The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife-Chapter 541: Foreign No. 2. Injured

Tao Ran pursed her lips, "This is my colleague, Lu Minghua."

Fu Jingtong, who had been in the car earlier, struggled with the lighting and could only discern that Lu Minghua was a man, but she couldn’t make out his features clearly. Now seeing Fu Jingtong’s appearance up close, Lu Minghua hesitated about the nature of Fu Jingtong’s relationship with Tao Ran. Judging by Fu Jingtong’s age, she did not seem to be Tao Ran’s sister. Could they be mother and daughter?

He glanced at the sports car that Fu Jingtong drove and grew more puzzled; he had never heard that Tao Ran was a second-generation rich kid.

"Auntie, hello, I am Lu Minghua." No matter what his thoughts were, Lu Minghua greeted Fu Jingtong first.

Fu Jingtong gave a slight smile, "Hello, I am..."

"She is my boyfriend’s mother, my future mother-in-law," Tao Ran interjected before she could finish.

Lu Minghua’s expression stiffened, never anticipating this kind of relationship between the woman before him and Tao Ran.

So, Tao Ran’s boyfriend wasn’t just an ordinary soldier, but also from a wealthy background? Could this be the reason Tao Ran had managed a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend for many years without breaking up? She did not seem like the type to be greedy for vanity. Lu Minghua felt conflicted.

"Is there something you needed, coming to see me this late?" Tao Ran asked, polite yet distant.

Lu Minghua answered with a rigid demeanor, "I noticed you didn’t look well today, and I wanted to ask if you were sick, but now that I see you, it seems that there’s nothing wrong."

"Thank you for your concern, I’m fine," Tao Ran replied somewhat stiffly. Being caught by her future mother-in-law with a man visiting her so late made her extremely uncomfortable and somewhat impatient with Lu Minghua.

"If there’s nothing else, then I’ll be leaving first. Goodbye, Auntie."

Fu Jingtong nodded with a smile, and after Lu Minghua left, Tao Ran turned to Fu Jingtong with an embarrassed face, "Auntie, he and I are just colleagues."

Fu Jingtong smiled warmly, "I understand, there’s no need to explain. Besides, it’s normal for an excellent girl like Ranran to have one or two admirers. Don’t overthink it. It’s late, so you should head up and rest; I’ll be off."

"Then please drive safely, Auntie, and send me a message when you get home."

"Alright, head up." With a casual wave of her hand, Fu Jingtong drove off, leaving the residential area where Tao Ran lived. After departure, the smile on her face vanished, replaced by a brow furrowed in worry. She drove straight to the Beijing Military District Hospital and headed directly to the eighth floor of the inpatient department.

Gu Bowen, who was rumored to have gone on a business trip to F country, was actually in the hospital room. When he saw her return, he stood up, "Have you sent her home?"

Fu Jingtong nodded, "How’s Gu Yang doing?"

Gu Bowen’s face was filled with worry, "Still the same."

Fu Jingtong sighed and, looking at her son on the hospital bed, pale and unconscious, said to her husband, "Are we really doing the right thing? It’s been a week now, and there’s no sign of Gu Yang waking up. Even the doctors can’t say when he might come to. Keeping this from the girl, I just feel it isn’t right."

A week prior, Gu Yang had been seriously injured during a mission. Before going into surgery, he urged his comrade with earnest pleas not to tell Tao Ran about his injuries, not wanting to worry her.

But something went wrong during the surgery, leaving Gu Yang in a coma with no indication of when he might awake. After receiving the news and learning Gu Yang’s wishes from his comrade, Fu Jingtong began to withhold the truth about his injuries.

"Let’s keep it this way for now. I’ve started seeking experts abroad; there will be a way. Gu Yang will surely wake up." This was Gu Bowen’s only son; his concern was evident as he had visibly aged more than ten years in the span of this ordeal due to worry for Gu Yang.

"You haven’t rested for several days. I’ll stay here tonight; you go home and rest," Gu Bowen expressed concern for his wife, who, in order to prevent Tao Ran from noticing anything unusual, had applied thick makeup to cover her worn complexion.

