Chapter Fifty-Seven

  A month passed quickly, and Yucai's manuscript was still almost half unfinished. He was thinking of finding an excuse to skip another month of class. Ji Shu Fan has set a return date, leaving on August 2nd early in the morning, and their school starts on the 3rd.

  On the first evening, Yu Cai was taken out by her mother again for a whole day and bought a lot of things, so she went to bed early.

  Maybe she went to bed too early, Yucai woke up in the middle of the night. The streetlights outside cast a large area of dim yellow color on the floor of the room. Yucai looked at it and suddenly felt sad. This place, I'm afraid I won't have the chance to come again...

  She thought for a moment, and her sleepiness was gone. She turned on the desk lamp and got out of bed. Looking at the clock, it was already 3 am. After walking around the room for a few laps, she decided to go downstairs and take a walk. Since she would be leaving tomorrow, it would be good to leave some memories behind.

  Afraid of waking up Chi Shu, Yu Cai walked down the stairs quietly in her bare feet and turned on a soft desk lamp. As soon as she looked at the table, she found that the milk she had prepared for Chi Shu before going to bed was still there, and the note was also there. It seemed that Chi Shu hadn't come back yet, otherwise, even if he didn't drink the milk, he wouldn't have left the note lying around like this.

  Before going to work in the morning, Qi Shu Fan had instructed them to pack their things and leave early tomorrow. How come they haven't returned yet? When they were here, Qi Shu Fan seemed to have never stayed out overnight, no matter how late he was socializing, he would always return. Not to mention that he still needs to send them back to the county town tomorrow...

  Yu Cai held the note and thought for a while, still feeling uneasy, so she dialed Qi Shu Fan's phone number. Unexpectedly, no one answered after ringing for half a day. Yu Cai's heart was lifted again, and she continued to dial, but still no one answered.

  Just as Yu Qian was hesitating about whether to disturb Xiao Xiao in the middle of the night, the phone connected, and it was indeed Xiao Xiao who answered.

  "Hey, Xiaocai?"

  Xiao Xiao's voice sounded a bit off, and Yu Cai felt even more puzzled. "Sister Xiao, why did you answer the phone? Where is my uncle?"

  Xiao Xiao calmly said, "Little Cai, your uncle had something urgent come up and was afraid you were asleep, so he didn't notify you."

  "When is he coming back?"

  "This is uncertain."

  "What did he confess then?"

  "Hmm, he's probably can't accompany you guys tomorrow, you guys stay at home and take care of yourselves, if you need anything just give me a call."

  Yu Cai became even more perplexed. If it was really Qi Shu Fan who left the message, why didn't he mention anything about returning to the county town tomorrow? "Xiao Xiao Jie, can I ask my uncle to take the call?"

  "I'm afraid it's not possible, your uncle has something on."

  "Xiao Xiao Jie, don't bully me just because I'm a kid who doesn't understand things. It's so late, what could be the matter? Even if it's overtime, there wouldn't be time to connect the phone call. It can't be that my uncle is drunk and unable to extricate himself from the gentle village, while you're in charge of blowing the wind?"

  "Xiao Cai! How can you say such a thing about your uncle?" Xiao Xiao's voice was very stern.

  "I don't want to either, if not, then I seriously suspect that Sister Xiao Xiao is pretending to be a tiger, I am the niece of your superior, and I have the right to know the reason why he didn't return home at night, what he does is not something involving national top secrets, I think you don't have any place to keep secrets".

  Xiao Xiao was about to collapse, Yu Cai looked easy-going, but why was she so difficult to deal with. She patiently said, "Little Cai, your uncle really has something and can't answer the phone, be good and go to sleep first, I'll let him call you back early tomorrow morning."

  "Xiao Xiao, actually, your evasive answers only make me more suspicious. Besides, I asked you earlier what our uncle said, and you told us to behave at home, but don't you know that we're going back to school the day after tomorrow? He's taking a leave of absence not to take us out to play, but to send us back to the county town."

  Xiao Xiao remembered that he had asked Qi Shu Fan before, when Qi Shu would return, and he seemed to say it was in August. He didn't ask deeply, who knew they would run into this critical moment.

  Xiao Xiao hadn't thought of an excuse yet, when Yu Cai continued to ask, "Sister Xiao, actually I really want to know the reason you lied".

  Xiao Xiao felt the headache of Qi Shu Fan, now kids are so difficult to deal with.

  Yu Cai saw Xiao Xiao not speaking, so she continued to persuade her, "Sister Xiao, I know you have your reasons for not speaking, but you should also understand my and Ashi's feelings. Whoever encounters this situation can't help but worry, worrying that my uncle will be in danger, and also worrying that Ashi will suddenly gain a stepmother."

  Xiao Xiao was so angry that she wanted to strangle Yu Cai's heart at this moment, did this little girl not understand what she was saying?

  "Xiao Xiao, you should be clear about the position of A Shi in your boss's heart. He is now waiting for news of his father by my side. Hurting your boss's precious son and making him worry overnight may not be a crime, but it will definitely affect your position in their hearts."

  "Xiao Cai, it's already past three o'clock. You all go to sleep first. I'll ask your uncle to give you a call around seven o'clock, okay?"

  "Xiao Xiao Jie, your stubbornness is really giving me a headache. Actually, I just don't want to bother you with unnecessary things. If you can clearly tell me that my uncle is not avoiding phone calls for some indecent reason, then I won't disturb you again."

  "Alright, Xiao Cai, trust me, I dare to guarantee with my personal integrity that your uncle will not be as despicable as you said."

  Yu Cai was even more frightened by this reply, "That means he's in danger! What happened to him? Did he get into a car accident after drinking?"

