Chapter 22
No. 2 High School.
Xie Yubo liked to go to the restroom after the class bell rang, so that it would be empty and he wouldn’t have to pretend to be blind while smoothly attending to his physiological needs.
He had just stepped out of the restroom when he spotted someone bundled up tightly, leaning against the railing.
Upon seeing Xie Yubo emerge, the visitor lowered their sunglasses.
“It’s me, Tong Tianyu.”
Despite wearing three layers of clothing, he couldn’t completely mask the odor clinging to him; yet, through some unknown method, the smell had slightly diminished.
As soon as he approached Xie Yubo, Tong Tianyu immediately inhaled deeply, as if enchanted. Even he himself had been overwhelmed by the odor these past two days; only in that moment of drawing near to Xie Yubo did he find a brief respite of fresh air.
Director Xu is right; only Xie Yubo can save them.
Xie Yubo took a step back. “What do you want, Mr. Tong?”
Tong Tianyu longed to rush forward and embrace Xie Yubo like one of his former fanatic fans, but remembering what he needed, he couldn’t bring himself to move even an inch. “Young Master Xie, please help me. Only you can save me.”
Xie Yubo asked, “How do you expect me to save you?”
Tong Tianyu: “I only need a few drops of your blood; it won’t harm you at all. I’ll pay for it—100,000 per drop. Just consider it doing a good deed at a blood donation station.”
“Blood?” Xie Yubo cut him off. “Nothing involving blood is ever above board. You reek so badly; you must have done something wicked.”
Tong Tianyu’s face was pale and weak, tears welling in his eyes as he spoke in anguish: “I didn’t want this either. I was only eighteen when I entered Changfeng through the talent selection. They said raising a ‘ghost child’ would bring wealth and fame in the entertainment industry. If I didn’t comply, they’d blacklist me. I signed a ten-year contract with Changfeng; I had no choice.”
Every artist under Changfeng was assigned a metal infant figurine, with short arms, chubby legs, exaggerated features, and about the size of a palm.
“At first, I just had to set an extra bowl and chopsticks for meals and talk to the little spirit. Later, Chairman Xu said that wasn’t enough; it required blood offerings. Every week, I would draw a little of my own blood to anoint the spirit’s forehead. Who could have known its appetite would grow so insatiable? If not satisfied, it would wreak havoc, ransacking every drawer and cabinet in the house.”
Another blood draw would cause fatal blood loss, and Tong Tianyu wasn’t the only one; every artist under Changfeng Entertainment faced this same predicament.
“It won’t leave me alone; it screams for blood every single day!” Tong Tianyu closed his eyes in agony.
Xie Yubo watched him play the victim in silence. Claiming it wouldn’t leave him alone was far too late. Why hadn’t he complained when it brought him wealth, caused his competitors’ misfortune, and propelled him to stardom?
Tong Tianyu started as a contestant on a singing competition show before breaking into the film and television industry. Whenever he coveted a script, the little ghost would go to great lengths to secure it for him, including but not limited to causing the originally cast lead actor to accidentally tumble down a flight of stairs.
Tong Tianyu: “The company forced me! I didn’t want this either. Honestly, I never imagined it would come to this. They told me to adopt the souls of stillborn infants—the more tragically they died, the better. I wouldn’t dare do such a thing. That day, I passed by a drainage ditch and saw a placenta there. Perhaps some female student nearby had an unplanned pregnancy and aborted her undeveloped fetus after three or five months, then discarded it here. That night, I secretly retrieved it and buried the child according to their methods.”
After the burial, the malevolent spirit was summoned and possessed the infant statue.
In its previous life, the malevolent spirit was a fetus from that foul-smelling ditch, already decomposed and blackened. Whenever Tong Tianyu failed to meet the spirit’s demands, its essence would backfire onto him, causing Tong Tianyu himself to emit a putrid odor.
For every day Tong Tianyu failed to satisfy the spirit, he would stink for that entire day, until he relented and offered blood sustenance, or until the spirit eventually perished from prolonged lack of offerings. However, during this process, every deed the malevolent spirit had performed on Tong Tianyu’s behalf would be repaid to him one by one.
The worst outcome would be total ruin and disgrace, losing all the money earned over these years, and being entangled in scandal for several years.
