Santiago nodded.
-Umberto told me and I went looking for you right away after I found out, but something happened on the way.
He paused for a moment as he spoke.
Ariana didn’t notice that his eyes suddenly became strange and he saw the familiar scene behind Santiago.
-Are you in the hospital? You said something happened on the road? Are you injured?
He sat up hurriedly and got ready to put on his shoes to get out of bed.
-What hospital are you in? I’m coming to see you.
Seeing that she became anxious, Santiago hurried to give an explanation.
-It’s not like that. I met with a car accident on the road. The injured man is… my friend, so I helped to take him to the hospital. Since his family can’t be contacted, I have no choice but to stay here with him.
Only then Ariana let out a sigh of relief, closed her eyes and patted her chest.
-I’m glad you’re okay. I thought you were hurt and I got scared.
Hearing these words, a hint of guilt flashed in Santiago’s eyes. However, Ariana had her eyes closed, so she didn’t see that glint.
After that, the two of them talked for a while. Santiago soothed Ariana in different ways. His mouth was especially good at making people happy. Soon Ariana’s condition eased, and looking at the man doing tricks on the screen, she smiled.
Santiago looked at his watch and said to Ariana in a warm voice.
-It’s getting late. You should rest soon. I’ll pick you up and take you home in a couple of days.
Ariana nodded.
-You get a good rest too. I see you have dark circles under your eyes.
Santiago gave her a smile that shone like sunlight.
-I haven’t been out for the last few days because I couldn’t sleep without you by my side.
Ariana’s heart sweetened and she glanced at him through the screen. The shyness in her eyes brought out her delicate beauty.
As the two hung up, Ariana suddenly heard a sweet female voice call out over there.
-Santiago…
Her eyebrows rose as the other party had already hung up the phone and the screen returned to the chat interface between the two.
Ariana was sitting on the edge of the bed, dazed, frowning.
“That female voice, did I mishear? No, I heard it clearly. It was indeed a woman shouting Santiago’s name.”
“He’s in the hospital now, was the one calling his name the friend who had the accident or the nurse?”
Ariana lowered her head and played with the phone in her hand, eyelashes lowered, hiding her gaze.
***
The next day, first thing in the morning, Ariana went out, leaving only a message for Albina, who had a matter to attend to at school.
Macos hurried to get up and wanted to send Ariana to work as before, but only discovered that she had already left.
Seeing her dejected appearance, Albina felt perplexed.
-Are you still thinking about Lila?
When Macos heard this, he froze for a moment.
Lila? This person had long been forgotten by him.
However, he didn’t dare let Albina know what he was thinking and rushed to answer.
-Yes, I don’t know what Lila’s sentence will be like. Will she be able to go to jail?
Umberto took a sip from his glass of water and looked at the two of them.
-We have already received the news. The police have concluded that Lila was autonomously conscious when she committed the crime. She had no illness, so she will be convicted.
Albina sat down beside him, looking at the bandages on Umberto’s arm, and said coldly:
-Although she did not cause any serious injury this time, because we reacted in time, throwing acid is really an act that endangers public safety. She intentionally hurt people. She should be sentenced for a long time, shouldn’t she?
-Less than three years -Macos added next to it.
Umberto nodded.
-Besides, she still has a disease, so I guess the time will be cut short.
It wasn’t long before they received the news that Lila had been sentenced to two years in prison.
-It’s only two years,” Macos muttered twice, thinking of Lila’s frantic appearance when they visited her earlier, and frowned. It would be bad if she got out without re-educating herself and attacking you with more madness.
After all, Umberto and he couldn’t stay with the two of them at all times, and it was unlikely that anyone else would come out to save them.
Besides, Lila was crazy. Her actions were unpredictable, so they couldn’t defend themselves.
Umberto looked at them with furrowed brows and tapped the table lightly.
-Macos, didn’t I say that, since we can’t predict her actions, we can only control her within the range we can monitor and resolve the hidden danger?
