Chapter 175: Something Has Happened to Lin Xi

The telephone kept ringing persistently. Seeing that she still hadn't answered, the driver in the front row glanced back through the rearview mirror.

Then he offered a reminder, "Ms. Lin."

"Ms. Lin?"

He raised his voice a little.

Lin Xi frowned and slowly opened her eyes.

The driver: "You have a phone call."

Because of the exhibition earlier today, Lin Xi had turned her phone ringtone down to the lowest setting, making it easy to miss if there was even the slightest commotion around her.

The person on the other end of the line was Cheng Si.

Lin Xi pressed the answer button and adjusted her sitting posture.

"Hello."

"..." The moment she spoke, Cheng Si could tell something was wrong.

"I heard them say you went out for dinner?"

"Mhm."

"Did you drink? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. My uncle arranged for someone to pick me up, and I should be at the hotel soon."

Cheng Si let out a sigh of relief, "Alright then, make sure you get some good rest when you get back."

He definitely wasn't calling just to say that. Lin Xi asked, "Is there something you need?"

"It's nothing urgent. We can talk tomorrow when you have time."

After hanging up, Lin Xi put her phone back into her pocket and forced her eyes open to look out the window. "How much longer?"

"We'll be there just around this corner."

"Mhm."

The car came to a smooth stop, and the driver immediately got out, walked around to the back, and opened the door.

"Are you alright?"

Lin Xi nodded and slowly stepped out on her own.

The driver considerately escorted her upstairs and only left after making sure she was safely received by her female colleague inside the room.

——

It was too late, and Nange had already fallen asleep.

Dou Yangyang helped Lin Xi into the bedroom and poured her a glass of water. "Are you alright?"

Lin Xi wanted to shake her head, but felt too dizzy, so she finally just let out a soft mhm.

As soon as she lay down on the bed, Lin Xi felt a wave of nausea. She quickly propped herself up on the bed, sat up, and stumbled toward the bathroom.

Before Dou Yangyang could follow her, she heard the sound of vomiting.

She was startled and, in a flurry of panic, picked up the water glass and grabbed a towel before running after her.

Ten minutes later, Lin Xi finished vomiting and collapsed onto the floor to rest.

Dou Yangyang gently gathered her scattered hair and tied it back behind her head. "Engineer Lin, do you feel a bit better now?"

Lin Xi couldn't say a single word; her consciousness had completely drifted away.

It took her quite a while to register where she was now.

"Why did you drink so much..." Dou Yangyang asked softly.

Without answering, Lin Xi reached out a hand toward her. "Help me up."

"Okay, okay." Dou Yangyang mustered her strength to pull her up and helped her back to the bedroom. "I'll go pour you another glass of water. Wait for me here."

As soon as Dou Yangyang stepped outside, she bumped into Nange.

The latter had been woken up by the noise. Looking at her in a daze, Nange asked, "Hey Yangyang, why are you here? Is Engineer Lin back?"

"Mhm, mhm." Dou Yangyang pointed toward the bedroom behind her and whispered, "Engineer Lin is drunk and just finished throwing up."

Nange was in the middle of a yawn, but the moment she heard this, her sleepiness vanished instantly.

"Ah right, my uncle called just now..." She had answered her uncle's call while half-asleep, but because she was too drowsy, she hadn't quite caught what he said.

She only vaguely remembered her uncle mentioning Lin Xi...

Nange patted her forehead in vexation, muttering that she knew she had forgotten something.

"Anyway, you go pour the water, and I'll call the hotel to have some medicine sent up."

"Okay!"

Lin Xi had no recollection of what time she fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, she vomited again—so violently that her stomach cramped in spasms, and cold sweat poured down continuously.

Dou Yangyang and Nange were terrified by the sight, having no idea what to do.

Dou Yangyang: "Should we... should we send her to the hospital?"

Nange snapped back to her senses. "Right, the hospital! You help Engineer Lin put on her coat, I'll go next door to get Engineer Li and the others!"

It wasn't safe for three girls to go out at this hour; they needed a man with them.

The two quickly divided the labor. Nange didn't even put on her coat; she yanked the door open and sprinted out.

Engineer Li and Engineer Wang were sharing a room, both sleeping soundly. Engineer Wang was the first to be woken up, and upon hearing Nange mention Lin Xi, a look of annoyance crossed his face.

Just as he was about to curse, he heard Nange continue, "Engineer Li has been throwing up nonstop, and now she's in too much pain to get up!"

"Huh?" Engineer Wang froze. Coming to his senses, he kicked Engineer Li awake with his slippered foot.

Engineer Li's eyes bulged, still half-trapped in a dream, before Engineer Wang yanked him straight out of bed. "Stop staring blankly, something's happened to Engineer Lin, we're taking her to the hospital!"

After a flurry of panicked activity, getting Lin Xi to the hospital at two in the morning was quite an ordeal.

Checking the time, Engineer Li told Engineer Wang to take the two girls back first.

"I should stay instead," Dou Yangyang raised her hand. "It's more convenient for a girl to stay."

"Convenient is fine, but I'm worried it might not be safe."

Engineer Li said, "Then I'll stay behind as well."

Engineer Wang gave him a sideways glance. "Given Engineer Lin's condition, she might not even make it to the exhibition tomorrow morning. If she's not there, you'll have to take charge. What, you want to take a break together too?"

Though the words sounded harsh, they made complete sense.

Only...

Engineer Li looked him up and down, feeling uncertain. "Then you mean... you're staying?"

"Why, can't I?" Engineer Wang put his hands on his hips.

Engineer Li remained silent.

"What's with that look, Mr. Li? Don't insult me. I might have conflicts with Engineer Lin, but that's strictly business, and I have every right to question her."

"But right now, we aren't at work. At the very least, I'm still a human being, aren't I?"

"..." Engineer Li nodded. "Then I'll have to trouble you and little Dou tonight."

The next morning, at the exhibition venue.

When the others heard that Engineer Lin had been hospitalized from drinking, they all wore shocked expressions.

"No way, under circumstances like this, Engineer Lin wouldn't do that, would she?"

"Exactly, Engineer Lin is such a rigorous person. Knowing how heavy the workload has been lately, she should know her limits when drinking."

Engineer Li glanced at them. "Focus on doing your own jobs."

Near noon, Abby arrived at Feiyun's exhibition booth. Looking around and failing to see Lin Xi, she found it a bit strange. "Is Lin not here?"

"She's not here today."

Engineer Li stepped forward. "Is there something you need? I can pass the message along."

"Well, it's like this. When we were having dinner together last night, Lin signed a contract with Vane. I thought they were just joking around last night, but when I asked around this morning, it turns out to be true."

"Leave it to Lin, really."

Engineer Li was stunned. "Really?"

"Of course, didn't she tell you guys?"

Vane's senior executive was a good friend of Abby's, and they had happened to run into each other while dining last night. Through Abby's introduction, Vane's executive and Lin Xi got acquainted.

After a few rounds of drinks, upon hearing that Feiyun specialized in robotics, Vane's executive proposed a collaboration.

However, the other party's actual intent wasn't really the partnership; they were just using it as an excuse to chat up Lin Xi.

Abby was well aware of this, and remembering that Lin Xi was single, she hadn't interfered, turning away to chat with other friends instead.

Who would have thought that upon asking this morning, the Vane side stated that the two parties had already signed the contract right there at last night's dinner table.