In other words, he won’t die.
But having already reached the pinnacle of the entertainment industry, who could willingly fall back into the mud?
To live a glamorous life, sacrificing another’s life means nothing to those at Changfeng.
Tong Tianyu knelt before Xie Yubo, “If you help me just this once, I’ll give you half my fortune.”
“Half the assets?”
That’s over a hundred million.
Seeing him tempted, Tong Tianyu quickly upped the offer: “If you want more, I can discuss it with our chairman.”
“Do you take me for a fool? Once my blood is given to you, I’ll be the one suffering the backlash in your place.”
Perhaps it wasn’t just Tong Tianyu’s backlash; the entire price paid by Changfeng had been shifted onto Xie Yubo.
“There will be no consequences. I guarantee it!”
Xie Yubo couldn’t be bothered to speak with him. “Move aside. I have class.”
Tong Tianyu’s gaze darkened. After playing the victim for so long, the other party remained unmoved by both soft and hard tactics. If Xie Yubo’s blood wasn’t required to be given willingly to be effective, why waste so many words?
Not even a single drop of blood would be given? Then don’t blame him for settling accounts with souls instead.
Tong Tianyu pulled a folding knife from his coat and thrust it toward Xie Yubo from behind.
The target was blind; he had more than enough chance of success.
To become famous, he even forced himself to pick up placentas from filthy sewers despite the nausea.
To achieve fame, he had long bound himself to Changfeng Film & Television. Within Changfeng, exploitation occurred at every level: third-tier artists were required to offer the spiritual power of minor ghosts to top-tier stars. He had struggled hard just to reach the status of a first-tier artist.
Tong Tianyu acted swiftly and ruthlessly. He deliberately chose a restroom without surveillance cameras, holding a knife in his right hand and a bottle in his left. Once he extracted Xie Yubo’s heart blood, Director Xu would have a way to guide Xie Yubo’s soul to float into the protective formation of the Changfeng Building.
They had established a Soul-Transference Formation within the Changfeng Building. Since minor ghosts are extremely yin and poisonous substances, they required pure and powerful souls to purify them, thereby ensuring Changfeng’s safety and turning crisis into security.
Just before the blade pierced his body, Xie Yubo pulled out a talisman and held it against his back where the strike was aimed. The talisman met the knife with a sharp “clang,” sparking brilliantly as if it were an unyielding suit of armor.
Xie Yubo curled his lips into a smirk: “Didn’t your Senior Brother Xue tell you why he failed?”
Tong Tianyu’s eyes widened in shock: “You killed Xue Sibo?”
Xie Yubo pinned him to the ground with a single talisman. “No, but this Imperial Astrologer once beat him just as mercilessly, leaving him utterly powerless to fight back.”
He snatched the bottle from Tong Tianyu’s hand. “As expected, you brought this.”
Without a second thought, Xie Yubo smashed the bottle to pieces and then ground it under his foot, erasing every sinister pattern on its surface.
“No!” Tong Tianyu’s eyes trembled violently, as if Xie Yubo had just crushed his heart.
“That was my bottle!”
Xie Yubo stuffed a talisman into his mouth: “Tell me the truth, how many more jars like this does Changfeng have?”
One with Xue Sibo, one buried beneath the Tree of Longevity, and one with Tong Tianyu.
That makes three already. Doesn’t this stuff cost anything?
“I don’t know—ah!” Tong Tianyu let out a piercing scream, his mouth feeling as if engulfed by raging fire, rendering him unable to utter another word.
“Xu Changfeng gave it to me. When he opened the safe that day, I saw this was the last one.”
“Second question: who gave you the idea to demand my soul?”
Tong Tianyu never expected to be brought down by Xie Yubo, interrogated like a criminal, and even subjected to private punishment!
Recalling Xue Sibo’s fate, Tong Tianyu grew terrified. He quickly blurted out everything he knew: “Our company all kept minor spirits; more or less, everyone suffered backlash from them. Only Xue Sibo remained unaffected, which puzzled everyone at the time. One day, a friend of Xu Changfeng came to discuss business with him. After a while, they called Xue Sibo in, and later they even traveled to Xue Sibo’s hometown.”
