Chapter 223: I Did Not Kill Bo Ren, Yet Bo Ren Died Because of Me

Jiang Lai had no time to think further, she asked for the operating room's location, hurried over, and after two steps broke into a jog.

She knew that even if she ran to the operating room door, she wouldn't see Ping'an.

Ke Zhongyu inquired about Ping'an's condition, but the triage nurse knew nothing specific.

Afterward, he went to pay the fees, and having paid, he immediately went to find Jiang Lai.

He saw Jiang Lai standing alone at the operating room door, not pacing anxiously like others, but standing rigidly, as if frozen.

Ke Zhongyu approached and saw the tears on Jiang Lai's face.

"Jiang Lai, the nurse said Ping'an's injury is to the leg, with no external bleeding on the head."

"Ke Zhongyu." Jiang Lai whispered, "If only I had come last night, if only I had come last night..."

Ke Zhongyu heard her self-blame and corrected: "Jiang Lai, don't take this on yourself; even if you had come last night, no one could have entered the school."

"Ping'an's accident is Shen Xun's fault; he secretly sent the person here but failed to fulfill his supervisory duty."

Jiang Lai lifted her head to look at Ke Zhongyu; she knew in her heart everything was Shen Xun's fault, yet she couldn't stop blaming herself.

I did not kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren died because of me.

Tears fell line after line.

Ke Zhongyu raised his hand and gently wiped away her tears.

Her cheeks were icy.

Presumably her hands and feet were icy as well.

Ke Zhongyu took off his coat, draped it over Jiang Lai, and said in a low voice: "Don't worry; wait for the surgery results. If we can't stay here, we can go to A City; if A City doesn't work, we can go abroad."

It was unclear whether the warmth came from Ke Zhongyu's coat or his words, which brought a calming reassurance; Jiang Lai's tears finally gained a hint of sound.

It also revealed her vulnerability.

"Ke Zhongyu, I'm afraid..."

"I'm afraid Ping'an won't be unharmed, and I'm afraid of being drawn into a life-or-death situation."

"Ping'an wouldn't have been involved otherwise; it was I who brought Shen Xun back to Fuli Yuan, and I who gave Ping'an the contact information."

Ke Zhongyu furrowed his brows.

"You brought him to Fuli Yuan because you regard him as family; you gave Ping'an contact info because you have strong empathy, while Shen Xun exploited that to take Ping'an away—he is shameless, taking Ping'an without fulfilling his supervisory duty, revealing his base nature."

Ke Zhongyu placed both hands on her feet, bent slightly, looked into her eyes, and said earnestly and firmly: "It has nothing to do with you, nothing to do with whom you brought to Fuli Yuan, nothing to do with whom you gave contact info; it concerns only Shen Xun's shameless baseness."

"Do you understand? Jiang Lai."

Crystal-clear tears hung on Jiang Lai's eyelashes; with Ke Zhongyu's gentle shake they fell, she blinked her wet lashes, and choked out: "I heard."

Ke Zhongyu softened his voice as much as possible: "I'm asking, did you understand?"

Hearing and understanding are two different things.

Just like studying, knowing and understanding are two different matters of degree.

Jiang Lai pressed her lips together and nodded slightly.

Ke Zhongyu released her shoulders and once again raised his hand to wipe her tears.

At that moment, school officials also rushed over.

They chattered, trying to clear responsibility while hypocritically talking about compensation.

Ke Zhongyu frowned and said: "Noisy."

The operating room doorway fell silent at once.

Ke Zhongyu called Secretary Cen: "Take the fastest flight to G Province and bring Chi Ce as well."

Then he turned to the school people and said: "As for the details and compensation, my secretary will handle it."

He then coldly warned: "It's best if this matter has nothing to do with the school."

Everyone fell silent like cicadas in winter, daring not to say another word; they left mutely, glancing at each other along the way, obviously feeling guilty.

Jiang Lai sat in a chair.

Her eyes remained fixed on the operating room direction; she didn't notice Ke Zhongyu's every move, nor did she know how long had passed when he suddenly handed her a hot water bottle.

It still gave off the smell of freshly unpacked plastic.

Jiang Lai raised her hand and reached out to take it.

"Just as she was about to say thank you, the operating room lights went out and a doctor walked out."

"Ping'an not only had a leg injury but also intracranial hematoma; fortunately it had been cleared, the fractured leg was reattached, and he was now out of mortal danger."

"Having said that, the doctor asked again: 'Are you the patient's older siblings?'"

"Jiang Lai nodded: 'I am his older sister.'"

"Doctor: 'Your younger brother still has many wounds; do you know?'"

"Jiang Lai shook her head in shock: 'What kind of wounds?'"

"Doctor: 'Impact injuries, kicks, falls, bites—all present, ranging from mild to severe, with extensive bruising.'"

"Ke Zhongyu: 'He lives on campus.'"

"Doctor: 'As guardians, you should still pay more attention to the children's situation at school.'"

Ke Zhongyu gave an affirmative hum.

"Ping'an had already been sent to a ward; Jiang Lai and Ke Zhongyu rushed over, where a ward held multiple patients and was cramped."

"It was winter again, with doors and windows shut tight, making it stuffy and the smell mixed."

"Ke Zhongyu watched Jiang Lai sit beside the bed, carefully refraining from touching, sitting quietly while waiting, occasionally glancing at the nearby electrocardiogram."

Ke Zhongyu went out again.

