Chapter 565: Chapter 535: Restrain Yourselves_1
"Of course, you could also request that he come to collect it himself every month. It’s not like he’s going to move back to China for just a hundred or two hundred yuan, right? And even if he did move back to China, you could hold off on payment until he sues. As for any subsequent issues, I’ll handle them for you long-term. Don’t worry about it."
Liu Yufei was somewhat surprised, but after listening to Dong Chengwen’s explanation, it seemed that the frustration pent-up inside her dissipated quite a bit. She looked at Zhou Ning with a smile, returning to her usual demeanor.
"Okay, then thank you very much. But don’t waive the attorney fees for me."
Dong Chengwen waved his hand dismissively.
"To say something quite arrogant, money is just a number to me now. Don’t bring up money with me. I’m interested in this case, and that’s what’s most important. You just get some rest. I’ll send someone to pick you up before the court session, and as long as you can attend with your plaster and arm in a sling, that’s fine."
Liu Yufei pulled a key pouch from under her pillow and handed it to Mr. Zhao, as Dong Chengwen stood up to leave.
"Mr. Zhao, please take the trouble to go. My ID and the subpoena are in the first drawer on the left in my office, and as for the property deeds, they’re in a drawer in the wardrobe of my bedroom. If you can’t find them, video call me."
Mr. Zhao took the keys and said to Liu Yufei with a smile:
"Mrs. Fei, this task should have been done by Doctor Chen. He’d be more than happy to do it. After all, he is your official boyfriend, and when you’re in trouble, don’t always leave him out. It makes Doctor Chen so worried that he’s lost over ten pounds. We feel sorry for him, waiting outside your hospital room every day, not daring to come in."
Liu Yufei went silent for a moment, then nodded earnestly.
"Alright, do as you see fit. If you want him to go, then let him go. As for the property of my house, it was taken care of by my mother’s superior at the time, and I don’t know the details. However, his contact information is tucked inside the property deeds, so just pass that along to Mr. Dong as well."
Several people left the hospital room, and sure enough, Chen Cheng was standing at the door. Dong Chengwen, along with the others, left quickly and closed the door of the hospital room. Mr. Zhao gestured for Chen Cheng to push Zhou Ning, and they all returned to Zhou Ning’s hospital room.
With a secretive look, Mr. Zhao shook the key pouch in his hand.
"Doctor Chen, you owe me a meal!"
Zhou Ning saw his showy expression and couldn’t help but laugh.
"You do have to treat him to a meal, but could you help me get into bed to lie down first? Then we can continue talking."
Doctor Chen smacked his forehead and hurried to the bed, helping Zhou Ning lie down, while Zhu Xingxing closed the door. Everyone gathered around, with Xia Momo even sitting on Zhou Ning’s bed, all waiting for Zhou Ning to tell them the outcome.
Zhou Ning didn’t hide anything and recounted everything that had just happened. Doctor Chen suddenly grabbed Mr. Zhao in a tight hug, his eyes slightly moist with excitement, slapping him hard several times on the back, which made Mr. Zhao start coughing.
"Hey, what are you doing, killing the donkey after it leaves the millstone? I just helped you, and now you’re ready to murder me here?"
"Wasn’t I just excited? Alright, I’ll ask for leave from Mr. He. And stop your yapping. Let’s go get Yufei’s things right now. We have to stop by her office too, right? I’m going to change my clothes and wash my hair; give me ten minutes."
With that, he dashed out. Zhou Ning was puzzled, unable to understand the necessary connection between getting things and washing his hair. Xia Momo, trying to suppress her laughter, poked Zhou Ning’s hand.
"Don’t get it, huh? Doctor Chen is marking his territory. He means he’s Liu Yufei’s official boyfriend. But honestly, I’m really happy they ended up together."
Zhou Ning also sighed deeply. Just recovered a bit of strength and now felt drained again after making the rounds next door. He looked at Zhu Xingxing and Sun Gaotie and waved them off slightly.
"I’ll leave the investigation work to you guys. I was so preoccupied with Mrs. Fei’s situation that I didn’t even ask about my Shifu and the poet. Are they still looking into that lab situation?"
Zhu Xingxing nodded.
"They went with Mr. Qu and Peng Shinian, taking Zou Jialong, Pang Tianhang, Mr. Wang Hen, and the driver Mr. Wang to Xinghua City and haven’t come back yet. They’ve sent back quite a few samples from there, but I don’t know how the investigation is progressing."
Mr. Zhao glared at Zhu Xingxing. Realizing he’d said too much, Zhu Xingxing stuck out his tongue and quickly shut up.
Zhou Ning, understanding what was going on, kept it to himself.
"The killer left few clues, and even if DNA is found on the cigarette butts, if there’s no direction to suspect someone, and if they don’t have past DNA on file or criminal records, it still counts as having no leads. You all go ahead with your work; I need to rest too. Mr. Zhao, keep in contact with Dong Chengwen. If the trial is open to the public, I want to listen in."
Mr. Zhao raised both hands in a plea for mercy.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, I’m begging you, don’t join in the chaos. If you want to hear the proceedings, I’ll record it for you—just stay put and continue your hospital stay. I’ve come to understand Dong Chengwen; he’s the type who can maximize your benefits even without full evidence. Now that we have all the evidence, including witnesses and the will from back then, there’s a high chance of success."
Zhou Ning didn’t insist further, as Xia Momo had already grabbed his hand with an obvious threat.
"Alright, you guys go on and get busy."
