Chapter 464 A Quarter Blood Tie

• Ever since Lu Tingchen learned that Xia Yanxi would be stuck on set for days before she could come home, he’d been sulking hard. Then he figured, if she couldn’t come to him, he could go to her. He showed up at the set—only to hear people shouting that something had gone wrong. His heart lurched, and he took off at a run. A crowd had formed around Xia Yanxi, asking how she was and where she was hurt. Cold sweat soaked his back. Then he heard her telling Lin Yu not to let him know about it. The knot in his chest loosened at that, and he hurried to her side. Xia Yanxi looked up and saw him. Instinctively, she tried to hide her hands. “I’m fine. It’s nothing, just a scratch… ah!” She barely shifted when a stabbing pain ripped through her lower back. The color had drained from her face, and Lu Tingchen’s chest clenched with pain of his own. “Okay, say no more. I’m taking you to the hospital.” Xia Yanxi grimaced and shook her head. “No. I think my back won’t move. It hurts so bad. Lu Tingchen, help me.” When your body breaks down, you reach for the one person who matters most. Hearing how bad her back hurt, he didn’t dare jostle her. “Yan, hang in there. The ambulance is almost here.” At the same time, he called He Bin to prep for surgery. About ten minutes later, the ambulance arrived and rushed the badly injured Xia Yanxi to He Bin’s hospital. She spiked a 102.2-degree fever as soon as they got there and had to be cooled down before surgery. He Bin skipped the explanations and set the whole surgical plan in motion. They gave her an antipyretic; it worked fast, bringing the fever down. Then the operation began. It took over six hours before it was done. Lu Tingchen sat with a stormy face outside the doors the whole time. The second the light over the OR went off, he shot to his feet and moved to the doorway to wait for her. He Bin and the nurses slowly wheeled her out. Worry flooded Lu Tingchen’s usually cool eyes. His voice came out low and hoarse. “How did it go? Is she okay?” He Bin wanted to tell him not to worry, but a lie wouldn’t hold. He had to level with him. “The surgery was a success. She’s not in danger. But her hands are pretty bad. To save herself, she must’ve grabbed the wire hard. A tendon in her palm got abraded. She can’t use too much force from now on, and no more lifting heavy things. “Also, her lower back slammed into rocks. The muscle was pierced, but thankfully her kidneys are fine. Call it a blessing in a mess. She’ll need one to two months of strict rest at least. Let’s get her to a room first…” Just hearing her palms were torn up gutted him. Then the back injury on top of that… A healthy, lively woman, and in a blink she’s flat on a hospital bed, not moving. It was almost more than he could take. But he stuffed it all down. She needed him steady. “Yeah. Let’s go,” he said, no more questions. With He Bin’s skills, this was already the best outcome. Somehow the news that her surgery was over reached the crew. A few department heads hurried over with gifts to see her. But when they got to the door, two bodyguards stood like stone guardians and blocked them. Director Feng swallowed his nerves and walked up. “Hey, uh, man, sorry to bother you. Could you let Mr. Lu know we’re here to visit Miss Xia?” The bodyguard shot them a cool look. “Mr. Lu said no one goes in except doctors and nurses. Please leave.” Director Feng worried Lu Tingchen would pin the blame on him and blurted, anxious, “Come on, don’t. We really are here to check on her. And we brought the head of props to explain what happened. Could you please bend the rules just this once?” “No means no,” the guard said, unmoved. “If you won’t leave, I’ll have to escort you out.” Du Yu arrived just in time to see the standoff. Remembering Lu Tingchen’s orders, he spoke up. “Director Feng, give me a second. I’ll tell Mr. Lu.” A moment later, Lu Tingchen stepped out of the room, face like thunder. Director Feng was no stranger to big scenes and had plenty of clout in the industry, but in front of a top shark like Lu Tingchen, his nerves wobbled. Lu Tingchen didn’t want to waste a second. “Talk. What happened?” Director Feng braced himself and edged over, voice trembling as he confessed, “Here’s the deal, Mr. Lu. I’ve looked into the whole set. The problem was with props. Someone tampered