Chapter Ninety-Four: The Flower’s Secret Whisper

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Because of an abrupt change in the plan, Officer Li had no choice but to carry it out, leaving Ye Dong to enter the tiger’s den alone with only a wolf at his side.

Faced with Ye Dong’s understanding, Hui Yan felt a whirl of mixed emotions.

From the very beginning, Ye Dong had resisted the assignment, only to accept it in the end; through all manner of trials and challenges, he had come step by step to this crucial moment. Rather than retreating, he had pressed forward, and now he was bearing everything alone. The burden of a man, the role of a team leader, had already been fully embodied in him. Without realizing it, Ye Dong had completed his transformation.

Looking at the sharp steel blade in her hand, Hui Yan suddenly remembered that brilliant figure Ye Dong had cast in the Ancient Flame Tomb that day. She could not help but smile bitterly to herself.

He really does have a broader stage to stand on. As for me, I am probably only capable of this much.

A knock came at the door. When Hui Yan opened it, she found Officer Li waiting there with a teacup in hand.

“Master.”

“May I come in?” Officer Li asked with a smile.

“Of course.” Hui Yan took his hand. “You came to comfort me, didn’t you?”

Officer Li set down the teacup and smiled. “Master knows you are not so fragile. Still, human beings are not grass or trees; how can they be without feeling? When facing someone you once deeply loved...” He paused. “Although this is only our guess, we still cannot be completely certain whether Guang Qi is really him. But for the sake of the plan, and for Ye Dong’s safety, you will have to bear with this grievance.”

“I have a question,” Hui Yan said, her cheeks faintly reddening as she lowered her head. “What exactly is this Yai Yi they keep talking about? Why does everyone say she looks like me? Am I really that similar to her?”

Officer Li naturally understood what was on her mind.

It seems Hui Yan still cares quite a lot about this. In that case, I may as well tell her.

He gave a wry smile, then pulled up a photo on his phone and handed it to Hui Yan.

Hui Yan looked at Yai Yi in the picture, who was almost identical to her apart from the hairstyle, and could not hide her shock.

“How... how can she look so much like me?”

“She does look very similar, doesn’t she? I was startled too when I first saw this photo,” Officer Li said helplessly with a smile. “Do you still remember the embarrassed look on Ye Dong’s face when he first met you? I’m sure he was just as stunned at the time.”

Hui Yan studied Yai Yi in the photo more closely. In truth, aside from the different hairstyle, there were still some differences between them.

The eyes.

She gently touched Yai Yi’s face on the phone screen, and the praise that rose from her heart slipped out of her lips.

“Her eyes are clear and bright, like stars that can speak. They are truly beautiful.”

“But she is already dead. She died in a car accident, and before she died, she never got to see Ye Dong one last time,” Officer Li said with a bitter smile. “The day Ye Dong told me about it, even that big a man had tears in his eyes.”

At these words, pain stabbed through Hui Yan’s heart, as if the one who had died was her own sister.

Officer Li went on, “Yai Yi had secretly loved Ye Dong for a long time. That day she gathered all her courage and confessed to him, but then disaster struck on the road, and just like that, the living and the dead were parted. Such a pity.”

For some reason, tears slipped from Hui Yan’s eyes and fell onto the screen. She did not know whether she was crying for Yai Yi, or for Ye Dong, or for the sorrow that belonged to them both.

“And after that?” she asked softly, wiping her tears away.

“At the time, Ye Dong did not yet know that Hui Yan had been in love with him, and he did not even know of Yai Yi’s existence. On the way home, he saw Yai Yi’s spirit and fell in love with her at first sight.” Speaking of this, Officer Li gave a bitter laugh. “The right person appeared at the wrong time. If only they had met a little earlier, they could have been happy together. Tell me, isn’t heaven rather heartless?”

“Heaven is truly tormenting,” Hui Yan said, and the tears she had just wiped away came flowing again. She handed the phone back to Officer Li and asked, “And then?”

“Because of her obsession with Ye Dong, Yai Yi refused to be reborn and remained a ghost. Then Brother Chen appeared, and through him she and Ye Dong were finally able to confess their feelings to each other. He helped her fulfill her wish, and in the end she drifted away with the wind.”

“So that’s how it was.” Hui Yan nodded with a bitter smile. “So Ye Dong was only treating me as Yai Yi’s shadow?”

Officer Li laughed. “Hui Yan, whether he sees you as Yai Yi’s shadow or not, you have to ask this place here.”