Fu Jingtong shook her head, "You’re even more tired than I am. You go and rest; come and replace me tomorrow."

Gu Bowen did indeed go on a business trip to F country, but it wasn’t in the past two days; it had happened a week prior. After hastily settling the branch office affairs, he rushed back to the hospital to be with his son, working back-to-back. He was already advanced in age, and his body couldn’t handle the strain.

Fu Jingtong, on the other hand, was once a soldier herself and was therefore in much better physical condition than her husband, who was a gentle academic.

"I’m not tired," said Gu Bowen.

"Whether you’re tired or not, you’re going home to rest. Come replace me tomorrow. Our son is already like this. Don’t make me worry even more."

Unable to convince his wife otherwise, Gu Bowen reluctantly agreed and nodded. On the matter of Gu Yang’s injury, neither spouse had spoken about it, and even Old Sir Fu was kept in the dark. Consequently, Shen Qinglan and Fu Hengyi were also unaware of the situation.

After Gu Bowen left to rest, Fu Jingtong gazed at her son, who was oblivious to everything, and sighed deeply. In three months at most, if Gu Yang still couldn’t wake up, she must tell Tao Ran the truth; she couldn’t let a young woman just wait forever.

"Today, I visited to see Ranran for you; she’s doing well, but I could tell she misses you deeply. Gu Yang, you must wake up soon. You have to take care of your own wife," Fu Jingtong whispered after she adjusted the blanket for her son.

**

Exhausted, Tao Ran returned home and slumped onto the bed, too tired even to shower. She glanced at the computer on the desk, telling herself to get up and work after resting for two minutes, but she fell asleep immediately.

Rushing to the office in the morning, Tao Ran hadn’t even applied makeup.

Lu Minghua eyed her strangely, hesitating as if wanting to speak several times. Tao Ran noticed but pretended not to see.

At noon, after eating, Tao Ran was stopped by Lu Minghua on her way back. She raised an eyebrow at him, "Yes?"

Lu Minghua nodded, "Tao Ran, I want to talk to you."

Tao Ran frowned; she didn’t see what they had to talk about, but considering Lu Minghua’s behavior, it seemed necessary to clear the air, so she nodded in agreement.

"Let’s go to the rooftop of the company," she suggested. Their company’s rooftop had an open-air garden, a good place for a talk, and Lu Minghua had no objections.

The two of them headed to the open-air garden. Lu Minghua, facing Tao Ran, looked hesitant to speak.

"Just say what you have to say," Tao Ran, frowning at his hesitant manner, urged. She was someone who spoke her mind and disliked beating around the bush, especially from a man.

"Tao Ran, was the woman last night really your boyfriend’s mother?" Lu Minghua asked the question that had been on his mind.

Tao Ran had known it was about this matter and nodded, "Yes."

"Why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend when I confessed to you last time?" Lu Minghua originally didn’t care about this, but after seeing Fu Jingtong last night, he suddenly became concerned about it, not even knowing what exactly he was concerned about.

"It’s my privacy, I don’t need to go around advertising it, do I?" Tao Ran didn’t like his accusatory tone and spoke somewhat coldly.

"Tao Ran, that’s not what I meant," Lu Minghua said, seeing her displeasure, and knew he had spoken inappropriately, trying to explain.

"Lu Minghua, whether or not I have a boyfriend, I won’t like you; there is no possibility between us. So whether I tell you about my boyfriend or not, it has no impact on the outcome between us."

Hearing this, Lu Minghua frowned, "Why? Is it just because I’m not a rich second generation? Tao Ran, you’re not the type of woman who covets vanity."

"The reason I chose to be with my boyfriend has nothing to do with his family background. The person I like is him," Tao Ran patiently explained. Since they had started the conversation, she decided to make things clear. She didn’t want to face someone who pestered her endlessly every day; it would irritate her.

"Tao Ran, I’ve asked colleagues at the company, and they’ve never seen your boyfriend. Are you sure he loves you? Would someone who loves you never show their face?"

Tao Ran found Lu Minghua’s thoughts strange. Was it really that Gu Yang’s absence from the company meant he didn’t love her?

