Wen Ci lowered her gaze. ’It seems the people who abducted Xiao Chuan planned to sell him. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have spent money to bring him to the hospital for treatment.’

"It’s alright," Wen Ci comforted him. "Even if they’re here, I won’t let them take you."

She had tested her abilities back in the Northwest. Having grown up doing farm work, this body’s physical condition was decent, allowing her to exert fifty percent of her full strength.

「Seven o’clock arrived.」

Led by the head doctor, Wen Ci went up to the third floor. The doctor walked ahead, his voice extremely soft. "Mr. Huo is awake, but he’s on oxygen. It’s best if he speaks as little as possible for the next few days."

"Understood."

Huo Jingyuan’s room was a private one with an attached bathroom.

Wen Ci entered the ward. A privacy curtain was drawn around the bed, obscuring the view. With a heavy heart, she approached and let her gaze fall upon the man lying there.

Huo Jingyuan’s forehead and neck were wrapped in bandages.

All that was visible were a pair of deep, ink-black eyes darting about. The moment they met his, tears began to stream down Wen Ci’s face uncontrollably.

Wen Ci had seen too many cruel sights.

She thought her heart had already grown cold.

But seeing the man she loved lying in a hospital bed, her heart clenched with pain.

Wen Ci stepped forward and took Huo Jingyuan’s calloused hand. There were scratches on his palm as well, already scabbed over. They simply gazed at each other in silence.

Huo Jingyuan raised his hand to wipe the tears from the corner of Wen Ci’s eye.

Suddenly, Huo Jingyuan noticed the little kid standing beside Wen Ci. ’He doesn’t look like one of the kids from the Northwest family compound,’ he thought. ’He looks surprisingly soft.’

The man’s throat was raw as he spoke. "And this is?"

"I found Xiao Chuan on the street yesterday."

Xiao Chuan looked nervously at the man in the bed. He knew this man and the kind woman were husband and wife, and he worried the man wouldn’t like him.

Wen Ci wanted to talk more with Huo Jingyuan, so she explained Xiao Chuan’s entire situation. "After our visit is over, Xue Li will pick us up from the hospital and take us to the police station."

"Okay," Huo Jingyuan responded.

Half an hour wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short, either.

Wen Ci held his hand, her clear eyes gazing at him. She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, her voice gentle and sweet. "Starting next week, I’ll be able to stay by your side every day."

With that said, Wen Ci took Xiao Chuan’s hand and left the ward.

When they left the building, the sky was streaked with the pale white of dawn. Xue Li stood chatting with someone outside the hospital courtyard. Seeing Wen Ci, he raised a hand and called, "Wen Ci! Over here!"

"How’s Brother Huo?"

Wen Ci replied, "He can talk, but he still needs a lot of rest."

There wasn’t a police station near the hospital, so Xue Li drove to the Beijing Municipal Police Headquarters. Officers in uniform were trickling in for their shifts. "Wen Ci," Xue Li said, "the captain here at headquarters is my cousin’s husband. He’s someone we can trust."

Wen Ci nodded. "What’s his name?"

"His surname is Su."

Just as they got out of the car, Officer Su walked over. He clapped Xue Li on the shoulder with a grin and teased, "Heard you brought a girlfriend back with you on the quiet this time. So? When do we get to celebrate your wedding?"

Hearing this, Wen Ci raised an eyebrow and joined in the teasing, "I’m looking forward to celebrating your wedding, too."

Xue Li’s face flushed. "Wen Ci, stop teasing me!"

’Other people might not know he and Yu Qing are just pretending, but Wen Ci knows perfectly well. She’s teasing me on purpose.’

"And this is?"

Xue Li’s expression turned serious. "This is the person I told you about last night. My regiment commander’s wife, Wen Ci. She is also the daughter of Minister Jiang of Beijing."

He mentioned Minister Jiang’s name in the hope that the police would take the case seriously.