Chapter 47

After Director Zheng finished his rounds, he led a group of young doctors out. Xu Yan saw them off at the door and quickly closed it behind them—indeed, he couldn't afford to delay any longer, as he didn't know when Gong Xueting would return. If a few more nurses came to check the patient's temperature or something, he would lose his chance.

Xu Yan approached and closely observed Gong Xueting's father. He could see very clearly that the dark aura on Gong Xueting's father's face had become even deeper and more intense. Whether it was his imagination or not, Xu Yan felt that the dark aura carried a heavy, malevolent energy, like a ghostly presence that clung to Gong Xueting's father. The deep wrinkles on his face were all bunched together, making his entire face look twisted and grotesque.

Xu Yan recalled the doctor's words: "If it happens quickly, it could be tonight." —Yes, he had no time to hesitate. If he missed this opportunity, he would really have no chance.

Xu Yan made up his mind. He quickly walked to the patient's bed, reached out, and pried open the patient's mouth, placing a demon-repelling pill inside. Then, he used a cup to pour half a cup of water into the patient's mouth to help him swallow. As he did this, Xu Yan was extremely nervous, his heart pounding. He kept glancing at Gong Xueting's father on the bed and the heart monitor by the bedside, fearing that the weak heartbeat would suddenly turn into a straight line.

But just at that moment, a cold female voice came from behind: "Xu Yan, what are you doing?"

Xu Yan's hand trembled, and the water cup in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," shattering into pieces. He turned around in shock and saw that the door to the ward had been opened at some point. Gong Xueting's roommate, Chen Yaoyu, and the detestable Zhao Tianyu were standing at the door, both looking at him seriously.

Zhao Tianyu quickly walked up and looked at what Xu Yan had in his hand, but since the pill had already been fed to the patient, he couldn't see anything. He sternly asked, "Xu Yan, what did you just do to the patient?"

"I... I saw that the patient looked very thirsty, so I gave him some water to drink..."

Zhao Tianyu walked closer and examined the patient for a moment. He then said sternly, "You're being reckless. The patient is in such a state; how could he possibly drink water? If you want to give the patient water, you should ask the doctor and let the doctor do it. Mr. Gong is already in a very dangerous condition. If you keep acting recklessly, and something happens... Can you take responsibility for that?"

Chen Yaoyu also walked over, looking at Xu Yan and then at Gong Xueting's father, her eyes filled with doubt. She had entered a few seconds earlier than Zhao Tianyu and had seen Xu Yan feeding something to the patient. From behind, she had also vaguely seen that Xu Yan's actions were not just about giving water. In that brief moment, she thought she saw Xu Yan put something in Gong Xueting's father's mouth.

She walked up to Xu Yan and, after looking at him for a while, suddenly said, "What you just fed the patient wasn't just water, was it?"

Xu Yan was startled, but at this point, he had no choice but to insist, "It was just a sip of water! There was nothing else!"

"I saw something in your hand just now..."

"It was just the water cup. You startled me when you suddenly came in, and the cup broke!"

At this moment, Zhao Tianyu interjected, "Classmate Yaoyu, let's call the doctor to come and check. If Xu Yan keeps acting recklessly, who knows what consequences there might be..."

"What did Xu Yan do wrong?" Everyone turned to see Gong Xueting standing at the door, looking at the tense atmosphere in the ward with surprise. "Senior, Yaoyu, you're here too. What are you doing? What did Xu Yan do wrong?"

Chen Yaoyu looked at Xu Yan but didn't say anything. It was Zhao Tianyu who, with great excitement, told Gong Xueting that when she left, Xu Yan had fed the patient something, and now no one knew what bad consequences there might be.

Gong Xueting looked at Xu Yan in surprise. Xu Yan, with a stiff upper lip, said, "Xueting, don't listen to him. I just gave your dad a sip of water."

Zhao Tianyu shouted, "Xueting, don't listen to his lies! Classmate Yaoyu saw it with her own eyes. Xu Yan was feeding your dad something... If he doesn't admit it, we'll call the doctor to check! Otherwise, if something happens, it will be a big problem."

