Song Junhan needed to be hospitalized for a week, followed by another week of recuperation at home.
For over half a month, he hadn't appeared at the Xia Corporation. News of his car accident and subsequent rescue by the kind Xia Qingtian had spread throughout the entire company.
Compared to a life debt, the minor troubles Xia Qingtian had caused during that holiday were utterly insignificant.
The arrogant, overbearing, and vicious eldest daughter of the Xia family seemed not so terrible anymore.
After all, what kind of harm could an eighteen-year-old girl inflict?
Xia Qingtian's reputation began to improve. On the other hand, Su Wan, who had been so aggressive in the hospital that day, started to become the subject of hushed rumors.
However, no one was foolish enough to voice these rumors openly, knowing she was the daughter of a director. Su Wan remained unaware of these whispers.
She had been too busy lately to pay attention to such matters. She worked during the day and visited Song Junhan after work. On impulse, she had even started learning to make soup, keeping herself quite occupied.
Yet, despite the cordyceps, hashima, and other valuable ingredients like ginseng and deer antler, Song Junhan was getting thinner and thinner.
This greatly distressed Su Wan.
Apart from Song Junhan's poor absorption of tonics, Xia Qingtian's attitude that day, her blinding smile in front of the headlights, had caused Song Junhan to wake up from nightmares multiple times.
Logically, even if his plan wasn't flawless, Xia Qingtian should have been unaware.
But how could she have known…
Song Junhan had been so tormented by this issue over the past half-month that he had lost over ten pounds. Su Wan found herself wiping away tears several times each visit.
Her crying bothered Song Junhan, but he couldn't say anything, and instead had to console Su Wan.
"You seem to have lost more weight?" Su Wan's nose felt a little sore as she watched Song Junhan take small sips of the soup she brought.
"Perhaps it's because I'm returning to the company tomorrow, so I've been thinking a lot about work lately and haven't been sleeping well," Song Junhan replied with a faint smile.
"You don't need to worry about company matters. Although we're not in the same department, I'll do my best to help you," Su Wan promised.
"Su Wan, thank you," Song Junhan offered a smile, his eyes seemingly gazing at Su Wan with deep affection, which made Su Wan's face flush.
"Then, I'll see you at the company tomorrow." Su Wan's heart fluttered like a little deer. She simply pursed her lips, smiled shyly, and got up to leave.
Song Junhan walked her to the door, reminding her to be careful on her way. As soon as the door closed, he dropped all pretense of a smile, a layer of frost settling in his eyes.
"Is Miss Su gone?" At this moment, a man emerged from the study. He appeared about twenty years older than Mr. Xia, with graying temples, a thin and frail appearance, and occasional light coughs.
"Mm," Song Junhan replied casually and started to head back to his room.
"You and Qingtian..." the man seemed to want to inquire about Song Junhan but was coldly interrupted.
"There's nothing between me and her." Song Junhan was already agitated and flustered by Xia Qingtian's attitude. Hearing her name unexpectedly only made him angrier. "She's the high and mighty eldest daughter of the Xia family; she looks down on me completely."
"Qingtian isn't that kind of child!" the man said with a frown. "When she was little..."
"I'm tired." Song Junhan had no desire to listen to the man's nagging. He went straight back to his room and closed the door.
The man watched the tightly shut door, sighed slowly, shook his head, and returned to his study.
"Damn it!" Song Junhan cursed under his breath, his gaze growing more sinister and cold.
One day, he would trample all those who looked down on him under his feet!
He would absolutely, absolutely not end up like his father, living a lifelong, spineless existence with nothing to show for it.
What was the use of a good reputation? Money and power were what mattered most.
Thinking this, Song Junhan's gaze became more determined.
Anyone who stood in his way would die.
The next day, Song Junhan returned to work.
The suit that had fit him perfectly now hung somewhat loosely.
However, his cast hadn't been removed yet, so everyone's attention was immediately drawn to his injured arm. Throughout the day, very few people noticed his ill-fitting clothes.
Song Junhan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't have any extra money to buy new outfits at the moment.
What gave Song Junhan a headache, though, was that everyone felt compelled to praise Xia Qingtian to his face as beautiful and kind-hearted. He even had to offer a few words of gratitude for her saving his life to appear normal.
For several days like this, Song Junhan was so angry he felt like spitting blood.
Meanwhile, on the top floor of Gu Corporation Entertainment, a handsome man with golden hair was sprawled across the sofa. A strip of soft, fair skin showed between his pink shirt and dark jeans: "Nemesis, I've investigated the entire car accident case for you. My efficiency is quite good, wouldn't you say?"
"Mm," the man sitting behind the desk replied perfunctorily, his gaze fixed on the documents in his hand.
After he had taken Xia Qingtian home that day, he had immediately contacted Bai Yuqi, a private investigator he often worked with, to investigate the car accident.
He was quite surprised by what he uncovered.
It turned out Song Junhan had hired someone to hit Xia Qingtian, but for some reason, Xia Qingtian had managed to turn the tables on him.
Song Junhan, the employer, was the one who ended up in the hospital. Looking at the copy of his hospital record in the file, this Song Junhan had been quite severely injured.
However, based on the analysis of the brake marks at the scene, Song Junhan hadn't intended to kill Xia Qingtian, but rather to injure her.
He recalled the car accident he first noticed Xia Qingtian in.
The doubts in his heart were completely resolved at this moment.
It was likely that the car accident Xia Qingtian was supposed to have suffered was also Song Junhan's doing, with the aim of... getting Xia Qingtian to marry him.
After all, according to the original trajectory, Xia Qingtian had indeed married Song Junhan after becoming paralyzed.
However, Xia Qingtian not only avoided the first attempt to harm her but also retaliated in the second.
"Interesting." A smile flickered in the man's eyes as he recalled Xia Qingtian in his arms.
"Nemesis, if I've been so helpful this time, shouldn't I get a raise?"
"Gu Nemesis? Mr. Gu? Gu Yaoyang!"
"I heard you," Gu Yaoyang finally looked up from his documents.
"What about the raise..." Bai Yuqi flipped over and propped himself on the leather sofa, grinning at Gu Yaoyang as if he were looking at a pile of banknotes.
"A raise is impossible," Gu Yaoyang glanced at the calendar on the table, then looked back at the other person and said, "Next month on the 7th, the bi-colored eagle-head vase your grandfather has been looking for will be auctioned in C City. The transaction price is expected to be around 17.6 million."
"Holy shit! Is that true or false!" Bai Yuqi leaped up from the sofa like a carp and rushed towards Gu Yaoyang, bracing his hands on the edge of the desk, his eyes wide. "I was following this auction too, but I didn't hear about a bi-colored eagle-head vase appearing. Nemesis, how did you know? How do you seem to know everything? Are you trying to steal my job?"
Gu Yaoyang's expression remained unchanged. He merely glanced at the other person. "If I were you, I'd hurry and raise the money."
"That's right, I won't charge extra this time. Call me again when you have another job!" With that, Bai Yuqi scrambled out of Gu Corporation.
"I don't know everything either." Gu Yaoyang picked up a water glass from the table and took a sip, then glanced at the file on the desk, the corners of his mouth curving upward in a subtle arc. "At least, not from now on."