Chapter 39

In the early hours of the morning, the airport terminal was brightly illuminated.

Due to weather conditions, many people were stranded here as their flights were delayed. Some were engaged in heated disputes with the staff at the service desk, drawing frequent glances from onlookers.

Wrapped in a coat, Zuo Mingran wore sunglasses and a mask, with a hat covering her head. She was bundled up tightly, resembling a walking clothes rack from a distance.

Shi Shuangxia was urgently handling work by her side, rescheduling all of Zuo Mingran's recent tasks. Anything that could be postponed was delayed, and anything that couldn't be delayed had to be dealt with as a breach of contract.

Fortunately, even in the late hours of the night, everyone had seen the instant news updates online and expressed understanding for their sudden change in plans.

Anqi held her phone and constantly refreshed the ticket booking website. Apart from trains, which were not available for travel at night due to the suspension of overnight high-speed rail services during the Spring Festival, it wasn't easy to temporarily book plane tickets, even in business class. Furthermore, with the uncertain departure time, no matter how much they wanted to return as soon as possible, all they could do was wait.

The argument on the other side came to an end, and Zuo Mingran pushed her sunglasses down. Her eyes were slightly red, filled with tears as if she had just cried. She lightly pressed her tired eyes, her voice hoarse as she asked, "Are there any recent tickets to go back?"

Anqi shook her head and worriedly said, "Sister Ran, don't worry. Didn't Assistant Wen already send a message to report his safety? Moreover, Mr. Yan definitely wouldn't want to see you like this."

The assistant Wen she mentioned was Wen Mo. An hour ago, the news of Yan Yunyang, the heir of Yan Corporation, being involved in a car accident on the highway quickly dominated the headlines of major media networks. They received a message from Wen Mo while still on the high-speed rail, and then got off the train before reaching their destination, preparing to return to City B.

Zuo Mingran held her phone in her hand, feeling it becoming warm. She sat up straight, resting her arms on her legs and lowering her head slightly. "It's alright, I'm just a little scared."

She had read various news online over and over again. Even though Wen Mo sent a message to confirm that Yan Yunyang was fine, without actually seeing him in person, she couldn't completely let go of her worries.

Anqi anxiously looked at her and said, "Sister Ran, why don't you get some rest? We can't leave right now anyway. If you get sick too, there won't be anyone to take care of Mr. Yan."

Unable to resist, Zuo Mingran unlocked her phone. The screen displayed the news coverage of this incident by certain marketing accounts, with the accompanying image being a photo of the accident scene.

A large truck abruptly blocked the middle of the road, with visible damage caused by the collision at the front. Beside it, another car with even more severe damage had crashed into the guardrail. The front half of the car was submerged in the thick snow on the side of the road, and the right half of the car had suffered serious impact, making it almost unrecognizable. Even though the license plate was obscured, Zuo Mingran could immediately recognize that it was the car Yan Yunyang usually drove.

Angie forcefully snatched the phone from her hand and said sternly, "Don't look at it. These media outlets will write anything for views."

It was late at night, and there were basically no major news stories, which led to this news quickly reaching the top of Weibo's hot search.

According to common sense, there are similar social news stories every day. Although Yan Yunyang is the heir of the Yan family, he shouldn't have become the number one hot search so quickly, and stayed on top for so long. Ultimately, it was because he was Zuo Mingran's husband.

Especially recently, fairy-tale-like love stories had been frequent among netizens, gaining a lot of attention. This made the level of focus on this matter skyrocket.

Zuo Mingran didn't chase after her phone when it was taken away. Instead, she put on sunglasses and closed her eyes to sleep.

After hours of continuous travel, her body was tired, but her mind was extremely clear. She could see the Weibo posts she had just seen scrolling through her mind, and she could guess the scene in her own comment section without even looking.

For such a big news story, except for those who were waiting at the B hospital, every media outlet hoped to be the first to contact Zuo Mingran. Shi Shuangxia's phone had received countless calls, and eventually, she just put it on silent mode and let those people call endlessly.

