Blinded by Lust chapter 26
Huo Zhanyan had a fall at the hospital.
When his parents received the call from the hospital, Huo Zhanting happened to be on vacation, resting at home. She heard that her second brother had fallen down the stairs after getting emotional during rehabilitation training. She couldn’t rest easy and went to the hospital with their parents.
“Xiao Yan has been cooperating well with the rehab recently, and his recovery is going well. Today, everything was going as usual during training. But during the break, he looked at his phone for a while, got emotional, and no one could calm him down. He ended up falling down the stairs.”
The doctor was discussing her brother’s condition with their parents when Huo Zhanting quietly left the office and walked toward Huo Zhanyan’s ward.
Through the glass window of the hospital room, she looked inside. Huo Zhanyan was sitting on the bed, his forehead and elbow wrapped in bandages. He was facing the window, lost in thought, seemingly unaware of her presence.
After hesitating for a moment, Huo Zhanting knocked on the door. As expected, there was no response. She pushed the door open and tiptoed inside.
“Ge, what’s wrong?”
She had visited him once before on his birthday, and Huo Zhanting didn’t think her brother was someone who would get emotional for no reason. If he was upset, there had to be a cause.
“The doctor said you’ve been recovering well. What’s bothering you?” Huo Zhanting couldn’t figure out what could be troubling him. Since he was cooperating with treatment and recovering well, what else could be affecting his mood? “Ge?”
Her anxious voice finally brought Huo Zhanyan back to reality. He looked at her for a long while before his distress showed on his face.
“I need to leave.”
Huo Zhanting was startled by the desperation in her brother’s eyes. “Why?”
Huo Zhanyan hadn’t received any messages from Wu Bie for two days. The ship was at sea, and losing contact was normal—it had happened before. Huo Zhanyan had assumed that maybe the signal was just bad or Wu Bie was dealing with some tough situation and couldn’t reach him. But neither option brought him peace, especially after he saw the news about the typhoon in the Naya Sea during his therapy session today.
The Naya Sea was vast, and Wu Bie’s ship didn’t necessarily have to pass through the center of the typhoon. That’s how Huo Zhanyan tried to comfort himself. But if they hadn’t encountered the storm head-on, why hadn’t Wu Bie contacted him?
Just as he was about to speak, the door swung open again, and his parents stormed in.
“Why do you keep making us worry? It’s your own body, and you’re using it to act out against your parents?”
“You were lucky not to be hurt badly today. But if you fall again and end up bedridden for the rest of your life, what will you do then?”
The words Huo Zhanyan had been about to say were swallowed back down. He clutched the edge of his blanket, closing his eyes in frustration as his parents’ voices continued to nag him.
“Xiao Yan, have we mistreated you? Why are you always making us worry?”
It was as if they had opened a floodgate of complaints. His parents started bringing up past grievances from the time of his accident until now.
“Last time we came all the way to see you, and you didn’t even care. You didn’t appreciate it at all. What more do you want from us?”
Huo Zhanyan had enough. It was always like this. Whenever something happened, his parents never asked for the reason behind it. They only vented their frustrations and piled on complaints.
He suddenly realized that his parents were no help at all. He had to calm down and figure things out himself.
“Is it so wrong to be excited that I can walk again?” Huo Zhanyan wanted to quickly drive his parents away. “I didn’t fall that badly. It’s the hospital making a fuss over nothing.”
Huo Zhanting stared at her brother in shock, clearly not believing what he said. Her brother was also watching her with a look in his eyes, as if he had something important to say.
After their parents announced they were leaving, Huo Zhanting walked with them to the elevator. As the doors opened, she told them, “Mom, Dad, I need to use the restroom. You go ahead, I’ll catch up.”
As soon as the elevator doors closed, Huo Zhanting rushed back to the ward, where her brother was waiting expectantly by the door, clearly hoping she’d return.
“Ge, do you have something to tell me?”
This time, Huo Zhanyan didn’t hesitate. He sent her the address of Wu Bie’s company. “Can you go there for me? Find someone named Chen Xian and get his contact information. That’s all I need.”
Huo Zhanyan had already called the shipping company, but he hadn’t gotten any information. When he asked them to contact Chen Xian, the staff had refused because he didn’t have an appointment.
Given his current situation, it was impossible for him to go to the shipping company in person. The only person who might be able to help him was Huo Zhanting.
Huo Zhanting didn’t ask why, simply replied “Got it,” and then left the hospital room.
Huo Zhanyan took out his phone and tried calling Wu Bie via voice and video, but no one answered. He then sent a message:
“Ge, are you safe?”
….
The captain had been on duty for several hours straight. After finally getting in touch with the company and reporting safety, he was unable to continue and called Wu Bie to take over.
To safely navigate through the storm, Wu Bie’s ship had already reduced speed several times, and the shaking inside the ship was not severe.
The situation on the first deck, which had been flooded, had improved significantly. Sailors were working overtime to carry out necessary deck operations.
