Chapter 49 Seeking Verification

As Feng Ran wasted time in this strange house with Shen Zhi, many things kept coming to his mind, the first of which was Feng Qing.

He hadn't contacted her in a long time. Shen Zhi sent her a sum of money every month, but she never touched it.

She was about to graduate, and Feng Ran had Shen Zhi check the admission lists of all the schools with master's programs in her field, but her name was nowhere to be found.

She had said before that she wanted to continue studying, so why did she change her mind?

Besides, there was the matter of Mr. Lu, He Chuan, and himself... He needed the truth.

Feng Qing was leaving school in early July and couldn't put it off any longer.

As the days passed, Feng Ran felt no regrets.

He had to go, and no one could stop him.

Shen Zhi had trouble sleeping after his surgery, and the doctor prescribed one sleeping pill a day, which he took sometimes and sometimes not. The bottle was by his bed. Feng Ran noticed as he made his bed and saw that there were five pills left.

That night, he put all five pills into Shen Zhi's water glass and watched him drink it and fall asleep. Everything went smoothly.

Unable to find his phone, notebook or something, he had to take some cash from Shen Zhi's pocket, and in the chaos he put on some clothes without noticing whether they were his own. He

tampered

with the door lock and pried it open easily. He went out in the moonlight and went straight to the police station.

This was the road he and Shen Zhi often took when they went out to buy groceries. He used to use some tricks to make Shen Zhi take a detour with him so that he could remember more routes.

His good memory for remembering maps and supplies in the game came in handy, and the journey was smooth.

Regaining his freedom was so hard-earned. He pushed the door open and his voice trembled when he saw the police officers in blue clothes.

"Hello, I've been issued a death certificate, but I'm still alive. It was something unexpected, and the hospital made a mistake. Is there anything I can do..."

He thought the situation was urgent and rare, but the clerk was calm. He glanced at him and said, "Prepare some proof of identity, like your household registration, passport, or something, and then go to the hospital to get a certificate of survival." "

What proof? I'm already standing here, and I need proof?"

"A certificate of survival. Which hospital made the mistake?"

"I don't know... Maybe some private hospital in Hai City, or maybe Jiang City..."

He asked several more questions, but he had no idea. The clerk, buried in notes, said he still needed to go to the hospital to get the certificate.

Fearing delay, Feng Ran hesitated. The clerk, noticing his hesitation, said, "No problem. There's a hospital nearby. What's your original ID number? Let's see if it can still be recognized. Write it down."

Feng Ran did as he was told.

After a long pause, the clerk looked at the screen, then back at him, and said something unexpected.

"What are you doing here? Isn't it fine?"

"...Ah?" Feng Ran seemed to have lost his ability to understand.

"It's fine. Feng Ran, right? The household registration status is normal, the place of residence..."

He rushed over to look at the computer screen. Yes, all his information was written on it, including his age, identity, photo... He was dumbfounded.

"What's the matter with you? Did you get scammed?" The other party looked at him suspiciously with an unfriendly tone.

"Wait a minute, I... I really don't know? How could this happen? I'm sorry, brother, I really didn't mean it..."

Feng Ran was at a loss for words and was sweating with anxiety. Shen Zhi's empty city plan really hurt him a lot. The trouble he had been entangled with for so long turned out to be a prank, but the police were staring at him, and he didn't know whether to cry or laugh first.

"Feng Ran." A familiar voice called out.

He turned around suddenly, and Shen Zhi was standing at the door, waving.

His face was pale and his expression was very indifferent.

Feng Ran panicked and hid behind a chair. Chen Zhi came up and took out their IDs. He said calmly, "I'm sorry to trouble you. I'm his younger brother. There really is no death certificate. He's been under a lot of pressure lately. I plan to take him to see a psychiatrist someday."

Feng Ran was shocked by his gossip: "What are you talking about? Who needs to see a psychiatrist? You're the one who should see one, okay!"

They tugged at each other as they walked out the door. Chen Zhi held on tightly, and Feng Ran managed to shake him off after a few tries.

His unpredictable eyes lingered on Shen Zhi. The death certificate was fake, so could the sleeping pills be fake too? There were many roads leading out of that house. How did Shen Zhi find him so accurately? He

had been gone for less than half an hour...

Shen Zhi had chased him all the way out, with only a little strength left to maintain his dignity at the police station. He couldn't hold on any longer, his true form was exposed, and he leaned against the car and took a few deep breaths.

"You think you can outrun him once, and you can outrun him a second time?"

He breathed weakly, a faint smile playing on his lips. The glance he gave Feng Ran was a flickering, almost angry, almost amused look, the same one he'd had when they'd first met in the cramped carriage, following the scent of her hair, a look that had lingered on him.

That glance had drawn him in like a hook, once compelling him to stop, but his heart had changed. Now, only fear and annoyance remained.

His forehead twitched, and he took a step back, pressing forward with Shen Zhi.

"Feng Ran, I admit that I was just lying to you. The death certificate and the explosion were all made up and just said casually. Think about it, I don't have such ability. Okay, is that okay now? What else do you want? Stop making trouble and come back with me."

Feng Ran knew that he was at the end of his strength, but his heart was still in turmoil. He pretended to be calm: "No." Chen

Zhi pulled him again and threatened: "I'm warning you, just come home with me."

Feng Ran shook him hard, and Shen Zhi lost his balance. He staggered two steps and stood firm on the car.

