Chapter 51: A Calculated Visit
As Xiang Yang walks upstairs, carrying two bowls of porridge, she feels like something is off.
It's not until she enters the elevator that she suddenly realizes that Fu Guanxian's change is truly baffling!
He suddenly came back, and he's completely like a different person. If it had been before, she wouldn't even dream that Fu Guanxian would ask her for help in such a soft and gentle way!
What exactly is Fu Guanxian trying to do!
Xiang Yang feels increasingly uneasy.
The bowl of porridge she packed for him becomes a source of trouble.
Xiang Yang reaches the door of the ward. She pauses for a few seconds before adjusting her facial expression and entering.
“The doctor said you shouldn't eat anything too oily yet. So I packed two bowls of porridge. You…”
Xiang Yang stops mid-sentence. She looks at Fu Guanxian, who's sitting by the bed, and says in a stammering voice, “You… Why are you here?”
Fu Guanxian glances at Xing Zhaoyan.
Xing Zhaoyan looks back at him expressionlessly.
Fu Guanxian smiles, stands up, turns to Xiang Yang and says, “Back already?” As he speaks, he naturally takes the food from her hands, places it on the table, and starts to unpack it.
“You…” Xiang Yang frowns at him.
But Fu Guanxian says, “I'm starving and my stomach hurts. Can we postpone this discussion until after I have nourished myself? Regarding your inquiry about my presence here, I have returned to China to address this unfortunate incident. Therefore, it is only fitting for me to visit the employees of my father's company who have been affected.”
Xiang Yang suddenly doesn't know how to answer him. Because what he says is reasonable. She doesn't seem to have the right to stop him from seeing Xing Zhaoyan. But she instinctively feels that the two of them shouldn't be in the same room.
Xiang Yang looks at Fu Guanxian. Fu Guanxian unpacks the spoon, lowers his head, and focuses on eating his porridge.
Xing Zhaoyan sees that Xiang Yang's attention has been on Fu Guanxian since she entered. His expression is unreadable, but then he suppresses the feeling of dissatisfaction and forces a smile. He looks up at Xiang Yang and says, “Yangyang, my hand is injured. It's inconvenient. Can you help me?”
Fu Guanxian stops, glances at him from the corner of his eye, then subtly retracts his gaze. A mocking smile plays on his lips.
Only then does Xiang Yang realize her gaffe. She quickly adjusts the small bed, helps him open the porridge, wipes the spoon clean, and puts it on his left side.
Xing Zhaoyan tries to move. Xiang Yang fears that he'll pull his wounds, so she quickly goes to lend a hand.
Xing Zhaoyan looks at her with a smile and says, “Thanks, my dear.”
Xiang Yang's cheeks involuntarily flush because of his casual intimate address. To cover up her embarrassment, she quickly says, “Hurry up and eat, or it will get cold.”
Fu Guanxian stops, looks at her, then glances at his own porridge, which is less than halfway finished. He throws the spoon back and says, “I'm full.” He stands up, looks at Xing Zhaoyan, then glances ambiguously at Xiang Yang. Seeing that they're not paying any attention to him, he doesn't get angry. He simply walks towards the door.
Xiang Yang listens intently. As his footsteps get farther and farther away, she sits down and asks Xing Zhaoyan, "Did he just come to see you?”
Xing Zhaoyan pretends to laugh lightly. “Yangyang, are you worried about me or him?”
“I… I'm worried that he'll make things difficult for you.”
“Don't worry. He didn't make things difficult for me. He just talked to me about compensation.”
Xiang Yang doesn't understand much about company matters. She asks, “With something like this happening, Fu's should have to pay a lot of compensation, right?”
Xing Zhaoyan says, “How can they appease the employees and their families without compensation? And, for the company's reputation and stock price, Fu Guanxian will only give more, not less.”
After listening, Xiang Yang falls into contemplation. The occurrence of such an event is undoubtedly unwelcome by anyone. If a resolution through financial means is attainable, the situation can be approached with greater ease.
She worries that they'll settle with the employees and their families, but then there will be a series of other troubles to deal with.
Not long after Fu Guanxian leaves, a nurse comes in. She says that every patient at the company is assigned a caregiver to help them. She also says that if the relatives have something urgent to attend to, they can leave first.
Xing Zhaoyan knows that Xiang Yang has an event to attend tomorrow. It's already unusual for her to stay with him in the hospital for so long, so he asks her to go back and rest.
Xiang Yang is a little worried. “Then what about you, alone…”
“There's a caregiver. Don't worry about me.”
“Okay, then I'll come to see you tomorrow morning at 6.”
“Okay. Be careful on the road. Why don't you have your colleague pick you up?”
“It's okay. I'm going home. I can just have my family driver pick me up.”
“Then be careful. Call me when you get home.”
“Okay.”
