Chapter 27: Hush Money

It happened to be Sunday the next day, so there was no need to go to work.

Zhou Mi took the opportunity to go home early to change clothes and pick up some essentials. She was still wearing the same evening gown from the day before, and her tiptoeing movements as she opened the door made her look like a runaway princess from a ball.

Song Man was still asleep, and the house was quiet.

However, when she opened the door to her bedroom, she was greeted with a surprise: Gu Feifei was lying on the bed, fast asleep.

She realized that her unflappable personality was probably half-shaped by Gu Feifei, because Gu Feifei would appear suddenly in any situation, at any time, which was more thrilling than opening a blind box.

Zhou Mi tried to move quietly, but she still managed to wake Gu Feifei.

Gu Feifei rolled over, hugged the blanket, and looked at her with a dazed expression. The first thing she said was indeed a jab at Zhou Mi's outfit, "Did you... party all night?"

"You’re one to talk. You’ve been in Beicheng all along, right? It’s been months, and you haven’t even had a meal with me. You show up out of nowhere like this, trying to scare someone to death."

Gu Feifei laughed guiltily, "Well, I’ve been... busy. Besides painting, I’ve had to deal with old men. And I did message you on WeChat before coming this time, but you didn’t reply. I asked Song Man, and she said you weren’t home, so I came over."

"Really? I must have missed it." Last night had been so hectic that she hadn’t had a moment to rest, and after that, she had gone to Tan Yanxi’s place. Apart from a few pinned work groups, she hadn’t had time to check anything else.

Zhou Mi took off her dress, rummaged through the closet, found some comfortable summer clothes to change into, and packed an extra set of clothes in a paper bag.

Gu Feifei asked, "Are you going out again?"

"Tan Yanxi is in the hospital. I’m going to take care of him for a bit."

"Shouldn’t someone like him have plenty of people around? Why do you need to be the one to take care of him?"

"Who knows? When I went over last night, there wasn’t a single person with him."

Gu Feifei tilted her head to look at her and offered a piece of advice, "Sympathy is a big no-no when it comes to men like them."

"I know. I just have a feeling that this won’t last much longer. At the very least, I hope that when we part ways, I won’t owe him anything."

Gu Feifei laughed, "How accurate is this feeling of yours? Because the version I’ve heard is that Mr. Tan is absolutely smitten with his new favorite. Not only did they travel to Paris together, but he even used his connections to pave the way for her. That friend of his is notoriously picky."

Zhou Mi paused for a moment before continuing with her task, carefully placing the evening gown into a dustproof bag. Fortunately, she had been very careful while wearing it, so apart from a few wrinkles, there were no other stains.

She said, "Speaking of which, I really shouldn’t have gone along with this so-called paving the way."

"Why not?"

"Last night, I ran into Tan Yanxi’s ex. She’s a minor celebrity."

"You two didn’t get into a fight, did you?"

"She’s a celebrity, with so many eyes on her. She wouldn’t risk her career."

"So what if you ran into her? What’s the big deal?" Gu Feifei laughed self-deprecatingly, "Nowadays, whenever I have a meal with someone from their circle, nine times out of ten, I’ll run into one of the old man’s exes. And they might have even been with the same people. The relationships are so complicated, like a spider’s web."

Zhou Mi said, "Someone told me that Tan Yanxi used to dote on this minor celebrity just as much, feeding her resources until she became a third-tier star. But in the end, he got bored, and they went their separate ways."

Gu Feifei was silent for a moment, "Darling, I’ll be honest. I know you’re trying to prepare yourself, but your tone..."

Zhou Mi turned to look at her, "What about my tone?"

"It’s a bit... like you’re jealous."

Zhou Mi immediately said, "I’m not." The denial came too quickly, almost like a subconscious cover-up.

Realizing this, Zhou Mi was momentarily stunned.

Gu Feifei stared at her, "What I said last time still stands. You better really not be."

She had already packed her things, including the dustproof bag and the jewelry in a velvet pouch, all placed in the same cardboard box, ready to be sent to Wei Cheng when she had time.

Zhou Mi didn’t respond to Gu Feifei’s comment and instead changed the subject, "What’s your plan next? Are you going to disappear again?"

Gu Feifei said, "I’m not lying, I’m really busy. I have to meet some people later, attend a forum, and paint new works for an upcoming auction."

Zhou Mi smiled, "That’s great. At least one of us has made it."

Gu Feifei also smiled, "When I make enough to buy a house, you can come over and freeload."

"I’ll be waiting."

Finally, Gu Feifei asked her why she had moved out when she had been living just fine before. Was it because of a fight with Cheng Yi Nian?

Zhou Mi told her about Cheng Yi Nian and Cui Jia Hang.

Gu Feifei sighed after hearing it, "That’s good. At least he’s a man with a clear past and future. It sounds promising."

As for them, most likely, their lives would just be a continuous, endless maze.

-

Zhou Mi picked up her things and returned to the hospital.

It was still early, and she had thought about buying breakfast for Tan Yanxi, but then remembered he was still on a fasting period.

As she approached the hospital room, she heard voices inside—Tan Yanxi’s and a woman’s.

Thinking it might be Monica or Auntie Yao, she was about to push the door open when she suddenly paused—the voice was much sharper than either of theirs, with a hint of bitterness.

