CHAPTER 229: 208: LITTLE ZHI PERSONALLY PERFORMS SURGERY ON CHEN YAN

"Are you upset?" Shi Yin turned his head slightly, looking at the woman leaning on his shoulder with confusion in his eyes.

From the moment they left the bar street to their return home, she hadn’t spoken much. Her taciturn demeanor was entirely unlike her usual self.

Ruan Yuan responded faintly, lying across the man’s knees as she stared straight into his eyes. "I hit Jian Xitong."

Her tone was so offhanded, as though she were saying, ’I had something to eat today.’

Shi Yin paused for a moment, gently running his hand through her hair. "Then why are you upset?"

His train of thought left Ruan Yuan slightly startled. "Aren’t you going to ask me why?"

She blinked twice, the light above reflecting in her slightly turned eyes as if scattering a thousand tiny ripples.

Shi Yin played along. "Tell me then."

"She tried to humiliate me with money and told me to break up with you." At the mention of this, she couldn’t help recalling Jian Xitong’s expression at the time.

The more she thought about it, the more regret she felt. Why hadn’t she beaten her into the hospital back then?

Upon hearing this, a trace of coldness flashed through Shi Yin’s eyes, his dislike for Jian Xitong growing even deeper.

"I’m sorry. I won’t be in contact with her anymore." His voice was soft as he kissed the woman gently on her forehead.

Right in front of her, he deleted all of Jian Xitong’s contact details flawlessly.

"Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault."

"But I indirectly caused it."

Seeing his serious and earnest expression, Ruan Yuan burst out laughing and hugged his waist tightly. "I don’t blame you."

A tingling sensation spread across his abdomen, and when Shi Yin lowered his gaze, he met the seductive glow in the woman’s eyes.

He took a deep breath. "You should go take a shower."

Ruan Yuan abruptly stood up, her fingertips trailing teasingly along the man’s neck. Every pause carried a hint of allure.

She kissed his lower lip. "Together."

"..." Shi Yin resigned himself to the situation, lifting her up horizontally and unsteadily making his way into the bathroom.

**

City center, a private hospital.

In a luxurious suite located on the top floor, a man dressed in a hospital gown lay quietly, his sharp features visible.

He glanced nervously at the clock mounted on the opposite white wall, his hands clenched tightly beneath the covers.

"Zai Zai, just hold on a bit longer. Once the surgery is over, you can eat." Liu Lan smoothed out the blanket for him, her knuckles trembling uncontrollably.

Learning about the surgery scheduled for today had left their entire family enthused. They had rushed to the hospital late last night.

Liu Lan, unable to sleep all night, was torn between anticipation and the fear that the surgery’s success rate would be slim, her mind filled with conflicting emotions.

"Mm, I understand." Chen Yan forced a smile, his lips barely curving upward.

His own worries were no less substantial. His leg had been delayed for far too long.

The transition from hope to disappointment, and ultimately to despair, was a process no one else could fathom. No one knew how he had endured it all.

"Brother Yan, I’ll always be here with you." Yu Xinman kissed him gently on the cheek, smiling brightly. "This is a lucky kiss."

"Thank you, Xinman." Chen Yan gripped her wrist.

With eyes brimming with emotion, his gaze effortlessly entranced her.

About ten minutes later, a foreign man with short chestnut-colored hair entered the room, accompanied by several nurses.

He greeted them simply, "I’m Steven, Professor Norton’s assistant."

"The professor is already preparing. Mr. Chen can come with us to the operating room now."

"Alright." Chen Shiguang nodded repeatedly. He stepped closer to Chen Yan, patting his shoulder twice. "Don’t worry, we’ll be waiting outside for you."

His bloodshot eyes watched his son get wheeled by the nurses through the doorway at the end of the corridor.

"Click—"

The intense, glaring lights in the operating room were activated all at once and shone directly onto Chen Yan’s face.

He squinted uncomfortably and, turning to Steven beside him, asked in a gentle tone, "Where’s Professor Norton?"

"The professor is changing into surgical attire," Steven replied, picking up a syringe filled with anesthetic and injecting its liquid into the IV drip attached to Chen Yan.

Chen Yan answered briefly, not suspecting anything amiss.

When footsteps eventually sounded behind him, his eyes widened, eager to catch a glimpse of the revered professor—

But the anesthetic took hold, sending him plunging into unconsciousness in an instant.

Steven, an indispensable assistant for this surgery, silently slipped away at that moment.

"Little Zhi, is this Yu Xinman’s fiancé?" Ruan Yuan cast a glance at the operating table, pursing her lips. "He looks decent enough."

At least his appearance betrayed no signs that he was the kind of person with a proclivity for abuse. And yet, such a man could secretly commit atrocities behind the scenes.

He must have hidden it well.

Yu Zhi raised an eyebrow. "Do you think he’s handsome?"

"Not a chance. I’m not blind."

Ruan Yuan scoffed, turning away disdainfully before taking Shi Yin’s arm and leaning intimately against his shoulder.

Their closeness was so palpable that Yu Zhi couldn’t help but be stunned by the sheer amount of affection. They hadn’t seen each other in a while, but their chemistry seemed to produce an endless stream of romantic sparks.

She shook her head quietly, her peripheral vision inadvertently catching sight of Shi Wei waiting calmly to the side. Her lips curved into a mischievous smile.

"Shi Yin, come sit." Shi Wei threw him a faint glance, kicking the stool beside him.

He wanted to save his treasure from being disrupted by someone cluelessly lingering nearby.

"Alright." Shi Yin gave the woman’s hand a squeeze before obediently moving to sit next to Shi Wei.

If it weren’t for his obvious eagerness, the suddenly abandoned Ruan Yuan might have thrown a fit.

She chuckled softly and shook her head, shifting her gaze from him to the row of silver needles laid out before the young girl. "Little Zhi, what should I do?"

"Start by cutting open the fabric at his knees."

"Got it, just the knees?"

"..."

Ruan Yuan donned her medical gloves and carefully picked up the scissors. Meanwhile, Yu Zhi was seriously disinfecting the silver needles nearby.

Once all preparations were complete, the young girl handed half of the silver needles to her partner. "I’ll do the right side; you take the left. Make sure to aim precisely at the acupuncture points."

She skillfully inserted two needles into the knee as a demonstration, then carefully observed the woman’s moves to confirm that her actions were correct before proceeding.

The two worked independently yet seamlessly.

Perhaps it was due to the intense concentration or the overly bright lights, but a thin layer of sweat formed on their foreheads.

Despite this, their focus remained unwavering.

Shi Wei watched his cherished companion with a heart full of sympathy. He wanted to wipe away those beads of sweat but refrained, for fear of disrupting her work. Instead, he silently and anxiously waited.

Shi Yin, whose worry mirrored his brother’s, furrowed his brows slightly, his gaze never straying for even a second from the woman.