KN | Chapter 31

Thank You, Mr. Zhao, But There’s No Need

Zhao Shengge gave a faint nod. After meeting her eyes once out of courtesy, he shifted his gaze back to the surveillance footage and continued watching it frame by frame.

The footage had just been sent over by the security team. It showed traffic conditions at every road leading to Baoli Bay.

There were seven intersections in total.

Zhuo Zhixuan had said he still hadn’t seen Chen Wan and couldn’t get in touch with him, so Zhao Shengge had started looking through it casually.

His eyes stayed fixed on the screen. He did not turn to look at Xu Zhiying again.

“Go on.”

“…”

Xu Zhiying briefly recounted what had happened on the road. Then Zhao Shengge, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly asked, “What car?”

“A Jeep, no plates, and…”

“No.” Zhao Shengge cut her off. “The other one.”

“A Volkswagen.”

From beginning to end, Chen Wan had carried himself like some nameless good Samaritan, not even exchanging full names with Xu Zhiying. Because of that, she had deliberately memorized his license plate number.

There was no need to keep watching the footage. Zhao Shengge shut the laptop and stood up at once. His expression had not changed, but the seriousness in his eyes, and the force of it, made Xu Zhiying pause.

“You said he watched you leave, then pulled over by the roadside?”

“Yes.”

He was not planning to come anymore.

Xu Zhiying did not know Chen Wan, but the chances that Chen Wan did not know who Xu Zhiying was were very small.

She noticed the subtle change in Zhao Shengge’s mood. She did not understand why he was so concerned about a detail that was not even the key point of the incident. Afraid he might be suspecting Chen Wan, she carefully said, “It may be a coincidence, but I really think it was just that, a coincidence. They weren’t together.”

Zhao Shengge was no longer listening to what she was saying. He turned and, while picking up his coat and car keys, asked, “How is he?”

Xu Zhiying could not figure out what exactly he was focusing on, but she still answered truthfully. “He’s injured. He lost quite a lot of blood. I asked him about it, and he said he was fine. He also seemed like he didn’t want anyone to know…”

“Understood.” Zhao Shengge strode out of the VIP lounge without looking back. “Miss Xu, make yourself at home.”

“…”

Renji Hospital.

Under the nurse’s instructions, Chen Wan went through a long list of examinations. In the end, the doctor diagnosed him with “soft tissue contusion in the hand joint” and “mild concussion,” and required him to be hospitalized.

“…”

“Doctor,” Chen Wan tried to decline tactfully, “I don’t think it’s that serious…”

“Young man, you need to take care of your body.” The doctor looked at him. “Just because you can’t feel it right now doesn’t mean there’s no problem. A lot of injuries don’t show up immediately. You’ve hurt the area around your brain and your eyes. You absolutely cannot treat this lightly.”

Chen Wan could only agree.

“You still need to complete the admission paperwork. Didn’t anyone come with you?”

“No. Doctor, just give me the forms, I’ll handle it myself.”

The doctor looked at him once, then softened his tone. “You can pay by card. I’ll have the nurse bring it to your room later for you to sign.”

Chen Wan obediently said, “Thank you, Doctor.”

Renji was a private hospital. Chen Wan asked for a single room. After everything that had happened that night, his body and mind were both already beyond their normal limit.

He understood the look in the doctor’s eyes, but Chen Wan did not think much of it. He was long used to dealing with every setback in life by himself, and to enduring whatever grinding hardship fate threw at him. Injuries like this would not even have counted for much when he was a child.

He was very hungry, and very tired. Once he fell asleep, it would be fine, he thought, closing his eyes.

But even in a moment of such utter exhaustion, the sense of responsibility carved into his bones still made him remember that he seemed to have forgotten to tell Zhuo Zhixuan.

If he failed to show up on time, probably no one would notice.

Except Zhuo Zhixuan.

So Chen Wan used the last bit of charge left on his phone to call him.

Although Chen Wan described it lightly, Zhuo Zhixuan still exploded and insisted on coming to the hospital.

Zhuo Zhixuan had known since childhood what Chen Wan meant when he said, “It’s nothing serious.”

Being cornered and beaten black and blue by senior from the international division in the woods, though of course he beat them back afterward. Racing into places of vice and pleasure in his teens to drag Song Qingmiao out, then getting hassled by older men. Things like that all fell within Chen Wan’s definition of “nothing serious.”

Chen Wan was dependable, but in certain respects he was also highly untrustworthy, especially when it came to his own affairs.

“Enough, stop trying to talk your way out of it. I’m heading over right now.” Zhuo Zhixuan cursed several times. “If I find out which bastards did this, I’ll kill them.”

“…”

Chen Wan’s phone died. There was no stopping him.

Zhuo Zhixuan hung up, just in time to run into Zhao Shengge as he came out of the VIP lounge.

“Perfect, I was looking for you.” He had originally thought he would stay the night here, so he had sent his driver back. If he came from the city now, it would waste too much time. “Lend me a car. I need to leave first.”

