Chapter 15

"I'm keeping you company. I'll be sleeping on the floor beside the bed. You can see me when you tilt your head to the side," Ling Yiran said. "This bed can hold two people. Sister, can you lie on the bed to keep me company?" Yi Jinli muttered. Even he was unaware of the longing look on his face. Ling Yiran bit her lips and hesitated for a while before nodding her head, saying, "All right." She lifted up the quilt on the floor and lay down beside him. She was astonished that she had agreed to sleep beside a man. He must have looked like a fragile glass doll that would break at any time, which was why she wanted to protect him. After she lay on the bed, she switched off the light, his left hand holding her right hand. "Jin, if you feel terrible, call out for me," Ling Yiran said. "I will," Yi Jinli replied. "Is it due to the medication?" He felt better; better than he did in any of his previous attacks. "Could it be... her? Her hand is warm." "Sister, will you stay with me forever?" Yi Jinli asked softly "Of course! We could continue to keep each other company. In the future, when you get married and have a family, I'll still keep you company." She would continue to keep him company as a family member even though they were not related in any way. Yi Jinli slowly shut his eyes. He felt assured by her voice and the pain gradually lessened. "Get married...?" Ever since the death of his fiancee, Yi Jinli had never thought of getting married. However, Ling Yiran was already thinking about that. "Sister, do you mean what you said?" "Yes," Ling Yiran replied. Finally, Yi Jingli allowed himself to fall asleep. After Ling Yiran had tucked in the corner of Yi Jinli's quilt, she fell asleep. Early in the morning, when Ling Yiran awoke, Yi Jinli was still sleeping. She lifted her hand to touch his face and forehead and saw that he was no longer sweating. He looked peaceful, and Ling Yiran believed that he was no longer in pain. When her hand left his face, Yi Jinli opened his eyes. His beautiful amorous eyes, like limpid autumn water, shone brightly as he said, "Sister..." "Sorry, I woke you up," Ling Yiran said. "It's still early. Sleep a while longer." As Ling Yiran spoke, she hurried off to wash up and get changed. "There's porridge in the rice cooker. Take some porridge after you're up. You had gastric pain last night so it's better if you eat something bland. Porridge is good for the stomach. Don't forget to take your medicine. You have to take it three times a day. Take it with you when you go out." After Ling Yiran had given the instructions, she left hastily. Once again, Yi Jinli was left alone in the small rental apartment. He glanced at the rice cooker on the small round table and buried his face in the spot where she had lain. He could still smell her, and her body temperature was lingering on the quilt. Yi Jinli started to covet certain things... ... Gao Congming saw his boss holding a cheap mobile phone. It was an old model, and it wasn't to his boss's usual taste. However, his boss instructed him, saying, "Go and get a SIM card. I want to use it." Gao Congming was surprised. However, he got the SIM card ready in no time and handed it to his boss. After his boss slotted the SIM card into the mobile phone, he sent a text message. Shortly, the text message alert tone resounded, and his boss, who usually looked cold, smiled after reading the message. Gao Congming blinked his eyes in disbelief. What he had seen was true. "Young Master Yi is indeed... smiling. "Is he smiling because of the text message?" Gao Congming glanced at the sender of the text message from the corner of his eyes and saw the name stated as Sister. "Ling Yiran must be the Sister whom Young Master Yi is referring to." Gao Congming was surprised that Young Master Yi was smiling because of Ling Yiran's text message. "Does that mean this woman holds a place in Young Master Yi's heart?" In the afternoon, the top management in the Yi Group was having a meeting. When everybody was listening attentively to the reporting, Yi Jinli's mobile phone suddenly rang. Everyone saw Yi Jinli take out a cheap, old model mobile phone and answer the call. He put the mobile phone up to his ears and listened to the person speaking on the other end. "All right, got it. I will remember to eat it," Yi Jinli answered. The top management was even more surprised that their boss sounded gentle over the phone. "Who is the boss talking to?" After the call ended, Yi Jinli suddenly stood up and said, "I need to go out for a while. Carry on with the meeting." After saying that, he walked out of the meeting room, leaving the top management astounded. All of them then looked at Gao Congming, who was in the meeting room. "Secretary Gao, what happened? Who called the President earlier...?" Gao Congming smiled awkwardly. When the President answered the call, he was sitting close to him, so he heard the words "take medicine" on the other end of the line. Gao Congming recalled seeing the bottle of medicine on the President's desk, and he reckoned that the President had gone to take the medicine after receiving the call. Gao Congming found it unbelievable. The President went to take medicine upon receiving Ling Yiran's call. In the past, the President wouldn't have taken medicine unless he was in great pain. "This is the President's private matter. Let's continue with the meeting." Gao Congming smiled as he hosted the meeting. On the other end, after Ling Yiran put away her mobile phone, she continued to sweep the rubbish on the streets with Sister Xu. Sister Xu went over to her and asked, "Who did you call?" "My younger brother," Ling Yiran replied. "Do you have a brother?" Sister Xu asked in amazement. "I never heard you mention it before." Ling Yiran merely smiled. After Ling Yiran and Sister Xu had finished sweeping the streets, they went back to the Department of Tools. The staff at the Department of Tools were discussing the marriage between the Xiao family and the Hao family. As the children of the two families were getting engaged, it had become a hot celebrity gossip topic in Shen City. "Xiao Ziqi has given her a six-carat pink diamond ring, which is rarely seen. The diamond ring costs around 10,000,000." "Hao Yimeng is a winner. Not only is she pretty and rich, but her husband is handsome and wealthy." "If my boyfriend gave me a one-carat diamond ring, I would marry him."