with Miss Xia’s wire rig. “But they swear it wasn’t on purpose. They’ve been with me for years. They’ve never had beef with Miss Xia. No way they’d target her. So maybe you could… you know… ease up…” He wanted to plead for the props team. They’d been with him nearly a decade. They had families. If Lu Tingchen came down on them to vent his anger, they wouldn’t survive it. And honestly, it wasn’t all on props. They felt screwed too. An hour earlier, the gear had checked out. Other actors used it just fine. Then it failed the moment it was Xia Yanxi’s turn. Director Feng tried to explain more, but Lu Tingchen was out of patience. He buried the swirl of emotion behind dark eyes and said, ice-cold, “Du Yu, take them. Interrogate them thoroughly.” “Yes, sir,” Du Yu answered, stepping up. Two bodyguards moved in and escorted the props crew away. Seeing that, Director Feng didn’t dare argue. He shot his people a look, telling them not to resist and to tell the truth. Meanwhile, far away in the capital, Old Master Tong received the DNA results for Xia Yanxi and Xia Xinrui. Shockingly, both shared a quarter blood tie with him. Tong Guanjie was floored. How could both girls be his kin? Tong Ruolin read the report and was just as stunned. She’d always thought Xia Xinrui was a fake. Turns out they really are related. What the hell was going on? As they were both still trying to wrap their heads around it, Tong Ruolin’s phone buzzed twice with a push alert from entertainment news: Xia Yanxi had fallen when her wire rig failed during filming, was badly hurt, and was already in surgery at the hospital. Tong Guanjie noticed her staring at her phone and asked, puzzled, “Ruolin, what’s wrong? What happened?” Holding up her phone, she said, worry etched on her face, “Yanxi had an accident on set. She’s in surgery.” Tong Guanjie’s heart clenched. “What! How could they be so careless? Book a flight. We’re going now.” Tong Ruolin blinked. “Huh? You’re going too?” “Of course,” he said without hesitation. “She’s one of ours. She’s hurt, and I’m her grandfather—how could I not go? Book it.” By the time they reached the hospital, it was past midnight. Following Lu Tingchen’s orders, Du Yu and the bodyguards stood watch in shifts around the clock so no one would disturb her. Du Yu had just swapped with a guard when he saw Tong Ruolin leading a group down the hall at speed. Old Master Tong barreled straight for the room. “Yanxi! How is she?” Du Yu threw out an arm. “Sorry, sir. Miss Xia is resting. No visitors.” But Tong Guanjie wasn’t having it. He shoved past Du Yu and pushed the door open. “I’m just taking a look. Don’t stop me!” Inside, Xia Yanxi lay pale on the bed, both hands wrapped in gauze, eyes closed. The sight hit him like a truck. He clutched his chest and nearly blacked out. Thankfully, Tong Ruolin hurried in after him, held him up, and slipped him a fast-acting heart pill. He steadied, bit by bit. Lu Tingchen saw who it was and frowned, unhappy. Du Yu came in too, ready to usher the old man out. But Tong Guanjie had come to see Xia Yanxi and wasn’t budging. “What are you pulling me for? Let go!” Lu Tingchen glanced at the sleeping Xia Yanxi, tucked the blanket around her, then stood and faced Tong Guanjie. His voice was low. “What are you doing here?” Tong Guanjie frowned. “I heard she was hurt and came to check on her. How is she?” Lu Tingchen’s face was dark as ink. “No need. Yan is not related to your family. Please leave.” If not for the old man’s age and his friendship with his own grandfather, he’d already have thrown him out. Tong Guanjie choked on that. On the surface, he and Xia Yanxi weren’t related, true. But he’d just gotten the DNA report, and worry had driven him here. “Tingchen, I’m still an elder. I heard what happened and came to see her. That’s normal. No need to shut me out like this, right?” Lu Tingchen didn’t buy the act. Just yesterday, Tong Ruolin had sought Xia Yanxi out—just a simple meal and a spa, nothing dramatic on the surface. Then today, on set, the wire failed. If her luck had run out, they’d be looking at a corpse. And now they dared play the caring elder? On the night of the birthday banquet, Xia Yanxi had been frantic over Lan Xin, and he hadn’t seen much concern from this man. He’d even used his granddaughter’s life as leverage to smother the incident. Give him a break.