Chapter 20 – I only wish you peace, joy and laughter
Xing Zhongwan escorted Qi Yun out the entrance. It was drizzling and windy. Wearing a dark coat, Qi Yun looked at Xing Zhongwan calmly, “Then I’m leaving.”
Xing Zhongwan nodded, “Be careful on the road.”
Qi Yun gave him a deep look, turned and walked towards the car parked not far away. With his tall and straight back, he suddenly stopped halfway without looking back and said, “Take care of yourself.”
Xing Zhongwan said okay and Qi Yun’s shoulders shook a little as he strode into the car. The bodyguard beside the car bowed towards Xing Zhongwan.
Xing Zhongwan watched the long motorcade slowly leave as the old man standing beside him smiled, “That gentleman is a bit mean and unsympathetic, but once he likes a person, it will last a lifetime.”
Xing Zhongwan was taken aback for a moment. His shoulders were still wet. He couldn’t help but reach out and touch his shoulders and stopped in a strange way.
Qi Yun sat in the car and watched Xing Zhongwan in the rearview mirror gradually disappear from sight. There was a delicate box in the car, Qi Yun opened it and looked at the repaired jade bracelet with a phoenix pattern inside. He still kept the bracelet. Qi Yun held the box and closed his eyes and leaned back on the chair.
Seeing him, the secretary knew that he and Xing Zhongwan had broken up. He felt a little pity for Qi Yun, but it was a fortunate thing so nothing could go wrong at this juncture.
Qi Yun had offended General Chen in the previous incident. He was already somewhat dissatisfied with Qi Yun and even publicly supported other candidates on some occasions.
Recently, someone made a fuss about Qi Yun throwing his biological mother in a mental asylum, and even that old story about Qi Yun did not show up at the funeral of the fourth young master was brought to light.
Qi Yun himself didn’t react much so someone from the Shen family was sent to contact him privately to discuss how to deal with it.
How could Qi Yun’s secretary not be clear about his master’s thoughts after following him for so many years? How could he not know the reason he was working so hard to climb up for?
But now that Qi Yun had lost the belief that had supported him for many years, it would be meaningless to take another step forward. At this point, it is no longer a question of whether he wanted to go further, and the intricate interest of others below cannot be stopped by Qi Yun.
The secretary looked at the thin man with pity in his eyes.
“The meeting in the afternoon, should I postpone it for you?”
Qi Yun closed his eyes and did not speak.
The secretary gritted his teeth and he had to say something, “Sir, the current situation can make it into the headlines easily. If you want to protect the young madam, you must not stop at this time, at least… At least until he has returned to Country X.”
The secretary looked at Qi Yun nervously after speaking in one breath, with fine sweat on his forehead. He never dared to say such words before, but now that Qi Yun’s condition was really not good, he took advantage of the situation…
“No need to postpone it.” Qi Yun opened his eyes and closed the box, “Send someone to protect Wanwan before he returns to Country X. He never liked being followed, so be secretive about it. Don’t let my affairs involve him.” Qi Yun’s beautiful eyes always had dark circles because of his long-term insomnia, but his eyes hardly wavered.
“Actually, I don’t think you and the young madam have no hope at all.” The secretary felt that he said a lot of outrageous things today, but this sentence was not bad. He knew that Qi Yun liked a man ever since he came to serve Qi Yun’s. He went from being surprised at the beginning to accepting after he saw Xing Zhongwan. The man’s excellence was enough to make others ignore his gender, he was a person who could be loved by everyone. Their former secretary didn’t know this, but Qi Yun’s dedication and hard work over the years was what he saw, and he hoped that they could have a good ending, even if it was difficult and dangerous.
Qi Yun held the string of Buddha beads on his wrist. He had kept it in good condition for so many years, and he had always cherished the things given to him by Wanwan.
“I didn’t understand it before, but now I understand that liking someone is not about ownership. Even if we’re not together, as long as I know that the other person is doing well, I can feel happy. He said that I deserve the best, and he deserves the best too. My Wanwan has always been the kindest, no matter how bad I am. I can’t bear to say anything serious towards him. How can I be worthy of him? Five years ago, I had brought him down once, and now I can’t become more obsessive just because of my own desire and allow him to fall into this bottomless vortex.”
