Chapter 70: Exposed
[Han Cheng in a car accident, in a coma—Han Group leaderless.]
Not long after the Han family left, the trending searches exploded. Han Cheng had been hospitalized for five days without a word leaking out, yet the moment the Han family left, the topic shot to the top of the charts. There was no need to think—it was obvious someone had paid for the trend.
The old man was so furious his face looked worn and exhausted. He hurried out of the hospital. Before leaving, he shot Jiang Yu a glance but had no time to deal with him.
Although the old man left, many bodyguards were still stationed outside Han Cheng’s ward. Han Li called Aunt Chen in to take care of Han Cheng and still didn’t allow Jiang Yu inside.
As the trending news broke, Han Cheng’s condition became nationwide gossip. Paparazzi suddenly swarmed the hospital; some even obtained surveillance footage from the time of the accident. Jiang Yu was exposed as well.
Unable to photograph Han Cheng, the paparazzi set their sights on Jiang Yu instead.
Jiang Yu was cornered by a group of them right at the hospital, bombarded with questions about his relationship with Han Cheng. Caught off guard and afraid of saying the wrong thing, Jiang Yu didn’t answer. Protected by Meng Zhao, he fled in a panic.
The small inn was no longer safe, so Jiang Yu had no choice but to hide at the seaside villa.
Jiang Yu’s silence led to all kinds of speculation online, but the most prevalent theory was that he was being kept by Han Cheng.
After all, Han Cheng’s romantic history was long enough to fill a book. No one believed there could be any true love between Han Cheng and Jiang Yu.
However, Jiang Yu’s small group of fans refused to believe he was that kind of person and stubbornly argued back against the rumors.
Then, all of a sudden, some major influencers swore confidently that Jiang Yu was indeed being kept by Han Cheng. They claimed that every bit of insider gossip they revealed had truly happened. Even Jiang Yu was shocked by how these people knew about things between him and Han Cheng behind closed doors.
Overnight, the claim that Jiang Yu was being kept by Han Cheng was “hammered solid” as fact.
“It’s all because of you. Those bastards found dirt on Han Cheng and are now forcing my grandpa to remove him from his position. You’re nothing but a jinx,” Han Li called three times a day to curse Jiang Yu out.
“How is Han Cheng?” Jiang Yu didn’t care about her insults. In fact, he looked forward to her calls every day.
Because she was the only person he could get news about Han Cheng from. Every time Jiang Yu tried to call her himself, she would hang up.
“That’s none of your damn business. You’d better stay far away from my brother. This time, I’m not leaving after I come back. I will make Han Cheng dump you.”
Han Li hung up viciously. Jiang Yu frowned. It had already been ten days—why hadn’t Han Cheng woken up yet?
Jiang Yu couldn’t go to the hospital. A crowd of paparazzi camped at the entrance of the villa complex. At first they still tried to hide, but as their numbers grew, they stopped bothering and openly blocked the gate, waiting for Jiang Yu to come out.
Even though Jiang Yu didn’t leave the house, the paparazzi found ways to get into the complex—knocking on his door in the middle of the night, climbing over his walls, even smashing his windows, all just to get an interview.
Fortunately, Meng Zhao was with him. Batch after batch of paparazzi were caught and taken away, but they didn’t care. If they couldn’t interview Jiang Yu, they simply aimed their cameras at his house and took photos nonstop.
Jiang Yu’s seaside villa was exposed, and some highly capable people quickly dug up the ownership details. Han Cheng had long since transferred the villa into Jiang Yu’s name, yet these people somehow even found the transaction records.
When they discovered the villa had been transferred from Han Cheng to Jiang Yu, everyone went wild. They thought they’d found solid evidence, further confirming that Jiang Yu was being kept by Han Cheng.
Jiang Yu was dug up online from head to toe, subjected to cyberbullying, and harassed by paparazzi in real life. He didn’t even know who to turn to for help.
Looking at the shattered glass smashed by the paparazzi, Jiang Yu sat on the sofa, lost and helpless. He suddenly realized that although Han Cheng had been a bastard in the first two years, in the four years after that, he had protected him very well—taken very good care of him.
He’d been sheltered like a canary in a gilded cage. Faced with something like this, he had no idea how to handle it.
He had also called Sister Bai, but she told him bluntly that the old man was temporarily managing the company now, and she had been warned not to help Jiang Yu.
The only person he could ask for help had refused him. At this moment, Jiang Yu had never missed Han Cheng so much.
