Chapter 158: Addict?
February 5, Wednesday night.
The internal Spring Festival holiday at the Jinhua Club has just three days left. After returning to City C, Wan Yue convened three senior attendants and all core members except for Xiao Ling, who was stationed at the Hyacinth Manor.
In a staff lounge, like a forced viewing of an exhibition, Xiao Miao, Xiao Quan, and Xiao Xi, the three senior attendants, stood by Zhao Peng’s bed with a sense of unease and confusion.
Zhao Peng on the bed emitted an aura of dominance that made the three of them yearn for it. Around them were a group of Hyacinth Knights.
“You were among the first batch to join Hyacinth after its establishment. I once thought I was quite lucky to have encountered three highly qualified children, but I never expected that after eighteen years, you are still stuck as senior attendants without any progress at all.”
Wan Yue sat on the sofa, smiling mysteriously, her gaze shifting back and forth between the three anxious Hyacinth girls: “I think you must be reluctant, right?”
“I’m sorry, Sister Wan… We wasted a lot of time.”
The three exchanged glances, their faces flushing to varying degrees. The eldest, Xiao Quan, stepped forward slightly and bowed her head to apologize to Wan Yue.
Even a long-established family like the Wang family might struggle to accurately assess the true qualifications and growth potential of its members. What some see as early blooming talents might suddenly stall and never make progress beyond a senior attendant, unable to reach even the threshold of knighthood.
Conversely, some supposedly low-quality individuals might tread carefully at critical junctures and, despite their struggles, slowly inch their way into baron territory, leaving a sense of unfairness in their wake.
The individual qualifications of blood clan members have always been a subtle yet real fact. Each prestigious blood clan family must develop a secret method for assessing the qualifications and potential of its younger members. There can be errors, but it is essential to avoid complete ignorance.
“What mistakes have you made? If we’re talking about waste, I would have buried that lazy Huang Gu a long time ago… However, as you probably know, Huang Gu became a senior attendant last month. So, do you envy him?”
As soon as she said this, Xiao Quan and the others nodded repeatedly, like chicks pecking at rice, as they saw something incredibly promising in Wan Yue’s expression.
Huang Gu, known for his high emotional intelligence, good character, and capabilities, was seen by everyone as a long-term mid-level attendant.
It might seem unjust to call Huang Gu lazy, but it was well-known that his qualifications were terrible. He simply used his excellent attitude to mask everything with a laid-back demeanor.
The news that Huang Gu had broken through his bottleneck and became a senior attendant surprised people even more than Zhao Peng’s sudden promotion.
Zhao Peng had been dormant in his promotion to baron for exactly two months today. In the past month, Xiao Ai had also reached mid-level knight, and even Liang Tai, who had been stagnant for a decade, mysteriously showed signs of breaking through his growth bottleneck and was about to become a senior knight.
These good things flooding in stimulated the nerves of Xiao Quan and the others, but under Wan Yue’s absolute authority and the internal gag order of Hyacinth, they had to keep some of their speculations to themselves.
“There’s too much daily work here, and it’s unlikely we can spare someone to oversee the promotion, and we lack the rooms and equipment for promotion… Zheng Shaolin, later, you take Xiao Quan and the others to Hyacinth Manor. Guide them through their promotion dormancy there. You and Xiao Ling will be responsible for supervision.”
“Rest assured, there’s nothing crooked about Hyacinth, just rare blood from advanced blood clans that cost a fortune from overseas, along with some growth elixirs from prominent families. I believe the results will not disappoint you…”
After Wan Yue finished speaking, Zheng Shaolin stepped forward with a smile and nodded slightly at Xiao Ling and the others.
In fact, not long ago, Zheng Shaolin had also received a small amount of secret blood for health reasons. Although he had plummeted to a low-level knight after suffering heavy injuries, he clearly sensed that the use of secret blood significantly accelerated his growth. He would most likely return to mid-level knight status within a year.
