Shen Yin had been keeping watch in the hospital room for a long time, growing more worried as time passed. Shen Lv stood by, feeling uneasy as he watched.
"Why don't you take Zhengzheng home to rest? I can stay here," Shen Lv suggested, concerned about Shen Yin and Zhengzheng's health.
Research has shown that severe heartache can trigger autonomic nervous system disorders. The onset of autonomic nervous system disorders is often related to psychosocial stress factors and can manifest symptoms in multiple systems, such as postural hypotension, which may cause dizziness, fainting, and blurred vision.
When Shen Yin was depressed, Shen Lv had researched these topics extensively, but what could he do?
"No, I'm staying here. I'll watch over him," Shen Yin insisted.
"How long are you planning to stay? I mean, what if it takes a long time for him to wake up? Will you just keep watching over him here?"
Shen Yin nodded. With her basic medical knowledge, she felt more at ease staying by his side.
"Brother, please go back and bring some clothes and daily necessities for Zhengzheng."
"Are you planning to stay here long-term?" Shen Lv asked incredulously.
"Yes. This hospital room is spacious, and it even has an extra room. There's a bathroom, shower, and even a small kitchen. We can buy groceries and cook here. Why can't we stay for an extended period? Zhengzheng should be fine here too, but if he doesn't adjust well later, you can take him to mom's place."
"Mommy, Zhengzheng wants to stay with Daddy and Mommy," the little one chimed in, running over.
"Alright," Shen Yin agreed.
Shen Lv didn't try to persuade her further. He'd let Shen Yin handle things her way.
There was too much public opinion online that needed to be addressed. As the brother-in-law, he certainly couldn't stand by and do nothing.
"Oh, brother, can you do me a favor? Go to Rong City Second Hospital. Xu Guimin is there. Ask him what exactly he said to Xiuhe when they met."
"Sure."
Upon hearing this, Shen Lv left the hospital room and drove to Rong City Hospital.
When he arrived at the VIP ward in Rong City Second Hospital, the staff outside the room didn't stop Shen Lv, as Shen Yin had called ahead.
As Shen Lv entered the room, Xu Guimin looked up.
"You're Shen Lv from Shen Group? You..."
Being from the same city, they had naturally seen each other before.
Xu Guimin seemed unable to recall why someone from Shen Group would come to see him.
"Old man, what did you say to my brother-in-law this morning?" Shen Lv's tone was very impolite. He was protective of his family. From the beginning, he knew that Xu Xiuhe's relationship with the Xu family wasn't good. When his father was looking for a suitable husband for Shen Yin, he had thoroughly investigated Xu Xiuhe's background.
Knowing that this old man hadn't treated his brother-in-law well, how could he show him any courtesy? Calling him "old man" was already being polite.
Xu Guimin suddenly realized that the son he had never valued was already married.
"Why are you here? Where's Xiuhe?"
"You have the nerve to ask? Xiuhe is lying in the hospital. What did you two talk about this morning?"
"What? How did Xiuhe end up in the hospital?"
"How should I know? I'm asking you what you two discussed."
Xu Guimin thought deeply for a moment but still didn't speak.
"You should leave. This is between him and me. Outsiders shouldn't interfere."
Shen Lv couldn't believe it. He was an outsider?
Well, he supposed he was. Damn it, if Shen Yin hadn't asked him to come, he wouldn't be willing to run between hospitals late at night.
"Are you going to tell me or not? It's extremely important!" Shen Lv asked one last time.
Xu Guimin remained unmoved, his face expressionless, infuriating Shen Lv. The old bastard, he thought, might as well drown and be done with it.
Shen Lv cursed under his breath. If it weren't for the fact that the old man was a patient, he might have resorted to physical force.
As he left, Shen Lv slammed the door hard.
"Keep an eye on him," he instructed the staff outside.
After that, Shen Lv drove to Yuelan Manor. He had it tough enough already, and the two elderly people at home were probably worried sick. He needed to hurry back to comfort them.
Sure enough, as soon as he parked the car, Fang Yue came running out.
"Mom, why are you out here? It's so cold outside."
As Shen Lv got out of the car, he could feel the chill in the air. After all, it was December, with only 20 days left until the New Year.
"I've been worried sick. How's Xiuhe? If your dad hadn't stopped me, I would have gone to the hospital already."
"It's a good thing dad stopped you. Otherwise, you wouldn't even have had a place to stand in the hospital room. His friends and assistant are all there."
"Why can't you get to the point? I'm asking you, how is Xiuhe?" Fang Yue smacked Shen Lv's arm. Was this child being deliberately obtuse? What she said wasn't that hard to understand.
