Chapter 37

"The progress of civilization is also the progress of society..." Yan Xi was reading the press release when she saw the director's cue card light up from behind the camera. There was an urgent news broadcast. She quickly finished reading the script and signaled for the camera to cut to the news video.

The news video lasted less than two minutes, and as Yan Xi read the script, she also glanced through the emergency news item that had been hastily inserted. At first, she was flustered when encountering breaking news, but now she knew how to handle it to make the live broadcast smoother.

When the camera returned to the studio, Yan Xi kept up with Zhang Hao's rhythm while reading the script. Suddenly, it felt as if something hit her head, and her ears began ringing. She couldn't hear what the people beside her were saying and collapsed into unconsciousness.

When Yuan Yi saw Yan Xi being hit by a falling light on the TV, he froze for a few seconds. It wasn't until the show quickly ended that he realized he had been staring at the screen with only his eyes functioning while the rest of his body seemed to have lost all sensation.

He dropped the remote, and without thinking, rushed out of the house.

"Yuan Xiao Er, what's wrong with you?" Yuan Bo saw Yuan Yi about to leave the house while still in his slippers and grabbed his arm, "Put your shoes on first."

Yuan Yi lowered his head and changed his shoes, appearing calmer. He took the coat handed to him by Li Yi, "I've got something to do, I won't be eating at home." He quickly left the house, the coat hanging over his arm, without taking the time to put it on.

"Out in the middle of the day without a word," Yuan Yasen complained, "You're almost thirty years old, and still so careless."

Yuan Bo shot him a look, bent down to put on his shoes, and left without saying a word.

"Look at them, one after another..."

"Enough," Xu Ya set down her chopsticks, "Eat your meal. The kids are already grown up, and you're still scolding them like this. What does that make you look like?"

Yuan Yasen put down his chopsticks, somewhat irritated, "I'm their father, what's wrong with saying a few words to them?"

Xu Ya's expression darkened, "Then go chase them down and scold them, I won't stop you."

With that, Yuan Yasen found himself speechless.

At the traffic light, Yuan Yi stared at the zebra crossing in a daze, and only when a car horn sounded behind him did he realize the light had already changed. He started the car, and a few seconds later, an ambulance passed by him, so he made way.

Is this ambulance heading to pick up Yan Xi?

He followed the ambulance for a while, then saw it turn down another road.

That's not the road to the TV station.

While accidents like this had happened before in live broadcasts, the likelihood was extremely rare. Besides, although Channel 8 didn't have high viewership, it received some support from higher-ups and had decent equipment. They regularly checked and maintained all the gear, so how could something like this happen?

Zhang Hao hadn't yet recovered from the shock. He sat outside the studio, drinking the water offered by the assistant to calm himself. Usually, he sat in Yan Xi's position, but since he hadn't slept well the previous night and his left cheek was swollen, he had switched places with Yan Xi today.

Who knew such an accident would happen? If he hadn't changed seats today, it would have been him getting hit by the light.

Thinking of the sight of Yan Xi being carried out of the studio with blood all over her back sent a chill down his spine. His hand holding the cup was trembling.

"Where's Yan Xi?" A man in a white shirt and gray suit appeared in front of him. "Is her injury serious?"

Zhang Hao stared at the man, still recovering from the shock, and his response was delayed.

Yuan Yi, losing patience, asked coldly, "Where was she taken to the hospital?"

"Mr. Yuan, Yan Xi was taken to the First Central Hospital," the assistant hurriedly replied, noticing the stranger's intimidating demeanor, "The station manager and the director also went to the hospital."

Yuan Yi didn't even say thanks, quickly turned, and left.

The assistant let out a sigh of relief, then turned to see the staff in the studio beginning to clean up the blood and the fallen light. He quickly intervened, "Wait, don't destroy the scene. The director has already called the police, and they're on their way to investigate."

The person who was about to start cleaning stopped and looked at the assistant, "Are we really going to escalate this? Won't it be bad for the station?"

"It's not ideal," the assistant gestured for him to come out. After he followed, the assistant closed the studio door. "You don't know yet, but Yan Xi is different from the other junior hosts. We need to investigate this ourselves, or if her family makes a scene, we might not be able to handle the fallout."

