Chapter 38 – Crime Accessory
In the days after Bai Lang didn’t fight the decision to have him stay at the hospital for a few more days, although there actually wasn’t anything wrong with him.
He knew that Qiu Qian needed some time to slowly to get used to it. And staying in the hospital would at least reduce Qiu Qian’s anxiety.
In the days that he stayed at the hospital, each member of the Rong family also came to give their regards.
Grandfather Rong had been sent into the emergency ward and had undergone surgery on the same night. Because he had obtained medication speedily, he didn’t have any great injuries. After the surgery finished the next morning, his condition and recovery were both good and he would be able to leave the hospital in around two more days.
However no matter what, the Rong family remembered their debt of gratitude to Bai Lang. This type of gratitude was something that was difficult to use money to quantify. So the new generation head of the Rong family, Rong SiChen, who was also the eldest son of Rong Ai and Rong SiQi’s elder brother, represented the Rong family to vow seriously that in the future if Bai Lang ever had any requests, the Rong family would do their utmost to fulfill it.
And when Rong SiChen came to say this, Qiu XiaoHai and Rong Zan who hadn’t gone back to school, were busy playing on the couch in the hospital room and eating the little rabbit steamed buns that Hong Hong had bought for them.
***
The secrecy and security that veiled Bai Lang’s trip to the hospital was the same top tier level that surrounded Rong Ai’s.
This included not only the staff involved in the treatment but also even the people sending the food and doing the cleaning in the special VIP ward. All of them had been trained and instructed specifically and the security work was extremely thorough.
Thus on the second day of Bai Lang’s hospital stay, when Qiu Qian went to Wang Yun’s office in University Hospital, Wang Yun completely had no idea that Bai Lang was staying in the very same hospital.
When Wang Yun opened the door and saw Qiu Qian standing outside, there was a flash of shock in his eyes. Then he smiled and said, “What a rare visitor. How come you had time to come today?”
“I had time so I came here to have a chat. Do you have time?” There was a nicotine stick dangling from Qiu Qian’s mouth and his words were very calm.
{T/N: The Chinese said “quit smoking stick”, so I assume it’s like a nicotine replacement stick to help people stop smoking.}
Wang Yun also immediately noticed the object inside Qiu Qian’s mouth. His expression froze then he stepped back to let Qiu Qian into his office.
“You specifically came all this way so how can I not have time?”
Qiu Qian didn’t respond to the emphasis that Wang Yun put on the word “specifically”. He entered the office, pulled up a swivel chair in front of the desk and sat down, looking around.
The single person office was quite empty. On the left was a metal shelf which only had a few documents and even the desk was very clean. Other than the computer there was a pen holder, a box of business cards and a tea set. It was clear that Wang Yun hadn’t settled in for very long.
Wang Yun closed the door behind Qiu Qian and after dwardling for a bit he finally sat down on the seat behind the table. He seemed to be thinking about something but suddenly he sat up straight and said, “Do you want tea? I’ll go get some water for tea.”
“No need. I just want to say a few words.” Qiu Qian rolled the nicotine stick around in his mouth. “I think you know why I came here.”
After saying that Qiu Qian looked straight into Wang Yun’s eyes.
This type of aura was enough to make a guilty person feel extreme pressure. After Wang Yun met his eyes for a few seconds, he pushed up his glasses and looked down. “You know?”
“Are you talking about Bai Lang’s illness?” Qiu Qian didn’t want to waste time running around in circles. “I know.”
Wang Yun smiled helplessly. “I knew that there would come a day when you would come. After all requesting a file will leave a record that’s impossible to delete.”
“Then why?” Qiu Qian asked.
“What why?” Wang Yun’s eyes showed a fleeting flash.
“Since you knew why did you come to test me?” Qiu Qian directly asked. “Last time when you came to visit me, your motivation was to discover whether I knew about his illness or not right?”
The record that Fang YingQi had showed him not only showed who requested the file but also the time he had requested it.
It just happened to be a few days before Wang Yun had come to find Qiu Qian.
“I don’t know how Su Quan told you, he also told me not to admit to you that it was me who told him about it.” Wang Yun shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “However the way I felt about it is, since you didn’t know it’s also not a bad thing for Bai Lang to let you know through Su Quan. At the very least it’s better for him to have someone with mental preparation beside him.”
Qiu Qian stared at Wang Yun. “You could have also directly told me. If this was your motivation then why run around in a big circle?”
A bitter smile floated onto Wang Yun’s face. “Su Quan asked to me help him…. Right now the fact that I can sit here in this position is all because of Su Quan’s connections.”
Qiu Qian laughed mockingly. “Telling Su Quan this is helping him? How is it helping him, how come I don’t understand you?”
It was Wang Yun’s turn speak in a reproachful manner. “If you’re trying to tell me that you don’t know what Su Quan really wants then I don’t believe it. Even Ah Cheng wouldn’t believe it.”
