Chapter 69: The Clamor
“You’re unwilling to leave?” The old man’s face turned completely cold as he questioned Jiang Yu.
“I want to wait until Han Cheng wakes up,” Jiang Yu replied without backing down, his attitude firm.
The old man frowned and stared at Jiang Yu for a while. Jiang Yu remained silent. The old man suddenly snorted coldly, sat down in a chair, and stopped paying him any attention.
Jiang Yu couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief. The old man was far more overbearing than Han Cheng.
The atmosphere cooled, and no one spoke. After two and a half hours of surgery, the red light above the operating room finally turned green.
An elderly doctor came out, his face full of fatigue. When he saw the old man, his spirits instantly lifted.
The old man seemed to know the doctor as well. Anxious yet composed, he asked, “President Wang, how is Han Cheng?”
President Wang smiled and nodded. “He’s been saved.” Then his expression suddenly grew serious. “However, he’s not out of danger yet.
“Two ribs are broken. The fractured ribs injured part of his left lung. When his head hit the ground, it was struck as well—there’s still a hematoma in his brain, pressing on some nerves. We can’t operate on the brain lightly; we can only rely on his body to slowly absorb the blood clot on its own.
But please rest assured—we will do everything our hospital can to ensure Han Cheng recovers to the same level of health as before.”
“Then I’ll leave him in your hands. You must cure him,” the old man sighed, seeming to age several years in an instant. The domineering old man who had faced Jiang Yu now sounded almost pleading toward President Wang.
Han Cheng was wheeled out. Jiang Yu wanted to follow, but the secretary behind the old man stopped him.
The secretary clearly disliked Jiang Yu and used some force, pushing him so that he staggered and nearly fell.
Meng Zhao reacted quickly and steadied Jiang Yu, glaring coldly at the secretary’s back.
Sensing Meng Zhao’s killing intent, the secretary suddenly turned around, moved closer to the old man protectively, and stared at Meng Zhao warily. Earlier, he hadn’t paid attention to this young man at all—he hadn’t expected him to be an expert.
Shielded by the secretary, the old man frowned and looked back, spotting Meng Zhao facing off against him.
After sizing Meng Zhao up for a moment, the old man said, “You’re Meng Zhang’s son, aren’t you? You’re quite good. Stay by Han Cheng’s side and don’t make mistakes for the sake of unimportant people.”
“President Han told me to protect Jiang Yu. That’s my task right now,” Meng Zhao said, staring at the secretary, clearly unhappy about the shove just now.
“Do as you like.” The old man had no interest in Meng Zhao’s stance. He looked at Jiang Yu and said, “Don’t follow. If you don’t want to leave, then go somewhere else and stay there. Before Han Cheng wakes up, I don’t want to see you. You’re of no use here anyway.”
With that, the old man directly ordered Jiang Yu away. Jiang Yu chased after them a few steps, unwilling to leave, but the secretary blocked him again, reaching out to push him. Meng Zhao grabbed the secretary’s wrist and stepped in front of Jiang Yu.
The secretary twisted his wrist in a flourish, broke free from Meng Zhao, took a few steps back, and glared at him as he warned Jiang Yu, “Don’t follow, or I won’t be polite.”
“Heh. You can try,” Meng Zhao shot back defiantly.
The secretary narrowed his eyes and planted himself in the corridor, his aura steadily rising. Standing behind Meng Zhao, Jiang Yu felt as if a gust of wind were gathering around him. The two looked on the verge of breaking into a fight.
This was a hospital, not a place for brawling. Jiang Yu grabbed Meng Zhao’s arm and said, “Forget it. I won’t go. Let’s leave.”
The old man wasn’t wrong—going there wouldn’t help anyway. It would be better to wait until Han Cheng woke up.
Meng Zhao allowed Jiang Yu to pull him away, though he kept turning back to look at the secretary. Not getting to fight made the kid feel a bit regretful.
Jiang Yu didn’t leave the hospital. He stayed at a small nearby inn, coming to the hospital every day and watching Han Cheng’s ward from afar. The secretary and Meng Zhao locked eyes in daily standoffs.
Han Li returned that very evening. She shot Jiang Yu a glare outside the ward and then rushed inside. Jiang Yu was still blocked outside by the secretary. Every time Han Li came out, she would glare at Jiang Yu again and toss out a few sarcastic remarks.
