The hospital room stayed quiet for a long time.
Sensing something was wrong, the doctor found an excuse to leave. Before going, he reminded Xu Zhihan to keep resting and advised Xu Mingji to undergo further tests.
Xu Mingji didn't dare.
If they investigated further, his feigned illness would only be exposed more thoroughly.
Once the doctor left, Xu Chengyuan finally spoke. "Mingji, go outside."
Xu Mingji went pale. "Dad..."
Xu Chengyuan didn't look at him. "Out."
Xu Mingji bit his lip, tears brimming in his eyes as though he had suffered some terrible injustice. But this time, Xu Chengyuan didn't comfort him.
He could only lower his head and walk out.
As he passed Xu Zhihan's bed, Xu Mingji paused.
Xu Zhihan kept his eyes closed, as though he could no longer be bothered to look at him.
That attitude hurt worse than being cursed at.
Xu Mingji tried again and again to hold back, but finally lowered his voice and said, "Are you satisfied now, brother?"
Xu Zhihan didn't open his eyes.
"Fairly."
Xu Mingji's fingers tensed.
Xu Zhihan continued, "The tears look more genuine than the last two times."
Xu Mingji's expression changed completely.
After the door closed, only Xu Chengyuan and Xu Zhihan remained in the room.
Xu Chengyuan stood beside the bed, silent for a long time.
He was indeed angry.
But half of that anger wasn't directed at Xu Mingji. It was directed at Xu Zhihan.
Xu Zhihan had changed.
He had become difficult to control.
That was what unsettled Xu Chengyuan most.
"What exactly do you want?" Xu Chengyuan asked.
Xu Zhihan slowly opened his eyes.
"I should be asking you that."
Xu Chengyuan took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice even. "You're in poor health. The engagement with the Gu family wasn't suitable for you to begin with. What Mingji did just now was wrong, but it was only a momentary lapse in judgment."
Xu Zhihan looked at him. "And?"
"So don't make a scene."
Xu Zhihan suddenly found it rather funny.
The Xu family's logic had always been simple.
When someone hurt him, it was a momentary lapse in judgment.
When he fought back, he was making a scene.
The body's original owner had probably been trapped by those words before.
Xu Zhihan's lips curled slightly. "Are you begging me?"
Xu Chengyuan's face darkened. "I'm your father."
"Then you have even more reason to learn how to beg."
Xu Chengyuan's chest heaved with anger at those words.
He had never imagined that Xu Zhihan would one day talk back to him like this.
In the past, Xu Zhihan hadn't even dared to spare him an extra glance.
But now, though Xu Zhihan leaned sickly against the bed, he seemed to be the one in control.
Xu Chengyuan suddenly realized there was nothing he could do about this son.
He couldn't hit him.
Scolding had no effect.
Threats didn't frighten him either.
Suppressing his anger, Xu Chengyuan said, "You'd better think carefully about this engagement. You can't afford to offend the Gu family."
Xu Zhihan's tone was flat. "When did I ever say I wanted to keep Gu Huai?"
Xu Chengyuan paused.
Xu Zhihan continued, "Even if I don't want something, that doesn't give Xu Mingji the right to steal it."
Xu Chengyuan frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Have Gu Huai come break it off himself."
Xu Zhihan looked at him. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.
"I want to hear him say it himself."
Xu Chengyuan stared at him, suddenly understanding what Xu Zhihan meant.
He wasn't reluctant to give up the engagement.
He wanted to humiliate both the Gu family and the Xu family.
Xu Chengyuan said coldly, "Are you taking revenge on the Xu family?"
Xu Zhihan considered it. "I've only just started."
Xu Chengyuan's expression changed.
Only just started.
Those words sent a chill through his heart.
Xu Zhihan said nothing more.
He was exhausted now. Dealing with Xu Mingji's little trick had looked easy, but in truth, this body was already close to giving out.
He hated being weak.
He hated having to talk to idiots while he was weak even more.
Xu Zhihan pressed the call button.
A nurse soon came in.
He looked at her and said calmly, "I need to rest."
The nurse immediately took the hint and turned to Xu Chengyuan. "Mr. Xu, the patient's condition is unstable. Family members should leave him undisturbed for now."
Xu Chengyuan didn't move.
Xu Zhihan looked up. "Do I need to repeat myself?"
Xu Chengyuan looked at him, his gaze terribly dark.
After a long while, he turned and left.
The instant the door closed, Xu Zhihan turned his head and coughed several times.
This bout was worse than the earlier ones, as though something inside his chest was being torn apart. He raised a hand to cover his lips, and blood soon stained his palm.
The nurse jumped. "Mr. Xu!"
Xu Zhihan frowned. "Keep your voice down."
The nurse forcibly swallowed the rest of her startled cry and hurried to fetch the doctor.
Xu Zhihan leaned against his pillow, his vision dimming slightly.
This body's constitution was far too poor. The original owner had been drugged for years, and even his soul flame had nearly gone out. If he hadn't awakened in time, this body would never have lasted this long.
He closed his eyes and heard faint sobbing beside him again.
He Guilan's spectral form had yet to leave.
She stood in the corner of the room, watching him cautiously, not daring to come too close.
Xu Zhihan felt irritated.
"Crying again?"
The spectral figure immediately stopped.
She had been dead for years, her resentment still lingering. Unable to form complete sentences, she could only repeat a few words in broken fragments.
Xiao Yun.
Save.
Zhou Man.
Xu Zhihan pressed a hand to his chest, his voice dropping a little. "I know."
