Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 367 - 344: There’s Something Wrong with the Water
Since the performance was over and the flight was at night, Manager Xie no longer stopped anyone from inquiring about Hua Sui.
After the band members learned that Hua Sui was hospitalized due to poisoning, they were shocked and decided unanimously to put aside their work and visit her at the hospital.
Manager Xie advised in the group chat not to have too many people go, as it’s a hospital, not a cinema, and other patients might have complaints if it gets too crowded.
After some discussion, they decided to send a few representatives to the hospital, mainly the members of the string section.
Shen Jianian said in the group chat that she would also go. She was about to ask Wen Ran if she would go, but Wen Ran, holding a tissue, wiped her tears. As if she knew what Jianian wanted to ask, she spoke up before Jianian could: "I’m not feeling well, so I won’t go. You guys go ahead. I’m going to the restroom."
She hurriedly finished speaking, left her phone, and hid in the bathroom.
Shen Jianian stared at the tightly closed bathroom door, her brows slightly furrowed. Wen Ran had burst into tears just by seeing the message in the group chat. Usually, she wasn’t this timid.
When asked for a reason, she vaguely replied, saying that she hadn’t rested well the previous night. Seeing the word "poisoning" after waking up suddenly made her heart race, and she couldn’t control her tears.
Shen Jianian shook her head, dispelling her doubts, and started packing a few items into her bag.
In the bathroom, upon hearing Shen Jianian finish packing, Wen Ran raised her voice in the direction she was in, "I’m leaving now."
Wen Ran pressed her lips together, responding with a quiet "Mm."
However, just as Shen Jianian opened the door to leave, Wen Ran suddenly changed her mind. She still didn’t know Hua Sui’s condition. How could she be at ease without seeing it herself at the hospital?
"Wait!" Wen Ran, having made up her mind, quickly opened the bathroom door and called out urgently to Shen Jianian, who was about to leave, "You... wait for me, I’m going too."
Shen Jianian stopped at the doorway, turned around with a hint of confusion in her eyes. Wen Ran had just said she wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t go to the hospital, so why change her mind so quickly?
Wen Ran’s gaze was somewhat evasive as she covered up, "I just felt a little dizzy from waking up, it’s not serious. Still, I’d better go check on Hua Sui, I’m a bit worried about her."
Shen Jianian: "Since you’re dizzy, why don’t you stay at the hotel to rest? I’ll message you if anything comes up."
"No, I’m fine, I’ll feel better in a while." Wen Ran said this and went back to the bathroom to wash her face with cold water.
Shen Jianian leaned against the door frame, waiting for her.
Wen Ran quickly changed her clothes, took her bag, and walked up to Shen Jianian, "Let’s go."
A group of five or six people got into the car arranged by the hotel and headed to the nearest hospital, which was less than a twenty-minute drive away. The girl who stayed with Hua Sui last night was still at the hospital. Shen Jianian contacted her and learned which room Hua Sui was in. They took the elevator up and followed the room numbers to find it.
After knocking on the door, it was the girl from last night who opened it, "You’re here."
She stepped aside to let them in.
The room had two beds, Hua Sui was on the one by the window. She had already woken up and was leaning against the raised headboard, her face pale, wearing loose hospital clothes.
An elderly lady was on the other bed, still asleep with her eyes closed. Everyone instinctively lightened their steps, not making any noise.
Hua Sui had been gazing outside the window, feeling down for missing last night’s performance. A trace of melancholy was etched on her face, and her hands, resting on the blanket, tightly clutched it.
As the group approached, Hua Sui noticed them out of the corner of her eye, her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she turned her gaze to them. After a few seconds, the corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile, and she softly asked, "Why are you all here?"
"Came to check on you," Shen Jianian, standing at the front, spoke up, "How are you feeling now?"
"Much better," Hua Sui replied, "The doctor said I can be discharged today. Luckily, it won’t affect the flight back home."
Seeing her safe and sound eased a lot of Wen Ran’s guilt, allowing her to breathe a quiet sigh of relief, leaving only one concern—would Hua Sui hold someone accountable?
Last night, Wen Ran had flushed the remaining medicine, along with the bottle, down the toilet, leaving no evidence. Even if someone sought accountability, it shouldn’t lead back to her.
After all, hadn’t she not interacted with Hua Sui at all yesterday?
Wen Ran shifted her gaze towards Shen Jianian. As long as she didn’t know there was something wrong with that glass of water, everything would be okay.
One of the other girls visiting Hua Sui spoke up, "We’ve been discussing this in the group for a long time, and none of us understand how you got poisoned. Did you eat something bad outside?"
Hua Sui pressed her dry, bloodless lips together, and after a moment, slowly shook her head, "No. The poison the doctors found in my body isn’t something that can be extracted from food; it’s some kind of synthetic, illegal drug. Fortunately, I didn’t ingest much, otherwise..."
