When Feng Qing saw Xu Yan again, he noticed that his expression was even worse than the last time he woke up.
Concerned, Feng Qing asked, “Are you in pain somewhere?”
Xu Yan replied, “Heartache.”
Feng Qing immediately panicked, ready to rush out:
“Doctor, doctor! My friend is having a heart attack!”
Xu Yan: “…”
Fortunately, Feng Qing’s leg was still injured, and just then, Assistant Yuan happened to push the door open and grabbed the impulsive Feng Qing.
Only after being grabbed did Feng Qing remember that Xu Yan had no history of heart disease!
Xu Yan finally had the chance to speak: “My Bluetooth earbuds are gone.”
Feng Qing: “???”
Feng Qing: “You’re heartbroken over that? You don’t even have money to buy new Bluetooth earbuds? Just ask me, I have money!”
Xu Yan ignored him, licking his wounds.
Assistant Yuan said, “Mr. Xu, how are you feeling now? The police want to take your statement.”
Naturally, the police needed to clarify every detail.
The perpetrator had confessed, but they still needed supporting evidence from the scene and witness testimonies.
As the victim, Xu Yan had to be questioned.
If dogs could talk, Xiao Bai wouldn’t be spared either.
Xu Yan said, “I’m much better now, I can do it.”
Feng Qing sat down on the chair beside the hospital bed, looking at Xu Yan with teary eyes.
Xu Yan glanced at him: “Don’t act so coy, it’s a bit disgusting.”
Feng Qing protested, “I’m just concerned about you, you heartless guy!”
Xu Yan felt a chill and didn’t want to hear any more sentimental words, so he said,
“You can leave now. I’ll talk to the police myself later.”
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Feng Qing swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, got up reluctantly, and hopped to the door to open it.
Outside stood two unfamiliar men in plain clothes, looking fierce but with a hint of righteousness.
Having seen many people, Feng Qing didn’t pay much attention and glanced at Assistant Yuan beside them, asking, “Is it them?”
Assistant Yuan said, “This is Officer Chang and Officer Wu.”
Feng Qing said, “I’ll go for a walk.”
Then he squeezed past them and hopped away.
Officers Chang and Wu exchanged a glance, thinking this rich kid was a bit eccentric.
Of course, they had investigated the victim’s situation beforehand, including his friends who were with him at the time.
There were plenty of cases of wealthy people harming each other.
“Sit.”
After the two officers entered, Assistant Yuan closed the door.
Xu Yan had already raised the hospital bed to a semi-reclined position and said,
“Please, have a seat.”
Seeing this, the officers knew the victim would be cooperative and relaxed a bit.
They asked about the incident, and Xu Yan answered truthfully.
After listening, both officers had the same thought: if dogs could talk, questioning the dog would make everything perfect.
Fortunately, the evidence chain was already solid.
The perpetrator’s poor psychological state was evident in many ways.
Under pressure, he confessed that he had tried to hit Xu Yan with a shovel a second time but was stopped by the dog.
When he finally got rid of the dog, Xu Yan had disappeared.
Terrified, he didn’t dare to search and ran away.
This was actually lucky for the perpetrator.
In his panicked state, he might have killed Xu Yan, which would have inevitably led to a death sentence.
The judges here wouldn’t hesitate to send a heinous criminal to the gallows.
After finishing the part about the suspect, the officers asked,
“Mr. Xu, are you familiar with Xiao Man?”
Xu Yan said, “She was already in a coma when I joined Shu Tu Media. We’ve never met.”
But once he felt better, they could meet.
Officer Wu asked, “Then do you know how she found out about your situation?”
Xu Yan was puzzled: “Why don’t you ask her?”
Officer Wu was also helpless: “She only had time to make one call and record a video before falling into a coma again. The doctors say her condition is the same as before, and it’s unclear if she’ll wake up.”
Anticipating Xu Yan’s confusion, he added,
“The video was entrusted to a medical agent.”
Xu Yan raised an eyebrow: “She knew about things after she fell into a coma?”
Officer Wu shrugged: “No one knows.”
Xu Yan found this intriguing.
How could someone dozens of kilometers away know about his situation?
There had to be something supernatural about it.
