My Marriage Partner is a Crazy Mermaid - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Infatuated

Injured?

Hearing those, Meng Ke’s heart tightened. Sitting face-to-face with Xie Jiaming, the voice from his phone drifted faintly into her ears; she didn’t need to guess to know who it was.

Xie Yuhan wasn’t seriously injured and was currently at a hotel. The accompanying bodyguards had settled her in before calling Xie Jiaming.

Hanging up the phone, Xie Jiaming stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of the chair, looking anxious. “I’m sorry, Miss Meng, I have something…”

Before he could finish, Meng Ke interrupted him.

“Can I come along?” Meng Ke didn’t think too much; she simply wanted to go and see.

Xie Jiaming fell silent for a few seconds before nodding. “Miss Meng, come with me.”

Xie Jiaming kept a grim face the whole way, and Meng Ke didn’t press for details. When the car pulled up at the hotel entrance, a flash of doubt crossed Meng Ke’s mind—if she was injured, why wasn’t she at a hospital?

After getting out of the car, Xie Jiaming led Meng Ke through the lobby and into the elevator. As the numbers slowly climbed, Xie Jiaming’s expression softened slightly.

The elevator doors opened, and a bodyguard immediately stepped forward. “Young Master, the Young Lady went to—”

His eyes caught the person following behind, and he abruptly fell silent, unsure if he should continue. Xie Jiaming hesitated for a moment. Although Xie Yuhan had mentioned the marriage alliance with Meng Ke, the matter wasn’t finalized yet. The Xie family’s interests were not aligned with hers, and there was no guarantee problems wouldn’t arise. However, Xie Yuhan treated her specially.

“Go on,” Xie Jiaming signaled him to continue. The affairs in Qingcheng didn’t involve too much; there was no need to be this cautious.

“Today, the Young Lady said she wanted to find the person behind Cheng Muyuan, so we went with her.”

“While going from Qingning Road toward Changqing Road, a car suddenly swerved out. The Young Lady had warned us in advance, so we avoided it.”

“When we got near the factory over there, for some reason, the Young Lady’s wheelchair suddenly lost control. It charged toward the roadside construction fence and flipped over. That’s how the Young Lady got injured.”

Since Xie Yuhan became disabled three years ago, Xie Jiaming had searched for all sorts of doctors, but none could cure her; she was destined to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Xie Jiaming felt that sitting in a wheelchair wasn’t a good look.

Xie Yuhan hadn’t cried or made a fuss; she simply accepted it. Xie Jiaming had spent a fortune hiring overseas designers to custom-make a chair for her. After three years of improvements, the wheelchair had no issues and was even more “intelligent” than he was. How could it suddenly malfunction?

This opponent was not simple. They weren’t targeting the conglomerate; they were coming for Xie Yuhan herself. Xie Jiaming’s face was dark; he feared that since they failed this time, they would use even more ruthless tactics next time.

“Let’s go see the Young Lady first.”

“We just gave her a sedative. She’s been asleep for an hour and should be waking up soon.”

Entering the hotel suite, Meng Ke wondered if it was her imagination, but she felt the scent of sea salt in the air was exceptionally heavy—so heavy it felt like walking along the seashore. Yet, the scent wasn’t as fishy or salty as the actual ocean.

Approaching the bedroom door, the bodyguards automatically stepped back. Xie Jiaming pushed the door open gently and walked in. Meng Ke hovered at the doorway, peeking inside.

Xie Yuhan lay quietly on the bed, her face pale. A layer of gauze was wrapped around the top of her head, and a band-aid was stuck to her chin. She looked somewhat pitiful.

Just as Xie Jiaming reached the bedside, Xie Yuhan opened her eyes. She glanced at the visitor and closed them again.

“What happened?” Xie Jiaming asked.

“The car accident was a fake. They must have thrown an electronic interference device at me at that moment, causing the wheelchair to lose control,” Xie Yuhan answered calmly. Her voice was a bit dry, and she could be seen frowning slightly.

