Endless Fall

She poured herself a cup of coffee. “Are you still angry about the fact that I’m his ex?”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“Then what’s the point of coming to find me?”

“I want to compensate you.” Su Tian took out a check worth two million from her bag and pushed it in front of her.

She put on a condescending attitude. “It’s been really hard on you taking care of Quan for me over the years.”

“I should be the one saying that.” Lin Jiao laughed instead of flaring up. “After all, when I was in love with him, you couldn’t do anything.”

“If I came back earlier, you would have broken up long ago. Do you really think he loves you?”

“Indeed, he doesn’t love me, but he always gave me much more than two million to spend.”

These words angered Su Tian so much that she clenched her fists.

She knew that Gu Quan had given her a few cards before, but she did not know there was so much in the cards.

“So what?” After taking a few breaths, she calmed herself. “I’m different from you. I don’t love his money but him.”

“You don’t have to emphasize it to me.” Lin Jiao raised an eyebrow. “It’s not my concern what the truth is.”

“If it’s not your concern, why do you keep showing up?”

“Miss Su, I made myself clear from the beginning. Are you sure you’re not the one who keeps showing up?”

“Do I have to? Don’t forget, I’m Quan’s girlfriend, not you!”

“What does it have to do with me whether you are his girlfriend or not? I don’t like him. It won’t change a thing even if you tell me.”

Su Tian looked at her overly calm expression and realized that she had been led by the nose.

She did not like this feeling and did not intend to talk nonsense with her anymore. “Take the check and disappear from our sight in the future.”

Lin Jiao opened her wallet unhurriedly.

“I should be the one saying that.” She took out a dozen 100 CYN and placed them on the table.

“You…” Su Tian saw He Qi through the slightly open door and quickly restrained her ferocious expression.

She stood up and walked to Lin Jiao’s side, her voice suddenly choked up. “Miss Lin, do you have to humiliate me with money?”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Lin Jiao was not interested in watching her put on a show. She picked up the bag and was about to leave.

Su Tian grabbed her wrist without warning.

“I know you hate me.” She was about to cry. “But Quan is my everything. Can you not snatch him away?”

“You really should see a psychiatrist.” Lin Jiao glanced at her red eyes impatiently.

Just as she was about to push Su Tian’s hand away, Su Tian fell onto the cushion beside her on her own accord.

A series of sobs and cries sounded at the same time.

He Qi ran forward angrily. When that face he was disgusted with the most turned around, he gave Lin Jiao an all-out push.

“Bang—”

Caught off guard, Lin Jiao fell backwards. Before she could find a foothold, the back of her head hit the corner of the table.

She fell against the wall, her trembling eyelids gradually drooping. In a few seconds, she lost consciousness.

“Blood…” Su Tian stared at the wall that was stained with a few drops of blood and was so frightened that her voice was trembling.

She grabbed He Qi, who was still in a daze. “Why did you push her? What if she dies?!”4

He Qi panicked.

He walked over in a hurry to check her breathing. Only when he found that Lin Jiao was still breathing did he feel relieved.

“Not dead. Still breathing.”

“Then hurry up and send her to the hospital!” Su Tian did not want anything to happen to Lin Jiao, nor could she bear the consequences.

“I’ll get someone to do it.”

He Qi called the driver who was waiting outside.

He held Su Tian’s shoulders and made up his mind to protect her. “This has nothing to do with you. If the police come looking for you, push the blame to me. Don’t say anything stupid, okay?”

Su Tian’s eyes flickered.

She threw herself into his arms in fear. “But there are surveillance cameras here. I’m so afraid.”

“I’ll handle the cameras.”

With her in his arms, He Qi could no longer resist the urge to hug back. “Don’t worry. You got me.”

“Thank you,” Su Tian said softly.

She watched as the driver carried Lin Jiao out of the cafe, then followed He Qi to deal with the surveillance cameras.

They did not feel guilty or worried. All they could think about was how to escape unscathed and how to perfectly cover up this accident.

#

Tongji Hospital.

“Please make way!” A few nurses pushed the gurney towards the emergency department.

The anxious voice attracted Shen Yi, who had just finished an operation and was about to go home to sleep.

He looked to his right. When he accidentally caught sight of that familiar face, his mind went blank for a second.

“What’s wrong with the patient?” Shen Yi put the car keys back in his pocket and followed them.

“Bleeding from the back of the head caused her to faint.”

“What’s her heart rate?”

One of the nurses looked down at the heart rate monitor the patient was wearing. “Eighty-seven.”

Shen Yi heaved a sigh of relief.

He exchanged a few words with the doctor on duty and called Pei Zhi and Zhou Yanshen.

Pei Zhi was the first to rush to the hospital, still wearing a pair of slippers.

“How is she?” He panted, his grip on Shen Yi’s arm tightening.

“Still in the middle of having the wound sutured.”

Shen Yi dragged him to a chair and helped him sit down.

He told him in an easy-to-understand way, “She didn’t bleed much. There’s no need for a craniotomy.”

“What about other places?”

“At the moment, we only found bruises on her elbow and right shoulder. She must have been injured when she fainted.”

“Ok.” Pei Zhi’s hands were still trembling.

He looked at the door of the emergency department without blinking. His heart felt like it was being strangled by a rope, making it difficult for him to even breathe.

Shen Yi was also paying attention to the door.

When he saw the nurse pushing the gurney out, he transferred her to the inpatient ward with Pei Zhi.

“Don’t worry.” He put his hand on Pei Zhi’s shoulder. “In half an hour, she’ll be able to…”

A loud bang interrupted him.

Zhou Yanshen knocked open the door.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at the pale Lin Jiao. “What happened?”

Shen Yi repeated her condition.

He pulled out a chair and sat down. “I’m not sure how she fainted and injured the back of her head. The person who sent her here has already left.”

“Male or female?”

“I heard from the nurse that it’s a middle-aged man.”

“A middle-aged man? Could he be her neighbor?”

“No.” Pei Zhi wet a cotton swab and gently wiped her lips. “Her neighbors are an old couple in their seventies.”

“Could he be their son?”

“Jiaojiao didn’t go home at all.”

“How can you tell?” Zhou Yanshen took the towel from Shen Yi and wiped his face.

“She didn’t change into pajamas, and her bag is still with her too.”

Pei Zhi threw her bag to Zhou Yanshen with a cold expression. “Check her phone records.”

Zhou Yanshen searched for the phone.

He checked all the phone records but found nothing. “Let’s check the surveillance cameras.”