IJLHTW - 34

“Brother Pan, what do you mean by that?” Ye Mingshi looked at Pan Chen in shock.

Pan Chen looked at her with disappointment. He had originally thought that although she had her own little schemes, well, girls tend to have various twists and turns, and as long as it didn’t affect their work, they would just pretend not to know.

But this time, Ye Mingshi had gone too far.

Pan Chen said, “This time, Mingsheng Group personally lodged a complaint with MSF. They complained about your work attitude and lack of professional ethics as a doctor.”

Ye Mingshi shook her head, her face pale: “I don’t believe it.”

In fact, Pan Chen was already being quite tactful. He said it was Mingsheng Group who complained. In truth, it was Yi Zecheng who complained about her. Pan Chen could understand him in this matter. Ye Mingshi exposed the medicine Huo Ci was taking in front of so many people. Even if Huo Ci had a mental illness, it was her personal matter, and as long as she didn’t want others to know, no one had the right to expose it.

“Brother Pan, please plead with Senior for me. I really didn’t mean to; I was just too shocked at the time,” Ye Mingshi looked at him, her plea looking so sincere.

Hearing her still say that, Pan Chen couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

He had known Ye Mingshi for a long time. When Yi Zecheng and he participated in a mission, Ye Mingshi joined them as an international volunteer. The young girl had an enthusiastic personality and wasn’t afraid of hardship. Many people who worked with her at the time quite liked her.

As for her feelings for Yi Zecheng, everyone could understand. After all, it would be strange if a man as handsome as Yi Zecheng didn’t have girls chasing him.

Pan Chen looked at her and said, “Mingshi, before, when you made such a big mistake during surgery, he comforted you and told you not to worry. You should understand that although Zecheng is cold on the outside, he is never cold-hearted.”

“This time, you really disappointed him.”

“I, I didn’t,” Ye Mingshi lowered her head, her denial becoming softer and softer.

“Your return flight will be rebooked for you here. You don’t need to follow the rest of the itinerary,” Pan Chen finished, then sighed softly. After all, seeing her reach this point still made him feel a little regrettable.

Huo Ci was tidying her room. The hotel general manager had changed her room to the fourth floor, right next to Yi Zecheng’s.

At this moment, he was having a video conference in his room. Although he was abroad, he contacted the company’s senior management every day. It was during this time that Huo Ci sorted her belongings. She hadn’t gone out today, but fortunately, she had already filmed most of what she needed in the past few days. For this trip to Africa, she was personally handling all her work.

Originally, she was invited by Yi Zecheng, but now she had her own ideas.

“You want to hold an exhibition?” Bai Yu was a little excited and quickly replied with a voice message.

In fact, the evaluations of Huo Ci in the industry and online have been uncharacteristically consistent these past few years. They all believed she was too commercial. She became famous in China after winning an international gold award, but ultimately, she went further down the commercial path than anyone else.

Bai Yu was also anxious in his heart. He hoped that Huo Ci could calm down and produce some works, not necessarily for awards, but at least to silence those people.

Huo Ci spoke into her phone: “I have that idea. Let’s discuss it in detail when I get back.”

“Alright, alright, but if you really want to do it, let’s make it big. How about a touring exhibition? After all, you have so many fans now, tickets won’t be a problem at all,” Bai Yu’s voice on the phone was so excited it sounded like it was about to fly.

Huo Ci was stunned. She said, “Okay, but I plan to donate the money from this exhibition to Doctors Without Borders.”

A voice message came back a while later. Bai Yu cautiously asked, “How are things between you and Mr. Yi now?”

Huo Ci looked at the screen, and after a while, she typed seriously.

“Very good, he’s very good, I’m very good, we’re all very good.”

She finished typing this sentence with a smile and sent it. At this moment, the doorbell rang. It was rare for this hotel not to use the knocking method. She placed her phone on the table and walked to the door, looking through the peephole.

It was Ye Mingshi.

