VBNWDW - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Of course I believe what Miss Xi says."

Luo Yueqing gave her the satisfactory answer she was looking for. But in the next second, the S-Class Alpha's mental power surged forward all at once, fast and urgent, like a tidal wave crashing down.

Caught in that momentary lapse of vigilance, and weakened by her disordered mental state, Xi Zhoulu was completely unable to resist. She was enveloped by a mental power that was a perfect match for her own.

Almost instantly, a powerful force pulled at her. Xi Zhoulu's vision went white, and she fainted. As she fell backward, her fingertips were still reaching for the cane beside her, as if in a final act of defiance.

"A substitute?" The person by the bed finally spoke, the corners of her mouth curved in a half-smile.

"Miss Xi should just get some proper sleep," Luo Yueqing murmured to herself.

From the moment Luo Yueqing made her bold move, the System's voice in her mind had been issuing nonstop warnings.

【Xi Zhoulu hasn't let down her guard yet. The original host only rushed to the hospital after receiving a call and barely managed to soothe her mental power while Xi Zhoulu was being resistant and uncooperative.】

【Why are you being so reckless again!】

【If Xi Zhoulu fires you, you'll never get another chance to get close to her.】

But now, the voice had fallen completely silent. The System was likely so stunned that it considered this mission an absolute failure.

【Given the villainess's personality, you're probably about to be fired.】

【You were too rash, Host.】

Luo Yueqing ignored it. Instead, she lazily raised her hands, interlaced her fingers, and stretched. Then she muttered, "Why does this person love threatening people so much?"

She chuckled again, remarking, "That's not a good habit."

She sounded as if she were someone who had the right to lecture and change the other person.

Before the System could say anything, it heard Luo Yueqing mutter, "Do you think the original Luo Yueqing really got close to Xi Zhoulu that easily?"

"An Omega who is wary of everyone, who is so vigilant that she even needs guards to protect her in a familiar environment—would she really let someone get close that easily?"

"Did the rabbit tame the wolf, or did the wolf lure the rabbit into its trap step by step?"

The System fell silent. Luo Yueqing had already gotten up and walked to the door. The doctor outside wasn't surprised to see her; in fact, he looked as if he had been waiting for a long time.

"Mission accomplished. She's asleep," Luo Yueqing told him.

The doctor broke into a smile. "Thank you, Dr. Luo," he said gratefully.

The butler standing by his side also gave her a slight bow.

When Luo Yueqing had arrived, the butler and the doctor had asked for her help in advance, hoping she could find a way to make Xi Zhoulu rest.

Xi Zhoulu was already suffering from mental power instability, and several hospital treatments had yielded minimal results. Coupled with her inherent suspicion and vigilance, the prolonged mental strain and lack of deep sleep had only worsened her condition. She was like a tightly wound string, ready to snap at the slightest touch.

The doctor had tried to persuade her to rest more, but she had only paid him lip service. She had just woken up a few hours ago and was already trying to get up and handle work, not even the IV drip in her hand could stop her.

So, for the sake of her health, the doctor had no choice but to pull Luo Yueqing aside and hatch this plan.

"Then let her get a good night's sleep," Luo Yueqing said faintly.

She then turned to the butler. "You'll have to put in a good word for me, or Miss Xi will definitely fire me."

"Rest assured, I will certainly persuade the young miss to keep you," the butler promised in a deep voice, his posture surprisingly relaxed, as if it were no difficult task at all.

Luo Yueqing smiled, then ignored their subsequent chatter and headed straight out of the hospital.

Who could possibly like hospitals? The smell of disinfectant everywhere, the pained cries of ordinary people, even the wind that blew in felt uncomfortably cold.

Luo Yueqing waved a hand in front of her face, trying to disperse the lingering dust in the air.

---

Xi Zhoulu slept very deeply. It wasn't until the sun had set and night had fallen that she slowly began to wake.

Before her consciousness had fully returned, her hand shot out from under the covers and tightly gripped the cane by her bed. It was a habit ingrained through countless drills; she had already pressed the mechanism hidden within the silver filigree.