The secretary sighed. If it were not because of his deep love…
Qi Yun felt a pain in his heart when he remembered the tear stains on the floor of the restaurant. Wanwan, even if you don’t believe me anymore, you still can’t bear to see me sad. You even think that me approaching you will affect my career, afraid that you will become a target that others will use to slander me.
It’s okay if I can’t see you. As long as I know you are doing well, that’s enough…
No. 3, received a call from Qi Yun’s Secretary who introduced Xing Zhongwan to a hospital specializing in medical examinations. No. 3 told her boss about this matter and Xing Zhongwan asked her to note down the appointment time for his checkup. No. 4 was reporting her work as she looked at No. 3, who was taking advantage of the neutral mood. Mr. Qi has not showed up here in a long time. In the past, after he frequently showed his face here every day, not being seen for three to four days could be considered a long time.
They had a good impression of Qi Yun, even if their boss seemed indifferent. They saw on more than one occasion when Xing Zhongwan secretly smiled after seeing him. It was impossible for them not to see the boss’s feelings towards him.
Xing Zhongwan closed the document and stretched his neck, “It’s been almost half a month and Zhong Gang is almost fully healed. We’re going to go back.”
No. 3 flipped through the itinerary, “Boss, do you want it the day after tomorrow? When I went to the house in Jiangnan, Mr. Qi’s secretary called and said that he wanted to give it back to you.”
Xing Zhongwan thought for a while, “It’s useless for me to keep that house, so I’ll give it to Qi Yun.”
No. 3 noted it down neatly in her notebook as Xing Zhongwan walked back and forth before suddenly turning around, “Book a flight for tomorrow to Jiangnan. I haven’t been back for a long time and I don’t know when I will come back next time.”
Zhong Gang, who had been recuperating in the hospital for half a month, had finally returned to the company. On the day Zhong Gang returned to the company, Xing Zhongwan took his two secretaries to Jiangnan promptly.
The old house was well managed and the servants in it were surprised when they saw Xing Zhongwan. The young master really came back. Xing Zhongwan walked around the old house. Qi Yun had really put a lot of effort into this old house over the years. Xing Zhongwan lowered his head and smiled. He was saying goodbye to the servants in the old house. He actually had no nostalgia for this house, but that person took care of it like some treasure. Xing Zhongwan shook his head and took a long look before he stepped out of the door.
Xing Zhongwan respectfully lit incense in the temple. He has not been here for a long time. The most recent was when he accompanied Qi Yun to come here to pray, hoping that his operation would be successful. When he remembered his appearance at that time, Xing Zhongwan lightly snorted. He always thought that he was quite smart, but his intelligence was reduced to a dog’s when facing Qi Yun. Now he still felt embarrassed in retrospect. He didn’t know when, but…
When did he feel like he had a red rope of fate tied together with Qi Yun?
Xing Zhongwan got up from the soft pillow and added some oil to the lamp. He wanted to offer a safety lamp[/mfn]Used for prayers or wishes in a temple[/mfn], but when he entered the small room at the back and just wanted to light a lamp, he saw many safety lamps with the name Xing Zhongwan in a row. His hand, which had been holding a lamp, almost slipped. He recognized the handwriting. Those bold strokes that didn’t match his face. But why were there so many safety lamps with his name written on it?
He remembered saying that he didn’t believe him, but even after so many years, so why?
There were many hand-copied Buddhist scriptures on the side. Xing Zhongwan recognized the words on it and couldn’t help but approach them and turn them over. After turning them over, he found that there were too many of them and Xing Zhongwan’s hand didn’t dare to turn any more over again. He was a little scared and didn’t dare to verify that it was all Qi Yun’s work.
A volunteer came in at the door. Seeing Xing Zhongwan stunned in front of the lampstand, he thought he didn’t understand something, and approached him to ask him if he needed help.
Xing Zhongwan didn’t speak and the volunteer followed his line of sight to see the lamps and Buddhist scriptures.
“You are also shocked by this. I do remember the gentleman who offered these lamps. He always comes once or twice a year, and every time he comes, he offers the lamps. He said that it is for his lover far away and always prayed for them to be safe and healthy. He copied those Buddhist scriptures too. He said that he had sinned too many times in his life, and that he deserved retribution, but he was afraid that the people he loved would also suffer. If you want to earn some merit and eliminate karma, it is not easy copying this book. It might be a simple gesture, but it is sincere despite being a little obsessive.”