“But isn’t it better if everyone pretends to be stupid?” Qiu Qian said. “I even introduced you guys to Bai Lang. The whole reason was so that there wouldn’t be any misunderstanding.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Wang Yun clasped his hands together and said in a somewhat embarrassed manner, “So my telling Su Quan shouldn’t be a big deal right? I can tell that you wouldn’t prejudiced against Bai Lang or leave him just because of his illness. No matter how much effort Su Quan spends in trying to persuade you, it probably won’t have any effect. So, I thought it’s not a big deal for me to just return a simple favor to Su Quan and then also…”
“At the same time keep this job.” Qiu Qian finished his sentence for him.
Wang Yun sighed and nodded his head. “You’re right.”
After hearing this Qiu Qian suddenly stood up. With violent force he slammed the chair into the nearby wall and made Wang Yun freeze in shock.
“Last time you said something right,” Qiu Qian threw down the last words. “In this years we’ve really become strangers.”
Wang Yun’s face fell. He was silent and couldn’t speak.
“I never said that Su Quan came to tell me about Bai Lang’s illness.” Qiu Qian waited until Wang Yun met his eyes.
“He directly found someone to try to push Bai Lang into having an attack. So what do you think, should I consider you an accessory?”
Wang Yun was speechless. His entire face changed drastically.
“You resign, or I help you resign. It’s your choice.”
After speaking Qiu Qian left, leaving the shellshocked Wang Yun sitting in his chair.
***
As for the person directing the scenes behind the instructor, Qiu Qian spent a few days and some effort to discover it.
For this Qiu Qian had suppressed the impulse to directly take care of this man. He even asked Fang Hua to organize some non-existent work for Bai Lang as an excuse for him to not be able to go to training. He didn’t let anyone know that Bai Lang and the instructor had had an altercation.
Su Quan’s methods were far more advanced than Wu ShenEn’s. The instructor was legitimately someone that the show had found, Su Quan hadn’t interfered with it. After discovering the old man liked to gamble, Su Quan instead spent a lot of money to find a way to get through to him.
And when it came to making contact with the instructor, Su Quan had used many layers and buffers. If not for the fact that Fang Hua had told Qiu Qian already that Bai Li had come to the office multiple times after new years in the hopes of seeing Bai Lang and so Qiu Qian had long ago arranged for someone to keep an eye on him, it would be very hard for Qiu Qian to find out the person that Bai Li had made contact with.
As for why Su Quan had done things in a huge roundabout way, it was just so if the old instructor was found out, the first and obvious person to take the blame as the behind the scenes manipulator would be Bai Lang’s brother Bai Li who didn’t have a good relationship with him.
If Bai Li was asked why he would do such a dangerous and risky thing, then he would just say that hiring the instructor was to teach Bai Lang a lesson, nothing to do with making him have an attack. Plus Bai Li honestly didn’t know that Bai Lang was ill and so this way no one would ever be able to confirm a hidden intent to kill.
So if it was only to teach Bai Lang a lesson, then it would be easy to see why the debt-stricken Bai Li would easily fall into line when offered a high amount of money. And anyway, if the older brother wanted to punish the younger brother, people who were a bit more traditional would only say this is a family affair and no big deal.
And after the fact if Bai Li couldn’t withstand the pressure and gave up the person who directed him, then Su Quan also arranged Qi ShaoDong to take the blame.
As for the reason that Su Quan used to string Qi ShaoDong along was; he would first use the instructor to punish and humiliate Bai Lang. Then Qi ShaoDong could jump out to use his connections to suppress the old instructor. That way he would gain a few brownie points in Bai Lang’s eyes since Qi ShaoDong was really interested in Bai Lang. Thus, the people who met up with Bai Li to give him the money and instructions were sent by Qi ShaoDong.
So if things were investigated, it all seemed to be completely unconnected to Su Quan.
However all of the above was predicated on the fact that Bai Lang’s every movement would not be immediately observed and reported back to Qiu Qian. Under normal circumstances that might be possible but between Bai Lang and Qiu Qian, based on Su Quan’s previous actions, he was already under a cloud of suspicion that couldn’t be removed.
But the logic behind Su Quan’s plans was not important to Qiu Qian. All he needed was to confirm that the person behind the old instructor was definitely Su Quan without mistake. That was enough.
So, after finding out everything, Qiu Qian went to find Hong Yu.
He didn’t beat around the push. Qiu Qian told Hong Yu, “I won’t help Su Quan again.”
No matter what Hong Yu did to Su Quan in the future, it had nothing to do with him.
However, if Hong Yu didn’t want to make an enemy out of him, it would be best if he didn’t help Su Quan along any further.
Hong Yu looked at Qiu Qian’s face and seemed to understand. He asked, “He acted against Mr Bai?”
