Chapter 57 p1
Hundreds.
A chill ran down Xu Jinnan’s spine.
“Even if it doesn’t kill you, it can cause brain damage and psychosis,” Professor Qin said gravely. “And that’s the best-case scenario.” The last time, with Yin Xue’s suicide attempt, she had only inhaled a trace amount from the bandages, and it had still affected her for days. And that had been a diluted version.
“Miss Xu, this is a controlled substance. If it doesn’t belong to you, you should report this to the police,” he said seriously.
Xu Jinnan understood. This amount was enough to warrant a serious investigation.
“It’s not mine, and it’s not convenient to involve the police right now,” she said, walking over to the sink and washing her hands. “Professor Qin, I’ll take care of this and have it destroyed. Just pretend you never saw it.” She lowered her voice. “I’ll be honest with you. This is a Xu family matter. No matter the outcome, I promise you won’t be implicated.”
A cool breeze drifted in through the open window, the dripping faucet slowing to a stop.
“I understand,” Professor Qin said. “Consider this matter closed.” He wasn’t foolish.
Xu Jinnan had made it clear this was a family matter.
Destroying the evidence and reporting it to the police would only antagonize the Xu family, with no benefit to him.
Besides, after these past few months, he had grown to trust Xu Jinnan.
—
Xu Jinnan sat in the driver’s seat, the cold sweat that had earlier beaded on her forehead now evaporated.
Her white Bentley glided along the asphalt road, the golden leaves of the French plane trees lining the streets, their vibrant yellow a stark contrast to the darkening sky, the earlier sunshine now obscured by gathering clouds.
Like the secrets hidden within the Xu family.
She mentally reviewed the recent events, realizing that despite overcoming each crisis, she hadn’t gotten any closer to the truth.
Who was helping Yin Xue?
And what was the connection between that person and the drug the original Xu Jinnan had hidden?
A sense of unease settled over her. Besides the Xu family, there might be others… watching her.
She had no leads, no answers.
Only Qucheng.
She had to finalize the Qucheng trip soon; she couldn’t keep postponing it.
She didn’t know what other dangers awaited her.
As she parked, unbuckling her seatbelt, she received a WeChat message from Tong Jia.
Two weeks had passed since the Qiao Rui incident, and Tong Jia seemed to have recovered, her usual cheerful demeanor masking any lingering pain.
Tong Jia: [Sis, check Weibo!]
Xu Jinnan: [?]
Tong Jia: [You’ll regret it if you don’t!]
Xu Jinnan was easily swayed by such challenges. Her work WeChat was constantly buzzing with notifications, so she usually kept Weibo on silent.
As she opened the app, the notification count continued to climb, along with her follower count.
Then, her gaze stopped.
Her private messages were restricted to followers only, and a new name had appeared on the list – Shen Shu.
Shen Shu: [Thank you.]
Shen Shu had actually followed her?
Not only that, but she had also liked Xu Jinnan’s repost of her thank-you message to her fans.
Xu Jinnan’s earlier gloom lifted, a smile playing on her lips. So this is the joy of fandom.
Another message, from ShuShu’sNumberOneFan: [Ahhh!!! Sis! You’re my savior!]
ShuShu’sNumberOneFan: [Shu Shu only follows five people, and you’re one of them!!!]
ShuShu’sNumberOneFan: [I’m going to cling to your thigh for the rest of my life! Please let me bask in your glory!]
RichSisterWithStamina: [My pleasure.]
Xu Jinnan chuckled, then, feeling a surge of curiosity, opened the fan group chat.
How did you do it?!
Can you buy me an LED screen too? I want to be followed by Shu Shu!
Don’t be ridiculous. You’re a moderator. You can do it yourself.
I think Xia Chun is also a fan now. She likes every single one of Shu Shu’s posts.
It’s not just because of the LED screen. Jia-jie said Boss Lady has secured several sponsorships and endorsements for Shu Shu, even negotiated some of them personally. She’s practically Shu Shu’s second agent.
