When Qin Chuan opened his eyes, it was already past three, approaching four in the afternoon. He found himself wrapped up like a mummy, lying stiffly on the hospital bed.
Faintly, he could still hear suppressed sobs. Qin Chuan twisted his neck to look and saw Li Ya crying.
"Sis... why are you here?"
Qin Chuan asked.
Li Ya, who was crying, was startled. She quickly raised her head, wiped away the tears on her face, and said with concern, "Xiao Chuan, you're awake? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Qin Chuan shook his head and asked, "Why are you here? Your injuries..."
"I'm fine, just a slight injury on my back. It'll heal with medicine and rest."
Li Ya said, but Qin Chuan knew she was comforting him. He had seen several dark purple bruises on Li Ya's back, which they got from falling while running in the dense forest.
However, it was true that Li Ya's injuries were much lighter than his. Last night, Qin Chuan had given his shoes to Li Ya to take care of her, and almost every time they fell, he had quickly shielded her with his own body. This was the main reason for the many wounds he sustained.
"Xiao Chuan, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It's all because of me..."
"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be so badly hurt!"
Li Ya apologized with great guilt, believing she had dragged Qin Chuan down. If she hadn't been with him last night, Qin Chuan would not have been so severely injured.
Qin Chuan grinned and struggled to extend his arms. Seeing this, Li Ya quickly leaned her face closer, a tacit understanding they had developed.
Qin Chuan gently stroked Li Ya's pale face and said with a wry smile, "Sis, I'm the one who should be apologizing. Those people last night were clearly after me. You were the one who was dragged into it."
"Don't worry, these are all superficial wounds. In a few days, I'll be back on my feet, full of energy."
"En!!"
Li Ya nodded solemnly.
Just then, the hospital room door was pushed open. Qin Yang walked in, and his face lit up with surprise and joy when he saw Qin Chuan was awake.
"Where are the others?"
After a brief chat, Qin Chuan asked.
"They've all gone out to find those assailants! They swore that as long as those guys are still in Yongnan County, they'll turn the whole place upside down to find them!"
Qin Yang said through gritted teeth.
Hearing this, Qin Chuan knew that Zheng Chengdao and the others hadn't captured the black-clad men last night.
From Qin Yang's words, he learned that when Zheng Chengdao and his men arrived at the scene last night, the car had already been driven away. There wasn't a trace of the people, let alone the car, indicating the perpetrators' cunning.
The entire city was now under strict lockdown. Both the police and their side had dispatched all available personnel to scrutinize every suspicious individual.
"Yongnan County, though not large, has a population of over 300,000, with about 150,000 living within the city. Its area is also considerable."
"This needle-in-a-haystack approach has very slim hopes!"
Qin Chuan sighed, shaking his head. It was too dark last night, and he hadn't seen the faces of any of the black-clad men. He hadn't even seen the license plate clearly, only vaguely recalling that the car had four rings in the front, suggesting it was an Audi.
But he was filled with emotion. Having such brothers, his life was truly worthwhile.
"Still, we have to try to know!"
Qin Yang also appeared unwilling, saying through gritted teeth.
"Oh, by the way, when you were asleep, Secretary Ye also came by with some people."
Qin Chuan nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Brother, my phone got water damage last night and is completely broken. Could you go out and buy me a new one?"
"Brother, mine is broken too!"
"I'll pay you back for whatever it costs when you buy it!"
Li Ya quickly added.
Qin Yang gave a simple, honest smile. "What's this about money, Li Ya? You're being too formal!"
"I'll go buy you new phones right now!"
He then turned and left.
Less than half an hour later, Qin Yang returned with two new phones, both of the same brand and model, Nokia, specifically the 3210.
Except for the different colors, they were identical, like a pair of couple's phones.
Li Ya noticed this and was very happy, praising Qin Yang for being thoughtful. She immediately inserted her SIM card and turned on the phone.
Qin Yang also helped insert Qin Chuan's SIM card into the new phone. After powering it on, a flood of messages poured in, all missed calls and messages.
Qin Chuan quickly scanned them. There were messages from Fang Rumei, Alisha, Ye Meiyun, his parents, Xu Ronghua, Li Chunsheng, and many business partners.
Ye Qingping and Zhou Congrong had also called, as well as the person in charge at Qingbei University.
Qin Chuan immediately returned their calls one by one, spending a good forty minutes on the phone, which highlighted how busy Qin Chuan's business was on a daily basis.
Li Ya and Qin Yang, sitting not far away, watched this scene. Qin Yang seemed unfazed, as if he was already used to it. Li Ya, however, showed a hint of envy in her eyes.
She had also made calls earlier, but only a handful, and they were all from her subordinates asking about work. It was nothing like Qin Chuan, who had at least twenty missed calls to return.
It made one marvel at how much Qin Chuan's business had grown. He could no longer afford to have sudden incidents, as they would affect not just one or two people, but many.
*Ding!*
Just then, Qin Yang's phone in his pocket received a message. He took it out, and his pupils slightly contracted. He then instinctively looked at his younger brother lying on the bed.
He saw Qin Chuan wink at him secretly!
Qin Yang felt awkward. The message was from his good brother, asking him to retrieve another phone from the car.
Qin Yang knew what that other phone was for – it was specifically for contacting Teacher Yang Zimo.
And Li Ya was right there. His scummy younger brother was truly audacious. Wasn't he afraid of Li Ya finding out?
Qin Yang glared fiercely at Qin Chuan. His brother was good in all aspects, except when it came to women; he was too much of a playboy, juggling two at once.
For this reason, not only he, but also his family, including their parents, had reprimanded him, yet he remained unrepentant. They were genuinely worried about what would happen if he ever got caught.
Now, among the people around, except for Li Ya, many already knew that Qin Chuan had two girlfriends, each more beautiful than the other...
With a sense of awkwardness, Qin Yang turned and left. If he knew that Qin Chuan had recently acquired a blonde, blue-eyed foreign girl, he didn't know how he would feel.
In the evening, many people came to the hospital room. Gifts and flowers were arranged all over the place. Qin Chuan, bandaged, sat on the bed chatting with everyone.
From what they learned from everyone, the entire Yongnan County was under strict lockdown. Checkpoints were set up at all intersections, and all incoming vehicles and people with accents from outside the area were being rigorously screened.
As long as those people hadn't driven out of Yongnan County last night, they should still be in Yongnan County now.
Furthermore, all the brothers below had been dispatched to investigate and identify recent foreign populations, with a particular focus on searching for the Audi.