-Do you really want to lock her up in a mental institution? -Macos asked with a raised eyebrow.
Umberto raised his eyes to look at him.
-Does it hurt you to do it?
Macos snorted.
-How can I not leave in the mental institution a crazy woman who chases me all the time, harasses me and likes to throw sulfuric acid on people?
Umberto leaned back on the couch and said lazily:
-All right. As long as we put her in a psychiatric hospital and have someone to keep an eye on her, she won’t cause any danger. Not to mention that she’s nothing more than a sick person, and we’re giving her free treatment, she should be happy with that.
Macos nodded and looked at his phone with his head down.
Albina was curious and walked over.
-What are you looking at?
He didn’t even look up.
-I’m looking for any psychiatric hospital that is far away, with strict security and good treatment.
Albina had nothing to say.
We have to wait two years, don’t we? She had thought Macos was pure and virtuous before, but she had been wrong.
He who grew up living in the circle of the rich, experienced deception, then went out to start a business and came to the present. How can he still be a steamed bread, white, pure and soft? Now it is a sweet dumpling stuffed with black sesame, crafty and mako.
Seeing Umberto and Macos slightly deciding the end of Lila talking and laughing, Albina shuddered.
Noticing her movement, Umberto came over and gave her a hug, stroking her long hair and saying in a warm voice:
-Albina, we would never use such tactics with you. Don’t be afraid of us.
He was worried that Albina would think it was excessive and be angry with him for his handling of Lila’s affairs.
Albina patted Umberto’s shoulder, opened her eyes and looked at him with a smile.
-Don’t worry. I am not Saint Mary. If I continue to be sympathetic to her after all the acid she threw at me, I suspect my life will be shortened. You don’t have to be so nervous, Ariana and I know you’re doing this to keep us safe.
Getting support, yet pretending to be kind and sympathetic to the enemy is crazy, isn’t it?
Umberto and Macos sighed in relief at the same time.
Fingers on her chin, Albina looked at the two men arguing around her and sighed.
She didn’t know where Ariana had gone. Her classes weren’t usually in the morning, and today she hadn’t taken out her drawing board, nor was she going to draw.
She had no friends in Sogen City. So where would she go and what kind of business would she attend to?
At that moment, at the hospital.
Ariana looked at the door to one of the wards, hesitating to enter.
Last night, after she and Santiago hung up the phone, she checked the Sogen City news that day. She selected the ones that passed along the stretch of road from Santiago’s house to Albina’s, and found the news report about the car accident.
The news report included photos of the accident scene and also gave the address of the hospital.
Ariana arrived at the hospital and casually asked for the patient who had been in the car accident yesterday afternoon. She quickly found out that person’s ward number.
After going around the room, she indeed saw the background image that appeared when Santiago made the video call with her the night before.
Ariana was finally sure.
She ducked her head, with no trace of emotion on her face.
When she hung up the phone last night, that female voice had left her worried sick.
She couldn’t stop thinking about it, so she just asked directly about it. Ariana didn’t like people or things beyond her control, especially when it came to romantic relationships.
She herself was worried about her insecurity, so she wanted to find out beforehand.
Ariana would not suspect Santiago merely because she heard that female voice, and she certainly did not want Santiago to hide something important from her.
Take initiative in everything you do, so you don’t get hurt.
That was Ariana’s usual perception.
She knocked on the door and a soft female voice came from inside:
-Please come in.
Ariana raised her eyebrows. This female voice was indeed the voice she had heard last night.
Her heart sank and she pushed open the door. She was confronted with a clear, beautiful face.
The person was wearing a hospital gown, her face was a little pale, she had a bandage around her forehead, she looked a little frail, and, although not particularly pretty, she was very charming.
-May I ask who you are looking for?
The woman looked at Ariana, doubt shining in her eyes.
Ariana froze for a moment and a smile appeared on her face.
-Are you the only one staying in this room? I’m looking for my friend. She said she was in 306.