ABOES 42: Ask for Guidance

After more than half a month of stalemate, Grandma Chi finally agreed to undergo surgery, and the entire family was overjoyed.

Once the initial excitement settled down, Chi Ling immediately went to consult with the attending physician to discuss the details of the surgery.

Upon hearing that Grandma Chi had agreed, the doctor was visibly relieved.

The surgical plan had been finalized long ago, and a suitable bone marrow donor had already been found.

What Grandma Chi needed to do now was to rest and relax while undergoing a few more pre-surgery examinations. Once everything was ready, she would be transferred to a sterile ward in preparation for the bone marrow transplant.

Although she had agreed to the surgery, Grandma Chi was still somewhat unhappy about it.

The first issue was that in just a few days, she would be moved into a sterile room.

From then on, she would eat and sleep inside. She will only be able to talk to Yunxing through a surveillance monitor.

She was quite vocal about her dissatisfaction with this.

Knowing she was unhappy, Chi Yunxing made the most of the days before the transfer, staying with her as much as possible.

In the first few days, he returned home with Tan Yao and the others, but eventually, he decided to stay in the hospital room with the caretaker.

Grandma Chi felt distressed seeing this and tried to persuade him to go home, but Chi Yunxing refused, saying he wanted to spend more time with her.

Tan Yao had also tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted on staying so she had no choice but to have the housekeeper bring him fresh clothes and arranged with the hospital director to get him a private room next door.

During this time, Xie Yi also visited the hospital once, bringing a bouquet of bright red roses for Grandma Chi.

The old lady was clearly delighted to see the flowers and chatted with Xie Yi for quite a while. It wasn’t until Chi Yunxing reminded her to rest that she finally stopped.

Once Grandma Chi lay down, Chi Yunxing took Xie Yi out to the corridor.

It was the afternoon. Chi Ling, Tan Yao, and Chi Xiwen were all at work, so the only ones at the hospital now were Chi Yunxing and the caretaker.

“Yi Jie, was there something else you wanted to say to me?” Chi Yunxing had noticed earlier that Xie Yi seemed like she had something on her mind so he got straight to the point.

Xie Yi liked this straightforwardness about him. She smiled lightly and took a seat on a bench in the hallway.

Chi Yunxing sat beside her and waited patiently for her to speak.

After organizing her thoughts, Xie Yi began, “Actually, the main reason I came today is to confirm something.” She paused, meeting his gaze. “Are you still planning to pursue the same goals you originally set for yourself?”

Even before she spoke, Chi Yunxing had a rough idea of what Xie Yi was going to ask.

Too much has happened lately. Even though Xie Yi was rational, it was only natural that she would have concerns.

If the person in front of her were still the same Ye Xinian as before, there would be no need for worry.

Back then, their goals were perfectly aligned. She was responsible for paving the way, and Ye Xinian would take every step forward without hesitation.

Now, the person in front of her was no longer the helpless Ye Xinian. He was Chi Yunxing, with Yunxing Entertainment and the entire Chi family behind him.

To put it bluntly, Chi Yunxing could now do nothing at all, and he would still have a flood of premium resources handed to him on a silver platter.

Some of those resources were ones even Xie Yi might not be able to secure, despite exhausting all her contacts. Even though they had a formal contract, the practical reality couldn’t be ignored. That was why she’d come in person today.

“You’re asking if I still want to continue working with you, right?” Chi Yunxing rephrased the question. That was what Xie Yi truly wanted to ask.

She stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

Chi Yunxing’s lips curved slightly, and without hesitation, he said, “Of course I do.”

Xie Yi blinked, surprised.

Chi Yunxing fidgeted with his fingers before continuing, “To be honest, Yi Jie, I’m really grateful to you.”

“Why?” she asked reflexively.

Chi Yunxing looked her in the eye, his gaze sincere. “Because if it weren’t for your help back then, I might still be tangled up with that scumbag. Even though this is just a professional relationship, I really appreciate everything you’ve done.”

“In the time we’ve worked together, you’ve helped me secure the best possible resources for my level. In just over two weeks, my Weibo followers have already shot up to 1.5 million, and my visibility keeps rising. Don’t you think we’ve had a great partnership?”

“Finding a family that truly loves me has been an unexpected joy, and I’m really happy about it. But I don’t want to rely entirely on them either.” Chi Yunxing looked ahead. The hallway lights reflected in his dark eyes like scattered stars. “Yi Jie, I’m still counting on you. You said it yourself, I’ll stand at the top one day.”

Xie Yi stared at him for a long moment. Her heart suddenly gave a hard thump. Not from any romantic emotion, but from pure excitement. She had never felt this thrilled before. Her chest rose and fell as she finally let out a laugh.

“Xinian—no, Yunxing—meeting you really is like striking gold!”

Chi Yunxing smiled. “I feel the same.”

“Great!” Xie Yi stood up energetically, pulled a script from her bag, and shoved it into his hands. “Since you’re so sure, then I’ll keep doing my part! There’s less than a month until Secret Crush starts filming. You need to dig into this script!”

Chi Yunxing couldn’t help but laugh.

He took the script and nodded seriously. “Got it.”

Now completely at ease, Xie Yi’s mind was sharper than ever. She suddenly asked, “By the way, Yunxing, President Chi. He’s close with Movie Emperor Duan, right?”

Chi Yunxing, flipping through the script, nodded. “Mm, my Ge and Duan—” He paused, “—and Duan Ge grew up together.”

“So you and him must be pretty close too?” she asked.

Chi Yunxing hesitated, then nodded. “I guess so?”

Though it mostly felt like Duan Zhiyan was the one who knew him well. His understanding of Zhiyan was limited to the stories Tan Yao told about their childhood.

Xie Yi grinned. “Then you should totally ask Movie Emperor Duan for tips! His acting is recognized as top-tier in the industry.”

Chi Yunxing blinked. “Huh?”

“I’m serious! The acting coaches I arranged for you aren’t even half as good as one of his lessons. I don’t know if you heard, but recently Duan Zhiyan starred in a film where the female lead was a total rookie forced in by the investors. At first, he refused to do it, but then, who knows why, he suddenly agreed. He still quit halfway through filming, but I heard from someone on set that the girl improved a lot under his guidance.”

Chi Yunxing couldn’t help being intrigued. “Really?”

“Would I lie?” Xie Yi said. “If you’re unsure, you can ask President Chi first.”

Chi Yunxing tucked that advice away in his mind. He planned to ask Chi Xiwen about it when he came by that evening.

If learning from Duan Zhiyan could really improve his acting, he was more than willing.

What he didn’t expect was how quickly everything would change.

Later that evening, after waiting in the hospital for a long time, Chi Yunxing never saw Chi Xiwen or the others. Instead, he got a call from Tan Yao.

“Hello, Mom?” he answered.

There was some background noise on her end. She responded briefly, then seemed to move to a quieter place before saying, “Yunxing, are you still in the hospital? Is Mom asleep?”

Chi Yunxing nodded. “Yeah, Grandma’s asleep.”

Tan Yao finally spoke. “Good. The driver is already on the way to pick you up. Come to the police station. They confessed.”

She didn’t specify who, but Chi Yunxing understood instantly— Father Ye and Mother Ye had confessed.