Nan Zhi looked down, unable to say anything for a long time.
In rich and influential families, it was not uncommon for people to scheme against and hurt each other in order to secure their own benefits.
Wasn’t Ye Qing’s appearance a classic example?
In order to retrieve his status, he did not hold back from provoking and hurting his own younger brother.
Elder Dong stared at Nan Zhi with his eyebrows furrowed tightly, then let out a sigh. “Young lady, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but after what happened, I swore to not treat anyone again.”
Nan Zhi could understand Elder Dong’s feelings.
However…
Mu Sihan’s condition could not be delayed any longer.
“Teacher Dong, I know that asking you to treat a patient again is not an easy thing. I understand your feelings extremely well after hearing your experience. Half a year ago, I got into an accident and was taken away by my boyfriend’s older brother. To deal with my boyfriend, he held me captive for half a year, making my boyfriend think I had died. Following that, his psychological condition turned for the worst.
“After he finally found me, he appeared once more as his older brother and said some things to agitate my boyfriend, making my boyfriend’s condition worsen even more.”
Elder Dong nodded, deep in thought. “Amy told me that your boyfriend is a good Crown Prince, that helping him would be helping the people in S Country. But I’m really sorry…”
“Elder Dong, please tell me, what do I have to do for you to be willing to help us?” Nan Zhi teared up slightly, though she suppressed the urge to cry, not wanting to use her tears to garner the sympathy of Elder Dong.
Elder Dong admired Nan Zhi’s relationship with her boyfriend, as it made him think of his wife.
He was slightly moved, but he could not bring himself to go against his principles. Back then, he had sworn he would never treat anyone again. After staying silent for a while, he said, “How about this? When that accident occured, my wife’s wedding ring fell into the ground. I went to search many times and the police searched the place as well. However, no one was able to find it. If you can find the ring, I will agree to your request.”
Happiness surged in Nan Zhi’s heart, as she nodded hurriedly. “Sure, I will go and look for it.”
However, at the thought that it had been four years since the accident happened, and that Elder Dong wasn’t able to find it after many times of searching, it could have long been taken away by others, or that it could have been taken by a wild beast, or buried into the depths of the earth.
It would be harder to find the ring than to go up to heaven.
“The deadline is before the sun sets.”
Nan Zhi bit her lip, nodding determinedly. “Alright.”
She would never give up.
…
When Xia Yanran woke up, Xiao Yi was no longer in the apartment.
If it wasn’t for the hairdryer on the bedside table, she would have almost thought that what happened last night was merely a dream.
Sitting in front of her vanity, Xia Yanran stared at her reflection in the mirror, dazing out slightly.
Her phone rang suddenly.
Seeing that it was a call from Nan Zhi, Xia Yanran hurriedly answered the call.
“Yanran, there’s something I have to do during the day, so I won’t be returning to your apartment.”
“Did you go look for Elder Dong?”
“Yes, Elder Dong gave me a deal.”
Xia Yanran’s eyes lit up. “Really? What did he say?”
Nan Zhi told Elder Dong’s request to Xia Yanran. Hearing that, Xia Yanran furrowed his eyebrows tightly. “He’s clearly making it difficult for you. It’s already been four years. Unless a miracle happens, how would you be able to find it?”
Refusing to back down, Nan Zhi was still holding onto a strand of hope. She smiled as she said, “Well, maybe there will be a miracle!”
After the two finished their call, Xia Yanran found a new number in her call records.
The number called her at three in the morning.
There was no caller ID, but it was a Hong Kong local number.
Xia Yanran tightened her hold on her phone.
An unbelievable thought flashed in her mind.
Was it Xiao Yi’s number?
Not willing to think about why he left his number, Xia Yanran got up, changed and carried her back out.
…
At the place where Elder Dong and his wife got into the accident, the plants were growing nicely. Because a murder case had occurred at this place before, the police had sealed the path there, so it had been years since people had taken care of the place and there was wild grass growing everywhere.
Her bodyguards were walking ahead of her, helping to open a path for Nan Zhi.
“Miss Zhi, how about you wait by the road? We’ll look around instead. The more we walk into the woods, the denser it becomes. We’re afraid that there might be poisonous snakes or bugs.”
Nan Zhi shook her head. “Let’s spit up to look for it. There’s no need to assign someone to follow me.”
Although she knew that the hope was slim, Nan Zhi would not give up.
Putting on some gloves and covering herself completely, Nan Zhi held onto a detector and started to look around with concentration.
When Xia Yanran arrived, she could not see Nan Zhi anymore.
She called the staff at the newspaper to come help Nan Zhi look for the ring as well.
They searched from morning until late into the afternoon. They seemed to have searched through about half of the mountain.
But they did not find anything.
Seeing the sun was slowly setting, Nan Zhi became even more panicked and her thoughts were a jumbled mess.
She was not willing to rest for even one second, having fallen many times. She even scraped her arms and knees, but she did not care.
However, reality had always been cruel.
It would be impossible for her to find a ring that could not be found four years ago.
The skies slowly turned darker.
Not long after, the darkness swallowed up the skies.
Nan Zhi fell to the floor, her heart sinking to an all-time low.
By then, Xia Yanran and the rest of the group were waiting by the road. The sun had already set. Seeing that Nan Zhi was still not out, Xia Yanran started to get worried.
There were no signal in the mountains, so she could not even call Nan Zhi.
Nan Zhi’s four bodyguards had already went into the woods to look for her.
Xia Yanran wanted to go in to look for Nan Zhi with them, but she was stopped by her colleagues. “You’re not as professional as Miss Nan’s bodyguards. Don’t worry, they’ll definitely find her. If you go with them, you will only make things more difficult for them.”
Xia Yanran nodded.
Nan Zhi’s hopes were shattered since they had not found the ring. Xia Yanran really understood her feelings right now.
Xia Yanran also knew very clearly the pressure Nan Zhi had been under over the past few days.
She must have hidden herself somewhere to cry secretly.
Xia Yanran looked down at her phone.
Her finger hovered over the unsaved number. She hesitated slightly, thinking if she should get his help in getting down the mountain.
After about half an hour, the bodyguards came out with Nan Zhi.
Seeing that Xia Yanran and her colleagues were all waiting by the road, Nan Zhi felt terribly guilty. “I’m so sorry, I made you help me and even worried you. Where are you all going for dinner tonight? It’ll be my treat.”
“Zhizhi, there’s no need to! You can treat them again next time!” Xia Yanran grabbed Nan Zhi’s hand, trying to impart and give her as much warmth and strength as she could.
…
After leaving the mountain, Nan Zhi said to Xia Yanran, “Although I didn’t find the ring, I still have to go tell Elder Dong about it. I truly understand what’s holding him back. If he doesn’t want to treat more patients, I think I shouldn’t force him anymore.”
Xia Yanran bit her lips. “You can go over first, I’ll go to the newspaper office to settle some things before I go over to find you.”
Nan Zhi nodded. “Alright.”
After Nan Zhi left on her car, Xia Yanran also got on her car. As she drove, her fingers dialed Xiao Yi’s number.
With her temper, after what he had done to her last night, she would never have contacted him again.
However, at the thought of Nan Zhi, she could only let go of her dignity.
Very quickly, the call went through, and with every ring, her heart thumped faster.