If he had to guess, perhaps after falling into a coma, her spirit wandered, allowing her to see what happened because Han Shuangshuang cared about her, so she secretly followed Han Shuangshuang and “saw” the situation.
But in front of the two officers, Xu Yan wouldn’t voice his speculation.
He asked about Xiao Bai’s condition and was relieved to hear that, although injured, it was still alive.
Feng Qing was babbling incoherently, so he’d better ask someone else!
After the officers finished their questioning and left, Xu Yan lay alone for a while, then suddenly whispered, “Xiao Man, are you here?”
After asking, he quickly scanned the room, hoping to see any small movement, a common phenomenon in ghost movies when spirits appear.
But the room was quiet, and nothing moved.
Xu Yan silently lowered the hospital bed back down.
Perhaps it was the effect of his brain injury; his thoughts were a bit peculiar today.
The next day was a workday.
Han Shuangshuang, as usual, brought Xiao Bai to work.
She had always brought the dog to work, and after it was injured, she couldn’t possibly leave it alone at home.
Colleagues gathered around to check on Xiao Bai, relieved to see it could still roll its eyes at them.
Han Shuangshuang thought about it and decided to record a video.
After all, Xiao Bai’s injury couldn’t be hidden, and the account had been inactive for too long.
It was better to explain clearly.
Chen Yao also thought that since Xiao Bai had suffered this ordeal, not using it to engage with fans would be a waste.
Moreover, they checked the internet and found that some media outlets had already widely circulated the story of Xu Yan nearly being killed by a murderer, with details redacted on social media.
The police had also issued a statement that morning.
Since the facts were clear and the evidence solid, the case was closed, and there was nothing left unsaid.
Well, there were things left unsaid.
The reason why Han Shuangshuang and her group went up the mountain to find Xu Yan was simply summarized as “later taken to the hospital by colleagues who went up the mountain to search.”
Since the story was already circulating online and the police didn’t ask them to keep it confidential, they could talk about it.
Moreover, some conspiracy theories were spreading online, like “a black-hearted boss was targeted for revenge.”
They needed to clear the name of such a good boss.
In the video, Xiao Bai’s head was still bandaged, its wet eyes staring at the camera, looking pitiful.
Off-camera, Han Shuangshuang explained: “As you can see, Xiao Bai is injured, but don’t worry, its injuries aren’t too serious. With some rest, it’ll recover. So, the frequency of video uploads will decrease during this period.”
“Here’s what happened: over the weekend, our department had a team- building event. We were having a great time, but in the morning, our boss went for a run and encountered a murderer burying a body.”
“The perpetrator attacked our boss to silence him, but fortunately, Xiao Bai noticed something was wrong and rushed to stop him, getting injured in the process. Don’t believe the nonsense online; our boss is a great person.”
“It’s infuriating that he’s suffering such an undeserved calamity and being slandered!”
Shortly after the video was posted, the injured Xiao Bai received an outpouring of love from netizens.
However, some netizens had a different focus.
“I checked, the average cost of that resort where the incident happened is quite high. A team-building event at such a place? What a heavenly company and boss! Sister Xiao Bai, please look at me, is your department still hiring?”
“I’m not after high benefits, I just want to be close to care for Xiao Bai!”
This comment quickly garnered a lot of likes.
Of course, there would always be negative comments; it’s inevitable.
Some people’s thought processes are just different from normal people’s.
As long as the majority are positive, it’s fine.
Some people even used Han Shuangshuang’s “participant” video to debunk rumors on other media platforms.
As a result, the views of her video kept rising, eventually surpassing her most popular video.
Her follower count, after a period of slow growth, experienced another explosive increase.
What a heavenly dog!
In such a short time, it saved so many people.
How could it not attract attention?
Smart and kind, even a person would be loved, let alone a furry dog… although Xiao Bai wasn’t very furry at the moment.
Chen Yao discussed with Han Shuangshuang that before Xiao Bai recovered, they would only post pre-recorded content.
This would maintain the account’s popularity without making viewers think Sister Xiao Bai was heartless, forcing the injured dog to work.
Su Mingxuan hovered around them, looking regretful.
Why did his cousin have to get married yesterday?
Otherwise, he could have experienced such an exciting event firsthand!
Chen Yao rolled her eyes at him.
Xiao Bai lay silently, still feeling dizzy after more than a day, not in the mood to engage with the surrounding commotion.
