Against the Light - Chapter 112
Chapter 112: Joining Forces
Ye Nan observed everyone's actions and expressions the entire time. Seeing Bai Yilan stand up to so much pressure to protect Shi Qing, it would be a lie to say she wasn't moved. After all, for all these years, Sister Qing had barely fulfilled any of her responsibilities toward her daughter.
Bai Yilan handed the document to the lawyer.
"We just need a thumbprint," the lawyer said, looking at Bai Yue and nodding. He was about to hand over the ink pad when he saw Bai Yilan put her right thumb to her lips and bite down hard. Scarlet blood instantly gushed out!
She pressed the bloody print onto the line of text that severed all family ties with the Bai family.
Her icy gaze swept over Bai Yue, Bai Yiyue, and all the Bai family relatives.
The nurses wheeled out the hospital bed. Hearing the sound, Bai Yilan turned to look. On the bed, Shi Qing lay quietly, her face as white as paper and completely drained of color.
A sharp pain seized Bai Yilan's chest, making it almost impossible to breathe. She gripped the side of the bed and squatted down, suppressing her sobs and not daring to even glance at Shi Qing.
She had resented her, hated her, and had even sworn in her heart to sever their mother-daughter relationship and never see her again for the rest of their lives.
But seeing her mother lying there so weakly, countless fragments flashed through her mind—all of them loving memories from her childhood, of her mother by her side. She couldn't muster a shred of hatred; all her resentment and grievances had vanished without a trace.
Right now, all she wanted was for her mother to wake up, safe and sound. Even if she went back to how she was before—refusing to acknowledge her, ignoring her—it would be fine, as long as she was okay.
Gu Xinran stepped forward to help her up, then looked at Ming Zhen.
Ming Zhen nodded and signaled for her bodyguards to take the hospital bed.
Bai Yue walked up to the bed for a closer look, then stepped aside to clear the way.
Gu Xinran arranged with the hospital to borrow an ambulance to transport Shi Qing.
Inside the ambulance, they drew the curtains. The vehicle moved very slowly, and the air was filled with a clamorous noise from outside.
Gu Xinran peeked through a gap in the curtains at the dense sea of heads outside—all reporters waiting for news. Luckily, they had some decency and didn't block the ambulance.
Before long, the clamor faded into the distance as the ambulance got smoothly on the road. Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Yilan kept a tight grip on Shi Qing's hand. Gu Xinran saw this and gently patted her.
"Where are we going?" Ming Zhen asked.
"Let's go to my place. I want to take care of her myself," Bai Yilan said.
"I don't think that's safe," Ming Zhen said. "You and Gu Xinran are so high-profile right now, there are bound to be paparazzi staking out your home. If they get a picture…"
"Miss Ming has a point," Ye Nan interjected. "Why don't we go to the manor in the suburbs? It's Sister Qing's private residence. No one knows about it, so it's very secluded."
Gu Xinran frowned and glanced up at her.
"That works," Ming Zhen decided immediately. She then sent a text to her family, briefly updating them on what had happened.
"Yilan, don't worry," Ming Zhen said. "My mom said she'll find the best doctors for Auntie Qing. There have been cases in the country of people waking up from vegetative states. Auntie Qing will wake up."
"Thank you," Bai Yilan said softly.
Gu Xinran took her hand and, using the first-aid kit in the ambulance, cleaned the wound on her finger and applied a bandage. She didn't say much, silently offering comfort through her actions.
Half an hour later, the vehicle drove into the suburban manor.
The manor was quiet and secluded, designed in the style of a classical Chinese garden with rockeries, flowing water, pavilions, and towers. The furniture was all made of woven bamboo, and there was even a bamboo grove in the courtyard. Gu Xinran was stunned by the sight, gaining a whole new definition of what it meant to be wealthy.
After settling Shi Qing in, everyone tactfully left to give the mother and daughter some time alone.
Ye Nan went to contact a family doctor, while Gu Xinran and Ming Zhen rested in the living room.
"Thank you for today." Gu Xinran poured Ming Zhen a cup of tea and thanked her.
Ming Zhen shook her head, clearly looking like she had something on her mind.
"What's wrong?"
"I've run into a problem."
"What is it?"
"The kind I can't get past," Ming Zhen said, glancing toward the bedroom.
Gu Xinran figured she wanted to confide in Yilan, but with everything that had happened, Yilan certainly wouldn't have the energy to spare for her.
"Do you want to talk to me about it?"
Ming Zhen looked at her, remembering this was the Little Fairy she had been obsessed with in her younger, more naive days…
"I…"
"It's all Bai Yiyue's fault for instigating Ming Qian to rebel. Now, the Ming family has been dragged down by her. Our market value has plummeted, and our position in the fashion world is visibly declining. My mom is getting anxious."
"What on earth is she thinking! Ming Qian made this mess, but she sent her away to hide from the consequences and left me to clean it all up! Am I even her biological daughter? How can she be so biased?"
Gu Xinran was a bit lost, but she gathered that the mother-daughter relationship in the Ming family was strained, and that Ming Zhen's mother clearly favored Ming Qian.
"So, what exactly happened?"
