Chapter Nine, Xu Qi? It sounds like a woman's name...

Xu Qi remained silent.

Mei seemed to know that her request might have been asking too much.

She composed herself, raised her head, and said jokingly, "At least when you encounter danger like that, think of me a little more..."

"Mm."

Mei might have been joking, but Xu Qi took her words seriously.

He tried hard to nod and said, "It's precisely because I was thinking of you that I absolutely couldn't die."

Mei stared blankly at Xu Qi. At that moment, she was the one who became embarrassed.

She didn't dare look him in the eye. She turned her gaze away and complained softly.

"Honestly, what's wrong with people these days? You say inexplicable things at the drop of a hat. You could at least joke around like usual and let it pass..."

The corners of his mouth lifted. Xu Qi felt that Mei like this... was really adorable.

"Oh, right!"

As if she had remembered something, Mei hurriedly pulled out her phone.

But just as she was about to make the call, she hesitated.

"I should tell everyone at the Golden Courtyard... It's fine, I'll call the professor. She definitely isn't asleep at this hour."

"I..." Mei scratched her head. "I only have Alysia's number."

What was wrong with these extroverted introverts...

Xu Qi sighed and said, "I mean, dial the number, then put the phone by my ear."

"Okay!"

The call connected, and it wasn't long before Xu Qi heard the professor's usual sarcasm.

"What? You just woke up and already thought of calling me?"

"I haven't even spoken yet. How did you know it was me, Professor?"

"Even though I never saved your number, are you underestimating my memory? This is Mei's number, right... Calling me instead of Alysia this late at night was definitely your idea, wasn't it?"

"Because I'm familiar with the professor's schedule."

Xu Qi made an instinctive flirtatious remark, then noticed that Mei's expression had become somewhat strange...

Oh no... He had almost forgotten that there was a jealous woman beside him.

Normally, the professor wouldn't mind exchanging a few more risqué jokes with Xu Qi, but she also knew that things were probably already difficult enough for him.

So she merely chuckled and changed the subject.

"Everyone else should be asleep by now. Oh... wait, you might be able to call Eden. It might already be daytime where she is."

"Professor."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

After Xu Qi regained consciousness, he was able to easily deduce why he was still alive.

If an ordinary person had been inside that Exoskeleton Armor, the instant the train hit them, their bones would probably have been crushed to powder, let alone their internal organs.

But Xu Qi's sensations were very clear. He seemed to have suffered only simple fractures—damn it! Simple fractures! Was that even something a human should say?

His physical abilities really had become somewhat inhuman.

Mobius's Biological Reagent was indeed terrifying. Perhaps he could already...

"Don't think about it. You can't even imagine how powerful V2V is. That lunatic Vil-V... She didn't design that armor according to human standards at all. Just focus on recovering from your injuries."

The professor was truly terrifying... Could she even tell what he was thinking?

"Give the phone to your girlfriend. I have a few things to tell her. You should obediently go back to sleep."

Mei heard that clearly.

Her face flushing red, she took the phone and even tiptoed out, seemingly unwilling to let Xu Qi know what she and Mobius had discussed over the phone.

Professor... This was where she was in the wrong.

Xu Qi stared at the pitch-black ceiling and suddenly laughed, even letting out a sound.

"Being alive... is really great... Can't the company give me a reward or something? That nearly killed me..."

Chapter Nine, Xu Qi? It sounds like a woman's name...

Flowers filled the bedside. The company's senior executives had brought them when they came to visit Xu Qi.

Of course, they had also brought photographers and interviewers.

Fortunately, Mei had been constantly taking care of Xu Qi. Photos were allowed, but he would only accept one interview; Mei drove everyone else out.

"The patient needs to rest quietly. Please leave!"

Su had originally planned to come over and help, but when he saw Mei's fierce, protective expression, he suddenly felt that his presence would be superfluous.

"If you weren't here, I'm afraid I wouldn't have had a moment of peace."

On the third day after Xu Qi woke up, he could already sit half-reclined in bed and chat with Mei.

He could even get out of bed for a little activity, though he clearly still needed some time to recover.

"Every one of these people is only thinking of using you to make a fuss about something." Mei was still indignant as she spoke.

"Didn't they ever think that you were the one who saved everyone on that train and stopped 914 from derailing and causing even greater losses?"

As Mei said this, Xu Qi kept a smile on his face.

Watching her bustle around and frequently complain on his behalf—even in the hospital, it felt a little like home.

