Wen Tingli was on the phone in the outer room when a faint sound suddenly came from the inner room.

She dropped the phone and ran toward the room, but by the time she realized what she had just heard, her feet froze in place.

It was the voice of a completely unfamiliar young man, calling out something in a low voice.

She listened hesitantly for a few seconds, then abruptly quickened her pace and ran into the room. On the bed lay a man, covered in injuries, brows tightly knit, large beads of sweat continuously seeping from his forehead, his expression so pained that he seemed to be wrestling with some invisible beast.

Wen Tingli rushed to the bedside and bent down to check on him. Just then, she heard those same two words come from his mouth again.

“Mama.”

There was no mistake — it clearly came from Lu Shicheng’s throat.

Lu Shicheng’s voice was low and pleasant to hear, yet utterly unfamiliar, since she had never once heard him speak before.

For a moment she couldn’t tell if she felt shock or joy. She reached out carefully to touch his forehead.

“Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu.”

The instant she touched him, she panicked — he was running a fever again! If this continued, Lu Shicheng would die. No, she had to find Li Chengying at once to discuss what to do.

Just as she was about to rise from the bedside, her hand was seized. She turned back and met a pair of hazy eyes.

Lu Shicheng had opened his eyes at some point without her noticing.

Wen Tingli’s joy was beyond measure.

“Mr. Lu, you’re awake!”

At first, Lu Shicheng’s dark pupils did not focus; he simply gazed blankly at Wen Tingli, as if struggling to think of something. For a while, he did not move at all.

“You’re running a fever again. I’ll go get your medicine.” Wen Tingli reached out again to check his temperature. “Your condition isn’t good. Three of your ribs are broken, and there’s a hematoma on the back of your head. That gang of scoundrels went too hard on you last night. Thankfully a doctor friend of mine rushed over to help, or I truly wouldn’t have known how to save you.”

Ripples stirred at the bottom of Lu Shicheng’s eyes. With effort he moved his gaze, first to her hands, then to her shoulders and arms, and finally settling on her face. His eyes gradually grew clear, and a meaning began to surface in them — he seemed to be anxiously checking for something.

“I wasn’t hurt,” Wen Tingli said quickly.

Lu Shicheng seemed to let out a breath of relief. He closed his eyes, then opened them again, his gaze still fixed on her face, carrying a hint of curiosity and inquiry.

Wen Tingli held her breath, waiting for him to speak. Yet although Lu Shicheng had uttered two phrases in his delirium, it seemed that ability had been fleeting — this time he could not make a sound again.

Had she not heard it with her own ears, Wen Tingli would have suspected it had all been an illusion. Puzzled as she was, she could only laugh and say, “I know what Mr. Lu wants to ask. Fine, I admit it — I saved you. I have a gun.”

She pulled a small pistol from her book bag and waved it before his eyes.

“Last time at the Lu Mansion, Mr. Lu, you asked me whether I knew anyone from the Weiying Gang. I didn’t tell you the truth then, because I wanted to protect them.”

She explained, “After what happened to my father, I was afraid the Qius, father and son, would come harass us again, so I found a way to get in touch with the Weiying Gang. They can’t stand to see women bullied, and they were very willing to help me. That group of old women who came to my rescue last time when Qiu Dapeng cornered me in Gan Family Lane — they were sent by the Weiying Gang. I know Mr. Lu was once puzzled about who they were. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth at the time. This gun was given to me by the Weiying Gang. These past six months I’ve been secretly learning marksmanship from them. Tonight I had actually arranged to meet a few friends at that abandoned factory to practice shooting, and I never expected to run right into someone attacking you—”

This account was half true, half false. She trusted Lu Shicheng’s character, of course, but she could never reveal to anyone the underground identities of Li Chengying and the others, not even to Lu Shicheng. If Li Chengying hadn’t helped tonight, she would never have succeeded in rescuing Lu Shicheng. They had protected her again and again; she too had to do everything to protect them.

Lu Shicheng’s gaze fell, stunned, on her gun.

“After we got you out, we were worried we might run into the Bailong Gang on the way, so we hid you nearby at my place instead. The Bailong Gang thinks the Lu family rescued you, and they’ve all swarmed back to search around the Lu Mansion,” Wen Tingli said quietly. “One of my companions studied Western medicine. Seeing how badly you were hurt, she went ahead and treated your wounds. She’s just gone back to the hospital to fetch medicine and a surgical kit. Don’t worry, these friends of mine are people of great integrity, and they’ve always despised what the Bailong Gang does. They won’t tell anyone about what happened last night. Oh, and from what those scoundrels were saying, it sounds like they’re going to go after Mr. Kuang next, so as soon as I got back I called Mr. Kuang’s residence. I imagine he’ll take action right away. Mr. Lu, you won’t blame me for acting on my own, will you?”

Lu Shicheng tried to prop himself up.

Wen Tingli hurried to support his shoulder. “Don’t move, just tell me directly what you need.”

Lu Shicheng, sweat covering his forehead, raised his uninjured hand and pointed at Wen Tingli’s book bag.

Wen Tingli took out a pen and a notebook from inside.