Jiang Yu didn’t care. Through the crack of the door when Han Li came out, he could even catch glimpses of Han Cheng lying on the bed—eyes tightly closed, completely motionless.
On the fifth day of Han Cheng’s hospitalization, a group of people suddenly charged in. Meng Zhao shielded Jiang Yu, the secretary blocked the group, and for once, the two finally had eyes for someone other than each other.
“Is Han Cheng dead or not?”
“Why are you stopping us? We’re here to see our nephew—who do you think you are to block us?”
“Han Cheng’s been unconscious for days. The company’s in chaos. If this keeps up, the company’s going to collapse.”
“Where’s my dad? I want to see my dad. The company needs to choose a new CEO.”
A crowd surrounded the secretary, shouting over one another. Everyone had their own agenda—no one was truly concerned about Han Cheng.
The entire corridor instantly turned into a marketplace. Even Jiang Yu found it noisy. Doctors and nurses came out to take a look, but upon seeing it was the Han family, none of them dared to step in.
No one knew what the old man was doing inside Han Cheng’s room. He let the Han family quarrel for a long time before finally opening the door and slowly stepping out.
“What are you all making such a racket about?” The old man’s voice wasn’t loud, yet it instantly silenced the Han family.
Just moments ago they’d been shouting at the top of their lungs, but under the old man’s gaze, no one dared to speak first.
“What’s wrong? Weren’t you all shouting so happily just now? Who was it that asked whether Han Cheng was dead?”
The group collectively turned to look at a middle-aged woman dripping with jewels.
The old man’s gaze drifted over to her. She took a few steps back, trembling as she said, “I was just worried about Han Cheng. I didn’t mean anything else.”
“Get inside. All of you. Stop embarrassing yourselves out here,” the old man barked.
At his command, the group filed noisily into the ward.
Han family gossip was not to be missed. Outside the ward, one curious patient leaned in first, and soon a whole crowd of doctors, nurses, patients, and family members swarmed over.
The hospital ward doors weren’t soundproof. Jiang Yu tried to squeeze closer but couldn’t get in. Then he suddenly heard the old man roar from inside:
“I’m not dead yet! None of you is touching Han Cheng’s position. Look at the sorry state of each and every one of you—do any of you actually have the ability to run the Han Group properly?”
Everyone eavesdropping outside the door shuddered in unison at the sudden outburst. It was clear just how furious the old man was.
“Who says I can’t? I’m a PhD graduate in finance. It’s Grandpa who’s playing favorites!” A young man’s furious shout made the gossiping crowd outside even more excited.
“Shi Lei, get everyone out of here,” the old man roared again a moment later.
The ward door was suddenly thrown open. The people pressed up against it tumbled inside in a heap, while those who hadn’t fallen scattered instantly like startled birds. In the blink of an eye, the corridor was empty—except for Jiang Yu and Meng Zhao.
“Get out. All of you!” the old man shouted once more. The secretary drove both the gossipers and the Han family members out.
After closing the door, the secretary extended a hand, his face cold. “Please leave.”
“This is too much—absolutely too much. The old man has gone too far,” the jewel-laden woman complained indignantly. “Yao has higher academic credentials than Han Cheng, yet the old man refuses to give Yao a chance.”
“The old man’s just afraid Yao’s too capable, afraid he’ll steal Han Cheng’s spotlight and outshine him. If that happened, the old man wouldn’t be able to keep protecting Han Cheng anymore.
Han Yao, how’s that entertainment company of yours coming along? You must achieve something—outdo Han Cheng’s entertainment company and make the old man see you in a new light.”
“I know, Dad. Don’t worry. I’m handling the paperwork right now. The company will be up and running very soon.”
“Nephew, Third Uncle supports you too. When you push Han Cheng aside, remember to leave a spot in the company for your cousin.
Third Uncle doesn’t need any key position—just let your cousin have somewhere to coast. Otherwise she’s got nothing to do all day and only causes trouble.
Han Cheng is such a miser—he never gives your cousin a chance.”
“Don’t worry, Third Uncle. My company’s just starting up and needs all kinds of talent. I think Cousin’s so pretty—why not let her debut directly? She can be my company’s first artist.”
“Be a star? I’ll go back and ask her.”