"Speaking of which, you've taken time off to look after me these past few days. Is everything all right at school?"

"It's fine. Finals are the week after next, and we're only reviewing now. I can still get full marks without attending."

What kind of top-student statement was that...

As they chatted, the hospital room door suddenly opened. Su walked in with another middle-aged man.

He was as dashing and handsome as ever, and the way he removed his sunglasses after seeing Xu Qi had a distinctive charm unique to an older man—Xia Ya...

"Supervisor Xia..."

"Looks like he really is someone you know."

Su put both hands in his pockets and said to Xu Qi, "Then I won't disturb you. You two talk."

With that, he walked out. Before leaving, his perpetually narrowed eyes opened for a brief moment as he gave Mei a meaningful look.

Mei understood immediately, and the two of them left the hospital room one after the other.

"I really didn't expect you to come visit me, Supervisor Xia." Xu Qi glanced around Xia Ya. "You didn't even bring anything. You came empty-handed."

"You've already received enough gifts from everyone else."

"That's true."

After that, the two fell into a brief silence.

"Why..."

"If you mean replacing you as the person in charge of 914, I think I've already..."

"Master, I'm not stupid."

"During the days I've been lying in this hospital bed, I thought about it carefully. I realized that I'm still willing to believe in the bond between master and disciple, because you've truly treated me well."

Xu Qi looked straight at Xia Ya and said,

"A college student who had only been at the company for a little over a year couldn't possibly have been put in charge of the cable overhaul for an entire train... Even though you had already taken me through most of the preliminary work.

"Ultimately, a state-owned enterprise is a place that values seniority. No matter how capable I am, it wouldn't count for much."

"My special circumstances already made it easy for people to gossip. You were the one who always stood up for me. I respect you greatly, and I'm grateful that you cultivated me so carefully, so... I find it even harder to understand.

"Why did you make that decision? It wasn't like you, and it was even less something you would have done! It was only after the accident involving 914 that I had a vague, audacious thought."

Xia Ya continued to answer with silence, while Xu Qi... took a deep breath.

"I don't believe it was really such a coincidence that 914 had such a serious accident right after I was replaced. Master, what exactly do you know?"

Xia Ya looked out the window and suddenly asked, "How many months do you need to recover?"

Xu Qi hesitated before answering, "Three months."

For some reason, he chose to lie.

"Just as I estimated. Of course, I never expected you to use GD-78-2 like a madman to stop the train, but actually... this outcome is pretty good.

"What happens next has nothing to do with you. Stay in the hospital and recover properly. Once you're healed... just remember to return to work as usual."

What happens next...

Xu Qi's brows drew tightly together.

"Why won't you answer my question?"

Xia Ya turned to leave. Just before he walked out, he said,

"I'm no longer your master. And just like the way you treated me before, we should be considered enemies now. I personally stripped you of the fruits of your project, so you can continue hating me."

"Xia Ya..."

······

Outside the hospital room, Su called Mei over and found an empty seat for them.

Mei knew that he seemed to be the tenant who lived with Xu Qi. Moreover, this Doctor Su had been the chief surgeon for Xu Qi's operation. Come to think of it, she hadn't even had the chance to thank him.

"Miss Mei seems to have a very close relationship with Xu Qi. Are you two lovers already?"

"Huh?"

Mei's pretty face flushed red, and she said awkwardly, "I suppose... not yet."

But it was pretty much the same thing. Su added this silently.

"Is that so... Xu Qi mentions you quite often."

"Huh? Me?"

Mei couldn't help feeling curious. It was hard for her to imagine how Xu Qi would... talk about her in front of other people.

"Mm. Xu Qi is actually a modest person at heart. After arriving at the Golden Courtyard, the sentence he says most often is: 'I've learned a great deal from all of you.'

"And that 'all of you' includes you, Mei."

Mei scratched her head awkwardly. She really hadn't expected Xu Qi to feel that way.

"Could you tell me about it?"

"Hmm? What would you like to hear, Doctor Su?"

"Tell me about Xu Qi's past. To be honest, everyone living at the Golden Courtyard is practically family. I think you can feel how Xu Qi treats us, too."

Indeed... The intimacy of that relationship was so great that a single glance was enough to understand everything.

"But that kid always brushes past his own past whenever it comes up. Instead, he's dug up quite a lot about our pasts."

Mei couldn't help laughing softly—Xu Qi really was like that. He liked hearing about other people's pasts and stories, but rarely talked about himself.