She didn’t open the door immediately. Ye Mingshi outside pressed the doorbell again and called out, “Huo Ci, are you there? Can I talk to you?”

Huo Ci walked back into the room and picked up her phone. Outside, Ye Mingshi said again, “Huo Ci, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to. I just saw your room was stolen and was afraid you had lost something. I didn’t intentionally invade your privacy.”

Soon, a low voice came from outside: “Why are you here?”

Huo Ci glanced at her phone. Well, she didn’t need to send a text message anymore.

She knew that Ye Mingshi came to her today not to apologize. She simply couldn’t accept the sudden outcome of leaving. Yi Zecheng had already told her about this during dinner.

Huo Ci walked back again and opened the door.

Ye Mingshi was hanging her head, her eyes red and moist. Yi Zecheng stood in front of her, his expression cold and serious, not impatient, but an expression of extreme indifference. It was as if whatever mood the person in front of him was in, or whatever they said, had nothing to do with him.

This behavior might not be very gentlemanly, but Huo Ci loved his distinction between inside and outside.

Seeing her come out, Ye Mingshi was a little excited and immediately said, “Huo Ci, I came to apologize to you. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that in public.”

“I don’t accept,” Huo Ci looked at her blandly.

Ye Mingshi looked up, shocked, not expecting her to flatly refuse.

Huo Ci’s expression was cold. She was tall with long legs to begin with, and standing in front of Ye Mingshi at this moment, looking down at her, her brows and eyes were filled with indifference. “Why do some people always think that a single ‘I’m sorry’ should earn all forgiveness? I don’t accept your apology, nor do I accept your reason for apologizing. Because you are not innocent.”

Ye Mingshi opened her mouth, wanting to defend herself, until she saw Huo Ci’s eyes.

Too clear and cold.

Her little schemes had long been seen through.

“I’m sorry,” Ye Mingshi said in a lowered voice this time.

After saying that, she turned and left.

When she completely disappeared at the end of the corridor, Huo Ci turned to Yi Zecheng and asked him, “Do you think I’m too unsympathetic?”

“No, this is your stance,” Yi Zecheng looked at her and said in a deep voice, “As long as it’s your stance, I approve.”

Huo Ci looked at him, raising an eyebrow: “So now I’m also the domineering CEO’s woman?”

Yi Zecheng looked at her blankly.

Huo Ci looked at him and suddenly remembered that day in the restroom when he obediently closed his eyes. That moment was also like this, obedient.

She leaned in, kissed his lips, and after gently parting, whispered, “You’re not allowed to tempt me like this anymore.”

Yi Zecheng chuckled. She leaned in to kiss him, and yet she was the one playing the victim first.

The next second, Huo Ci was led into the room.

When the lingering kiss ended, Huo Ci looked at him and said, “You have to go back to your own room tonight.”

Yi Zecheng slightly raised an eyebrow, then heard her say earnestly, “We’re a team; we always have to consider the impact. Me moving up here has already made people suspicious. From now until we return home, it’s not allowed.”

“Are you sure?” Yi Zecheng asked her again in a whisper.

He really knew how to tempt her, but Huo Ci gave a firm hum. Then Yi Zecheng said in her ear, “I won’t touch you, but to take care of you, I must sleep here tonight.”

“I’m not a child,” Huo Ci laughed.

Yi Zecheng, however, looked down at her: “But you’re my girlfriend.”

________________________________________

What does it feel like to work with the person you like?

Probably that time really flies by. When they arrived at their last stop, South Sudan, Huo Ci only then realized that their journey would end in a few days.

From the moment they got off the plane, that farewell atmosphere quietly arrived.

South Sudan is the youngest country in the world. It was originally a highly autonomous region of Sudan, but later became an independent democratic sovereign state in 2011. However, after the establishment of this young country, it did not usher in peace.

Since 2013, the country has been embroiled in civil unrest.

There was once a saying that six gunshots could overthrow a regime. Today, South Sudan is caught in various tribal disputes, causing a large number of civilians to become homeless.

