The Person I Love Who Has Been Missing For Three Years - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: What Else Are You Hiding From Me?

“It’s nothing…” Song Xiangwan pursed her lips, straightening her back even further.

Water droplets slid down her hair, creating small damp patches on her clothes. A gust of wind made the damp patches cling, chilling her to the bone. Her phoenix eyes were intense, displaying a kind of unwavering resolve that defied the harsh weather.

Her gaze passed over Xu Zhiyan and looked inward. All she could see was a curtain of rain, and amidst the rain, the blurry light of the lamps.

“Wrong place,” Song Xiangwan said flatly. Without waiting for Xu Zhiyan to speak, she turned and walked away.

She walked away composedly, but the knuckles clenching the umbrella handle tightened bit by bit. She resisted the urge to look back at the courtyard.

The night sky was a heavy black canvas, and the dark clouds obscured the moon.

“What’s she doing…” Xu Zhiyan muttered, rubbing her cold arms, and instructed the servant, “Close the door, we’re not seeing anyone. No visitors.”

Xu Zhiyan handed her umbrella to the maid and stepped into the reception hall, where she heard Lin Rong’s voice: “Little girl, you’re blocking the apple of her eye outside. Aren’t you afraid she’ll be angry?”

Lin Rong was half-reclining in a club chair. Two buttons of her black silk blouse were undone, revealing her delicate collarbone. Her long hair was loosely tied back. The air was thick with the scent of strong tea. Her distinctively jointed hands held a celadon teacup. As the rim of the cup touched her lips, her vermilion lip line curved into a casual arc of amusement. Her gentle gaze was slightly teasing and showed a carefree, uninhibited nature.

“Drinking tea this late at night, be careful you won’t be able to sleep,” Xu Zhiyan grumbled irritably.

“Sleeping pills will help with that,” Lin Rong chuckled, her beautifully curved eyebrows rising slightly with a mature but not overly seductive charm.

“Crazy…” Xu Zhiyan completely failed to understand this person’s logic. Drinking tea then taking sleeping pills—and she’s a doctor! She really thought she was invincible.

Lin Rong was the doctor she hired at a high price. Her medical skills were undeniable, so Xu Zhiyan endured all her eccentricities.

Xu Zhiyan took the towel handed to her by the maid, dried the water from her hair, and whispered, “Don’t tell my sister about this.”

“And it wasn’t me blocking her. She didn’t say anything, just said she came to the wrong place and turned to leave.”

“I can’t just run out and drag her in to sit down. I’m not that desperate.”

“Fine, I won’t tell…” Lin Rong put down her cup, supported her chin, and looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. “What about the hush money?”

“Double bonus this month…”

“I don’t need money,” Lin Rong interrupted Xu Zhiyan flatly.

“Then what do you want?” Xu Zhiyan frowned. “Triple… five times maximum… Nothing else. If you don’t agree to this, you get nothing.”

“Any more, and I’d rather my sister just kill me,” Xu Zhiyan muttered.

“Alright, alright, President Xu is generous. I’ll take five times,” Lin Rong smiled, stood up, and said, “Time to go to sleep.”

Walking past Xu Zhiyan, she reached out and ruffled her head: “Little girl, sleep early.” She was half a head taller than Xu Zhiyan and didn’t ruffle gently, using a technique akin to stroking a cat or dog, instantly messing up Xu Zhiyan’s hair.

Before Xu Zhiyan could fully react, Lin Rong chuckled and left.

Hot, was Xu Zhiyan’s sensory perception. Lin Rong’s palm was scorching, the heat intensely transmitted through her hair, sticking to her scalp.

Is she running a fever? Xu Zhiyan frowned and scoffed softly. Well, she’s a doctor; she won’t burn herself out. Why should I care?

Song Xiangwan didn’t know how she walked back. She only felt cold. Her clothes were soaked, clinging tightly to her body. The wind made her chilled to the core.

Cheng Cheng was waiting in Song Xiangwan’s room. Seeing her return drenched, she was startled: “Sister Wan, what happened to you?”

She anxiously rushed into the bathroom, found a bath towel to wrap around Song Xiangwan. Her touch confirmed Song Xiangwan’s skin was cold as ice.

“It’s nothing, just went for a walk,” Song Xiangwan’s tone was flat, everything seemed normal.

“It’s very cold tonight, and it’s raining…” Cheng Cheng couldn’t help but nag, “Please don’t get sick! If you do, Sister Cao will kill me.”

“Go take a hot shower right away. There’s cold medicine in the bag. I’ll make you some…”

“Enough, enough. It’s late. Go back and sleep,” Song Xiangwan ushered Cheng Cheng out. “You have to get up early tomorrow. I’ll make it myself.”

“The… the red small medicine packet is in the silver suitcase…” Cheng Cheng instructed anxiously.

“There’s hot water in the thermos. Be careful when pouring; the spout leaks a bit.”

Then the door slammed shut in her face.

Song Xiangwan, wrapped in the bath towel, leaned against the door and let out a long sigh. She stood there for a while, adjusting her psychological state, before going in to shower.

The water heater in the resort village was poor. The hot water output was unstable, alternating between cold and hot. Song Xiangwan quickly rinsed off and came out with wet hair.

The poorly insulated room let in the sound of the rain outside and the howling mountain wind. The prepared cold medicine on the table was steaming. The back of Song Xiangwan’s hand was slightly red from the splashed hot water.

In the rising steam, she was preoccupied, pressing her fingertip into the space between her thumb and forefinger, rubbing it back and forth, until both hands had a slight stinging sensation. The sprain on her ankle also throbbed painfully after being soaked in the hot water.

She didn’t pay it any mind, just staring blankly at the steam rising from the mug. Who knew how happy she had been today?

