Rescue

Zhu Qing took in far too much information at once, and every single piece of it was explosive, battering the brain that had spent years being proper, obedient, and rule-abiding.

Qian Cancan made it sound perfectly serious, but no matter how hard Zhu Qing tried, she couldn’t imagine herself doing something like that. Her character was perfectly fine; there was no way she had a violent streak!

Zhu Qing denied it flatly. “Impossible. Absolutely impossible!”

Qian Cancan only looked at her gloomily. “I saw you two struggling with each other. You shoved her to the floor and told her not to touch you, to get lost and stay far away.”

Li Lan was such a precious, radiant person, like a dazzling immortal from the heavens. Zhu Qing could barely even imagine herself dating Li Lan, let alone laying a hand on her.

How could she possibly bring herself to do that to such a face!!

Zhu Qing grabbed Qian Cancan by the shoulders and shook her violently. “Then you just watched? You didn’t stop me?!”

“Oh, I was going to beat you up, actually,” Qian Cancan said offhandedly.

Zhu Qing thought that sounded more normal and nodded. Before she could say anything else, Qian Cancan sighed.

“But Li Lan stopped me. She wouldn’t let me hit you; she kept speaking up for you. Then you turned around and left without looking back.”

Zhu Qing felt like a screaming rubber chicken with its valve pulled out; her throat had been pinched shut, and she could only open her mouth without making a sound.

How could she have done something so awful? Was Qian Cancan seeing things, or had she taken the wrong medicine and been poisoned?

After questioning her whole life for a while, Zhu Qing flopped sideways onto the bed, hugged a pillow, and muttered, “Then what should I do?”

Qian Cancan said, “Repent.”

Zhu Qing didn’t want to deal with her. The amnesiac version of her was like a soldier without weapons on the battlefield, a naked person running down the street, a fly washing its face with its hands and accidentally taking off its own head—completely at a loss!

Qian Cancan stuffed the half-eaten guava back into her mouth and said seriously, “Mourn. Pray. And try to fight for more property when you sign the divorce agreement this afternoon.”

“We’re signing the divorce agreement this afternoon?!” Zhu Qing shot upright.

Qian Cancan said, as if it were only natural, “Yeah. You two have been making a mess of this divorce for two months already. If you can’t go on, then just divorce. What else can you do?”

Zhu Qing opened her mouth, then hesitated. “Let me think.”

“Think about what?”

“How did we even end up getting divorced...” Zhu Qing murmured.

Qian Cancan was silent for two seconds. “If you don’t want to mourn and pray, then you’d better rescue the situation.”

Zhu Qing froze. “Rescue the situation?”

—

Inside the luxuriously solemn law firm, in front of the rosewood tables and chairs, a woman wearing sunglasses was on the phone.

The hand holding her phone was especially elegant, her fingers long and her joints even, like exquisitely carved jade.

In just half an hour, ten calls had already come in.

The woman standing beside her would occasionally lean down to whisper something in her ear.

The lawyer seated opposite her also glanced at his watch.

“President Li, the time you agreed with Miss Zhu was an hour ago.”

Li Lan ended the call, the line of her profile sharp and distinct.

“Qian Chu, go ask what happened to her.”

The woman beside her replied, “Yes.”

The quiet law firm was filled once again by the ring of a phone.

Li Lan frowned, about to answer the eleventh call, only to realize it wasn’t her phone.

At the same time, something suddenly flashed on the other side of the desk.

A fresh-faced young woman poked her head out, cautiously pressing down the documents on the table as she slowly slid them to the side.

Like a little squirrel stuffing food into its cheeks, puffing up as it went; so focused she had completely ignored the people around her staring.

Li Lan tilted her head slightly. Noticing her movement, Qian Chu followed her gaze.

When she saw who it was, Qian Chu’s eyelid twitched.

“Miss Zhu,” Qian Chu strode forward and grabbed Zhu Qing’s hand. “What are you doing?”

Zhu Qing jumped, letting go of the bag in her arms. The ringtone immediately grew louder; she quickly took out her phone and hung up.

“Well...” A whole sequence of emotions flashed across Zhu Qing’s face: awkwardness, embarrassment, words stuck in her throat, all of it. “Haha, you’re here too.”

Qian Chu said, “The time we agreed on was an hour ago. We’ve already been waiting eighty minutes.”

Qian Chu’s tone was perfectly normal, with no real sense of blame, but Zhu Qing still felt a chill run over her entire body.

Especially when, from the corner of her eye, she saw the woman across from her, tall and graceful, watching her. Li Lan removed her sunglasses and looked over at her.

