Power and Wealth

Next day.

The morning sun shines into the ward.

Dong Xuebing was half-asleep, and he could hear a woman speaking beside him.

“I will get someone to buy breakfast. What do you want to eat?” Xie Huilan asked.

“I will have soybean milk and dough sticks. Xiao Bing likes to eat buns.”

“Ok. I will get some buns, two packets of soybean milk, and four dough sticks.”

Xie Huilan left the ward, and Dong Xuebing could hear her speaking to a nurse outside. After a while, she returned to the ward. Normally, the hospital will take care of the patient’s meals, and will not provide food for the patients’ accompanying family members, let alone helping them to buy food. But Xie Huilan is the Mayor, and everyone in the hospital was looking forward to helping her run errands.

Dong Xuebing opened his eyes. “Aunt Xuan, Sister Xie, you two had stayed up all night? Why didn’t you all go back and rest?”

“You are awake?” Qu Yunxuan smiled sweetly. “You think I can sleep when you are unwell?”

Xie Huilan sat on the foot of the bed. “Are you feeling better today?”

Dong Xuebing nodded. “I feel much better. Thank you. It must be tough for you two.”

“This is nothing.” Qu Yunxuan smiles at Dong Xuebing. “If you care for us, you should recover faster.”

Dong Xuebing saw the two women looking tired with dark eye rings, and said. “I am feeling much better than last night. Aunt Xuan, get a hotel to rest first. Sister Xie, you still have to work and should go back to rest. I am fine.” Dong Xuebing tried to sit up to show that he is fine.

Qu Yunxuan quickly pushed him down and gave him a stare. “You want me to hit you?! Stop moving and lay there!”

Xie Huilan grumbled. “You call this fine? You had almost scared us to death last night! You are issued with two Notice of Critical Condition within three months!” The first time was when Dong Xuebing was in a coma after getting buried in the landslide, and yesterday was the second time.

Dong Xuebing smiled embarrassedly.

The nurse knocked on the door and entered with breakfast. She said nervously. “Mayor Xie, here is your breakfast.”

“Ok. Thank you.” Xie Huilan smiled and was about to take out money to pay the nurse.

But Qu Yunxuan was faster and pushed twenty RMB into the nurse’s hand. “Thank you.”

The nurse quickly waved her hand. “You are welcome.”

Before Dong Xuebing and the rest started their breakfast, the nurse returned to the ward with Dong Xuebing’s morning medication. Dong Xuebing’s doctor, Director Yang, also entered the ward to tell them about the results of Dong Xuebing’s checks. Many people were surprised to know that Mayor Xie had accompanied Dong Xuebing overnight. But they understood that Dong Xuebing had saved Xie Huilan’s life, and she was showing her gratitude to her savior.

After the doctor and nurses left, the three of them started to have breakfast.

At this time, Dong Xuebing noticed the differences between both women’s characters.

Qu Yunxuan did not eat her breakfast first. Instead, she picked up a bun and fed Dong Xuebing. After Dong Xuebing finished eating the bun, she took a few bites of the dough sticks, and then fed water to Dong Xuebing. Xie Huilan saw that Dong Xuebing was being taken care of, and she started eating her breakfast. She did not pick up the dough sticks with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth. Instead, she used her chopsticks to tear the dough sticks into small pieces and ate one by one gracefully.

One of them is caring, and the other is graceful. Both women are special in their ways.

After breakfast, Dong Xuebing said. “Sister Xie, you should go to work now, or you will be late.”

Xie Huilan nodded. “Listen to the doctor and have a good rest. I will visit you after work.”

Dong Xuebing told her not to come. Xie Huilan had stayed up all night and had gone through the terrifying event yesterday. She needed some rest. But Xie Huilan did not reply and called her driver to pick her up, before leaving.

“Xiao Bing, do you want to use the restroom?”

“Huh? No need.”

“Are you thirsty?”

Dong Xuebing looked at the tired Qu Yunxuan and held her hand. “Aunt Xuan, you can barely open your eyes and should have some rest. There is an empty bed there. Take a short nap first.”

Qu Yunxuan put up a brave front. “I am fine.”

Dong Xuebing replied unhappily. “Aunt Xuan, can you just listen to me?”

Qu Yunxuan saw Dong Xuebing was getting agitated and quickly said. “Alright... alright... I will take a nap now.” It’s daytime, and there might be visitors. So, Qu Yunxuan did not remove her clothes and covered herself with a blanket on the extra bed. She turned towards Dong Xuebing and said. “If you feel unwell, wake me up. Or, you can press the bell to call the nurse.”

“I know.”

“Ok. You can watch TV yourself.”

In less than two minutes, Qu Yunxuan fell asleep.

