Chapter 5: You are not allowed to leave! General, I won’t let you leave!

Along with the mechanical voice’s reminder, Yi Lan’s chest began to ache with a stabbing pain.

The white mist under her oxygen mask thickened.

Seeing that her reassurances were failing, Jiang Wenting hurriedly pressed the call bell beside her.

Medical staff and Captain Lu’s team rushed in at once.

The doctor pushed Jiang Wenting behind him and stepped forward to do an examination.

He breathed a small sigh of relief upon finding nothing seriously wrong and reported to Captain Lu, “It’s nothing, the patient is just a bit emotionally unstable. I’ll give her a tranquilizer.”

Captain Lu glanced at Jiang Wenting.

“In that case, Ms. Jiang, perhaps you should step out for a moment?”

“Oh,” Jiang Wenting responded with a hint of disappointment.

She was about to leave when she realized her shirt collar had been clenched tightly in Yi Lan’s hand at some point.

The back of Yi Lan’s hand, with the IV drip, was swollen from the force, and the needle was nearly pushed out.

She hesitated for a moment and looked at Captain Lu.

Captain Lu didn’t know what to do either and looked at the doctor.

The doctor said, “It’s fine, let Ms. Jiang stay. It will be a while before the director gets here, and it’s not convenient for you men to take care of her.”

Captain Lu nodded and didn’t try to send Jiang Wenting away again.

Under the effect of the tranquilizer, Yi Lan’s thoughts gradually cleared.

She raised her eyes, looked at Jiang Wenting, and gasped for breath.

“Jiang Wenting, this general… does… does not permit you to leave…”

Seventy thousand heroic souls had died.

She had yet to settle the score with her, how could she let her leave so easily!

Jiang Wenting had been feeling a bit disheartened, but now seeing the other person ask her to stay, she quickly went up and took her hand.

“I won’t go, I won’t go. I’ll stay right here and take care of you, okay?”

The other’s fingertips were ice-cold, and her fingers and palms were calloused.

Jiang Wenting had noticed this earlier.

She gently smoothed out her clenched hand, and the liquid in her veins resumed its flow.

Jiang Wenting leaned over and tried to stroke her head.

Her beautiful peach blossom eyes tilted slightly upwards, and the mole at the corner of her eye seemed even softer.

But this softness was different from the softness in Yi Lan’s memory.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on how.

She stared into her eyes for a few seconds, but her stomach rumbled from prolonged hunger.

Jiang Wenting was surprised for a moment, then realized.

Her natural eyebrows arched slightly as she teased, “Hmm? Hungry? Shall I go get you something to eat?”

Yi Lan didn’t speak.

She closed her eyes and ignored her.

Captain Lu immediately interjected, “Xiao Liu went out to buy some daily necessities. I’ll have him bring some food back!”

He asked the doctor, “What can she eat now?”

“Some liquid food is fine, as light as possible. Small, frequent meals,” the doctor explained.

“Her stomach hasn’t had food for a long time. If she eats too much at once, she might not be able to handle it, so we need to be a little careful in the beginning.”

Captain Lu called Xiao Liu and told him to bring some millet porridge.

After Yi Lan’s breathing stabilized, she no longer needed the oxygen mask.

The doctor removed the mask, gave a few instructions, and went to attend to other matters.

As a man, Captain Lu felt it was inappropriate to stay in the room.

After a few words of request, he also left.

Only Jiang Wenting and Yi Lan were left in the room.

The marks from the oxygen mask were deep on Yi Lan’s cheeks.

Jiang Wenting washed a towel with hot water and applied it to her face.

Afterward, seeing that her lips were also very dry, she found some light saltwater and a cotton swab to help wipe them.

Her movements were very gentle.

Yi Lan felt the moisture on her lips and cooperatively stuck out her tongue for a light lick.

The pink tip of her tongue flickered like a small snake’s, and Jiang Wenting was charmed by her casual action.

“So cute! Baby,” she said, looking at her with gentle eyes.

“How can you be so well-behaved?”

Yi Lan was a bit embarrassed by being called “baby” and averted her gaze.

She had always been thin-skinned, but this woman, Jiang Wenting, always bullied her like this, shameless, like the summer sun, roasting her, leaving her nowhere to hide.

Knock, knock, knock…

Yi Lan’s thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door.

She became vigilant.

Seeing this, Jiang Wenting quickly put down the cotton swab and patted her comfortingly.

“Don’t be afraid, Yi Lan. It’s probably Captain Lu having someone deliver food. I’ll go get it!”

Her tense heart relaxed with the other’s reassurance.

Only then did she realize that even after being deceived countless times, she would still subconsciously trust this woman.

She felt helpless at her own actions.

But on second thought, in this situation, what choice did she have but to trust?

She was like a cripple, lying on this bed without a shred of strength.

It would be as easy as flipping a hand for them to take her life.

She closed her eyes again, restraining herself from exposing her final vulnerability to these strangers.

Jiang Wenting opened the door and saw Officer Xiao Liu standing there with large and small bags.

“Ms. Jiang, Captain Lu asked me to deliver some daily necessities,” he said, weighing the porridge in his hand.

“And this. Captain Lu said to trouble you to feed it to her. We have already notified the director of Yunshan Hospital. She should be here in about an hour.”

Jiang Wenting politely took the porridge and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her.”

Seeing Jiang Wenting’s gentle demeanor, Officer Xiao Liu directly changed his form of address to “Teacher Jiang.”

“Teacher Jiang, you are really so kind. I thought actors of your status were all rather… you know…”

Jiang Wenting was amused by his words.

“How could that be? We are all ordinary people.”

A few simple sentences closed the distance between them.

Xiao Liu glanced at the shopping bags in his hand.

