Chapter 563: Chapter 533 I Have a Way to Convince Her_1
Xia Momo and another police officer also rushed in, one on each side without needing Xia Momo to step forward; the two officers supported Zhou Ning into the bathroom.
After relieving himself, Zhou Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the ordeal left him utterly exhausted. Mr. Liu settled Zhou Ning in and then turned to Xia Momo with a smile, saying,
"Mr. Xia, just call me for anything, like going to the bathroom. We’ll handle it."
Zhou Ning expressed his thanks and then remembered Liu Yufei, quickly asking,
"How’s Mrs. Fei doing?"
Mr. Liu gestured and said with a smile,
"She’s right next to your room, not just her, but two other injured comrades as well, in a room opposite. It’s almost like we’ve booked the whole section, so we can look after all three rooms together. But Mrs. Fei keeps clamoring to be discharged."
Zhou Ning was somewhat surprised and didn’t ask more. Mr. Liu and the others went out, turning off part of the room lights since it was already past ten. Xia Momo made sure Zhou Ning’s blanket was well placed.
"Now go to sleep, don’t worry about Liu Yufei. When I came to bring dinner tonight, I brought a portion for her too, and she’s long finished eating."
Zhou Ning was a bit surprised.
"How did you know she’s in the next room?"
"He Shancun told me. These days Liu Yufei has been getting food delivered from the canteen. Her appetite isn’t very good, and she’s constantly trying to leave the hospital. No one has come to take care of her. I think Director Xu had arranged for a policewoman to take care of her at some point, but she was scolded and sent away."
Zhou Ning blinked, about to speak, when Xia Momo leaned close to him, propped herself on the bed, and continued,
"I know what you’re going to say. Doctor Chen has been over a few times and was driven away by her too. No family member has come to visit at all. I think Director Xu managed to contact her aunt. The old lady has been having high blood pressure recently, getting injections every day, and hasn’t come over. I always feel she has secrets she doesn’t want us to know about."
This outcome surprised Zhou Ning. After all, he was the one who contacted Doctor Chen when Liu Yufei was hospitalized. It was just that he had been busy with cases afterward and hadn’t inquired about this side. He had thought at least Doctor Chen could take good care of her, but how had things reached this state?
"Call Mr. Zhao and ask what’s really going on?"
Xia Momo shook her head.
"It’s already half-past ten, don’t worry about these things. Your main task now is to rest, lie down and sleep."
With that, Xia Momo had already adjusted the bed to a flat position.
"What about you? Why don’t you lie down next to me?"
Xia Momo pinched Zhou Ning’s nose and quickly kissed his cheek.
"You worry too much. Close your eyes and sleep; I’ll lie on the sofa. If anything happens, just call me. I’m small, so I can totally fit there."
...
The next morning.
Zhou Ning was woken up by the delicious smell of food. Auntie was bustling around with Xia Momo, and the table at the foot of his bed was already set with various foods. From Auntie’s bag, it was clear there was still a lot more of food, which Xia Momo took, just as Zhou Ning opened his eyes.
"You’re awake. I’ll have Mr. Liu help you to the restroom, and I’ll go next door for a bit. At least Liu Yufei hasn’t kicked me out."
Saying this, Xia Momo hurried out, and Mr. Liu had already come in, much more adept this time. Auntie kept chatting away on the side. When he returned, Auntie gave Mr. Liu and the others a big bag.
"This is for you guys. I’m not sure if it matches your tastes, but it’s not the same patient meal as our Zhou Ning here. I made dumplings, two kinds of fillings, and wrote on the boxes what fillings they contain."
Zhou Ning pursed his lips, watching as Mr. Liu left. Auntie saw Zhou Ning still staring at the door and mockingly waved her fist at him in the air.
"You little brat, hoarding the food, eh? You hurry up and get better, and when you come back, I’ll cook whatever you want."
Zhou Ning smiled; he was clearly feeling a lot better than before. However, with every breath, there was a dull pain in his chest, but it was like having a canker sore in the mouth – you knew it would hurt if you touched it, yet you still wanted to lick it.
Zhou Ning started eating by himself. Although his movements were slow, the feeling of being able to eat on his own was too good. By the time Xia Momo came back, he had finished eating and had also freshened up.
"Did Mrs. Fei eat?"
Xia Momo nodded.
"Don’t worry anymore. The food we brought was eaten up by Mrs. Fei. She even said Auntie’s cooking is delicious, that if she stays in the hospital for a few more days and then gets out, she might need to go on a diet to lose weight,"
Auntie couldn’t stop laughing, obviously feeling accomplished. She packed up all the food containers, made a package, and waved at Xia Momo,
"I’ll stay with him for the morning; you go back and rest for a bit, maybe even take a shower."
Xia Momo waved her hand.
"It’s fine, it’s enough that I am here. My mom will bring a bed over at noon, and as for taking a shower, He Shancun has found a place for me. It’s just that Zhou Ning can’t take a shower for the time being, and I guess he’s probably the most uncomfortable one."
The second aunt glared at Zhou Ning with disdain and said.
"Ever since he was little, he has had this problem, brushing his teeth three times a day, taking a bath every day, even without hot water he will use cold water to bathe, there’s really no way to talk to him. Xiao Jun will come over tonight to give him a wipe down, as he can’t bathe here. Tonight, Xiao Jun will take care of Xiao Ning here."
Before Xia Momo could say anything, the door was knocked upon. Everyone looked over as Mr. Zhao and Zhu Xingxing poked their heads in. Seeing Zhou Ning sitting on the bed, their eyes lit up, and they rushed over quickly. Then, their mouths twisted and the next second, they looked as though they were about to cry.