Dong Xuebing was relieved and took his phone from the table beside his bed. He covered himself under the blanket and called his mother to let her know that he is safe. He does not dare to tell her that he is hospitalized again. After that, he called Chief Liang and the rest to inform them about his condition and will be taking a few days off work. Liang Chengpeng had heard about Dong Xuebing’s sudden collapsed last night and told him to rest in the hospital.

After making all the necessary calls, Dong Xuebing had nothing to do.

Dong Xuebing is staying in a single ward, and it is the best ward in the hospital. The ward is equipped with a fridge, microwave, and a 26-inch LCD TV. He switched on the TV and saw if the news had reported about yesterday’s bombing. But maybe the higher-ups had ordered a cover-up on this incident, and the news only mentioned it briefly. A few pictures of the explosion site were shown, and Dong Xuebing’s contribution was mentioned.

This is quite normal in China, as this incident involves the County’s Leader, and it is very sensitive.

Not long later, Dong Xuebing’s mother called and scolded him over the phone. She should have seen the news and found out what happened. Dong Xuebing dare not to refute her and kept quiet. About ten minutes after Dong Xuebing’s mother hang up, Xie Huilan’s mother, Han Jing, called to thank her. Before Dong Xuebing could say anything, the phone was passed to someone else. It was Beijing City’s Party Committee Secretary Xie Guobang. Secretary Xie only said two words. Thank you.

Dong Xuebing was surprised and quickly said that it was what he is supposed to do.

After hanging up, Dong Xuebing was relieved. The rewards of this incident are significant.

At around noon, two nurses entered the ward and wanted to bring him out for some checks. Dong Xuebing immediately put his finger on his lips, and the nurses noticed Qu Yunxuan sleeping on the extra bed. They lowered their voices and pushed him out in a wheelchair.

At around 7.30 pm, Qu Yunxuan woke up.

She sat up and was shocked. “Xiao Bing, what time is it? Why is the sky all dark?”

Dong Xuebing replied. “It is almost 8 pm. If you are still tired, sleep a while more.”

Qu Yunxuan smacked her lips and put on a coat. “Why didn’t you wake me up? How are the test results?” After asking Dong Xuebing a few questions, she went to look for Dong Xuebing’s doctor with a small notebook to take down the dos and don’ts for Dong Xuebing.

Before 8 pm, Xie Huilan arrived.

Xie Huilan entered the ward and greeted Dong Xuebing, before walking out with Qu Yunxuan. “How is his condition?”

Qu Yunxuan replied softly. “He is fine. The results are out, and everything is normal.”

Xie Huilan asked. “How long will it take before he recovers?”

“The doctor says that he will recover faster if he is not agitated.” Qu Yunxuan sighed and continued. “But the psychologist said that even if his body recovered, his mental stresses would not disappear overnight. He needs a long time to recover. He must not be agitated or anxious, and we do not need to worry about relapse.”

Xie Huilan nodded. “Then, we must not let him get agitated or anxious.”

“... I know.” Qu Yunxuan replied and returned to the ward with Xie Huilan.

Dong Xuebing was alarmed. “What are you two discussing outside?” Dong Xuebing was still afraid that he had some terminal illness.

Xie Huilan narrowed her eyes and joked. “We are discussing how we are going to deal with you after you are discharged. Haha...”

The hair on the back of Dong Xuebing’s neck stood up. “What are you all going to do with me?”

Xie Huilan sat down on the bed and said. “We will tie you up and beat you up. After that, we will throw you out on the streets. What do you think?”

Dong Xuebing immediately turns pale.

Qu Yunxuan panicked. “Don’t listen to your Sister Xie. She was only asking about your condition, and we did not talk about anything else.”

Dong Xuebing replied. “Just give me a good beating. I might feel better if you two do that.”

“Why are you still talking about this?” Qu Yunxuan gave Dong Xuebing a stare. “You are still young, and it is too early for you to talk about marriage. We will not bring up this matter again and stop blaming yourself. When we got together, I had not made myself clear, and you had misunderstood Ms. Xie’s intention. All three of us are at fault. Don’t shoulder all the blame, understand?”

Dong Xuebing did not think this way, but he still nodded.

Xie Huilan smiled and looked at Qu Yunxuan. “Oh, I still do not know what business you are doing.”

Qu Yunxuan replied. “Xiao Bing and I have an Auction Company in Beijing. We deal in antique auctions. Although I said that we had set up this company together, but it was Xiao Bing who provided the capital. He has a talent for picking treasures and stone gambling and is even better than the experts we hired.”

Xie Huilan laughed. “You are so capable.”

Dong Xuebing felt proud and said. “Are you all praising me for making me feel better?”

Qu Yunxuan playfully pinched Dong Xuebing’s cheeks lightly. “Fool, don’t be big-headed.”

“Am I being big-headed?” Dong Xuebing rolled his eyes.

Xie Huilan laughed. “He cannot be praised... Hahaha... The more you praise, the bigger his head is.”