Seeing the female doctor’s phone light up on the table, displaying Ming Jin’s face in the screensaver photo, was she sent by Ming Jin?

She followed the female doctor and found that courtyard.

It was only when she saw Xu Zhiyan that she realized belatedly. In the photo, Ming Jin was in the middle, the female doctor was on the left, and the girl—the girl who opened the door and looked at her with arrogance—was on the right.

What did Ming Jin mean? Not showing her face, but sending that girl to dismiss her? Was it to witness her humiliation… Song Xiangwan’s fingers dug into the skin between her thumb and forefinger, pressing hard, leaving a deep crescent-shaped mark.

She refused to give her the satisfaction. She would be beautiful, she would keep her head high, her back straight, and walk out of Ming Jin’s world.

She quickly finished the now-cold cold medicine, casually dried her hair, and went to bed. Closing her eyes, she repeatedly told herself that she didn’t care at all, truly didn’t care… In the end, she drifted into a hazy sleep.

She had a night of strange, vivid dreams. Song Xiangwan slept restlessly. Her alarm went off at 5:30 AM. She had an early scene today.

Song Xiangwan felt unwell when she got up, feeling light-headed as if she were walking on cotton. When the makeup artist touched her forehead, she frowned slightly and whispered, “Teacher Song, are you feeling unwell?”

“It’s a rain scene today. You’ll be getting soaked again…”

“It’s okay, just a minor cold.” Song Xiangwan looked in the mirror. “My complexion is a bit poor. Please help me cover it up.”

“Alright, no problem. Let me check the makeup from yesterday…” The makeup artist was very polite. When she first arrived, she heard the female lead and second female lead had argued over rooms, and later saw the trending topic about Song Xiangwan’s cold face. At first, she thought Song Xiangwan was difficult to work with. But after interacting with her, she realized that wasn’t the case. She was just temperamental, but she didn’t direct that temper at irrelevant staff. If people didn’t provoke her, she was fine, and easy to get along with.

The first scene was a rain scene. The director said they should film it in the morning rain to make the whole picture look more authentic. It was a confrontation scene between Song Xiangwan and Lu Yuhang, involving long dialogues under the rain and intense emotional arguing.

Lu Yuhang wasn’t in the zone at first. After arguing two takes, he still didn’t meet the director’s expectations. By the third take, he finally got into character. He stepped closer to Song Xiangwan: “Tell me, what is the truth?”

“What exactly have you done?”

“Which one is the real you?”

Song Xiangwan’s character should be unyielding, meeting force with force. But as she raised her head, the rainwater instantly lashed onto her face. Her vision wavered, and she swayed slightly, unable to stand steady.

“Sorry,” Song Xiangwan wiped the rain around her eyes with her sleeve, frowning as she tried to clear her head.

Lu Yuhang walked over and reached out to hold Song Xiangwan’s forearm: “Teacher Song, you look unwell. Do you need to take a break?”

“No need, let’s finish this scene,” Song Xiangwan quickly took a step back, widening the distance between herself and Lu Yuhang.

The costume and makeup artists rushed in to adjust their looks and clothing. They restarted the take.

Song Xiangwan felt unsteady. She braced her back to suppress the waves of dizziness.

“I don’t need your permission for what I do.”

“What right do you have to accuse me?”

“…”

She delivered each line with gritted teeth. The darkness in her vision grew heavier, yet she stood firmer than anyone. The cold rain beat down on her face and body. The layers of her costume were completely soaked, like wearing a thick, wet blanket, or cold, hard steel, wrapped tightly around her, making it hard to breathe.

It was truly excellent. She perfectly portrayed the hollow bravado and shaky determination of someone arguing fiercely.

Song Xiangwan suddenly lost all strength, turning to leave. As she took a step, her vision went black, her legs gave way, and she collapsed softly.

Lu Yuhang was the closest. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Song Xiangwan.

“Teacher Song, Teacher Song…” he called out anxiously. The surrounding staff also rushed over.

Song Xiangwan hadn’t completely lost consciousness. She just felt her body was incredibly heavy, completely powerless. It was like she was stuck in a glacier, yet also in lava—cold and hot at the same time. Her throat was too dry to utter a single word.

“To the hospital! Quick, to the hospital!”

Song Xiangwan felt her feet leave the ground. Someone picked her up horizontally and rushed forward. After that, she lost all awareness.

The rain was heavy in the morning. Xu Zhiyan managed to persuade Ming Jin to stay inside, only joining her at the set in the afternoon.

They maintained a distance, watching for a while. Ming Jin tiredly massaged the space between her eyebrows. Xu Zhiyan leaned down and whispered, “Are you tired? Shall we go back and rest?”

“She doesn’t have any scenes this afternoon…” Xu Zhiyan said softly.

Ming Jin didn’t speak. She was simply hoping that Song Xiangwan might still be on set observing when she didn’t have a scene. It seemed she wouldn’t see her today.

Ming Jin looked up. The trees were lush and dripping. A mountain wind blew past, causing raindrops to rustle down. Sunlight fell on Ming Jin’s hand. Her skin was cold white, her wrist bones distinct, and she looked excessively frail.

“Let’s go back,” her faint voice sounded, her light brown eyes looking toward the sun.

Xu Zhiyan sighed in relief and quickly pushed the wheelchair back.

But before she could fully relax, she heard Ming Jin’s voice: “Ayan, hand me my phone.”

Xu Zhiyan didn’t comply. Ming Jin tightened her grip, stopping the wheelchair. She turned her head. Her light brown eyes were calm, but also held a sharpness that seemed to see through everything: “What else are you hiding from me?”

A simple sentence, spoken in a calm, flat tone, yet it was like a knife plunging into the chest. It was the same authoritative style she had commanded for so many years—lofty and beyond question.