Chapter 348: Chapter 348: Completely Destroyed
The next morning.
An Mi arrived at the hospital bright and early.
When she arrived, Yang Jie was still asleep.
“Mimi, you’re here. Xiao Jie is still sleeping. Have a seat here and wait for a bit. I’ll go home to make some breakfast and come back soon,” said Aunt Yang in a low voice when she saw her.
An Mi nodded, “Okay, Aunt Yang, please go ahead without worries, I’ll take care of Xiao Jie.”
Aunt Yang responded, “Alright, good.”
After taking a few steps, Aunt Yang turned back to look at her and said, “Mimi, have you had breakfast yet?”
An Mi shook her head.
Aunt Yang said, “Then I’ll cook a little more, you can eat with Xiao Jie in a bit.”
An Mi replied, “Okay, thank you, Aunt Yang.”
After Aunt Yang left, An Mi sat by the bedside the whole time, keeping watch.
Soon, Yang Jie woke up.
“Xiao Jie, you’re awake?”
An Mi stood up excitedly, staring intensely at her.
Yang Jie responded with a faint smile upon seeing her.
An Mi then asked, “Xiao Jie, are you feeling any discomfort anywhere? Do you need me to call a doctor?”
Yang Jie shook her head.
An Mi asked again, “Then do you feel thirsty? I’ll pour you some water to moisten your throat.”
As she spoke, she turned, intending to get water.
But Yang Jie raised her hand, grabbing hers in time.
“What’s, what’s wrong?” An Mi turned her head to look at her and asked.
Yang Jie could see that she was very nervous right now.
Her mouth opened, her voice a bit hoarse: “Mimi, I’m not thirsty, could you help raise the bed for me first?”
Upon hearing this, An Mi immediately went to the end of the bed and cranked it up.
“Is this height okay?” An Mi asked.
Yang Jie nodded, “Mhm,” she uttered.
Then, she pointed to the chair beside her and said, “Don’t just stand there, come sit, I have something I want to tell you.”
After helping her adjust the bed, An Mi stood still, gazing at her.
Once An Mi had sat down, she looked at her with tearful eyes, saying earnestly, “I’m sorry, Xiao Jie, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have encountered such misfortune. Thankfully, your injuries were just superficial. Otherwise, I would never forgive myself for the rest of my life. If possible, I wish the one who had gotten hurt was me.”
The guilt in her eyes and the self-recrimination in her words were all too clear to Yang Jie.
Yang Jie gave her a smile, saying, “You haven’t let me down, Mimi, I hope you’ll always be happy. Don’t let these things bother you. Besides, I’m not seriously hurt, am I?”
An Mi: “But I…”
Yang Jie cut her off: “Mimi, if today it were you who got hurt because of me, would you blame me?”
An Mi blurted out, “No.”
Yang Jie said, “Since you wouldn’t, of course, I wouldn’t either. This incident really has nothing to do with you. People harbor envy, and with too much of it, they do unreasonable things. Some things are unavoidable. Everyone has envy in their heart, and even if you don’t provoke her, she would come after you simply because you’re too outstanding. Besides, between you and me, we share a relation of mutual dependence, so there’s no issue of who let whom down.”
“…”
In the following days, An Mi kept company with Yang Jie in the hospital.
She came every morning and stayed until late before she went back.
That morning.
“Mimi, you really don’t need to come every day to keep me company. You should head back to school and attend classes,” Yang Jie said. “Plus, with you visiting me every day, what about Mr. Wan? Someone who doesn’t know might think I’m your boyfriend.”
Speaking of Wan Muqi, An Mi had indeed been neglecting him lately.
Because all her thoughts had been on Yang Jie recently.
She had also taken a week’s leave from school.
An Mi said, “It’s fine, he won’t mind things like this. Besides, which is more important, a boyfriend or you?”
She always valued friendship over romance.
Yang Jie smiled, “If Mr. Wan heard what you said, wouldn’t he turn around and gorge himself on a jar of vinegar?”
Seeing the smile returning to her face, the heavy stone An Mi had been carrying in her heart seemed to have lifted by half.
“It’s nothing, a little jealousy is good for your health,” she said offhandedly.
Afterward, she glanced at the weather outside the window.
“Xiao Jie, the weather’s nice today, how about I take you out for a stroll?” An Mi asked.
She had not gone out for the past few days, staying in the hospital room the entire time.
Yang Jie also glanced outside at the weather and then nodded her head, “Okay.”
An Mi pushed her wheelchair to the hospital’s back garden.
The two sat down in a pavilion.