Their destination was decided on the spot, going directly to the airport after getting off the high-speed train. So, there was no media waiting for them.

However, this peace was only temporary. The media, who hadn't seen Zuo Mingran at the original train station, would definitely guess whether they got off early. Combining the time the accident occurred with the most convenient transportation location, it wasn't difficult to figure out where they went.

Shi Shuangxia had obviously considered this point and quickly made a decision, "Let's go to a nearby hotel first. Zhuang Bo will be waiting at the airport, and he will notify us if there's any news."

It was already 1 o'clock in the morning. After the initial panic from receiving the news, Zuo Mingran surprisingly became calm. They had been here for nearly twenty minutes already, and it would be even more difficult to leave once the media arrived in a short while.

After almost a day and night of heavy snowfall, there were signs of it stopping. Over an hour later, there were two vacant seats on the nearest flight to B City. So, Zuo Mingran and Shi Shuangxia left first, leaving Angie and Zhuang Bo to make a decision.

As expected, there were media waiting at B City Airport. What Zuo Mingran didn't expect was that, in addition to reporters, there was also a group of her fans waiting outside. When they saw her and Shi Shuangxia, even before the airport security could react, they rushed to the reporters and blocked their way, shouting, "Ranran, go quickly! President Yan needs you!"

"Ranran, keep going! We're all here for you!"

"Don't cry, Ranran!"

...

Zuo Mingran paused for a moment, looked up, bowed to them, and then quickly walked away.

Waiting to pick them up was Wen Mo. Zuo Mingran didn't know much about Yan Yunyang's assistant. After getting in the car, there was a moment of silence before Zuo Mingran tentatively asked, "How is he... Yan Yunyang?"

Since the accident until now, Wen Mo had been tirelessly busy for several hours. As Yan Yunyang's personal assistant, he needed to handle various matters as soon as possible, especially during such a crucial time. The exact cause of the accident was still unknown, and with various forces lurking, he had to be extra cautious.

Glancing through the rearview mirror, Wen Mo saw the young woman sitting in the back with light makeup. She appeared a bit tired, with a slight frown. The worry in her eyes was evident, but there was no panic.

Withdrawing his gaze, Wen Mo calmly said, "President Yan suffered minor injuries and is currently in the hospital."

Zuo Mingran furrowed her brows. "Why did the accident happen?"

Wen Mo replied, "The truck driver has been apprehended by the police and it seems to be his full responsibility. The specific cause still needs to be investigated."

Shi Shuangxia comforted Zuo Mingran, saying, "Since the person has been caught, they will definitely find out the truth."

Wen Mo added, "Ms. Liu was also in the car and suffered minor external injuries."

Zuo Mingran was taken aback. "Ms. Liu?"

Wen Mo hadn't previously told her about this. He explained, "Ms. Liu's identity is special, so we chose to keep it confidential from the media."

Zuo Mingran vaguely sensed that something was off. Liu Qinghe's identity, when revealed, was only Yan Yunyang's mother, so it was strange that they had gone to such lengths to hide this information. It was evident that there were other things she didn't know.

The late-night streets were quiet, and the sensation of the car wheels rolling over the snow was peculiar. Zuo Mingran suppressed her curiosity and took the opportunity to check her messages.

Due to the media's influence, the hospital where Yan Yunyang was located was a tightly guarded private hospital. From the moment the car entered the hospital gate until they reached the ward, not a single reporter jumped out.

Wen Mo whispered as they walked, "President Yan woke up once before and gave some instructions, as well as sent a message to his wife to assure her of his safety. The doctor said he may need a few more hours of rest, but there shouldn't be any major issues."

The late-night hospital was quiet, especially in the single-patient ward area where Yan Yunyang was. If it weren't for the sign hanging on the door, one could easily think they had entered a luxury hotel instead of a hospital.

