What Are Principles Worth? How Many Punches Can a Bottom Line Take? Please Keep Reading! Please Vote!

Ning Lu came back to her senses and shot her flighty son a look, but she did not say much. She truly felt that her son was quite outstanding and handsome.

Ye Lingling, whose eyes were practically sparkling with stars, nodded happily. "Yes! Brother Hong looked incredibly cool just now! Lingling wants to learn from Brother Hong too, to become someone who can leave her own contributions to the world!"

Seeing the worshipful look in Ye Lingling's eyes, Chen Hong froze inwardly. Oh no!

But then he glanced at the proud little expression on his mother's face and weighed whether saying something to ruin the mood would earn him a beating from his old mother. He found that the odds of getting beaten were infinitely close to one hundred percent!

So Chen Hong decisively chose to keep quiet and preserve his image as a promising young man with lofty ideals.

Ning Lu looked at Ye Lingling, whose little eyes were filled with admiration, and could not help feeling a trace of delight. But as someone with experience, she also knew that too much was as bad as too little. She should leave time for the two youngsters to get to know each other gradually.

For her useless precious son's Life's Major Event, Ning Lu had truly worried herself sick. She knew quite a few good families with well-behaved young daughters, but Chen Hong's Soul Power talent was simply trash—a struggling student, yes, a struggling student! Ning Lu felt she should still spare her son some dignity.

The mainstream mindset in this world was to see whose Soul Power Level was higher, whose Martial Soul was stronger, and whose soul rings were more powerful. As for wisdom? Sorry, never heard of it.

Several families Ning Lu knew had daughters, but because of Chen Hong's terrible Soul Power talent, she had been too embarrassed to bring it up.

Now that she had finally encountered a family with a girl who did not place much importance on Martial Souls or Soul Power, Ning Lu naturally had to make sure her useless son seized this opportunity.

Ning Lu: Son, you can't handle this. Let your mother handle it for you first.

Because of the special nature of the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, powerful Martial Soul clans were unwilling to marry into the family, since any descendants would inevitably possess the Nine Heart Begonia. Furthermore, due to the Nine Heart Begonia's reputation for Benevolent Heart of a Healer, Ye Lingling's family did not place much importance on personal combat strength either. Under normal circumstances, with Spirit Hall's protection, not even Evil Soul Masters would take the initiative to attack them.

There was an unspoken understanding in this world: whoever dared harm a possessor of the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul would have to endure a manhunt by soul masters across the entire continent.

Was Ning Lu worrying about her son's Life's Major Event too early?

Not at all. People on this continent generally matured early, and romance had to be cultivated from childhood.

"Xiao Hong, take Lingling around and help her get familiar with the clinic. You'll be staying for a while, right?" Ning Lu felt that an adult like herself was a huge Lightbulb here, so she wanted Chen Hong to take Ye Lingling around the clinic.

"Mm." Chen Hong really wanted to say that he did not have time and had to leave. But when he thought of Bishop Suotuo telling him to remain in the city for a week, and imagined his mother catching him in the city after he lied to her... just thinking about it made his hair stand on end.

"Bishop Suotuo has something he wants from me, so he asked me to stay in the city for a week. I'll be in the city for the whole week." Faced with his mother's absolute authority, Chen Hong ultimately chose to tell the truth.

"What does he want with you?" Ning Lu muttered softly, but she did not think much of it. She said to Chen Hong, "Perfect timing. Lingling happens to be on break and will be staying with us for a while. During that time, you need to properly familiarize her with the clinic's work! If I find that you've done a poor job, I'll make sure to teach you a lesson!"

Ning Lu did not forget to threaten Chen Hong. He sighed inwardly. With a mother who resorted to fists with her own son at the drop of a hat, there was nothing he could do. He could only nod like a chicken pecking at grain and agree profusely.

"Come on, Sister Ling. I'll take you out to have some fun." Ye Lingling was not much younger than Chen Hong, but the way she called him "Brother Hong" made his ears tingle, so he could only follow her form of address.

But this "Sister Ling"... for some reason, Chen Hong suddenly felt the absurd sensation of having transmigrated into Dream of the Red Chamber.

Look, wasn't Baoyu's Sister Lin dropped from the heavens? Chen Hong's Sister Ling had fallen from the sky too!

But he was not an idiot like Baoyu. He was a smart one.

Sigh, there I go letting my thoughts run wild again.

After leading Ye Lingling out of the room, Chen Hong suddenly rubbed his head, looking helpless.

"Brother Hong, are you feeling unwell?" Ye Lingling asked worriedly from behind him.

"I'm fine. I just have too many thoughts every day. Come on, I'll first show you around our clinic." Chen Hong shook his head, then naturally took Ye Lingling's soft little hand. As her small face flushed slightly, he led her downstairs.

Inside Room A, Ning Lu had kept her attention on the two of them. When she saw this through the gap in the door, her face immediately took on the expression of a weasel that had stolen a chicken—no, of her own little pig rooting around—no, that was not right either. A golden boy and jade girl, a match made in heaven! Yes, that was it!

Chen Hong had no idea about his mother's colorful expressions after he led Ye Lingling away. If he had known, perhaps he would have begun wondering whether he had inherited his flighty personality from her.

But now was not the time to think about such things. Chen Hong led the faintly blushing Ye Lingling to the first floor and introduced the layout. "That side is the Convalescence Area. Patients generally stay there. There's a pharmacy at the front desk, but the Main Pharmacy is behind the lobby. Come on, I'll show you."

"Look, this is the Main Pharmacy. These are Herbal Medicine my mother bought from the market and set out to dry. Ginseng, pennywort, Silver Leaf Vine—every type of Herbal Medicine has different properties and effects. Aunt Ye should have taught you about them, right?"

"Mhm, mhm! Mom taught me!"

"That's good. It looks like Aunt Ye wants you to learn a few more prescriptions. I understand now." Hearing Ye Lingling say this, Chen Hong understood the main reason Ye Lingling had come to stay with his mother.

"I remember all of my mom's secret prescriptions. Mm... I'll take you to look at the relevant herbs." As he spoke, Chen Hong led Ye Lingling by her soft little hand into the Main Pharmacy.

Chen Hong held Ye Lingling's hand only to keep the little girl from getting lost.

Yes, that was right. His intentions were that upright.

After all, Chen Hong was a man with principles, a man with a Bottom Line.

But before his mother's Iron Fist of Love, what were principles worth? And how many punches could a Bottom Line take?

Even if it was all an act, Chen Hong had to keep acting it out for this period.