As the maid placed the warmed milk on the table, Mu Linjing pushed it towards Wei Yumeng.
"Alright, now we just wait for the snake to appear. We'll strike at its vital point! Warm milk helps with sleep, drink it and rest early. You've had a tiring day."
"You too, rest early."
Wei Yumeng looked at Mu Linjing and nodded. She picked up the milk, her fingertips feeling its warmth, her gaze growing firmer.
The conversation among the three ended, and they each went upstairs to their bedrooms. It had been a day of ups and downs.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, dancing on the floor. Outside, cicadas chirped on the branches, and birds flew in pairs, singing happily in the sky.
A mobile phone ring pierced the quiet bedside, accompanied by persistent vibrations. To someone sleeping soundly, it was an intrusive disturbance.
Having tossed and turned all night, Mu Linjing struggled to lift her head. Her eyes refused to open, throbbing with pain, and her temples pulsed. It was the symptom of insufficient sleep.
"Who's calling so early in the morning?" Mu Linjing, eyes still closed, reached out an arm towards the bedside table, fumbling for a moment before locating her phone by the sound of the ringing.
It must be someone from the company!
Without even looking, she expertly pressed the answer button. Before the other person could speak, she launched into a rapid explanation.
"I've already taken leave from the company for last night, so please don't call anymore. I'm going back to sleep, bye!"
"Hey, you child!" An anxious voice came from the other end, but Mu Linjing had already swiftly hung up. She shifted into a more comfortable position, still holding her phone.
So sleepy...
Mu Linjing was consumed by drowsiness. She snuggled into her blanket, about to drift back into a sweet slumber.
"Ring, ring, ring..." The jarring sound of the bell rang out again. The vibration jolted Mu Linjing awake with a start. She quickly opened her eyes and grabbed her phone.
The caller was her mother.
Mu Linjing inwardly groaned, knowing she was in trouble. She reluctantly picked up, and as expected, Aunt Mu's reprimands rained down from the phone.
"You child, you don't even recognize your own mother's voice? Hanging up so quickly, do you treat people from the company like that too? It's very rude, you're not allowed to do that again!"
Aunt Mu continued to nag Mu Linjing. Mu Linjing quickly pulled the phone away from her ear and interjected.
"Mom, I was too sleepy and didn't see it was you. What's up?"
Mu Linjing's words silenced Aunt Mu, who then remembered the main reason for her call.
"It's about what I told you last time, about your aunt. Have you paid her medical expenses?"
Mu Linjing couldn't help but roll her eyes. So her mother called her early in the morning just to talk about this trivial matter?
"I've already paid for her, don't worry. I finally have a day off today, I'm hanging up now!"
"No, no, I know your temper. Hurry and send more money to your aunt, and send me the bill so I'll believe you," Aunt Mu insisted, seemingly very concerned about these relatives. "Since you'll be passing by anyway, why don't you buy your aunt some fruit too..."
"She's being well taken care of in the hospital with a caregiver, what are you worried about? It's not like I'm giving the hospital money for nothing," Mu Linjing couldn't help but retort, thinking about the character of Zhang Yi's family and how much she disliked Liu Xin!
Given what their daughter had done, it was already generous of her not to have called the police on Zhang Xinyi and skinned her alive!
"Jingjing, your uncle is in jail, and your cousin is missing. Your aunt only has us relatives left. You should at least visit her," Aunt Mu pleaded earnestly with Mu Linjing. In her eyes, these relatives were all family and should look out for each other.
"I know, don't worry. I'll send you the bill later. I'm really hanging up, I'm so tired!" Mu Linjing knew she couldn't argue with her mother, so she vaguely agreed.
"Okay, okay, get some good rest." Aunt Mu agreed repeatedly. Seeing that Mu Linjing had agreed, she didn't say anything further.
As the call ended, silence returned to the bedroom, bathed in bright sunlight.
After turning off her phone, Mu Linjing roughly tossed it onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her head, intending to sleep. However, she was too agitated, tossing and turning several times, unable to fall asleep.
The morning peace had been shattered by that phone call!
Still feeling the lingering grumpiness from being woken up, Mu Linjing forcefully threw off the blanket, put on her slippers, and went to wash up.
The entire Zhan family was quiet, likely still sleeping. Mu Linjing went to the kitchen, grabbed a piece of bread, and stormed out of the house.
"I'll pay, I'll pay! I'm on my way to pay right now!" Mu Linjing drove with a furious urgency, speeding towards the hospital. She took a large bite of her bread in frustration, thinking, "I'll pay a hefty sum!"
The hospital wasn't far. Mu Linjing bought a gaudy fruit basket from a store at the entrance and hurried towards the payment counter, carrying the basket.
The hospital wasn't crowded in the early morning, and the counter was quiet with no queue. Mu Linjing, without any effort, became the first person to pay.
"Madam, good morning!" the young woman at the counter greeted Mu Linjing.
"Mm, I'm here to top up my card," Mu Linjing replied indifferently, placing her bank card on the counter with a thud.
Anyone could see Mu Linjing was very angry. The young woman quickly took the bank card, inserted it into a machine beside her, and offered a bright smile.
"Which patient's medical card would you like to top up?"
"Liu Xin."
Mu Linjing uttered the two words with no emotion.
"Alright, top-up successful. Here is your receipt, please confirm." After a flurry of activity on the computer, the young woman quickly processed the transaction, and the printer whirred, spitting out a receipt.
Mu Linjing nodded indifferently. She took the receipt, placed it on top of the fruit basket, and took a photo to immediately send to Aunt Mu.
"Mom, here's the receipt you wanted. I also bought a fruit basket, see?"
Mu Linjing mumbled, then looked down at the photo, only to notice something was amiss.
The receipt showed not only the amount she had just topped up but also the balance on Liu Xin's medical card, which had several more zeros!
"Strange, I couldn't have topped up this much..." Mu Linjing frowned, trying to recall the amount from her previous top-up. A thought suddenly struck her.
No, besides her, there was another person who might have topped up Liu Xin's medical card – the long-lost Zhang Xinyi!
She had actually put so much money into Liu Xin's card, despite being heavily indebted. Where did Zhang Xinyi get the money?
Mu Linjing connected this to something else. She walked back to the counter and pointed at the receipt.
"When was the last time this medical card was topped up?"