Chapter 96

In the late night, the bustling crowd at Puji Hospital gradually dispersed, with occasional ambulances entering and leaving the entrance.

Jiang Ji put away his phone, holding the payment receipt in his hand, and strode towards the blood dialysis room.

As his phone vibrated in his pocket, he took it out and glanced at it. It was a call from Qin Qingzhuo.

Jiang Ji paused his steps, glanced around, and then walked towards the empty end of the corridor.

The call connected, and Qin Qingzhuo’s voice came through the receiver, “Have you arrived?”

“Yes,” Jiang Ji walked to the window, “Did you just send me a message? I haven’t checked my phone.”

“I guessed so,” Qin Qingzhuo sounded relaxed, “Have you talked to Jiang Bei?”

“We finished talking,” Jiang Ji said, “Don’t worry, the conversation went well.”

“Jiang Bei…” Qin Qingzhuo hesitated, then paused before saying, “Forget it, let’s talk about it in person tomorrow.”

Jiang Ji could guess what he wanted to ask, “Hmm,” he replied, without saying much else.

Footsteps and conversation could be heard at the end of the corridor. Qin Qingzhuo on the phone noticed something unusual, “Aren’t you in the rehearsal room?”

“I went out to buy some medicine,” Jiang Ji lowered his head slightly, his tone casual, “Jiang Bei isn’t feeling well.”

“What’s wrong? Is it serious? Do you need me to come over?”

“Not serious, just a slight cold,” Jiang Ji looked at the words on the payment receipt in his hand, “You shouldn’t come over these days. There have been quite a few paparazzi outside. I’ll come to you later.”

“You even know how to avoid paparazzi…” Qin Qingzhuo laughed, “Okay, buy the medicine and go back to rest early. Contact me if you need anything.”

After bidding each other good night, they hung up the phone. Jiang Ji leaned against the wall, exhaling softly.

Qin Qingzhuo probably didn’t notice anything unusual. After all, Jiang Ji was confident in his ability to lie, and he didn’t want Qin Qingzhuo to detect anything out of the ordinary.

In a way, Qin Qingzhuo’s living environment was quite simple. One could tell when he went to those internet cafes in the rural areas. Qin Qingzhuo had a strong sense of disconnection from that environment, and it was unlikely that anyone had ever said “homosexuals are motherf*cking disgusting” to his face.

At that moment, Jiang Ji truly regretted bringing Qin Qingzhuo to such a place.

What those people said online wasn’t wrong, Jiang Ji thought. He used to be a bit of a thug.

So being able to meet Qin Qingzhuo and be with him was really… quite miraculous.

It still felt amazing even now.

The closed door of the dialysis room opened, and a doctor in a white coat walked out. Jiang Ji snapped out of his thoughts and stood up straight, walking towards the doctor.

“The vital signs have stabilized,” the doctor said, “The patient woke up briefly but fell asleep again. Thanks to your timely arrival, if it had been delayed for a few more hours, there might have been a risk to their life… I remember a similar situation happened before, with your sister, right?”

“Mmh,” Jiang Ji’s tone was flat, “Over a year ago.”

The doctor nodded, “Still, you need to be more careful. Your sister’s condition was already discovered late, delaying early treatment. Given the current situation, it’s indeed quite dangerous. By the way, have you completed the hospital admission procedures?”

“It’s done.”

“Let’s wait until this dialysis is completed, observe the specific indicators, and then decide how many days of hospitalization are needed.”

“Okay,” Jiang Ji said, “Thank you.”

The doctor left, and upon learning that Jiang Bei was okay, Jiang Ji finally felt the tension of the day easing.

It was hard to imagine what the outcome would have been if Jiang Bei had really followed that train and collapsed inside the carriage. If timely treatment couldn’t be obtained…

The image of Shi Yao’s face, beaten and submissive, flashed through his mind. After a moment, Jiang Ji picked up his phone, opened the band chat interface, and typed a message: “Let’s have a voice call tomorrow to discuss something.”

Zhong Yang quickly replied in the group chat: “Is Bei Jie asleep?”

“She’s at the hospital,” Jiang Ji replied.

“Damn, is she okay?” Zhong Yang asked, “I’m going over now.”

“No need, she’s undergoing dialysis. Even if you come, you’ll just wait outside.”

Peng Keshi also replied with a message: “Let’s meet tomorrow. I’ll finish class and go to the hospital with Zhong Yang to see Jiang Bei.”