With her eyes closed, Xie Yuhan analyzed the situation coolly, her brain replaying the events from two hours ago. She was very sensitive to the operation of electronic products; knowing the wheelchair was failing, she had jumped out a second early. Her body was fine, but she was over-exhausted and might not be able to control her mermaid form.

If she disappeared now, that group of people would certainly make a big deal out of it, profiting while the conglomerate was in chaos. These things had been happening for six months. She vaguely felt something was wrong, but the opponent hid too well and didn’t seem to seek profit, which was why she hadn’t discovered them until today.

Thinking of this, Xie Yuhan felt things were becoming troublesome. The biggest problem was her mermaid form; she suspected Xie Jiaming already knew. For no reason, he had assigned her a powerless female assistant, claiming it was inconvenient for a girl to be surrounded by burly male bodyguards all the time. If male bodyguards were inconvenient, it’s not like there were no female bodyguards.

Meng Ke!

Right, there was still Meng Ke. Meng Ke had a suppressive effect on her physical changes. She needed to return to Tan City as soon as possible.

As she thought this, Xie Yuhan caught a faint fragrance. She had only ever smelled this fresh scent on Meng Ke. Could she be hallucinating? Or was there someone else?

Xie Yuhan snapped her eyes open and scanned the room, spotting Meng Ke standing “cat-like” and suspiciously at the door.

Their eyes met. Meng Ke felt the guilt of being caught and hurriedly lowered her head. Xie Yuhan looked at her; today she was wearing a small white Chanel-style outfit with her hair tied up, looking very neat and quite obedient.

“Come here.”

The familiar commanding tone, even when tainted with a breath as thin as silk due to illness, remained just as overbearing.

Meng Ke clicked her tongue internally and resignedly walked over.

“Brother, you go out first. I’m fine.”

“Mm. Then I’ll book the flight tickets for this afternoon. We’re going back to Tan City.”

“Okay.”

Xie Jiaming walked out of the bedroom, turning back three times with every step. Before leaving, he thoughtfully closed the door. In the second before the door shut, he raised an eyebrow at Meng Ke.

A meaningful look.

Meng Ke: “…” No! Brother, what does that look mean? You’re thinking the wrong way! This person is still sick, what could the two of us possibly do?

“I was just signing the contract with him when I happened to hear. I came to take a look,” Meng Ke walked to the bedside. “If you’re okay, I’ll head back first.”

“Come with me,” Xie Yuhan said. “I’ll handle things on Liang Xiao’s end.”

“The high-speed rail is faster back to Tan City. Why take a plane?”

Xie Yuhan curled her lip and said with a hint of disdain, “Too many people.”

This was the “misanthropy” Luo Miao had mentioned. Meng Ke nodded.

“Can I go back on my own?” Meng Ke asked. She still had something to do in Qingcheng. Regarding that mermaid scale at Luo Miao’s hotel—she heard it was a fake, and the scale had been sent back to her. Luo Miao insisted she take it back, saying the scale was beautiful; regardless of whether it was from a mermaid or a shark, since they didn’t want it, she would keep it as a collectible to look at at home. Luo Miao had loved “bling-bling” things since she was a child, and all her money was spent on collecting jewelry and jade. Meng Ke had been busy with work these past few days and hadn’t had time to go to the hotel to pick it up.

If they were leaving this afternoon, there wouldn’t be enough time. Her luggage was still with Liang Xiao; a round trip would take at least half a day.

Xie Yuhan was surprised by her refusal. Her gaze fixed on her, and she spoke word by word: “No.”

Xie Yuhan’s body might not be able to hold out until Tan City; she had to have Meng Ke with her.

Meng Ke: “…”

“And if I’m unwilling? Does Miss Xie plan to bind me and take me back?”

To be honest, Meng Ke was a bit afraid of Xie Yuhan. This was, after all, the villain of the book, who had plenty of strength and means.