Even though he was asking to borrow a car, his tone was obviously already bad.

Zhao Shengge did not hold it against him. With brisk efficiency, he said, “No need. We’ll go together.”

“?” Zhuo Zhixuan turned his head in shock. “You…”

“They’re after me.” Seeing that Zhuo Zhixuan still had not pressed the elevator button, Zhao Shengge did it himself and pressed B1. When Zhuo Zhixuan still failed to react, he asked in a low voice, “Are you going or not?”

His brows drew together. His presence was overwhelming, enough to double the pressure in the air. On the surface, he still looked calm, but Zhuo Zhixuan felt that he was actually already angry.

Zhuo Zhixuan had not often seen Zhao Shengge angry, so he promptly shut the elevator doors.

Zhao Shengge drove in person.

His driving was steady, but Zhuo Zhixuan still silently tightened his grip on the seat belt.

He had not known that a person as cultured as Zhao Shengge also had the makings of a road tyrant.

When it came to Chen Wan, Zhuo Zhixuan had a lot of questions.

Zhao Shengge was extremely concise. He stripped away the beginning and the end and gave a brief summary of what Xu Zhiying had reported that night. Even so, Zhuo Zhixuan still did not understand why Zhao Shengge was making the trip with him.

Faced with Zhuo Zhixuan’s deeply puzzled, openly suspicious stare, Zhao Shengge explained in a serious tone, “The leftover rot from White Crane Hall is stirring up trouble. As for the specifics, we’ll have to ask Chen Wan.”

Zhuo Zhixuan immediately understood.

Those people had wanted to smash Zhao Shengge’s occasion at a time like this. There was no way Zhao Shengge would let them keep jumping around.

The explanation was logically sound and internally consistent, so Zhuo Zhixuan accepted Zhao Shengge’s reason for going with him.

Then, in his heart, he silently blamed Zhao Shengge.

Chen Wan had suffered an unprovoked disaster out of nowhere. Zhao Shengge was the root cause of it. By both reason and feeling, he should indeed make this trip.

The Maybach raced at high speed along the coastal avenue. The night sea stretched endlessly on both sides. The only light came from the headlights, like that inexplicable emotion in his chest, growing clearer and clearer, more and more distinct, until at last it broke through the night.

The hospital room.

The nurse had wrapped sizable bandages around Chen Wan’s temple, arm, and shoulder.

“Ah Wan!”

“I told you I’m fi…”

Chen Wan stopped. His eyes widened slightly. Only after making sure who had come did he speak, uncertainly, “Mr. Zhao?”

Zhao Shengge had never seen Chen Wan injured before, never seen him in such a bedraggled state. The space between his brows tightened almost imperceptibly, then he nodded.

A moment ago, Chen Wan had still been doubting the doctor’s diagnosis of mild concussion. Now he felt that not only did he have a concussion, he also had an irregular heartbeat, and perhaps he was even indulging in wild fantasies.

He did not know why, but ever since Zhao Shengge entered, he had been looking at him.

For a long time.

A very long time.

Chen Wan felt as though his skin had been seen through, his soul laid bare. The skin around the IV needle gradually puffed up. He disliked how awful he looked right now, felt embarrassed by how unpresentable he was, and asked in confusion, “Why did Mr. Zhao come?”

Zhao Shengge could not answer immediately.

He could tell Zhuo Zhixuan that it was because of Xu Zhiying and White Crane Hall, but he could not say that to Chen Wan.

Since he would not say it, Zhuo Zhixuan said it for him, directly and honestly. “Miss Xu said you saved her. Those people were White Crane Hall leftovers who slipped through the net.”

The inside of Chen Wan’s heart abruptly settled into calm.

So that was it.

He had drowned in the joy of suddenly seeing Mount Fuji, and had almost forgotten that the person he had saved was Xu Zhiying.

All at once, Chen Wan felt a flicker of shame at how carried away he had gotten just now, and at his own self-indulgent wishful thinking.

The shame was not that Zhao Shengge would personally come for Xu Zhiying.

The shame was that Chen Wan himself had not thought of that immediately.

And if he had failed to think of it, that only proved that in some hidden corner of his subconscious, he still clung to unspeakable delusions, ugly and sordid thoughts.

That gravely violated Chen Wan’s own will and principles.

That was what made him truly ashamed, so ashamed he wanted the ground to open under him.

Chen Wan had never considered himself a particularly moral person. He had done many bad things, ruthless things, filthy things. His hands had long since ceased to be clean.

But in this moment, that self-reproach and disgust outweighed even the fact that Zhao Shengge already had a marriage arrangement. For a few seconds, Chen Wan wanted to find somewhere to hide.

He did not dare face Zhao Shengge.

Even less could he face himself.

Chen Wan felt awful. His body was covered in injuries, but the final straw that crushed him was the guilt on a moral level.

