Xue Qingyan’s heart finally settled when Old Chen arrived. Old Chen was like a compass which provided the sense of security Xue Qingyan needed. It was precisely because of the presence of Old Chen in the company in the past, Xue Qingyan had the support she needed anytime. She knew there was nothing to worry about when there was Old Chen to hold up everything even if something were to go wrong.

Old Chen was a severe man from his mannerism and appearance and every little gesture of his seemed too profound for people to grasp. He bore some resemblance to Wu Xiubo, except he was skinnier with more distinct and sharper features and his eyes were more melancholic.

Old Chen had already clarified all the details of the incident. Initially, he thought that this was not such a difficult matter. It was all because there was a spy within the company’s office in Nanjing which resulted in the failure in negotiation. On top of that, Du Jiang was too audacious with his move, to have caused Xue Qingyan all the agony. No one would have expected a small matter to be blown out of proportion.

After inquiring about Qin Sheng’s condition, Old Chen patted Xue Qingyan’s shoulder and said, “You stay in the hospital, while I will handle all the other matters, so you don’t have to worry. After this entire episode is over, you make take some time off to rest.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry,” said Xue Qingyan, sounding a little embarrassed.

Old Chen shook his head and said, “Don’t you worry, our families have such a close relationship. If similar problems arise again, just inform me. Don’t even trouble Deming. He just called to berate me a moment ago. Fortunately you are safe and sound, otherwise, he will not let me off if harm comes upon you.”

“When troubles come, you two were the first people I think of. He must be too concerned about me,” said a recovered Xue Qingyan with a smile.

Old Chen sighed and said, “Alright, I’m going back now. Call if you need anything.”

Thereafter, Xue Qingyan remained by Qin Sheng’s side and refused to leave him alone. By right, Qin Sheng was not related to her in any way. Although Qin Sheng was to ensure her safety on this trip to Nanjing, she was prepared to pay him a reasonable compensation. It was a transaction between the two of them, which Qin Sheng had initiated in the first place. Qin Sheng had treated this as a social investment and thought this was what he should do anyway.

However, Xue Qingyan had a special feeling towards Qin Sheng. It was as if he were similar to Old Chen and her brother. Moreover, she truly empathized with Qin Sheng’s background, an orphan being raised by his grandfather alone. Xue Qingyan believed that he must have been through a lot of hardship to be where he was today.

It was just past six in the morning when Qin Sheng woke up. His last memory had remained at the time he was in the operating theatre, so he was not too surprised to find himself still in the hospital. He had not smelt the scent of the hospital for a long time. The injuries he sustained this time was not a big deal to him, in fact, he had sustained much worse injuries in the past, even to the point of dying.

Xue Qingyan had spent the night sleeping on the sofa outside the room. It was only when the nurse came to wake her that she realized that Qin Sheng was already awake. She ran over to Qin Sheng as fast as she could and with a concerned look, she asked, “You’re finally awake, Qin Sheng!”

“Sorry to have made you worry. It’s all because I was too careless,” Qin Sheng forced a laugh. The night before, all he had wanted was to protect Xue Qingyan and help her leave safely. If not for Xue Qingyan, a mere woman without much strength, those seven to eight men would not have posed a challenge to him if he were alone.

“Please don’t say that. It’s good that you are alright now,” Xue Qingyan said, feeling comforted.

“My injury is not a big deal, I’m not going to die from it. My grandfather once told me I’m a tough guy with a tough life. Even if I were to jump down from the 18th floor, I probably would only break my arm or leg,” Qing Sheng said with a chuckle.

Xue Qingyan smothered a giggle and said, “Are you still able to joke about this? I should have just let you die.”

“It’s alright for me to die, as long as you are safe. I’m not a person who goes back on his words. When I promised to protect you, I would make sure nothing happened to you,” Qin Sheng said with a serious tone.

“How are you feeling now? The doctor said that the cut on your back was the more serious of all your injuries, so you need to be warded for at least a week before you can be discharged,” Xue Qingyan asked.

Qin Sheng seemed not to mind at all and said, “This is a minor injury which doesn’t warrant a hospital stay. Believe it or not, I can get down from the bed right now and do the 18 Shaolin boxing moves.”

“Can’t you be more serious?” Xue Qingyan berated.

Qin Sheng chuckled and said, “Actually I don’t want to stay in the hospital. I can neither stand the scent in the hospital or the injections and medicine.”

“I thought there’s nothing that you’re afraid of in this world. Looks like you do have some phobia after all,” said Xue Qingyan, as she glared at Qin Sheng.

Qin Sheng pouted and said, “I’m not some immortal, of course it’s natural for me to have fears.”

“Just listen to me for this matter. Stay in the hospital and rest for a week. Otherwise, I won’t let you off,” Xue Qingyan warned, giving him a severe look.

When they were done with their jokes, Qin Sheng suddenly remembered something. “Big Sister, Du Jiang is such a cunning fox. I’m not going to let him off once I’ve recovered from these injuries. I make him pay with his life!”

Qin Sheng was not going to let the matter rest until he had taken revenge, otherwise, he could not call himself a man.

“Du Jiang?” Xue Qingyan snorted and continued, “You don’t need to worry about Du Jiang, his entire is finished from now on.”

“What happened?” asked Qin Sheng with a frown on his face, looking puzzled.

“Last night after you were sent to the hospital, he was being arrested by the Nanjing police, together with his henchmen and the thugs who tried to attack us last night. He would be facing charges and most likely be put to jail for the rest of his life,” Xue Qingyan said, gnashing her teeth. She was partly responsible for underestimating Du Jiang. She had not experienced such things in the past even in cases where business negotiations failed.

