Sister Man’s trust warmed her heart, but it also made her anxious, fearing she might let her down.
Unable to sit still any longer, she thought for a moment and sent a message to Lin Ci, the owner of the golden retriever, asking if he was home and if he could look after Xiao Bai for a while.
She didn’t feel comfortable leaving the injured Xiao Bai alone at home and had to ask for help.
Among the dog owners in the neighborhood, Lin Ci was the one she was relatively familiar with.
When the aggressive dog owner had gone crazy earlier, Lin Ci had proactively offered to help because he was a kind-hearted person.
Lin Ci replied quickly: “I’m working from home. Watching over Xiao Bai isn’t a problem.”
Han Shuangshuang hurriedly explained that Xiao Bai was injured, and Lin Ci responded just as quickly:
“It’s fine. I’ll keep Huanhuan in her crate. She won’t bother Xiao Bai.”
Han Shuangshuang silently apologized to Huanhuan in her heart, then quickly packed up and carried the still-sleeping Xiao Bai to Lin Ci’s place, following the address he had sent.
She exchanged a few brief words with Lin Ci, thanked him profusely, and then rushed to the hospital.
Han Shuangshuang arrived at the ward first and saw the figure on bed 39, who seemed like she might never wake up.
She sniffled, walked over quickly, and took Xiao Man’s hand.
The girl in the next bed watched Han Shuangshuang for a while, making some guesses but not daring to confirm or approach her.
After calming her emotions, Han Shuangshuang turned to the girl and thanked her:
“You must be ‘Riding a Cow to Heaven, right? Thank you!”
The girl: “…”
Don’t say my WeChat name out loud like that!
So embarrassing!
Noticing the glances from others in the room, the girl quickly said,
“Just call me Xiang Tian.”
Han Shuangshuang said apologetically,
“Xiang Tian, thank you.”
Xiang Tian thought to herself,
“What’s there to thank me for? Who doesn’t enjoy being at the front row of the drama?”
She smiled and said,
“It’s nothing. I just lent my phone. Your colleague is the real hero. She looked like she was about to pass out at any moment, but she still managed to do what she needed to do.”
She leaned in and whispered,
“Can I ask what happened? Something about murder—it’s pretty scary.”
Though she said it was scary, her eyes were filled with curiosity.
Han Shuangshuang shook her head:
“Actually, I’m not sure what happened either. When we arrived, we only found the injured person. The police wouldn’t tell us anything else.”
Xiang Tian nodded: “That makes sense.”
Then she brightened up:
“I’ve heard about her situation. Now that she’s recorded a video, she can finally start treatment, right?”
Han Shuangshuang nodded: “Yes, I’ll go ask the doctor.”
Seeing that Han Shuangshuang wasn’t in high spirits, Xiang Tian didn’t bother her further and started chatting and joking with her mother instead.
Han Shuangshuang hesitated for a moment but decided to follow the instructions in the video.
She used Xiao Man’s fingerprint to unlock her phone.
During this time, she had occasionally charged Xiao Man’s phone, and it was still at over 80% battery.
Since Alipay had a limit on single transfers, she transferred a total of 100,000 yuan to her own account in two transactions.
Then, taking her ID card, she went to the doctor’s office to find the attending physician.
The attending doctor was there and immediately waved her over when he saw her enter.
Han Shuangshuang hurried over.
The attending doctor asked, “Did you see the video?”
Han Shuangshuang replied, “Yes, I did. Can I sign on behalf of Sister Man?”
The attending doctor said,
“Actually, the video is a bit informal, but it does provide some room for action. To prove that Xiao Man was conscious when she recorded the video, that she could recognize her actions and understand their consequences, we need to examine her brain.”
Han Shuangshuang was momentarily stunned, then said joyfully,
“So with this video, Sister Man must undergo an examination!”
To verify the video’s validity, they needed to prove that Xiao Man’s brain was functioning normally at the time of recording.
Since Xiao Man had suffered a brain injury, verifying the video was essentially examining the cause of her condition.