"Yes, I’m sure he loves me. He’s a soldier and doesn’t have much time to spend with me. But that’s our business, it doesn’t concern outsiders, and it doesn’t concern you," Tao Ran felt her patience waning.

"What’s so good about him, about being a soldier? His heart and eyes are only for the military, only for work, how can he consider you as a girlfriend? Where is he when you’re feeling unwell? Where is he when you’re in a bad mood? Tao Ran, you deserve to be a woman who’s cherished and cared for."

Tao Ran’s face darkened. She didn’t like him speaking about Gu Yang like that, "This is my own business, and it’s not for you to judge."

Lu Minghua’s complexion also turned sour, "I like you. How can you say it doesn’t concern me? Tao Ran, if your boyfriend were good to you, I would willingly step aside. But he isn’t. He can’t even be with you when you are unwell to care for and comfort you. Is such a man really worth entrusting your life to, or have you really just taken a liking to his family’s money?"

He didn’t want to think of Tao Ran like that, but after pondering it all night, he couldn’t understand: What was so compelling about a man who couldn’t always be by his girlfriend’s side, care for her, and tend to her?

"Lu Minghua, you’re crossing the line," Tao Ran’s face turned completely stony as she looked at him grimly, "No matter who I like, it won’t be you. I’m here with you today not to discuss whether my boyfriend is good to me or not, but to tell you. Please don’t show me any more attention in the future. We should keep a normal collegial relationship."

Tao Ran regretted coming to talk to him about this. He seemed rather unreasonable.

As she tried to leave, Lu Minghua blocked her, "Tao Ran, do you really have to be so heartless? Is it because I don’t have as much money as the other guy that you deny me completely?"

Tao Ran frowned, "It has nothing to do with money. Even if my boyfriend had no money, it’s still him I love." She had been with Gu Yang for a while without knowing his family’s situation. It was only after several months of dating, when Gu Yang took her to meet his parents, that she found out.

"Tao Ran, I didn’t expect you to be the kind of materialistic, gold-digging woman," Lu Minghua seemed to have confirmed his speculation, looking at her with disappointment.

Tao Ran inwardly sneered but didn’t want to waste more words on him, walking past him to leave, "If that’s what you think, then so be it." She had never been very concerned with other people’s opinions.

Tao Ran had thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, just before leaving work, she went to the bathroom and overheard some gossip about herself in the stalls.

"Hey, have you heard? That technician, Tao Ran, is supposedly a mistress kept by a wealthy man," a woman whispered.

Another woman expressed her surprise, "No way, she always looks so innocent. How could she be that kind of person? You must be mistaken," she said with clear disbelief.

"It’s not me who’s saying this; it’s from her own colleagues in the technical department. Moreover, someone saw her being picked up by a luxury car after work just yesterday, and it’s said it’s not the first time. This kind of news, whether true or false, can’t possibly come from nowhere. I’m almost certain it’s true."

"We shouldn’t spread rumors without evidence. Tao Ran is a good person, and she doesn’t seem like the type," objected the other.

"You’re so naive. Just because she looks innocent, you think she is? Let me tell you, many rich men like women who look pure on the outside. Who knows how promiscuous they are in private?" the woman said disdainfully.

The other woman shook her head, "I still don’t believe it. I’ve interacted with her a few times, and I don’t think she’s that kind of person. Also, don’t spread these things around. After all, she’s a girl. Imagine the damage to her reputation if this turns out to be false."

"I’m not spreading it everywhere; I’m just telling you. But I guess it’s already all over the technical department. Even if I don’t say it, others will. Just wait and see; in no more than three days, everyone in the company will know. I don’t think Tao Ran will be able to stay at the company much longer. I heard she’s the best programmer in their department, has a good reputation, but who knows if it’s true or not."

"Alright, stop talking behind someone’s back. It wouldn’t be good if someone heard us. We should get back to work; we get off in half an hour. I have dinner plans with my boyfriend tonight and need to finish up my work soon."

"I’ve also got a dinner date with my girlfriends; let’s go."

The two women left the bathroom, chatting.

After the two had left, the stall door finally opened, and Tao Ran walked out, her face clouded with anger, having clearly overheard every word.