Just as they had sat down and exchanged a few words, two women suddenly charged over.
“That’s her, that’s An Mi.”
One of the women pointed at An Mi and accused her as soon as she entered.
An Mi and Yang Jie looked bewilderedly at the two middle-aged women who had suddenly appeared.
An Mi instinctively stood up, positioning Yang Jie behind her for protection.
An Mi asked, looking at them, “Who are you?”
Although these people could call out her name, she did not recognize them.
One of the women with short hair glared at An Mi furiously, and swearing, she said: “It’s because of you, this shameless woman, that my daughter ended up in prison! I’ll beat you to death, you little harlot!”
With that, she raised her hand to slap An Mi’s face.
Of course, An Mi wasn’t going to just wait to be struck.
But before she could retaliate, a hand appeared, grabbed the short-haired woman’s hand, and flung her away.
“Ouch!”
The short-haired woman lost her balance, twisted her ankle, and tumbled onto the stone bench in the pavilion.
The long-haired woman who came with the short-haired woman rushed to her aid.
“Second sister, are you alright?”
The long-haired woman turned towards Wan Muqi, who had appeared out of nowhere, and scolded, “Who are you, pushing my second sister around like that?”
“…”
Wan Muqi didn’t bother responding to her.
He looked at An Mi and asked, “Are you okay?”
An Mi: “I’m fine, why are you still here?”
He had driven her to the hospital that morning.
But after dropping her off, hadn’t he left?
“I didn’t leave,” he said.
“…”
Then, An Mi looked at the two strange women and asked, “Could they be from the Wu Family?”
Wan Muqi replied with a “Hmm,” and added, “The court has already made a decision regarding Wu Xiaomin, but the Wu Family refuses to accept the verdict, especially Wu Xiaomin’s mother.”
An Mi didn’t really want to have any interaction with the Wu Family.
She turned to Yang Jie and suggested, “Xiao Jie, let’s go back.”
Yang Jie: “Okay.”
Seeing that they were about to leave, Mrs. Wu quickly got up and bellowed, “Don’t you dare walk away!”
Wan Muqi’s expression darkened as he stared at her.
Mrs. Wu was taken aback by his piercing gaze.
But she came here today for the sake of justice for her daughter.
She pointed at An Mi and demanded, “How come you hurt my daughter and get off scot-free, but my daughter has to be locked up?”
Just as An Mi turned to speak, Wan Muqi preempted her and said, “Mrs. Wu, through which eye did you see she’s the one who hurt your daughter? Do you have evidence? If not, your behavior constitutes defamation. Are you planning to join your daughter in prison?”
Mrs. Wu was startled, “Don’t think you can scare me!”
Wan Muqi’s voice was cold, “Do you think I’m full and idle, here to scare you? Who do you think you are?”
“Moreover, the cameras over there captured you attempting to strike someone. I could call the police for this behavior!”
Wan Muqi kindly pointed towards the right side of Mrs. Wu to remind her where the surveillance camera was located.
Mrs. Wu: “…I didn’t hit her, it was you who pushed me, and now my foot is injured. If anyone should be accused of hurting someone, it’s you who hurt me!”
Wan Muqi said expressionlessly, “Then let’s call the police and see if they decide you’re the criminal, or if I am.”
Mrs. Wu felt somewhat intimidated by his fearless demeanor.
In the past, her family had connections, and she was not afraid of being taken into custody.
But times have changed.
She came here today to make a scene because she couldn’t accept her daughter being accused like this.
She hadn’t intended to blow the situation out of proportion; she just wanted to teach An Mi a lesson.
But her plan was ruined by the sudden appearance of Wan Muqi.
“Elder sister, how about we just let it go today?” The woman standing next to Mrs. Wu whispered in her ear, “Brother-in-law said yesterday that we shouldn’t make a big deal out of this.”
“…”
Wan Muqi gave the two women a cold look, “Are you two not leaving because you’re waiting for the police to come and pick you up?”
Mrs. Wu, upon hearing this, could only huff in discontent before she looked once more at Yang Jie, who was sitting in a wheelchair, and then turned to leave.
After they left, An Mi accompanied Yang Jie back to the ward.
An Mi had dinner with Yang Jie, and after making sure she had fallen asleep, she left the room.
Wan Muqi had been waiting outside the whole time.
“You’ve been standing out here all along?” An Mi asked.
The man grunted in affirmation.
An Mi: “…”
She had clearly told him that there was no need to wait for her.
“You really can stand for a long time, don’t your legs get sore?”
“It’s worth being sore if I’m waiting for you.”
