Su Bai finished her daily routine, which was a pretty standard office job: eight hours a day, weekends off, and public holidays as well. At the age of twenty-seven, she had already become the deputy director of the Human Resources Department at the Pharmaceutical Inspection Bureau. Her work wasn't particularly strenuous, which was why she was very content with her current position.
She finished her tasks an hour early and drove to the Second People's Hospital of Mingzhu City. It was said that the hospital had a dedicated research institution for mental health, with an advanced and authoritative team. When it came to treating mental illness, the Second People's Hospital was one of the most sought-after places for patients.
Su Bai parked her car in the lot and, with practiced ease, headed to the elevator, making her way directly to the fifteenth floor of the psychiatric department. She had made an appointment with Dr. Li a couple of days ago. Dr. Li was one of the few young and outstanding doctors in the psychiatric department and had been her long-term physician. There was, however, another layer to their relationship: Dr. Li was a senior of hers in college, two years ahead. This closeness was evident in their interactions.
She arrived at the psychiatric department and paused before entering. After taking a deep breath, she smiled as she gazed at the man sitting at the desk, focusing on organizing case files.
Li Feng—her current attending physician and the only person who knew the truth about her condition.
"Here already? Take a seat," Dr. Li said, a slight smile curling at the corner of his lips as he adjusted his glasses and briefly looked up. He had always been protective of this beautiful younger colleague.
"Didn't you have other patients scheduled for today?" Su Bai asked, propping her chin on her hand, looking at him with a bright, engaging smile.
"You're the last one today."
"Oh, that's quite a coincidence, isn't it? Sorry for keeping you waiting, Dr. Li."
After completing a series of routine checks, Su Bai cooperated very well, almost as if it had become a habit. She visited the hospital once a month, each time answering the same questions, following the same routine. She was always more than willing to comply.
Everything went smoothly and naturally.
Before she left, Dr. Li couldn't help but furrow his brows. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke. "Su Bai, I heard you've been coming to the department frequently to pick up your medication lately? I remember prescribing enough for two months last time."
Su Bai's expression remained calm, and she smiled as she responded. "The last batch of medicine got flushed down the toilet by my cousin's child. I had to go back and get some more." Her tone was so natural that there was no hint of suspicion, making it seem like she wasn't lying at all.
Li Feng nodded in acknowledgment. "The next appointment is on the 3rd of next month, at the same time. Please make sure to come in for your check-up." Though there were some lingering doubts in his mind, he chose not to press further.
Su Bai gave Dr. Li a gentle, appreciative smile before she finally left.
Once outside the hospital, she skillfully poured the contents of the two medicine bottles into two vitamin bottles she had prepared ahead of time.
For years, she had been repeating this simple process. Yes, she had been hiding it—hiding the fact that she was ill. She had kept this secret for a full decade, only revealing it to her attending physician, Li Feng. She had never told anyone else about her "condition."
Just as she was about to place the bottles into her bag, her phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, a slight smile appeared on her lips. At first glance, it seemed like a satisfied, feminine smile, but oddly, there was a hint of mischief hidden in it.
"Are you off work?" The man's deep voice came through the phone.
"Mm, just got off work." She lifted her eyelids slightly, looking at the white gates of the hospital in front of her. From the car, she could still smell the faint scent of disinfectant wafting through, a smell of medicine that, even with her eyes closed, had long since ingrained itself in her memory after so many years.
"Are you home yet?"
"Mm, not yet. Still on the way."
"Do you want me to pick you up? We can grab dinner together." The man paused for a moment before he slowly spoke again.
"Sure, come by around seven. Call me when you get here." After hanging up, the smile on Su Bai's lips slowly faded, and she drove off from the hospital.
On her way home, the city center was once again gridlocked during the evening rush hour. At this time, it was almost impossible to avoid traffic jams. It was also a hot August evening, and even though the car's air conditioning was on, Su Bai couldn't help but frown as she stared at the sea of cars stretching ahead. On top of that, someone behind her kept honking incessantly, making it almost unbearable.