Jiang Ji replied with a simple “Okay.”

The next day, Jiang Bei woke up completely, although she still looked a bit weak, she could walk around freely.

Jiang Ji played two rounds of games with her, and when he saw her starting to feel sleepy, he took the phone from her hand, “Stop playing, take a nap.”

Jiang Bei rubbed her eyes and yawned, “Okay.”

Watching her lie down, Jiang Ji stood up, “I’ll go back for a while, don’t wander around.” After a day and night of turmoil, he wanted to go back, take a shower, and change clothes.

Jiang Bei closed her eyes and muttered, “Got it.”

Jiang Ji walked out of the ward, stood in front of the elevator, pressed the down button, and watched the changing numbers on the display. Someone approached him from the side, holding a phone towards him, probably filming a video, “Jiang Ji?”

Jiang Ji turned to look, and before the person could speak, the short man introduced himself, “I’m a reporter from Star News. There has been a lot of controversy about you online these days. We would like to hear your response.”

“There’s nothing to respond to,” Jiang Ji replied indifferently, turning his face away without looking at him.

“Did you really beat someone into the hospital at school?”

“How did you find this place?” Jiang Ji asked back.

“It’s just a coincidence. A colleague came to see a doctor, and I happened to run into you. Isn’t it quite a coincidence? Are you here for treatment yourself, or is there something else going on?”

The elevator door opened, and Jiang Ji stepped in, with the man following closely behind.

Jiang Ji frowned, but because there were others in the elevator, he didn’t say anything.

When the elevator reached the first floor, Jiang Ji walked out, and the man continued to pester him, following him all the way to the lobby’s reception desk. Jiang Ji raised his hand and dragged the man to the reception desk, “There’s a reporter here, who’s been filming in the ward with his phone. Please deal with it.”

After saying this, he left the man at the reception desk and walked away.

Leaving the hospital, getting on the motorcycle, he felt uneasy again. He sent a voice message to Jiang Bei: “If there are any paparazzi coming to take pictures of you, go to the nurse’s station and ask them to drive them away.”

After sending the message, he put away his phone and rode towards the rehearsal room.

At 2:00 in the afternoon, Qin Qingzhuo sat behind his desk, raising his hand to stifle a yawn.

In the morning, Jiang Ji sent a message saying he had something to attend to and wouldn’t come to see him today. Qin Qingzhuo decided to go to the studio by himself and spent the morning composing music.

Feeling a bit drowsy in the afternoon, he saved the composition files and took out his phone to watch the videos recorded the previous day from Shi Yao’s phone.

How to handle these videos, Qin Qingzhuo planned to discuss with Jiang Ji in person before making a decision. However, it was certain that this was an important leverage, and Shi Yao would definitely be wary of it, refraining from any rash actions.

While watching the recordings, the door to the workspace was knocked. The voice of Li Zi came in, “Qingzhuo.”

“The door’s not locked,” Qin Qingzhuo raised his head, “come in.”

Li Zi pushed open the door, walked over quickly, and handed him the phone, “Do you think this is Jiang Ji’s sister?”

“What?” Qin Qingzhuo took the phone, and upon seeing the paused image on the screen, all his drowsiness disappeared instantly.

— On the screen, Jiang Bei was wearing a hospital gown, her face pale and looking very exhausted.

It was a video clip of more than two minutes, and the publisher of the video was a self-media account specializing in entertainment news, called “Star News.”

Qin Qingzhuo tapped the screen lightly, and the video started playing.

“I am Jiang Ji’s sister, my name is Jiang Bei.” Jiang Bei lowered her head slightly, her eyes somewhat evasive, perhaps because she had never faced a camera before. She looked noticeably less lively and mischievous than usual, instead appearing quite awkward.

“Some people say you often steal things. Is that true?” the person holding the recording device asked her from the opposite side.

“I… I used to,” Jiang Bei whispered, “but I don’t steal things anymore.”

“Why did you steal things? Did your brother ask you to do it?”

“No, my brother never asked me to steal things!” Jiang Bei raised her head to refute, the volume also rising a bit, but as soon as her eyes touched the camera, she quickly returned to a timid state. “After he brought me back, he has always told me not to steal things, saying that if I steal things again, I should leave immediately…”

“What do you mean he brought you back? Aren’t you his biological sister?”

“Well… I was picked up by him. I almost died that time, and he brought me to the hospital to save me. He also gave me a place to live…”

“Where are your parents? Where did they go?”