Han Shuangshuang was thrilled, and the attending doctor also breathed a sigh of relief.
It was great to bypass Xiao Man’s brother.
Earlier that day, his mentor had already discussed the matter with several other doctors, filed it with the medical department, and informed the local police station.
It was feasible.
He instructed,
“You can go and prepay some money first. Since the cause is unclear, there will be many tests, and it will indeed cost a lot.”
He had also seen the video and knew that money shouldn’t be an issue.
Once again, he marveled at how fortunate it was that the patient had her own funds.
This way, they could focus solely on the medical treatment.
Han Shuangshuang gratefully agreed.
She could tell that the doctors genuinely wanted to help Sister Man.
Fortunately, Sister Man had provided the video as support.
She went to pay, thinking that any unused amount could be refunded, so she deposited the entire 100,000 yuan she had just received.
***
When Xiao Bai woke up again, her eyes were somewhat vacant, and a figure was already crouched in front of her.
“Xiao Bai, you’re awake? Your sister had to go out for a bit, so you’ll stay with me for now. Here’s some water and dog food-the same brand you always eat.”
Lin Ci spoke patiently.
He had followed Han Shuangshuang’s account, and whether it was by design or not, the video showed that Xiao Bai could understand human speech.
Plus, hearing that it had been injured while trying to save someone, his voice was gentle.
Xiao Man felt a splitting headache and a strong urge to vomit.
She slowly recalled that she had been hit on the head by a bad guy, which had caused her to return to her body for a while before leaving again.
She sighed inwardly, knowing she couldn’t stay in her body for long.
She thought of Xu Yan, who had already been hit once, and worried about him.
She didn’t know what Han Shuangshuang had gone out to do and hoped she could return soon to give her an update!
Just as she was thinking this, there was a knock at Lin Ci’s door.
Han Shuangshuang had returned.
Seeing Xiao Bai awake and its eyes much clearer, she exclaimed happily,
“Xiao Bai, you’re awake!”
Xiao Man had opened her eyes briefly earlier, but the injury had left her in a daze, so she didn’t remember much.
Seeing Han Shuangshuang, she let out a weak bark.
Then the nausea hit, and she couldn’t help but retch several times.
Fortunately, she hadn’t eaten anything earlier, so nothing came up.
Han Shuangshuang was frantic and quickly said,
“Xiao Bai, don’t bark. Just rest!”
Xiao Man thought, ‘You need to tell me what’s going on so I can rest peacefully!’
Meeting Xiao Bai’s seemingly worried gaze, Han Shuangshuang couldn’t help but think of the day she had found Xiao Bai.
It had also needed to know about Sister Man’s condition to feel at ease.
She smiled and said,
“Manager Xu is out of danger, and the perpetrator has turned himself in. Xiao Bai, you did great!”
Hearing this, Xiao Man finally relaxed.
After all, she had taken several hits and risked exposing her abnormality—it would have been a shame if it had all been for nothing.
She lay back down.
Seeing Xiao Bai so listlessly broke Han Shuangshuang’s heart.
Although Xiao Bai wasn’t usually lively, it would roll its eyes at her, full of spirit— nothing like this lifeless state.
She turned to Lin Ci and thanked him,
“Thank you, Lin Ci. I’ll take Xiao Bai home now. I’ll treat you to a meal next time!”
Lin Ci smiled, “Sure. When Xiao Bai is better, we can walk the dogs together in the evening.”
Han Shuangshuang agreed casually and carried Xiao Bai home.
In the hospital’s private room, Xu Yan was awakened by a sobbing sound akin to a ghost’s wail.
Opening his eyes, he saw Feng Qing sitting by his bed, crying unattractively.
Two words flashed in his mind: Bad luck!
He wasn’t dead yet.
Why cry so mournfully?
He opened his mouth and finally managed to say,
“Stop crying. You sound like a ghost.”
Feng Qing’s sobs halted abruptly, and he looked up at Xu Yan in surprise, exclaiming,
“Yan Yan, you’re finally back! Thank goodness! If you had become a vegetable too, how could I ever face you?”
