"Huh?" Linda had not expected to have so little to do here today. She had originally come to change Miss Shen's clothes and bathe her, but now Miss Shen had done all that herself. Did that mean she was finished?
She was being paid to work. Now she had taken the money, but the only thing she had done was change the duvet cover and duvet. She felt uneasy.
So she took out her phone and messaged her boss to report her progress.
Linda: [Mr. Chi, Miss Shen has gone to take a bath by herself. I've finished everything else you assigned. Do you have any further instructions?]
Chi Ye was probably a little busy. Five minutes passed without a reply. Linda wandered upstairs with her phone, planning to wait for Miss Shen in the bedroom.
The housekeeper had said she only needed to get Miss Shen to eat when she came out. Oh, and take her medicine.
This job is way too easy, she thought. Why would the boss spend so much money just to have me change Miss Shen's clothes and things? He could have simply asked me to come over and help.
Chi Ye had just finished reading and signing a document and handed it to Assistant Fang to take away. Only then did he have time to pick up his phone and check his messages.
The instant he finished reading, he hurriedly called Linda, his other hand tapping nonstop on the desk. He really was getting nervous. This was no joke.
The scene from the middle of last night was still vivid in his mind. He certainly did not think Shen Zhiyi bathing alone was anything to celebrate. On the contrary, he felt unusually frightened.
"Answer the phone. What is Linda doing?" he muttered.
Meanwhile, since Chi Ye had not replied, Linda decided to find herself some work. She went to the bathroom door, knocked, and asked,
"Miss Shen, just let me know if you need any help. I'm right outside."
"Okay. Thank you." A cool, husky female voice rang out. Even with a trace of weakness, it was lovely to hear.
Linda was a sucker for good looks. Otherwise, she would never have worked under a sharp-tongued boss like Chi Ye for so many years.
Hearing Shen Zhiyi's voice sent a tingle through her whole body, and a smile spread across her face.
"Oh my God. As if being beautiful weren't enough, her voice is gorgeous too."
She stood at the door, lost in delight. Hearing running water inside, she decided to go downstairs and get the food and medicine from the housekeeper. So focused was she on her work that she completely forgot her phone, which was vibrating nonstop on the table.
Chi Ye's expression grew increasingly grim. Then he pulled his phone back and called someone else.
The housekeeper did not answer either. His mind began racing: had something happened to Shen Zhiyi again? Had she started overthinking again and decided to end her life?
He imagined all sorts of things. The next second, he grabbed his car keys and strode out of the office.
On the way, he ran into Assistant Fang, who was just about to come in with a report.
"Boss, there's a software test coming up shortly. Would you like to attend?"
"Go in my place, then send me a copy of the original file. I have something to take care of outside. Email me any important documents and handle the rest yourself for now."
His instructions came fast and urgently. By the time Assistant Fang looked up again, the elevator doors outside the CEO's office had already closed.
"What's so urgent?" Assistant Fang asked, baffled. Unable to figure it out, he shrugged and returned to his workstation to carry out his boss's instructions.
Throughout the drive, Chi Ye gripped the steering wheel tightly, his lips pressed into a straight line, his face showing displeasure and anger.
What on earth is wrong with Shen Zhiyi? She keeps trying to kill herself. She nearly scared me to death the past two nights, and now she wants to bathe alone.
Has she decided to end it again? He stepped on the gas and sped ahead, only to be forced to stop at a red light. A sound came from behind him.
It was an ambulance siren, but the road ahead was packed with cars. The ambulance could not get through and could only wait.
He grew agitated again. Why didn't those cars make way for the ambulance in the first place? Could that ambulance be going to save Shen Zhiyi? Now that it's stuck, does that mean there's no saving her?
He gripped the steering wheel so hard that the veins on the backs of his hands stood taut. He wanted to jump out and shout, to tell those cars to move aside and let the ambulance through.
A life was waiting to be saved. What if those few minutes cost someone their life?
The light turned green. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, and he stepped on the gas without hesitation. The ambulance behind him got through and followed a short distance back, then turned at the next intersection, heading in a different direction.
He watched it in the rearview mirror. His tightly clenched heart suddenly settled back into place, leaving him a little dazed.
"Thank goodness. Thank goodness," he said in relief.
The phone lying beside him rang. He tapped to answer, and Linda's voice came through.
"Sorry, Mr. Chi. I was busy just now and only just saw your calls. Do you have any instructions?"
"Where's Shen Zhiyi?" Chi Ye asked in a low voice. "She can't bathe alone. Go check on her. If she's in the bathroom for more than five minutes, call out to her every five minutes. Go check right now. She still has a fever."
The two people sitting opposite Linda in the dining room both looked over. With no other choice, she hung up and switched to a video call.
Chi Ye froze for a moment when the call ended, thinking something had gone wrong with his reception. The next second, Linda's video call request came through.
He patiently tapped to accept. His car had just reached the entrance to Heavenly Domain Villa. He switched on his turn signal and drove into the underground garage.
His side of the screen was pitch-black, but Linda's camera was pointed straight at someone. Shen Zhiyi looked at him through the phone.
Her face was still pale, her lips without a trace of color. She looked utterly sickly. Her eyes were still dull, but she looked toward Chi Ye and said,
"I'm fine. Don't worry." Her voice was very soft, but it was quiet enough where Chi Ye was for him to hear every word clearly.
Chi Ye released his tight grip on the steering wheel. He slumped back against his seat and gave a derisive laugh.
"Shen Zhiyi, you really know how to put people through the wringer. All right, if you're fine, I'll get back to work. The housekeeper and Linda will look after you. Remember to take your medicine."
That was all he said. He made no mention of already being in the underground garage, or of how he could appear before her simply by getting out of the car and pressing the elevator button.
Linda and the housekeeper said nothing. Chi Ye hung up first.
Linda put away her phone and reassured Shen Zhiyi,
"Don't take it to heart. That's already Mr. Chi at his friendliest. He says much nastier things at work. Everyone under him has developed a thick skin by now."
Shen Zhiyi said nothing, only asking the two of them to sit down and eat with her. Her head was still spinning, but she did not want to cause anyone more trouble now, so she had come downstairs to eat on her own.
The sound-activated lights in the underground garage had gone out. In the darkness, Chi Ye held his phone, lost in thought for a long time.
A sigh broke the silence. Chi Ye slumped over the steering wheel and closed his eyes tightly.
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