Jiu’er woke up.

The anesthetic shouldn’t have worn off this fast, and yet she had woken up regardless.

“Make her… leave.” That was, unbelievably, the first sentence Jiu’er said after waking.

Ren Qiqi froze, staring at her, an expression of complicated emotion crossing her face.

She had just given Zhen Jiu’er an anti-inflammatory injection.

Though Lu Beicheng was anxious, his face still showed little expression: “Let her finish treating your wound first. Once the girl from the Qiao family gets back, I’ll have her leave.”

Right now, Ren Qiqi was the only doctor here.

But Jiu’er insisted: “Make her… leave. I don’t need… I don’t need her.”

“Don’t be difficult…”

“Make her leave!” This time, Jiu’er said it through gritted teeth. It was clear she herself could barely hold on any longer.

Ren Qiqi immediately set down the syringe, a flash of panic crossing her eyes, though her mouth was still sharp: “You—you think I want to take care of you? If it weren’t for Ninth Master…”

“Get out!” Lu Beicheng shot her a sudden cold glare.

Even though Ren Qiqi still had plenty of grievances to voice, at that moment she couldn’t say another word.

Ninth Master’s gaze was simply too frightening.

“I…” She bit her lip, so wronged she nearly cried. “Treating good intentions like they were malice—fine, I’ll leave!”

Ren Qiqi turned and walked out.

The moment she left, the faint light that Jiu’er had so painstakingly regained in her eyes gradually dimmed again.

“She’s the only doctor here. You chased her off—who’s going to treat your wound now?”

Lu Beicheng felt somewhat helpless. This girl’s temper wasn’t exactly good, but she had never been unreasonable before.

Though he didn’t know why she was so insistent on driving Ren Qiqi away, in his heart Lu Beicheng held no blame toward her.

He believed Jiu’er wouldn’t do something out of mere spite.

“Don’t move around. Let me treat your wound first.”

She was covered in injuries, especially her back, which was raw and red across a large area.

Just looking at it made his heart ache unbearably.

Lu Beicheng’s movements were gentle, and even his voice was extremely soft: “Bear with it. I’m going to take your clothes off—don’t move.”

He supported her, helping her turn gently onto her stomach, lying face-down on the bed.

This motion had to carefully avoid the knife wounds on her shoulder and arm.

Finally, once her clothes were removed, Lu Beicheng could clearly see the wound on her back.

Fortunately, it was only scraped skin with blood seeping through—alarming to look at, but not deep.

Even so, seeing it left Lu Beicheng aching with distress.

“Jiu’er, Jiu’er…”

Outside, a series of hurried footsteps could clearly be heard.

Qiaoqiao was back!

Lu Beicheng felt a weight lift off him and urgently called out: “Come quickly and treat her wound, hurry!”

Qiaoqiao was startled; the moment she stepped in, his anxious tone nearly made her knees buckle.

This was Ninth Master, after all!

But once she got a clear look at the state of Jiu’er’s injuries, she no longer had the presence of mind to worry about her own legs.

She was both anxious and furious!

“Who did this? Which damned bastard dared to hurt Jiu’er like this! Damn it! That damned bastard!”

“Shut up and treat her wound, quickly!”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!”

She nearly dropped to her knees again!

An entire night of busy work followed.

Finally, in the deep hours past midnight, once the wound had been treated, Jiu’er slowly regained consciousness.

“Where’s Ren Qiqi?” The first thing she asked upon waking was, unexpectedly, about Ren Qiqi.

Lu Beicheng had no patience to spare for that woman: “You wanted her gone, so I had her thrown out.”

“Have her… leave tomorrow. This place… doesn’t need her anymore.” Jiu’er’s voice was indescribably hoarse, yet her attitude was firm.

Lu Beicheng was rather puzzled: “Do you dislike her this much?”