Chapter 10: Saving Grandmother from the Wolf

While Shen Ru spent his days as a normal student, he didn't forget to take measures to stop Li Zhong from killing Hua Zhi. He had Old Hao hire one of his men to make trouble in Hua Zhi's hospital. Of course, no one was actually hurt. This encouraged the hospital staff to strengthen their security.

Shen Ru also had Jun Zixin hire some of his men to guard the doors of the hospital. If they caught sight of Li Zhong, they'll immediately prevent him from entering. Of course, Jun Zixin didn't help him for nothing. Shen Ru now owed him a favor. The consequences of this favor were unknown for now.

All in all, Shen Ru thought he was prepared to complete the second mission. Trained guards were guarding the hospital, the hospital staff was now more focused on security, and he could just skip classes to go to the hospital.

…Unfortunately, there were some unforeseen events.

Shen Ru was in the lobby of the hospital when Li Zhong arrived at the doors. As expected, he was stopped by the guards, with the excuse that, because of recent intruders, outsiders had to fill up a form and wait for a response from the hospital staff. The hospital staff would only be informed after an hour and, if Li Zhong was still determined to wait, Jun Zixin will use his connections to have them refuse Li Zhong.

After being informed that he needed to fill up a form, Li Zhong unexpectedly didn't do so. He went outside the hospital and then brought Hua Xiu with him.

At this point, Shen Ru was completely confused. He hadn't expected Hua Xiu to be here too. His recent actions must've changed some plot points.

"He doesn't need to sign a form now, right? I come here regularly for my grandmother who's a patient. He's visiting my grandmother," Hua Xiu said.

Despite this, the guard was persistent. "You can go inside, ma'am, but he can't. This is a security protocol."

Hua Xiu frowned. "You're stubborn, huh? This is a hospital, why can't a visitor visit a patient? This is ridiculous, I'll report you!"

The guard was as calm as the sea, while Hua Xiu was now making an outburst. She had teary eyes as she told a tale of a granddaughter wanting to visit her grandmother with her uncle, only to be humiliated publicly by a cruel guard. The people in the lobby couldn't help but side with the weak and defended her.

"My cousin came here for the first time yesterday, why didn't he sign a form too?"

"You're bullying a young girl, don't you have any shame?!"

"Aren't there too many guards today? I think there's a conspiracy!"

Left with no other choice, the guard let Hua Xiu and Li Zhong enter the doors. Seeing that they were coming, Shen Ru hurriedly went up to the stairs and called the nurse he had made a deal before. Not long ago, he found her and saved her phone number in case something went wrong with the plan.

It seems that the power of the plot remains strong. At first, he had planned to have Jun Zixin place some of his men outside Hua Zhi's room too. Unfortunately, he didn't want to owe too many favors and wanted to finish it all on his own. It was a mistake to think that his plans were foolproof. If he had known that Hua Xiu had sided with Li Zhong, Shen Ru would've insisted on this matter with Jun Zixin.

When the nurse finally picked up, he was filled with great relief. Without waiting for the other's response, he spoke in a low voice, "Stop anyone from entering her room. There's danger. I'll give you 500,000."

"Really?" The nurse was ecstatic. "Sure, you can depend on me!"

After hanging up the phone, Shen Ru found that he had already reached the fourth floor. He saw the nurse he was in contact with was hurriedly speaking to the other nurses.

"I just received that someone is trying to harm Hua Zhi, call security now!"

Because of the previous intruders, the nurses were quick to call security. Unfortunately, the security was far away, and Hua Xiu and Li Zhong were already taking the stairs.

Shen Ru bit his tongue, sent Jun Zixin a text asking for help, and decided to enter Hua Zhi's room. The nurses were about to stop him when one of them said, "He's the one who warned me. Don't worry, he can enter."

Shen Ru gave her a silent 'thank you' and then entered the room. Inside, Hua Zhi was laying on the bed, reading a document. Upon hearing the door open, she stared at him confusedly and asked, "Who are you and why are you in my room?"

"You'll know me in time. I'm here to tell you that someone is colluding with your granddaughter to kill you," Shen Ru didn't mince any words and told the matter as it is.

"That isn't true. I know that Xiao Xiu wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Who are you really? Are you a brat from that damned Li family?"

"I'm not from the Li family. I can't say the same for the man that Hua Xiu came with, however." Shen Ru changed the topic and asked, "Say, is there somewhere here where I can hide in?"

"What do you mean—"

"Oh well, I can just hide under your bed." Ignoring her complaints, Shen Ru told her before going under the bed, "If you want to live, I suggest you pretend that I'm not here. It's not like I'm going to do anything bad. I'm just a high school kid. If you really do trust Hua Xiu with all your heart, then feel free to expose me."

The silence that followed was unnerving, almost seeming like hours, until someone suddenly knocked on the door. It resounded through the whole room, like the grim ripper coming for his victim.