Without a second thought, she knew where the rumors had come from. She stormed back to the office, picked up the water cup from her desk, and flung it at Lu Minghua’s face.

Caught off guard, Lu Minghua was soaked, his face livid as he glared at Tao Ran, "What are you doing?"

Tao Ran, livid, accused, "Lu Minghua, I never thought you could be such a shameless and despicable person. Do you find this amusing?"

Lu Minghua, confused, replied, "I have no idea what you’re talking about?"

He wiped the water off his face; his shirt was now completely wet. Despite the office being heated, being splashed with water in the dead of winter was enough to infuriate anyone.

Tao Ran scoffed, "A kept mistress, a homewrecker? You’re the one who started these rumors, aren’t you?" She confronted him directly.

Lu Minghua’s gaze darted away before he retorted stubbornly, "I don’t know what you’re talking about. Tao Ran, don’t take your bad mood out on me."

Tao Ran had been watching him closely and saw the evasive look in his eyes. She was certain that this incident was definitely related to him. A chill ran through her heart as well; just because she rejected his advances, he would slander her like this?

Lu Minghua, of course, would never admit to concocting the rumors, and he looked at Tao Ran angrily, "This has nothing to do with me. I don’t know where you heard this rumor or why you think it’s my doing, but I can tell you, I didn’t do it."

Tao Ran was still wearing a cold expression, staring intently into Lu Minghua’s eyes, "Can you honestly say, with your hand on your heart, that you have nothing to do with this matter? Do you dare say it?"

Her eyes were clear, and her piercing gaze was like two knives, stabbing hard into Lu Minghua’s heart. Lu Minghua shifted his gaze uncomfortably, not daring to meet her stare, "This matter really has nothing to do with me, there’s nothing I’m afraid to say." He clearly lacked confidence as he said this.

The commotion had already drawn the attention of the entire technical department, especially the topic of the argument, which made everyone exchange looks of confusion.

In fact, no one in the technical department had heard such a rumor. After being rejected, Lu Minghua felt resentful and happened to come across two female colleagues from another department, one of whom was an alumnus from the same school. They chatted briefly. Then, he pretended to let slip this rumor accidentally, so as of now, not many people were aware of the rumor. However, by a stroke of bad luck, Tao Ran got wind of it directly.

After spreading the rumor, Lu Minghua immediately regretted it, but it was too late to stop his schoolmate from telling a third person. He was feeling guilty when Tao Ran threw a glass of water at him.

"Lu Minghua, just because I rejected your advances, you took your revenge on me like this, are you even a man?" Tao Ran was furious. Her nature was not one to tolerate wrongs, and being framed out of the blue like this was not something she was going to swallow.

Lu Minghua was clearly much taller than Tao Ran, yet her presence completely overwhelmed his.

"Tao Ran, don’t spout nonsense. Who knows what you did to give people such an impression, but this has nothing to do with me. You can’t just throw your dirt onto me because you don’t like me," Lu Minghua said in a rush, defending himself as the office members began to focus their attention on him.

Tao Ran looked at him coldly. It was clear to her that the man before her was responsible for the matter. If she had evidence, she wouldn’t be standing here arguing with him.

The tension between them was palpable, and a colleague couldn’t stand by and watch, stepping forward to mediate, "Um, Tao Ran, could there be some misunderstanding here? Minghua isn’t that kind of person, I think you might be mistaken."

Tao Ran turned her head and stared straight at that colleague, "Brother Chen, I heard about this in the restroom just now. I only ran into Lu Minghua yesterday evening, and I rejected him at noon today, only for the rumor to appear by the afternoon. Brother Chen, if it were you, what would you think?"

The man called Brother Chen scratched his head, glanced at Lu Minghua with difficulty, and thought to himself that he would also suspect Lu Minghua was the culprit. However, even if that’s what he thought, he couldn’t just say it outright.

"Tao Ran, please calm down. Minghua has only just joined the company and is not familiar with the people and affairs, and he doesn’t know many people. I believe it definitely wasn’t him. Besides, we all know what kind of person you are, and we surely wouldn’t believe such rumors. As the saying goes, rumors stop with the wise. If you ignore it, this will all blow over. We are all colleagues in the same department, seeing each other all the time; it’s not good to be at odds," Brother Chen said, his voice lowered so that other colleagues couldn’t hear.