Xie Yubo’s eyes flickered with realization. It seemed this friend, along with Xu Changfeng, was well-versed in minor spirits. They must have detected something unusual about Xue Sibo and went to his hometown to seek confirmation from the spirit medium who had originally shifted his destiny.
A fate and soul like Xie Yubo’s are unparalleled in a thousand years, further concealed by the Heavenly Dao; without a fortuitous coincidence, they would remain utterly unknowable.
“After that, Xu Changfeng told us that to permanently escape the backlash from the minor spirit, we must obtain Young Master Xie’s soul.”
Xie Yubo replied, “Then let me tell you this today: even taking my soul would be futile. Even if my seven spirits and six souls were to shatter completely, not a single fragment of my soul would ever submit to anything. The Heavenly Dao will reclaim them all, understand?”
This is true strength, the genuine favor of the Heavenly Dao.
Tong Tianyu was on the verge of spitting blood; what made it even more agonizing than failure was that there had never been any hope from start to finish. He had come to Xie Yubo’s place to meet his death over something impossible.
“Who is Xu Changfeng’s friend?”
“I don’t know.”
“Go back and tell Xu Changfeng to accept reality and stop wasting his efforts. Also, inform that friend of his that if his skills are inadequate, he shouldn’t leave the mountain to deceive people.”
“Okay, okay, I’ve told you everything I know. I sincerely repent and will dedicate myself to charity every day from now on. Young Master Xie, could you please save me?”
Tong Tianyu suddenly realized that perhaps he didn’t need Xie Yubo’s soul; as long as Xie Yubo was willing, he could save him too.
He clung to this hope, after all, he hadn’t succeeded today; he hadn’t actually harmed Xie Yubo. Yet the other party’s next words sent a chill through his very blood.
“Who called me on the day of the Xie family anniversary celebration?”
Of course—how could he have forgotten that old debt, the time he manipulated Xie Yubo into jumping off the building?
That day, he had booked a room in the city’s tallest skyscraper, its window facing directly toward the rooftop of Lirong Tower. Holding a telescope, he had spoken word by word, guiding Xie Yubo to leap from that rooftop.
How does he have the audacity to ask for someone to save him?
Seeing his reaction, Xie Yubo understood immediately; this matter had been told to him by Shang Yange.
Shang Yange had investigated the complete guest list of the skyscraper from that day. Since it included numerous wealthy merchants and high-ranking officials, it took him considerable effort to obtain. It was precisely the evidence that Tong Tianyu’s room faced directly toward the rooftop that led Shang Yange to pinpoint Changfeng Film & Television.
However, Xie Yubo strongly opposed Shang Yange acquiring shares in Changfeng. After touring the interior of Changfeng, President Shang realized they might genuinely intend to kill Xie Yubo out of superstition. Unable to comprehend their mindset, he simply instigated factional strife within Changfeng, sold his shares at a premium, and departed. Once internal fighting erupts, it is often the precursor to the exposure of hidden corruption and filth.
..
Tong Tianyu fled in utter panic back to Changfeng and relayed every single word without omission, yet when he tried to say that Xie Yubo was not blind, he found himself utterly unable to speak.
“Useless. Get out.” Xu Changfeng had recently been driven to the brink of despair; he had assumed Shang Yange came to cooperate, only to discover he was there solely to cause chaos. His position as chairman hung by a thread, while his artists one after another met with disasters.
Yesterday, Tong Tianyu’s press conference ended in disaster; today, the company’s leading actress fell into the water while walking her dog. Because the minor spirit she kept had died by drowning, it had suppressed her swimming abilities. When rescued, she was barely breathing, and her body had already begun to emit a foul odor, nearly convincing onlookers that they were smelling decay from a corpse.
As if struck by an invisible hammer, the rotten eggs within Changfeng Film and Television cracked open one by one, revealing their true forms.
Daring not to engage in public relations and offering no response, Changfeng Film & Television silently played dead amidst the stench.
All their artists lost commercial value and now owed breach-of-contract penalties.
Once, they used underhanded tactics to bring misfortune upon their industry rivals; now, they were being consumed by their own dark creations, utterly powerless to resist.
Xu Changfeng was so enraged by Xie Yubo’s words that smoke seemed to pour from his seven orifices; at present, he was the only one at Changfeng who had not yet turned foul.
