CEO's Encroachment

Chapter3

A wisp of smoke drifted in, rendering the air heavy and silent, causing her considerable anguish.

Xi Ziyue took a few puffs of his cigarette, tapped the ash from the burnt end into the box lid as he opened it. His gaze, returning from afar, shifted downward, landing on the woman's porcelain face. "The surgery is over."

Her words were steady, devoid of emotion.

Huai Nian raised her eyes. "Is it over? Was it successful? Is Xi Ye awake?"

Xi Ziyue didn't respond to her intense, anxious gaze. He turned away and left.

As he got into the car, his gaze shifted, catching a glimpse of that slender figure hurrying away.

The black SUV pulled out of the hospital. Inside, darkness prevailed, only a small cluster of red lights shining brightly.

Xi Ziyue extinguished the remaining half of his cigarette. This wasn't his usual brand.

He emptied the cigarette ash from the box lid into the bin, then placed the half-smoked cigarette back into the box. In the quiet darkness, his expression was inscrutable. He played with the cigarette in his hand for a moment before tucking it into his suit pocket.

Xi Ye was transferred from the operating room to the intensive care unit. The surgery went smoothly, and everyone was waiting for him to wake up.

With no threat to his life, Li Junhua finally breathed a sigh of relief. Though there was still a sharp edge in Huai Nian's gaze, at least she wasn't launching verbal attacks anymore. Huai Nian remained silently by his side.

At three in the morning, a group of people waited silently outside the ward.

Li Junhua, feeling the weight of his years, couldn't resist his body's fatigue despite his worries. He kept yawning.

"Go and rest, you're not a doctor. Staying here won't help Xi Ye," Xizi Cheng advised.

"Uncle, Aunt, please go and rest. I'll stay here with him," Huai Nian added. "If you tire yourselves out, you'll only worry more when he wakes up."

Li Junhua's eyes coldly swept over them, ignoring her.

Finally, Xizi Cheng persuaded Li Junhua to leave, instructing Huai Nian to go to the rest area if she felt tired.

Huai Nian followed them, seeing them off at the elevator. "Take care, Uncle, Aunt."

A disdainful snort accompanied the closing elevator doors as they left.

"This accident was unexpected; don't take your anger out on her," Xizi Cheng advised Li Junhua in the elevator. "Xi Ye is going to marry her, she'll be family."

Li Junhua's face darkened at the words. "That woman will never enter the Xie family. Does she really think anyone can climb the social ladder?"

"But that child is quite good, beautiful, elegant, gentle, independent, and sensible. Only she can tame Xi Ye's playfulness, turning steel into silk around her finger. Before her, none of Xi Ye's many girlfriends lasted."

Li Junhua remained silent, his face stiff.

It wasn't until they were in the car, with the secretary and the security guard absent, that she turned to Xizi Cheng. "I have never approved of her. Xi Ye should marry a woman who can help him with his career."

"Wealth, status, and position don't equate to happiness. You can't impose your thoughts on Xi Ye."

"I don't want my son to be as spineless as my husband, driven out of Dongyao."

Xizi Cheng's face stiffened.

A loud noise exploded in her mind, and Huai Nian suddenly opened her eyes, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

She looked around, seeing Xi Ye lying on the bed in the center of the room, asleep, the smell of disinfectant permeating the air.

She must have accidentally dozed off, plagued by nightmares...

Huai Nian smiled bitterly, her gaze falling on Xi Ye's face.

The person on the bed opened his eyes, and Huai Nian's face brightened. She hurriedly got up and rushed to his bedside, ringing for the doctor.

"Xi Ye..." She bent over, leaning in close to him.

Xi Ye opened his beautiful peach blossom eyes, but there was no sign of life in them, as if he couldn't see her.

Xi Ye was awake, yet not awake. Li Junhua was anxious. He had brought in top foreign experts for consultations, but there was no improvement. Xi Ye's body no longer exhibited consciousness, perception, or any higher human neurological activity. His EEG showed scattered waveforms. In short, he had become a vegetable.

As for when he might wake up, the foreign doctors said it was up to God's will.

Li Junhua seemed to age ten years overnight, and even Xizi Cheng, who was always cheerful, furrowed his brow deeply. When Xizi's grandfather heard the bad news, he had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

While the Xie family was shrouded in gloom, the Huai family was on edge.

Huai Nian's mother, Guo Guiyun, prayed and worshipped Buddha every day, hoping for everything to go well with the Xie family. Her stepfather, Huai Hai, was so anxious that he couldn't eat or sleep for several consecutive days.

Huai Nian's family lived far from the hospital. She was busy all day, leaving early and returning late, with her family asking about the situation. Huai Nian didn't want to add to their psychological burden, so she planned to move out for a while.

"Sister, this is all a coincidence, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself," Huai Nian's sister, Huai Xiang, followed behind her, worriedly nagging. She was afraid her sister would be despondent. "It's Xi Ye's fate, destined to have this calamity! Even if he wakes up in a few days, what's meant to happen will still happen to him!"

"What twisted logic is that?"

"Fatalism!" Huai Xiang emphasized.