Lu Shicheng reached to take them, but he couldn’t manage to grip the pen, and just from those two small movements, sweat began beading on his forehead again.

Wen Tingli, knowing how much pain he must be in, simply took his fingers and pressed them into her own palm instead.

“Writing in my palm works just the same.”

Lu Shicheng wrote, stroke by stroke, with great effort, and it took him a long while to finish.

Wen Tingli had assumed it would be some long sentence. To her surprise, after all that struggle, he had only written two words: “Thank you.”

She couldn’t help but laugh softly. Lu Shicheng was gazing steadily at her.

There was not a trace of joking in his expression.

Wen Tingli only felt that invisible word “thanks” burning hot in her palm. She lowered her eyes and smiled faintly. “Last time you helped me so much, Mr. Lu, not only did you refuse to let me thank you, but afterward you avoided seeing me. So, I don’t need your thanks either.”

Though she spoke in a serious tone, there was a small note of complaint in her words.

Lu Shicheng fell back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling, laughing silently.

Wen Tingli laughed too, and as she laughed she began to feel a little embarrassed, so she put on a serious face and said, “Now that you’re awake, my friend doesn’t need to risk coming here anymore. I’ll call the Lu Mansion and ask Steward Chen to hurry and find a good doctor to look after you.”

Lu Shicheng shook his head.

【Find Louis alone.】

It seemed Lu Shicheng, like her, suspected there was a traitor within the Lu Mansion!

She hurried to call Louis using the contact information Lu Shicheng had given her.

Just then, Zhou Sao, carrying a bowl of porridge, peeked quietly into the inner room. After Wen Tingli finished calling Louis and then Li Chengying in turn, Zhou Sao pulled her aside.

“Mr. Lu is hurt so badly — why hasn’t the Lu family sent anyone yet?”

Wen Tingli had no way to explain this complicated situation to Zhou Sao, so she only said quietly, “They’ll come when it’s time.”

Zhou Sao gestured worriedly toward the door. “I’m only afraid the young couple across the way will hear the commotion over here. What if they go around telling people, and it reaches the ears of Mr. Lu’s enemies?”

Wen Tingli shook her head. “They won’t. There’s a round parlor between our two suites, and Mr. Lu is settled in the innermost room. With the suite door closed, neither side can hear anything from the other — that was exactly the advantage I was after when I rented this place.”

As for Lu Sanye and the Bailong Gang, it didn’t matter that Lu Shicheng hadn’t woken — now that he had, he certainly wouldn’t let himself remain in danger. Since he hadn’t said to move him elsewhere, that meant he had his own considerations. Besides, Kuang Zhilin had already gotten word. A man who could earn Lu Shicheng’s trust must have considerable skill; there was no need to say more — all that remained was to wait and watch how things unfolded.

But none of this could be said to Zhou Sao.

“I’m just afraid of the ‘just in case,'” Zhou Sao kept muttering. “If Mr. Lu’s enemies come looking for him, our whole family won’t have a moment’s peace.”

Wen Tingli immediately fired off a string of questions at Zhou Sao: “How many times has Mr. Lu helped us? Now that he’s in trouble, shouldn’t we help him no matter the risk? Is repaying kindness only supposed to mean doing small favors in good times? Besides, he’s covered in injuries right now — moving him around will only make things worse. Just stop fussing, I know what I’m doing.”

Zhou Sao stamped her foot. “Do you think I’m that kind of person? Of course I know Mr. Lu is a good man. Seeing him hurt like this last night broke my heart too. I’m just worried about Xiao Taozi — she doesn’t understand things yet. What if she wakes up, sees Mr. Lu, and starts shouting?”

“Xiao Taozi won’t shout. I’ll explain it to her properly.” Wen Tingli took the bowl from Zhou Sao’s hands and went into the room.

The moment she entered, she saw Lu Shicheng lying on his side, his face buried in the pillow, his hair soaked through with cold sweat. It was clear at a glance that his wounds were aching — under such conditions, there was no way anyone could have been asleep. Needless to say, he had heard the entire conversation outside.

Wen Tingli felt a little sheepish, and said gently, “Dr. Louis said he’d arrive in about an hour. He also said you could eat something — are you hungry? Would you like some porridge to settle your stomach?”

Lu Shicheng nodded against the pillow.

The way he looked reminded Wen Tingli of Xiao Taozi when she was sick — so obedient, so well-behaved, not making a fuss. Only, his injuries were far more severe and his condition far more pitiful, so he seemed even more fragile and pathetic than Xiao Taozi ever had. She suppressed these strange thoughts in her heart, went over to help prop Lu Shicheng up a little, and accidentally brushed against his wound.

She flinched back, startled. “Did that hurt you? I’m sorry.”

Lu Shicheng smiled silently and shook his head at her.

Wen Tingli knew perfectly well it must have hurt terribly. Feeling guilty, she helped adjust his position, sat down at the bedside, scooped up a spoonful of porridge, tested the temperature against her own lips first, then carefully brought it to his.

Lu Shicheng lowered his eyes to look at the spoon by his lips, seeming to hesitate over whether to drink straight from it.