Zhu Qing coughed lightly. “All right, let’s begin. I want to look at the agreement first.”

Qian Chu held out a hand. “Of course. Please sit.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Zhu Qing’s crouched posture.

Zhu Qing hurriedly straightened up, picked up the agreement, and sat across from her.

In her bag was a new phone with a freshly installed SIM card; she hadn’t had time to turn the sound off.

Just now, after circling behind these people, she had been in the middle of working herself up mentally, not knowing how to open her mouth.

Then the ringtone in her bag suddenly went off. Her instinctive reaction had been to crouch down and cover the phone.

And that was how the ridiculous scene from earlier came about.

Her entrance had been far too awkward. Zhu Qing wiped the nonexistent sweat from her forehead and looked down at the agreement in her hand.

Perhaps her performance had been too restrained; Li Lan, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

“This is the same as what we discussed last time. There are no changes.”

Li Lan’s voice was as beautiful as her face. If one had to compare it to something, it felt like a breeze drifting through the cracks of a rocky riverbed, where clear spring water ran over stones on a dense hillside night in midsummer; cool, clean, and gentle.

Only the end of her tone was slightly lowered, carrying a hint of coldness.

Zhu Qing looked up at her, then down, then up again.

Her expression of concentration made it seem as if she intended to stare a hole through the agreement.

A few more minutes passed, and even the lawyer couldn’t help asking whether Zhu Qing had any other questions.

Zhu Qing had no way to keep dragging things out. She could only brush back her hair and force herself to speak.

“Well, um, I feel like some parts of this agreement aren’t appropriate...”

“How did you injure your head?”

The two voices came at the same time.

Zhu Qing blinked, not even realizing who had spoken the second line before she saw the stunning woman across from her frown.

“How did you injure your forehead?”

The other woman emphasized it and repeated herself.

“Oh, this?” Zhu Qing pushed back the hair at her temple, revealing the swollen bump at the edge of her forehead, and said casually, “I bumped it. It’s nothing serious.”

Then she lifted the agreement in her hand and, as if she had fully prepared herself, smiled warmly. “Well, my post-marital assets are pretty substantial. How about we put this agreement on hold and talk later?”

Li Lan’s gaze suddenly darkened, a trace of surprise flashing across it almost imperceptibly.

What was she saying?

Zhu Qing brought up assets because she wanted to remind the other side that she definitely didn’t earn as much as Li Lan; when it came to property, they should divide things clearly so she wouldn’t end up taking advantage.

After all, she was the one who sounded very much like a scumbag.

Unfortunately, none of the three people present picked up on her hint.

The lawyer was astonished. “Miss Zhu, are you willing to give up signing the divorce agreement?”

Zhu Qing nodded. “Yes. Such an important matter can’t be decided casually. I think when two people live together, everything should be considered carefully.”

Li Lan said nothing. Her gaze was like a deep blue cold lake; no stone thrown into it could stir a ripple. Calm, icy, and carrying a strong note of scrutiny.

From Zhu Qing’s forehead, her eyes moved over Zhu Qing’s face, inch by inch down her body, and finally came to rest on the agreement Zhu Qing was pressing down with her hand.

This person’s expression was somewhat different from before; her slightly clumsy behavior and her unrestrained way of speaking gave Li Lan a long-lost sense of familiarity.

Li Lan’s gaze deepened further.

Zhu Qing felt the pressure growing heavier and heavier.

Her throat bobbed. In the end, she simply steeled herself and said, “When all is said and done, money comes first. As for the other reasons... my temper is pretty good now. I don’t hit people, so there’s no need to rush a divorce.”

Saying she would definitely fulfill all her duties as a spouse after marriage was something Zhu Qing would never, ever say in front of so many people, even if she died for it.

But promising not to hit people again was still possible.

Domestic violence hurt feelings and was illegal; she absolutely opposed it, not even once.

Just as Zhu Qing was nearly unable to hold back another word, Li Lan finally spoke.

“Your post-marital assets are substantial?” Li Lan asked softly.

Zhu Qing immediately nodded. “Yes, and my temper is pretty good too... Even if it wasn’t good before, I’ll change for the better in the future! We can take our time and discuss this.”

Li Lan thought of her eight-figure annual income and raised a brow slightly before confirming again, “You’re sure you want to take our time and discuss this?”

Zhu Qing said, “Mm-hmm.”

Li Lan tapped her fingers on the tabletop. Tap, tap.

Those few seconds stretched out endlessly.

Zhu Qing nearly suffocated in the silence.