Seeing that his face was not right, Feng Ran said: "Don't take on porcelain work if you don't have a fine steel drill now. Go to the hospital when you need to, and rest in bed when you need to rest at home. You think about nonsense every day. If I lock me up at home and put me in front of you, you will be fine, right?"

"Yes."

"Why are you tormenting me like this?"

Shen Zhi didn't say anything.

Feng Ran glared at him. "Stop talking endlessly and pestering me, okay? At least let me go back and take care of some things. My family doesn't want me anymore, so I deserve to live a normal life!" Shen

Zhi suddenly bent over and started coughing violently, each cough exhausting his energy, as if he was coughing up all his internal organs.

Feng Ran said, "Go to the hospital! You've been coughing up blood lately. I don't even want to say anything about you, but you really don't know what's important." Shen

Zhi took a long time to recover and asked, "Are you going to come back after this trip?"

Feng Ran had no plans for the future. If he had to choose, he would definitely stay as far away from Shen Zhi as possible. But this guy's condition is getting worse now, and he can only say: "I'll come back."

"Promise me that you must come back."

"I can come back, but you have to listen to me."

"Promise me." Shen Zhi said weakly, "If you don't come back, I can't live. I want to wait a little longer. The dean said that someone wants to adopt Ruoruo and is still investigating."

Feng Ran couldn't understand it. He was so upset, but he was still struggling with the question of whether to agree or not, and he wanted to be strong and say all kinds of nonsense.

"Okay, okay."

Seeing that he agreed, Shen Zhi finally calmed down. Not long after, he coughed again. He covered his mouth for a long time and fell down limply. A trace of bright red leaked out from between his fingers.

Feng Ran's heart was pinched. He cursed him as an idiot, opened the car door, threw him into the back seat, and drove to the hospital.

An hour after Shen Zhi entered the operating room, Shen Yuan came.

When Shen Yuan saw Feng Ran as he walked out of the elevator door, he didn't even take a step.

Feng Ran hooked his finger and waited for him to come over carefully. He threw a stack of bills over and said, "Go and pay the bills."

Shen Yuan said suspiciously, "Are you leaving?"

"Is it none of your business?"

"Would you like to think about it? How about I pay you according to our employee standards? Just consider it as your salary for taking care of my brother." Feng Ran didn't bother to pay

attention to him.

"If you leave, I'm done! Please," Shen Yuan said helplessly, "or wait until he comes out before you leave? At least don't let him push the blame on me."

He still didn't speak.

After Shen Zhi was wheeled into the ward, Shen Yuan said again, "Would you mind waiting until he wakes before you leave? Otherwise, he'll definitely blame me."

Feng Ran said leisurely, "What does it have to do with me?"

Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, rummaged through his briefcase, and pulled out a blank, stamped checkbook. He tore off a check and slammed it on the table.

"There's two hundred and fifty on the account. Fill it in as you please."

Seeing that he was well prepared, Feng Ran didn't hesitate, lowering his head and writing quickly. Shen Yuan leaned over to

read and was speechless. "...Exactly forty-nine. No more. Are you in a hurry to grab the money and run?"

Feng Ran sneered, "I don't want to argue with you anymore. But you can give me five checks, and I'll write forty-nine on each one. After all, banks pay on sight, don't they?"

Shen Yuan paused, then said, "You're quite the idiot. If you want, I'll do it for you."

"No need. I don't want anything I shouldn't take," Feng Ran said flatly. "Take this as what Shen Zhi owes me for the past six months. No more, no less. We're even."

Shen Yuan said nothing more.

The two of them stared blankly at the man on the bed. Fortunately, the anesthetic wore off quickly. Shen Zhi opened his eyes, staring blankly at the two people beside him, his lips moving. "Feng Ran..."

Shen Yuan jumped up excitedly, "He's awake! He's awake!"

Feng Ran stood up, "He's awake. Now you're awake, get some rest. Goodbye."

Shen Zhi immediately struggled to get out of bed, his wrists straining to make the IV sway. But no matter how hard he tried, the combination of the drug and the incision made it nearly impossible to move. He whispered Feng Ran's name in vain.

Feng Ran ignored him and reached the door. Shen Yuan was trembling with anxiety.

"Wait a minute, brother! Brother, he's leaving. What should we do?... Feng Ran, how can you be so heartless? What will happen to him if you leave? He's been sincere to you, right? He needs you so much. Now you've got the money, don't try to make things worse..."

Feng Ran turned around and glared, and Shen Yuan quickly shut up.

He pointed at himself, "Don't f**k me. I told you I've done everything I could for him."

He threw his coat over his shoulder and left without a backward glance.

Shen Yuan rushed over and saw Feng Ran's back really disappear at the end of the corridor. He rushed to the bed and leaned over to Shen Zhi and whispered, "I'll send someone to follow him." Shen

Zhi closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling, and he was muttering something. Shen Yuan didn't understand several times, and guessed that Shen Zhi still wanted Feng Ran to come back.

So he called the bodyguard, the secretary, and sent someone to keep an eye on the area near Feng Ran's hometown... After working for a long time, Shen Zhi's lips were still trembling slightly, and the words he uttered were as weak as a sigh.

He leaned in and listened carefully, and found that they were just three words that were repeated over and over again, each one softer than the last, like a plea, and like a farewell.

"Let him go."