Tao Ran fixed her gaze on him, her eyes unfathomable, "Brother Chen, I’m a straightforward person; I speak my mind. I have never been so wronged in my life. I will definitely get to the bottom of this matter, and we will see if he did it. I just hope that some people aren’t too guilty."

Her words were laden with meaning, and everyone knew they were directed at Lu Minghua.

Lu Minghua’s face was ashen, but ultimately he stayed silent due to a guilty conscience, and with Brother Chen there to mediate, he ended up holding back from saying anything else. Tao Ran usually got along quite well with Brother Chen, and since he stepped in to mediate, she couldn’t dismiss his efforts, so she stopped talking, but her good mood had been completely ruined. Her face remained sullen all the way until the end of work.

On her way home from work, Tao Ran received a call from Shen Qinglan, asking her to dinner. She wasn’t in a good mood and didn’t feel like going home, so she happily agreed, got off halfway, and waited for Shen Qinglan to pick her up.

Shen Qinglan was already in downtown, arriving very quickly, in only about ten minutes.

"Sister Qinglan, what made you think of inviting me to dinner today?" Putting aside the vexing events at the office, Tao Ran asked with a smile. She got along well with Shen Qinglan.

Shen Qinglan gave a slight smile, "I happened to be nearby and remembered that we haven’t had dinner together in a while, so I thought I’d invite you for a meal."

"Then I won’t be polite. I want to eat something delicious," Tao Ran said with a smile, not being formal with Shen Qinglan at all.

"Sure, order whatever you want," Shen Qinglan really liked Tao Ran’s temperament, as they had similar interests.

"I’ll have to think about it. I want steak, salad, mushroom soup..." Tao Ran began to order.

Shen Qinglan thought for a moment, the car took a turn, and she took Tao Ran to a Western restaurant. It wasn’t very upscale, but the taste here was quite good. Tao Ran didn’t hold back, picking up the menu and ordering a lot of food. It’s said that when you’re in a bad mood, eating is the best way to vent. It so happened that she had encountered too many frustrating things in the past couple of days.

But as Shen Qinglan watched her eat, she frowned, "Eat slowly, don’t choke."

"Sister Qinglan, you have no idea how busy I’ve been lately. I feel like I’m almost crushed by work."

Tao Ran complained to Shen Qinglan about work for the past few days, without mentioning any of the frustrating things she encountered. Especially what happened at the company today was just too disgusting, even mentioning it would spoil the mood for eating.

"Sister Qinglan, I saw the show you were on. I ended up getting a mouthful of public displays of affection, ah, I really envy your relationship with Brother Fu. It’s been almost ten years, and your affection is still so strong." Her face showed envy. People say that as married couples stay together longer, love gradually turns into familial affection, but such a situation seems non-existent between Shen Qinglan and Fu Hengyi. Since she knew Shen Qinglan, her relationship with Fu Hengyi was like that of newlyweds.

Shen Qinglan smiled faintly, "How are things with you and Gu Yang?" Hearing her mention Gu Yang, Tao Ran paused slightly, her eyes momentarily dimming.

"What’s wrong? Did you and Gu Yang have a fight?" Shen Qinglan asked with concern.

Tao Ran shook her head, biting her lip, "If it were just a fight, that would be fine. I haven’t had any contact with him for three months. There’s been no reply to my messages. I’m worried something has happened to him."

Shen Qinglan frowned, "You haven’t had any contact in three months?"

"Not at all. Three months ago, he called me once, we talked for half an hour, and I didn’t notice anything unusual. But after that, he just disappeared. I get his voicemail when I call, and he’s never replied to a message. I’m worried something happened to him." Initially, Tao Ran hadn’t thought in that direction. After all, in her mind, Gu Yang was more about training and exercises in the army, not involved in actual combat missions, so there was no real danger. But what if? The mere thought of Gu Yang being in danger made her anxious.

