"Is it his girlfriend?" asked Nan Xing with interest. "I can't think of another girl he'd care so much about."
"It doesn't seem to be his girlfriend," told Yan Mu. "I have seen Young Master Yi Qin's girlfriend before. This is a new girl. Do you think he is cheating on his girlfriend?"
Nan Xing scoffed at that, "Yi Qin and cheating can't be used in the same sentence ever. It is impossible for him to cheat."
Yan Mu was slightly surprised seeing how certain she seemed talking about Yi Qin. But he didn't doubt Nan Xing's words either. If his boss had trust in Yi Qin's character then he was no one to question it. He had already known about his boss' ability to accurately judge a person and a situation. How else she would be a force to be reckoned with in the finance world?
"Then should I look into this matter further?" inquired Yan Mu.
"There is no need to waste your time. What Yi Qin is capable of, how could I not know? He must have made another mistake and was just trying to atone now by being so attentive. There couldn't be another reason why he'd pay attention to a stranger so much. What's the point of knowing about what he is up to? He is only gonna accuse me later that I told his grandfather what he did again. As if I have nothing else better to do with my time."
"Xing Jie is right," chimed Qi Yuze as he finished the ginger soup and put down the bowl on the table. "Yi Qin has a habit of blaming Xing Jie for tattling on him. I don't even understand why he dislikes you so much."
"He has no dislike for me. He simply is scared of me and despises me with all his heart."
"And that's why I don't like him either," added Qi Yuze.
"You need to stop making enemies for my sake," said Nan Xing to Qi Yuze. She stood up and fixed her suit as she went on, "Rest well. You are under probation now. If you make another mistake, don't even think of getting out of the hospital!"
"Jieeeee!" Qi Yuze dragged his words as he called out to her with a pleading tone but Nan Xing didn't even spare him another glance as she left. While Qi Yuze was wallowing in his missed opportunity, the door slid open again and Nan Xing came back. "You're back! I knew you wouldn't abandon me."
Nan Xing looked at Qi Yuze's excited appearance and had no words. He really looked like a puppy who was happy to see his owner coming back home. She shook her head to shoo away this absurd thought before getting back to the topic that made her come back, "I thought about it for a while and I think you should know this. Your elder sister has filed for a divorce. Currently, there is a tough battle over their son's custody going on between your sister and her husband."
Qi Yuze's expression took a shift once he heard this piece of news. "It doesn't concern me."
"Actually, it concerns you more than you think," said Nan Xing. "Her purpose is very obvious. This is her telling you that despite being a married daughter, she'd still do whatever it takes to inherit your family's business and kick you out of it. Even if it comes at the cost of her own marriage."
"Xing Jie, I'm not interested," replied Qi Yuze. "I don't wanna know what she is up to or what her intentions are really. She can do all she wants. I just want her to leave me alone in peace."
"I have said this before, Zeze, whether you want to or not, you'd have to become a part of this struggle eventually. Because you carry the surname Qi which makes it impossible for you to stand on the sidelines and just watch. Eventually, you'll also have to suffer from the burns of this new-age battle for control and power." Nan Xing took a brief as she looked at Qi Yuze's thoughtful expression as she concluded, "You should spend these days, thinking about what role are you gonna play in this struggle. And I really hope you make the right choice."
.....
Yi Qin brought a hot meal for Liu Xinyu but when he found the ward empty, he was shocked. He couldn't even ask anyone about her because the old grandpa who was staying in the same ward had gone for some tests and wasn't in the ward. Yi Qin wanted to go out to look for Liu Xinyu when he found her right outside the door.
Looking at her miserable condition, he was baffled.
"What happened to you? Why are you wet? Is it raining outside or do you just have a thing for water?" asked Yi Qin. "Look what you did to yourself." He held her arm with concern and helped her inside the ward. "Take these towels, I just bought them for you. Dry yourself. I'm gonna look for some clothes for you. Don't go anywhere again."
Liu Xinyu held his hand to stop him and asked, "What's your name?"
"What?" Yi Qin thought he was hearing things right now. He did not expect her to ask such a question right now. "Is that something you should be asking right now? If you stay in these wet clothes, you are gonna catch a cold, again!"
"Then you should hurry up and answer my question. What is your name?" Liu Xinyu stubbornly looked into his eyes and even Yi Qin could tell that she won't let this matter go until he answered. Anyway, it was just a name. He could tell her that.
"I'm Yi Qin!" he answered.
"Yi Qin?" she repeated and then urgently asked, "Were you born on the 8th of April, 1975?"
"How do you know that?" asked Yi Qin feeling a little startled. "Do you know me?"
Liu Xinyu just stared at him in disbelief before asking, "Where is your hometown?"
Yi Qin frowned at her question but still answered, "I was born and raised right here in Yuchen City. All my ancestors are from here as well. My family also lives here. Why are you even curious about this? No more questions, I'm going to find you some clothes now."
Seeing him leave, Liu Xinyu was left even more confused. Why was everything not matching up?
"So?" inquired Yiyi who was still around and had been observing Liu Xinyu's expressions. "Did you confirm whether he is your father's younger version or not?"
"He isn't my father," answered Liu Xinyu. "That's right. I must be in a parallel dimension at the moment which is similar to my reality but also has some subtle changes. Yes, that must be it."
"What is a parallel dimension?" asked Yiyi looking rather lost at the moment.
Liu Xinyu gave this female ghost a look and asked, "Ghostie, how old are you exactly? Which era do you belong to? One of the earliest records of the theory of parallel universes came in 1957, when Everett proposed "many-worlds interpretation" of quantum mechanics, which posits that every possible outcome of a quantum event actually occurs, leading to the existence of multiple parallel universes. If you don't know this, that means you're not just an old ghost, you are an ancient ghost."
"Thanks for the disrespect!" said Yiyi. "Whether I'm old or ancient doesn't matter. What matters is you trying to justify your own conjectures right now by using science as a shield. Are you trying to protect your fragile heart?"
"What do you mean?"
"He has the same birth date as your father, doesn't he?" asked Yiyi. Liu Xinyu stayed silent in response. But Yiyi didn't want to know her answer since she already knew the answer. "But his birthplace and experiences don't match your knowledge of your father. Rather than doubting the authenticity of what you really know about your father, you are more willing to believe that this isn't the world you know. Because it's easier to digest and won't hurt your feelings too."
"So what else do you want me to do?" asked Liu Xinyu. "Do you want me to accept that he is my father? And if he is, that means everything I knew about my father was a lie. A complete lie. Doesn't it make my whole life built on a lie? What does it leave me? What does my existence mean in the face of these lies?"
"Denial certainly won't answer those questions," was Yiyi's reply. "If anything, the more you run from facing the truth, the more complicated you are gonna make the things you are involved in."
"So, what should I do?"
Yiyi looked into Liu Xinyu's eyes and told her, "Don't forget this is 1998. You don't know why you are here or how you got here. But does it matter right now? The answers won't change the fact that you are here now in the past. What you have to do now, is to try your best to recover first. You can only find your way back home once you are absolutely healthy."