After Zheng Shaolin left with Xiao Quan and the others, the room returned to quiet, with only the slight and even ticking sound of a medical device by Zhao Peng’s bedside.
In the past two months, everyone had become accustomed to the miraculous secret blood brought by Wan Yue, but the flourishing power of Hyacinth still left a few people, especially Xiao Ai, somewhat unsettled.
Perhaps understanding the expression on Xiao Ai’s face, Wan Yue smiled and lit a cigarette: “Xiao Ai, now that you’re a mid-level knight, you need to re-establish your foundation. From now on, I’m going to cut back on your secret blood distribution to let Xiao Dong and Liang Tai have a go. You don’t mind, right?”
Xiao Ai’s face turned slightly red, and she quickly nodded: “As long as Brother Peng can smoothly promote to baron, I will be satisfied…”
“Hehe, you’re quite the obedient one… However, once you two get married, I still recommend you avoid pregnancy for a while to see if you can manage to break through to baron status.”
Wan Yue’s words immediately made everyone laugh, including Jiang Yan, while Xiao Ai seemed quite shy.
“Sister, why doesn’t Xiao Ai finish having a child first before going for baron?”
Standing next to Jiang Yan, holding her arm, Jiang Yao couldn’t help but murmur a comment.
“Once a blood clan woman is pregnant, there’s a certain chance her growth will halt… When Sister Wan explained this to Brother Zhao Peng, you were already asleep?”
Jiang Yan didn’t look sideways, only slightly moved her lips, as if to answer Jiang Yao’s question.
“Oh, it feels like the mother packs up all the essence and growth mental struggles to send to the child…”
Jiang Yao appeared enlightened, but her loud voice caused another round of laughter in the room.
“Lower your voice; what a ridiculous description…”
Jiang Yan lightly nudged Jiang Yao’s hand, but in her mind, the shadow of Meng Huai reappeared.
Meng Huai’s bizarre background and the story of his birth mother, Hejian Mikiko, always left Jiang Yan feeling emotional.
Suddenly recalling a strange dream she had during her promotion to knight, Jiang Yan couldn’t help but turn to look at Jiang Yao. The latter, in her denim skirt, seemed to slowly transform into the gorgeous wedding dress from her dream, making her feel suspicious.
“Jiang Yan, are you daydreaming again? Are you feeling unwell?”
Wan Yue’s voice rang out, causing Jiang Yan to shiver all over and quickly regain her focus.
“Okay, next, I’m going to announce another personnel arrangement.”
Wan Yue clapped her hands, ending the short moment of relaxation, and everyone in the room perked up, waiting for instructions.
“By the end of this month at the latest, the company for import and export trade, Aston Import and Export, which Zhong Jing is responsible for organizing, will officially operate. Zhong Jing will serve as the nominal general manager. I plan to send Jiang Yan over first once the work is established. Later, Jiang Yao will go as well…” Wan Yue’s tone was very calm, but several Hyacinth girls present were somewhat taken aback. Even Jiang Yao suddenly raised her head, looking puzzled.
Shouldn’t Jiang Yao be sent over first? After all, Zhong Jing and Jiang Yao have a certain relationship… Xiao Ai and Xiao Dong both looked equally surprised.
For a moment, most people present had interesting expressions. Jiang Yan, who was already aware of this arrangement in advance, remained unfazed.
“Gee, I’m not running a matchmaking center; what are you all looking like that for?”
Seemingly understanding the inner thoughts of most people, Wan Yue rolled her eyes.
“Ding ding ding~~~”
Suddenly, an urgent ringtone broke the tension in the room, redirecting everyone’s attention.
They turned to see Jiang Yan holding her phone, looking perplexed, while Jiang Yao leaned in curiously, trying to see the screen.
“If it’s something important, take it outside.”
Wan Yue glanced at Jiang Yan’s expression and guessed something was amiss, her brow furrowing slightly.