After everyone left, the aunt went to see them off. Xia Momo turned back to Zhou Ning, pinched his chin, and pouted:
"Don’t get any silly ideas. You’re not allowed to go. Just when you’ve started to recover a bit, you’re stirring up trouble, huh? If you don’t listen to me, I’ll confiscate your phone right now."
Zhou Ning smiled and kissed the fingers by his lips.
"I’ll listen to everything you say."
Xia Momo’s cheeks flushed with the sudden kiss, and just then, her aunt came in. One glance at Xia Momo’s face and there was nothing she didn’t understand, considering she’d been young once too. Seeing the couple’s affection, her aunt was happy for them.
"Alright, I’ll leave you two to chat. Shancun said you can have rice and vegetables. I’ll make you braised pork rice for lunch, and I’ve stewed a pigeon soup. Momo likes seafood, so I’ll cook some of that as well, along with a vegetarian dish. What else would you two like to eat?"
Xia Momo quickly gestured with her hands.
"The braised pork rice and soup are enough, Auntie. Don’t go to any more trouble; we can’t eat that much."
Her aunt laughed and pinched Xia Momo’s face.
"Don’t mention it, it’s mainly to nourish you. These past few days, because of this little rascal, you’ve been both tired and worried. It breaks my heart to see that. Now that he’s awake, I feel energized to make something tasty. I won’t keep you; I’ll head back now."
Saying this, her aunt picked up her things and quickly left. Xia Momo followed her to the door, and her aunt turned back to wave.
"Go back in. When your mom comes over tonight, I’ll have her bring you some fresh clothes and toiletries. The bathroom in Shancun has been sorted out for you. Oh right, and tell Liu Yufei next door that I’ve brought something for her."
After watching her aunt vanish at the end of the corridor, Xia Momo returned to the room. She gave Zhou Ning some water to drink and laid her head on his hand.
Zhou Ning took the opportunity to touch her cheek. The soft, smooth sensation made him not want to let go, but he could sense that Xia Momo was feeling down.
"What’s the matter, Momo?"
Xia Momo shook her head, still resting her face on Zhou Ning’s palm.
"Nothing is wrong. I just feel fortunate, relieved that you’re okay and that you can still talk to me. Let’s get our marriage certificate when you’re discharged from the hospital. We don’t have to rush the wedding; I just want to get our certificate sooner."
Zhou Ning lifted Xia Momo’s chin, seeing her moist eyes, and knew exactly what she was feeling. Smiling, he said,
"Alright, once my rib heals, we’ll get the certificate. I promise I won’t make you a martyr."
Xia Momo nodded, about to lean in toward Zhou Ning’s lips when the door was suddenly pushed open. A young nurse, pushing a treatment cart, came in. Xia Momo quickly jumped away, while Zhou Ning tried to control his urge to laugh, knowing that if he did, he would be the one to suffer.
"Zhou Ning in bed 32 needs his injection. I told them he’s a cardiothoracic surgery patient, can you lovebirds restrain yourselves a bit? If any movement goes wrong and causes a rib displacement, wouldn’t that be suffering twice over?"
...
May 17, 2013
Zhou Ning, with the stitches removed, lay on the hospital bed, feeling drained, and nudged Liu Yongxin beside him.
"Master, what time is it?"
Liu Yongxin looked at his watch and burst into laughter.
"My apprentice, the last time you asked was two minutes ago. Don’t worry, it’s only just past four in the afternoon. The trial has only been going on for a little over two hours. These things take time; deliberations aren’t quick."
Zhou Ning exhaled deeply and shook his head slightly at Xia Momo, who was offering him some fruit.
"I don’t feellike eating anything right now. Why can’t they let us bring devices inside? If we could stream video, we’d be able to see everything live, wouldn’t we?"
Before he had finished speaking, Liu Yongxin’s phone rang. It was Mr. Zhao calling, and Liu Yongxin answered quickly.
"Hello, how did it go? You’re calling at this hour; has it ended there?"
"Hahaha, it’s over. Mr. Dong the lawyer is incredible. Don’t worry, I recorded everything. We’re just waiting for the judgement. Once we have it, we’ll take Mrs. Fei back to the hospital right away. You just wait and don’t keep asking about the outcome, let me enjoy the suspense a bit."
"Alright, drive back slowly. Liu Yufei shouldn’t be jostled too much."
After hanging up, Liu Yongxin also let out a sigh of relief, tidying up all the reports laid out in front of him and gesturing to Zhou Ning.
"Just wait a little longer; they’ll probably be back soon. Director Xu asked me to tell you that Fang Shengping’s case has been transferred like this; we can’t delay it for too long.
As for your attacker, we’ve got the assailant’s DNA, and we found that PSP was extracted in a laboratory in Xinghua City, but the place was vacated, and the lessee left no trace. They completed the extraction during a lapse in the lab’s regulatory audit.
It’s impossible to tell if the perpetrator who extracted PSP is the same person as the attacker, but based on the analysis from Peng Shinian, there’s a high likelihood they are not the same. Considering the old injury on the assailant’s left leg, their professional training, and the timeline of the PSP extraction.
The assailant likely doesn’t have much to do with Fang Jinquan. We’re not clear about the progress from the economic investigation department, but within a week, Jinhua Group’s stock took quite a tumble, losing at least 30% of its market value."
Zhou Ning wasn’t surprised by this outcome. The slightest turbulence could destroy a publicly-traded company, and Fang Shengping’s exposure was undoubtedly a devastating blow.
Not to mention, the film and television company was ruined. Completed productions couldn’t be sold, and planned projects faced withdrawal of investment, essentially a total loss.
