When Shen Yuqing visited Song Wangzhuo at noon, Song Wangzhuo was no longer confined to bed. He sat on the sofa, holding a book the very one Shen Yuqing had brought over the day before.
Shen Yuqing glanced around. “Where’s the caregiver?”
Song Wangzhuo set the book aside. “Went downstairs for some fresh air.”
Shen Yuqing took a loud sip of his strawberry milk tea. “Why didn’t you go down?”
Song Wangzhuo’s gaze lingered on him until Shen Yuqing sat beside him. Then he replied, “You said you were coming.”
He only knew Shen Yuqing would arrive around noon but not the exact time. If he had gone for a walk and missed him, he wouldn’t have known.
Shen Yuqing scoffed. “What’s the big deal? Just text me if you go for a walk. I can meet you downstairs same difference.”
Song Wangzhuo’s eyes flickered. “Alright. Then tomorrow, I’ll message you, and you can find me downstairs.”
“Sure,” Shen Yuqing nodded, but as soon as the word left his mouth, his brain caught up.
Had he just agreed to come again tomorrow?
Blinking, Shen Yuqing turned to look at Song Wangzhuo. Though no obvious smile graced his face, he could still sense Song Wangzhuo’s good mood.
Fine. Coming again wouldn’t hurt.
Song Wangzhuo wasn’t idle either. “Last night and this morning, I drafted a test. I asked the caregiver to print it out earlier. Since we still have time, you can start working on it now.”
With that, he slowly rose and shuffled to the bedside cabinet. Opening the drawer, he pulled out the test papers.
When he turned around, Shen Yuqing was standing right behind him, craning his neck to peek into the drawer.
They were so close that Song Wangzhuo could catch the pleasant scent of soap on Shen Yuqing even more appealing than pheromones.
Unaware of his distraction, Shen Yuqing took the papers and skimmed through them. Well, there it was again the feeling of knowledge fleeing his brain.
With a sigh, Shen Yuqing remarked, “Song Wangzhuo, you’re destined for greatness.”
Snapping out of his daze, Song Wangzhuo lowered his gaze to hide his momentary lapse. At Shen Yuqing’s words, he raised a brow. “What’s with the sudden praise?”
Shen Yuqing walked back to the small sofa, where the coffee table provided a surface for writing. “If I got stabbed and had to lie in bed, I’d probably just eat, sleep, repeat. But you? You still have the energy to get up and make tests for me. That’s beyond ordinary.”
Song Wangzhuo didn’t respond. When Shen Yuqing glanced back, he saw him frowning. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain somewhere?”
“Don’t say things like that again,” Song Wangzhuo replied. “Getting hurt isn’t something to joke about.”
Shen Yuqing laughed helplessly. “I was just praising you, Teacher Song!”
But Song Wangzhuo remained stern. Shen Yuqing quickly nodded. “Alright, alright. No more jokes.”
Then, after a thought, he turned his head aside and spat three times. “Pah, pah, pah.”
“There. Bad luck spat away.”
Only then did Song Wangzhuo’s expression soften.
Shen Yuqing mused to himself Song Wangzhuo was quite particular about these things.
With limited time at noon, Shen Yuqing racked his brains over the test but only managed to solve four or five questions.
Song Wangzhuo merely glanced at it and said, “Come back tomorrow to finish this. You should head back now.”
Shen Yuqing was more than happy to oblige just looking at that test paper gave him a headache.
But the sight of the paper reminded him of something else. Next Wednesday to Friday was exam week. After the exams, there would be a few days of rest before the practical activities began.
Time really flew by.
Shen Yuqing’s gaze flickered to Song Wangzhuo’s abdomen. “Will you be able to take the finals?”
Song Wangzhuo nodded. “Yes. The doctor checked me today and said if there are no major issues after two or three more days of observation, I can be discharged. After that, I’ll just need to come back every other day for wound care.”
“Got it.” Shen Yuqing checked the time. “I’ll visit you tomorrow, then. I’m heading out now.”