A cool breeze blew in through the window, rustling the sheer curtains. Flower petals drifted to the floor. Suddenly, Xi Zhoulu smelled a sweet fragrance.

"You're awake?"

It was the voice of that shameless Alpha, laced with a familiar, light chuckle and that unique, carefree tone.

"Why don't you sit up and rest for a bit? Your dear butler prepared some seafood congee. The temperature is just right."

Xi Zhoulu could even detect a hint of teasing in her voice. Instead of relaxing, she tightened her grip on the cane, the blue veins on the back of her pale hand standing out clearly.

As the footsteps drew closer, she snapped her eyes open. Her pale, grayish-blue eyes were like ice. Without hesitation, she pressed the mechanism. The bottom of the wooden cane dropped away, revealing a long, straight blade within. She drew the blade and thrust it toward the other side.

A whoosh cut through the air. The lights flickered for a moment as the blade flashed with a sharp glint of light.

Luo Yueqing had no time to dodge. The stray hairs at her temple were lifted by the wind, and the severed strands drifted slowly down.

After the warning, Xi Zhoulu twisted her wrist, and the razor-sharp blade was now pressed against Luo Yueqing's neck.

Who would have thought that such an exquisite and luxurious cane concealed such a blade? Its ebony shaft was still rolling on the floor. The end she held was wrapped in silver filigree, its crevices inlaid with pearls and mother-of-pearl, and a large ruby crowned the top.

No matter how one looked at it, it was an exceptionally ornate collector's item. Yet the blade hidden inside was utterly plain, as if its purpose had been decided from the very beginning. The extremely thin yet sharp edge, the deep blood groove—every detail radiated a cold, murderous intent.

Luo Yueqing's mind inexplicably wandered, her gaze falling on her own reflection on the blade's surface.

Just like its owner, she thought. Seemingly a delicate, fragile doll, but in reality, ready to threaten and warn others at a moment's notice. Pricklier than a hedgehog.

She spoke with a sense of helplessness. "If I said I could explain, would you be willing to listen?"

Xi Zhoulu's scrutinizing gaze was her only response. Though she was half-reclining on the bed, she projected an air of looking down on her.

Luo Yueqing blinked and forced a smile, trying to move away from the dangerous object. But the long blade immediately followed, pressing against the major artery in her neck. There was no doubt that if Xi Zhoulu wished it, Luo Yueqing would collapse on the spot.

"I knew this wasn't a reliable plan…" she muttered.

She had completely forgotten that this was her idea alone. The doctor and the butler had only wanted her to use gentle methods to help the patient fall into a light sleep during the mental guidance. Luo Yueqing, however, had knocked her out completely.

Perhaps out of impatience, the blade pressed a little deeper.

Luo Yueqing snapped back to her senses and quickly said, "Listen to my explanation. It wasn't just my idea."

"The doctor said you desperately needed to rest. If you didn't, your condition could worsen. So he asked me to do him a small favor…" Luo Yueqing's voice grew quieter, a sense of guilt creeping in.

"So you just knocked me out?" Xi Zhoulu wasn't fooled, her eyes still icy.

"You can't blame me for that. Who was it that refused to properly accept the guidance?" Luo Yueqing suddenly felt much more justified.

The Omega across from her was so angry she laughed. She was a person who rarely smiled. The forced curves of her lips at social gatherings were merely a trained facade, not as genuine as this moment.

She raised an eyebrow slightly, and a sliver of light danced in her sapphire-like eyes, stirring with mocking amusement. The exquisite doll came to life. "Whether or not to accept treatment is the patient's choice, Dr. Luo, not a stage for you to perform your physician's compassion."

"Imagine a person who wants nothing more than to die standing before you, begging you to let her go. Yet you insist on saving her. After you bring her back, you're smugly pleased with yourself, thinking you've done something great, completely disregarding how the patient will live in the future, how much pain she will have to endure."

She tilted her head slightly, asking with a sneer, "Don't you think that's hypocritical?"

Because of the way she raised her arm, her blue and white hospital gown was pulled taut, revealing a stretch of porcelain-white, delicate skin. Her straight collarbones and neck formed a shallow hollow, where a strand of hair had fallen.