After waiting for nearly half an hour, the line of cars finally began to ease up a little, and Su Bai was able to move forward slightly. But accidents often happen when least expected. Just as she turned the corner of a small road up ahead, a woman in a yellow dress suddenly darted out in front of her, almost like a wisp of smoke—so fast it didn't seem real. Su Bai's heart skipped a beat. She slammed on the brakes and jerked the steering wheel to the side. Before she could even anticipate the consequences, she felt the airbag smack her face, followed by the intense jolt of the car. She must have hit something.
After a struggle, Su Bai managed to tear the airbag out of her way, but she found that her forehead had been bruised badly, a large swollen patch. Gritting her teeth, she moved to the side, the pain making her hiss. Her mind gradually cleared up.
She got out of the car and was surprised to see that the "smoke-like wisp" was no illusion. It really was a woman, who was standing frozen in place, shocked by the incident. Next to her was a brand-new Maserati Quattroporte, a car that Su Bai recognized because her boyfriend, Fang Cheng, also owned an identical one.
However, the man who got out of the car was unfamiliar to her. He was tall, young, and dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, a business-like appearance. But at that moment, Su Bai didn't have the time to ponder the relationship between this man and the woman. She simply pulled out her phone and, with practiced ease, dialed the emergency number everyone knows to call in a traffic accident.
Just as she was about to press the dial button, a long finger, with well-groomed nails, swiftly snatched the phone away from her.
She looked up in surprise and found a stern-faced man coldly staring at her. Su Bai was momentarily stunned, but not because her phone was taken. It was because the man... well, he was probably the most handsome man she had ever seen.
However, Su Bai was no ordinary woman. No matter how stunning this man was, she couldn't forget the pain in her forehead. A slight frown made the wound hurt even more, which quickly reminded her that her phone had been snatched. Her anger flared, and she shot a furious glare at this sudden intruder.
Before she could speak, there was another sharp screech of brakes behind her, followed by several luxury cars stopping at the side of the road. It was like something out of a TV show—no, not even that, because it was too absurd. Two more men swiftly slammed their car doors and rushed towards the woman in the yellow dress.
As the true victim, Su Bai felt like a torn-up rag, completely ignored on the side of the road.
This was probably the first time in her twenty-seven years of life that she had been treated this way. She had never felt such an impulse to grit her teeth in anger before.
Of course, Su Bai, being Su Bai, would never actually grit her teeth. No matter how angry she was, she would only raise her brows slightly to show her discontent.
The woman in the yellow dress was plain-looking at best—okay, maybe she could be called moderately pretty—but to see her surrounded by a group of men who were so concerned about her, while Su Bai, a real beauty no matter the time or place, was utterly ignored?
Indeed, Su Bai's confidence wasn't unfounded. From any angle, she truly met the standards of a top-tier beauty. Since childhood, she had been the center of attention in school, at home, and at work.
But Su Bai had truly encountered a setback this time. Not only had she almost been in an accident, but as the victim, she was being completely ignored.
Su Bai could feel a slight pain building in her forehead, a suffocating sensation pressing on her chest. She clenched her red lips and glared at the man in front of her, but then, as if her face had changed, she switched back to politeness and asked, "Sir, what do you mean by this?"
What surprised her, however, was that the man didn't even bother to look at her. Instead, he pulled out a business card and handed it to her.
"This is the number of my secretary. If you need anything, you can contact him. The medical costs for your checkup or the damage to the car—just calculate the amount and tell him. He will take care of it." The man's tone wasn't exactly impolite, but Su Bai felt an overwhelming sense of arrogance from him. He spoke as if he was giving orders, not requests.
Yes, he wasn't asking her; he was commanding her in a tone that brooked no refusal.
While Su Bai was still staring at this man, the two other men had already forcibly pushed the woman into the Maserati, practically dragging her inside.
Su Bai instinctively frowned. Just as she was about to take a step forward, the man across from her handed her his phone and nodded toward the car, casually walking away with the others. All she was left with was the exhaust fumes of the car.