In an instant, Shen Ru knew that, with the lack of security, the nurses failed in preventing Li Zhong from entering the room. Either that or Hua Xiu was so charismatic that she successfully convinced them that she was bringing a perfectly sane human being with her.

During the silence, Shen Ru didn't actually just lay under the bed like some creep. He was on his phone, communicating with Jun Zixin.

Jun Zixin: My men are coming

Jun Zixin: Are you safe?

Shen Ru: For now

Jun Zixin: They'll come soon

Jun Zixin: No need to worry too much about it

Jun Zixin: You'll be safe

Shen Ru: Someone knocked just now

Shen Ru wasn't able to wait for his response because he needed to turn off his phone to stop the blue light from appearing. The knock sounded two more times until the door finally opened.

At this point, Shen Ru's heart was pounding hard against his chest. Unlike his first mission, this mission was filled with danger and uncertainty. Collecting information about some family conspiracy was easy with a few connections. Stopping a bloodthirsty killer from completing his vengeance was the opposite.

Although he had acted confident and nonchalant in every event, it was the first time in his life that he was faced with the possibility that he could die. Even if he stayed under the bed, Hua Zhi would've exposed him and brought him down together with her. The moment he entered the room, he had already accepted that his life was being put in danger.

"Good afternoon, Grandma!" He could hear Hua Xiu's jolly voice.

Although she tried to hide it, Hua Zhi's voice was hesitant. "Good afternoon, Xiao Xiu."

"Is there something wrong, Grandma? You seem uncomfortable, did you drink a new medicine today?" Hua Xiu asked, concerned.

Before Hua Zhi can smile and make an excuse, a male voice came from behind Hua Xiu, "Xiao Xiu, there's no need to make further conversation. We can just do the job now."

Upon seeing his face, Hua Zhi exclaimed, "You! Why are you here?!"

Li Zhong chuckled and tilted his head to the side. "What are you talking about? We were just having a polite conversation just now." Then, the door was locked shut and his tone turned chilly. "Bringing my family to ruins, did you ever expect that you'll get your retribution? Or did you just think you can get away with anything because you're rich?"

Seeing that they were busy with their confrontation, Shen Ru turned on his phone, hoping that the blue light under the bed wouldn't be too obvious.

Jun Zixin: We're outside

Jun Zixin: I'm about to enter now

Shen Ru was surprised. He hadn't expected that Jun Zixin would come too.

Shen Ru: Just wait for my signal before entering

Then, he turned off the phone and focused on the confrontation. As much as he wanted to get out of this extremely unsafe situation, that doesn't mean that he didn't like to end things with style. Although his mission now was to save Hua Zhi from death, that didn't mean that he actually sided with her. In fact, he was on Li Zhong's side, minus the murder part.

"Your father wasn't blood-related to our family, so why should he deserve to become the chairman? It should've been my son. You don't have the right to take my money!"

"In fact, my father once said that he would've backed off from the chairman position if you just voiced your disagreements. But, you stayed silent and moved behind the scenes. I can understand that you don't want someone from another family to inherit your company, but the fact that you even embezzled all the money? You're disgusting." Li Zhong stared at her with disdain.

Shen Ru mentally clapped for Li Zhong. He didn't expect that his already low impression of Hua Zhi would decrease even further.

Li Zhong asked with a creepy smile, "Do you want to know something interesting?"

Hua Zhi was still stubborn in defending herself. "I'm not disgusting, you're the one—"

"I told everything that happened in the past to the dearest granddaughter that you have been taking care of to become your heir, and she agreed to split the profits we'll get from your inheritance."

Hua Xiu was utterly shocked. She hurriedly looked at Hua Xiu, as if wanting her to explain that all of this was a joke. Probably because she was ashamed that Li Zhong had taken off her mask to reveal her true nature, Hua Xiu stayed silent.

"Doesn't it hurt having your loved one betray you? That was how my father felt when he found out that his mother-in-law embezzled all his money," Li Zhong continued to egg her on.

Because she was being insulted, Hua Zhi's mood turned angry. "It's not 'his' money, it was the Hua family's! I was only taking what belonged to us. You're shameless as to think that you deserved any of our money. He even married my beloved daughter for money and brainwashed her to stay with him!"

Mentioning his mother seemed to flick a switch inside Li Zhong's mind. "You, how dare you...!"

Instantly, Shen Ru sent Jun Zixin a text, 'Go'.

Seeing that Li Zhong was now brandishing a sharp knife, Hua Zhi panicked and then remembered that Shen Ru was still under the bed. An idea appeared in her mind and she laughed. "Ha! Don't you think that once you kill me, you'll get off scot-free? Someone is hiding under my bed now, he knows everything that happened in the past."

Shen Ru rolled his eyes. Hua Zhi obviously just wanted to bring him, the only one who tried to warn her, down with her.