Yesterday, both women were fighting against each other aggressively. But today, both were joking together. Dong Xuebing looks at Qu Yunxuan and Xie Huilan. He immediately felt better. Collapsing suddenly might also be good for him, as he can never imagine Xie Huilan and Qu Yunxuan sitting together chatting peacefully. This can only happen in his dreams. Dong Xuebing suddenly does not want to recover. He hopes that his condition will last for at least 20 years.

“Let’s watch TV and stop talking about this.”

“Fine. What are we watching?”

“Xiao Bing will decide.”

Both women let Dong Xuebing decide what they are going to watch, and Dong Xuebing announced proudly. “We will watch movies!”

Xie Huilan laughed. “I knew you would say this. Let me find the channel.”

Qu Yunxuan added. “There is a movie channel that shows HD movies.”

“Ok. I found it.” Xie Huilan turns up the volume. “I think it is a sci-fi film.”

At night, Dong Xuebing does not need to go for any checks, and Xie Huilan walks over to the door and locks it. After that, she sat beside Dong Xuebing on the bed and rested against the headboard. Qu Yunxuan saw this and sat on the other side. She was holding to pomegranate and feeding him slowly.

Two pretty women were by his side, and Dong Xuebing felt he is in heavens.

It was hell yesterday, and today, Dong Xuebing had arrived in heavens. The changes are drastic.

Dong Xuebing’s hand slowly reached out from under the blanket and held Aunt Xuan’s hand. Aunt Xuan did not say anything and tightened her grip on his hand. Dong Xuebing’s right hand also reached over and held Xie Huilan’s hand. Xie Huilan smiled and used her thumbs to stroke his fingers.

Qu Yunxuan could see Dong Xuebing holding Xie Huilan’s hand, and Xie Huilan could see Dong Xuebing holding Qu Yunxuan’s hand. But both women pretended not to see anything and focus on the movie.

Dong Xuebing felt his happiness increasing to a level he had never experienced before.

But Dong Xuebing is not stupid. He knew both women were worried his condition would worsen and did not say anything. He dared not to push his luck and released their hands after around one minute.

“Sister Xie, Aunt Xuan...”

“Huh?” Xie Huilan turns toward Dong Xuebing.

Qu Yunxuan also looked at Dong Xuebing. “What is it?”

Dong Xuebing asked. “Are you all going to settle the score with me after I recover?”

Xie Huilan laughed. “You are quite smart.”

“No.” Qu Yunxuan secretly tapped Xie Huilan’s leg and said. “We will sit down together peaceful and discuss our problems. No matter what, we will not settle the score with you.” Qu Yunxuan sticks her fingers into Dong Xuebing’s hair and massages his head lightly. “Stop thinking about all these.”

Dong Xuebing hesitated for a few seconds and said. “Both of you do not need to be like this. I am not that weak until I die if I get agitated. Errr... yesterday is just a coincidence because too many things happened at the same time. It will not happen again. So... so, you two can do what you all want. If you want to leave or hit me, I will accept it.”

Qu Yunxuan looks at Dong Xuebing. “Are you happy if I tell you I am leaving you?”

Dong Xuebing replied. “No... but if you want to leave, then...”

“When did I say I want to leave you?” Qu Yunxuan replied angrily. “I am already mesmerized by you, how can I leave?” Aunt Xuan is a very shy person and seldom says such things to Dong Xuebing. Her face turns red immediately.

Dong Xuebing replied. “But...”

Xie Huilan interrupted him. “Now I think back. I was too rash yesterday. Since this had already happened, being angry is useless. What Yunxuan said earlier is right. All of us are responsible for this, and you are not the only one at fault. Rather than fighting and arguing, we should settle this peacefully, and it will be the best way to solve this problem. Right?”

Dong Xuebing was moved. “Sister Xie...”

Qu Yunxuan brushed Dong Xuebing’s hair. “Our problems will not be solved anytime soon. Let’s just leave it as it is now. I only want you to be healthy and happy. If you keep thinking about this problem, you might get a relapse.” Her eyes turn red. “How am I going to live if anything happens to you?”

“Aunt Xuan...”

Xie Huilan smiles. “Stop talking about those inauspicious things. Xiao Bing is tougher than everyone, and he should be able to live up to a hundred years old. Haha...”

Dong Xuebing was moved by Xie Huilan and Qu Yunxuan. “Thank you. You two... are so good to me.”

Qu Yunxuan pinched Dong Xuebing’s nose. “You only realized this now?”

“Let’s continue with the movie.” Xie Huilan held Dong Xuebing’s hand and played with his fingers. “This is a good movie. Alien invasion? Hahaha...”

Qu Yunxuan laughed. “Yes. Let’s watch it.”

Dong Xuebing put aside his troubles and nodded. He does not want the two beautiful women to be worried about him. He had decided in his heart that he will not be unfaithful to them in the future.