Within a dozen seconds, Jiang Yan returned to the room with a pale face, her voice trembling: “Sister Wan, I need to go to the First People’s Hospital…”
Wan Yue just quietly observed her without any change in expression, but Jiang Yao’s face changed drastically.
…
…
At 10 PM, First People’s Hospital in City C.
Dressed in a beige trench coat and wearing a mask, Jiang Yan hurriedly entered a certain floor of the inpatient department.
It seemed that something significant had occurred earlier, as both the nurses’ station and corridors seemed filled with groups of medical staff gossiping, with even a few hospital security guards present.
“Are you a relative of Li Huai?”
As Jiang Yan approached Meng Huai’s single-occupancy room, a doctor who had been waiting for a while hurried over, his face looking rather peculiar: “Half an hour ago, Li Huai woke up but suddenly lost consciousness and exhibited violent behavior, nearly getting out of control.”
Jiang Yan nodded slightly and gently pushed the door open to peek inside.
She saw several medical staff bustling around the patient’s bed, where the young man had been tied up and multiple IV lines were already connected, seemingly still in the process of being resuscitated.
“The situation is very complicated. Your brother’s mental breakdown lasted about two or three minutes, during which he damaged two medical devices. Fortunately, two of the nurses were far away at the time and weren’t injured; otherwise, it would have been difficult to handle.”
The doctor’s expression was somewhat displeased as he held the medical records, speaking in a tone of helplessness: “Did Li Huai have any history of drug use or mental illness? Or any issues like epilepsy… It seems you didn’t provide accurate information when he was admitted.”
“I’m sorry, so what’s his current condition…” Jiang Yan hurriedly bowed slightly, appearing apologetic, her anxiety deepening. “I will take responsibility for any related economic losses incurred by the hospital.”
“Miss Li, we haven’t found any traces of prohibited substances in his system. We’ve conducted two rounds of brain CT scans recently, and no obvious issues were detected. The key is that his mental breakdown was very brief before he quickly fell into a weak and shock state, which is really strange…”
“So, it doesn’t seem to be as simple as an accidental fall causing a concussion… How about this, in a couple of days, our department will organize another consultation, and we’ll invite the chief expert from the provincial hospital’s neurosurgery department to provide guidance.”
Seeing the family member so reasonable, the doctor became much more pleasant in demeanor. After all, those who could stay in such high-end single rooms were generally wealthy, and medical staff naturally avoided letting personal emotions interfere to prevent excessive trouble.
“I’ll check the situation first and think it over; thank you, doctor.”
A few minutes later, all the medical staff left the room, and Jiang Yan sat by the bedside, helplessly gazing at the young man on the bed with a bitter expression.
This body, tortured to a pulp by the dark blood clan, despite being repaired by Jiang Yan’s blood, still experienced frequent mishaps. She even regretted listening too early to Lao Jin’s suggestion to transfer him to another hospital.
After checking the door access, Jiang Yan took out a bag of 200 milliliters of blood and a set of IV equipment from her canvas shoulder bag. She then rolled up Meng Huai’s hospital gown sleeve to expose his arm.
A whole bag of fresh blood was injected into Meng Huai’s body, and surprisingly, his tightly closed eyes slowly opened again. Though still lacking focus, his aura gradually stabilized.
“Sigh, have you truly become an addict…? Even in this state, you’re still clinging to me.”
After continuing to inject him with internal and external hormonal suppressants and warming medications, Jiang Yan touched her forehead, which was slightly feverish, and let out a heavy sigh.
In the past week, Jiang Yan had drawn over 800 milliliters of her blood. This act of pushing her hematopoietic limits had inevitably caused intense discomfort, but she hadn’t told anyone.
…
“Well… Miss Li, my husband and I have discussed it. Perhaps we haven’t cared for Mr. Li’s body properly; should we just let it go…”
Outside the corridor, a middle-aged couple of caregivers looked uneasy, seemingly backing out, while Jiang Yan quietly listened with a cold expression.