“Oh, alright,” Qin Sheng nodded his head thoughtfully. He knew Xue Qingyan had managed to settle everything and this allowed Qin Sheng a glimpse of Xue Qingyan’s power and influence.

At 7 a.m., Yu Kefei had come to see Qin Sheng together with his fiancee. When he arrived and saw that Qin Sheng was awake, the two were overjoyed and thankful that the accident was not so bad. Xue Qingyan, on the other hand, stole some sleep back on the sofa outside the room, given that she had a turbulent nights’ sleep and she was exhausted by this time. Qin Sheng told Xue Qingyan to go back to the hotel, wash up and sleep for a while. Although Xue Qingyan was unwilling to leave, after much coaxing, she finally obliged.

As Liu Ye saw Xue Qingyan out on behalf of Qin Sheng, Yu Kefei stared at Qing Sheng and said, “Didn’t I warn you not to offend Du Jiang? Look at you now, lying at the hospital because you refused to take my advice.”

“I knew you were going to say such words. I did this to protect my Big Sister. If not for her, I would have easily killed all of them,” said Qin Sheng matter-of-factly.

With a helpless expression, Yu Kefei said, “Stop forcing yourself beyond what you can do. It is wise to be cautious in whatever you do. Your life is more precious than anything else.”

“What you’re saying is not entirely right,” Qin Sheng responded casually. He knew Yu Kefei was concerned about him so he did not argue further.

Squinting his eyes, Yu Kefei continued, “Boss, what is the background of this big sister of yours? She seemed to be very powerful. Within just one night, she was able to get the city bureau to arrest Du Jiang by merely making some calls. I heard that it was a direct order from the provincial council, so he did not even have an opportunity to resist. If the investigation on him continued, all the mess within his company would be exposed and he would be doomed.”

“I’m not sure too, I’ve never really asked. All I know about her was information I gathered from other people,” Qin Sheng said thoughtfully. He knew that he should never underestimate authority and power. If a commoner were to leave a foothold for these powerful people to work on, he would die a tragic death. Du Jiang, who used to dabble in illegal dealings would require an even more powerful backing in order to escape this fate now.

“I suppose you did not tell second and third brother about this matter?” Qin Sheng said, suddenly remembering.

Yu Kefei shook his head and said, “I wouldn’t dare to do that. If I were to tell them about this, they would kill me! If they knew something bad happened to you while you are here in my territory, I’m dead meat!”

“That’s good, don’t tell others about this incident,” said Qin Sheng, nodding his head.

Qin Sheng continued to stay in the hospital in the two days that followed. Although Xue Qingyan had expressed her desire to accompany him in the hospital, Qin Sheng chased her away. Because there were so many things for Xue Qingyan to handle in the company, she had no other choice but to go back to Shanghai first, however, she made sure someone visited Qin Sheng at the hospital every day. Sometimes, Qin Sheng did not even know the people visiting him, but he knew that they were obliged to do so on Xue Qingyan or her powerful backings. Qin Sheng had to at least entertain them with a smiley face. They were here out of kindness after all. Fortunately, they were usually here to deliver flowers and fruits and did not stay long.

On the other hand, Yu Kefei and Liu Ye would visit every day, and Liu Le would always cook all three meals for Qin Sheng. Yu Kefei commented that the food prepared by the hospital was not as good. What Qing Sheng needed was more nutritious meals to help him recuperate faster. In fact, the dishes prepared by the hospital were better than what many restaurants offer, but Qin Sheng really appreciated their sincerity and kindness.

The beautiful lady, Liu Ye did not mind the trouble of coming to chat with Qin Sheng every day. On top of that, Liu Ye always had some of her girlfriends to tag along with her. She apparently was trying to see if Qin Sheng fancied any of her girlfriends and she could become their matchmaker. However, her kind gesture only made Qin Sheng uncomfortable. As for Liu Yu, Qing Sheng was certain that Yu Kefei had found a good wife. He would surely not let Yu Kefei off if he was unkind to his good wife.

Having stayed in Nanjing for an extended period of time, Qin Sheng had to inform Hao Lei and Chang Baji through the phone of what happened to him in Nanjing and how he ended up in the hospital. He assured them that he would return to Shanghai in a day or two, once his condition stabilized. Both Chang Baji and Hao Lei had wanted to rush over to Nanjing, only to be told not to do so, since everything had been settled.

Next, Qin Sheng had to inform Han Bing of what happened to him. Since the day Qin Sheng left Shanghai for Nanjing, Han Bing had been calling or sending Wechat messages to him from time to time. In fact, Qin Sheng was rather confused with regards his feelings towards Han Bing. However, one thing he was certain after Han Guoping passed away was that he would to always take care of Han Bing. For this reason, he had told Han Bing that he still had some matters to attend to so he needed to stay in Nanjing for a while more before returning to Shanghai. Fortunately, Han Bing was not suspicious at all and just told Qin Sheng to be careful.

Lastly, Qin Sheng had not informed Jiang Xianbang of what happened. He had planned to tell him when he got back to Shanghai and ask him about Xue Qingyan’s background. He thought this would prepare him mentally for his dealings with Xue Qingyan in future.

While the story he told Xu Lancheng was that he had not finished his business in Nanjing and would need to take a few more days of leave from work. Xu Lancheng approved his leave immediately without further questions and reminded Qin Sheng to be careful. When he finally informed Ms. An about his extended leave and had to endure her complaints and naggings.

As for Su Qin, they had not contacted each other since the day they parted ways after meeting up at the bar YOUNG.

Qin Sheng stayed at the hospital for a total of a week before he was discharged. Yu Kefei and Liu Ye came to pick him and held a small celebration for his discharge from the hospital. Early the next day, Qin Sheng rushed back to Shanghai.