Chapter 1213: I Want to Make You Stay (91)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Fang Erlan immediately grew agitated upon hearing her words. Seeing that Fang Ruzhen was refusing to answer, Fang Erlan questioned bluntly, “Why do you want to kill me? Don’t try and deny it, I have sufficient evidence against you. We grew up together and we had such a close relationship with each other. I can’t believe the reason I’m contacting you more than a decade after you went missing is because you tried to kill me! I have no feud with you. Ruzhen, why did you do that?”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying!”
“Do you want to hear the voice recording of you instigating someone else to kill me? Forget it, nothing can be changed even if you refuse to admit it. I’ll hand the evidence over to the police.”
Just as she was about to hang up, Fang Ruzhen said eagerly, “Let’s meet up. I’d like to say something to you in person.”
“Okay, come over, then. I’m at…” Fang Erlan covered the microphone and asked Xiao Chenyang, “Which hospital is this?”
“Room 803 of the VIP ward in the Second People’s Hospital.”
Fang Erlan repeated his words to Fang Ruzhen. Fang Erlan’s eyes had already turned red by the time she ended the call. She could not figure out just why Fang Ruzhen had wanted to do that.
“Prepare a fresh set of clothes for me.”
“Xiao Yue sent some over earlier this morning,” said Xiao Chenyang, who then reached out in a bid to unbutton her hospital attire.
Although they had gotten intimate with each other more than once, Fang Erlan was still not used to having him help her change. She blushed slightly and said, “I’ll do it myself.”
Xiao Chenyang paused and said, “Which part of you have I never seen before? Give me an example.”
Fang Erlan could not answer him. There seemed to be none…
He placed her arms on his neck and began removing her top gently. He was careful with his actions and did not touch her wound at all. He helped her change into a bright red blouse, which made her look much more radiant.
“Did Xiao Yue… bring my makeup pouch over…”
“She forgot, but…” He buried his face in her neck and kissed her fair and silky skin before continuing, “I remembered so I made her bring it here.”
Fang Erlan said, “I want to put on some makeup. I don’t want others to see me barefaced.”
Xiao Chenyang let go of her and moved her bangs to the side. “Alright, let’s wash your face first, then. Lean back.”
Fang Erlan leaned against the pillow and watched as he came out of the washroom with some warm water and towels, which he then used to wipe her face and arms with. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled Fang Erlan’s heart as her spirits were instantly lifted.
“How many people have you done this for?” she asked.
“You’re the second.”
“Was the first a man or a woman?” she probed.
“A woman,” Xiao Chenyang said while handing her the toothbrush.
Fang Erlan grabbed it and asked, “A woman? Who?”
Amused to see how stern she looked, he answered, “A very beautiful woman.”
Fang Erlan felt a little bitter and disgruntled at the thought of him wiping another woman’s face and arms gently. She stuffed the toothbrush into her mouth and asked, “Was she a woman whom you had loved before me?”
Xiao Chenyang looked at her and answered while smiling, “She’s my mother.”
She glared at him and said bashfully, “Should’ve said so earlier.”
“I was the one who stayed by her side before she passed away. I only did it for her once,” said Xiao Chenyang, who refrained from bringing up his mother as far as possible. No one knew better than him the pain that his mother had caused Nan Chuang.
She brushed her teeth quickly before grabbing the cup of water from his hands, which she then used to rinse her mouth with. She spat the water into the basin before wiping her mouth. “How long after my death did your mother pass away?”
He answered, “She passed away nine years after you did, due to an illness. She genuinely realized her mistakes and expressed her apology toward you on her deathbed. She said that she had let you down greatly and that I wouldn’t have waited ’til she was on her deathbed to see her for the last time if she hadn’t killed you.”
Gazing at him, Fang Erlan asked, “Did you really decide to see her only when she was about to pass away?”
“Yes. Fortunately, you no longer have to deal with such an unfortunate incident. Such mishaps won’t happen ever again.”
He planted a kiss on her forehead.
Fang Erlan looked up and pecked him on his cheek gleefully. “Hurry and bring the basin, cup, and toothbrush away.”
….
Due to the heavy traffic, Fang Erlan had already finished her breakfast by the time Fang Ruzhen arrived at the hospital.
She entered the ward with a bouquet of fresh flowers and closed the door after her.
Fang Ruzhen retreated backward in astonishment upon the sight of Xiao Chenyang before recovering from the shock and getting a grip on her emotions.
Fang Erlan kept her eyes fixed on the woman whom she had not seen in over a decade. Fang Ruzhen sat down on a chair beside the bed and said composedly, “Erlan, long time no see.”
Fang Erlan had been overwhelmed with a whirlpool of emotions from the moment she found out that Fang Ruzhen had tried to kill her. All the special feelings she had for her childhood friend had also vanished instantly. Without hesitation, she played the voice recording out loud.
“Why did you do that?”
“Erlan, there’s no reason for me to kill you. Someone is trying to frame me by mimicking my voice.”
“Why would someone else try to frame you? Even if that’s really the case, why did they decide to kill me… out of all people? There’s no feud between us. It doesn’t make sense, does it? Besides, we haven’t seen each other in so many years. Who would have known that we knew each other? Stop making excuses for yourself. If you refuse to come clean, I’ll have no choice but to let the police interrogate you. I believe they’re more professional than I am.”
“Will you stop pursuing this matter if I tell you the reason? Tell me, will you?” Fang Ruzhen asked, staring at her solemnly.
“That’ll depend if your reason is valid enough to make me not pursue the matter,” said Fang Erlan, who was no saint. However, she felt that the reason must have been severe enough to make Fang Ruzhen want to harm a childhood friend whom she had not seen in over a decade.
“Do you remember the day that my mother died?”
“Yes.”
Gritting her teeth, Fang Ruzhen snapped, “If you didn’t call for my father, my mother wouldn’t have died at all! I only found out recently that you were the one who called him! You killed my mother and ruined my family!”
Fang Erlan finally recalled the time when she was just eight years old. At that time, she had just returned home when her mother instructed her to go to Fang Ruzhen’s place to invite the latter’s father over.
She did as instructed, after which Fang Ruzhen’s father really did show up. He was cool and calm at first but stormed off in a huff later on.
“How did you find out that I was the one who had called your father?”
“I returned to the village to burn some offerings for my mother on the 15th of July and I bumped into Li Jun when I was there. His parents had forbidden him from spilling the beans, but he felt the need to inform me.”