"But this was an accident, wasn't it?"

"Whether it's an accident or not, it's up to the police. If we say it's an accident and her family disagrees, we'll still be in trouble."

Not long after, the police arrived, along with two invited professors who were experts at crime scene investigation. They could even detect a speck of dandruff, no matter how small.

The station director was a bit anxious, wondering if this was just a simple accident or if something more sinister had occurred to warrant such high-profile investigators.

Yuan Yi, having heard the assistant's explanation, turned away with a stern face, "I understand."

Normally, Yan Xi sat on the right side of the desk, but today, she was seated on the left, which was when the incident occurred. He didn't believe in coincidences; the ceiling light was securely installed, so how could it just fall?

When Yan Xi opened her eyes, she felt like she was lying on a bed, surrounded by a lot of voices. The smell of disinfectant was overwhelming.

"Mr. Yuan, please don't worry. The patient's head injury is not serious, but the wound on her back needs more attention to prevent infection."

"Why hasn't she woken up yet?"

Yan Xi felt nauseous but couldn't vomit, and all she could hear was Yuan Yi's nagging. She never knew Yuan Xiao Er could talk so much.

"You're awake?" A nurse by her side noticed her eyes open and happily said, "Mr. Yuan, she's awake!"

Yan Xi felt an odd sense of being surrounded by people, but since she was lying down, she couldn't see them.

Yuan Yi, wearing a mask, squatted in front of her, making eye contact, "Do you remember your name?"

Yan Xi looked at Yuan Yi's shirt collar, "Yuan Xiao Er, your shirt collar's not straight."

Yuan Yi clicked his tongue, "Looks like you didn't lose your memory. Your brain's still fine."

Seeing him squatting by her bed, Yan Xi almost reached out to pat his head and compliment him, "Good boy."

After the doctors asked her several questions and examined her, Yan Xi had the strange feeling of being treated like a precious specimen in a lab.

After they left, Yuan Yi sat down on a chair by the bed, "Yan Xiao Xi, did you forget to pray or something? How could you run into such bad luck?"

"Can't you speak a bit more gently? I'm the injured one here," Yan Xi had little sensation in her back, probably due to the medication, and wasn't sure how deep the wound was. "Where's my phone?"

"At a time like this, you're still thinking about your phone?" Yuan Yi stood up and took her phone from a drawer. It was in a sterile plastic bag. He handed it to her, "Here."

"Thanks." Yan Xi wasn't naïve. With her injury, there's no way they would arrange so many doctors to care for her, or give her such a high-class hospital room. Channel 8 didn't have that kind of clout or generosity. So, everything must have been arranged by Yuan Yi. The only question was, how did he know she was hurt, and why did he show up so quickly?

"No need for thanks," Yuan Yi turned his head away awkwardly, "I've arranged two female nurses to take care of you. If you need anything, tell them."

Yan Xi glanced at her phone screen. It was already past 3 p.m. Her father was out of town for a project inspection and probably hadn't heard about this yet. She saw there were over twenty missed calls, most of them from friends.

She first called Song Hai, explaining she was fine and asking him not to worry.

This incident had gained a lot of attention. She was injured live on TV, and given that her show "Things Around Us" had gone viral online, it would be all over the internet soon. Rather than let her father find out from the news and panic, she'd rather tell him herself and reassure him.

As soon as Song Hai heard his daughter had been injured, he immediately told his secretary to book a return ticket. Yan Xi had to persuade him not to rush back.

"Dad, I'm really fine. A friend of mine has arranged a few experts and even hired two female nurses for me," Yan Xi lay on the bed, tilting her head to look at Yuan Yi. "If you don't believe me, you can ask him. It's really nothing."

After saying that, she put the phone on speaker, giving Yuan Yi a look to help calm Song Hai down.

Under Yan Xi's intense gaze, Yuan Yi... gave in.

"Yes, yes, Uncle, you don't need to worry. I have some connections here and will definitely arrange the best doctors for Xiao Xi."

"Yes, and the nurses are the most professional."

"Her injury? There's no problem with the injury, just some surface wounds."

Yuan Yi never knew that being a father could make a man this talkative. After repeatedly assuring his father that he would take good care of Yan Xi, Song Hai finally agreed not to rush back immediately but promised to return at the latest the day after tomorrow.