Xiang Yang takes her bag and walks out of the ward. Then she puts on her hat and rummages through her bag. She finds a face mask and puts it on too.
After walking out of the hospital entrance, Xiang Yang is about to take out her phone to call someone, but she realizes her phone has died. She looks around. Not far away, a black car moves forward a few steps, then honks its horn.
Because it's already late at night, there aren't many cars on the road.
Xiang Yang stands still. The car patiently honks again.
She vaguely guesses who's in the car. But she's still unwilling to go over.
Until the car window rolls down, Fu Guanxian's profile faces her. He says in a cold voice, “Get in. I'll take you back.”
Xiang Yang doesn't even hesitate to refuse. “No need.”
“Are you being polite to me? Or do you want me to get out and ask you to get in? Miss Big Star, do I need to remind you? Fu's had this accident. This is a hospital under Fu's. The patient was sent here for treatment. Any normal person would think of that. Do you think those paparazzi who are eager to dig out juicy gossip wouldn't be waiting around here? Maybe you think no one will dare to come in, but this is the entrance. With your current exposure, if you get photographed and some bad news comes out, I hope, Miss Big Star…”
Before Fu Guanxian finishes, Xiang Yang's face is sullen. Without a word, she gets in the car.
Fu Guanxian glances at her and sees that she is tightly pulling on the seatbelt. A faint smile finally appears in his deep eyes.
It would've been easier to do this sooner. Why waste my breath?
The car drives smoothly forward.
He seems very focused.
Xiang Yang also seems unwilling to speak.
Until they stop at a traffic light, Fu Guanxian's long fingers idly tap on the steering wheel. He speaks. “Why did you think about becoming a singer?”
It's quiet for a long time. Then Xiang Yang replies, “I thought it was interesting, so I tried it.”
Fu Guanxian smiles. “Yeah, it's good.”
Xiang Yang turns to look at him. She asks nervously, “What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing. I just want to catch up. After all, if you think about it, we haven't seen each other in a few years.”
“With the Fu family's mess, do you have time to catch up with me?”
“Why not?” Fu Guanxian starts the car. “It's simpler than I expected. The people below have already come up with a plan for how to deal with it. Apologize where we need to apologize, compensate where we need to compensate, and restore our image where we need to. The Fu family is huge and has a lot of assets. A small bump in the road like this can't bring us down.”
“Then… what about the two lives? How do you account for their lives?”
Fu Guanxian pauses and replies, “Besides giving the families a satisfactory compensation, as long as their demands are not excessive, we will try our best to agree to them.”
“Fu Guanxian…” Xiang Yang wants to say that he's cold-blooded, but she feels like she's interfering. He didn't shirk responsibility. He didn't deny them. It's already good enough that he has some humanity.
Fu Guanxian sees that she's about to say something but stops. He says, "Say what you want to say. I'm all ears.”
“Nothing.” Xiang Yang closes her eyes, leans back against the seat, and pretends to be asleep.
Fu Guanxian glances at her and doesn't speak again.
The car stops. Xiang Yang opens her eyes and looks at the unfamiliar surroundings under the streetlights. She asks vaguely, “Where are we?”
“My place.”
Hearing this, Xiang Yang immediately sits up straight. “Didn't you say you were going to take me home?”
“I forgot how to get to your house. And you fell asleep. I had no choice but to drive here.”
“You…” Xiang Yang suddenly feels that he's being deliberate. No, she should say he has had this intention from the very beginning.
“Fu Guanxian!”
Fu Guanxian unbuckles his seatbelt, then leans towards her.
Xiang Yang turns pale with fright and leans back.
“Seatbelt.” Fu Guanxian sees her nervous look and can't help but laugh.
He unbuckles her seatbelt and then laughs. “Are you afraid I'm going to do something to you? Don't worry, I'm a decent guy.”
Seeing him return to his seat, Xiang Yang's confidence grows. She replies stiffly, “A decent guy wouldn't take someone to his place without their permission.”
“Miss Xiang, do I need to remind you. Haven't you been to my bedroom before? And haven't I been to your bedroom?” Fu Guanxian asks innocently.
“You! You!”
Fu Guanxian waits for a long time. Seeing that she's blushing but can't even form a complete sentence, he stops teasing her.
“If you don't get out, are you going to spend the night in the car? As he speaks, Fu Guanxian looks at her and laughs. “If you really have that idea, maybe I can reluctantly cooperate with you. After all, I'm happy to sacrifice my looks for you…”
Xiang Yang looks at Fu Guanxian as he leans closer to her. She's shocked and quickly opens the car door and runs out.
The cool breeze hits her face. Xiang Yang feels her burning cheeks cool down slightly.
She takes a deep breath and thinks bitterly, How could I think that Fu Guanxian has changed so much? Look! Look! He's just as annoying as ever!
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