Chapter 78

Chapter 78

“Look into the child trafficking case in Xiangcheng from twelve years ago. Investigate the current status of every child who was abducted.”

Shen Yibai sent the message to his special assistant.

He wasn’t entirely certain, but the feeling Xie Lanchen gave him was remarkably similar to that person.

In truth, Shen Yibai didn’t even know what that person looked like.

He only remembered that half of the boy’s face had been covered by his hair, and his clothes and face were always filthy. He rarely spoke.

Only the eyes exposed to the world carried a hint of untamed wildness and indifference.

Shen Yibai had disliked him intensely back then.

But Ning Xi had insisted on being friends with him.

And so, that person became the shadow following behind Ning Xi…

Just like the current Xie Lanchen, it filled him with a sense of loathing.

“Didn’t he die back then?”

Shen Yibai murmured to himself, feeling a flicker of uncertainty.

If that person really was Xie Lanchen-if he hadn’t died and had instead hidden his identity to seek out Ning Xi-was it for revenge? Or did he have some other motive?

Shen Yibai clenched his fist and looked at Ning Xi.

It didn’t matter who Xie Lanchen was.

As long as he was here, he would flatten every potential danger for Ning Xi’s sake.

Noticing that the sleeping Ning Xi seemed a bit cold, Shen Yibai stood up, pulled the quilt from the hospital bed, and very gently draped it over her.

Then he watched her quietly.

He wanted to reach out and brush a stray hair from her face, but he ultimately checked the movement.

Shen Yibai gritted his teeth, his clenched hands trembling with the sheer force of his restraint.

He couldn’t.

Since they were destined to be apart, they shouldn’t be together again.

6:00 AM.

Fu Zhi was practically frozen awake by the air conditioning.

He opened his eyes only to find that the quilt that should have been covering him was now draped over Ning Xi, who was sleeping on the companion bed.

Meanwhile, he only had a thin blanket over him.

Fu Zhi: ?

Is this how the hospital treats a patient hospitalized with a high fever?

Fu Zhi was indignant, but when he saw Ning Xi’s sleeping face nearby, his movements unconsciously softened.

When Ning Xi slept quietly with her eyes closed, she was completely different from her usual self; she had a cold, delicate, and well-behaved air about her…

Fu Zhi’s face flushed crimson.

“Keep staring if you want to die.”

Ning Xi slowly opened her eyes.

Fu Zhi’s heart skipped a beat, his expression turning frantic and guilty. “When did you wake up?”

Ning Xi rolled her eyes. “I was woken up by your breathing. As long as you’re still drawing breath, it’s a disturbance to me.”

Fu Zhi: …

Ning Xi had actually only woken up a few minutes before Fu Zhi, but she hadn’t wanted to open her eyes, so she had stayed still, trying to coax herself out of bed.

In the end, before she could muster the willpower to get up, she heard Fu Zhi making a racket.

Just then, the door was pushed open.

With a neutral expression, Shen Yibai placed the shopping bags he was carrying on the table.

“Since you’re both awake, get changed. We’re heading back early to resume filming.”

The smile on Fu Zhi’s face faded slightly.

Last night, he had been so drowsy after the IV drip that he couldn’t keep his eyes open and had fallen straight asleep.

Didn’t that mean only Ning Xi and Shen Yibai were awake?

Then they…

“Brother, what time did you go to sleep last night?”
Fu Zhi stood up to grab his clothes, asking the question with feigned nonchalance.

Shen Yibai cast a casual glance at him.

Fu Zhi’s heart skipped a beat.

For some reason, every time he met Shen Yibai’s gaze, he felt a fleeting illusion that his innermost thoughts were being laid bare.

Moreover, compared to before, Shen Yibai’s aura seemed to have grown steadier and more piercing.

“I didn’t sleep. I was processing some company documents,”

Shen Yibai replied tonelessly.

Fu Zhi frowned. “Is it really worth working that hard? If you can’t manage, you can always ask for a leave of absence from the variety show.”

Ning Xi, however, found nothing strange about it. After all, which overbearing CEO didn’t have a habit of staying up late and possessing boundless energy?

What was a mere all-nighter?

Shen Yibai could pull crazy all-nighters for an! En! Tire! Year!

Ning Xi slandered him wildly in her mind.

It wasn’t until Shen Yibai seemed to sense something and glanced her way that Ning Xi’s mental chatter finally ceased.

She then went into the bathroom to change her clothes in silence.

The livestream began promptly at eight o’clock.

Netizens had long been waiting with bated breath.

[What happened after Fu Zhi fell ill last night? Can they still continue filming today?]

[I bet Ning Xi, Fu Zhi, and Shen Yibai were all at the hospital last night. Doesn’t that mean Wei Xuan and Jiang Sheshe were left all alone in their respective rooms?]

[Might as well have let those two sleep in the same house. Maybe we could’ve gotten some ship moments.]

[So, can anyone tell me if Ning Xi and Fu Zhi are just incompatible? Every time they’re assigned to the same house at night, something is bound to go wrong.]

[Ahhh, Ning Xi is back! And she’s actually wearing a dress today!]

At this moment, the seven guests had gathered at House No. 1, waiting for Director Qin to announce today’s tasks.

Jiang Sheshe was the only one staring intently at Ning Xi’s dress.

“That outfit…”

“Hmm?” Ning Xi looked down.

“It’s actually quite pretty,”

Jiang Sheshe murmured.

The cut, fabric, and design of this dress looked expensive at a glance.

She had been obsessed with fashion brands since childhood, was a regular at fashion weeks and runway shows, and even owned a villa specifically to house her collection of favorite clothes.

Consequently, she could usually identify any brand with even a modicum of fame at a single glance.

However, Ning Xi’s dress-which bore no brand logo-handed Jiang Sheshe her first defeat. She couldn’t tell which brand it was at all.

“Of course it is. It’s a handmade, custom-tailored piece,” Fu Zhi scoffed from the side.

“Handmade custom? You know about clothes too?” Jiang Sheshe asked curiously.

Fu Zhi said nothing more.

Shen Yibai had a dedicated team for custom clothing; any outfit he prepared would certainly have come from the Shen Family’s master tailors.

As Shen Yibai’s fiancée, most of Ning Xi’s private wardrobe used to come from the Shen Family’s tailoring team as well.

Except…

Hadn’t Shen Yibai had very little contact with Ning Xi over the past six months?

How could he produce clothes that fit Ning Xi’s measurements perfectly at a moment’s notice?

A thought flashed through Fu Zhi’s mind, but it moved too quickly for him to catch.

“Good morning to our seven guests. I will now announce this morning’s activities-”

Director Qin spoke, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.