Tao Ran wasn’t fully aware of Gu Yang’s military specialty and thus didn’t feel it as strongly, but Shen Qinglan, who was very aware that Gu Yang was a tip of the spear, had a vague bad feeling, though she didn’t say it out loud. Instead, she comforted her, "You’re thinking too much. Gu Yang won’t have anything wrong with him. He’s probably in some sort of closed-off training, not convenient to contact the outside world. Fu Hengyi used to do this a lot."

Hearing this, Tao Ran looked at her with hopeful eyes, "Really?"

"Really, relax, let’s eat first."

Reassured by Shen Qinglan, Tao Ran suddenly regained her appetite, single-handedly demolishing most of the food until her belly was round before putting down her knife and fork, "Ah, I’m so satisfied. I haven’t enjoyed such delicious Western food in a long time. Sister Qinglan, thank you for treating me to this meal."

Shen Qinglan smiled slightly, "I’m glad you enjoyed it."

After dinner, Shen Qinglan first dropped Tao Ran off at her home, then drove back to her own place.

Fu Hengyi was putting their daughter to sleep. Shen Qinglan checked on the children, then turned around to go take a shower. Before going to sleep, she casually asked Fu Hengyi about Gu Yang’s situation.

"He’s not under my command now, and I really don’t know. I’ll give a call and ask tomorrow," said Fu Hengyi. He had fully shifted to a secondary role now, even completely stepping away from the selection of new special forces recruits, all to have more time to spend with his family. Like before, he might only come home once a month, but now he came back every week.

The next day, when Fu Hengyi returned from the army, his expression was slightly serious, and Shen Qinglan remembered what she asked him to inquire about the night before, feeling increasingly uneasy.

"Is it true that Gu Yang really had an accident?" Shen Qinglan asked.

Fu Hengyi nodded, "Gu Yang was seriously injured while carrying out a mission and has been in a coma. He’s now in the Beijing Military District Hospital, and he’s been unconscious for a week."

Shen Qinglan frowned slightly, "How come we didn’t know about such a significant event as his hospitalization? Auntie didn’t mention it either."

"It must be that Auntie and Uncle deliberately kept it under wraps. They’ve been at the hospital these days, and they must not have wanted it to be known," Fu Hengyi could figure out Fu Jingtong’s worries with just a little thought. Old Sir Fu’s health hadn’t been great in the past two years, and he’d even been rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment six months ago. So, they wouldn’t tell him about any family issues, just to keep the old man’s days comfortable.

"I will go to the hospital to see him tomorrow," Shen Qinglan said.

Fu Hengyi made a sound of agreement, "We still need to keep it from Grandpa. Gu Yang’s condition is quite serious; even the doctors can’t be sure when he will wake up. Grandpa probably couldn’t withstand such a shock if he found out."

"Okay. I understand. You just mentioned the doctors don’t know when he will wake up, does that mean Gu Yang...?"

Fu Hengyi shook his head, "He’s not in a vegetative state, just temporarily unconscious."

At these words, Shen Qinglan felt somewhat relieved. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get in touch with Eden now, or else she might have asked Eden to come for a look. However, she would go to the hospital to assess the situation first. If things were really too bad, she would have to find a way to contact Eden.

The next day, after visiting Gu Yang in the hospital, Shen Qinglan found that the situation was a bit better than she had expected. Although Gu Yang remained unconscious, the attending physician had checked his body, and his condition was improving.

"Auntie, you should have told us about this earlier," Shen Qinglan said to Fu Jingtong.

Fu Jingtong gave a wry smile. Gu Yang’s condition had only started to improve the night before; previously, there had been no signs of improvement at all, and she had been prepared for the worst.

"Your grandfather is not in good health, and the more people who know, the greater the chance that the old man will find out, so I held back from telling you."

"Auntie, we are family, and we should share our burdens. I will keep it from Grandpa. But now that the doctor has said Gu Yang is improving, you and Uncle shouldn’t worry too much."

Fu Jingtong let out a long sigh of relief, "Yes, now I dare to relax. But I haven’t told Ranran about this, and you shouldn’t tell her either. Gu Yang doesn’t want her to know."

Shen Qinglan frowned, disapprovingly, "Auntie, if you don’t tell Tao Ran now, it will be even more inappropriate when she finds out later. Besides, this is something she will inevitably have to face."