This time there was a long silence before Jiang Bei answered somewhat irrelevantly, “My brother… my brother also taught me to read. There are many books for learning to read at home, all bought by him. He is not like what you guys say, a thug, he has been working hard to earn money and repay debts. He doesn’t usually fight. Every time I run away, he will find me. When he sees a kitten trapped in a sewer, he will rescue it… I won’t steal things anymore in the future, and you shouldn’t dislike my brother. I have no relationship with my brother…”

Jiang Bei spoke incoherently, and the sobbing in her voice became more and more pronounced. Towards the end, she choked up and couldn’t speak anymore, prompting the person on the other side to stop recording.

After watching this video, Qin Qingzhuo was somewhat moved. Whenever he saw Jiang Bei before, she always had a cold expression, looking like a little adult. Qin Qingzhuo had never seen her speak so much, nor had he seen her cry like a child.

At the same time, he felt a bit confused in his mind, with various thoughts swirling around.

The speculation that Jiang Bei was not Jiang Ji’s biological sister had repeatedly crossed his mind yesterday. He had intended to clarify this with Jiang Ji later, but Jiang Bei confirmed his guess in this video even before he could do so.

Furthermore, Jiang Bei’s situation had only been exposed yesterday, but this video was filmed during the day, meaning it was likely filmed this afternoon. So why was Jiang Bei wearing a hospital gown? Was she sick and hospitalized? Why hadn’t Jiang Ji mentioned anything to him from last night until now? And why did she agree to this interview? Did Jiang Ji know about it?

One speculation confirmed, yet more questions emerged.

“This video is quite explosive,” Li Zi said beside him. “The comments section is overwhelmingly supportive of Jiang Ji. After all, it’s not something ordinary people can do to adopt a sick little girl while struggling to survive. It’s like a slap in the face to those who called him a thug before. However, it’s still a bit risky for the girl to show her face. Jiang Ji probably didn’t ask her to do this…”

Qin Qingzhuo shook his head. “Jiang Ji wouldn’t ask her to do this.”

He thought of those few boys who said, “Jiang Bei steals things,” and added, “This video needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. Contact the media and platforms, spend whatever it takes to delete it quickly.”

“Got it,” Li Zi nodded. “I’ll contact them right away.”

After finishing his shower, Jiang Ji walked back to his bedroom, rummaged through the closet for the clothes he wanted to change into, bent down to put on his pants, and his phone rang.

He picked up the phone and answered, hearing Qin Qingzhuo’s voice from the receiver, “Where are you?”

“In the rehearsal room.” His hair was still slightly wet, and Jiang Ji used a towel to dry it.

“And Jiang Bei?”

“She’s out playing.”

There was silence on the other end, and Jiang Ji sensed something was wrong, so he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Jiang Ji, how long do you plan to keep hiding things from me?” Qin Qingzhuo sighed. “I might not have told you before, but I really don’t like it when people lie to me, no matter what the reason.”

Jiang Ji also fell silent for a few seconds, his towel-drying action pausing, and he sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’m really in the rehearsal room right now. If you don’t believe me, you can come find me.”

After a pause, seeing that Qin Qingzhuo still didn’t speak, he continued, “As for Jiang Bei, she’s in the hospital. I’ll change my clothes and go back to the hospital later.”

“What’s wrong with Jiang Bei?” Qin Qingzhuo finally spoke up.

“She fainted on the way back yesterday. I’ll tell you the details in person. Are you in the studio? I’ll come pick you up.”

“No need, I’m already on my way to Pujin Hospital,” Qin Qingzhuo said, getting back to the point. “Do you know that Jiang Bei just gave an interview to a media outlet?”

“What interview?” Jiang Ji was taken aback. “I had no idea.”

“I’ll send it to your phone now, take a look,” Qin Qingzhuo said. “And also send me Jiang Bei’s ward number.”

“Okay,” Jiang Ji said.

The video was quickly sent over, and Jiang Ji opened it, immediately furrowing his brows.

It was an interview video from Star News… Wasn’t that the same reporter who tried to interview him before?

Clearly, he had already handed that reporter over to the nurse to deal with. How come he not only didn’t leave but also found Jiang Bei’s ward, and Jiang Bei even took the initiative to accept the interview… It was really absurd.

Jiang Ji put on a jacket, dried his hair, quickly packed the necessary items, and then walked briskly out of the rehearsal room while sending Jiang Bei’s ward number to Qin Qingzhuo.