“One day’s caregiver fee, plus three hundred.” Once the other party finished talking, Jiang Yan replied indifferently.
“Well, actually, it’s not a money issue…” The middle-aged woman appeared somewhat embarrassed.
“Add five hundred more; the daily caregiver fee is two thousand. If there’s ever a problem, just find the doctor. If you don’t want that, I’ll find someone else.” Jiang Yan smiled and sat on a bench.
“Then we’ll give it another try?”
The middle-aged woman’s eyes brightened, and she tugged at her husband’s arm, quickly nodding.
After another small crisis, Jiang Yan felt utterly drained, leaning back against the bench and closing her eyes.
Time quietly passed midnight.
A light, brisk sound of footsteps approached, accompanied by a familiar scent. Jiang Yan had to turn her head to see Jiang Yao, dressed in a denim skirt, coming toward her.
Ignoring Jiang Yan’s gaze, Jiang Yao carefully peeked into the ward as if looking at a rare spectacle for several minutes before finally sitting down beside Jiang Yan.
Since she was curious, she might as well go in and take a look… He is out of his mind; he won’t recognize you,” Jiang Yan continued to close her eyes, unwilling to say much.
“I have a psychological barrier; I’m afraid to look… Sister, it’s not a solution for him to stay here like this. What if he’s exposed…?” Jiang Yao nervously toyed with a strand of her hair, her expression lethal. “When will he recover to normal? There’s no telling; money flows like water.”
What else can I do? I can’t just bring him home…
Jiang Yan murmured, her body perfectly still, while she smirked with self-deprecation: “No one is concerned about him. Sister Wan isn’t interested either; I don’t know what else to do, so I guess I’ll just take it one day at a time.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Yao jumped up, her face filled with terror: “Move him home? No way!?”
Her voice was so loud it startled the nurse’s station down the hall, with a nurse peering in with an expression of strong dissatisfaction.
“Just wait and see… Xiao Yao, did I do something wrong…?”
Opening her eyes and staring at the corridor ceiling, Jiang Yan revealed a look of fatigue and powerlessness for the first time.
“Hmph, did you not think about this when you picked him up? You’re such a mother hen…”
Jiang Yao scoffed, turned, and walked toward the end of the corridor.
“Xiao Yao, lend me some money…”
Jiang Yan grabbed her canvas shoulder bag, rising to her feet as she murmured to Jiang Yao’s back.
“Anyway, you’re the one holding the bank card; just use it… Hurry up and go home!”
Jiang Yan did not look back and casually raised her hand to make an OK sign.
“Um, probably need five or six hundred thousand… Meng Huai broke one or two medical devices.”
As soon as the words left her lips, Jiang Yao staggered a few meters away, nearly tripping.
“Don’t hold me back; I really want to kill him!”
In the hallway, Jiang Yan tightly held onto Jiang Yao, who was like a spooked kitten, flailing her arms toward a certain ward.
The small commotion outside was blocked by the soundproofed room door, and at that moment, Meng Huai once again opened his eyes.
On the sofa bed across the room, the middle-aged couple of caregivers was still quietly chatting, and Meng Huai could clearly hear what they were saying; everything in front of him appeared vividly clear.
He felt very comfortable, as if he had absorbed some powerful restorative elixir, making him feel energetic, and the confusion and haze of his earlier dream state dissipated from his body.
Who saved me, and who am I… What illness do I have?
Meng Huai muttered to himself the things only he could hear, turning his head toward the door. He felt that only some familiar girl, who had to exist in both dream and reality, had visited him not long ago.
Unfortunately, the restraints on him had not yet been removed, and even though he was awake, he couldn’t move. The chaotic rampage he had previously was still vaguely imprinted in his memory.
Am I truly called Li Huai? Do I have a sister?
Staring at the ceiling of the ward, Meng Huai fell into a state of contemplation once more.
