After Exchanging Shadows Chapter 5

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Lu Qingming stood up and tidied up his suit before he said, "There's currently news about you everywhere on the web. This is a heaven-sent opportunity to make the hype about you explode. The company will maintain secrecy on all of the facts and on your situation for the next few days. They will also appropriately release some ambiguous information to keep the outside world guessing. Right now, your movie 'One Degree of Spring' (To have s.e.xual intercourse once) is about to premiere. This happened at the right time."

One Degree of Spring.

Ruan Yesheng knew in her head that this was a huge artistic movie where Xi Mo played the lead. If she hadn't known about it, she would've just thought that it was an R-rated movie.

Lu Qingming opened the bag, and handed over a phone. Ruan Yesheng received it after taking a look at it.

Lu Qingming spoke, "I will now return. The caretaker will look after you here. Make sure to take a good rest. I'll take care of all the relevant administrative procedures. I'll pick you up and we'll transfer hospitals at four-thirty tomorrow morning. There won't be a lot of people awake at that time."

"Four-thirty?" Ruan Yesheng lifted her eyes.

Lu Qingming changed his mind, probably because he wanted Xi Mo to sleep a little bit more, "Then how about five-thirty? I'll pick you up at five-thirty."

"Why so early?" Ruan Yesheng's mind clicked before she softly spoke, "Is it because this hospital has been completely surrounded by reporters?"

Lu Qingming wrinkled his brows. He handed Ruan Yesheng several photos, "Yes, so you must switch hospitals. When the time comes, you will exit via the hospital's ambulance here. The company will organize things properly, so n.o.body will be able to tell what's happening."

Ruan Yesheng tapped her finger on the photo given by Lu Qingming. It portrayed the state of the situation outside of the hospital.

The weather was quite hot, and the amount of traffic in the stores that were on both sides of the street suddenly surged. Through the window, they could see that those tea houses, coffee shops, milk tea stores and any other stores on the sides of the street all had a lot of people enter them to relax. A portion of the customers were clearly reporters. They probably wanted to openly come over for an interview. The others had more secretive bearings. They were probably waiting for an opportunity to secretly take pictures for entertainment news.

The hospital was extremely busy as a result of receiving large amounts of injured patients. Everything around them in the hospital was in chaos while they were being situated in the heart of the struggle for the public's opinion. Therefore, the hospital was strict about its blockade for the time being. The families and friends for those patients in need of absolute silence needed to be registered and confirmed before they could go visit them. This made it hard for the reporters to push their way into the hospital. They all wanted to ask which building and which ward Xi Mo was in, but they were unable to have their demands fulfilled at the moment.

Lu Qingming said to Xi Mo, "Everyone knows that you were sent to this hospital. It's because of this fact that there are so many reporters that want to enter the hospital. If we do not remove them from the vicinity, then they will find some way to secretly sneak into the hospital to gather news. Therefore, you can't stay here for too long."

"Will the reporters keep guard outside the hospital all night?" Ruan Yesheng asked Lu Qingming.

Lu Qingming nodded.

"Are they all waiting because they want to see my disfigured body?" Ruan Yesheng asked Lu Qingming again.

Lu Qingming was about to nod again, but his reflexes were fast. His face instantly tightened and his neck stiffened. He looked like he was a robot in a suit.

Ruan Yesheng secretly chuckled to herself. Her face didn't give any indication of what she was feeling inside.

Lu Qingming deliberated over his next words before he ardently spoke up, "The news about you has already spread far and wide, but no one has any concrete evidence or photos to prove it. It's still only speculations, and it's only natural that someone would want to be the first to break the news. You don't have to pay any attention to it."

Ruan Yesheng 'oh ho-ed' to herself. The reporters were now recklessly charging into the hospital.

She drooped her eyelids, and pretended to be worn out. "I'm feeling a bit tired. You can let the nurse return as well. There's no need for any of you to stay here. I want to have some peace and quiet to myself."

"Xi Mo." Lu Qingming frowned at her.

"Didn't the doctor say that there's nothing wrong with me?" Ruan Yesheng coldly dismissed him.

Lu Qingming knew of her temper but he also knew of her ability.

"In that case, call the doctor or nurse if there's anything you need. I've already let them know about the plan. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. Remember to make any necessary preparations. Go to sleep early tonight." He replied to Xi Mo.

"I understand." Ruan Yesheng gave a tactful reply.