  "Not little Cai—"

  "What's wrong, did he get a stomach disease relapse, lung cancer or a sudden heart attack?"

  "Xiao Cai——"

  "Where are you? What's going on with my uncle? Xiao Xiao, you have no right to keep us in the dark!" Yu Cai's voice became shrill, "What's going on with him?"

  At this time, He Mu walked to Xiao Xiao's side, and Xiao Xiao quickly covered the receiver with his hand. "Deputy Mayor, it's Xiaocai, she kept asking questions, I couldn't persuade her."

  "Hello, Xiaocai? Your uncle is fine, don't worry about it, go to sleep early."

  Yu Cai had calmed down by then and said solemnly, "Aunt He, no matter what happens, I hope you will tell us the truth. We have the right to know."

  "Xiao Cai, listen, go to sleep, if there's really something going on I'll definitely tell you guys."

  "So, are we going back to the county town tomorrow?"

  "You go to school, tomorrow I will send Xiao Yu to take you back."

  "Aunt He, I'm now certain that my uncle must have met with an accident. How can you expect me to return to school and study in peace? Besides, if something really happened to him, don't you think it would be more comforting for him to have us by his side rather than just you, especially Ah Shi?"

  He Mu fell silent for a moment, "Xiao Cai, your uncle does not want you and Shi Zhi to know, you must understand him".

  "But the problem is that we now know something but are uncertain what it is, which will only lead to more speculation and worry, completely contrary to Uncle's original intention."

  He Mu fell silent, and Yu Cai sighed, "Aunt He, both I and A Shi have grown up. We should take responsibility to share the worries of our uncle. Even if we can't do anything, Uncle will surely be delighted that we understand him and care about him."

  "Alright, you guys wait at home, I'll send Xiao Yu to pick you up."

  "Okay, thank you Aunt He."

  Yu Cai hung up the phone and found Qi Shi standing on the stairs looking at her quietly, she didn't know when he arrived.

  Yu Cai forced a smile at him, "A Shi, your dad has had an accident, but it shouldn't be too serious. He Qie isn't very panicked either. She'll send her secretary to pick us up soon and we can go change our clothes."

  Qī shì zhī diǎn tóu, yù cǎi gēn zhe tā yī qǐ shàng lóu huàn le yī fu chū le mén.

  Translation:

  Ji nodded and Yu Cai followed him upstairs to change clothes and went out the door.

  Although it was midsummer, the wind in the early morning still carried a hint of coolness. Yu Cai wore thin summer clothes and couldn't help but shrink her neck, turning to Qi Shi Zhi Dao, "A Shi, don't worry."

  Yu Cai's words were meant to comfort Ji Xie, but they held more significance as a self-consolation. Ji Xie listened with an expressionless face and nodded slightly. Yu Cai looked at his indifferent demeanor and felt a surge of sadness in her nose, quickly turning her head away.

  Before long, Xiao Yu drove up in his silver Beike sedan. Yu Cai hastily asked as soon as she got in the car, "Xiao Yu, what's wrong with my uncle?"

  "Stomach bleeding, has undergone surgery, is under anesthesia, and is now asleep, estimated to wake up tomorrow morning."

  Yu Caiqiang choked back a sob, "How could I have gastric bleeding? What did the doctor say?"

  "It's already out of danger, but the doctor said that if he drinks excessively again in the future, it will definitely relapse. However, Secretary Qi also has no choice, how can they not drink?"

  Yu Cai hung her head, trying to calm herself down. She knew that Xi Shu Fan was young and had achieved a high position, so he must have attended many social events and drunk a lot of alcohol. She had seen him several times during his rare breaks, looking pained and quickly avoiding the crowd, only to return later with a normal expression. Although she didn't know the details, she had seen it on TV before - he must have taken some painkillers for stomach problems. But she couldn't imagine that the situation was so severe... he had actually suffered from gastric bleeding! She didn't fully understand what this meant, but she knew it was a very serious illness...

  The next morning, Ji Shu Fan had just struggled to open his eyes when he saw Yu Cai Hong with a pair of swollen and red eyes staring at him excitedly, with unshed tears in her eyes, and uncertainly called out, "Xiao Cai?"

  Yu Cai nodded hastily, "Qishu Fan, are you feeling better? Where does it hurt? Ashi is also here, he's been worried all night too."

  Qishu turned his eyes and indeed saw that the person sitting next to Yucui was Qishi, who also looked haggard. His heart warmed up, "How did you guys come here?"

  Yu Cai had already stood up and pushed Xiao Xiao awake, "Xiao Xiao jie, Qi Shu Fan woke up, did the doctor say what to do next? Should we go call a nurse?"

  Xiao Xiao went to the bedside of Qi Shu Fan to check on him and asked a few questions, then went to call the nurse. Qi Shu Fan was about to speak when Yu Cai quickly interrupted him, "Qi Shu Fan, don't talk for now, by the way, are you thirsty? Do you want some water?"

  Just as Fang Zheng was about to nod, Yu Cai muttered to herself again, "Let's wait for the nurse to come and talk later. Who knows if you can drink water yet? By the way, earlier you asked us how we came here, do you still have the nerve to ask? Such a big thing happened and you didn't say a word, if I hadn't woken up at night, you would have probably kept it from me. You don't know how much effort I put in to find out where you were, Xiao Xiao's sister really is your match, she wasted half a day of my saliva, but still wouldn't say a single word. Later on, Aunt He brought us over. Don't do this again, you have no idea how worried I and A Ruo were..."

  Qī shū fán tīng tā xiè xiè de dī shēng bào yuàn zhe, róu hé de shēng yīn fǎng fú shān jiān qīng quán huǎn huǎn liú guò xīn tián, chù chù qīng liáng gān tián...