After Losing My Memory, I Was Targeted by the Obsessive Movie Queen [gl] - Chapter 53

A bit later, the film’s director, Qi Xuan, came to the hospital to visit Lu Youqing after stopping by the police station. Qi Xuan was a capable, no-nonsense woman with her short hair tied neatly behind her head, still wearing the same crew down jacket from this morning.

As the director, having such a malicious incident occur on her set was incredibly serious. Thank goodness nothing had happened to Lu Youqing; otherwise, the spit from Lu Youqing’s fans alone would have been enough to drown her.

When the accident occurred, she had been standing in the same direction as Yan He. She had witnessed the whole thing—the black-clad man pushing Lu Youqing into the sea and Yan He rushing over to save her. Seeing Yan He sitting beside Lu Youqing now, her immense gratitude translated into tears welling up in her eyes.

“Youqing, that you’re okay is truly a blessing among misfortunes. And thank you, Miss Yan He, thank you so much.” She took Lu Youqing’s hand with intense emotion. As those frozen hands touched her, Lu Youqing flinched inwardly but maintained a perfectly composed expression.

“It was A-He who saved me,” Lu Youqing replied with a gentle smile, lifting her eyes to look at Yan He. Yan He returned a comforting smile.

“It was nothing. Seeing Movie Queen Lu safe is exactly what I wanted as well,” Yan He said. Though she spoke calmly, her heart was still a bit unsettled. Even though many people online were already praising her heroic rescue, Yan He still didn’t dare recall the situation at the time; like a coward, she only wanted to shrink into her shell.

Qi Xuan looked at Lu Youqing, then at Yan He. The gossip about Lu Youqing that some staff members had casually mentioned in front of her suddenly flashed through her mind. Before, she had thought it was just marketing accounts and paparazzi making up stories out of nothing. But seeing the deep familiarity in how these two interacted, she suddenly realized something was definitely going on.

However, she hadn’t come here to gossip. Qi Xuan cleared her throat and shared what she had learned so far.

“The body of that deceased man has been found on a beach after the tide went out. The wind and waves were massive at the time; he likely hit his head on a reef underwater, and there were signs of his legs being tangled in seaweed. Although he managed to break free, he passed away from excessive blood loss and was washed ashore during the low tide. He had already been dead for several hours when he was discovered.”

Lin Le had only given Yan He a brief overview of the situation earlier, so she hadn’t expected the actual scene to be like this—reefs, seaweed.

Yan He instinctively looked at Lu Youqing, her grip tightening on the edge of the bed. Her heart hung in her throat once more, her breathing turning heavy as cold sweat broke out across her back. If Lu Youqing had encountered either of those things, the outcome would have been far more horrific than this—a consequence Yan He could absolutely never accept.

Thank goodness they were lucky. Thank goodness they hadn’t hit anything, thank goodness Yan He had found Lu Youqing in time, and thank goodness Lu Youqing was alright. Yan He let out a very soft breath, staring deeply at Lu Youqing from her side.

“By the way, the police don’t have many leads regarding that man yet. They might come over in a few hours to ask you some questions,” the director added. “Do you know him?”

Lu Youqing’s eyelashes trembled violently and fluttered down. The light cast shadows over her long lashes, plunging her dark pupils into darkness. She looked listless and clearly didn’t want to say much, so Yan He stepped in.

“I saw this man yesterday at the airport,” she said. “When we got off the plane yesterday, there was a crowd of fans waiting for Lu Youqing at the arrivals gate, and this person was among them.” She knit her brows as she spoke.

“I found him strange at the time and intended to go over and look, but the airport was too crowded. By the time I pushed through, he had already disappeared.” Yan He’s tone slowed down, laced with self-blame. If only she had gone over and intercepted him then, he might have been startled into having second thoughts, and today’s incident might never have happened.

“So, this was premeditated,” Qi Xuan quickly realized. “But why would he… drag Lu Youqing down into the sea with him?”

“He wanted me dead. He wanted me to die with him.” Sitting on the edge of the bed with her head down, Lu Youqing suddenly spoke up over their analysis. She looked at them and pulled her lips into a bitter smile.

Yan He looked at her in shock. Seeing Lu Youqing sitting there entirely rigid, looking like a wisp of smoke that might dissipate at any second, she quickly knelt down and caught the hand clutching the bedsheet.

It was icy and trembling, like holding a handful of snow.

She knit her brows anxiously, asking softly, “Why do you say that?”

Lu Youqing looked at her, her trembling eyes reflecting Yan He’s worried face. She pursed her lips, letting all the strength drain from her body as she leaned against the bed.

“That man… is my uncle.”

Lu Youqing’s uncle, Lu Xuzhi, was her mother’s older brother. He was an idle loiterer who did nothing all day. After Lu Youqing’s mother inherited the family business, Lu Xuzhi was given a useless director position with a small handful of shares.

Later, when her mother passed away in a car accident, Lu Xuzhi thought he would finally take over as chairman. He never expected the eighteen-year-old Lu Ningyun to take the mantle instead. He was already deeply resentful, and he later discovered that Lu Ningyun actually suffered from a mental illness. He had actually been bested by a twenty-something mental patient. From then on, resentment turned into a raging fire in his heart. He began to exploit loopholes in the company constantly, embezzling corporate funds for his own extravagance and privately signing contracts with other enterprises to sell off company shares. During the two years Lu Ningyun was in the hospital, a perfectly fine Lu Corporation was nearly ruined by him.