Lu Qingming finally left. The nurse also left once Lu Qingming had departed.

Ruan Yesheng waggled her brows. The corners of her mouth curled up. She sat on the edge of the bed, while leisurely dialing Feng Tangtang's number.  

She knew for certain that Xi Mo would be listening to their conversation on the side.

Feng Tangtang hurriedly picked up the phone in the other ward. "Sister Xi."

Xi Mo soundlessly s.h.i.+fted her body and leaned closer. She silently watched Feng Tangtang receive the call.

"Mhmm." Ruan Yesheng coolly replied.

I wonder what reaction Xi Mo is having beside her?

Is she still going to continue acting pompously? Will she be preparing to drink pesticide in order to commit suicide?

Feng Tangtang reported to Xi Mo with a face of integrity. "Sister Xi, Ruan Ruan didn't get her face disfigured! Please relax!"

Xi Mo: "……"

Ruan Yesheng stifled her laugh. She then coolly spoke up, "If it's like this, then that's good."

Feng Tangtang felt great pity at Ruan Yesheng's lowly circ.u.mstances. With what's happened to the popular Xi Mo, she wished that it would give Ruan Yesheng an opportunity to rise up to stardom. It was because of this that Feng Tangtang had always been thinking of ways to help Ruan Yesheng worm her way into becoming Xi Mo's friend. However, Ruan Yesheng always avoided Xi Mo whenever she saw her.

This caused Xi Mo to looked down on her even more. This vexed Feng Tangtang a lot.

Feng Tangtang deliberated for a moment, then took the opportunity to build bridges between the two. "Ruan Ruan said to thank Sister Xi for caring."

Ruan Yesheng laughed till her eyes were squinted. "Tell her that there is no need for any thanks."

It would be better if she directly kneeled down on her knees in grat.i.tude.

Xi Mo was at the side of Feng Tangtang with a taut face. "……"

I'll thank your whole family! Xi Mo thought back sarcastically in reply.

"Feng Tangtang, can you let Ruan Yesheng take this call? I have something to tell her." Ruan Yesheng spread out her hand in the air and a.s.sessed it while on the phone. Her eyes held an expression that was hard to describe.

This hand belonged to Xi Mo.

The bright fingernails and slender fingers of Xi Mo were all very pleasing to the eye.

Feng Tangtang felt exhilarated. Sister Xi actually wanted to speak to Ruan Ruan on the phone. She thought that it was finally Ruan Yesheng's time to return back to stardom, She hurriedly pulled Xi Mo over from the bedside, and quickly pa.s.sed the cell phone over to her.

Xi Mo couldn't stand to look directly at Feng Tangtang's expression that was about to blossom in happiness.

"……"

She stood up and walked a bit further away. She tried her best to suppress the irritation and rage inside of her that was about to erupt. She spoke in a low voice, "I am Ruan Yesheng. If there's anything, then quickly say it."

Ruan Yesheng laughed. "What? Did you like my name that much that you've taken it?"

Xi Mo: "……"

She then quickly realized that the reason Ruan Yesheng dared to speak without reservation was because there was no one else by her side. She turned her head to look at Feng Tangtang who looked hopeful on the side.

"……"

The clueless Feng Tangtang, who was right now a bigger obstacle than the Durian Chicken Stew, gave her a thumbs up in encouragement.

"Ruan Ruan, hold onto the thighs of Sister Xi. Don't be foolish, and let go of them. If you do, you may fall to the bottom. Within the popular entertainment circle, you should find Mr. Perfect and marry him. You should be escorted around as Mrs. Perfect for the rest of your life."

Xi Mo: "……"

Ruan Yesheng softly whispered into the cell phone, "You've also heard that there's n.o.body but me here in 1727. Do you want to come over?"

Xi Mo only listened, but her face didn't reveal any type of expression on it.

Ruan Yesheng's voice right now was her original voice. She felt as if her lungs were about to explode after hearing her own voice being directed at her in such a vague and sickly way

Ruan Yesheng chuckled. "Ay, I know you must be dying to come over, and I know that you can't wait to zip out of there."

Xi Mo: "……"

Oh ho, I'm dying to come over. In fact, I can't wait to zip out of here so that I can strangle you.

Ruan Yesheng didn't say another word which signaled that it was the end of the conversation.