Before coming here, he had gone to the hospital for a check-up and still needed to see if the results were ready.
Song Wangzhuo gave a rare smile. “Mm. See you tomorrow.”
Shen Yuqing left the ward. At this hour, most people were taking their afternoon naps, and the hallway was nearly deserted, silent except for the occasional sound.
Only one doctor was pushing a cart loaded with medical supplies down the corridor. As Shen Yuqing passed by, he glanced at the cart it was completely empty, probably on its way to be discarded.
A flicker of light caught his eye, making him blink. He instinctively turned to look, but the doctor had already pushed the cart further ahead.
Shrugging it off, Shen Yuqing continued toward the elevators.
All the elevators were currently on the first floor. He pressed the down button and waited, idly reading the safety notices posted in the elevator bay. One of them advised against excessive screen time to protect eyesight, which made him instinctively pat his pockets only to find them empty.
Then he remembered while working on the test paper earlier, his phone had been uncomfortable in his pocket, so he had taken it out and set it aside.
Now that he was used to his neural interface, he sometimes forgot about his phone altogether.
Seeing that the elevator hadn’t arrived yet, Shen Yuqing decided to quickly retrieve his phone.
But as he approached Song Wangzhuo’s ward, he noticed the door was now closed. Huh? When he left, Song Wangzhuo had specifically told him not to shut it. Why was it closed now after just a short while?
A twitch of unease prickled at Shen Yuqing’s eyelids. He quickened his pace, peering through the small window in the door just as his system blared an emergency alert in his mind.
[Warning! Warning! Warning! Song Wangzhuo is in mortal danger! Host must intervene immediately!]
But even without the system’s alarm, Shen Yuqing could see it clearly through the glass.
Inside the room, the same doctor he had just seen pushing the medical waste cart was now raising a dagger high aiming to plunge it straight into Song Wangzhuo!
Shen Yuqing grabbed the door handle and pushed, but it wouldn’t budge. Hospital doors didn’t have locks—it was the cart blocking it!
The system urged, [Host! Kick it open! Boosting leg strength now!]
Without hesitation, Shen Yuqing stepped back and delivered a powerful kick to the door!
It flew open, sending the cart skidding away.
Shen Yuqing stormed inside just as the masked man in the white coat pinned Song Wangzhuo against the cabinet. Spotting the intruder, the assailant swiftly redirected the dagger aiming straight for Shen Yuqing’s heart!
At the critical moment, Shen Yuqing grabbed a glass bottle from the cart and hurled it, striking the man’s wrist squarely. The sudden pain made him instinctively drop the knife.
The bottle shattered into pieces upon hitting the floor. Without hesitation, Shen Yuqing snatched another one and charged forward, pulling the man away from Song Wangzhuo. But the assailant was ready he twisted around, and the two grappled fiercely.
Song Wangzhuo’s abdominal wound had torn open from his earlier evasion, soaking his clothes in blood. Yet he ignored his own condition.
His face pale, he saw the man’s fist about to connect with Shen Yuqing’s face. In a flash, he lunged forward, locking his arm around the attacker’s throat and using his full weight to yank him backward, giving Shen Yuqing a crucial advantage.
Shen Yuqing immediately rolled up and, together with Song Wangzhuo, pinned the man to the ground. Pressing his foot against the man’s collarbone, Shen Yuqing leaned down, his expression uncharacteristically severe. “Who sent you?”
The man writhed, struggling to break free, but Shen Yuqing’s foot held him down with surprising force. Cold-faced, Shen Yuqing delivered a brutal punch, snapping the man’s head to the side. “Answer me!”
Just then, nurses and security personnel, alerted by the commotion, rushed in and subdued the man.
Shen Yuqing exhaled sharply and stepped aside. He turned to Song Wangzhuo, whose face was now deathly pale, the hem of his hospital gown drenched in splotches of red.
He looked as if he might collapse at any second.