Xing Zhongwan didn’t know how he got out of the temple, but his mind was full of the words the volunteer said. He suddenly understood the words of Qi Yun in the cubicle of the small building that day.
Not only did he promise not to meet him again in the future, but he also didn’t want Xing Zhongwan to be entangled in the unpleasant memories of the past.
It’s not that Xing Zhongwan didn’t see the news about him in the past few days about someone targeting him. If the wind of those old and rotten events broke out at an important juncture of the general election to smear him. Who would suffer for it?
This was the usual tactic used in this circle. Qi Yun cannot avoid it and whoever was in a high position cannot avoid fighting to the death while dripping in blood.
Qi Yun was haggard and Xing Zhongwan was not blind. He could see it. Those tired eyes could only relax after seeing the one of their heart’s desire.
He didn’t say it, but he knew that Qi Yun was already very tired after walking this road, but at this point, he couldn’t just quit even if he wanted to.
He didn’t want to cause trouble for Qi Yun, but Qi Yun involved himself in this endless struggle again.
Xing Zhongwan raised his head and looked at the cloudy sky. Qi Yun, all I can do now is not to be a burden to you. I can only watch you attain that position and bless you sincerely.
A little drizzle started before the sky started to pour. No. 3 held an umbrella for Xing Zhongwan. Xing Zhongwan got into the car and his phone rang. It was Shen Congxin, Xing Zhongwan frowned. He thought about it for a while before pressing to answer.
On the other end of the phone, Shen Congxin’s voice trembled, “Brother Zhongwan, my eldest cousin is in the hospital and now the Shen family is in chaos, what should I do? If something happens to my eldest cousin, what should I do? What should I do with the Shen family??”
Shen Congxin couldn’t help crying when he said the last sentence.
Xing Zhongwan frowned and his heart sank, “Why is he in the hospital? Explain it clearly.”
Shen Congxin wiped his tears and looked at Qi Yun, who was still in a coma on the hospital bed. He went to an event this morning and was stabbed by someone. The security is so strict but some people managed to sneak in. We had internal problems and I have no one to discuss it with. He’s still not out of danger, I…”
Xing Zhongwan clenched the phone beside his ear, trying to calm himself down, “Don’t worry about it now. I’ll go back right now and ask Zhong Gang to come to the hospital. He can be trusted. Go find him first.”
Xing Zhongwan put down the phone. No. 4 handed a handkerchief to Xing Zhongwan as he opened the car window as the cold wind blew in, only to find that cold sweat had formed on his forehead.
The phone in his hand was soaked with sweat from his hand, and the words “not out of danger” were stuck in his mind. Xing Zhongwan’s heartbeat was so fast that even No. 3 beside him couldn’t help but ask him if he was ill.
Xing Zhongwan made up his mind that he couldn’t panic now. He picked up the phone and dialed Xue Qing’s number, “Where are you now?”
Xue Qing said, “In country T, what’s wrong?”
“It’ll only take 4 hours to fly over then. Xue Qing, take the earliest plane back. Leave the other matters to Laocheng.” Xue Qing, who was still in the bed, immediately looked serious, “I’ll book the ticket now. No matter what happens from now, don’t worry.”
After knowing each other for more than ten years, Xue Qing knew that something was not right with Xing Zhongwan’s tone. As soon as she heard it, she knew something was wrong.
Xing Zhongwan was relieved. The moment he heard Xue Qing say don’t worry, his eyes quickly turned red.
“Thank you.”
Xue Qing was not in the mood to tease him. She hung up the phone and went to pack up.
During this period, her phone beeped. By the time, Xue Qing packed up and dragged her suitcase to see the notification, her expression changed instantly.
Zhong Gang: Something happened to Qi Yun!
T/N: Alrighty, that concludes all the updates for today (?)
I’ll be updating the other novels soon, but I would like to finish off Forced into the Deep first. Do expect to get the rest of the chapters as well as the end by this week. Phew, I’m kind of nervous as it’s my first long novel that I’ve ever translated…
I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and Who Says Omegas Can’t be as Explosive as Alphas will follow soon after! Thank you so much for your continued patience and understanding, I will endeavor to bring you more chapters soon~
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