Reborn to outshine My Ex and His White Moonlight
Chapter 179 Why Are You So Naive

Chapter 179: Chapter 179 Why Are You So Naive

Hospital ward.

When Lin Zhiyi woke up, Gong Chen had already left.

After regaining her strength, she got up for some water and just then saw a shadow move at the door.

"Who’s there?" she called out.

The door cracked open, and Xiao Jie’s head popped in.

"Auntie."

"Stop it." The elder sister pulled Xiao Jie aside and stepped in front of him, pushing the door open and walking in, "Miss, thank you so much this time. I’ve made some food; I hope you won’t mind."

"How could I? Thank you, I’m actually quite hungry," Lin Zhiyi replied, unable to refuse and smiling in acceptance.

The elder sister opened the thermos and poured a bowl of millet porridge, handing over two pancakes as well.

She then carefully packed the remaining food away again.

Lin Zhiyi asked with a hint of suspicion, "Elder sister, you’re...?"

"Xiao Jie’s father is still in the ICU, we take what we can get," the elder sister said, her eyes reddening.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Zhiyi asked, "Does Xiao Jie being thrown into the river have anything to do with his father?"

The elder sister’s tears began to swirl in her eyes as if the question hit close to home.

"They’re not human! They made mistakes and forced us to sign."

"Elder sister, who are you talking about?"

"It’s just..." The elder sister bit her lip, "Nevermind, my words are pointless. Miss, thank you once again. We’re going to leave now."

The elder sister led Xiao Jie away, but unexpectedly, Xiao Jie turned his head and stuffed the small bamboo basket he wore around his waist into Lin Zhiyi’s hands.

"Auntie, to protect you."

Lin Zhiyi looked at the palm-sized bamboo basket and smiled, "Thank you."

After the mother and son left, Lin Zhiyi felt restless, as if she had overlooked something.

As soon as she lay down and closed her eyes, she saw the two men who had thrown Xiao Jie into the river.

She had been too anxious at the time and had only caught a glimpse; now that she thought about it, she felt like she had seen these two men before.

Suddenly, Lin Zhiyi’s eyes widened and she sat up abruptly from the bed.

It was... the people who had followed her at the night market!

Not only that, but she had seen one of them elsewhere as well.

In the hotel restaurant that morning, among the two middle-aged men following Gong Chen, one was their bodyguard.

Gong Chen had come this time to deal with the mine, so these two men must be...

Old Mr. Gong’s cousins.

To confirm her suspicion, Lin Zhiyi got up, put on her jacket, and left the ward.

After asking the nurse, she found the ICU, but before she could knock, she heard an argument coming from the adjacent corridor.

A man looking like a lawyer stood in front of the elder sister.

"Don’t make me force you to drink what you’ve refused. Do you know who you’ve offended? Sign it quickly."

"You said before that you would cure my husband, and now you’re just offering fifty thousand. That’s not even enough for one week of his medical bills, I won’t sign," the elder sister said with a choked voice.

"Won’t sign? It seems you don’t care about your son’s safety."

"You..." The elder sister’s pale face trembled.

Lin Zhiyi frowned, about to step forward, when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth and nose, and dragged her towards the stairwell.

She looked at the empty corridor, knowing it would be impossible to cry out for help.

In her panic, she reached into her pocket and found the small bamboo basket, and inside, to her surprise, were three insects.

She didn’t know exactly what kind of insects they were.

All she knew was that she still had a chance. She grabbed the insects and smashed them toward the man’s eyes.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, releasing Lin Zhiyi.

Without looking back, Lin Zhiyi ran down the stairs.

The ICU was just two floors up, and down below was the lobby, where her chances of getting help were better.

Lin Zhiyi had thought she had dodged a bullet, but unexpectedly, a Cheng Yaojin emerged halfway.

A figure darted out from the hallway and grabbed her, jabbing her arm with a needle.

Lin Zhiyi distinctly felt her body go limp as she closed her eyes, the last thing she saw was a pitch-black helmet.

The man looked down at Lin Zhiyi on the ground, put away the syringe, and chuckled softly, "I’m not the only one who wants you dead. Goodbye, Lin Zhiyi."

...

Gong Chen returned to the hospital carrying food, saw the deserted and empty ward, and turned around to knock down the bodyguard with a punch.

"Is this your protection?"

"I’m sorry, Third Young Master, I just went to the restroom," said the bodyguard, trembling with fear.

"Who came?"

"The mother and son whom Miss Lin saved. I just asked the nurse, and they said they saw Miss Lin go downstairs to look for them..."

Before he could finish, Gong Chen was already gone.

Downstairs, the exhausted mother and son were leaving hand in hand when the sight of this furious man startled them.

"Where’s Lin Zhiyi?" Gong Chen asked bluntly.

"She... Isn’t she resting upstairs?" the elder sister stammered.

Just then, Xiao Jie let go of his sister’s hand and crouched down to pick up an insect from the ground.

"Mommy, why is Xiao Hei here? Didn’t I give it to Auntie to protect her?"

At these words, Gong Chen followed the trail left by the insect, turned around into the stairwell, and finally saw a small bamboo basket on the ground at the corner of the first floor.

Xiao Jie pointed and said, "I gave this to Auntie!"

Holding the small bamboo basket, Gong Chen looked up at Chen Jin.

Chen Jin quickly led his team to search the area and eventually found a used syringe in the trash can outside the building.

"Third Young Master, it’s a sedative. However, according to the external surveillance, the one who took Miss Lin appears to be..."

Chen Jin handed over a tablet and pointed at a suspicious janitor pushing a cart in the surveillance footage.

With a burly figure and stable footing, he was clearly not a janitor.

After scanning the face, Gong Chen already had a clear idea.

His expression darkened, and he glared at the syringe, commanding, "Find him for me too."

Chen Jin nodded, "Yes."

...

Splash—

Lin Zhiyi woke up drenched with a basin of cold water, coughed twice, and felt her breath could almost freeze.

Once awake, she clearly saw the people in front of her.

Indeed, they were the two middle-aged men who had followed Gong Chen into the restaurant that morning.

"Are you two elders from the Gong Family?"

As Lin Zhiyi asked, her fists clenched tight, struggling to keep her voice steady.

Sixth Uncle let out a cold chuckle, "Oh, you recognize us, but it’s too late now, trying to make connections won’t help you."

She was escorted towards the deep night, and as she better understood her surroundings, fear slowly crept into her heart.

This was... a mine field.

The silence was pervasive, the cordoned-off mine shaft, dark as if it were a bottomless abyss waiting to devour everything.

Lin Zhiyi knew that if she did nothing now, she would certainly end up dead without a proper burial.

She looked at the more talkative Sixth Uncle, pretending to be very scared, very helpless.

"Gentlemen, there’s no grudge between us, why are you doing this to me? Please, I’m begging you, let me go."

Hearing Lin Zhiyi’s quivering tone, Sixth Uncle felt a bit amused, and sneered, "We have no grudge, but it’s unfortunate you wanted things that were not meant for you, and you saw things you shouldn’t have. You’re destined not to live."

Lin Zhiyi didn’t understand the deep meaning of the first sentence, but she thought of the image of Xiao Jie being thrown into the water and quickly retorted, "The Liu Family has already fallen, the mine’s issues can’t be hidden for long. If something happens to me here, it’ll be even harder for you to explain."

Upon hearing this, Sixth Uncle burst into laughter.

"How can you be so naive?"