Reproach

The black Maybach and the men in black had all left the scene.

In the distance, Su Chen looked toward Old Nie's funeral.

Out of respect, he slowly bowed toward the gravestone before leaving.

The third mission could be considered complete.

Compared with the previous two missions, he felt that the sense of mystery created this time seemed even stronger.

Perhaps it was because he knew of Old Nie's unremarkable past~

The funeral was about to end.

Yet Nie Xing collapsed in public. The relatives and friends present hurried over in a panic to check on him before sending him to the hospital.

When he woke again, he was in a hospital room, surrounded by the faint smell of medicine.

It was a little bitter.

Those relatives and friends had already left. Only Young Wang remained to watch over him.

Young Wang, who was looking down at his phone, did not notice that he had woken up.

"Water!"

Nie Xing struggled to call out a single word, his throat feeling as though it were about to catch fire.

His hand trembled as he reached for the glass on the table.

"Huh? You're awake!"

"I'll get it, I'll get it!"

Young Wang looked up, startled, and quickly picked up the glass to hand it to him.

He helped Nie Xing sit up and drink.

Pale and weak, Nie Xing drained the entire glass in one gulp.

He still felt thirsty.

Young Wang continued pouring him water.

"What about my father's funeral?"

Nie Xing had finally recovered a little strength and hurriedly asked.

He took the glass Young Wang handed him again, drinking as he looked at him.

"Hey, that was days ago. What are you thinking?"

Young Wang sighed helplessly.

Looking at Nie Xing's sickly state, he could not understand it. He had been cold-hearted for three years, so why had he suddenly acted like such a devoted son during the days of the funeral?

Only after the man had died did Nie Xing become filial.

If he had acted this way while the man was alive, how much better would that have been?

It had made the relatives and friends unwilling to look after him. If not for Young Wang being unable to bear it and staying behind alone to care for him, no one would have been willing to visit him.

"Days ago?! Have I been unconscious for that long?"

Nie Xing found it hard to believe. His memories still seemed to be stuck on the day of the funeral.

Seeing the dazed look in his eyes, Young Wang comforted him.

"Yes. You were out for two whole days without eating or drinking. You were kept alive entirely by glucose injections! You're extremely weak right now. Stay here, and I'll find you something to eat!"

As he spoke, he stood up to look for food.

Nie Xing hurriedly stopped him.

"Wait. Has there been any news these past two days?"

"News? What news?"

Young Wang looked stunned. He was already this sick, yet he still cared about the news?

Had he become muddleheaded from sleeping for too long?

He immediately added.

"If you're feeling unwell, I'll call a doctor. Don't scare me like this!"

"No, I'm fine!"

Nie Xing weakly waved his hand and did not stop him again.

He did not care much that none of those relatives and friends had come to see him.

After Young Wang left, he turned his head toward the bedside cabinet.

A newspaper had been casually left on top of it.

He hurriedly picked it up and checked the date carefully. It was from two days ago, and there was no report whatsoever about that matter.

As for his phone, he had no idea where it was. He searched for a long time but could not find it.

Helplessly, he was still too weak to get out of bed.

Lying in the hospital bed, he looked at the facilities around the room with mixed feelings. The conditions here were far better than they had been three years ago!

Dragon Country had changed tremendously over the past three years. Unfortunately, he had been cut off from the world for three years and had been unable to take part in those changes or experience all this beauty.

However, what he had done was far more meaningful than experiencing such beauty!

A moment later, a nurse came in.

She had heard that Nie Xing was awake and had come to check on him.

The nurse wore a mask, making her features impossible to see clearly. But judging from the eyes and brows exposed above it, she was surely a delicate-looking young woman.

She stepped forward and asked seriously.

"You're awake? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Nie Xing shook his head, his face still pale.

Looking at the nurse, he could not help asking.

"Excuse me, is there a newspaper from today?"

"A newspaper? Who still reads newspapers these days? Everything's on your phone!"

The nurse found it a little strange and answered casually. After confirming that nothing was wrong with him, she reminded him.

"You're still far too weak. Watch your diet, and don't eat anything too greasy for a while!"

"Mm, then where is my phone?"

Nie Xing nodded and continued asking.

Seeing how distracted he was, the nurse was speechless.

"How would I know where your phone is? Take proper care of yourself!"

With that, she turned to leave.

But seeing how weak he looked, along with those vacant, helpless eyes.

The nurse hesitated again and turned on the television mounted in the hospital room for him.

"You shouldn't spend too much time on your phone in your condition either. Just watch TV!"

"Remember, eat less greasy food and get plenty of rest!"

With those words, she left the room.

Nie Xing found the remote by the bed and started flipping through the channels, hoping to find a news channel.

After browsing through several channels, he found that the morning news had already ended. The television was now showing nothing but dramas and cartoons.

He felt somewhat disappointed.

"Oh? You're already watching dramas? Looks like you're recovering pretty well!"

At that moment, Old Wang happened to walk in from outside the room and spoke with a false smile.

The only reason he had come to see Nie Xing was out of consideration for Old Nie.

After all, this child had been Old Nie's treasure. If he watched something happen to the boy, then after he went down below, he would have no way to explain himself to Old Nie.

When Nie Xing saw Uncle Wang, he hurriedly tried to get up and greet him.

But he was far too weak and could not muster any strength.

Old Wang waved his hand.

"Stop struggling. Focus on recovering!"

As he spoke, he sat beside Nie Xing's bed. The two remained silent.

Nie Xing looked at Old Wang with mixed emotions, wanting to thank him.

But Old Wang spoke first. His gaze carried a hint of judgment as he stared at Nie Xing and slowly said in a grave voice.

"I watched you grow up, boy. To be honest, although you were a child Old Nie took in, you never lacked any of the treatment an ordinary child received! Old Nie treated you even better than I treated my own son! But I never expected that once you got a job and saw the outside world, you would change!"

"Three years—not long, but not short either!"

"It would have been one thing if you were too busy to come back normally! But you didn't even return during holidays and festivals?"

"That could still be understood. After all, everyone has times when they're overwhelmed with work!"

"But people should know where they come from and have gratitude and loyalty, shouldn't they? How could you not return even when Old Nie fell ill?"

"Three years, a full three years. Couldn't you spare the time to come back and see him?"

"I've been thinking these past few days. If I hadn't set aside my pride and cursed you out that day, would you not have come back at all?"

Uncle Wang's words pierced Nie Xing's heart like knives, one sentence after another.

Like a father reprimanding his son, Nie Xing had no words to refute him. Tears burst from his eyes and ran down his pale cheeks as he looked at Uncle Wang.

Three years ago, when he had gone to conduct secret research, who could have imagined it would turn into a drawn-out battle lasting three years?

Old Wang wanted an explanation from Nie Xing. After all, Nie Xing's devotion at the funeral had been obvious for all to see, making him seem as filial and outstanding as before. But those three years were like a knot in everyone's heart, one that no one could easily get past!

At that moment,

Young Wang rushed in anxiously from outside the door.