Xu Yan’s ears were ringing, and he didn’t notice the subtle “too” in Feng Qing’s words.
His injured brain couldn’t handle loud noises, so he struggled to say,
“Too noisy. My head hurts.”
Feng Qing immediately shut up.
Xu Yan’s memories slowly returned.
He remembered that he had been out for a morning jog when he suddenly heard a dog bark.
Turning around, he felt something hit his forehead, and he collapsed in a daze.
Later, he thought he heard another dog bark.
He was terrified of dogs, and his first instinct upon hearing a bark was to elegantly dodge.
At the time, he was disoriented, and his body automatically twisted to the side, then he felt a void, and after that, he remembered nothing.
He asked, “Tell me why this happened.”
To him, he had simply been maintaining his good habit of morning jogging when he was inexplicably struck by this misfortune.
His forehead hurt, his head was dizzy, and his whole body ached as if he had been beaten up by ten burly men.
Feng Qing’s emotions had been interrupted by Xu Yan several times and couldn’t build up again.
Hearing Xu Yan’s question, he quickly said,
“You’re so unlucky! According to the police, you stumbled upon a murder and burial scene. The killer tried to silence you, but luckily, Xiao Bai bit the killer and saved your life. Then Xiao Man woke up and called Han Shuangshuang to find you.”
“Otherwise, by the time we realized you were missing and went looking for you, you would have been a goner!”
Xu Yan found Feng Qing’s dramatic retelling unbearable.
His brain could only handle monotone, mechanical sounds right now anything too emotional made his head throb.
And the illogical parts of Feng Qing’s story only made his headache worse.
After a moment, he decisively said,
“You go out first. I’ll sleep and talk to you when I wake up.”
Seeing Xu Yan’s pained expression, Feng Qing wisely left, tucking in the blanket corners before he went.
Xu Yan: “…! You idiot, you’re pressing on my oxygen tube!”
Feng Qing, noticing Xu Yan’s sudden change in expression, realized his mistake and quickly released the oxygen tube, then awkwardly left.
After Feng Qing left, Xu Yan soon lost consciousness again. When he woke up, he wasn’t sure if he had passed out or simply fallen asleep.
The room was quiet, and he was satisfied.
Only then could he seriously think about what Feng Qing had said earlier, and he quickly pieced together the sequence of events.
He had been wearing headphones and listening to music.
The killer had noticed him and prepared to ambush him.
Coincidentally, during the brief silence between two songs, he heard a dog bark and instinctively turned around.
Because of this, the weapon that was supposed to hit the back of his head struck his forehead instead.
The human forehead is much sturdier than the back of the head.
Sometimes, if you’re unlucky and fall off a couch onto the floor, hitting the back of your head could be fatal.
If any part of that sequence had been off by even a second, he might have been killed on the spot.
He had watched Han Shuangshuang’s account grow.
Though his fear of dogs remained, he knew how clever Xiao Bai was and that it had saved people before.
So he believed that Xiao Bai had bitten the killer to save him.
However, he had been nearly unconscious at the time and didn’t know if Xiao Bai had been injured.
He would acknowledge Xiao Bai’s kindness and visit it after he recovered from a meter away, of course.
But Feng Qing’s mention of Xiao Man left him completely baffled.
He remembered Xiao Man’s name, but that was all.
When he joined Shutu Media, she was already in a vegetative state in the hospital.
They had never met, so why would she wake up and send someone to find him?
Xu Yan couldn’t figure it out, and the more he thought about it, the worse his headache became.
For now, he had to let it go.
When Feng Qing returned, he would surely explain everything.
Once he stopped thinking about Xiao Man, another fleeting thought suddenly popped into his mind.
When he fell, hadn’t his Bluetooth earbuds fallen out?
Given Feng Qing’s track record of losing five pairs of Bluetooth earbuds in a year, Xu Yan had managed to keep his pair intact for two years.
But now, thanks to that damned killer, his two-year streak was broken!