I want to see what Boss Lady looks like~
Slightly off-topic, but Boss Lady is a CP fan! Such a charming persona~
Xu Jinnan scrolled through the messages, her head resting against the headrest, then paused, rereading the comment about Xia Chun.
A strange thought crossed her mind.
—
It was 1 p.m. when Xu Jinnan finished her meeting.
As she left her office, she heard her employees discussing a film crew.
“Which production?”
“I don’t know. They’re keeping it a secret, probably to avoid crowds.”
“But people will find out eventually, won’t they?”
“The fewer people who know, the better. The company said we shouldn’t disturb them.”
Xu Jinnan paused, a thought crossing her mind. Shen Shu had finished filming her outdoor scenes today and would be at the office building tomorrow.
But not in this area.
As she was leaving the restroom, she overheard a conversation. “Holy shit, the set for Full Dress collapsed… Someone’s trapped underneath.”
Xu Jinnan’s blood ran cold. She whirled around. “Which Full Dress?”
The employee, startled by her intensity, stammered, “The… the…”
Before she could finish, Xu Jinnan had already rushed away.
Which Full Dress? There was only one.
She ran to her office, grabbing her phone. It was better to call Shen Shu directly.
They usually communicated through WeChat, her recent call log showing only a few calls from the past two days, but in this moment of panic, her patience vanished.
She found Shen Shu’s number and dialed it.
After waiting for over ten seconds with no answer, she tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk, her stomach clenching.
She hung up and called Tong Jia, who also didn’t answer the first time. After another long wait, she frowned, a sense of unease settling over her.
“Hello? CEO Xu?”
“Where’s Shen Shu?” she asked without preamble.
“You saw the news, didn’t you? Don’t worry, she’s fine. She wasn’t hurt… I’ll explain later. We’re at the hospital,” Tong Jia replied.
If she wasn’t hurt, why are they at the hospital? She would have to see Shen Shu to be sure.
“Which hospital?”
Tong Jia gave her the address. It was the one funded by the Xu family.
—
Xu Jinnan’s face was expressionless as she drove, her foot heavy on the accelerator. She knew Shen Shu was probably fine; Tong Jia would have called her immediately if anything serious had happened.
But she still wanted to see her as soon as possible.
To confirm with her own eyes that she was safe.
At the hospital, she rushed towards the emergency room, where a crowd of fans and reporters were being held back by security.
Most of them were Xia Chun’s fans, her agent talking to them.
To avoid the crowd, Xu Jinnan took the staff entrance.
“You’re here already?” Tong Jia asked, holding a bag of medication, a tube of ointment visible inside.
Xu Jinnan frowned. “I thought she wasn’t hurt.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not for Shu Shu. It’s for Xia Chun. If she hadn’t reacted quickly and pulled Shu Shu out of the way, the scaffolding would have fallen on her. She helped us, so I’m just running errands for her,” Tong Jia explained.
Xu Jinnan relaxed slightly. “Where is she?”
“Xinxin is with her, thanking Xia Chun. She’s really fine. Don’t worry,” Tong Jia reassured her, leading her towards the elevators. Due to their connections, they had been given a private room.
The hospital was quiet, with few patients.
“She’s fine. The X-rays were normal. Just a few scrapes, but Xia Chun’s agency is probably making a big deal out of it for publicity,” Tong Jia said, pointing towards a room. “But Xia Chun is really nice. I’m starting to become a fan.”
Xu Jinnan nodded, and they reached the room. Tong Jia opened the door.
“I can’t forget you,” Xia Chun’s voice said, just as the door opened.
Everyone froze.
Xu Jinnan and Tong Jia stood at the doorway, Xia Chun sitting on the edge of the bed, Shen Shu standing a few feet away.
Xu Jinnan’s eyes met Shen Shu’s.
Tong Jia coughed awkwardly, glancing at Xu Jinnan’s expression. “Xia Chun, thank you so much! Shu Shu’s family is so grateful!” she said, her tone overly cheerful.
They all knew who Xu Jinnan was, and Tong Jia’s emphasis on “family” was a deliberate attempt to clarify their relationship.