Huai Nian packed her things, turned to her sister, and saw the worry and concern written all over her face. Huai Nian couldn't help but smile and ruffle her sister's hair. "I'm fine, don't worry. Moving out is to make it easier to run between the company and the hospital, it saves a lot of time."

During a family dinner, Guo Guiyun couldn't help but ask, "Is Xi Ye's condition improving?"

Huai Nian shook her head, remaining silent.

Huai Hai said, "This is a natural disaster*, can't blame it on you. Even if they're from a wealthy family, they can't disregard reason."

"That's right!" Huai Xiang chimed in. "Sister, don't be afraid! Our whole family supports you!"

Guo Guiyun added, "Mom has plenty of time. You have to work, it's impossible to be up day and night. I'll go to the hospital to take care of him for you."

Huai Hai said, "They haven't taken it out on you, right? If there's anything, you have to tell us. Don't shoulder it alone."

Huai Xiang exclaimed, "Damn,

if they've vented on my sister, I'll explode! Sister, have they bullied you?"

With each family member speaking their mind, Huai Nian felt a lump in her throat, her eyes slightly moist.

They were the ones who truly cared for her, who felt sorrow for her situation.

Huai Nian took a deep breath, forcing a comforting smile. "How could they."

Then she looked at her mother. "Mom, he doesn't lack caregivers, I'm going to wake him up. I haven't done anything, it's not tiring."

Guo Guiyun still looked worried. "What are you going to do? Are you going to keep guarding him if he doesn't wake up?"

"He will wake up," Huai Nian said firmly.

After dinner, Huai Nian carried her suitcase and left. Just as she was about to leave the building, she saw Yuan Yawen standing under the plane tree.

Yuan Yawen came up to her, her eyes swollen, her voice hoarse. "How is Ah Ye... I'm so worried about him..."

"If you hadn't confronted me that day, I wouldn't have called Xi Ye, and he wouldn't have rushed back to deal with this... " Huai Nian's expression was indifferent, her tone cold.

"I didn't expect this to happen... I don't want anything to happen to him..." Yuan Yawen's voice choked up, grabbing Huai Nian's arm in repentance. "I was wrong, Nian Nian... Please don't tell anyone about this... I beg you, you must help me keep it a secret..."

Being a third party was already looked down upon, now she was involved in a car accident and Xi Ye's safety. Yuan Yawen was afraid of being held accountable by the Xie family. With the Xie family's financial power, they could destroy her with just a snap of their fingers.

Huai Nian pulled her arm away. "If only I had known earlier."

"Nian Nian... We've been good friends for years... Can't you forgive me this time..." She cried out behind her in a hoarse voice.

Huai Nian walked away without looking back.

Telling the Xie family about this wouldn't change anything. Even if they knew the truth, they wouldn't think Xi Ye was at fault. Instead, they would hate her more, thinking that she and her friends were all of the same ilk, causing trouble and being jealous, which ultimately harmed Xi Ye.

Moreover, whether Xi Ye became what he was now or not, right and wrong no longer mattered.

She just hoped he would recover soon.

At Xi Ye's recuperation villa, there was a parking lot in front. Under the swaying shadows of the trees, a black Land Rover was parked. Xi Ziyue, sitting in the backseat, lifted his head from the computer, about to instruct the driver to head to the company headquarters. His gaze swept over and caught sight of the woman's presence.

Under the moonlight, she stood there, staring blankly at the building not far away.

Xi Ziyue's fingers, pressed against the screen, slowly curled, tightening.

He reached out and lowered the window, the woman's figure becoming clearer in his eyes.

After a long while, Huai Nian turned around and walked towards the parking spot. A white Mazda pulled out from the opposite side of the Land Rover, and suddenly accelerated, rushing out.

Xi Ziyue closed his computer, his voice low and decisive. "Notify Director Zhang, he'll take charge of the seminar in an hour."

The driver and the secretary got out of the car, leaving Xi Ziyue alone in the car as he drove away.

Huai Nian was methodical in everything she did, except for driving fast. Her driving skills were impeccable. In the chaotic traffic of six lanes, while others might take an hour to get through, she could maneuver her way out in just ten minutes. Her friends had joked that sitting in her car made them realize she had a soul of daring adventure.

Stepping on the gas, Huai Nian drove the car all the way to the southern corner of the city, to Nanhengshan. Standing at the top of Nanhengshan, one could see the entire cityscape, a must-see for many tourists visiting the city.

At eleven o'clock at night, the observation area at the top of the mountain had already closed, with few people coming and going.

Huai Nian parked the car in the parking lot halfway up the mountain and got out.

A black Land Rover passed by her side. There was a vacation hotel on the mountain, so it was not surprising to see vehicles coming and going late at night. Huai Nian didn't spare it a second glance, nor did she look at the person driving.

The Land Rover stopped at the farthest corner of the parking lot, and the window slowly rolled down.

Xi Ziyue leaned against the seat back, looking at the woman's back. With one hand on the steering wheel, his fingers tapped on it intermittently.

She walked farther and farther away, her figure gradually disappearing into the darkness.

Xi Ziyue pushed open the car door and got out.