Twenty years ago, just as Xu Changfeng founded Changfeng Media, he became obsessed with the “minor spirit” arts introduced from abroad, and his business flourished effortlessly.
On that day, his wife went into premature labor at six months; when the fetus slipped from her womb, it was a bloody mess, nearly stillborn.
At the time, Xu Changfeng was worried about finding an infant who had died a tragic death; regardless of whether that mass of flesh could still move, he doused it in gasoline and burned it clean.
This was his minor spirit, burned utterly clean, not even having time to produce the slightest stench. It was also the one from which Xu Changfeng benefited the most, yet it left the faintest odor on him.
Xu Changfeng reverently took out the enshrined minor spirit, muttering a few words to himself. “What does a milk-scented child know? Just because he says the soul is useless, does that make it so? There must still be a way. I need to call the Celestial Master.”
The Celestial Master gave him three pure vessels specifically to collect souls; there was no way he would deceive him.
Just as he picked up the office landline, he suddenly sensed a wave of blood and gasoline fumes spreading through the air.
Retribution has arrived; it is too late.
“How can this be? The Celestial Master said I still have ten days!” Xu Changfeng’s gaze shifted, and he suddenly spotted, amidst the landscaped grove before Changfeng Tower, a Tree of Immortality standing out starkly.
The Tree of Longevity he sent to the Xie family, with extremely yin objects and a pure vase buried in its soil, has unexpectedly returned to Changfeng.
It is this very tree that caused Changfeng to suffer backlash prematurely!
Xu Changfeng felt a mouthful of blood stick in his throat as he finally got through to the Heavenly Master on the phone.
“The vengeful spirit has turned against you; your time has come,” a voice sighed from the other end.
“You… you deceived me?”
“I did not deceive you, but you are useless.”
..
The next day’s headline reported that the CEO of Changfeng Film and Television was found dead in his office, his body reeking of gasoline. The public suspected he had attempted to set himself on fire due to the company’s mismanagement but died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage triggered by extreme agitation before succeeding.
A few days later, Changfeng Film and Television declared bankruptcy; the corporate giant collapsed abruptly, shocking everyone. Nearly all its contracted artists were burdened with massive debts, and because their bodies inexplicably emitted a foul odor, no talent agency dared to take them on.
Xu Changfeng died too quickly; Xie Yubo had intended to visit him to ask about the origin of the bottle but now had to abandon the idea.
..
Everything returned to calm.
Xue Jing’s health has been improving lately, and she will soon be ready for surgery. Her second son, Xie Chenxing, has arranged for a top-tier surgeon abroad to perform the procedure.
Not all problems can be resolved through traditional Chinese medicine; Xie Yubo regrets that he lacks skills in surgical procedures.
In three days, Xie Jianming will accompany Xue Jing abroad; they must spend a few days there acclimating before proceeding with the surgery, provided no issues of environmental intolerance arise.
This is a major operation. Xie Chenbo happens to be traveling to that same country on business for a month and will make time to accompany them then.
“I’m going too,” Xie Yubo said.
Xue Jing smiled. “But Xiao Bo is in his final year of high school.”
What need does Xie Yubo have for studying? Xue Jing said this simply to prevent him from going.
In Xue Jing’s mind, allowing a blind person to leave familiar surroundings and travel to a foreign land would mean encountering entirely new obstacles in eating, dressing, living, and traveling; Xiao Bo would likely suffer even more than she would.
People are never in good condition after surgery, and since Xie Yubo cannot see, it would only add to their worries.
“I will study diligently,” Xie Yubo said.
Xue Jing’s surgery will be very successful; with his two older brothers accompanying him, there’s no need for me to go, so he won’t have to worry about me.
“Mom, please don’t go out today. Could you make some bread for me?” Xie Yubo asked hopefully.
“Alright, I’ll have it ready for you when you come home at noon.”
“Thank you, Mom.” Reassured, Xie Yubo headed off to school.
Uncle Wang’s car had just pulled away when Zheng Bin called, inviting Xue Jing to go shopping together.
“You won’t be able to get out of bed for quite some time after the surgery, so seize this opportunity to go out. I’ll come pick you up… You want to make bread for Xiao Bo? I know a delicious bakery where the pastry chef teaches bread-making; as long as you pay enough, you can learn even new flavor recipes.”
