After three days in the hospital, Xia Qingtian's fever finally subsided. A blood test revealed no other issues, so Li Mengxiao helped her with the discharge procedures.
After being discharged, Xia Qingtian didn't return to her previous hotel. Instead, she was taken to the Lei family residence.
Xia Qingtian was a bit bewildered by this sudden invitation.
After all, it wasn't exactly an invitation, but rather being directly escorted, along with her luggage, to this place by an arranged car.
"Mobius, is something mistaken?" Xia Qingtian asked softly, holding her phone.
"The matter with the kidnappers hasn't been completely clarified yet," Mobius replied from the other end of the line. "Having you temporarily stay at the Lei family's is the safest arrangement."
After a pause, Mobius continued, "This is also Mr. Gu's decision."
Hearing that it was Mr. Gu's decision, Xia Qingtian was somewhat surprised, but she didn't want to make things difficult for Mobius.
After all, no matter how capable Mobius was, he still had to act according to his boss's orders.
"Alright, please thank Mr. Gu for me," Xia Qingtian said, ending the call.
Servants had already carried Xia Qingtian's luggage to her guest room. Others then led Xia Qingtian on a brief tour of the Lei family mansion, showing her the locations of important areas.
On the way back to her room, Xia Qingtian encountered the Third Young Master Lei.
Meeting someone she had seen before in an unfamiliar environment gave Xia Qingtian a sense of security, so she took the initiative to greet him. "Third Young Master Lei, I haven't thanked you yet for saving me."
This was what Mobius had told her – that it was Third Young Master Lei who found her unconscious and took her to the hospital.
"It's nothing," Third Young Master Lei instinctively took half a step back upon seeing Xia Qingtian, his eye twitching slightly.
Noticing the twitching in his eye, Xia Qingtian then observed the bruises around his eye. "Your face... is that..."
Looking at Xia Qingtian's innocent and bewildered expression, Third Young Master Lei silently cursed her but replied impatiently, "A bear did that."
"Wow..." Xia Qingtian, upon hearing his words, was unsure whether to admire the audacious bear or praise Third Young Master Lei's good fortune.
"Hmph," Third Young Master Lei said with growing annoyance at Xia Qingtian's reaction, letting out a cold hmph. "You'll be staying at the Lei residence for the next week. After a week, someone will escort you to the airport to send you back to Z City."
"Thank you, Third Young Master Lei," Xia Qingtian said immediately. "I apologize for the trouble."
"It's no trouble. It's just a small favor out of consideration for that Mr. Gu," Third Young Master Lei said coldly, looking away.
After all, it was because the traitor Qin Mei had tampered with the Lei family's client information records that Xia Qingtian was captured by outsiders.
Having said that, Third Young Master Lei paid Xia Qingtian no further mind and turned to leave.
Xia Qingtian merely blinked at this and said nothing more, allowing the nearby servant to escort her back to her room to rest.
Lying on the soft bed in the guest room, Xia Qingtian felt that her trip to C City was surreal, like a dream.
Yet, the aches and pains all over her body were all too real.
They served as a constant reminder that she had almost lost her life.
The fear of being burned alive once again sent a shiver through her.
It also served as another reminder that even after rebirth, various dangers would still occur around her, and she needed to be even more cautious.
She wanted revenge, to live her own life, and to make up for all the regrets of her past life.
With that thought, Xia Qingtian opened the system interface in her mind.
Upon opening it this time, Xia Qingtian was surprised to find that the system interface was significantly more advanced than before. Although her points were still [0], there were more items available for redemption. Even the coveted lucky draw wheel now had a shining light bulb, emitting a dazzling glow.
The item inventory below was empty.
To save her life, Xia Qingtian had used up her last adrenaline shot and x-ray vision function.
"Sigh..." Xia Qingtian sighed heavily, feeling a sense of desolation, as if she had gone back to square one overnight.
As Xia Qingtian was feeling dejected, her phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, Xia Qingtian let out a cold laugh and answered, "Hello?"
"Qingtian, what's going on with you! You haven't been answering my calls for so long!" Mo Jianing's anxious voice came from the other end of the line.
"Didn't you know I wasn't in Z City?" Xia Qingtian's voice was languid.
"You haven't come back yet?" Mo Jianing was surprised that Xia Qingtian hadn't returned to Z City after such a long time, which explained why she hadn't seen her despite staking out Z University several times.
"Yes, it's so much fun here, I've decided to stay longer," Xia Qingtian said, looking at her fingernails.
"How can that be!" Mo Jianing exclaimed, her voice cracking in shock.
"You're so loud." Xia Qingtian immediately moved the phone to a safe distance.
"Xia Qingtian, how can you be so irresponsible! What about the virtual idol project if you don't come back?" Mo Jianing couldn't help but scold loudly. "I gave you so much money! How can you..."
"How much money did you give me?" Xia Qingtian raised an eyebrow. "Don't I remember that being you paying me back?"
Mo Jianing's voice faltered, and she suddenly became speechless, her face flushing and paling.
If she hadn't wanted Xia Qingtian to agree to the virtual idol project, she would never have paid her back!
Now, she had spent all her signing fees, and Wànqíng Entertainment was already arranging for her to record the voice library for the virtual idol. It was impossible for Xia Qingtian to back out now!
What if Wànqíng Entertainment sued her for fraud? Her life would be ruined!
Besides, even if it was fraud, it was Xia Qingtian who committed the fraud, not her, Mo Jianing. She was also a victim!
It was Xia Qingtian who broke her promise and defrauded her!
"If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up," Xia Qingtian said, about to end the call.
"Wait a moment!" Mo Jianing urgently called out, her expression darkening. "Qingtian, I apologize. My attitude was bad just now. I... I was just anxious because of our shared dream, so I... I lost control for a moment. Please don't be angry with me, okay? We're best friends!"
"Look, the city you're visiting should have recording studios, right? I'll transfer money to you, the money for the recording studio, and could you record a few segments for me? Acapella is fine. I'll send you what needs to be recorded later, and you just need to record according to the requirements! This is all for you to achieve your dream, Qingtian, have you forgotten your dream!"
Hearing Mo Jianing's words made Xia Qingtian feel disgusted.
How could she forget her dream?
Her biggest dream now was to see Mo Jianing suffer the consequences of her actions and never recover in this life; and to see Song Junhan live in the lowest stratum of society for his entire life, unable to achieve his desires, and to live a life of poverty!