But at this moment, no one was in the mood to appreciate the sight. The sole audience member had just been called a hypocrite.

Luo Yueqing, however, showed no sign of shame. Instead, she replied, "But you don't want to die."

Xi Zhoulu's smile froze.

"Since the patient wants to live, the doctor should do everything in their power to treat them, even at the risk of their own life," she answered, even tilting her head slightly to move closer to the steel blade, her gaze frank and open.

"At the same time, the patient should also understand the doctor's painstaking efforts, instead of seeking treatment while simultaneously resisting and retreating, allowing the illness to worsen, only to turn around and blame the doctor."

She looked at Xi Zhoulu, her expression uncharacteristically serious. "If you're sick, you should focus on getting better. Don't take a sip of medicine followed by a gulp of wine and then ask the doctor why you're not recovering."

Xi Zhoulu was speechless.

The retort on the tip of her tongue took a detour and went back down. Her expression was a little stiff.

Luo Yueqing continued to watch her, her tone unchanged. "You were fully aware of your condition, yet you refused to change your ways, to the point of fainting and being hospitalized. So what's wrong with a doctor resorting to some unconventional methods?"

"Although Dr. Ling and the butler did ask for my help, they only wanted you to relax a little during the guidance. Everything else was my own decision."

Hearing this, Xi Zhoulu's expression actually softened.

She was familiar with both of them and knew their characters. Forcibly knocking someone out was something they would never do.

Luo Yueqing could have easily pushed all the blame onto them to escape responsibility. After all, humans are creatures that seek advantage and avoid harm. Xi Zhoulu had seen this sort of thing countless times and thought nothing of it. But if the other party were to step forward and admit it, she would think more highly of them.

In the next second, Luo Yueqing spoke again. "If Miss Xi truly cannot accept this, then you might as well just fire me."

"Why should we both argue back and forth? If you're not tired of it, I'm certainly afraid of the threats that pop up every now and then."

Then, as if she had just remembered something, she added with emphasis, "The breach of contract fee is canceled."

It wasn't that she had no backbone; it was that her family was destitute and drowning in debt. If she had to pay a penalty a hundred times the amount, she would rather just fail the mission and have her soul scattered to the winds.

At these words, a flicker of amusement crossed Xi Zhoulu's eyes. The long blade she held so tightly was finally lowered. Her voice softened. "Dr. Luo, you exaggerate."

She then enunciated each word with emphasis, "I had just woken up from a faint. My mind was muddled, and I didn't understand what had happened. That's why I acted so offensively."

The implication was that the fault was not hers; it was Luo Yueqing who had made her faint first, causing her to draw her blade in vigilant self-defense.

Xi Zhoulu's features relaxed. "It's good that everything is cleared up now."

"I also understand your good intentions, Dr. Luo. It's just my nature to be cautious about everything. There's no need to speak of being fired."

"Tomorrow, I'll have the butler amend the contract and double your fee. Consider it compensation for the scare."

As expected of an heir raised by a wealthy and powerful family. The moment she put down her blade, a string of placating words followed.

Luo Yueqing raised an eyebrow but didn't bother with any false modesty, mainly because the System in her mind was frantically telling her to agree and stop messing around.

She smiled and said, "It was I who was reckless before. I'm glad Miss Xi understands."

The two exchanged a few more polite pleasantries before Luo Yueqing finally said, "Miss Xi hasn't eaten all day. You should have some congee to warm your stomach."

"If there's nothing else, I'll go wash up first."

Xi Zhoulu's polite smile froze on her lips. She felt there was something wrong with that last sentence. "Wash up?"

Luo Yueqing seemed to have just remembered, explaining as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Your condition is very unstable right now. Dr. Ling is worried something might happen during the night, so he asked me to stay here and watch over you."

Before the other could speak, Luo Yueqing gestured to the side and continued, "My bed is already made."

With a stiff expression, Xi Zhoulu turned her head. Indeed, it was made up, less than a meter from her own bed. Close enough to touch if she reached out her hand.

The blade fell to the floor, rolling into the distance as the night grew darker.

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