The woman’s voice: "...The project you negotiated, Tan Er wants to give it away as a favor, and you have to let it go. But do they appreciate you? You’re sick and about to die, and not a single person from the Tan family has come to see you. And your niece, who usually calls you ‘Uncle’ so affectionately, is nowhere to be seen now."

Tan Yanxi seemed to let out a cold laugh, "You came all the way here just to tell me this?"

The woman’s voice: "I came to see how you’re doing!"

"To see if I’m still alive?"

"Tan Yanxi!" The woman’s voice suddenly rose.

It became even more shrill, reminding Zhou Mi of the sound of an air raid siren.

The woman said, "I’m still your mother. Of course, I want what’s best for you. But you’ve seen it yourself—when it really matters, can you rely on the Tan family? Your uncle is my family, and he won’t harm you. He may not be the most capable, but at least his heart is in the right place. He wouldn’t stab you in the back..."

"You know I don’t like bringing up the past. That matter is over." Tan Yanxi interrupted her, his tone warning.

The woman’s voice: "How is this bringing up the past? Was your last decision fair to your uncle? Tan Yanxi, have you forgotten that without your uncle, you wouldn’t even have been born..."

"How about this." Tan Yanxi laughed, a laugh devoid of joy or sorrow, "You’re so obsessed with my life, reminding me of it eight hundred times a day. I’ll give you a chance today—why don’t you just take it back, and we’ll call it even. I’ll pave the way for you, and you and my uncle can choose whatever way you want me to die. I’ll make sure you both walk away unscathed..."

When Zhou Mi heard the line "I’m still your mother," her heart skipped a beat, and she felt it was inappropriate. She immediately decided to leave.

But the following words were even more shocking, and her feet seemed rooted to the spot. When she heard the last sentence, she was momentarily horrified.

She involuntarily took a step back, quietly moved away from the room, and quickly walked toward the nurse’s station at the end of the hallway.

The nurse asked her what was wrong.

Zhou Mi lied, saying she was a family member of the patient in the room next to Tan Yanxi’s, "Someone came to visit next door and is being very loud. It’s disturbing our rest. Could you please go and check?"

The nurse nodded and immediately went over.

Zhou Mi stood to the side and saw the nurse walk over and knock on the door.

A moment later, a woman walked out of Tan Yanxi’s room, her high heels clicking as she headed toward the elevator.

She looked very young, with a strikingly beautiful appearance, wearing a high-end designer suit, adorned with gold and silver jewelry. She had come to the hospital to visit, but her makeup and hair were impeccably done, and a strong scent of perfume filled the hallway, making it impossible to avoid.

The woman looked furious and didn’t linger, walking straight past without a glance.

Zhou Mi naturally didn’t dare to go over at this point. Anyone who had heard such a conversation would instinctively want to protect themselves, pretending they hadn’t heard anything, or if they had, they would try to erase it from their memory and move on.

She waited for almost fifteen minutes before heading back to the room.

When she pushed the door open, she saw that the window was open, and Tan Yanxi was standing by the window, his left hand still hooked up to an IV, but his right hand was holding a cigarette.

Zhou Mi walked over, grabbed his right hand, took the cigarette, and irritably crushed it on the windowsill, "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Tan Yanxi turned to look at her, smiled, and didn’t defend himself.

If she hadn’t heard it with her own ears, Zhou Mi would never have believed that just moments ago, he had been involved in such a heated argument.

"Why don’t you go back to bed and rest?" Zhou Mi said softly.

"I’ve been lying down too long, and I’m feeling dizzy." Tan Yanxi glanced at the IV bag hanging above, "Help me take it down. I need to go to the bathroom."

Zhou Mi nodded and stood on her tiptoes to reach it.

Tan Yanxi laughed, walked back, and reached up himself. His fingers brushed against hers, and he paused, "Why are your hands so cold? Is the air conditioning too low?"

He took her hand, brought it down, and held it in his own, his thumb gently rubbing the back of her hand.

"No..." Her voice was a bit hoarse. She inexplicably felt that Tan Yanxi’s gesture was meant to comfort her.

Tan Yanxi held her hand for a while, then took down the IV bag himself and went to the bathroom.

A short while later, he came out, hung the IV bag back on the stand, and sat down on the edge of the bed. His left hand, still hooked up to the IV, lay flat on the bedsheet, while his right hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer.

He lowered his head, his thumb gently rubbing the skin on her wrist, which was so pale that the blue veins beneath were clearly visible.

After a moment, Tan Yanxi gently tugged her again, making her sit down beside him.

He had a faintly bitter scent about him. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, his fingers brushing aside the waterfall of hair that fell over her shoulder, then gently pinched her earlobe.

He looked down at her, a faint smile on his lips, "Mimi, what should we do?"

Zhou Mi was puzzled.

Tan Yanxi’s voice was slow and deliberate, "I like you so much, but I can’t just silence you."

Zhou Mi’s eyes widened in an instant.

—So he knew she had been outside the room earlier.

Tan Yanxi looked at her again, his gaze deep, then suddenly leaned down, almost biting her lip. When she let out a soft "hiss," he said in a low voice, "Don’t say a word about this to anyone."

Zhou Mi said, "Okay."

Tan Yanxi laughed softly and was about to pull away when Zhou Mi suddenly reached out, wrapped her arm around the back of his neck, and leaned in to kiss him. Her lip was cut, and the familiar taste of blood reminded her of their first night in Paris.

Zhou Mi felt a shiver run through her heart, "...Hush money. I’ll take it."