He lightly pressed a hand over his own heart and smiled. “The feeling here does not lie.”

“Here?” Hui Yan murmured, faintly taken aback. “To feel with the heart?”

Officer Li nodded with a smile. “I believe you will understand his feelings very soon.”

After hearing him, Hui Yan felt a little anxious, a little uneasy, and more than anything, expectant.

But what she had never expected was that this expectation would seem to arrive far too quickly.

Time was short, so the plan was carried out at once. According to arrangements, Hui Yan was admitted to the hospital under the pretense of acute gastroenteritis. Ye Dong called Wei Ye and told him succinctly that Hui Yan would not be entering the ancient tomb with them.

As for this sudden “accident” on Ye Dong’s side, Wei Ye naturally made his own calculations.

How did he suddenly end up with a stomach bug at a time like this?

He stroked his chin and looked toward Guang Qi’s room, thinking.

That boy Guang Qi actually gave up the chance to go to the Tomb of Eternal Life. Is he afraid of death, or is it truly as Master said, that he is in the middle of a crucial step in translating the ancient text and cannot afford any distraction?

In the intensive care room, Ye Dong and Hui Yan were chatting.

“Do you blame me?” Hui Yan asked tentatively.

“Blame you? How could I not?” Ye Dong said teasingly. “Now that you’re sick, I won’t be able to see you for many days. Even though that place is terribly dangerous, I really didn’t want you coming along. But once I’m inside, I’m sure I’ll still be worrying about you.”

Warmth spread through Hui Yan’s heart, and she could not help but smile. “Not a shred of seriousness in you. By the way, about Guang Qi, you need to keep a close eye on him. If—”

Ye Dong shook his head. “Don’t worry. Wei Ye just said Guang Qi has a special assignment, so he won’t be going to the Tomb of Eternal Life with his master this time.”

“Huh?” Hearing that, Hui Yan was immediately alarmed. “Th-this can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

“It can’t be a coincidence,” Ye Dong said quietly. “If Guang Qi really is him, then he has another plan in mind right now, an even more perfect one. Though we still don’t know what he’s hoping to do by lurking there.”

Ding.

Ye Dong’s phone rang. It was a message from Guang Qi.

“I heard that Yan Hui is sick? I happen to be passing by the hospital. Would it be convenient for me to go up and see her?”

Ye Dong gave a cold smile. “Guang Qi just texted me. He says he’s passing by the hospital and wants to come up to see you.”

“Oh?” Hui Yan instantly became wary and lowered her voice. “Could this be a trap?”

“Even if it is, we have to take it,” Ye Dong said with a smile. He replied to Guang Qi, “Come up. Room 006P.”

“Let’s compare the time,” Hui Yan said. After checking the time on her phone and then the time on Ye Dong’s watch, she confirmed they matched, and looked at the clock on the wall. “Time really does fly.”

Ye Dong smiled faintly and lifted his watch. “Time flies, yes, but ours flies even faster.”

Guang Qi arrived soon after, even bringing some flowers.

“People with gastroenteritis shouldn’t eat raw or cold fruit, so I bought flowers instead. I don’t really know what’s proper, so I just picked something at random. Please don’t mind, Yan Hui!” Guang Qi placed a bouquet on the cabinet.

“Periwinkle?” Hui Yan smiled. “Where did you find these? Florists usually don’t carry this kind.”

Guang Qi nodded with a smile. “At the shop by the crossroads. They were blooming so brightly, so I bought some.”

A warmth crept into Hui Yan’s heart. “Thank you,” she said softly.

Ye Dong waved a hand, indicating that Guang Qi should sit. “We ate sushi and nothing happened, yet your little stomach had to act up.”

After a few polite words, Guang Qi suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! I actually left something important in the car. What a fool I’ve been.”

“Hm? What thing?” Ye Dong asked with great curiosity.

“It’s a talisman my master drew by hand. He said it protects the body, and asked me to bring it to Yan Hui. I was so focused on the flowers that I actually left such an important thing behind.” Guang Qi seemed rather embarrassed as he glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting late too, and I still have to go back and brew tea for my master. How about this, Brother Tian, why don’t you come down with me for a moment?”

Ye Dong sneered inwardly.

Guang Qi’s acting is actually pretty good. Fine, then I’ll go down with you and see what kind of trick you’re playing.