At this time, Wu Bie was constantly monitoring the sea conditions. Any problems in the cockpit had to be dealt with immediately. He didn’t want to ask Chen Xian to notify Zhanyan when contacting the company because the situation was urgent, and there were so many people on the ship. He couldn’t make exceptions. The priority now was to ensure everyone’s safety, and he’d explain things to Zhanyan once they returned safely.
“Hm?” Wu Bie noticed a person with a bandaged head standing next to a container through the windshield. The more he looked, the more familiar the person seemed. When the person finished up with other sailors and came up, Wu Bie realized it was Qin Mochong.
Wu Bie quickly opened a side window and pointed at Qin Mochong, asking, “What happened to your head?”
“It got hit when something fell,” Qin Mochong answered vaguely. The bandaging looked poorly done, not like it was treated by the ship’s doctor.
“If you’re injured, don’t come out.”
Qin Mochong wasn’t too concerned. “It’s my shift. I thought I’d come out and help since I’m fine.”
After all, he was the boss’s son. If something happened on the ship, who would take responsibility?
“Who bandaged it for you? It looks terrible.”
Before Qin Mochong could respond, a sailor following him answered, “Tan Yi did it. He refused to go to the ship’s doctor.”
Mentioning Tan Yi, Qin Mochong’s expression became a bit complex. Wu Bie’s expression was even more complicated. He knew the relationship between Qin Mochong and Tan Yi. He waved his hand and urged, “Go back inside. If you’re fine, don’t come out. Find the ship’s doctor to redo the bandaging.”
That afternoon, Huo Zhanting managed to get Chen Xian’s contact information and sent it directly to Huo Zhanyan.
“The company won’t let anyone in without an appointment. There’s a photo and contact information for someone named Chen Xian on the employee list. I don’t know if you can get through to him, but you can give it a try.”
Huo Zhanyan rarely showed gratitude, but said, “Thank you.”
“Ge, who is this person?”
Unfortunately, Huo Zhanyan didn’t have time to explain to Huo Zhanting. “I’ll tell you when I have the chance.”
Seeing the number, Huo Zhanyan dialed it without hesitation. Although he had never spoken to Chen Xian before, from Wu Bie’s previous video, it was clear that Chen Xian was a serious and steady man and was very close to Wu Bie. He would definitely know Wu Bie’s situation better than he did.
After a couple of rings, a deep and gentle male voice answered, “Hello, who is this?”
“Is this Chen Xian?”
Hearing his name, Chen Xian was clearly taken aback. After confirming the number was unfamiliar, he finally responded, “Yes, this is Chen Xian. May I ask who you are?”
“I’d like to know if there’s any news about the ship returning from Cherbourg. What’s the situation on board? Are the people safe?”
With several questions in a row, Chen Xian was caught off guard. “Who are you?”
Having just received a signal from Wu Bie’s group confirming the safety of the crew, Chen Xian didn’t understand why this caller was asking about it.
Huo Zhanyan didn’t introduce himself. After a brief hesitation, he asked, “Can you tell me how Wu Bie is doing?”
Wu Bie?
Chen Xian was full of questions and wanted to ask more, but the caller said, “I just want to know if he is safe.”
The caller’s tone was too firm. If it was just concern for Wu Bie, Chen Xian had no reason to hide anything.
“Wu Bie is fine.”
The caller seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but Chen Xian wanted to ask more about who they were. However, the caller hung up quickly.
“Thank you, sorry for the disturbance.”
“Hey!” Chen Xian didn’t have time to speak further as the call was already disconnected. When he tried to call back, the person refused to answer.
Shen Jixue came out of the kitchen and saw Chen Xian looking troubled at his phone. “What’s wrong? Who called? Is there a problem at the company?”
“No,” Chen Xian shook his head. “Someone called to ask about Wu Bie’s condition.”
Shen Jixue looked confused as well and remembered Wu Bie’s online romantic interest. “Who was it? A woman?”
“A man. The voice sounded quite young.”
A man? It couldn’t be Wu Bie’s online romantic interest. Chen Xian and Shen Jixue couldn’t figure out who it might be.
Although Wu Bie’s group was temporarily safe, they hadn’t left the center of the typhoon, so there was still potential danger. Chen Xian was very worried.
“Ah Xue, I’m heading to the company. If I’m not back by dinner, remember to eat on your own.”
..
Huo Zhanyan felt a bit relieved knowing that Wu Bie was safe for now, but it didn’t mean he was completely out of danger. All he could do now was wait.
A “ding” sound from WeChat startled Huo Zhanyan. He had a feeling it was a message from Wu Bie. He quickly took out his phone and was overjoyed to see Wu Bie’s name.
“Baby, send me your address. I’m really afraid I won’t even know which hospital you’re in by the end.”
The message was abrupt, but Huo Zhanyan could imagine the environment Wu Bie was in when sending it. He couldn’t think straight and quickly replied