The spectral figure lifted her head to look at him.
Xu Zhihan's gaze was cold. "I won't forget what I promised."
Only then did the spectral figure slowly disappear.
After the doctor arrived, another round of examinations followed.
Xu Zhihan kept his eyes closed, cooperating with little patience. When the doctor asked where it hurt, he answered with a single word. "Everywhere."
The doctor was momentarily at a loss.
The nurse quietly prompted him from the side. "Mr. Xu, please be more specific."
Xu Zhihan opened his eyes. "Being alive hurts."
The doctor was speechless.
This patient really did have a terrible temper.
But looking at his face, so pale it was almost bloodless, the doctor couldn't bring himself to speak harshly. He could only sigh. "In your condition, you need complete rest. You can't endure any more stress."
Xu Zhihan gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.
Whether he had actually taken the advice to heart, no one knew.
Meanwhile, Xu Mingji stood at the far end of the corridor, the tears on his face already wiped away.
Zhou Man had just come from the lounge. A scarf was still wrapped around her neck, and her expression was grim.
"What happened? Where's your father?"
At the sight of Zhou Man, Xu Mingji's eyes reddened again. "Mom, my brother knows."
Zhou Man's heart tightened. "Knows what?"
"He knows I faked being sick."
Zhou Man's expression changed.
Xu Mingji hurriedly added, "Only what happened today. He doesn't know about the drugs from before yet."
Zhou Man breathed a sigh of relief, but soon grew tense again. "Are you sure?"
Xu Mingji shook his head, his voice trembling. "I don't know. He seems to know everything."
Remembering what had happened in the hospital room the night before, Zhou Man couldn't stop her fingers from trembling.
After Xu Zhihan woke up, he had become a completely different person.
He had mentioned He Guilan.
He had said she had killed someone.
He had even made her see that dead woman's face.
Zhou Man forced herself to calm down. "Don't panic. Your father won't let him make a scene."
Xu Mingji said quietly, "Dad told me to leave just now."
Zhou Man froze.
Xu Mingji clenched his fingers. "For the first time, he didn't believe me."
Zhou Man's face darkened completely.
She knew Xu Chengyuan all too well.
Xu Chengyuan could dote on Xu Mingji and favor him, but only so long as Xu Mingji was useful, obedient, and able to bring benefits to the Xu family.
If Xu Mingji's feigned illness was proven, Xu Chengyuan would certainly harbor doubts about him.
Worse still, the engagement with the Gu family would also be affected.
Zhou Man gritted her teeth. "We can't let Xu Zhihan stay in the hospital."
Xu Mingji lifted his head. "Mom?"
"There are too many people here, and word gets around. If he keeps spouting nonsense, this will become harder and harder to contain." Zhou Man's gaze turned cold. "We have to bring him home."
Xu Mingji hesitated. "But right now, he's..."
"The worse his health is right now, the easier he is to control."
Xu Mingji said nothing.
Zhou Man glanced at him. "Are you scared?"
Xu Mingji lowered his head, his voice very soft. "I just think my brother is a little frightening now."
Zhou Man's expression was ugly. "No matter how frightening he is, he's still just a sickly weakling."
The moment she finished speaking, the corridor lights suddenly flickered.
Zhou Man instantly fell silent.
She instinctively touched her neck, her face turning pale.
Xu Mingji froze too.
Neither of them spoke again.
Inside the hospital room, Xu Zhihan slowly opened his eyes.
He hadn't heard Zhou Man and Xu Mingji's conversation, but he had seen the threads of sin by the window stir.
This mother and son still hadn't settled down.
Xu Zhihan felt a headache coming on.
He hadn't intended to deal with the Xu family so soon. After all, this body was in terrible shape, and many things needed to be investigated gradually.
But the Xu family was irritating.
Annoyed enough that he began to change his mind.
His phone suddenly chimed.
Xu Zhihan lowered his head and saw the original owner's phone on the bedside table. The screen lit up with a message from an unfamiliar number.
[Young Master Xu, still alive?]
Xu Zhihan stared at the message for two seconds.
No need to guess.
Lu Wenchuan.
He picked up the phone and typed slowly.
[Not dead.]
The reply came quickly.
[Good. I'll come visit you tomorrow.]
Xu Zhihan replied without expression.
[Don't bother.]
Lu Wenchuan sent another message.
[Don't be shy. I've got a thick skin.]
Xu Zhihan frowned at the line of text.
This guy was annoying too.
But strangely, compared with those annoying pests in the Xu Family, Lu Wenchuan was a little more tolerable.
Only a little.
Xu Zhihan set the phone facedown on the bedside table and closed his eyes again.
The hospital room fell quiet.
But things wouldn't stay quiet with the Xu Family for long.
He knew that very well.
Sure enough, that evening, Xu Chengyuan's assistant came to the hospital with a discharge plan.
After reading it, Xu Zhihan's gaze turned cold.
The Xu Family wanted to take him back.
The reason sounded lovely on paper.
Rest and recover at home.
Xu Zhihan looked at those words and suddenly gave a soft laugh.
His laugh sent a chill down the assistant's spine.
Xu Zhihan put the document down, his tone flat. "Tell Xu Chengyuan."
The assistant asked cautiously, "Tell Mr. Xu what?"
Xu Zhihan looked up.
"If he wants to take me back, fine."
The assistant froze.
Xu Zhihan continued, "Have Xu Mingji come ask me himself."
The assistant's expression stiffened.
Xu Zhihan leaned back against the headboard. His lips were pale, but his voice was ice-cold.
"On his knees."