Chapter 21: Retreat

The two walked out after dinner; the sky was already dark.
Streetlights illuminated the area, and vehicles streamed by, their headlights twinkling like stars.
Jiang Wenting pushed Yi Lan, and the two strolled through the unique cityscape of the night.

“Yi Lan,” she called her name amidst the noise.

The person in the wheelchair turned her head.

Jiang Wenting smiled, her eyes obscured by sunglasses, only her slightly upturned lips visible.

“Do you feel better after coming out to eat?” she asked.

Yi Lan pursed her lips in silence, her eyes hidden by long lashes, showing no emotion.
After a moment, she turned her gaze forward, looking into the dark night.

Jiang Wenting continued pushing the wheelchair forward.
Passing a toy store on the street, a little girl tugged at her parent, walking into the store, her voice sugary: “Mommy, Mommy, I want that toy water gun!”

The parent said: “A little girl, what do you want a toy gun for?
It’s not ladylike at all!”

The child turned to argue with her mother: “Who says a little girl has to be ladylike?
I want a toy water gun!
I want it!
I want it!”

Jiang Wenting was amused by this scene.
She suddenly recalled the sight of Yi Lan resting under the sun, holding a cake bag, when she found her earlier in the day.
Yi Lan had said she went out to look for her gun, and only bought the cake when she passed a pastry shop.
Jiang Wenting had asked if she found her gun, and the other party had said no, her gaze indifferent.

But for some reason, thinking of that scene now, she still felt so touched.

“Yi Lan, wait for me here!” Jiang Wenting stopped the wheelchair by the side.
Before Yi Lan could react, she rushed into the store.

Yi Lan’s gaze followed, watching her faintly visible back.

Soon, Jiang Wenting ran out, carrying a toy water gun and a large bottle of mineral water.

“Here, for you!” She handed the water gun to Yi Lan, her eyes sparkling like stars, hidden by the sunglasses.

Yi Lan looked at the colorful object with a hint of confusion, then slowly raised her eyes.

“You were looking for your gun earlier, weren’t you?
This is also a gun, but its nature is different from yours,” Jiang Wenting explained.
“Yours is for stabbing, and you could accidentally hurt someone.
This one is for holding water, it’s very safe to use, and it’s also very fun!”

Yi Lan: ???

Seeing the other party utterly bewildered, Jiang Wenting unscrewed the mineral water cap, detached the water gun’s water container, and poured some water from the bottle into it.

Yi Lan watched her actions, her eyes unblinking.

Jiang Wenting attached the water container to the water gun, pretended to raise the gun, and shot at the trees opposite them.
The water gun made a “choo-choo” sound, and water sprayed onto the tree branches, accompanied by blue and purple lights.

Yi Lan’s eyes were wide with fascination.

Jiang Wenting stopped shooting and put the gun into the other party’s hand: “Come, I’ll show you how to use it!”

Yi Lan had not yet emerged from her state of shock.
Jiang Wenting used both hands to guide hers, adjusting her posture, then pressed the spray button.
The blue and purple lights lit up again, and water sprayed out like a fountain.

The “choo-choo-choo” sound attracted the attention of some passersby, which Jiang Wenting, absorbed in playing, did not notice.

She released her fingers, the spray button returned to its original position, and the water gun stopped firing.

“Come on, try it yourself!” Jiang Wenting removed her hands from the other party’s, and her peach blossom eyes, beneath the sunglasses, curved.
Her smile appeared bright and dazzling in the night.

Yi Lan hesitated for a few seconds before her gaze fell on the spray trigger.
Before she could act, a person suddenly approached, holding a phone, and snapped a picture right in front of Jiang Wenting’s face.

Jiang Wenting felt the sudden click of the shutter and instinctively raised her arm to shield her face.

“Jiang Wenting, it’s really Jiang Wenting!” The person who took the photo shouted loudly.
Everyone looked over at the sound.

Jiang Wenting had a bad feeling.
She gripped the wheelchair handles, ready to leave.
By this time, a few more passersby had gathered, and seeing her face under the sunglasses, they all raised their phones, snapping pictures of her face while shouting: “Jiang Wenting, Jiang Wenting!”

She tried to push the wheelchair forward, but they were already surrounded by more and more onlookers.

“Excuse me, coming through!” Jiang Wenting’s voice trembled slightly from nervousness.

The onlookers continued filming, some even rudely turning on their flash.

Jiang Wenting had nowhere to hide.
Her fingertips, gripping the handles, turned white.
Just as the crowd was about to surge forward, Yi Lan on the wheelchair suddenly stood up, held the gun with one hand, swung it into the air, and a cold voice abruptly appeared: “All of you, back off!”

She stood in front of Jiang Wenting, her sharp phoenix eyes fixed on the crowd.

Years of martial prowess made her aura fully unleash at that moment.
Even holding a toy water gun, she could make those around her shiver.

The surging crowd of onlookers froze.

: “Step back!”

Following that step, everyone else also retreated, finally creating some distance between the onlookers and the wheelchair.
Some had started recording videos.
Yi Lan parted her lips slightly, facing the onlookers.

Before the other party could react, someone booed: “Ah, what’s going on?
Are even big stars’ entourages so ill-mannered?”

Along with the boo, the retreating crowd once again raised their phones, relentlessly filming Jiang Wenting’s face.

