CHAPTER 404: CHAPTER 404 IT’S TOO DANGEROUS FOR HER TO FOLLOW ME NOW

After finishing her call with Yun Tiancheng, Yun Shifei hung up the phone and lowered her head, noticing an incoming call.

It was an unfamiliar number.

In this day and age, it was unlikely to be a spam call. Although she had no idea who the caller was, Yun Shifei instinctively dialed the number back.

After a while, someone picked up.

"Hello? May I ask who this is?" Yun Shifei asked politely.

On the other end of the call, Cheng Lie heard Yun Shifei’s familiar voice and wanted to say it was him.

But then he thought about his current state—blind, unable to see anything. Letting her know he had become such a pathetic and ridiculous person was the last thing he wanted.

What’s more, he didn’t even know who was behind this. Someone was ruthless enough to take such drastic measures, and the next move might harm her because of him.

Cheng Lie pursed his lips. In the end, he said nothing and hung up the phone.

Yun Shifei, hearing the call disconnect, was baffled but chose not to overthink it.

She still needed to figure out where Cheng Lie had gone. What could she do to find him?

That afternoon, Zhao Pan informed Yun Shifei that Cheng Lie’s phone had been found. It was broken and taken in for repair.

But Cheng Lie himself was still nowhere to be found.

Not finding him might actually be the best-case scenario. Yun Shifei gradually shifted from despair to optimism.

Maybe a kind-hearted stranger had rescued him.

Zhao Pan thought the same, constantly reporting these updates to Qin Chi Jin.

Yun Shifei couldn’t stay in West City any longer. If she stayed, Yun Tiancheng would soon come looking for her.

She also had a premonition: if he was nowhere to be found in this area, perhaps he was no longer in West City.

In the end, Yun Shifei had no choice but to pin her hopes on Zhao Pan and ask him to keep searching while she made her reluctant departure from West City.

As Zhao Pan escorted Yun Shifei out, he couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of tears brimming in her eyes before she left.

At nearly the same time, Zhao Pan received a phone call from Qin Chi Jin.

"Zhao Pan, stop searching. Come back to Beijing immediately."

"But..."

Zhao Pan was stunned. Were they really calling off the search?

"Cheng Lie is already in Beijing."

Zhao Pan: "..."

So, here he’d been searching like an idiot for half a month, and it turned out Cheng Lie had already gone back to Beijing?

Still, knowing Mr. Cheng was safe was the best news he could hear.

With that thought, Zhao Pan hung up the call and immediately texted Yun Shifei: "Mr. Cheng has been found and is fine."

Little did he know that this message would cause significant trouble.

Zhao Pan rushed back to Beijing and arrived at the hospital Qin Chi Jin had mentioned.

As soon as he entered, he saw Cheng Lie.

At that moment, Cheng Lie heard the commotion and raised his head toward Zhao Pan.

The bandages over Cheng Lie’s eyes had been removed, and his vision had recovered slightly—just enough to discern who was in front of him.

But a full recovery was unlikely. His eyes were still exceptionally fragile, and even a bit of extra light caused him great discomfort.

Nowadays, he had to wear sunglasses whenever he went outside.

From Zhao Pan’s perspective, though, Cheng Lie seemed fine.

Standing beside him, Zhao Pan gave Cheng Lie a once-over. Seeing that nothing appeared seriously wrong, the weight in his heart finally eased.

He was visibly emotional. "Mr. Cheng, I’m glad you’re okay."

Qin Chi Jin shot Zhao Pan a glance and said, "Why are you so worked up, Zhao Pan?"

Looking at Qin Chi Jin’s expression, Zhao Pan couldn’t help but feel confused. He seemed upset.

And Qin Chi Jin indeed was upset. If he hadn’t accidentally stumbled upon Cheng Lie, he might have remained in the dark about his return to Beijing.

To think he’d made Zhao Pan search in West City for so long—look at him now. Zhao Pan already looked older than his age, and now he appeared even more aged, his skin significantly darker.

And yet, seeing Cheng Lie, Zhao Pan had smiled like a fool.

"He’s even starting to suspect that we’re behind what happened to him," Qin Chi Jin remarked with a cold laugh.

Truthfully, Cheng Lie had never fully trusted him, and Qin Chi Jin could understand. Living in an environment like that left no room for genuine trust.

But suspecting them first when things went south? That was enough to chill anyone’s heart.

Hearing this, Zhao Pan finally realized what was going on. "Mr. Cheng, why didn’t you tell us you were back? Do you know how long I’ve been searching for you in West City? Miss Yun too—Miss Yun only just returned to South City."

At the mention of Yun Shifei, Cheng Lie’s eyes flickered. After a long pause, he said, "I’m sorry."

It was rare to hear him apologize, and Qin Chi Jin was a little surprised.

He had thought this guy was truly cold-hearted. Qin Chi Jin had gone out of his way to help, only to be suspected first thing when trouble arose. It had genuinely hurt his feelings.

Thankfully, Cheng Lie wasn’t entirely ungrateful.

After offering his apology, Cheng Lie’s words seemed to lessen Qin Chi Jin’s frustration.

Gazing at Cheng Lie, Qin Chi Jin noted his pale and bloodless complexion. Knowing about his injured eyes, he asked, "What are you planning to do now?"

Cheng Lie reached up and touched his eyes. "I don’t know."

He looked lost. No matter what hardships he had faced before—whether it was Cheng Guomin trying to render him useless or Zhao Haishuang tormenting him out of hatred—they were all merely physical wounds and had felt insignificant.

At least in hindsight, they seemed like nothing compared to this.

But now, with his eyes in this condition, unable to see, unable to touch anything related to computers...

He was on the verge of becoming a useless person.

Qin Chi Jin observed Cheng Lie’s blank expression, understanding his thoughts.

Letting out a sigh, Qin Chi Jin said, "Don’t worry. I’ll help you. I’ll get in contact with some doctors overseas."

After a pause, he added, "Also, you’ve got quite a few people working for you, don’t you? Isn’t now the perfect time for them to prove their capabilities?"

Cheng Lie looked up at Qin Chi Jin.

Qin Chi Jin grinned slyly, looking very much like a fox. "You’re following the exact path I once walked!"

Of course, Qin Chi Jin didn’t mention the real reason he appreciated Cheng Lie so much. Aside from his abilities, Cheng Lie reminded him of his younger self.

The kid thought everything he did was flawless, but Qin Chi Jin always managed to see straight through him.

Cheng Lie: "..."

Lowering his gaze, he said softly, "I’ll find them."

After taking such a severe hit, there was no way he could let it go.

Qin Chi Jin, hearing this, pulled a chair over and sat across from Cheng Lie. He had watched Cheng Lie grow from a boy into the person he was now.

"And that young girl?" he asked. "When she called me asking about you, I thought she was about to cry. What are you going to tell her?"

"She’s too in danger being with me," Cheng Lie said, pressing his lips together.

No matter how much he couldn’t let her go, he couldn’t put her in such a perilous position—especially not while their enemy remained hidden in the shadows.

Who could possibly want to harm him? Cheng Lie thought about Mu Chengzhu, but he was preoccupied with his wedding and the mediocre state of the Mu Family’s business ventures. It didn’t seem likely he had the means to mount an attack.