"Not great. He's not dead, but we don't know when he'll wake up."
Hearing this, Fang Yue immediately gave Shen Lv a hard slap. Ever since Shen Tianzheng fell ill, she hated hearing anything about life and death. It was so inauspicious. Couldn't he say something more positive?
"Mom, that hurts."
Shen Lv cupped his cheek, looking aggrieved. Was his life easy? He had been busy all day, and now he came home only to be hit by his mother.
"How's your sister? She must be devastated. And Zhengzheng? Is Zhengzheng okay?"
"You know how stubborn your daughter is. I'll have to go back to the hospital later. Let me eat something first."
"What's going on? Is Yin Yin planning to stay at the hospital the whole time?"
"You know the answer, why are you asking?"
When Shen Lv returned to the hospital, he not only brought clothes and daily necessities for Zhengzheng but also food for both mother and son.
When Shen Lv arrived, Shu Yi and Chang Zhiyuan were there. Shu Yi had prepared change of clothes, pajamas, and daily necessities for Shen Yin, while Chang Zhiyuan had bought basins and towels.
"Xiuhe, if you don't wake up soon, your son won't recognize you anymore," Chang Zhiyuan said, standing by the bed. In truth, he was heartbroken. He, Xiuhe, and Jing Rui had grown up together, closer than brothers. Whenever one of them needed help, the others would come without hesitation. Now, he was standing here while Xiuhe lay unconscious. Just thinking about it made him emotional.
"Zhengzheng recognizes Daddy. Daddy is just sick. He'll get better soon," the little one said, sitting on the sofa, seemingly understanding everything, neither crying nor making a fuss.
"That's right. Zhengzheng is so good. Zhengzheng is so adorable, Daddy will definitely want to see you," Shen Yin said, having finished tidying up the hospital room, prepared for a long stay.
"How's the news online?"
"Xiuhe's assistant is handling it."
"If this hadn't happened, Liu's assistant and the other junior assistant would probably be getting married, and we could have attended their wedding," Shen Yin said, her eyes devoid of light.
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, knowing that no one could be more devastated than Shen Yin.
After the others left, it was already very late. Shen Yin gave Zhengzheng a bath and then carried her to the inner bedroom.
"Zhengzheng, be good and sleep by yourself, okay? Mommy needs to go wash Daddy's face."
"Okay."
Shen Yin kissed her baby's forehead and went back to the bathroom. When she came out, she was carrying a basin and a towel.
As she approached the bed, Shen Yin took the towel and gently wiped Xu Xiuhe's face. He looked as if he were merely sleeping.
After finishing, Shen Yin reached for Xu Xiuhe's wrist, feeling for his pulse. From what she could tell, there didn't seem to be any major issues, so why wasn't he waking up?
During the night, Zhengzheng slept in the inner room while Shen Yin lay down next to Xu Xiuhe on the outside.
She held his hand tightly, reflecting on how difficult Xu Xiuhe's first 20-plus years had been. His mother died early, his stepmother disliked him, his father didn't love him. He had experienced the harsh realities of society at a young age and built everything from scratch. Just when he finally had happiness within his grasp, this car accident happened.
Shen Yin couldn't sleep at all. Her left hand reached out to Xu Xiuhe's face, her fingers tracing the contours of his features before finally resting on his eyebrows.
He was so handsome. She realized she had never looked at Xu Xiuhe so closely and quietly before.
Early the next morning, Liu Bo came to the hospital and informed Shen Yin that the investigation results were out. The car's dashboard camera showed that it was indeed driver error – he had mistaken the accelerator for the brake pedal. After crashing into the green belt, he hadn't applied the brakes, which naturally led to the accident.
"Has the driver woken up?" Shen Yin asked.
"Yes, but the driver suffered extensive external injuries. He underwent a comprehensive examination yesterday afternoon, and it turns out he's in the late stages of a terminal illness. The accident might have been caused by him losing consciousness due to a sudden onset of symptoms."
"Late stages? Weren't there regular health check-ups?"
"There were, but I went back last night and checked the medical reports he submitted to the company. They were fake."
"He deliberately concealed his condition?"
Liu Bo nodded. He felt partially responsible for not emphasizing the importance of thoroughly verifying the medical reports to the relevant departments.
"Driver Wang has been with the CEO since the company's inception. He probably wanted to keep earning money and didn't want to lose his job, so he paid to have fake medical reports made."
"I see. How's the company doing? Has the stock price dropped?"