Xi Mo pretended to still be answering the phone with a few vague affirmations and some other pretexts in front of Feng Tangtang. At the end, she sighed and asked: "Ay, Xi Mo, let me ask you something. When I was in the bathroom, I had to take off my clothes to check myself, and I found a burn on my chest. The doctor gave me some medicine, but will this burn still leave a scar later on? Do you know of any items that are particularly good at getting rid of scars? I know that you are more knowledgeable than me on this."

Ruan Yesheng: "……"

Feng Tangtang immediately jumped up as if she were shocked by an electricity. She urgently grabbed Xi Mo, before looking around her: "Ruan Ruan! Your chest was burned?"

She looked as if she was about to cry, "How did this happen? Thank goodness your face didn’t get disfigured, but how did your chest get disfigured! This is going to worry me very much! What did the doctor say?!"

Feng Tangtang's shout was heard by Ruan Yesheng through the cell phone.

"……"

Xi Mo pretended to comfort Feng Tangtang, and deliberately said close to the phone, "Only having a scar is considered lucky. I’m already very fortunate. The doctor said that in the case of it being a more serious injury, then my breast would have to be removed."

The word, "removed", that Xi Mo had said kept resounding in Feng Tangtang brains. Feng Tangtang felt very frightened, after imagining that Ruan Yesheng's breast had been cut off.

Xi Mo continued the phone call. A smile leaked out from the corner of her mouth as she said, "Xi Mo, in any case, the two of us have met before. You really don't have recommendations for any efficient scar removal items?"

Ruan Yesheng taciturnly replied back, "I'll wait for you."

She hung up on the phone after hearing those words.

Xi Mo put down the cell phone, and gave Feng Tangtang a look of satisfaction. Feng Tangtang's face still had some apprehension about it. If she wanted Feng Tangtang to leave now, Feng Tangtang would definitely be unwilling. Instead, Feng Tangtang would be suspicious if she urged her to leave. Thus Xi Mo sat by the side of her bed, and waited for the opportunity to be alone.

Feng Tangtang chatted with Xi Mo while Xi Mo endured it. Even though she was irritated, her face appeared to be genuinely interested She placed Ruan Yesheng's phone aside.

Xi Mo hated to pry into the private matters of others because of her innate nature, as well as the fact that she was a celebrity. She didn't look at any text messages, photographs, or anything of the like within Ruan Yesheng's phone. The only thing she had done was look through the news, and tap through some of Ruan Yesheng's apps like 'Weibo', 'Tianya', and other similar apps. While going through Ruan Yesheng's phone, she discovered that Ruan Yesheng didn't save any of her accounts on it..

The cell phone's cache was cleared up very nicely. It was almost as if it was the first time the cell phone was being used. Ruan Yesheng was always very careful to delete her traces off of her cell phone.

Xi Mo, who was a cautious person, had several cell phones. Only one of the cell phones were for personal usage, so she could have all her accounts saved on it for her convenience. She didn't need to remove any of her traces off of that cell phone, considering that she would be the only one who'd look at that cell phone.

She did not expect that Ruan Yesheng would be so cautious and prudent.

There was another matter that Xi Mo discovered about Ruan Yeshang.

The entire time that she was here, she discovered that not a single person came to see Ruan Yesheng. The only person that had come was Feng Tangtang. It was as if she did not have any parents or any other relatives. It also appeared as if she didn't have any friends. It was no wonder that the cold and cheerless ward from before was like a coffin.

Feng Tangtang rambled on for a long time before she could leave without worrying about Ruan Yesheng. She organized things around a little, and said a few more words to her before leaving. Lu Qingming had called Feng Tangtang, and told her to not go to ward 1727. Feng Tangtang was told not to disturb her, so she went home.

The world finally became peaceful.

Xi Mo's face resumed its usual chilliness. She walked over to the ward numbered '1727' without consulting anyone.

While standing at the door, Xi Mo had barely knocked on it when it immediately opened.

Ruan Yesheng was standing at the door as if she were waiting a long time for her

Xi Mo looked at Ruan Yesheng standing right outside her door with her very own face. She almost couldn't suppress the urge to throttle her.

Ruan Yesheng looked at Xi Mo that was now in her body, and an unspeakable feeling rose in her chest.

Ruan Yesheng sneered, "Oh ho."

Xi Mo sneered back, "Oh ho."

Rumors will settle down before the wise ones, and the idle chatter of others stops before the gentle laughter

The atmosphere around the two suddenly dropped to a frigid point and they both walked into the ward together. Behind them, the door of the ward was closed and locked.

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