“Moreover, our circle isn’t that big. There are only a few aristocratic families here. Everyone knows you have someone by your side, but no one has ever met her before. You never bring Xiaowan along when you attend events. When others try to subtly ask about it, your expression will immediately. You might not have heard the rumors outside, but it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

Huo Zheng was lost in his thoughts. He had never thought about this before. It was not that he did not want to bring her to various events, but she did not seem willing. Since she was not willing, he naturally would not force her.

At this moment, Huo Zheng’s phone rang. The call was from the two bodyguards whom he had sent to Beicheng to look for Lin Xiaowan a few days ago. After Lin Xiaowan had returned, he told them to look into the matter of her return to her hometown. He wanted to know why she suddenly decided to return.

After listening for a moment, a shocked and confused expression appeared on Huo Zheng’s face.

When he ended the call, Huo Cheng asked, “What’s wrong?”

Huo Zheng looked at the concerned Huo Cheng and said, “Qingqing returned to attend her father’s funeral.”

“She didn’t tell you?”

“No…”

Since the day they met, Lin Xiaowan had never mentioned her father to Huo Zheng. At this time, he recalled how he had lost his temper at her over the phone for the first time when he found out that she had returned to Beicheng. He felt slightly regretful at this moment.

“You…”

Huo Cheng wanted to ask how much Huo Zheng knew about Lin Xiaowan’s family but thought better of it.

…

It was not until the second half of the night that the doctor came out from the operating theater.

Huo Zheng rose to his feet immediately and clenched his hands nervously.

The doctor looked rather relaxed as he said, “There’s no serious problem. The patient will be sent to the ICU to be observed for 24 hours. If everything goes as expected, she’ll be transferred to the general ward.”

“Can she be transferred to another hospital?”

The hospital they were in was in the suburbs. The environment and resources were not as good as the ones in the city. The doctors, who treated Lin Xiaowan, were also brought here from the hospital in the city, which was owned by the Huo family.

The doctor nodded. “Yes, but you’ll have to wait 24 hours. We must wait for the patient’s condition to stabilize.”

Then, he looked at the two Huo brothers and said, “Can I trouble her family member to come with me? I’ll explain the patient’s condition in detail.”

Needless to say, Huo Zheng went with the doctor.

The doctor was from the Huo family’s hospital so he naturally knew who Huo Zheng was.

“Please take a seat, Mr. Huo.”

The doctor told Huo Zheng about Lin Xiaowan’s head injury before he advised, “It’s best for the patient to avoid electronic devices for two months. It’s best not to strain the patient’s eyes as it might affect her vision. The broken capillaries in her left eye will heal eventually. The process might be slow, but there’s no need to worry.”

Huo Zheng felt both relieved and worried. He asked, “Why were her hands and legs twitching?”

“It’s because she inhaled too much gas.”

The doctor did not say what gas it was, but Huo Zheng understood his meaning.

“In addition, she suffered a serious injury on her head so she was extremely weak. The gas affected her nervous system at the time, causing the twitching. The twitching will disappear after the treatment.”

“However, there are some problems that you need to take note of. The patient’s respiratory system and lung functions have been damaged to a certain extent. This is irreversible. It’s impossible to restore them to their original state.”

Huo Zheng’s expression darkened upon hearing the doctor’s words, and his aura changed immediately. He looked a little fierce at this moment.

The doctor was not intimidated. After all, he understood that Huo Zheng was worried. He said, “Mr. Huo, let me finish.”

“In the future, take special care when the patient catches a cold or fever, especially when the seasons change. If the patient catches a cold, she might have trouble breathing, especially at night. As a result, it’ll disrupt her sleep. I’m only telling you this as a precaution. There’s no need to panic. Just take the medicine according to my prescription.”

Huo Zheng nodded, but his expression did not improve.

“There’s another thing…”

The doctor looked a little hesitant at this moment.

“The patient’s uterus suffered external trauma. Although there are ways to increase the chances of getting pregnant, it might be more difficult for her to get pregnant in the future. This doesn’t mean that she’s infertile. The chances of getting pregnant are just lower.”

Huo Zheng’s heart felt as though it had frozen. He knew Lin Xiaowan liked children very much, but he had always taken precautions. After all, they were not married yet. Moreover, he felt Lin Xiaowan was still young and did not want her to have a child so early. He also did not want a child to disturb their lives so soon. He truly did not expect such a thing to happen.

…

During the 24 hours of waiting, Huo Zheng received another piece of news that angered him.

Huo Cheng was afraid that Huo Zheng would act impulsively so he quickly held Huo Zheng down and said, “I’ve already confirmed it. Xiaowan’s uncle was blinded by greed and betrayed her for ten million from Dong Xianghang.”

Huo Cheng sneered. “I’ve already captured him. He took the money and applied for a passport to go abroad. He’s clearly guilty.”

Huo Zheng closed his eyes, suppressing his urge to kill someone.

…

Lin Xiaowan had a very, very long dream.

She saw her photo in the Huo family’s ancestral hall, and her body was covered in white cloth.

Lin Xiaowan was a little speechless.

‘No way. Did I die so soon after being reborn?’

She still remembered leaning against Huo Zheng’s chest in the car; she remembered the temperature of his body. At some point, she fainted.

‘Did I die after I fainted?’

She felt a little depressed. She had just told Huo Zheng she liked him, and she wondered how he would react.

Moreover, people were reborn to lead better lives, right? Why did she die even earlier after she was reborn?

Soon enough, she saw Huo Zheng walking into the ancestral hall before he closed the door. No one else came in.

Lin Xiaowan approached him and looked at him curiously.

It was the first time she had seen him looking so dejected. He was dressed in black, and he looked lifeless as though his wife had passed away.

‘Oh, his wife really died… Wait, I didn’t marry him in this life… Then, why am I in the Huo family’s ancestral hall? I’m not a member of the Huo family. How strange.’

In the very long dream, Lin Xiaowan watched as Huo Zheng sat quietly in the hall for two days without eating. During this time, Huo Cheng came once, but Huo Zheng ignored him completely. In the end, Huo Cheng had no choice but to leave.

Lin Xiaowan did not quite understand Huo Zheng’s actions, but she really admired his courage. After all, there was a corpse lying in front of him.

Lin Xiaowan took a seat next to Huo Zheng and asked curiously, “Aren’t you afraid? I’m dead…”

She made a face at him and said, “I’m going to take you away with me!”

Unexpectedly, Huo Zheng seemed to have sensed something. He turned slightly in her direction and froze as though he had fallen into a trance.