At that moment, as if to confirm Zhao Tianyu's words, a painful groan came from the bed. Everyone turned to see that Gong Xueting's father was thrashing violently, the blanket on his body already thrown off, his forehead drenched in sweat, the veins on his face and arms bulging like worms, and his feet kicking the bed with a frightening sound.

"Ah!" Everyone was startled. Gong Xueting was the first to rush over, helplessly trying to hold down her father. She looked very panicked and shouted, "Dad, Dad! What's wrong? Dad, wake up!"

But the patient did not wake up; instead, he began to shout even louder, his throat emitting a low, growling sound, like a wild beast roaring. His face was completely distorted, his eyes bulging, looking extremely terrifying!

"Dad..." Gong Xueting was immediately in a panic, trying to hold down her father's hands, but she was too weak to hold him down. The patient was thrashing and kicking violently on the bed.

"Xu Yan, this is all your fault. If anything happens to Mr. Gong," Zhao Tianyu said sternly, "we will definitely call the police!"

Seeing such a strong reaction from Gong Xueting's father, Xu Yan was too scared to speak, but in his heart, he was cursing Zhu Youxiang's mischievous senior. He deeply regretted his actions—had he known, he wouldn't have meddled!

At this moment, among the crowd, Chen Yaoyu was the most composed. She called out, "At this point, why are you still arguing? Quickly call the doctor! Zhao Tianyu, go get the doctor!"

In this chaotic moment, a calm person often becomes the pillar of support for everyone. Hearing Chen Yaoyu's command, Zhao Tianyu didn't hesitate and rushed out of the ward to find the doctor, not realizing why he was the one sent away.

After Zhao Tianyu left, Chen Yaoyu turned to Xu Yan and said urgently, "Xu Yan, I saw everything! Quickly, tell us what you gave the patient. If you tell us, we can tell the doctor, and there might still be a chance to save him!"

But Xu Yan knew that the hospital had already given up on the patient. At this point, he wouldn't admit anything, insisting, "I just gave him a sip of water, nothing else!"

Chen Yaoyu, seeing Xu Yan's stubbornness, was angry and said through gritted teeth, "Xu Yan, if you keep being reckless, you will have to bear the legal consequences!"

At this moment, Gong Xueting suddenly shouted, "Ah, Yaoyu, Xu Yan, look!"

Xu Yan and Chen Yaoyu turned to look and saw that during the struggle, the blanket on Gong Xueting's father had been thrown off, leaving him lying on the bed with his upper body exposed. But at this moment, everyone could see a faint, white light emanating from Gong Xueting's father's chest and abdomen, flickering with the rise and fall of his chest. The light was not blinding but a clear, milky white, soft and warm.

Gong Xueting trembled and said, "Dad, Dad, he's glowing?!"

Everyone held their breath, focusing on the strange phenomenon on Gong Xueting's father. The white light slowly spread from his chest and abdomen to the rest of his body. The black aura on his body, face, and neck, like snow meeting the sun, began to melt and disappear upon contact with the light.

Especially on Gong Xueting's father's face and forehead, everyone could clearly see the black aura rapidly fading and disappearing, replaced by a clear, pinkish glow. At this point, the patient had stopped thrashing and shouting, lying quietly and looking very peaceful. The skin on his face first turned white, then became rosy and radiant, looking healthy and full of vitality, with a steady breath.

All these changes happened in just a few dozen seconds. As everyone watched in amazement, the patient's lips suddenly trembled, and Gong Xueting quickly leaned in to listen.

"Water... water... I want to drink water..."

Gong Xueting's father whispered, and in the quiet room, everyone could hear him clearly.

Hearing this, Gong Xueting quickly poured water and handed it to her father. Just as she was about to help him drink, the patient lifted his hand, took the cup, and sat up, gulping down the water.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden change in the patient, all staring dumbfounded as Gong Xueting's father drank.

"Ah!" In a moment, the entire cup of water was gone, and he sighed contentedly, opening his eyes. At this point, he seemed to notice his surroundings, looking around in surprise and finally focusing on his daughter. He sighed in relief, looking like someone who had just woken up from a nap, and asked, "Xiaoting, where am I?"