“…”
Wan Muqi then asked, “Is Yang Jie asleep?”
“Yes, she is asleep,” An Mi replied. “I’m a bit worried.”
The man said, “Worried that the Wu family will come to harass the hospital?”
An Mi nodded, “Yes, their harassment doesn’t bother me much, but I’m concerned for Yang Jie and Uncle Yang.”
Wan Muqi responded, “Don’t worry about that, I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay.”
After saying this, An Mi suddenly recalled what Yang Jie had mentioned that morning.
She looked at the man in front of her and asked, “I haven’t been paying attention to you these past few days, you’re not upset, are you?”
The man raised his hand to rub her head, responding with a question instead of an answer, “What do you think?”
An Mi took his hand and said, “I think you’re not, after all, Mr. Wan, you’re so broad-minded, surely you wouldn’t be jealous over such trivial matters.”
Wan Muqi looked at her, silent for a few seconds.
He thought about what had happened that day, realizing An Mi’s level of trust in him was not very high.
But he didn’t dwell on it.
As for her neglecting him these past few days while she stayed with Yang Jie, of course, he wasn’t upset.
This incident made him realize that he wasn’t An Mi’s top priority.
But he didn’t care about that anymore, as long as she was safe, healthy, and happy.
The helpless and aggressive look in her eyes that day always gave him a lingering concern.
He was worried that one day she might hurt herself.
The man smiled and said, “Yes, you’re right. Now that you have some time, why don’t you join me for a meal? That should be fine, right?”
An Mi: “Sure, let’s go.”
…
Meanwhile, at a certain coffee shop.
“Are you sure you want to expose this?”
A man wearing a cap looked at the woman sitting opposite him and asked, “The information you provided, once it’s leaked, whether or not the incident is true, if it’s traced back, you and I could both end up facing consequences.”
The woman wore a mask and sunglasses, covering her entire face.
It was impossible to discern her appearance, only knowing she was female…
The woman took out a cheque for five hundred thousand from her purse and pushed it towards him, “This is your advance payment. After the job is done, you’ll get the remaining five hundred thousand.”
“You just handle the leak; I’ll take care of the rest.”
The man stared at the five hundred thousand in front of him, struggling internally. It was hard not to be tempted.
On top of that, there was another five hundred thousand, making it a total of one million.
This one million was equivalent to his salary for several years.
Working to the point of exhaustion might not even earn him one million.
Money makes the world go ’round!
Under the allure of money, very few people can resist.
Especially those with desires.
The man picked up the cheque and declared, “Done!”
…
After the man returned to his rented room, he began to carefully organize information and start drafting an exposé.
He made several phone calls, then created a WeChat group with a total of ten people.
These ten people were the internet trolls he had hired, and several were his colleagues from his livestreaming team.
He was currently an obscure internet celebrity.
If he was going to expose something, he couldn’t do without the trolls.
After all, someone needed to set the pace, which is why he spent some money to gather these people.
He roughly outlined the procedure in the group and what each person was responsible for.
Five o’clock in the afternoon.
He sat by his computer.
He posted the edited article right on time.
Then, he sat back to watch the drama unfold.
But ten minutes later.
Somebody pinged him in the WeChat group.
Friend 1: [ @Ray of Hope, you said it starts at five, right? Did you post it? ]
Friend 2: [ Yeah, Ray of Hope, why haven’t I seen your post? ]
Friend 3: [ Ray of Hope, did you post it in the wrong place? ]
Lin Yunxiang, puzzled, looked at the messages in the group.
That’s impossible, he clearly hit publish.
And he even got a success notification.
Quickly, he rose from the sofa and returned to his computer, refreshing the page.
Upon refreshing, the web page was blank, with nothing on it.
He was completely baffled…
“Impossible, I clearly published it, could it have been a network issue just now?”
He scratched his head and mumbled to himself.
Picking up his phone, he said in the group: “The network might have been bad just now, I’ll publish it again, make sure you keep up the momentum. If this goes well, we’ll make a fortune.”
As soon as he finished, he reposted it.
This time, he clearly saw it was successfully published.
But as soon as he published it…
… it was intercepted by someone else.
“Young Madam, we’ve located the IP address of the person who published the article—it’s in our city, on Jiefang Road,” Fei Yang reported to Su He.
Su He had been worried someone might exploit the situation, so she had made preparations early on.
But she didn’t expect someone would actually do so.
If Yang Jie’s incident were to be leaked, her reputation would be utterly destroyed.
Su He said firmly, “Bring that person here!”
Fei Yang acknowledged, “Received.”
…