As soon as they got off the plane, they all changed into international volunteer uniforms.

Guns are rampant here, and civil unrest can break out at any time, with people dying every day.

So, to protect their safety, they were given international volunteer uniforms in advance.

Because they coincided with a military plane landing, the wait for luggage was a bit slow. Juba Airport was very small, and the power supply was insufficient, making it as hot as a sauna. Huo Ci was so hot that she felt dizzy and couldn’t even speak.

Yi Zecheng handed her a bottle of water.

Huo Ci took it, unscrewed the cap, drank half the bottle in one gulp, and handed it back to him. Yi Zecheng took it and drank the other half.

The two didn’t say a single word throughout, but the默契 (tacit understanding) between them was enviable.

Wei Lai, who was standing by, saw Tang Xu staring longingly at them and also handed him a bottle of water: “Drink it.”

Tang Xu took it and gloomily gulped down the entire bottle. After he finished, Wei Lai cursed, “Damn it, I haven’t even had a sip yet, leave some for me!”

Upon arriving at the Juba hotel, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Along the way, if nothing else, at least the hotels they booked had air conditioning. The weather here was incredibly hot, with outdoor temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius. Just a few minutes outside could make you drenched in sweat.

Pan Chen, as usual, first contacted the MSF Head of Mission in South Sudan. This time, Mingsheng Group directly donated three million worth of medical supplies to South Sudan. These resources would arrive in two days, and the South Sudanese Minister of Health would personally receive Yi Zecheng and present him with an award.

This batch of medicines was to be donated to the hospital where the Chinese aid team to South Sudan was located. After a brief rest, they went to the hospital. Along the way, Huo Ci remained silent, looking down and adjusting her lens.

“Still not adapted?” Yi Zecheng tilted his head and asked her.

Huo Ci gently shook her head, her face becoming even colder.

When they arrived at the hospital, someone was already waiting at the entrance, as they had been contacted beforehand. After the hospital staff ushered Yi Zecheng inside, Huo Ci began to wander around. This hospital was a China-South Sudan friendship hospital, and familiar and intimate Chinese characters hung on the walls.

She didn’t know how long she had been wandering when she saw the hospital’s bulletin board. At the very top were the names of all the doctors from the Chinese medical team.

She stood quietly by the bulletin board, looking at each of these Chinese faces.

“A loyal heart dedicated to serving the nation, two lines of clear tears for missing loved ones.”

They were far from their homeland, far from their families, but had they deeply missed them?

“Huo Ci,” a voice sounded behind her.

When Huo Ci turned around, she saw a tall man standing not far away, looking at her. His skin had become darker, and at this moment, his face was full of shock.

When he truly saw Huo Ci’s face, the man froze on the spot, not daring to step forward for a long time.

Huo Ci turned and walked away. Urgent footsteps sounded behind her. He chased after her, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her to a stop. He looked down at the young girl in front of him, her expression stubborn and indifferent.

“How are you here?” He clutched her hand tightly, afraid that if he let go, this would be a dream.

Huo Ci lowered her head and said nothing.

Soon, there were more footsteps nearby, and a hand reached out and pulled her into an embrace. Yi Zecheng frowned, looking at the hand gripping her wrist. It was dark and large, particularly conspicuous against her fair, slender wrist.

“Let go,” Yi Zecheng’s voice was cold.

The man didn’t let go immediately. Yi Zecheng turned his head: “Yang Ming, go get the hospital security. We have an intruder here.”

Fortunately, this time the man really let go. His gaze moved back and forth between them. He said, “This is a misunderstanding. I am not an intruder. I am a doctor at this hospital and a member of the Chinese medical team.”

Only then did Yi Zecheng’s expression soften, but his gaze was still displeased.

This person had just grabbed Huo Ci’s hand.

Until the man chuckled, and spoke again: “I am Huo Mingzhou, Huo Ci’s father.”