Xie Yubo enjoys meat dishes and traditional cuisine, yet he’s adventurous when it comes to desserts, eager to try various new Western flavors. Somewhat tempted, Xue Jing said, “Then come over; I’ll wait for you at home.”
Two hours later, Xue Jing and Zheng Bin emerged from the bakery, satisfied, each carrying a bag of pastries.
“Thank you; Xiao Bo will surely love these breads,” Xue Jing said, only to notice her friend’s gaze drifting past the crowd toward a luxury boutique.
There, sales associates surrounded a couple, promoting jewelry. The woman was very young, while the man was none other than Zheng Bin’s husband. From time to time, she would rise on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, looking for all the world like an old husband with a young wife.
“No wonder you’ve been traveling so frequently lately.” Zheng Bin sneered, striding toward the luxury store. Before anyone could react, he grabbed the cake from its shopping bag and hurled it violently at Pan Hongliang.
Pan Hongliang was instantly covered head-to-toe in cream. Wiping his face, he was about to erupt in anger when he recognized Zheng Bin; his expression changed abruptly as he yanked his hand away from the woman beside him.
Pan Hongliang still tried to act as if nothing had happened: “Mom’s birthday is next month. My secretary and I were just picking out a gift. Wife, what are you doing here? Your stomach isn’t strong; you should eat less cream.”
Zheng Bin hurled the remaining piece of cake in his hand: “Bought this for you. Eat it.”
The onlookers instantly realized this was a scene of catching an adulterer in the act and quickly cleared the area to let the main characters take center stage.
Pan Hongliang’s affair was with Jing Chunwen, who had originally been Zheng Bin’s secretary. When Zheng Bin left the company due to poor health, he had intended to dismiss this secretary of average capability. However, Xing Chunwen tearfully begged Zheng Bin to let her stay, explaining that her mother was ill and required expensive surgery, and that her family was burdened with debt and could not afford for her to lose this job.
Zheng Bin then assigned her to Pan Hongliang as a general assistant to handle miscellaneous tasks.
Xing Chunwen still felt somewhat afraid upon seeing Zheng Bin; she timidly called out, “Sister Zheng.”
Zheng Bin grabbed her wrist: “I’m not your sister. Pan Hongliang’s inability to control his lower body is his own problem. I won’t hit you today; instead, I’m firing you. Get out of the company by tomorrow!”
The crowd was somewhat surprised. In their understanding, whenever a lawful wife confronts a mistress, there should always be a physical altercation between them. They had even been wondering whether to call the police if the mistress ended up having her clothes torn off. As it turned out, Ms. Zheng only smashed two cakes onto the scumbag’s face.
Tears welled up in Xing Chunwen’s eyes: “President Pan…”
Pan Hongliang, with his face completely covered in cream, looked utterly ridiculous. Trying to smooth things over, he said, “Family scandals shouldn’t be made public. Wife, let’s discuss this at home. With so many people watching, what kind of impression does this give?”
Xing Chunwen hadn’t expected Pan Hongliang to keep apologizing to Zheng Bin; a flash of resentment crossed his eyes. This woman merely held more shares in the company, yet Pan Hongliang groveled to her so shamelessly.
An elderly woman pushed her way out from the crowd and, upon seeing the scene, cried out, “What happened to my son-in-law’s face!”
Zheng Bin replied coldly, “I threw it.”
Just as everyone assumed she was Zheng Bin’s mother, Xing Chunwen tearfully called out, “Mom.”
Xing’s mother, assuming her daughter was a corporate office worker who wouldn’t stoop to arguing with a raving madwoman, immediately shouted, “Where did this crazy hag come from, causing a scene in the jewelry store? Today is my birthday; my son-in-law is buying me a gift—such a joyful occasion, yet now tainted by bad luck! Pah!”
She spat at Zheng Bin.
Zheng Bin replied, “So this is the birthday gift for ‘Mom’? Whose mom exactly?”
Pan Hongliang, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead, urged, “Auntie Xing, please calm down.”
He winked at Xing Chunwen, signaling her to take her mother away, but Xing Chunwen acted as if she saw nothing, offering no words or explanations, and simply allowed her mother to carry on her tantrum.
