Chapter 5

The days of Cheng Xiaoyu lying on the hospital bed, eating and waiting to die, were finally coming to an end.

In fact, Cheng Xiaoyu didn't find the past few days boring. There was always plenty to do online, and listening to the popular music and watching the movies and novels of this era filled him with a sense of novelty.

Early in the morning, Dean Li came to announce the good news that he could be discharged. Seeing the genuine smile on Dean Li's face, Cheng Xiaoyu wondered if the other party was relieved to be rid of a hot potato.

Nurse Hu Lili, who rarely showed any emotion, was particularly efficient with the final injection today. Cheng Xiaoyu was determined never to return to this ward to be cared for by this nurse again. The number of needle pricks on his wrists from the IVs could easily calculate the extent of his psychological trauma. So, he relaxed and joked with the usually cold nurse, "It seems Hu Sister is in a good mood today and didn't use me as a practice dummy!"

Hu Lili's face turned slightly red, and she changed the subject, "Miss Pei downstairs has been awake for a few days now. She has a broken left leg, broken ribs, multiple soft tissue injuries, and a mild concussion, but she's out of danger and can eat now." She then added, "Don't you plan to go see her?" She emphasized the injuries of Pei Yanchen.

Cheng Xiaoyu felt a bit awkward and said, "Forget it, I won't go. I don't want to have to go through the admission procedures again just as I'm about to leave. If I stay any longer, I might not make it out alive."

Hu Lili, being straightforward, asked, "Why can't you leave?"

Cheng Xiaoyu laughed, "Your needle skills are really something few people can endure. I'm lucky to be strong and healthy; otherwise, someone else would have jumped out of the window by now."

Hu Lili was a bit flustered, realizing that her poor attitude over the past few days had not gone unnoticed. She was at a loss for words, fearing that this fat guy would tell Dean Li about her deliberate needle pricks, and her face turned unnatural.

Cheng Xiaoyu, seeing the young girl's embarrassment, smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't tell Dean Li. But you have to help me with something."

Hu Lili quickly replied, "As long as it's not too much, I'll do it." This job was too important to lose; the salary in the VIP ward was much higher than in the regular ward. Moreover, this wasn't just a job change; she might lose her job altogether, and this was the best hospital in Shanghai. She was anxious, fearing that he might make unreasonable demands, as she had heard from her colleagues about such unpleasant incidents in the VIP ward.

Cheng Xiaoyu, unaware of her unease, turned to look out the window and said slowly, "Lend me some money to buy a bouquet of flowers, and help me give it to Miss Song downstairs!" Deep down, he felt a bit guilty and thought he should show some consideration, even though his father had already paid a huge compensation to the victim.

Hu Lili let out a long sigh, thinking this fat guy wasn't all bad.

Seeing that Hu Lili didn't respond, Cheng Xiaoyu laughed, "Don't worry, my aunt will give you the money when she comes over."

Hu Lili waved her hand, "I'm not worried about that. Wait a moment, I have money in my bag. I'll get it for you right away." She then rushed to the medical office to get the money.

Cheng Xiaoyu, with the borrowed thousand yuan, walked out of the hospital. There was a flower shop across the street. The flower shop girl, upon hearing that the flowers were for a patient, offered several arrangement options. Cheng Xiaoyu chose the most expensive one: six pink lilies, 11 pink roses, pink and purple carnations as borders, and a moderate amount of yellow birds and Brazilian leaves in the middle.

After the flowers were wrapped, the girl asked Cheng Xiaoyu to pick a card. He carefully chose one with a little girl standing under a wind chime, gazing at a deep blue sky. After a moment's thought, he wrote on the back of the card with a beautiful Chinese steel pen, "If you are well, it is a sunny day."

The flower shop girl, not giving the rather handsome fat guy a second glance, took the money and went about her business. Cheng Xiaoyu, holding the flowers, slowly walked back to the hospital. In the VIP ward, he rang for Hu Lili and solemnly handed her the flowers, saying, "Wait until I leave to give them, and don't say who sent them. Please."

At this moment, Hu Lili felt a bit sympathetic towards the fat guy. For over ten days, only his stepmother had visited him, while Pei Yanchen had a steady stream of classmates and relatives. This fat guy was truly lonely and pitiful. Hu Lili, taking the flowers, broke her usual cold tone and said softly, "Don't worry, I'll convey your apology." Then she left the ward.

Cheng Xiaoyu called Aunt Zhou, who was already on her way to pick him up. Apart from the first day he woke up, Su Changhe hadn't visited him again. Cheng Xiaoyu was actually relieved by this. He had no luggage to speak of, just a CD player, two small speakers, and a laptop. He had been wearing hospital gowns all along, but today he changed into sportswear brought by Aunt Zhou.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Cheng Xiaoyu felt a bit frustrated. Actually, Cheng Xiaoyu had very good looks, thanks to his excellent genes. However, his 170-pound weight and retro round glasses made him a chubby baby-faced fat guy. His hairstyle was even more outdated, a bowl cut. Cheng Xiaoyu had once tried to change it to a side part, but in the mirror, he looked like a fatter version of Leonardo DiCaprio. For someone who had been very image-conscious and liked to look good in his previous life, this was simply intolerable. But now, he decided to let it go. Since he was already the foolish son of a landlord, there was no need to fuss over his appearance. He would wait until he lost weight to do anything about it.