Jiang Wenting completely panicked, shielding her face with her arm while begging, “Please, everyone, stop filming, okay?”

Yi Lan, with one long arm outstretched, firmly shielded Jiang Wenting behind her.
Then, she pulled the water gun’s trigger, aiming at the person who had just booed.
The crowd screamed.

The water in the water gun quickly ran out.
The onlookers were still surging forward.
Yi Lan clenched her fist and swung it towards the crowd.
Her movements were skilled and practiced.
The onlookers in front of her were scattered.
They retreated to a greater distance, continuing to film with their phones.

Yi Lan wanted to continue fighting, but Jiang Wenting embraced her from behind.

The two were surrounded and gawked at by passersby like monkeys.
Jiang Wenting had experienced such scenes countless times.
She was timid and scared, yet she had to find a shred of clarity in the shortest possible time.

She took out her phone and called Xiao Ru, calmly explaining her situation and asking if she could come pick them up.

Xiao Ru yelled on the other end of the phone, scolding her a few times before hanging up.

After a while, security personnel arrived and dispersed the crowd.
Jiang Wenting was escorted back to the hospital.
In a state of numbness and dullness, she called Xiao Ru again to explain the situation.

Xiao Ru kept scolding her over the phone.
Jiang Wenting listened while pushing the wheelchair forward.

Yi Lan’s condition was not good.
The previous fight had drained all her strength.
She was now lying in the wheelchair, gasping for breath, her chest aching terribly.
She pressed her hand against it, her vision a thick black, yet she remained conscious, alert to her surroundings.

Fortunately, the hospital was close.
The security personnel brought them back to the ward.
Jiang Wenting thanked them.
After they left, she gently lifted the pale Yi Lan onto the hospital bed, stroking the hair soaked with sweat, and comforting her: “It’s okay, Yi Lan, they just took some pictures of us at most, and will post them online.
They wouldn’t really hurt us, don’t worry, okay!”

Her voice returned to its usual gentleness, feigning an air of nonchalance, even though she knew that overwhelming rumors were about to engulf her in the next moment.

Soon, Xiao Ru rushed over.
She burst through the door, disregarded Jiang Wenting’s attempts to stop her, and charged directly to the bedside, pointing at Yi Lan’s nose and shouting furiously: “What the hell is wrong with you?!
Again and again!
All her hard work for so many years, all because of your one sentence, it’s all ruined!
All ruined, do you understand?!”

She glared at Yi Lan through gritted teeth, practically wanting to slap her face.

Jiang Wenting stepped forward, pulling her back: “Xiao Ru, don’t talk to her like that.
She was just trying to protect me.”

“Protect?” The wide-eyed person turned, looked at Jiang Wenting, and scoffed, “Jiang Wenting, you call that protection?”

Jiang Wenting didn’t respond.

The other party became even more aggressive: “You didn’t die from all those rumors before, and now you still want to be protected, is that it?”

“Xiao Ru,” the past was unbearable, and Jiang Wenting didn’t want to bring it up, so she called her name.

The other party was relentless: “What, you don’t dare to mention those past rotten affairs, do you?
Didn’t you move on?
Didn’t you want to be protected?
Then why…”

Before she could finish, there was a knock on the ward door from outside.

“Jiang Jiang…”

It was Beiye and Shen Jinglan.
News spread quickly online, and upon seeing the videos, the two rushed over immediately.

Jiang Wenting no longer paid attention to Xiao Ru, going to open the door herself.
Beiye and Shen Jinglan walked in, and Xiao Ru stood with a cold face.
The atmosphere in the room was awkward.

Beiye saw the weary-faced Yi Lan, walked over, and smiled as she stroked her head: “Yi Lan, you’re amazing, you protected our Jiang Jiang so well!”

Shen Jinglan looked at Jiang Wenting: “Are you okay?”

Jiang Wenting shook her head: “I’m fine, Lan Jie.”

Shen Jinglan hummed faintly and cut to the chase: “I’ll help you post an explanation on Weibo about what’s online later, but it might not have much effect.
You need to be mentally prepared.”

Jiang Wenting’s peach blossom eyes curved slightly, and she said in a relaxed tone: “Alright, then I’ll piggyback on Lan Jie’s popularity again.
Thank you, Lan Jie.”

Seeing this, Beiye leaned in and hugged her: “It’s okay, Jiang Jiang, we’re all here, and aren’t you a top Film Empress now?
Those idle gossips online won’t affect you at all.
Relax!”

She held her, patting her continuously, like comforting a child.

Jiang Wenting was amused: “Alright, Lan Jie is still here!”

Shen Jinglan: “No matter, you two hug.
I just won’t look.”

Jiang Wenting: …

Her cold, humorous CEO demeanor was indeed hard for ordinary people to grasp, but the atmosphere certainly lightened considerably.

Beiye was pulled away by Jiang Wenting.
She didn’t care about anything, pulling Jiang Wenting’s arm and rambling like a clown.

“Oh my god, I’m going to die laughing.
Jiang Jiang, how did you come up with buying Yi Lan a toy water gun?
You two are really something, one dared to buy, one dared to play.
That scene of Yi Lan spraying that person with the water gun, I even want to screenshot it to use as an emoji!”

She looked at Shen Jinglan: “Wifey, next time you get mobbed by passersby, remember to call me, I’ll spray them with a water gun for you!”

Shen Jinglan nodded expressionlessly: “Mm.”