Xie Yuhan’s fox-like eyes flickered. Meng Ke had been in the room for a while, and her body had recovered a little. From the information gathered when she first investigated Meng Ke, the girl looked incredibly obedient on the surface, but in reality, she was very independent and had her own personality—hardly like a “fake heiress” who had been mistreated by the Meng family. But all the information she sent people to investigate checked out; there was no problem with Meng Ke’s identity.

“Bind you?” Xie Yuhan snorted coldly. “Miss Meng still doesn’t know me very well. If you are unwilling, I’ll just find someone to break your legs. If you can’t walk, you’ll naturally be able to return with me.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll call the police?” Meng Ke raised an eyebrow.

“Go ahead, call them,” Xie Yuhan said unconcernedly. It wasn’t that the police were useless, but she wouldn’t do it personally. If there were problems, she would likely pin it on a subordinate and then pay a high amount of compensation.

“I still have things to do here. How about waiting until tomorrow?”

“I can’t wait.”

Meng Ke: “…”

There was no room for negotiation in Xie Yuhan’s words. Meng Ke ground her teeth. “Fine, fine.”

Meng Ke actually felt the sensation of “accompanying a monarch is like accompanying a tiger.” No wonder Xie Yuhan never had any scandals; with her bandit-like behavior, who would dare go out and talk nonsense? A direct broken-leg warning.

Meng Ke went out to give Xie Jiaming her ID information so he could book her on the same flight. She took a moment to message Luo Miao, telling her that the shiny scale would have to be sent by courier. Luo Miao didn’t say much; after all, Xie Yuhan’s temper was famous in Tan City. She was already grateful that Xie Yuhan hadn’t taken out her anger on them because of that incident.

After checking in, Xie Yuhan was at the boarding gate wrapped in a blanket and wearing a mask. Meng Ke felt a bit stifled and went to look out the window. Through the glass, she could see the planes taking off and landing.

Meng Ke noticed footsteps behind her and turned to see a 1.8-meter-tall bodyguard in black. “Why are you—”

The bodyguard said coldly, “The Young Lady ordered me to protect your safety.”

Meng Ke: “…” Thanks, the biggest danger currently comes from your Young Lady.

“What perfume does your Young Lady use?”

“I’m not sure.” The bodyguards who took care of her daily life and supplies were the group back in Tan City.

“How many of you are there in total?” Meng Ke vaguely remembered seeing three different groups already. “Thirty people.” Meng Ke clicked her tongue. Truly a massive expense—using so many bodyguards just to protect one person.

The announcement prompted boarding. The bodyguard pushed the wheelchair through the special lane, and Meng Ke followed behind. This wheelchair was a temporary one; its craftsmanship was very different from the one she saw before. It lacked many intelligent switches, and the paint on it didn’t have that fine shimmer.

Benefiting from the connection, Meng Ke followed the group into the luxury VIP first-class cabin. There were only four people inside: Xie Yuhan, Xie Jiaming, herself, and one bodyguard. Her seat was next to Xie Yuhan’s; she could see her from the corner of her eye.

After boarding the plane, Xie Yuhan’s body seemed to grow even weaker. She slept the whole time, never once opening her eyes.

Meng Ke pulled the thin blanket over her and turned her head to whisper, “Xie Yuhan, are you okay? Do you want me to call a doctor?”

The air was quiet for a few minutes before Xie Yuhan slowly breathed out two words: “No need.”

For some reason, even though Meng Ke had been by her side for five or six hours this time, the restless feeling in her body hadn’t diminished at all; in fact, it seemed to be getting worse.

Meng Ke looked up at Xie Jiaming; he shook his head. Meng Ke said nothing more.

As the plane landed and taxied, after a strong push-back sensation, Xie Yuhan’s head tilted and came to rest on Meng Ke’s shoulder.

Meng Ke’s body stiffened; she didn’t dare move her left shoulder at all. She turned her head slightly to look at her. Xie Yuhan was fast asleep, her long, thin eyelashes casting a shadow. Her lashes had a faint blue tint. Further down was the bridge of her nose, and her thin, somewhat pale lips were visible.

When Xie Yuhan quieted down like this, she was very beautiful to look at.