharper.
I had lost at least ten kilograms. It was hardly surprising. During my eight days of captivity, I ate nothing and barely drank any water. Add the three days I spent unconscious, and I had gone eleven days without food.
Xie Peng went downstairs and returned with a bowl of hot congee.
I was too weak even to raise my hands, so he had to feed me.
He told me that during my three days of unconsciousness, Seventh Master had watched over me on the first day. Anning had stayed for the next two.
She had remained at my bedside for two days and two nights, only leaving this morning.
“Does she like you?” Xie Peng asked with a gossipy expression.
“Nonsense! Don’t make things up! Not everything has to be about romance! How vulgar!”
Anning had already explained that it was because I had always taken special care of her.
She had been willing to risk her life because I looked after her.
So staying with me for two days was perfectly reasonable, wasn’t it?
After finishing the congee, I fell asleep again.
I slept until nightfall.
When I woke again, I saw Anning.
She wore a white T-shirt and overalls and sat beside my bed with her head resting on one hand, eyes closed as though asleep.
Several bruises marked her arms. She had probably gotten them when those men beat us during our escape.
I studied her face, the face that looked exactly like Du Yuwei’s.
Even now, I sometimes mistook her for Du Yuwei at a glance. The sisters looked far too much alike, especially when they weren’t smiling.
But only now did I realize that despite their similar faces, Anning and Du Yuwei had completely different personalities.
Anning had little education and had never received proper guidance. As a result, her manners were rough, and she had even gone down the wrong path more than once. Her criminal record was more extensive than most people her age had resumes.
But all of that was because her family had abandoned her as a child.
That was why, after reuniting with Du Yuwei, she had helped her even though she knew Du Yuwei was hurting people.
In Anning’s understanding, there was no right or wrong, only emotion. For the sake of that bond, she could hurt others despite not being evil by nature.
After she came to our shop, I took special care of her. And simply because I had treated her well, she was willing to throw away her life to save mine.
In truth, she only lacked affection. She had been alone for too long and wanted to hold on to everyone who treated her kindly. Being cared for was something she had never experienced in her entire life.
She was truly pitiful.
I raised my right hand, instinctively wanting to stroke her hair.
Then I reconsidered. I might have been much older than her, but we were both adults, and there should be boundaries between men and women. The gesture would have been creepy.
Just then, she woke.
She stared blankly at me and my raised hand.
My face flushed, and I hurriedly explained, “I was actually trying to wake you…”
She suddenly stood and touched my forehead with the back of her hand. “You have a fever.”
My face grew even hotter. I quickly protested, “No, don’t misunderstand. I really wasn’t…”
She picked up the chart beside me and showed it to me. “The doctor said you have a fever. Thirty-eight point five degrees.”
Oh… that kind of fever!
A pink lunch box sat beside my bed, filled with congee.
Anning took it away to heat it, then returned and fed me one spoonful at a time.
Neither of us mentioned the things I had said while trying to convince her to leave me behind during our escape.
After feeding me, she sat beside the bed and played with her phone.
From the page on her screen, she seemed to be looking at motorcycles.
She had owned one before, but sold it to pay for Du Yuwei’s burial.
She seemed to truly love motorcycles.
Anning stayed with me through the night again. She did not leave until Seventh Master arrived at seven the next morning.
I told Seventh Master everything that had happened during my captivity, including Li Fuguang’s appearance.
He was greatly shocked after hearing it all.
“Anning and I nearly got captured again after we escaped.”
“Do you know who saved us in the end?”
Seventh Master shook his head. “I asked Anning, but she refused to say. Who saved you?”
No wonder Anning had kept quiet. Even I could not understand why that person had saved us.
“Du Yunting’s men.”
I continued, “Du Yunting’s men shot our captors, carried Anning and me to the road, and gave us a motorcycle. They must have been acting on Du Yunting’s orders.”
My feelings were complicated.
The man I wanted to hack to pieces even in my dreams had actually saved me.
“Do you think he intervened because Anning was in danger…?”
“No.”
Seventh Master analyzed the situation. “How would he know Anning had hidden in a crate to rescue you? How would he know exactly when you and Anning would escape?”
“His men must have been lying in wait nearby the entire time. He was probably trying to save you.”