"Dad," Yan Xi turned off the speakerphone and brought the phone to her ear. "You're out there helping the children in remote villages. My little injury is nothing. I don't want people to think you're pretending to be charitable and cause trouble for you."

"If I can't take care of you, how can I focus on other people's children?" Song Hai sighed helplessly. "I understand what you mean. Don't worry, I won't overexert myself or rush back. I'll take care of my health, okay?"

"You know that's good," Yan Xi's voice became sweet and soft. "When you come back, remember to bring me some local delicacies."

"I knew you'd say that," Hearing his daughter's light tone, Song Hai felt relieved and in a better mood, starting to mention food. "That man who spoke to me just now, what's your relationship with him? Is he your boyfriend?"

"Dad, don't overthink it," Yan Xi glanced at Yuan Yi. "No way."

Not to mention that Yuan Yi's status wouldn't allow him to marry her, but even his sharp-tongued attitude didn't seem to suggest he had any interest in her.

If a regular man talked like he did, he'd never get a girlfriend in his life.

"I'm going out to take a call," Yuan Yi, seeing that Yan Xi was chatting happily with her father, stood up and left the room.

As soon as he dialed Assistant Meng's number, it was picked up.

"Boss, the police have results. This incident wasn't an accident, it was intentional."

Yuan Yi's throat tightened, and the image of Yan Xi being hit by the light kept flashing in his mind, unable to stop. He rubbed his nose bridge. "Who's the suspect?"

"It's a new intern lighting technician, but the target wasn't Miss Yan, it was actually Miss Yan's partner, Zhang Hao," Assistant Meng replied, showing some sympathy for Miss Yan. "But who would have thought that Miss Yan switched places with Zhang Hao today."

When things go wrong, even drinking water can get stuck in your teeth. Generally, the hosts of news programs cannot easily change positions, but Zhang Hao's left cheek was swollen, and switching places with Yan Xi would make the filming slightly better. Since the program's ratings weren't high, they weren't too strict about such matters. In a series of coincidences, Yan Xi ended up unlucky.

"I understand," Yuan Yi hung up the phone and cracked the door open but didn't go in.

No matter how beautiful a woman is, when she's lying on the bed with her hair disheveled and no image at all, she won't look that good. Yan Xi's hospital gown was a bit too large, exposing part of her arm, which was as white and soft as if made of tofu.

Yuan Yi closed the door and leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling unsure about entering. A nurse walked by, glancing at him curiously. Didn't they say the patient in this room wasn't seriously injured? Why did the patient's family member look so serious?

Yuan Yi ignored the looks and opened his phone browser. After hesitating for a while, he typed a question into the search engine.

What's it like to fall in love with someone?

"Yuan Xiaoer!"

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and hurried into the room. "What's wrong?"

"My phone fell," Yan Xi looked at him pitifully. "Can you help me pick it up?"

At this moment, she looked pale, her eyes staring at him with such a helpless expression that his heart tightened with a mix of sorrow and tenderness.

He walked over to the bed, bent down to pick up the phone wrapped in a sterile bag, and squatted by the bed, looking at Yan Xi in the eye. "Yan Xiaoxi."

"Hmm?" Yan Xi grabbed the phone and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"I'm moving soon. You can come join the fun."

"When?" With her lying on the bed like this, where could she go?

"In a while, probably after you recover," Yuan Yi stood up straight. "The anesthetic hasn't worn off yet, so you should sleep a little longer to avoid upsetting your stomach."

Yan Xi couldn't see Yuan Yi's expression, but when she saw him walking out, she asked, "Are you leaving?"

"I'm not leaving, I'm going to eat," Yuan Yi turned back to look at her. "Going for some spicy chicken, spicy hot pot, boiled fish, something like that. Anyway, you can't eat right now, so I'll try it for you."

Yan Xi: ...

Was he doing this just to annoy her?

That afternoon, Zhang Wang received a call from Yuan Yi about changing the moving date.

The reason was that tomorrow wasn't a good day, so he needed to consult a master for an auspicious moving date.

A few days ago, he didn't even bother checking the Almanac, and now he was asking for a master to choose a moving day. What was going on?