Much to her disappointment, Li Zhong didn't seem to care at all. "Then, I'll just kill them after I kill you. It's pretty easy, right?"

Hua Zhi was panicking again. "I'll give you money, I'll give you money! I promise!"

Li Zhong didn't say anything and walked towards her. However, before he can get any closer, the door was broken down, causing a heavy sound as it fell down on the floor. The three who were in confrontation turned around to see that armed guards with guns were heading inside the room.

Hua Zhi was ecstatic. "They're trying to kill me, save me! Even my damned granddaughter is an accomplice, youth these days are rotten!"

Meanwhile, Li Zhong raised both of his hands in the air. Hua Xiu was confused and momentarily froze. Li Zhong frowned and told her, "If you want to keep your life, then do the same as me."

When the armed guards shouted, "Raise your hands in the air where we can see them!" Because of this, Hua Xiu followed hesitantly.

The armed guards quickly put Li Zhong and Hua Xiu into handcuffs. Before they were able to escort them out of the room, Li Zhong said, "An accomplice of mine is hiding under the bed. Shouldn't you arrest them too?"

Hua Zhi and Hua Xiu were confused but didn't say anything, both having the same disgusting mentality.

"Well, I have news for you buddy, the person hiding under the bed was the one who called us here. They'll go to the police station to make his statement as a witness, but at a separate time to protect his safety," one of the guards answered.

After Li Zhong and Hua Xiu were out of the room, Shen Ru finally got out of his hiding place. He said to the confused Hua Zhi, "You know, Li Zhong was right. You're really disgusting."

Hua Zhi was angry once again. "You brat, my family is rich, I'll blacklist you off the industry!"

Shen Ru shrugged and smiled, knowing that even reasoning with her was useless. "Goodbye, I hope you enjoy your life knowing that you doomed your daughter and grandson."

With that said, he strode out of the room, with Hua Zhi's curses and shouts following behind. The armed guards from Jun Zixin and security guards from the hospital were gathered, whispering amongst themselves. He also spotted Jun Zixin typing something on his phone.

Shen Ru checked his phone and laughed when he found out that he had over 10 unread messages. His laugh attracted Jun Zixin's attention and he approached him.

"I told you, why didn't you put up guards on Hua Zhi's room too?" Although Jun Zixin was complaining, the relieved expression on his face was the opposite.

Shen Ru smiled and brought his arms around him, effectively hugging him. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to depend on you too much."

Jun Zixin's eyes practically bulged out and his body was stiff when he realized that he was being hugged. Shen Ru laughed and said, "Sorry, are you uncomfortable? I just want to hug you all of a sudden."

Then, his hug was reciprocated. Jun Zixin replied in a low voice, "Don't do this kind of dangerous thing again. Next time, just let me do everything."

"Wouldn't that make me dependent on you? You're going to graduate soon and I won't be able to see you much after that."

Jun Zixin rubbed circles on his back. "Then, we can meet every weekend. After we graduate from college, we can live together and see each other every day."

Shen Ru was confused. While he's practically clueless in the love territory, Jun Zixin's words were suspicious, as if he was confessing to him indirectly. Maybe it was just his imagination though. Despite his suspicion, he still replied confidently, "No, I don't want to live with you. I bet you're a clean freak."

Jun Zixin chuckled. "Living with a clean freak has its benefits. I'll clean your mess for you. You don't need to help me so don't complain, alright?"

"But, wouldn't that be too unfair for you?"

"Didn't I say that I'll do everything for you?"

The further this conversation lasted, the more Shen Ru was beginning to get suspicious. Jun Zixin's words didn't sound like they come from a friend, but a lover. Even he, who has been single forever, knows that Jun Zixin definitely likes him.

The question is: what is he going to do about it?

Of course, he'll just ignore it. This is only his first world. If he got together with Jun Zixin, then what would happen once he entered other worlds? If he got lonely and hooked up with someone, wouldn't that be betraying Jun Zixin?

So, he simply cut off the conversation with a fake yawn. "Let's go now, I'm tired from this hustle and bustle."

Jun Zixin's eyes darkened but he hid it seamlessly. "Do you need food? We can go to Tango Café before you go home."

"No, thanks. I already ate before coming here. I just want to sleep." In fact, Shen Ru was telling a lie. He hadn't eaten before enacting the plan and he was hungry. He just didn't want to give Jun Zixin any false hopes. It was his mistake to think that their relationship was purely platonic and friendly.

"…Okay, do you need a ride home?"

Of course, while Shen Ru wanted to stay away from Jun Zixin enough to make his feelings disappear, he still wanted to maintain their friendship. Besides the connections, he really liked being friends with Jun Zixin. Their bantering never stopped and their brains were at the same wavelength.

"Sure."

Jun Zixin finally smiled and led him out of the hospital. The guards were left alone and looked at each other, mentally cursing that youth these days liked to spread dog food [1].

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Footnotes:

[1] Couples doing PDA (Public display of affection)