Zhou Ning immediately spoke up to stop Mr. Zhao’s impending action; with his physique, a pounce would certainly split the wound open, and then there would be no point in healing.
"Stop, don’t come over. I won’t die in a short while. You’re crying too early, stop the tears and hold them back, especially don’t touch me. If the wound splits open, I’ll have to suffer all over again."
In one sentence, Mr. Zhao went from tears to laughter, grinning and sucking hard on his nose.
"The emotions I’ve been brewing were dispelled by your one sentence. If it weren’t for Mr. Xia telling us, we wouldn’t even have known you woke up. The department sent me and Zhu Xingxing over as representatives to see how you are. How do you feel, Zhou Xiaozhou? Feeling light-headed and shaky, like you have no grounding? "
Zhou Ning nodded his head.
"Didn’t expect that after lying down for two days, I’d feel so weak. Yesterday, when I went to the bathroom and Mr. Liu was supporting me, my legs were trembling. Oh right, I was looking for you yesterday, come a bit closer."
Mr. Zhao blinked, obviously anticipating some gossip, and quickly moved closer to Zhou Ning.
"What happened?"
"Yufei is in the room next to me. I heard Mr. He and Momo saying that no one came to take care of her. The people Director Xu sent were driven away by her. Her aunt has poor health, and she doesn’t even let Doctor Chen come over. What exactly is going on?"
Mr. Zhao’s face showed understanding as he pulled over a chair, with everyone gathering close.
"You asked me about it yesterday and I might not have known then. Mrs. Fei’s family situation is special. I only found out when Zhang Ping was filling out forms yesterday, because her family information was blank. Out of curiosity, I asked Director Xu and learned some inside story.
Mrs. Fei’s mother was a doctor at the Naval Y Combat Hospital. She died in a car accident while saving someone during her vacation; Mrs. Fei was not even five years old then. She grew up with her grandmother and aunt, and there are no relatives left on her mother’s side.
As for Mrs. Fei’s father, he disappeared suddenly three months after her mother’s death. Her aunt and grandmother reported it to the police at the time. Of course, it was many years later when they heard from familiar people that Mrs. Fei’s father probably remarried, had children, and even moved abroad to live."
It was this year during the Spring Festival that he returned to the country. He didn’t go see Mrs. Fei but instead hired a lawyer to negotiate with her first. When negotiations failed, he directly sued her, claiming she was occupying the property of Mrs. Fei’s grandmother. As for the house where Mrs. Fei now lives, which was under her mother’s name, he wanted to split what he considered his share.
This is probably why, before, Mrs. Fei was somewhat receptive to Doctor Chen’s pursuit, but after the Spring Festival, she seemed like she’d become a whole different person, completely cutting off all contact with everyone. I asked a friend, and the court date is one week from now."
At this news, Xia Momo and the others were all stunned, not expecting Liu Yufei to have such a family situation. However, they couldn’t simply tell Chen Cheng about it, and for a moment, everyone looked towards Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning’s brow furrowed slightly. Liu Yufei didn’t want to speak of it and had even chased Doctor Chen away and refused his kindness; perhaps it was because of this reason.
Not to mention, if someone with malicious intent were to spread the news, "public servant neglects her own father," a single statement could spark attention from onlookers. They wouldn’t care about the truth, only berating Liu Yufei for heartlessness.
At that time, no matter how true or false, nobody would care about the facts. So, Liu Yufei’s rejection of Chen Cheng was actually protecting him. She didn’t want him to be dragged into this mess.
Such actions by her real father were despicable, yet such an issue still required a good lawyer, otherwise, the lawsuit would be tough to handle.
Thinking of this, Zhou Ning suddenly thought of someone. He paused slightly and reached out his hand towards Xia Momo.
"Give me my phone, and also, Momo, sneak next door and see if Yufei is there."
Xia Momo understood that Zhou Ning needed to ask for help. She took Zhou Ning’s phone out of her pocket, handed it to him, and then left the room. She stealthily glanced at the next room before quickly coming back and making an OK sign, mouthing ’she’s asleep.’ At that moment, Zhou Ning had already made the call.
"Mr. Dong, the lawyer? This is Zhou Ning, the forensic doctor from Qindao City Criminal Police Brigade."
The person on the other end of the line laughed before speaking.
"You have my number saved? Hello, Doctor Zhou, no, now I should say Director Zhou. Go ahead and tell me what you need. I know you wouldn’t call me unless it’s a tricky case, and the involved party must have some connection to you, right?"
Indeed, Dong Chengwen’s opening words eased Zhou Ning’s awkwardness, and he also smiled with relief.
Regarding the past incident, he wasn’t a judge, and even the judge hadn’t convicted him, so what right did he have to interfere? Besides, the real culprit had been caught; he just felt too conniving, leaving Zhou Ning feeling used.
"Actually, there is something I need your help with. The situation is like this... The person in question, like me, was injured at work a few days ago and is still hospitalized. I haven’t mentioned seeking your help to her, and us friends just hope she won’t be disturbed by these old issues and can live her life peacefully. So we are hoping to get your help."
There was the sound of rustling on the other end, likely Dong Chengwen writing something down, perhaps to sort out the sequence of events.
"I understand. There’s no need to tell her in advance. I should be able to arrive at the central hospital in about twenty minutes. Let’s go together, I have a way to persuade her."
"Alright, see you in a bit!"