Qiu Qian didn’t reply. Since he had said what he had come here to say he wanted to leave.
Hong Yu stopped him. “I have a suggestion,” he said. “To make sure Su Quan won’t have any time to think about Mr Bai’s matter. Want to try it?”
Qiu Qian’s footsteps stopped.
Hong Yu had an extremely light smile on his face. During negotiations he always wore this expression.
“Let Su Quan think that you used him in exchange for a lot of favors from me. What do you think?”
Qiu Qian twisted his head. He said in a dissatisfied way, “What’s the difference?”
“This way in the future he will follow me more obediently,” Hong Yu sighed. “It can also more or less decrease his enmity against Mr Bai.”
“Will he believe it?”
“As long as an exchange actually exists then at least this delicious cake that is you will have a worm inside it.” Hong Yu smiled at Qiu Qian. {T/N: There will always be a suspicion maring their relationship. He wants to blacken QQ in SQ’s eyes so he understands there’s no avenue for escape that way. As expected from such an intelligent old negotiator, always thinking about things on so many different levels.}
“…even if he follows you, I won’t let him live gloriously like he is right now.” Qiu Qian warned.
“Look at this paralyzed body of mine. I also can’t keep anyone too excellent.” Hong Yu replied lightly. “It’s just as well.”
“Okay. Tell him just like this.” Qiu Qian turned his head and wanted to leave again.
Hong Yu again stopped him. “Then we should discuss what favors I gave you. What’s the rush?”
Qiu Qian turned back again, frowning.
“Since it’s an exchange then there has to a real transaction. Or is you still can’t bear to use him?”
Qiu Qian paused. Then he smiled faintly. “I’m really suspicious of how much he’s worth.”
***
The last day of Bai Lang’s hospital stay which was the day before Total Entertainment terminated its contract with Su Quan, Qiu Qian came to Bai Lang’s hospital room.
It was afternoon time. Bai Lang was sitting on the bed and looking through the script for Chaos Street.
The afternoon sunlight cast a glow onto Bai Lang’s blanket and even though he wasn’t wearing any fancy clothes, the person on the bed still looked clean, beautiful and eye-catching.
When Qiu Qian came into the room, Bai Lang closed the script and looked up. “Is everything done?”
“Just about. Tomorrow you’re allowed to resume working.” Qiu Qian sat by the bed.
“Then what about the instructor?” Bai Lang couldn’t help but be worried.
Previously Auntie Yang had been reported by the headlines as a suicide. If you walked at night too much you were bound to run into a ghost. {T/N: Proverb meaning vaguely meaning “a guilty conscience needs no accuser”, or it’s clear what caused her death.}
Qiu Qian narrowed his eyes. “In the short term I won’t do that to him. I still have use for him.”
If he wanted to cooperate with Hong Yu then for the time being he shouldn’t raise any large commotion in relation to the instructor.
Bai Lang nodded his head. He couldn’t help but say, “Su Quan is someone in the public gaze. You need to act more prudently–”
Qiu Qian didn’t want Bai Lang to say anything more. Without waiting for Bai Lang to finish he used his mouth to block Bai Lang’s remaining words. Bai Lang could only obediently open his mouth, close his eyes and allow Qiu Qian to come inside. After a moment he wrapped his arms around Qiu Qian’s broad back.
After kissing passionately for a few minutes, the two people both felt hot and flustered.
Qiu Qian was the first to break the kiss. Between them there was a thread of saliva. Qiu Qian couldn’t help licking his lips. After he heard Bai Lang’s labored breathing he stopped himself.
However the next moment Bai Lang proactively kissed him again.
It was rare for him to make the first move. Thus Bai Lang easily entered Qiu Qian’s completely defenceless mouth and enticed him again to entwine together.
Only until Qiu Qian pushed Bai Lang aside with difficulty. His voice was hoarse as he said, “That’s enough. Don’t fuss.”
“Let’s do it.” Bai Lang hooked his arms around Qiu Qian’s neck. He passionately kissed Qiu Qian’s chin.
The stimulated Qiu Qian paused but still pushed him away.
Bai Lang knew Qiu Qian’s anxiety. This was the last thing he needed to take care of before leaving the hospital.
“I haven’t decided to become abstinent. So if that’s what you want then I’m afraid we have to break up.”
“Never!’ Qiu Qian grabbed Bai Lang back tightly.
“Then let’s do it here. The doctor is just next door. Isn’t that more convenient in case something happens?”
“….”
“Just as long as your put my pants back on before you press the bell.”
Qiu Qian held down Bai Lang’s roaming hand and breathed in sharply.
“Also, in the future you need to put in more effort and don’t make me move as much.”
“You-! When have I ever made you move!”
“….”
On that day, up until Qiu XiaoHai finished class and came back to the hospital room some time later, all the scenes taking place inside were adult rated.