"Crazy!" Su Bai muttered under her breath, angrily dialing a string of numbers. She wasn't going to deal with any secretary, and she didn't care if the man was some rich heir or some influential figure. She was calling the police, no matter what.
About half an hour later, the police arrived, and with them, another black car, the same model as the arrogant man's.
Fang Cheng stepped out of the car and immediately spotted Su Bai sitting in her car, covering her forehead and answering the officer's questions.
"What's going on?" Fang Cheng furrowed his brows in slight surprise, noticing a small swollen bump on Su Bai's usually fair forehead.
"There was a minor accident at the intersection just now," Su Bai felt a sense of relief when she saw her boyfriend rushing over. She managed to force a smile, but still seemed a bit weak.
"Be more careful next time. Do you want me to accompany you to the hospital for a check-up?" Fang Cheng asked, seeming somewhat concerned.
Fang Cheng and Su Bai were introduced through a matchmaking service, and they'd been dating for nearly two years. Their relationship had been quite stable. Although they weren't constantly glued to each other, things had been going smoothly.
Fang Cheng held a high position in a government agency, and his family background and work were both solid. To outsiders, the two of them seemed like the perfect couple, a match made in heaven.
Su Bai was quite satisfied with her relationship with Fang Cheng. As far as she was concerned, she couldn't find any faults with him. This man was nearly perfect in her eyes.
Logically speaking, both of them weren't young anymore. Fang Cheng was only two years older than her, and he'd be turning thirty in two years. While there were no issues with him, Su Bai knew that women couldn't afford to wait too long. If she delayed any further, she might become an "old maiden."
Looking at their current age, they were both at the stage where marriage should be on the horizon. Yet, Fang Cheng seemed to have other thoughts, as he hadn't yet brought up the topic of marriage. Meanwhile, their parents on both sides had been urging them to hurry up and get married.
Before Su Bai could respond, Fang Cheng's phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, he involuntarily furrowed his brows. Fang Cheng rarely frowned, as he wasn't the type to openly show his emotions. But this small gesture didn't escape Su Bai's notice.
Who could it be?
A trace of suspicion suddenly bubbled up in Su Bai's heart, but on the surface, she didn't ask further. In essence, she trusted Fang Cheng.
Fang Cheng turned away, quickly answered a few words, then hung up. He turned back to Su Bai, his expression apologetic. "It was a work call, a last-minute meeting. Let me take you to the hospital."
"No need," Su Bai declined his offer. "It's just a small scrape, nothing serious. I'll treat it at home. You go ahead and take care of your business." She called the insurance company to tow the car away and hailed a taxi to go home alone.
Fang Cheng personally saw her off before driving off. About twenty minutes later, his car entered an old residential area on the outskirts of town. The buildings, from the 1990s, were quite old, with red walls peeling away. As soon as Fang Cheng's car entered the neighborhood, it immediately attracted the attention of the residents.
Lately, luxury cars had been coming and going in the area, and they all seemed to be linked to a particular household. As the third luxury car left, another one arrived, so naturally, the locals couldn't help but take notice.
This old residential area didn't have elevators, and the highest floor was only the seventh. Fang Cheng seemed anxious. After parking the car downstairs, he hurriedly ran up to the building.
Knock, knock, knock—Fang Cheng seemed like a different person, almost as though he wanted to break down the door with his urgency, sweating from the anxiety.
After a long moment, the door slowly opened, revealing a woman who appeared both fearful and stubborn, biting her lip, as if she had just been crying.
Upon seeing Fang Cheng, the woman glared at him with a mix of anger and frustration.
"Ziyu said you almost had an accident?" she asked, her voice tinged with irritation.
"I'm fine, just a bit shocked. Go back inside," Su Bai said, attempting to close the door. However, Fang Cheng was quicker. He blocked the door with his hand and pushed it open forcefully.
Su Bai could never have imagined that her usually gentle and refined fiancé, Fang Cheng, would furrow his brows so tightly, as if they were tied in a knot.