Another five days passed. The constant harassment from the paparazzi had Jiang Yu on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Early one morning, dark circles under his eyes, he still had to endure another round of scolding from Han Li. In the split second before Han Li hung up, Jiang Yu suddenly heard a familiar voice.
Jiang Yu jolted awake.
Jiang Yu would never mistake Han Cheng’s voice. That had definitely been Han Cheng.
Han Cheng had woken up? He needed to go to the hospital—he couldn’t stay home and wait anymore.
Scratching his messy hair, Jiang Yu asked Meng Zhao, “Han Cheng seems to have woken up. I want to go to the hospital. Is there any way you can get me there?”
“No need to go. Someone will come pick you up soon,” Meng Zhao said, looking at his phone.
Jiang Yu was puzzled. “What do you mean? Who’s coming to get me?”
Meng Zhao hadn’t rested well these past few days either; the young man looked several years older. At this moment, he smiled a little more relaxed. “President Han is awake and wants to see you. The old man couldn’t argue it anymore and said he’d send a car to pick you up shortly.”
“Han Cheng really woke up! I didn’t hear wrong—it really was his voice. Thank goodness, he finally woke up. If he’s awake, that means he should be okay, right?”
“I don’t know. I’m not a doctor.”
“…”
Jiang Yu washed his face, smoothed his messy hair, and anxiously waited for whoever was coming to pick him up.
Half an hour later, the old man’s secretary got out of the car with a cold expression.
Jiang Yu remembered his name seemed to be Shi Lei. He hurried over to the car and asked eagerly, “Secretary Shi, has Han Cheng woken up? Is he all right now?”
“Get in the car.” Shi Lei didn’t answer his question and got back into the driver’s seat.
Jiang Yu wasn’t angry. He pulled Meng Zhao along and sat in the back seat.
When the car reached the main gate, Jiang Yu noticed in surprise that the huge crowd of paparazzi reporters was gone. He wanted to ask Shi Lei, but seeing Shi Lei’s icy face in the rearview mirror, Jiang Yu wisely kept quiet.
Half an hour later, Jiang Yu arrived at the hospital and ignored the looks of passersby as he headed straight for Han Cheng’s room.
This time, the guards at the ward entrance didn’t stop him. When Jiang Yu opened the door, he saw Han Cheng propped up against the headboard, slowly eating spoonful after spoonful of rice porridge that Aunt Chen was feeding him. His chewing and swallowing were stiff and awkward—he must have suffered brain damage.
The old man and Han Li were both sitting by the bed. Every time Han Cheng swallowed a mouthful of porridge, the two of them would shout encouragement, as if cheering on a small child.
Jiang Yu clearly saw the helplessness in Han Cheng’s eyes.
Seeing Han Cheng awake, Jiang Yu should have been happy. But the image of Han Cheng lying unconscious in a pool of blood kept flashing in his mind. A wave of delayed fear washed over him, making his whole body tremble. Standing by the door, tears suddenly fell uncontrollably in streams.
Han Cheng saw Jiang Yu. His eyes instantly lit up with joy. He slowly pulled his lips into an ugly smile and shakily waved at Jiang Yu, saying one word at a time, “C-come… here.”
Han Cheng’s speech was slurred, so Aunt Chen acted as a translator. “Mr. Jiang, Mr. Han is telling you to come over.”
Han Li and the old man also looked at Jiang Yu. Neither of them looked pleased, but they didn’t say anything.
Jiang Yu walked over to Han Cheng’s bedside and stood beside Han Li.
Han Cheng stared at Han Li’s chair. Han Li immediately puffed up like an angry pufferfish. “You’re already annoying me the moment you wake up. I shouldn’t have come back to take care of you.”
Reluctantly, she stood up and deliberately bumped into Jiang Yu before storming off to sit on the sofa.
Jiang Yu sat down in Han Li’s chair. Han Cheng couldn’t wait—he grabbed Jiang Yu’s hand and forced another ugly smile, his mouth crooked and his eyes askew as he clumsily comforted him, “I’m… f-fine.”
“Mr. Han says he’s okay,” Aunt Chen translated again, handing the porridge to Jiang Yu. “The doctor said there’s a hematoma in Mr. Han’s brain pressing on the nerves. He can’t control himself properly right now. Once the bruising dissipates in a few days, he’ll be fine. You feed him—I’m sure Mr. Han will be very happy.”
“Mm.” Han Cheng nodded clumsily, opened his mouth expectantly, and waited to be fed by Jiang Yu.