Xu Jinnan’s expression softened slightly as she turned to Xia Chun, forcing a smile. “Yes, thank you, Xia Chun. Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing. You should still take Ah Shu for a CT scan, just to be safe,” Xia Chun replied.
“No need. I’m fine,” Shen Shu said, walking over to Xu Jinnan. She turned to Tong Jia. “Jia Jia, Xia Chun’s agent isn’t here yet, and Xinxin went to get some water. Can you stay with her for a bit?”
“Sure, you two lovebirds chat,” Tong Jia said, regretting her impulsive entrance.
She had assumed Xia Chun simply admired Shen Shu. What was with this talk of past relationships?
And the atmosphere between Xu Jinnan and Shen Shu seemed strange, almost tense. Were they about to have a fight?
Before leaving, Xu Jinnan had intended to thank Xia Chun again for helping Shen Shu, but she lost her desire to do so.
Outside the room, she looked down at Shen Shu, her voice low and concerned. “Are you sure you’re okay? Should we get a check-up?”
“I’m fine. Xia Chun pulled me out of the way,” Shen Shu replied, shaking her head.
“Good.” Xu Jinnan nodded. “What happened? How can a film set just collapse?”
Just as Shen Shu was about to explain, someone approached, and Xu Jinnan instinctively stepped in front of her, shielding her from their gaze.
As they stood close together, the scent of disinfectant was replaced by Shen Shu’s familiar fragrance.
Shen Shu, still slightly shaken from the incident, felt a sense of calm now, standing beside Xu Jinnan.
She was wearing heels, while Xu Jinnan was in flat sneakers.
She looked up at Xu Jinnan’s face, her light brown hair slightly tousled, as if ruffled by the wind.
Her gaze lingered on a stray strand of hair.
“I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t secure the set properly… Did you see it on Weibo?” she asked.
“Something like that,” Xu Jinnan replied vaguely.
A silence fell between them.
“Don’t you have anything else to ask me?” Shen Shu asked.
Xu Jinnan looked at her. Even she, oblivious as she could be sometimes, understood the meaning behind Xia Chun’s words.
It wasn’t just one-sided affection.
Xia Chun and Shen Shu had a past. Perhaps.
After all, she hadn’t read the entire novel. She lacked conviction.
Did you two know each other before? She wanted to ask.
She hesitated, then asked softly, “I do have a question.”
Just then, Xinxin approached with a water pitcher, and Xu Jinnan said, “Let’s talk about it later, at home.”
Xinxin greeted them cheerfully.
Seeing that Shen Shu was truly unharmed, Xu Jinnan said, “Why don’t you go back inside? I have to go back to the office.”
“What am I supposed to be doing?” Shen Shu asked, the slight upward inflection in her voice making it sound more like a statement than a question.
Xu Jinnan glanced at Xia Chun’s room, smiling faintly. “Isn’t Xia Chun injured? And there are all those fans outside. Her agency wants to use this for publicity, and Tong Jia asked you to stay and show your support.”
Shen Shu didn’t reply, looking down for a moment, then said calmly, “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”
“Isn’t that what Tong Jia wanted?”
“Yes,” Shen Shu said. “You can go now.”
Xu Jinnan sensed the awkwardness in her tone. “What time will you be home?”
“I don’t know. When I’m done.”
Xu Jinnan: “…” Why the hesitation?
—
A few minutes after Xu Jinnan left, Xia Chun’s agent returned, and Tong Jia immediately pulled Shen Shu aside.
“Shu Shu, what’s going on between you and Xia Chun? No, we’ll discuss this later,” she said, then, lowering her voice, asked, “Is CEO Xu angry?”
“Why would she be angry?” Shen Shu asked calmly.
“I heard it. She must have heard it too,” Tong Jia said, referring to Xia Chun’s confession.
Shen Shu shook her head silently.
Clearly, Xu Jinnan didn’t care.
To Xu Jinnan, their marriage was just a contract, but why was she so good to her?
Then again, she was good to everyone.
Shen Shu felt a strange pang of annoyance, unable to focus on Tong Jia’s words.
—
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