At this point, Hua Sui stopped, feeling a wave of fear wash over her.
"It was terrifying! An illegal drug? How did this happen?"
"Hearing this gives me goosebumps."
"So, was it really someone poisoning you? Think carefully about everything you ate yesterday."
"With so many things eaten in a day, who knows which item had poison added? Did the doctor mention how long it takes for the drug to take effect? Perhaps we could estimate the time it was ingested."
The old lady in the bed next to hers woke up, and everyone spoke without lowering their voices, eagerly offering Hua Sui suggestions.
Wen Ran’s slightly calmed nerves tensed up again, her palms breaking into a sweat. She lowered her gaze, not daring to look at Hua Sui’s face.
She didn’t want to appear guilty, but in certain situations, it’s hard to control one’s emotions. Like at this very moment, how could she maintain calm in such fear?
Surrounded by everyone’s concern, Hua Sui’s grip on the blanket tightened. After a silent pause, she lifted her head, without looking at anyone, and fixed her gaze on the white wall opposite the hospital bed, speaking slowly, "The doctor said this drug works quickly."
"Huh?" someone asked promptly, "Did you eat anything before setting off?"
With the landing of those words, Wen Ran’s heart tightened at once.
Before Hua Sui could open her mouth, Shen Jianian said, "I gave her an etoricoxib pill for her menstrual pain. But I’ve taken it too, without any issues."
Hua Sui looked at Shen Jianian and shook her head; she never doubted her: "It’s not because of that drug."
The blood test report showed traces of etoricoxib, but the doctor said it was unrelated.
Even if the doctor hadn’t mentioned it, she wouldn’t have suspected Shen Jianian. There wasn’t any animosity between them, not even minor quarrels. On the contrary, they had always been on good terms, with no reason for Shen Jianian to harm her.
Moreover, her request for medicine from Shen Jianian was spontaneous. How could Shen Jianian have premeditated poisoning her? Besides, the pill was taken from a sealed aluminum foil, and several pills from that strip had already been consumed.
Therefore, it couldn’t be Shen Jianian.
Hua Sui also had no idea how she got poisoned.
*
Everyone stayed with Hua Sui in the hospital all morning. After finishing her two IV drips for the day, they helped her with discharge procedures, and a few of them took a car back to the hotel.
In the car, someone asked Hua Sui, "Is this matter just going to end like this?"
Hua Sui, still a bit weak, wrapped in a thick coat, leaned against the seatback with a faint smile. Before she could speak, another voice interjected, "What else can be done? After all, we are abroad. Reporting it to the police would present significant difficulties in investigations and evidence collection, and disrupt our normal lives."
The person speaking was Wen Ran.
Upon hearing this, Hua Sui nodded, "That’s exactly how I feel."
After giving it some thought, everyone agreed with Wen Ran. Right now, there are no leads, and even communicating with the police would be problematic, let alone assisting in a full investigation, akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
Shen Jianian remained silent throughout the journey, repeatedly organizing various pieces of information in her mind, prioritizing the most crucial points, including—
The drug takes effect quite rapidly, with the highest likelihood being the time Hua Sui unknowingly took it before departure; etoricoxib was not the issue.
So, what exactly was the problem?
Hua Sui said she hadn’t eaten anything else, only a few packets of snacks.
If it wasn’t the medication, could it have been the water?
As soon as Shen Jianian considered this, she dismissed it. That cup of water was drawn from the water dispenser in the hotel room, and Wen Ran had drunk a cup prior to that as well.
Wen Ran...
Suddenly, something clicked in Shen Jianian’s mind. She narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze towards Wen Ran. Wen Ran, lost in her thoughts, looked down, unconsciously picking at her fingernails, seemingly immersed in some emotion.
As if sensing someone was watching her, Wen Ran lifted her head, her eyes made a half-circle before landing on Shen Jianian’s somewhat probing gaze.
That look seemed to convey so much, Wen Ran’s heart trembled violently. She averted her eyes, pretending to look out the window, her heartbeat racing out of control.
Why did Shen Jianian look at her like that? Had she noticed something?
Impossible, no, it’s impossible...
Back at the hotel, Shen Jianian and Wen Ran entered the room one after the other. Once the door closed, Shen Jianian, who was in front, turned around, unsure of how to ask, getting caught in thought and conflict.
If Wen Ran didn’t do it, directly questioning her would be overly harsh.
Yet, Wen Ran’s behavior from last night to today seemed rather unusual.
She couldn’t understand why Wen Ran would want to harm Hua Sui... unless, if Hua Sui hadn’t come to her for medication, then the one who would have drunk that cup of water would have been her.
So, was Wen Ran’s real target actually her?