"When he returned, Ping'an had been moved to a clean, tidy ward; although not spacious, at least only Ping'an occupied it."

"Ke Zhongyu came to Jiang Lai's side and asked: 'The doctor said Ping'an has those injuries; how do you intend to handle them?'"

Jiang Lai: "Leave it to the police."

Ke Zhongyu: "Alright."

It wasn't until evening that Ping'an slowly opened his eyes.

"Ping'an!" Jiang Lai sprang up, bent over and called, "Ping'an, you finally woke up."

Ping'an was still wearing a respirator; he blinked, staring blankly at the person before him, a little unable to believe.

So the call he made last night got through? Or the sister he called before falling asleep heard him?

Beside them, Ke Zhongyu reached out to press the bedside call button for a doctor; the gesture made Ping'an's eyes widen in terror, and the ECG on the table spiked wildly.

Jiang Lai, quick-eyed and swift-handed, seized Ke Zhongyu's palm, pulled it back, and tucked it behind herself.

"Ping'an, Ping'an, it's okay, it's fine, it's fine." Though Jiang Lai didn't know what Ping'an was thinking, soothing him immediately was certainly right.

She released Ke Zhongyu's hand and pressed the button herself.

The doctor came over quickly.

Jiang Lai and Ke Zhongyu stood aside; Ping'an saw the doctor in a white coat also showing a terrified expression, even trembling all over.

Jiang Lai immediately stepped forward.

The doctor also hurried back.

"Ping'an, it's okay, it's okay, we don't need a doctor, we don't need a doctor." She bent down, gently embraced Ping'an, and the ECG beside them gradually returned to normal rhythm.

Ke Zhongyu realized something and whispered to the doctor, "Take off the white coat and come back in."

Sure enough.

Facing a doctor without a white coat, Ping'an no longer showed resistance; with Jiang Lai holding his hand nearby, the doctor could finish the examination properly.

Ke Zhongyu looked at Jiang Lai: "You're here."

He followed the doctor out.

Jiang Lai sat down again, only then noticing that the thumb of the hand she was holding was shortened by half an inch.

The right thumb, the injury assessment deemed it higher than the left thumb.

Jiang Lai looked at his fingers, recalling the doctor saying he had wounds all over his body, remembering that Ke Zhongyu merely extending a hand would trigger Ping'an's stress, and seeing a person in a white coat also caused stress.

Why?

What happened in the past two years?

In this past week and a bit, what has Ping'an gone through at school?

She dared not think.

Just as tears were about to fall, Ping'an suddenly squeezed her hand and called out the title from two years ago: "Sister."

His voice was hoarse and indistinct.

Jiang Lai forced a smile and said, "Hmm, it's sister."

Ping'an: "Sister."

Perhaps Ping'an is not Jiang Lai's most important person, but when Ping'an first called Jiang Lai "sister," Jiang Lai became Ping'an's most important person.

Ping'an gave a smile, silly, even more naive than two years ago.

Jiang Lai felt uneasy; Ping'an wasn't the child she was closest to in the Fuli Yuan, yet he was the child she had given her contact information to out of soft-heartedness.

Even without that, a child showing dependence and care toward her would still melt Jiang Lai's heart completely.

Jiang Lai had many things to ask Ping'an, but Ping'an might not be able to explain, and being ill, she decided to wait for the police's interrogation results.

……

Star Universe Technology.

After Shen Xun finished the launch ceremony for the joint project with Si Nuo, he felt settled, but there were still many matters.

The most pressing issue was Star Universe Technology's annual report.

Or rather, his annual report.

The Fu Family's annual conference was imminent; even though he had now stabilized Si Nuo's joint project, he had also lost the Self-developed Chip Project.

If the Self-developed Chip Project lost the bid for objective reasons, losing to Ke Clan wouldn't be shameful, but it involved his personal affairs.

Since Shen Lao's patent project wasn't obtained, it was entirely due to personal reasons.

At that conference, the board of directors' old guys would inevitably bring it up again, insinuate it, and just thinking about it made him irritated.

Reviewing his own annual report, there were no major standout projects, and no significant breakthroughs compared to last year; Chairman Fu, that smiling tiger, didn't know which excuse to use to criticize him next.

Shen Xun pinched his nose bridge.

Someone knocked.

"Enter."

Qiao Chuan walked in and said, "President Shen, your phone is turned off, and Director Fu's call reached me."

Shen Xun only then recalled that he had slept soundly last night, and a stranger's call disturbed his good dream.

"Got busy and forgot," Shen Xun asked, "Isn't Miss Fu stationed at headquarters? What's the matter."

"Director Fu said the donation activities of the welfare institute in G Province and those elsewhere must occur in the same time slot, no longer making exceptions; the internal document has been issued, and…" Qiao Chuan's voice trailed off, "This year the team leader going to G Province has been changed to Fu Shao, saying President Shen need not worry about such matters."

Upon hearing that Fu Shao would lead, Qiao Chuan knew it was deliberately arranged by the Fu siblings.

That welfare institute in G Province is Jiang Lai's maternal family.

Shen Xun kept a composed face; with the internal document already out, whatever he said would be useless.

"Understood." At the same time, he opened his phone.

Aside from a pop‑up message, no more harassing calls came.

Shen Xun tapped the call log; the same number had over twenty missed calls.

He clicked in again to see.

G Province K City.

Shen Xun's body instantly sat upright, thinking it might be Ping'an's call, and immediately dialed back.