Seeing her father out of danger, Gong Xueting was overjoyed and burst into tears, throwing herself into his arms. She said with a sob, "Dad, you suddenly fainted on the construction site yesterday, and everyone brought you to the hospital. The doctors said you were almost gone! Dad, you scared me to death—Dad, are you okay now? Do you feel any discomfort?"

Hearing this, Gong Xueting's father looked bewildered, as if he didn't remember the events of the past day. Looking around at the people in the ward, he asked incredulously, "Here... is this a hospital? No way, I remember I was working on the construction site... The sun was too hot, and I wiped my sweat... How did I end up in the hospital?!"

"Oh no, the work on the construction site isn't finished yet, and Mr. Wang will be angry! Xiaoting, quickly get my clothes, I need to go back to the site..."

As he spoke, Gong Xueting's father sat up. At this moment, he noticed Xu Yan and Chen Yaoyu standing by the bed, looking at him with strange expressions. He paused and asked his daughter, "Who are these two?"

Gong Xueting introduced them, "This is my classmate Xu Yan, and this is my roommate Chen Yaoyu. They came to visit you—Dad, don't move, lie down and wait! Let's wait for the doctor to come. Do you feel any discomfort?"

Gong Xueting's father was very friendly, extending his hand to Xu Yan and Chen Yaoyu, "Ha, hello, you two are Xiaoting's classmates, right? My daughter is a bit naughty, so I hope you will take care of her at school. Look, I'm fine, and you came all the way here to see me, I'm really sorry! I'm fine—ah, I'm really sorry, I don't know where my clothes are, and I'm lying here bare-chested, how embarrassing—Xiaoting, quickly get my clothes, how can I meet your classmates like this! You're being too disrespectful!"

As he spoke, Gong Xueting's father quickly covered his bare upper body with the blanket and looked around for his clothes.

At this moment, Chen Yaoyu was in a state of shock, staring at Gong Xueting's father, unable to speak for a long time—seeing a critically ill patient suddenly become lively and healthy was a shock that could only be felt by witnessing it firsthand.

Xu Yan, who was somewhat prepared, said cautiously, "Uncle, hello! I'm Xu Yan, a classmate of Xueting—how do you feel? Do you have any discomfort?"

Gong Xueting's father laughed heartily, his voice loud and full of energy, "I'm fine, I'm fine! Xu Yan, you came all the way here for nothing. My daughter is just a bit dramatic, she must have been fooled by the hospital!"

As he spoke, he found a hospital gown by the bed, put it on, and got up. He jumped a few times on the ground and stomped his feet, nodding in satisfaction, "After this nap, I feel great! It's like I've become twenty years younger. I could run ten kilometers right now!"

"Dad, you just recovered, don't move around! The doctor said you have organ failure, which is very serious..."

"Naughty girl, you must have been fooled by the hospital!"

To prove his point, Gong Xueting's father immediately got down and did a few push-ups, his movements standard and powerful. As he did them, he said, "Daughter, let me tell you, hospitals nowadays are not like they used to be. They make you think you have a disease when you don't, and they make you think you have a serious disease when it's just a minor one. They just want to make money. Look at me, I'm so energetic, what's wrong with me?"

A stern voice came from the doorway, "Who is talking nonsense? How can our hospital be accused of fraud?"

With the voice, Zhao Tianyu, Director Zheng, and a few doctors entered the ward. Director Zheng, walking in, said sternly, "Medicine can't cure incurable diseases, that's been true since ancient times! I understand your family's feelings when a patient is in a critical condition, but you can't be unreasonable and irresponsibly accuse us of fraud—this is a terminal illness, who in the world can cure it?

And how can you do push-ups in the ward? You family members are really something—someone feeds the patient something strange, and someone does push-ups in the ward. Look at the patient—what? Where did you move the patient? Where did he go?"

Director Zheng said this several times, but one of his subordinates recognized the patient, "Director Zheng, the one doing push-ups is the patient... Gong Jianguo..."

"Impossible!" Director Zheng immediately denied it, "How can this be! Patient Gong Jianguo couldn't even maintain his breathing and heartbeat, how could he get up and do push-ups... How... How... How can this be... How... How... How..."

He stared at Gong Xueting's father, his voice getting softer and softer, his expression full of shock and disbelief.

...