She was pondering a question: what was the trigger for her return to her own body?
Was it a strong belief, a random accident, or because she, as a dog, was near death?
When she first turned into a dog, she hadn’t faced a life-threatening crisis; she had just lightly bumped into a wall.
A dangerous thought flashed through her mind.
Could she increase near-death experiences?
If she could return to her body multiple times, perhaps one day she wouldn’t return to the dog’s body?
But she had concerns.
What if near-death wasn’t the prerequisite for returning to her body?
If she, as a dog, accidentally died and couldn’t return, wouldn’t that be a huge loss?
After much thought, she decided to maintain the status quo for now.
After all, she had already recorded a video, and the doctors could conduct further examinations.
She believed in modern medicine; perhaps the doctors could cure her, and she could return!
With this optimistic thought, Xiao Bai rested peacefully.
The company had a day off for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Han Shuangshuang didn’t go anywhere, staying home to recover.
A few days later, Xu Yan was temporarily discharged from the hospital, though the wound on his forehead was still bandaged.
Some jokers secretly took photos of Xu Yan and Xiao Bai and put them together.
Both had injuries on their foreheads, looking like a pair of master and pet who had shared hardships.
Before leaving work that day, Xu Yan found Han Shuangshuang: “How’s Xiao Bai?”
Han Shuangshuang replied cautiously, “The injuries are improving.”
She was trying hard not to let her gaze drift to Xu Yan’s forehead.
Just then, Xiao Bai poked its head out from beside the workstation, baring its teeth at Xu Yan.
Xu Yan: “……”
What does it mean when a dog bares its teeth?
Is it going to bite me?
Han Shuangshuang said, “Mr. Xu, Xiao Bai is also happy to see you!”
Xu Yan: Oh, the dog is smiling. How human-like.
He was actually a bit troubled, unsure how to repay a dog.
If he owed a person, he could repay them with money, job opportunities, etc., but what about a dog?
Buy it a truckload of dog food?
He decided to hold off for now, taking it slow and thinking it over.
He asked about another benefactor: “Are you going to see Xiao Man today?”
Han Shuangshuang nodded.
The doctors had already started arranging examinations, but some items required appointments, so many tests were still pending.
The cause of Xiao Man’s coma remained unclear, and Han Shuangshuang went to the hospital almost every day when she had time.
Xu Yan said, “Let’s go together today.”
By “together,” Xu Yan meant they would each take a taxi and meet at the hospital entrance.
He had a car, but he couldn’t ride with Han Shuangshuang and the dog.
If they accidentally got within a meter of each other, it could lead to a car crash.
Riding in the same taxi wasn’t an option either.
Would he have to stay stiff the entire way?
Han Shuangshuang found it a bit odd, but the boss had spoken, and he was even reimbursing the taxi fare, so of course, she complied!
When they arrived at the hospital, the two of them, plus the hidden dog, headed to the neurosurgery inpatient ward.
Xiao Man was still in the same room, though the other patients had changed again.
Only she seemed destined to lie there forever.
Xu Yan frowned as he entered the room due to the naturally chaotic environment with so many people.
He asked Han Shuangshuang, “Why not switch to a private room?”
Han Shuangshuang: “Uh……”
What could she say?
First, she hadn’t thought of it, and second, private rooms were hard to come by; everyone wanted one.
Seeing her hesitation, Xu Yan didn’t press further and walked to the innermost part to look at the woman on the bed.
She lay there quietly, pale and frail, like the sleeping beauty from a fairy tale.
Just then, a nurse came to hang an IV for another patient and happened to see Han Shuangshuang, quickly calling her over to discuss some examination details.
Han Shuangshuang only had time to say a quick word to Xu Yan before being pulled away.
Xu Yan stood alone by the bed, looking at Xiao Man.
After a long while, he softly asked, “Xiao Man, are you here?”
He quickly scanned the room, but of course, there was no movement.
His disappointment was evident.
He had been pondering this for days.
It had to be as he guessed; otherwise, it made no sense!
So, even though his brain had recovered after several days of rest, he couldn’t help but try.
Xiao Man, the dog, hidden in the backpack at the foot of the bed: “……?”
Huh?
Who’s he talking to?
Is he calling spirits?