“All right.” Li Lan suddenly lowered her head. Her lips seemed to press together, the downward curve looking like displeasure, or perhaps like she was suppressing some other expression. Her voice rose again, decisive as a final verdict. “Then we’ll talk about it next time.”

Zhu Qing let out a long breath of relief.

After saying that, Li Lan did not linger. She put her sunglasses and mask back on, stood up, and was ready to leave.

Zhu Qing also quickly stood and watched her go with a cheerful smile.

—

On the way back, Zhu Qing couldn’t help bragging to Qian Cancan.

“That’s it? It’s solved?” Qian Cancan’s shock was no less than seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

Zhu Qing was very satisfied with her own performance. “There’s an old saying about how a couple owes each other a hundred days of kindness after one day as husband and wife, right? I already said I wouldn’t hit her again in the future. And anyone would be sensitive when it comes to property, wouldn’t they? She earns so much money; I’m giving her a chance to quickly secure her premarital assets and redistribute the marital property. What a kind and selfless reminder!”

Qian Cancan thought about it and accepted the explanation, though some suspicion remained.

Why did she vaguely remember hearing Qian Chu say that the two of them didn’t need to split their property at all?

Qian Cancan wasn’t sure what to make of Zhu Qing’s reasoning, but there was one thing she was very puzzled about.

“The divorce was something you two agreed on. Even if you haven’t signed the agreement yet, the conflict between you is still there,” Qian Cancan said.

Zhu Qing immediately choked and stopped bouncing around, drawing in a sharp breath.

Qian Cancan pressed, “What?”

Zhu Qing rubbed her chin. “I forgot about that.”

Qian Cancan was utterly speechless.

“Anyway, let’s talk about anything else after I recover my memory,” Zhu Qing said. “And didn’t you tell me to rescue the situation? Let’s save me first, and if things change later and I regret it, what’s wrong with that?”

Qian Cancan: ...As expected, this woman was still a hooligan at heart.

“Fine. If you’re okay, hurry back to the hospital. There’s another checkup tomorrow; if everything’s fine after that, you can be discharged.”

Zhu Qing skipped along as she headed back, her mood rising higher and higher. “Discharged? Then after I’m discharged, do I go home?”

Qian Cancan said gloomily, “You’ve been living at my place for these two months while you were making a mess of this divorce. Thank you very much.”

Zhu Qing replied quickly, “Then don’t wait for me at the hospital. Hurry back and pack up my things to send over. I want to go straight back to our home the moment I’m discharged!”

Qian Cancan hung up in silence.

—

Inside the ModelX car, Li Lan was leaning against the back seat with her eyes half-closed, resting.

“Did you find out?”

Qian Chu put down her phone, glanced at Li Lan’s expression, and said carefully, “The hospital says Miss Zhu has lost more than a year of memories.”

Li Lan’s eyes snapped open.

“Amnesia?”

A flash of realization crossed Li Lan’s face. That would explain it.

Recalling the scene from earlier, the Zhu Qing who had been so gentle, restrained, and yet warm indeed seemed very different from before.

The person who had been shouting about divorce before would flare up at the mere sight of her; how could she sit down and talk so calmly?

Let alone give up signing the divorce agreement.

Qian Chu handed the medical report to Li Lan and said hesitantly, “I reported to you this morning that she rolled down the steps while trying to save a little girl in the kindergarten.”

Li Lan stared at the clearly visible photos in the report. The steps were sharp; both her elbows and knees had suffered injuries of varying degrees.

The injuries had been deliberately photographed in close-up, and now that they were suddenly before her eyes, they looked extremely shocking.

Li Lan’s expression wasn’t very good.

“What happened to her head?” Li Lan’s gaze was dark.

Qian Chu said, “The impact caused a temporary loss of memory. The hospital says that’s fairly common, and there’s a good chance she’ll recover later.”

Li Lan’s face, which had just begun to relax, tightened again.

Qian Chu observed her and said, “...Actually, Miss Zhu losing her memory is good for you too.”

“The marriage agreement between you two was only signed for eighteen months anyway. If she’s lost her memory, she won’t keep making a fuss about divorce, and it’ll also be good for your future career development.”

Li Lan said nothing for a long time. Her exquisitely refined face looked cold in the shadow of the back seat, and she flipped through the medical report from beginning to end.

Her voice came out detached.

“My career doesn’t need her to compromise herself.”

“Find the best doctor,” Li Lan said in a low voice. “No memory is useless, and any injury to the brain can’t be taken lightly.”

Qian Chu paused, then quickly said, “Yes.”

————————

Thank you to all the darlings for your support [heart][heart][heart][heart][heart]!!!