Xia Sanghuan plopped down on a small stool and picked up her chopsticks, ready to start eating.
Leng Chuanjin quickly pinched her cheek on one side to stop her from shoveling rice into her mouth.
"Don't eat yet. Take your medicine first."
She pouted and took the cup he handed her.
The medicine inside smelled a bit bitter and looked milky white.
"What's this?"
She held the cup away from her with a look of distaste.
"It's for clearing heat and detoxifying. Drink it."
"You'll get better faster if you do."
As he said this, he took out a fruit candy from his pocket and stuffed it into her hand.
Holding the candy in one hand and the medicine in the other, she thought to herself: I've been testing drugs on myself since I was a kid. My drug resistance is already higher than that of ordinary people. The anesthesia those people used can't do anything to me. There's no need for detoxification at all.
But looking at the candy in her hand, she obediently drank the medicine.
She peeled the candy wrapper and popped the candy into her mouth. It was strawberry-flavored and very sweet.
"From childhood to adulthood, Wanqing always hated the bitterness of medicine. She'd always eat one of these strawberry soft candies after taking her medicine."
"I don't know what flavor you like, but I thought little girls might have similar tastes, so I bought this kind."
"So, does it suit your taste?"
Beneath his calm tone was a hint of caution and expectation, but Xia Sanghuan didn't notice.
She should have gotten used to it by now, used to the fact that Second Brother saw her as a younger sister.
It was really tiring to always expect something impossible to happen.
But she wouldn't throw childish tantrums over such things like she used to.
In any case, Second Brother had saved her life twice. Even if it was just to repay this kindness, she'd do her best to study the Black Bone Spiritual Treasure.
The two of them sat facing each other in silence, eating breakfast. For a moment, the only sounds in the ward were the occasional scraping of bowls and chopsticks and the soft chewing noises.
Recently, there'd always been awkward silences between her and Second Brother. She couldn't figure out the reason, nor did she know how to change the situation.
She racked her brains but couldn't come up with a topic, so she might as well just focus on eating. She was starving.
Leng Chuanjin wasn't feeling good either. His mind was full of Xia Sanghuan's words from last night, "Brother Chuanjin."
"You..."
He swallowed the last mouthful of food, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke.
"Second Brother, what's up?"
The girl across from him tilted her head in confusion, holding her bowl.
"Why did you call me Brother Chuanjin in front of Ling Shi last night? And now you're calling me Second Brother again?"
Xia Sanghuan choked and didn't know how to answer.
If she were to admit to him that the title "Second Brother" was like a little secret between the two of them, and she didn't want to call him that in front of others, wouldn't that be so embarrassing?
She replied vaguely, "Because that's my eldest brother. If I suddenly called someone else Second Brother in front of him, what if he got the wrong idea? Not to mention that my father and sisters were nearby too."
Leng Chuanjin clearly didn't believe her excuse, but when it came to things she didn't want to talk about, she was as tight - lipped as a gourd with no opening.
In the face of his repeated questioning, she just shook her head and buried herself in her breakfast.
She even joked along with his line of thought.
"Why are you so concerned? The great young master of the Leng family is actually such a nit - picker."
This left him speechless.
After breakfast, she climbed back into bed under his threat.
Actually, from last night until now, she'd always felt that there was something weighing heavily on her mind.
It was very important, but she just couldn't remember what it was.
Had the anesthetic for the respiratory system numbed her brain too?
She sighed and buried herself in the pillow as if in resignation.
Leng Chuanjin left with Yun Ye, who came to clear the table. He said he was going out to buy something.
He probably went back to the company, though.
Although she didn't understand much about companies, she knew that a company couldn't do without its president.
Moreover, Leng Chuanjin's company was a family business of the Leng family, and he even had a venture - capital company of his own.
He must be swamped with work.
She wondered if he'd had a good rest these days.
She lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
She'd finally recovered from her illness and could go back to the research lab, but then so many unexpected things happened.
Professor He must be furious by now.
Wait... Professor He.
Where were the documents she and Professor He had?
She suddenly sat up in bed as if resurrected from the brink of death. She rolled out of bed, walked over to the clothes hanger, took out her phone from the pocket of her coat, and quickly called Leng Chuanjin.
As she waited for the call to connect, she was glad that her phone hadn't been lost in such a chaotic situation.
Otherwise, how could she communicate with the outside world in her current situation?
Second Brother was really careless. He didn't even leave a few people for her.
Just as she was vigorously complaining about him in her heart, Leng Chuanjin's voice came from the other end of the phone.
She didn't care about anything else and just poured out her words.
"Second Brother, where are my documents?
"Have you retrieved them? Are they damaged?
"Is there any content missing?"
Hearing her almost hysterical voice, he quickly comforted her and told her to calm down.
"The documents were retrieved yesterday, and I've already sent someone to deliver them to Professor He."
"Professor He has verified that the documents are intact."
"You rushed over right after they transferred the documents. I guess those people didn't have time to do anything to them."
"You should just rest well. All the subsequent matters have been taken care of. You don't need to worry about it."
She sensed that there was something behind his words. After hesitating for a while, she still asked, "What do you mean by 'taken care of'... What happened to those people?"
Leng Chuanjin was silent for a moment on the phone and then replied, "Those people used to be part of a small underworld gang in Yuntan decades ago.
"Stealing, kidnapping, and they already had a criminal record.
"They'll have a hard time in prison."
As if he didn't want to continue this topic, he gave her a few more instructions and then hung up the phone.
Of course, he was lying.
It was true that those people used to be part of an underworld gang, which was why he had the opportunity to add more charges to them, so that instead of just going to prison, they'd face the death penalty.
The Leng family never did anything illegal like killing people, but those who had offended the Leng family always ended up badly.
As the number - one family among the four major families, the Leng family's connections were like the roots of a tree underground, deeply embedded in Yuntan.
Even if they didn't do it themselves, those who wanted to curry favor with the Leng family would happily help them deal with those who didn't know their place.
Since he'd taken the position of the head of the Leng family, he had to face some darkness that ordinary people didn't.
But he didn't want her to be tainted by it, so he glossed over the end of those people.