CHAPTER 78: CHAPTER 78: EARS HEATING UP INSTANTLY

"Please...," Shi Su closed her eyes, still desperately hugging the man around her body, clutching his neck tightly, "Don’t leave..."

Her hands held so tightly for over ten seconds, suddenly she was pulled into the man’s slightly cold embrace.

Shi Su quickly snuggled deeper into his arms, mumbling again, "My stomach hurts."

Jing Jihan looked down at the little woman who seemed to have shed her usual armor of resilience and was vulnerable and helpless in her dream. Hearing her words, he first thought she had caught a cold, causing her stomachache, so he slid his hand under the blanket, resting it on her slightly cool belly.

In the man’s palm, there seemed to be a constant source of warmth. Shi Su instinctively burrowed deeper into his embrace, her stomach pressing against his palm as if afraid he’d suddenly take his hand away.

At first, Jing Jihan didn’t understand why her stomach hurt. The next moment, as if comprehending something, he glanced at her again, keeping one hand on her belly while the other reached for the water cup on the bedside cabinet.

The water in the cup was cold.

He pondered for a moment, tucking Shi Su in securely, covering her with the blanket more firmly. He was just about to rise, but Shi Su, feeling uncomfortable because his hand was no longer warming her belly, tightly gripped his fingers.

It took him some effort to pry her fingers off and roughly tucked them back into the blanket.

Ten minutes later, Jing Jihan returned with freshly boiled water, pouring it into a cup. The water was too hot to drink immediately, so he didn’t wake her right away. He turned to see her lying on the bed, having kicked off the blanket again in discomfort, frowning in her dreams.

He went over to cover her with the blanket once more. Shi Su, as if intuitively sensing him, quickly grabbed his hand again.

Jing Jihan intended to pull away, but she unconsciously turned over, trying to burrow into his embrace, her lips softly brushing his arm, delicate, soft, and gently warm.

Jing Jihan paused slightly, his deep black eyes fixed on her for a moment, then reached toward her belly again, adjusting the blanket over her.

When the water reached a suitable temperature, Jing Jihan woke Shi Su, urging her to drink the hot water.

Shi Su, still somewhat dazed, sat up halfway between sleep and wakefulness. Seeing the cup handed to her, she was indeed thirsty, so she drank half of it, then pushed the cup away, indicating she couldn’t drink anymore and wanted to continue sleeping.

A few days ago, she had been staying up late on set, extremely sleep-deprived but still managing to hold on, until her period knocked her down.

Jing Jihan asked if there was brown sugar at home. Shi Su instinctively pointed outside, then fell back to sleep.

Jing Jihan: "..."

She gradually slept soundly. Jing Jihan, kept awake by caring for her, found a packet of brown sugar in her kitchen cabinet. He made her a cup of brown sugar water, forcing her to wake up and drink the whole cup.

Shi Su was woken up twice in the dead of night, drinking a belly full of water. The first time she woke, she was disoriented; the second time, she had emerged from her dream, and seeing Jing Jihan making brown sugar water for her, her ears quickly heated up. She pretended not to be fully awake, hurriedly drinking the brown sugar water, then swiftly laid back down, pulling the blanket over her face.

This habit of pulling the blanket over their faces when sleeping was identical between her and her mother.

The next morning, after being filled with two cups of water, Shi Su naturally woke up due to pressure, crawling out of bed and stiff-neckedly walking out of the children’s room.

Last night, she was merely trapped in a nightmare, not drunk or lost memory. Many scenes gradually clear in her mind, as if nothing had happened, she went straight to the bathroom.

Jing Jihan had given the master bedroom to Shi Mianmian and spent the whole night taking care of Shi Su. Now, he was still not sleepy, noticing Shi Su run out of the children’s room like a ghost early in the morning, swiftly slipping into the bathroom.

Not long afterward, Shi Su, again like a ghost, came out, seemingly without seeing him, and with stiff-necked fast strides headed back to the children’s room, letting out a sound of door closing with a "bang," along with the sound of locking from inside.

Jing Jihan raised his hand to pinch his brow, having spent an exhausting night caring for a thankless person.

-

The next day.

Lu Zhao called.

Shi Su captured Mianmian back to the children’s room, using cartoon cards to teach Shi Mianmian to recognize words, with the door still tightly shut.

For the past two days, except during occasional meal deliveries or when Jing Jihan fed them, she avoided coming out whenever possible.

The embarrassment during the shower was over, but being discovered with her period was unexpected.

Even though Ji Han appeared calm as if nothing happened, Shi Su was unable to face it, so she avoided him whenever possible.

Jing Jihan stood by the master bedroom window, looking out at the silver buildings emerging from the clouds miles away in the white mist. This place was far from the city center; ordinary buildings were barely visible in the mist, except for Jiang City’s most prominent sixty-eight-story city landmark, the completely modern metallic structure of Yu Jing Group’s headquarters, piercing the sky, standing tall in the city center.

The voice over the phone was Lu Zhao’s: "According to the surveillance footage from the bridge that day, during the time Miss Shi’s nanny vehicle crashed into the river, there was no anomaly on the bridge. The doctor’s diagnosis revealed the driver had exceeded alcohol limits, undoubtedly driving drunk, and at a level of intoxication."

Lu Zhao, examining the documents in his hand, continued with a serious tone: "However, I’ve investigated his activities on the day of the accident, including all footage from his dashboard camera. He has a family and children, had no arguments with family or small gatherings with friends before the incident, and his other friends had no changes either. He normally isn’t someone who drinks excessively, so suddenly drinking a large quantity of high-concentration alcohol has no reason or motive. That’s quite peculiar."

Jing Jihan paused, cutting to the chase: "High-concentration alcohol?"

"Yes, the doctor found a substantial amount of residual alcohol in his system, at very high concentrations, indicating he either deliberately got himself drunk or intentionally created the scenario of accidental collision by drunk driving," Lu Zhao said softly. "I’ve found no suspicious transactions in his bank accounts, nor any in those of his wife and frequently contacted relatives, already checked thoroughly. But his son seems ready to transfer to a prestigious school—a process underway—while his family can’t afford annual tuition of tens of thousands."

Jing Jihan’s tone was calm: "Arrange personnel inside and outside the hospital to monitor the perpetrator’s condition. Before he regains consciousness, no one else is allowed near the ICU, including his family. Should anyone attempt to visit forcefully, target them directly."

Lu Zhao responded: "Understood."