Chapter 064 Another Victory

The phone rang again.

Another unfamiliar number was calling.

"You know, the police are investigating you right now," Jiang Yao said into the phone, taking the initiative.

On the other end, silence.

"What, had the guts to do it but not to admit it?" Jiang Yao gritted her teeth.

A cold chuckle came from the other side. "My little princess, you know better than anyone how brave I am."

"My game—do you dare to play?"

"Oh?"

"Remember the abandoned factory? Tonight, let's meet there." Jiang Yao’s lips curled into a cold, fearless smile. "It's time we met face to face, isn’t it?"

Again, silence from the other side.

After a while, a faint voice finally replied, "As you wish."

Jiang Yao put down the phone, only then noticing someone had appeared behind her without her realizing.

Her mother stood there holding a mop, staring blankly, her cheeks so sunken they were almost hollow, her lifeless eyes fixed on Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao quietly hid her phone behind her back.

She wanted to ask her mother why she had suddenly lost so much weight. She opened her mouth, but the words wouldn't come.

She glanced at her mother and tried to walk past her.

Her mother’s withered hand grabbed her tightly. "Xiaoqing... No, Yao."

Jiang Yao turned her head. "Did you cook something again? How many times do I have to say it for you to understand—I’m long past the age where a meat bun could make me happy for days."

Her mother’s hand released her suddenly, as if shocked.

"He... Do you still keep in touch with him?" she asked hesitantly.

Both knew exactly who "he" referred to.

"You never cared before, so don’t ask now," Jiang Yao said calmly. She lifted her foot to leave, but glanced back at her mother, her voice lowering, "You should eat more."

She had never realized how hard those words were to say, and when spoken, how stiff they sounded.

She left swiftly, unwilling to wait for her mother’s response or reply.

Her mother watched her daughter’s retreating figure, tears streaming down her face.

As dusk fell, Ye Yiyi arrived.

She found Jiang Yao sitting in the corridor with her eyes closed, and quietly sat beside her. "Why aren’t you in the ward?"

Jiang Yao opened her eyes and studied Ye Yiyi carefully.

"Is there something on my face?" Ye Yiyi reached up, touching her cheek.

Jiang Yao shook her head and smiled. "I just want to look at you a bit more."

Ye Yiyi laughed as well. "Though I’ve been pretty busy lately and haven’t been staying with you, it’s not like you’ll never see me again."

"Yiyi," Jiang Yao took Ye Yiyi’s hand. "Sometimes... when I can't be there to look after you, you must learn to be careful. Even if your career isn’t where you want it to be yet, it doesn’t matter. You’re so beautiful and hardworking—you’ll get what you want someday."

Ye Yiyi squeezed Jiang Yao’s hand, tilting her head in confusion. "Yao, what’s gotten into you today? Why are you saying all this suddenly?"

Jiang Yao hurried to explain. "It’s nothing, really. I’m just feeling sentimental because of Cheng Yanchi."

Ye Yiyi finally breathed out in relief. "Good, I thought you were hiding something from me."

"What could I possibly hide?" Jiang Yao pinched Ye Yiyi’s cheek.

"Actually, speaking of secrets, there’s one thing—Cheng Yanchi didn’t want me to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Remember that camping trip?" Ye Yiyi recalled. "That morning, Cheng Yanchi said he’d fought with someone. Do you know who it was?"

Jiang Yao shook her head. "I asked him, but he refused to say."

Ye Yiyi pursed her lips, hesitating. "He told me not to tell you, but I think you should know... It was Zeng Qiwen. He’s been following you, and Cheng Yanchi caught him."

Jiang Yao was surprised—she hadn’t known.

"It seems Zeng Qiwen brought up some things from your past, and Cheng Yanchi lost his temper and fought him. He warned him to stay away from you." Ye Yiyi thought for a moment. "So, Yao, maybe from that moment, Zeng Qiwen started plotting how to hurt Cheng Yanchi."

"That fool," Jiang Yao murmured, remembering Cheng Yanchi’s bruised face.

Cheng’s mother came out of the ward, saw the two girls sitting outside, and paused. "Go inside and sit. Yanchi has more to say to you. I’ll go buy some food."

Jiang Yao and Ye Yiyi entered the ward.

Cheng Yanchi was staring at the ceiling, lost in thought, but his eyes lit up when he saw them. "With both hands out of action, I can’t do anything. I’m so bored."

For someone as restless as Cheng Yanchi, being confined to bed was indeed a challenge.

Ye Yiyi rolled her eyes. "You need to rest properly. Stop thinking about moving around."

Cheng Yanchi raised his brows. "Easy for you to say, standing there. Why don’t you try lying here?"

"Pff!" Jiang Yao immediately scoffed three times in succession. "One person down isn’t enough, you want another?"

All three laughed together.

"Yao, you should go home and rest," Cheng Yanchi said, concern in his eyes as he noticed the dark circles under Jiang Yao’s eyes. "My mother already called the housekeeper—she’ll be here soon. You’ve been up so long; it’ll take a toll on your health."

Jiang Yao looked down at the time. "Alright, I happen to have something to do tonight."

"What’s going on tonight?" Cheng Yanchi asked.

He remembered that tonight wasn’t one of her shifts at Spring Breeze.

"Oh," Jiang Yao cleared her throat, "Spring Breeze—one of my colleagues had an emergency, so I’m covering her shift."

"Don’t go! I told you to rest, not to wear yourself out!" Cheng Yanchi frowned. "If you’re going to work, you might as well stay here with me!"

"Alright, alright, I won’t go," Jiang Yao stood up, glancing at Ye Yiyi and Cheng Yanchi. "If I’m not here, you two must take care of yourselves—eat well, rest well, and be happy, truly happy. Promise me?"

"Yao..."

Jiang Yao waved her hand. "Okay, I’m exhausted. I’m leaving."

She hurried out of the ward, stood at the door, and slowly pressed her hand to her wildly pounding heart.

"Yao, don’t be afraid," she whispered, taking a deep breath. "Ten years ago, you won once. Ten years later, you’re stronger and braver than ever—you can win again."

Inside the ward, Ye Yiyi and Cheng Yanchi stared at the door Jiang Yao had closed tightly behind her, then looked at each other.

"Ye Yiyi, did you notice? Yao seems a little off today..."

"So you noticed too..."