“These things…”

Jiang Wenting freed one hand.

“Give them to me, I’ll take them in. She’s a bit shy around strangers.”

“Then thank you, Teacher Jiang,” he said, pointing to the window at the end of the hallway.

“Captain Lu and I will be over there. Call us if you need anything.”

Jiang Wenting agreed, and the ward door was gently closed.

Their conversation fell word for word into Yi Lan’s ears, but she still couldn’t understand the so-called status and actor, or that strange form of address.

He said Jiang Wenting was kind, but she didn’t think so.

A kind person would not push their closest companion into a state of eternal damnation.

Jiang Wenting placed the shopping bags on the shelf, walked over with the insulated bag, and said cheerfully, “Soft, fragrant, and sweet millet porridge is here! No good, no charge~”

The other person didn’t react.

Jiang Wenting leaned closer, her hands braced on the side of the hospital bed, and looked at her up close, smiling.

She coaxed in a child-like tone, “Why are you ignoring me? Hmm?”

Her gaze wasn’t flirtatious, but Yi Lan was still scorched by it and averted her eyes.

Jiang Wenting raised the hospital bed a little, opened the insulated bag, took out the millet porridge inside, stirred it gently, and scooped a spoonful to test the temperature before feeding it to her.

“Here, have a bite!”

Yi Lan pressed her lips together, showing resistance to her food.

“Be good, listen to me. After you drink the porridge, your tummy won’t rumble,” Jiang Wenting brought the porridge in her hand closer to her lips and demonstrated by opening her mouth.

“Ah~”

Yi Lan: …

How could someone be so shameless?

After doing so many guilty things, she was still playing dumb here.

Did she think a single mouthful of porridge could fool her?

Even if she, Yi Lan, starved to death, she would never eat food offered by her enemy.

As the two were in a standoff, the phone in Jiang Wenting’s back pocket vibrated.

She glanced behind her and urged with the spoon, “Hurry up, take a bite so I can answer the phone.”

As if possessed, Yi Lan actually opened her mouth, accepted the porridge, and swallowed it slowly.

The phone in her pocket was still vibrating.

Jiang Wenting scooped another spoonful, blew on it briefly by her lips, trying her best to appear anxious and urgent.

The other person accepted it as well, even swallowing faster.

After finding the pattern, Jiang Wenting scooped a third spoonful.

Just as she was about to blow on it, the phone stopped vibrating.

Her fingertips holding the spoon paused for a moment.

She continued to blow on the porridge in the spoon and brought it to the other’s lips.

Yi Lan refused it this time.

—Sigh!

Jiang Wenting sighed in her heart.

The embarrassment of being found out overflowed in her eyes but was quickly hidden.

She looked at her and chuckled sheepishly, “One more bite?”

Yi Lan glared at her and ignored her.

—Good thing she ate two bites!

Jiang Wenting placed the porridge on the bedside table, took out her phone to check.

It was a call from the director, probably about the filming.

Jiang Wenting hesitated for a moment and called back.

The director first politely expressed his concern for her, then confirmed when the unfinished scene could be filmed.

Jiang Wenting truthfully told the director about the situation here, and the filming was postponed to the day after tomorrow afternoon.

Fortunately, she was just making a guest appearance this time.

The role of the Flower Goddess didn’t have many scenes.

She died at the beginning, and the rest were just flashback scenes, which were relatively easy to film.

Besides, with her current status, the director really couldn’t say much to her.

As soon as they hung up, a voice call from Xiao Ru came through.

Jiang Wenting rubbed her temples and answered.

A torrent of words drilled into her eardrums.

She subconsciously cleaned her ear and held the phone a little further away.

The other person’s voice overflowed from the receiver.

“Jiang Wenting, is your sympathy overflowing? Or do you have too much time on your hands with nowhere to spend it?!”

“Hiss,” Jiang Wenting sucked in a breath of cold air and lowered her voice to persuade, “Quiet down, Xiao Ru, Captain Lu is right beside me.”

Although the other party was not satisfied, she still cooperated by lowering her voice.

“Jiang Wenting, that madwoman hurt you!”

Jiang Wenting explained with a smile, “Aiya, it wasn’t on purpose. She just got a little too into the drama she’s been watching lately. Besides, aren’t I fine?”

“Fine, fine, your neck was almost slit!” Xiao Ru scolded lightly before asking, “Which hospital? Send me the location, I’ll come pick you up!”

“Ah, there’s no need…”

Jiang Wenting hesitated.

The other person’s tone hardened.

“Send it!”

She said “oh,” her slender fingertips tapping the screen to share her location.

The other side received the location and hung up with a click.

Jiang Wenting took a deep breath, picked up the food container on the bedside table again, and gently touched the edge of the box with her hand.

“Ah, the temperature is just right. Have a little more, okay?”

Yi Lan gave her a cold glance and questioned, “Who was that person you were just talking to?”

She spoke in a very archaic manner.

It took Jiang Wenting a few seconds to react.

“Oh, you mean Xiao Ru? She’s my assistant.”

“Assistant?” Yi Lan repeated the unfamiliar word thoughtfully and asked in return, “Are you afraid of her?”

Afraid?

Not really, but she felt a lot of pressure when it came to her friend’s concern.

But she didn’t want to show it in front of Yi Lan, so she tried to cover it up with an awkward smile.

“No, I’m her boss. What do I have to be afraid of her for?”

“Boss?” Yi Lan still didn’t quite understand.

After thinking for a moment, she asked again, “Then do you have any leverage on her? The assassination attempt at Biluo Peak before? Was that also at her instruction?”

Jiang Wenting: ‘Biluo Peak? Assassination? What’s going on?’