“All right. Since it’s a talisman personally drawn by a master, I’ll go down and bring it up myself!” Ye Dong gently kissed Hui Yan’s forehead and smiled. “I’ll be back soon. Wait for me.”

Hui Yan nodded and watched the two of them leave the room. Her gaze fell on the periwinkles in the vase, and confusion filled her heart.

The language of periwinkle is happy memories. Is he hinting at something to me?

Time passed second by second. Half an hour went by, but Ye Dong still had not returned.

What is he doing? He won’t even answer the phone.

Hui Yan put down her phone, worry beginning to stir in her heart.

Could something have happened?

After another anxious half hour of waiting, Hui Yan checked the time and sent Officer Li a message: Dad, Brother Tian has been out for an hour and still hasn’t come back.

At that very moment, the door rang. Ye Dong had finally returned.

“Where did you go? Why were you gone so long? Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Hui Yan complained, puffing out her cheeks.

“What, are you worried about me?” Ye Dong produced a bouquet of flowers he had hidden behind his back and said with a smile, “I saw that you quite liked the flowers Guang Qi brought, so I went out and bought some more.”

Hui Yan’s face reddened, and her eyes darted to one side. “I didn’t think you had so much thought in you.”

Ye Dong smiled faintly and held the flowers out before her, leaning in as if to kiss her, only to be gently pushed away by Hui Yan.

“Stop fooling around. Hurry up and arrange the flowers.”

Ye Dong laughed aloud, found a vase, and inserted the flowers into it. Then he asked with a smile, “Do you think the flowers Guang Qi gave are prettier, or the ones I gave?”

Meanwhile, Hui Yan sent another text to Officer Li: Brother Tian just got back.

Officer Li replied quickly: Good. Stay healthy. Good night.

“Um, let me think,” Hui Yan said after putting down her phone and pretending to consider it for a moment. “All right, yours are prettier!”

Ye Dong’s expression changed ever so slightly. After slowly arranging the flowers, he asked, “Do you know the meaning of periwinkle?”

Hui Yan nodded. “Yes. It means happy memories.”

Sitting in the chair before Hui Yan, Ye Dong asked softly, “Then could these flowers Guang Qi gave you bring back those happy memories?”

Hui Yan looked at the arranged periwinkles and thought for a moment before giving a slight nod.

“Yes.”

Seeing his expression shift a little, she looked at Ye Dong and said tenderly, “Compared with memories, I cherish the present more.”

Hearing this, Ye Dong nodded with a smile and reached out to gently stroke Hui Yan’s hair. “No matter what, I, He Wentian, will cherish you. Yan Hui.”

Hui Yan giggled and pushed his hand away. “You’re pretty committed to the role too. Go back and rest already. It’s late.”

“All right, then,” Ye Dong said, as if remembering something. He took out a brand-new phone and handed it to Hui Yan. “Dial your number. My old phone just got run over. What rotten luck.”

“How could you be so careless?” Hui Yan scolded in a low voice. “What about the SIM card inside?”

“That’s broken too, otherwise I wouldn’t have had to buy a temporary card.” Ye Dong gave a bitter smile. “First you end up in the hospital, and then my phone gets wrecked. Disaster really does come in pairs.”

“That’s your own business. Don’t drag me into it!” Hui Yan entered her number and complained, “Be more careful next time. A phone is very important!”

Ye Dong smiled faintly, typed the name “Hui Yan” into the contact note, and showed it to her.

“Hui Yan.”

“You idiot, change it back quickly.”

Hui Yan snatched the phone from Ye Dong and changed the note to “Yan Hui.”

Ye Dong gave a wry smile. “I wonder when I’ll be able to change it to Hui Yan?”

“That depends on when this business is wrapped up.” Hui Yan also smiled bitterly. “In the end, this whole matter still depends on you, Brother Tian.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn bad?” Ye Dong said with a sly grin. “What’s in front of me is real power and influence!”

“You won’t,” Hui Yan shook her head. “You won’t. I believe in you. You’ve always been the good person in my heart.”

Ye Dong patted Hui Yan’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’ve always been the Hui Yan in my heart. That has never changed.”

He embraced her softly, and a cold, sinister light flashed across his face. Suddenly, Hui Yan only felt a sharp pain in her back, and she lost consciousness.

Inside the luxury sports car, Ye Dong stared at the rearview mirror at his own reflection and gave a cold laugh.

“This game is getting more and more interesting.”

The sports car accelerated and vanished into the night in an instant.