“My daughter is pregnant! If the cake slips and causes her to fall, I’ll make sure you regret it!” Xing’s mother stepped forward, raising her right hand and mimicking a slap through the air, intending to teach Zheng Bin a lesson.
The news of the pregnancy had now exploded. Pan Hongliang wished he could kick Xing’s mother straight back to the countryside. His involvement with Xing Chunwen had been purely accidental; he never expected her to become pregnant. Pan Hongliang and Zheng Bin already had one daughter, and he was delighted at the prospect of another child—especially if it turned out to be a son, which would finally mend his lingering regret.
Pan Hongliang urged Xing Chunwen to keep the baby, but she insisted that as an unmarried young woman, giving birth would subject her to gossip and judgment from the villagers. Her mother also opposed the idea, prompting Xing Chunwen to ask Pan Hongliang to pretend along with her in order to deceive her mother.
Pan Hongliang, desperate to keep the child, reluctantly agreed and forced himself to call his mother-in-law for a few days.
Xing Chunwen, having instantly elevated her status from mistress to virtual legal wife, was brimming with smug satisfaction. Carrying Pan Hongliang’s child and eager to secure her position, she felt immense pleasure watching her mother berate Zheng Bin.
Upon hearing about the pregnancy, Zheng Bin felt both furious and unsurprised. Trembling with rage, he glared at Pan Hongliang, speechless, too incensed to even acknowledge Xing’s mother’s shameless demeanor.
Xue Jing finally caught up, frowning as she said, “Auntie, please show some respect.”
“So you even had help when you started making a scene?”
Xue Jing reasoned, “It was your daughter who first disrupted someone else’s marriage—”
“You say my daughter is a mistress? Xiaochun, tell her you’re getting married. What mistress? Don’t slander people with such baseless accusations.”
When asked by her mother if she was a mistress, Xing Chunwen could only shake her head as if startled.
“See, she’s not!” Having spent the entire day being mistreated by city folk, Xing’s mother now became aggressive; scolding Xue Jing and Zheng Bin gave her a chance to vent her pent-up resentment.
She circled around Xue Jing, hurling insults and forcing her to step back repeatedly.
Zheng Bin slapped Pan Hongliang, who was cowering like a quail. “Coward! You don’t even dare to say who your wife is! Go tend to your dear mother-in-law instead.”
Then he turned to call Xue Jing, “A-Jing, let’s go.”
Turning around, she saw Xue Jing cornered by Xing’s mother on the descending steps of the escalator. “Don’t step back, be careful!”
Xue Jing leaned backward and tumbled down the stairs.
This surgery of Xue Jing’s involved her spine; any mishap on the eve of the operation was absolutely unacceptable, otherwise she would die from guilt. Without a second thought, Zheng Bin rushed forward and grabbed her hand. Although she suffered from stomach problems, she had not lost the agility she developed in her early years while loading, unloading, and working in transportation.
She managed to grab Xue Jing’s hand, but the escalator still dragged them both down, sending them rolling together to the floor below.
At that moment, Zheng Bin saw the expression on Pan Hongliang’s face; it seemed that no matter what happened, he was always this same blend of gentle and anxious. He would worry about his wife, yet he would only ever watch, never acting as decisively as she did by reaching out her hand without hesitation.
It seemed he had been this way ever since his days working in transportation.
Does Pan Hongliang know that eating those things makes her feel unwell? He does; he watches her eat with concern, yet never suggests switching to a different food.
Does Pan Hongliang know that Xing’s mother has misunderstood the situation and is being overly aggressive? He does; he casts a warning glance at Xing Chunwen but refrains from speaking up in rebuttal, hesitating for fear of inviting even more ridicule.
Did Pan Hongliang know that falling like this would put her life in danger? He did. That’s why he stood at the top of the escalator, pale and panicked; far from leaping down step by step to chase after her, he wouldn’t even take a single step while holding onto the handrail to come down.
She had always cherished the bond forged through their hard struggles together, always valued the sentiment behind naming the logistics company after her, turning a blind eye to all else.
But so what if it was called Zheng Bin Logistics? So what if she held the largest share? Did Pan Hongliang love her? No. The truth was, without her, Zheng Bin, Pan Hongliang would be nothing.
