“Take care of the two little ones for me.”
That was the only help Zong Jinghao needed.
Li Zhan nodded solemnly. “You can count on me!”
Probably disturbed by Zong Jinghao’s voice, Lin Xinyan suddenly groaned as she moved her body. Zong Jinghao immediately hung up the phone to embrace Lin Xinyan and rub her back. “It’s fine. Go back to sleep.”
He was unsure if Lin Xinyan was actually awake, but she stopped moving after that.
Looking down at Lin Xinyan, Zong Jinghao caressed her cold cheek softly. As if she were a cloud that could dissipate anytime, Zong Jinghao was as tender as he could with his touch.
He was head over heels for Lin Xinyan.
After a night of staying by Lin Xinyan’s side, Zong Jinghao received a text from Shen Peichuan to see the news the next morning.
The homicide case at the bar was all over the news. There were so many rumors and speculations going around that it was overwhelming.
On the internet was a one-minute video showing how Lin Xinyan had aimed a gun at He Ruize before firing.
The comments were almost entirely one-sided; most of them demanded Lin Xinyan to pay for her sin. Some of them even speculated that it was a crime of passion and that the girl in the video had shot the guy because he cheated on her.
It would only get worse if the situation were left to fester, so Zong Jinghao called Aunt Yu to take care of Lin Xinyan. He also had Guan Jing arrange for security detail at the hospital in case reporters discovered Lin Xinyan’s location.
Before he could capture Chen Shihan, Zong Jinghao had to stop the news from spreading like wildfire.
Otherwise, the situation would get out of hand.
Zong Jinghao had his company’s Department of Public Relations hold the person who released the video accountable for their action. The video was not official, and it only served to spread rumors, so Zong Jinghao could have the person prosecuted for spreading rumors and neglecting civil liability. It was an act of defamation against Lin Xinyan.
Everyone in the company knew who Lin Xinyan was to Zong Jinghao, so they were careful not to discuss the matter in fear of provoking the man.
Since he came to the company in the morning, Zong Jinghao had been busy giving all kinds of orders to deal with the situation.
The news was so widespread that even Li Zhan, who had been staying inside, heard about it. Afraid that Lin Xichen might see the news, Li Zhan took her phone away.
Li Zhan finally realized why Zong Jinghao did not come back the day before and even asked him to stay with the children.
While he was still figuring out how to go outside safely, Li Zhan noticed Cheng Yuxiu and Zong Qifeng on their way out. “Wait! You saw the news, right?”
Cheng Yuxiu nodded and explained that they were about to go looking for Zong Jinghao. They wanted to ask him about the situation.
“Just stay home. Look after Ruixi and Xichen. That’ll be a big help for Jinghao. I know my way around the internet, so I might be able to do something about it. I’ll go look for him instead.”
After some thought, Cheng Yuxiu agreed with Li Zhan and looked at Zong Qifeng. “You should go with him. I’ll stay and look after the children.”
Zong Qifeng nodded. “Call me if anything comes up.”
Li Zhan quickly grabbed hold of the car key. “I’ll drive.”
“What’s wrong?” asked Lin Xichen, who noticed how strange everyone seemed. Cheng Yuxiu comforted her, “Your father has some issues at work that he needs to take care of. They’re just going there to check how he’s doing. You have to believe that your father’s going to be alright.”
Cheng Yuxiu deliberately told Lin Xichen that Zong Jinghao had work-related problems. Unlike Lin Ruixi, Lin Xichen was far too smart to be convinced that nothing was wrong.
“Then, why isn’t Mommy back either?” asked Lin Ruixi while Lin Xichen sat aside, wondering why Li Zhan took away his tablet if Zong Jinghao was only having work-related problems.
After picking Lin Ruixi up, Cheng Yuxiu explained, “Well, since Daddy has problems at work, Mommy’s got to help him out too.”
“Then, how can Xichen and I help out?” The little girl innocently asked.
Caressing Lin Ruixi’s cheek, Cheng Yuxiu assured her, “As long as you stay home and don’t cause any trouble, you’re already doing them a big favor.”
Nestling in Cheng Yuxiu’s arms, the little girl nodded and promised, “I won’t cause Daddy and Mommy any more problems. I’ll be good.”
Cheng Yuxiu hugged Lin Ruixi and ran her fingers through the little girl’s hair. “What a good girl you are, Ruixi!”
On the other hand, Lin Xichen did not have much to say. “I’ll be in my room, Grandma.”
“Xichen… Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m just heading back to my room to work on Secret Base.”
“You should let us help you, then,” offered Cheng Yuxiu, who was still carrying Lin Ruixi.
“No, I’m good.” Lin Xichen quickly waved his hands, “I can do it on my own.”
Then, he hurried back into his room and locked the door. Lin Xichen was afraid that Cheng Yuxiu would discover that he had lied about playing with Secret Base.
After leaning against the door for a while, Lin Xichen ran to grab his phone by the pillow and called Lin Xinyan, whose phone was taken away for inspection at the police station. It was then returned to her and left on the table in her ward after she came out of the operation room.
Lin Xichen’s call woke Lin Xinyan when her phone rang.
Afraid that it would disturb Lin Xinyan, Aunt Yu was about to put the phone away when Lin Xinyan turned to look at her. “Give me the phone.”
After seeing Lin Xichen’s name on display, Aunt Yu passed the phone to Lin Xinyan, who was trying hard to sit up.
Aunt Yu hurried over to help her out and put a pillow on her back. “You shouldn’t move around now.”
Without responding to Aunt Yu, Lin Xinyan answered the call.
“Mommy!” exclaimed Lin Xichen excitedly. The young boy had thought that the call was never going to go through.
Even though she was still weak, Lin Xinyan tried to regulate her breathing. “Hey, Xichen.”
“Where are you? Are you at Daddy’s office? Grandma said something came up at work. Is it true that you’re helping him out?” Lin Xichen bombarded a series of questions on Lin Xinyan.
Lin Xinyan touched the side of her bed, and it was cold, which meant that Zong Jinghao had left her side for quite a while.
“Yes, it is. You’ll have to listen to Grandma and stay home, okay?” Lin Xinyan suspected that Cheng Yuxiu was already aware of the situation since she made up something like that to appease her grandson.
“Then, when are you coming back, Mommy? I miss you.” For some reason, Lin Xichen felt that something was off and really wanted to see his mother.
As Lin Xinyan tightened her grip on the phone, her voice broke uncontrollably, “Be good, Xichen. I’ll see you soon back at home.”