Zuo Mingran asked, "Where is Ms. Liu?"

Wenmo replied, "She has been discharged from the hospital."

Just as they arrived in front of the ward, Wenmo turned around and said in a serious tone, "Madam, I still have some matters to attend to. I'll leave Mr. Yan to you."

Zuo Mingran pursed her lips, grabbed the door handle, and smiled at him slightly, "Don't worry, I'll take care of things here."

Although she wasn't clear about the conflicts and grudges between powerful families, she could tell from Wenmo's expression and Liu Qinghe's rushed discharge from the hospital that this car accident was not simple. However, since the other party didn't want to say more, she decided not to ask further.

The tightly closed door slowly opened, probably for the convenience of the doctors doing night rounds. The ward was still lit by a dim, small lamp, illuminating the area around the hospital bed. Yan Yunyang lay on the bed with closed eyes, his head wrapped in bandages and a slight trace of blood seeping through the gauze. His left arm was wrapped in thick bandages, and one leg was hanging high, giving him a somewhat ridiculous appearance.

Zuo Mingran felt her way forward a few steps and stopped about half a meter away from the hospital bed.

She had never seen Yan Yunyang in such a disheveled state, lying defenselessly on the hospital bed surrounded by cold machines, with even the light above his head pale in color.

Yan Yunyang was the first person she had seen since coming to this world. Unlike her understanding of other people, this man, who only had fragments of memories and existed only in other people's words, was something she had only seen and heard before, not from the rigid impressions in the book.

She had never thought that she would become entangled with a character from a novel, and that the more she got involved, the deeper she would sink.

Looking around, there was no suitable chair, so Zuo Mingran simply took off her coat and laid it on the ground, sitting by the bedside like that.

It was already 6 o'clock in the morning, and winter dawn always arrived late. Zuo Mingran leaned on the edge of the hospital bed, afraid that she wouldn't know when Yan Yunyang woke up.

Finally seeing a person, her tense nerves finally had a chance to relax. The heating in the ward made her feel drowsy, and Zuo Mingran didn't even know when she fell asleep. It wasn't until the sunlight hit her face the next day that she realized she didn't know when she had been moved to the sofa, with a blanket covering her.

Memories quickly flooded back, and she jumped up from the sofa in a panic, exclaiming, "Where's Yan Yunyang?"

A light laughter came from behind her, "I'm right here."

Zuo Mingran's face turned red, she stiffly turned around, and Yan Yunyang was half lying on the hospital bed, smiling slightly at her.

There was this advantage to being good-looking. Even with gauze wrapped around his head, bandages on his arms, and a leg hanging, one could still see through the appearance to the essence.

Zuo Mingran was extremely embarrassed. She had said she would take care of him, but she didn't even know when he had woken up. She took a few steps forward and asked, "When did you wake up?"

"It's been a while," Yan Yunyang closed his laptop. "Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"

Translation:

Zuo Mingran was extremely embarrassed. She had said she would take care of him, but she didn't even know when he had woken up. She took a few steps forward and asked, "When did you wake up?"

"It's been a while," Yan Yunyang closed his laptop. "Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"

Upon being reminded, Zuo Mingran suddenly realized that she was famished to the point of her stomach sticking to her back. "A little bit. Have you eaten? What would you like to eat? I can go buy it."

Yan Yunyang waved at her, causing Zuo Mingran to pause for a moment before walking over and sitting at the edge of the hospital bed. However, her back remained straight, as if supported by a steel plate.

It was the first time the two of them had been this intimate. Yan Yunyang propped himself up with one hand on the bed and gently leaned on her shoulder. Finally, he sighed and said, "I'm fortunate to have you by my side."

No one knew what emotions were running through his mind when he turned the steering wheel in that split second before the truck barreled towards him. But when he woke up from the endless darkness and saw Zuo Mingran sleeping beside him, it felt as if there was no longer a need for answers, as if everything had already been answered.

I'm fortunate to have you by my side.