Zhao Shengge did not understand why some of the light had gone out of Chen Wan’s eyes when he looked at him.

Maybe it was because he was hurt. He was no longer as flawless and impregnable as usual, and Zhao Shengge could vaguely see something like regret, and resolve, in his gaze.

He did not know what the regret was for.

He did not know what the resolve was for.

But it felt as though something had begun slipping away from this very moment, slipping away forever.

For one extremely rare instant, Zhao Shengge felt a subtle trace of panic. It was as if something had gripped his heart. Even so, he still could not find the source.

Chen Wan had suffered this calamity because of him.

Xu Zhiying, on the other hand, could not exactly be called innocent in this matter. There was an old Haishi saying, “If you eat salted fish, you have to endure the thirst.”

The Xu family and the Zhao family had joined hands to carve up White Crane Hall’s spoils. Since she wanted a share in profits balanced on knife-edges, she should have been prepared to bear the corresponding risk.

But Chen Wan had gained nothing from any of it, and still ended up injured so badly.

It had been the same last time at Yingchi. Because of Zhao Shengge’s deliberate provocation, disaster had dropped out of nowhere onto Chen Wan’s head.

For once in a rare blue moon, Zhao Shengge’s conscience stirred. But he had almost no experience visiting the sick, so he was awkward about it. He only walked over to the bedside, bent down slightly, and asked in a gentle voice, “How are your injuries? Did those people have guns?”

Chen Wan assumed Zhao Shengge wanted details of the incident so he could track down the enemy, so he adjusted his mood, straightened his expression, and gave him some of the details from the time.

“They didn’t have guns, but they probably had weapons, or there was cargo in the car. I noticed the trunks of both A67 Jeeps were hanging very low, and they were stock vehicles with no plates. Cars like that are generally used for illegal border crossings.”

“…”

Zhao Shengge pressed his lips together. His gaze moved very slowly, very carefully, lingering over every injury on Chen Wan’s face and hands. “You observed very carefully.”

Not a single sentence was what he actually wanted to know.

“…”

Chen Wan felt as though Zhao Shengge did not look very satisfied, but that was already everything he could remember from such a chaotic and dangerous situation.

He parted his lips, not knowing what else he ought to say.

The sight of him covered in injuries, dressed in a hospital gown, looking apologetic somehow stirred an utterly unfamiliar feeling in Zhao Shengge’s heart. It drove him to do something quickly, decisively.

After searching for a long time, he finally found what seemed like a reasonably justifiable identity and stance from which to speak. His expression was more sincere and genuine than usual.

“Chen Wan, they were after me, and you got dragged into it. If there’s anything you need, you can tell me directly…”

“Mr. Zhao.”

Chen Wan called to him very softly.

Zhao Shengge stopped and looked at him seriously, listening.

Zhao Shengge probably did not know that there was even a hint of encouragement in his gaze, as if he hoped Chen Wan would say more.

Chen Wan had always thought his mental resilience was strong, and that his state of mind was equally solid. Even tonight, he had never really felt that any part of him physically hurt all that much.

When the Jeep slammed into him and his forehead struck hard, it had not felt painful.

When his arm got crushed against the car window and bled, it had not felt painful.

Even watching Xu Zhiying walk toward that brilliantly lit avenue, he had still felt he could bear it.

But Zhao Shengge making this special trip to visit him, to thank him on someone else’s behalf, made it feel as if a hole had split open somewhere deep and soft inside his heart.

At first, the blood only seeped out slowly.

Then, little by little, it turned thick and surging.

Because once again, he realized with brutal clarity that Zhao Shengge had come on Xu Zhiying’s behalf.

He had come on her behalf to understand the situation.

On her behalf to thank Chen Wan.

On her behalf to clean up the aftermath and repay the favor Chen Wan had done her.

Rationally, his mind was screaming frantically, issuing warning after warning, telling him to stop this “immoral” pain immediately, at once.

But in a physical sense, he could not stop it. His mind felt as if it were being torn apart, splitting into two separate selves.

That pain came belatedly, but it was vivid and deep.

Even so, Chen Wan’s expression did not change. As gentle as always, he smiled and said, “Thank you, Mr. Zhao, but I don’t need anything. You don’t need to take it to heart.”

It felt as if someone had suddenly seized Zhao Shengge’s heart.

And that elusive thing he had never experienced before, that thing he could not grasp, was slipping away even faster now.

Chen Wan was telling him not to take it to heart.

Just as courteous as before. Just as polite, perceptive, understanding, and eager to keep his distance as before.

Telling him not to take it to heart.

“Nothing?” Zhao Shengge did not know where the problem lay. He only tried to make himself seem less difficult to approach, hoping Chen Wan would understand that he was, in fact, a reasonable man, one with at least some human warmth.

“After all, you were hurt because of me. That’s my responsibility. You should be compensated, and thanked.”

Chen Wan replied, “No need. Miss Xu already thanked me.”