At this point, there was no use in dwelling on what had happened. Shen Yin turned her attention to the company's affairs. Heyuan Group was Xu Xiuhe's life's work of many years, and it couldn't afford any setbacks.
"It's manageable. The stock price hasn't dropped much," Liu Bo replied. He had already released a statement saying that Xu Xiuhe didn't have any major issues and just needed some time to recuperate, so the situation wasn't too bad.
The big problem now was when the CEO would wake up. The company had an extremely important collaboration coming up that required Xu Xiuhe's personal involvement. Without him, the deal couldn't be closed.
"Whatever happens with the company, let me know immediately. You'll have to work a bit harder during this time, and we absolutely cannot afford any mistakes," Shen Yin instructed.
"Understood."
"Alright, you should head back to the company then. Don't worry too much about things here."
Shen Yin was telling herself not to worry too much as much as she was telling Liu Bo. In reality, she was the most concerned. It had been 24 hours, so why wasn't there any change?
One day, two days, three days passed, and Xu Xiuhe still hadn't woken up. He was surviving on nutrient solutions to replenish his energy. Gradually, people stopped concerning themselves with his situation, and even the company continued to operate normally.
The world kept turning, days went by, and only Shen Yin grew thinner with each passing day.
"Ma'am." Liu Bo's phone call startled Shen Yin.
"Has something happened at the company?"
"Yes and no."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a collaboration that requires the CEO's presence, but he's still not awake. This partnership is extremely important – it's with a foreign company – so we're not sure how to proceed."
"I'll go. When is it?"
Over the past few days, Fang Yue had been coming to the hospital room to check on everyone. Her son-in-law lay unconscious in bed, her daughter was growing thinner by the day, and her grandchild was being heart-wrenchingly well-behaved. Fang Yue saw it all and felt the pain in her heart. She had prayed to every Buddha and deity she could think of.
"Mom, I might need to go out this afternoon. Can you look after Zhengzheng?"
"Of course. Remember, if anything's bothering you, talk to me. Don't try to shoulder everything alone."
Shen Yin returned to Ziyue Manor and changed into a white suit. She applied light makeup, put on a pair of black high heels, and tied her hair up, giving her a capable and mature appearance. She hoped this look would make her seem more like a high-level company executive.
When Shen Yin arrived at the company, it caused quite a stir. Everyone had been speculating about the CEO's condition, but there had been no news, and the media had stopped reporting on it.
The lack of news was because there was no information on when he might wake up. The media silence was due to various influential parties – Shen Lv, Liu Bo, and Chang Zhiyuan – all paying to keep the story out of the press.
Shen Yin wore bright red lipstick, and as she walked through the company, she seemed to bring a gust of wind with her.
"The CEO's wife is here, and we've never seen her dressed like this before. She looks every bit the powerful businesswoman."
"She looks so fierce. I wonder how the CEO is doing, though."
Xu Xiuhe had always treated the company's employees well – paying double for overtime, never delaying wages, providing benefits during holidays, and never discriminating against female employees.
Everyone in the company could see what Xu Xiuhe had done for them. It was hard to find such a good boss nowadays, and many people outside the company were eager to join Heyuan Group.
There were many people who cared about Xu Xiuhe, and by extension, they treated Shen Yin with courtesy and respect. After all, they believed in Xu Xiuhe.
"How's everything going? Have the people from Ruida Group arrived?" Shen Yin asked.
"Yes, they have."
Shen Yin hadn't come unprepared. When she learned this morning that she needed to negotiate the collaboration, she had quickly studied up on many topics and sought advice from Shen Lv.
Shen Yin was naturally intelligent, and on top of that, she had previously accompanied Xu Xiuhe to Heyuan Group out of boredom. During those times, she had read many documents and observed how Xu Xiuhe handled various situations.
"Liu Bo, Qin Zhenzhen, you two come in with me."
At the very least, they couldn't lose face in terms of their lineup. Calling for Liu Bo was because he had been following this project all along. Calling for Qin Zhenzhen was because this young woman appeared to be the type with high professional quality and strong capabilities. When facing other companies, they certainly couldn't afford to lose face.
In the reception room of Heyuan Group, quite a few people were already seated. When Shen Yin learned it was a foreign company, she began to worry. What if her English skills weren't up to par and she ended up embarrassing herself? She practiced desperately for a while, but made no progress. With the original owner's memories, how could she possibly use English as fluently as a fish in water?
She decided to throw caution to the wind. She would just speak Chinese. Why should they accommodate others by speaking a foreign language when their own culture and history were so long-standing? The fact that they came to meet Heyuan Group showed that Heyuan Group had the strength worthy of Ruida's cooperation.