Only then did Wen Tingli realize she was feeding him with the very spoon she had just tasted from — it was the habitual motion she used when feeding Xiao Taozi, so ingrained that she’d done the same thing without thinking when feeding Lu Shicheng.

If he drank from her spoon without any hesitation, it might seem presumptuous, since her lips had just touched its tip.

But if he avoided her spoon, it would look as though he found her distasteful.

She wasn’t feeding him so much as setting him a puzzle.

“Wait, let me—”

Before she could finish, Lu Shicheng lowered his head and drank the spoonful. Wen Tingli’s heart gave a small jolt. When she fed him the second spoonful, her face was still a little hot; she no longer used her own lips to test the temperature, only blew gently on the spoon. In truth, according to Dr. Thompson, that wasn’t hygienic either, but the porridge was too hot and he was too hungry, so there was no time to worry about such things. She fed him a little at a time, and he quietly ate a little at a time.

As he ate, more and more cold sweat appeared on Lu Shicheng’s forehead. He managed to eat half the bowl before shaking his head apologetically.

It turned out he had no appetite at all — he simply understood that he urgently needed nourishment to recover his strength, and was forcing himself to eat.

Wen Tingli set the bowl on the little table by the bed, rinsed his mouth with mild saltwater, then brought in a basin of water and a towel. This was no time for formalities — in his place, she too would have wanted someone to help wipe her down. So she asked softly, “Shall I wipe your face and neck for you?”

Lu Shicheng paused, then nodded.

As she wiped him, Wen Tingli was very careful to avoid his wounds. Fortunately, most of his injuries were on the back of his head and his chest and abdomen — there weren’t many cuts on his face. As she wiped, she accidentally brushed his chest, and his heart began pounding rapidly. She lowered her head and only then noticed that a lock of her curly hair had fallen onto his face, and that the two of them had, without realizing it, drawn very close together.

Lu Shicheng did not look at her; instead he turned his head to stare fixedly at the wall beside him, as if there were something there especially worth studying.

Wen Tingli’s face grew hot in waves. Pretending nothing had happened, she withdrew her hand and coughed lightly. “There, all done. By the way, I’ll go see if Dr. Louis has arrived.”

She waited a while at the front door, but Louis did not come, so she turned back inside, disappointed.

Passing through the corridor, Wen Tingli made a point of stopping for a moment at the neighbors’ door across the way. There wasn’t a single sound from inside — clearly the couple had left for work early that morning.

Wen Tingli relaxed a little.

The moment she entered, she saw Zhou Sao dash past her, lowering her voice as she ran: “Xiao Taozi, you’re not allowed over there!”

Wen Tingli hurried after her.

In the room, Xiao Taozi, her hair a disheveled little mop, stood staring blankly at Lu Shicheng on the bed.

Lu Shicheng seemed to have fallen back into a deep sleep. Young as Xiao Taozi was, she had seen her father in the throes of serious illness before, and she could tell at a glance that Lu Shicheng was not doing well.

She grew a little frightened and ran back to hide behind her sister and Zhou Sao.

“Mr. Lu?” she said, pointing at Lu Shicheng on the bed.

“Shh, don’t make a sound. There are bad people outside right now who want to catch Mr. Lu, and if you shout, you might bring the bad people here. Look, Mr. Lu is badly hurt, and he needs to recover at our house for a few days. During this time, the bad people outside absolutely must not find out Mr. Lu is here. Xiao Taozi is a big girl now, she needs to learn to protect everyone, understand?”

Xiao Taozi nodded vigorously.

Wen Tingli kissed her little sister’s cheek, then went over to touch Lu Shicheng’s forehead — his temperature was even higher than before. Anxious, she hurried to the kitchen to fetch some ice packs to place on his forehead, then found the fever medicine Li Chengying had left the night before, ground it with water, and helped Zhou Sao give it to him.

Xiao Taozi stood by the bed, watching all this nervously. When her sister rose from the bedside, she hugged her sister’s leg and looked up to ask, “Will Mr. Lu… die?”

Before she had even finished speaking, the doorbell rang outside.

It was Louis, carrying a large suitcase, his expression unusually grave. “It took me quite a while to shake off those watching eyes… let’s go see how Mr. Lu is doing right away.”

“He’s running a fever. He just ate half a bowl of porridge.”

At the sight of the man on the bed, Louis drew in a sharp breath and hurried to the bedside, setting down his suitcase. He took out a small flashlight and lifted Lu Shicheng’s eyelids to check his eyes, then opened the thin blanket to examine his chest and abdomen, and finally leaned in to check the back of his head.

“Did someone treat Mr. Lu’s wounds last night?”

“Yes. A friend of mine studies Western medicine. When Mr. Lu was hurt last night, I asked her to come help.”

“Thank you both!” Louis said, both relieved and grateful. “The treatment was quite timely, otherwise Mr. Lu’s condition would be much worse. Here’s what we’ll do — I need to perform a small debridement on Mr. Lu right away. Miss Wen, I may need your help in a moment.”

Wen Tingli nodded quickly. “All right.”