Hearing this, Fu Jingtong fell silent for a moment and then said, "Then I’ll give her a call later." Her son’s condition was beginning to improve, and waking up was only a matter of time. The attending physician also said that Gu Yang would definitely wake up within three months, so now it would be harmless to tell Tao Ran.

"I’ll go talk to her, I actually need to discuss something with her." After Daniel transferred the gallery to Shen Qinglan, Xu Xiangqian had been managing it for her. With Shen Qinglan’s growing fame, Xu Xiangqian had long been intending to create a website to promote the gallery and had mentioned it to Shen Qinglan several times. Now that Tao Ran’s company was offering such services, it made sense to leave this task to Tao Ran.

Luxury cars had been picking up Tao Ran for three consecutive days, and those who had been skeptical about the rumors began to believe them after witnessing this. There were also increasing talks about it in the company.

Tao Ran was still investigating, but rumors were difficult to trace back to their sources, especially since Lu Minghua had only spoken verbally, leaving no evidence. It made it hard for Tao Ran to even consider taking legal action.

Lucky for Tao Ran, she took it in stride and didn’t take others’ stares to heart. After receiving a call from Shen Qinglan, she ignored everyone’s gazes and happily went downstairs.

"Sister Qinglan, we just met yesterday, and today you’re here to take me to dinner again? Are you worried I’ll starve myself thin?"

Qinglan smiled faintly, "I need your help with something today."

She took Tao Ran to a nearby restaurant and talked about the website. Tao Ran readily agreed, "Sure, I’ll take care of it for you, guaranteed to design a trendy and functional webpage."

"There’s one more thing." Qinglan didn’t speak until Tao Ran had finished her meal. "Gu Yang, he’s indeed been injured and is currently in the Beijing Military District Hospital." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Tao Ran was about to drink some water when she touched the glass and heard this news, and she instantly spilled her drink.

Her face turned pale as she looked at Qinglan, "Is he badly hurt?" The news about Gu Yang’s accident had only been her speculation before, but now it was confirmed by Qinglan, fear magnified in Tao Ran’s heart in an instant. Various unsettling guesses swirled in her mind, even her voice trembled as she spoke.

Qinglan reassured her, "He’s out of danger now, but he’s still in the hospital and hasn’t woken up."

"Sister Qinglan, which hospital is he in? I want to go see him," said Tao Ran eagerly.

"Okay. I’ll take you there later. Actually, Gu Yang’s mother has wanted to tell you about it for a while, but before he fell into a coma, he made her promise not to let you know, so she kept it from you. I hope you won’t be upset," Qinglan still explained on behalf of Fu Jingtong, to prevent Tao Ran from having negative feelings about her.

Tao Ran wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to these explanations, her mind was full of Gu Yang being hurt. Seeing her urgency, Qinglan didn’t waste more words and took her straight to the Military District Hospital.

In the hospital room were only Fu Jingtong and Gu Yang.

Tao Ran stared dumbfounded at the pale man lying unconscious in the bed.

"Ranran," Fu Jingtong called her name, but got no response from Tao Ran. She exchanged glances with Qinglan and they both left the room.

The distance between Tao Ran and Gu Yang was less than two meters, but it took her a full five minutes to cover that short space.

Standing by the bed, her gaze fell upon Gu Yang’s face, his forehead bandaged and his face bearing multiple scrapes. Since he was covered by a quilt, she didn’t know if there were other injuries on his body.

Tao Ran suddenly remembered when she first met Gu Yang, and Chen Li, his comrade-in-arms who had been with Gu Yang, had lost a leg on a mission.

Panic gripped her heart, and without hesitation, she lifted the quilt covering Gu Yang.

After seeing that Gu Yang wasn’t missing any limbs, she finally felt a measure of relief settle in her heart.

Carefully placing the quilt back over Gu Yang, Tao Ran sat down by the bed, took his hand, and said, "Gu Yang, I’m here. Haven’t seen you for three months, did you miss me?" Her face wore a smile, shallow and gentle.

"Gu Yang, I haven’t seen you in three months, I’ve missed you."