Plunder-Chapter 174: Do You Want to Die?

Qiao En had originally been staying in the rest area, but when she saw Qiao’s mother faint, she rushed out without a second thought.

Just as she was about to approach Qiao’s mother, Zhou Jin’an stopped her.

"Secretary Xu, please help make a call to 120."

He gave Qiao En a meaningful look.

Qiao En understood.

He wanted to tell her that Qiao’s mother was only pretending to be sick.

To avoid answering that question, she had chosen to feign illness as a way to muddle through.

"Trust me, I have a way to make her speak," Zhou Jin’an whispered into Qiao En’s ear.

Her heart sank slightly, and then she walked towards the door.

"Alright, Director Zhou, I’ll contact them right now."

As soon as Qiao En left, Zhou Jin’an stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows with his arms crossed, and said coldly, "Mrs. Qiao, isn’t it pointless to keep up the act?"

He gave Qiao’s mother a cold look with his eyes. Her acting skills were really good, just lying there on the ground, motionless.

"All you have to do is tell me the truth, and I can ensure Qiao De’s safety right now, and I can even arrange the position he desires."

However, even with such a big bait thrown out, Qiao’s mother didn’t take it.

The woman who was devoted to her son was silent at that moment.

Her silence meant that there was an even bigger secret behind this incident.

Zhou Jin’an didn’t press her; he was waiting for Qiao’s mother to speak up on her own initiative.

Approximately half an hour later, the ambulance arrived.

Zhou Jin’an walked out of the office, yet the door was left open.

Qiao En was standing outside the door, looking worriedly into the room.

"Are you alright?"

Zhou Jin’an walked towards her, his gaze intensely settling on Qiao En.

She nodded her head, "I know she is pretending, so you don’t have to worry about me."

Zhou Jin’an nodded heavily.

"You had it rough."

He wanted to pat Qiao En on the shoulder, but it didn’t feel appropriate, so he retracted his hand.

Cheng Lu lead two medical staff members upstairs, his face full of suspicion.

"Director Zhou, what’s going on?"

Zhou Jin’an gave a look towards the inside of the room, and Cheng Lu also saw Qiao’s mother lying on the ground, still feigning illness.

"She is..."

"Pretending to be sick."

Qiao En took over the conversation.

Cheng Lu looked at Qiao En, his eyes filled with sympathy.

"Send her to the hospital."

Zhou Jin’an gave the order, and Cheng Lu instructed the medical staff, who immediately lifted Qiao’s mother onto a stretcher and carried her out.

"Cheng Lu, go with Secretary Xu."

Before leaving, Zhou Jin’an saw the worry on Qiao En’s face, so he spoke.

"Okay," Cheng Lu responded.

"Thank you."

Qiao En said to Zhou Jin’an.

The group quickly arrived at the hospital, and Qiao En was taken into the emergency room.

"Knowing that your mother is faking her illness, does it upset you?" Cheng Lu sat down beside Qiao En on the bench.

He actually wanted to say a few words to comfort Qiao En, but he was not good with words and couldn’t utter a single one.

Qiao En let out a small sigh, "I could have chosen my own parents, but they chose me. Although they didn’t give birth to me, they raised me. Of course, I feel resentful, but what can I do?"

One always feels helpless about things one cannot choose.

Cheng Lu placed a hand on Qiao En’s back and patted, "You have to believe that things will turn around. You will definitely find your birth parents."

Qiao En smiled bitterly.

Where were her birth parents? How were they doing now?

And why had they abandoned her in the first place?

Zhou Jin’an arranged for a full-body checkup for Qiao’s mother at the hospital.

The results all came back normal.

Cheng Lu called Zhou Jin’an, and his eyes deepened further.

"She still hasn’t woken up?"

Cheng Lu looked through the hospital room door for a moment. It wasn’t just that Qiao’s mother hadn’t woken up; she was clearly still sleeping.

"Isn’t there a saying? You can’t wake a person who is pretending to sleep."

"If she wants to sleep, let her sleep for now. We’ll ask again tomorrow."

"What about Secretary Qiao?"

Cheng Lu anxiously looked towards Qiao En again.

Qiao En’s mother wanted to cause trouble, and he had countless ways to indulge her antics. However, it would be unfortunate for Qiao En to have to watch her foster mother being toyed with.

"I’ll come over later to pick her up."

Once Zhou Jin’an finished what he was doing, he came to the hospital.

He wanted to take Qiao En away, but she refused to leave.

"What if she keeps pretending to be asleep?"

Qiao En asked with suspicion.

This question was difficult for Zhou Jin’an to answer.

"What do you wish me to do?"

His dark right eye gazed at Qiao En, seeking her opinion.

"I have an idea."

Qiao En crossed her arms, her eyes cold and clear.

After pondering for a moment, she spoke out her thoughts.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Zhou Jin’an asked in surprise.

Qiao En was clever; she could indeed come up with many cunning plans.

"Let’s give it a try."

Qiao En said.

Zhou Jin’an immediately ordered Cheng Lu to carry it out.

Twenty minutes later, a group of doctors in white coats entered Qiao’s mother’s ward.

The doctors surrounded her, at times flipping her eyelids to take a look, at other times listening to her heartbeat with a stethoscope, and some took her pulse by placing their hands on her wrist.

They whispered professional jargon among themselves; Qiao’s mother could not understand a word.

She only heard incessant sighs and head-shaking, as if they were facing a particularly challenging case.

After a lengthy discussion, the doctors walked out.

"Such a pity."

"Too late."

"So tragic."

...

They did not state the reasons, just uttered sighs.

Qiao’s mother was finding it extremely difficult to keep pretending to be asleep. The doctors had come and gone, muttering a bunch of things, and now doubt began to grow in her mind.

No sooner had the doctors left than a nurse came in to adjust her IV drip.

"Ah, she is indeed pitiful, it’s been so long and she still hasn’t woken up," one nurse lamented.

Another nurse shushed her, "Hush— didn’t the person who brought her in tell us not to let her know she has a terminal illness?"

"What terminal illness? Why doesn’t she have any children by her side?"

"Come on, let’s go outside to talk, don’t let her hear us."

The two nurses lowered their voices and walked out.

On the bed, Qiao’s mother was starting to lose her composure. She rolled over and looked out the door of the ward.

There was nobody outside, yet she seemed to still hear the murmuring voices.

As dusk approached, Qiao’s mother could no longer maintain her act.

When the nurse came to change her IV bottle, she opened her eyes and asked, "Nurse, what’s wrong with me?"

The nurse didn’t respond, just replaced the IV bottle and walked out, "Don’t you know yet?"

"How exactly am I sick?"

Qiao’s mother looked doubtful.

With an air of forbidding secrecy, the nurse shook her head like a rattle-drum, "Don’t overthink it, focus on getting better, miracles can happen."

After speaking, she hurriedly left the ward.

Once the nurse was gone, Qiao’s mother couldn’t lie still any longer.

She removed her IV needle and got out of bed in a hurry, not even bothering to put on her shoes.

"Doctor, what’s really wrong with me?"

She rushed out of the room the moment she opened the door, and the nurses quickly intercepted her.

"Madam, how can you leave the bed on your own like this? Your condition is very critical; you must follow medical advice strictly. Lie down quickly, I’ll get your IV started again," one nurse insisted.

Several nurses forced Qiao’s mother back onto the bed, causing her anxiety to spike.

"Just tell me, am I going to die?"

No one is unafraid of death.

When Qiao’s mother contemplated death, her legs started to tremble.

The one who answered her was not a nurse, but Zhou Jin’an.

He stood upright at the entrance of the ward, his voice cold, "Do you wish to die?"