She would no longer harbor any sentimental attachments.
A sudden burning sensation surged in her stomach; Zheng Bin wondered if she was suffering from a gastric hemorrhage. The next moment, her head struck the steps of the escalator, and her vision blurred. What a pity; she shouldn’t have been so rational. She ought to have slapped each of them three times first. She had no idea if there would ever be another chance.
Xing Chunwen rushed over anxiously, asking, “Mom, did you bump into them just now?”
“No, they fell down while holding onto each other on their own.”
“That’s good.” Xing Chunwen actually harbored a faint hope that Zheng Bin would have fallen to her death in place of Xue Jing.
Zheng Bin acted out of his own sense of justice; it had nothing to do with her mother.
..
Xie Yubo was in class when suddenly his expression changed, and he rushed out without saying a word.
He pulled out a talisman, his fingers dancing swiftly as he folded it into the shape of a paper airplane and threw it.
At the same time, Zheng Bin’s stomach burned twice in succession; she and Xue Jing were thrown down to the lower level, flying several meters away.
“Oh my god, call 120!” someone shouted.
Zheng Bin expected to have at least broken an arm or a leg; she froze for a moment before realizing that apart from her stomach, nothing else seemed wrong, and even the back of her head didn’t hurt much.
“A-Jing?” Zheng Bin immediately checked on Xue Jing. Seeing her lying on the ground and fearing potential spinal injury, she dared not move her. “Are you okay?”
Xue Jing frowned, slowly moving her limbs. “Seems like I’m fine?”
She managed to sit up on her own, her expression one of sheer disbelief.
Zheng Bin was terrified; clutching her stomach, she suddenly realized the burning sensation wasn’t coming from within her body, but from outside.
Reaching into her coat pocket, she pulled out a yellow talisman. The moment it emerged, the searing heat vanished, leaving behind what appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary charm.
This was the coat she had worn during her hospital visit that day; the miraculous doctor had given her a talisman, which she’d casually tucked into her pocket without giving it much thought.
If her falling alone and emerging unscathed could be attributed to luck, then the fact that Xue Jing was also unharmed transcends mere fortune. What exactly did the Divine Physician say back then? That she shouldn’t worry too much about Pan Hongliang?
That person was clearly not just a Divine Physician, but an immortal!
..
Xie Yubo watched the talisman plane vanish; her vision flickered momentarily, her Heavenly Eye seeming somewhat impaired.
Fortunately, Zheng Bin carried a talisman, and fortunately, she had tightly gripped Xue Jing’s hand, allowing Xie Yubo to channel additional spiritual energy and enable a single talisman to ward off two calamities.
Otherwise, to prevent an accident out of thin air, Xie Yubo would have remained blind for a very long time.
..
The ambulance took both of them to the hospital for a thorough examination. Zheng Bin, shaken by the near miss, said to Xue Jing, “I’m sorry; I’ve dragged you into this.”
“On the contrary, I should be the one thanking you for reaching out.”
Zheng Bin added, “I never expected Xing Chunwen to be so incompetent at work, yet absolutely top-tier at pretending to be an innocent victim while causing trouble.”
She immediately called her lawyer, asking him to wait for her at the hospital.
Inventory the assets, divorce and dissolve the partnership.
Xie Chenbo and Xie Jianming rushed over, their hearts heavy with worry as they awaited the X-ray results.
Xue Jing comforted them, “I don’t feel any discomfort at all; there’s definitely nothing wrong.”
The results came out quickly, confirming that both of them were fine.
Xie Chenbo hugged Xue Jing. “Mom, you must stay well.”
“Don’t worry, son.”
Brother Xie nodded; the most vulnerable members of their family were Xue Jing and Xie Yubo, and he simply couldn’t bring himself to let go of his concerns for them.
With no issues detected on Xue Jing’s end for now, Xie Chenbo, like an overprotective mother hen, began extrapolating further, his worries shifting toward his younger brother.
If they could encounter such brazen idiots just by stepping out onto the street, what would happen to Xie Yubo if they all went abroad? How could he avoid being bullied?
I need to figure out a way to take care of my younger brother.
A reliable guardian came to mind in Xie Chenbo’s thoughts.