Cheng Xiaoyu put his phone in his pocket and picked up his LV travel bag containing his CD and laptop. He followed Aunt Zhou out of the hospital. Dean Li had already completed the discharge procedures and escorted them to the hospital's underground parking lot. Aunt Zhou exchanged a few pleasantries with Dean Li, and Cheng Xiaoyu said goodbye, asking Aunt Zhou to give a thousand yuan to the nurse on his behalf. Then he got into Aunt Zhou's new car. The Ferrari 430 was still in the 4S shop for repairs, so Aunt Zhou had picked up a white Maserati GT convertible, which she said was just a temporary replacement. Aunt Zhou's driving style was quite different from most women; she was more aggressive than men, accelerating and braking sharply, which made Cheng Xiaoyu quickly fasten his seatbelt. Aunt Zhou glanced at the frightened fat guy with disdain and said, "I thought you and I had something in common, but it turns out you're just a big coward."

Cheng Xiaoyu swallowed hard, watching the Maserati zip past a minivan in the fast lane, "Aunt Zhou, driving myself is one thing, but riding in someone else's car is genuinely scary. I don't have a sense of control!"

"You're openly questioning Aunt Zhou's driving skills!" She stepped on the gas and sped up.

What should have been a 50-minute drive took only 30 minutes. Cheng Xiaoyu's home in this life was in Shanghai's top Moon Lake Villa, where even the smaller houses easily cost over 100 million yuan and were in high demand. After all, there were more rich people in this world than in the other timeline. Aunt Zhou parked the car in the garage, and the butler, Qiao Sansi, was already waiting at the door.

Qiao Sansi's real name was Joe Williams, and those who knew him called him Qiao San. He was a genuine Brit, a graduate of the International Butler Academy in the Netherlands. He had been working for the Su family in China for nearly 20 years and could speak fluent Beijing dialect and Shanghainese. Now, Qiao Sansi was dressed in a well-pressed tuxedo, a white shirt with a black bow tie, his golden hair neatly combed back with plenty of hair wax. His left hand was folded over his right, hanging at his abdomen, and his posture was just right, neither arrogant nor servile. Behind him were four Filipino maids in black maid uniforms with white aprons. One was older, and the other three were young but not particularly beautiful.

Seeing Cheng Xiaoyu get out of the car with his travel bag, Qiao Sansi immediately walked over, greeted Aunt Zhou with a slight bow, "Madam, thank you for your hard work." Aunt Zhou nodded, handed him the car keys, and entered the villa. Qiao Sansi put the keys in his pocket, took Cheng Xiaoyu's travel bag, and with a gentle smile, said, "Congratulations on your recovery, young master. The kitchen has prepared many dishes you like. Master specially asked someone to get a piece of Kobe beef. Aunt Wang in the kitchen isn't good at Western cuisine, so I specially invited a French chef from the Kempinski to cook for you. You'll get to taste the skills of a three-Michelin-star chef."

Cheng Xiaoyu was somewhat stunned. In the six months he had been in China, he had mostly stayed at school, not because he couldn't commute but because he didn't want to live at home. Therefore, he hadn't fully appreciated the luxury of this family.

Kobe beef was considered a national treasure in Japan in the other timeline. Cheng Xiaoyu, having been to Japan, knew a bit more about it than the average person. Kobe beef was not exported, so any restaurant in that timeline claiming to serve Kobe beef was likely fake.

In fact, Kobe beef was a brand, held by the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association. To be called Kobe beef, it must meet several conditions: it must be a descendant of the Tajima strain of black Wagyu cattle, must be an uncalved female or a castrated male, must be raised and slaughtered in designated areas of Hyogo Prefecture, and must meet A4 or A5 quality standards. Each year, Hyogo Prefecture produces about 5,500 Tajima cattle, but only 3,000 meet the Kobe beef standard. The rest, rated A1 to A3, are called Tajima beef.

Due to its limited production, there were not many restaurants in Japan that served Kobe beef. Many high-end restaurants used other strains of black Wagyu, such as Kagoshima beef, Matsusaka beef, and Sendai beef, which were of similar quality. For ordinary people, it was hard to tell the difference.

Japan's beef grading system included A1 to A5, and BMS (Beef Marbling Standard) grading. A5 was further divided into BMS 8 to BMS 12, with higher numbers being better. Visually, the more evenly distributed and dense the marbling, the better. The meat should be a rosy to bright red color, and the fat should be snow white. To obtain Kobe beef, it must be auctioned in designated places, and there were only four such auctions in Japan. A prize-winning Kobe beef once sold for 7.22 million yen (about 500,000 RMB).

The best parts of Kobe beef were the front chest and back. They were graded as Plum, Bamboo, Pine, and Wisteria. Of course, price was not a concern for the wealthy, but the scarcity and difficulty of obtaining Kobe beef were the key issues.

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