"My mom wants me to marry into the Xue family to stabilize our family's position. How could she even suggest I marry an old woman who's almost forty?! This isn't a marriage alliance; she's basically selling her own daughter!" The more Ming Zhen spoke, the angrier she became, finally slamming her hand on the table.
After her outburst, she felt helpless again. Clutching her forehead, she said, "After our open falling out with the Bai family, the Ming family is in an even more precarious position. My mom will definitely… Is there any alcohol? I want a drink."
Gu Xinran understood. Marriage alliances like this were commonplace among the major wealthy families; being an heiress wasn't as easy as it seemed.
Seeing Ming Zhen looking so utterly wronged, Gu Xinran's mind raced, and an idea suddenly struck her.
"I have an idea."
"What?"
"Our two families should join forces. Now that Wei Yi is controlled by Bai Yiyue and Bai Yue, the Ming family's future won't be easy. Heart Entertainment already declared war on Wei Yi today. We have a common enemy and a common goal."
"Although our companies have different focuses, that won't stop us from cooperating. In fact, we can complement each other. The Ming family has a wealth of fashion resources, while Heart Entertainment has everything from popular idols to talented actors."
Ming Zhen understood immediately, her eyes lighting up. "You mean, if we join forces and take down Wei Yi, my mom probably won't force me to marry that old wealthy woman anymore?"
Gu Xinran nearly spat out her tea.
Take down Wei Yi? She really dares to think big…
At that thought, Gu Xinran subconsciously glanced toward the bedroom. Thinking about what Yilan and Shi Qing had been through, she couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Inside the bedroom, Bai Yilan sat by the bed, using a towel to wipe Shi Qing's hands.
Her fingers were long and slender; they were the hands she had held since she was a child.
Her fingertips gently traced Shi Qing's brows and eyes. It had been so, so long since she had truly looked at her own mother.
She hadn't noticed when the fine lines had appeared at the corners of her mother's eyes, or when so many white hairs had sprouted at her temples…
Ye Nan pushed the door open and stood at the entrance for a long time.
"Yilan, don't be too sad. Your mother will be all right," Ye Nan said, walking over and patting her shoulder comfortingly.
"When she sent me away back then… was it to protect me?" Bai Yilan asked, taking a deep breath to hold back her tears.
Ye Nan sighed. "Yes."
"She knew from the very beginning that you never hurt Bai Yiyue. But in that situation, when even the family nanny was in cahoots with Bai Yiyue to slander you, she grew afraid. She was afraid she couldn't protect you, and she couldn't bear to imagine what kind of harm you might suffer in a place where she couldn't see you. So, she had no choice but to endure the pain of sending you away. She…" Ye Nan paused, her own voice choking with emotion.
"She has always missed you very much, whether you believe it or not."
Bai Yilan bit her lip. "After she sent me away, did she ever come to see me in secret?"
"Yes. That time you had a high fever that wouldn't break, she was so worried. She went to see you secretly and stayed with you for a whole night, but she left before you woke up."
Bai Yilan couldn't help but cover her face and weep.
An image had always lingered in her mind. She remembered that year, after being suddenly sent away, she had fallen gravely ill with a persistent high fever. When she was at her most miserable, she had felt an unusually familiar embrace that had calmed her restless heart.
But when she woke up, the warm embrace was gone. There were no familiar people or things, only the same strange environment. Every memory of being with her mother felt like a dream that didn't belong to her.
When Gu Xinran came in and saw Yilan crying so heartbrokenly, her own heart ached. She rushed over to hug her, stroking her back and comforting her in a soft voice.
"The doctors are here. Let's have them examine Auntie Qing first," Gu Xinran said.
The two of them got up and left the room.
"I can't shake the feeling that this car accident was too strange," Bai Yilan said, pinching her forehead. The scene at the hospital made her feel sick; those people were clearly hoping for her mother to die, as if it had all been premeditated.
"I've already had Fang Yi look into the surveillance and dashcam footage from the scene," Gu Xinran said. She had also felt something was off and had instructed Fang Yi to investigate right away.
Bai Yilan nodded, then looked at Ming Zhen. "I really have to thank you for today."
"There's no need for thanks between us," Ming Zhen replied. "Just focus on taking care of Auntie Qing and yourself for now. We'll handle everything else."
"Thank you."
Only then did Bai Yilan have a moment to look around. Her eyes suddenly froze on something, and she got up and walked toward a photo wall.
Gu Xinran followed. She hadn't noticed before, but the wall was covered with photos of Yilan, from when she was a little girl all the way to the present.
Among them was a photo of the family of three. Shi Qing's eyes and brows looked very much like Yilan's. In the picture, she was holding a chubby baby Yilan, her smile exceptionally gentle, warm, and bright, as if she were holding the entire world in her arms.
"After she sent you away, she never smiled like that again," Ye Nan said softly.
News that Shi Qing was seriously injured and in a coma spread like wildfire. On Weibo, topics like #TheQueensCurtainFalls, #BaiYiyueMayRetakeWeiYi, and #WeiYiShareholdersMassExodus practically dominated the trending list.
Netizens expressed their sorrow over Shi Qing's plight, and Weibo was filled with voices praying for her recovery.
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