Later, when Lu Ningyun passed away, the company lost its backbone and declared bankruptcy. Lu Xuzhi and over a dozen other executives were placed under official investigation, but he fled. Seven years had passed, and everyone thought the storm had settled and he would never return to Wucheng. No one expected Lu Xuzhi to actually come back, let alone find that the youngest daughter of the former Lu family had become a massive celebrity in the spotlight while he, a young master, had become a wanted fugitive hiding like a street rat every day out of fear of being caught. His pride from the first several decades of his life was invisibly crushed to dust by Lu Youqing, leaving him harboring a deep, raw hatred for her.

Lu Youqing was a celebrity; it wasn’t difficult to get a hold of her itinerary or find out that she couldn’t swim. Lu Xuzhi had specifically arrived in Haicheng early to scout the location, then used the crowd as cover to reach the filming site by the sea. Taking her completely off guard, he dragged her down into the abyss with him.

“I remember he knew how to swim. Maybe that’s why he was so fearless about dragging me down with him,” Lu Youqing offered with a bitter smile.

As she spoke, her voice was entirely void of emotion, as if she were merely recounting a story that had nothing to do with her. But in reality, she had nearly been murdered by this nominal uncle.

Yan He’s brows knit tightly at her words, her heart aching to the point of numbness. She leaned forward and wrapped Lu Youqing securely in her arms, letting her rest against her chest.

“Even though he knew how to swim, he did so many terrible things that his legs got tangled in seaweed and he ultimately died in the sea. This is his own karma; it has nothing to do with you, your mother, or your sister.” She held her tight, offering comfort as she felt the shivering, cold figure in her embrace, her own heart breaking into pieces.

She had only known that Lu Youqing’s parents died in a car accident and her sister passed away from illness; she never expected her other relatives to try to drive Lu Youqing to the grave as well. She finally understood completely why Lu Youqing always made her repeat promises that she would never leave.

Yan He’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed in a vice grip, the pain making it nearly impossible to breathe. She could only bury her face in Lu Youqing’s neck, sobbing as she comforted her.

“It’s okay. You still have me. A-He will always be with you. A-He won’t leave you.” Her warm tears soaked Lu Youqing’s neck, and the emotions Lu Youqing had been suppressing could no longer be controlled. With red eyes, she clutched Yan He tight. Even though she was crying herself, she still tried to soothe the sobbing Yan He. Though she wept, the corners of her mouth were curved upward.

“A-He, don’t cry… if the puppy cries too much, her eyes will swell.”

Her voice was raspy, carrying a touch of weariness from her tears. It drifted into Yan He’s ear like a hook, making her ears turn red instinctively.

“Don’t call me that.”

The director had tactfully left the room the moment Yan He embraced Lu Youqing, leaving the two of them enough privacy. Right now, there were only the two of them left in the room. Listening to Yan He’s self-conscious protest, Lu Youqing couldn’t help but let out a laugh through her tears.

“Okay, I won’t say it.” She smiled and held Yan He tightly, resting her full weight trustingly against her.

In truth, Lu Youqing didn’t care at all whether her dead uncle lived or died. She was only worried that her family’s history of death would make Yan He feel that being near her would bring misfortune. But once she perceived that Yan He didn’t mind—and had even comforted her with so many promises—she no longer had any reservations. Except for the specific details of her sister’s illness, she didn’t hide much else.

From a very long time ago, she was no longer living for herself. The name Yan He had long been etched into her soul and her mental tracks, like an eternal lantern that would never go out.

In the afternoon, the police arrived at the ward as scheduled to question her about the incident. Because Lu Youqing had already shared everything with Yan He at noon, the aversion in her chest wasn’t as severe anymore. Accompanied by Yan He, she answered the police’s questions.

By the time the officers left, the sky outside had already darkened, and both of them were starving.

Yan He picked up the hot porridge and dishes Lin Le had just brought up. Holding the bowl, she scooped a spoonful of porridge with a porcelain spoon and brought it to Lu Youqing’s lips. “Eat something first. You fell into the water, so eat more hot things to warm your body up.”

Lu Youqing looked at her, the corners of her mouth curving into a smile. She leaned forward to take the porridge. “Is A-He copying the way I acted when you were hospitalized?”

Yan He froze mid-motion, then smoothly scooped another spoonful. “I only have experience being a patient; I don’t have experience taking care of people in a hospital. Isn’t this exactly how you took care of me?” she mumbled, though Lu Youqing caught every single word.

Lu Youqing couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh, her eyes dancing with amusement. “I also only have experience taking care of one person—A-He.” She extended her hand, counting out the things she had done during Yan He’s hospitalization.

“Feeding A-He, supporting A-He as she walked, sleeping together with A-He, wiping A-He’s body down…”

“Wait a minute,” Yan He suddenly cut her off. “What do you mean ‘sleeping together’? I remember you slept on the sofa back then. Does sleeping in the same room count as sleeping together?” She deliberately raised an eyebrow, clearly holding back her amusement as she waited for Lu Youqing’s response.

Lu Youqing let out a helpless sigh, her tone thoroughly doting.

“But I couldn’t bear to let A-He sleep on the sofa, you know. Besides, I can’t fall asleep without A-He. So tonight, A-He has to stay right beside me and sleep with me.”