Renee had just undergone eye surgery, and she had also just been detoxified, so Leia didn't want Renee to tire herself. "No, it's urgent. I have to see her now!" Renee was almost hysterical. She rarely lost control of her emotions like this, but since this was about Stefan, she didn't care how others saw her."Why are you so stubborn, Renee?" Helpless, Leia spread her arms and blocked Renee. "It doesn't matter. If you insist on heading out, you have to go through me first.""Lei, step aside!" Renee insisted as she looked at Leia, who was equally stubborn.Both of them refused to compromise.Suddenly, Renee felt a sharp ache around her eyes, and Leia's figure became blurry. "Ah, it hurts..." Renee couldn't hold on any longer, and covered her eyes with her hands as she squatted down on the floor.Luckily, the doctors would make rounds of the wards daily, and one rushed over when he saw Renee. He immediately led Renee back to her ward, and after checking her briefly, he complained,
"Depressed?" Leia's heart pounded when she heard that. She felt that it was impossible for her best friend to be depressed. Renee had experienced many misfortunes in the past like her family's bankruptcy, the death of her parents, and her difficult marriage with Stefan, but she had soldiered through it all. It made Leia wonder why Renee was suffering from depression when everything was taking a turn for the better."Are you sure?" Leia stole a glance at Renee and pulled the doctor to a more isolated corner. "She's the most headstrong and optimistic person I've ever met. How could she be depressed?" "You don't understand… Depression is pathological—it doesn't matter if the person is strong or optimistic. Some people might look happy, but could be suffering from severe depression. It's like an apple that looks beautiful on the outside, but has already started to rot from its core. If we don't cure her in time, the consequences will be unimaginable." A long sigh escaped the doctor as h
"I don't care who he works for. What he says makes sense, and we need to take his advice..." Leia said cautiously, scared of angering Renee. The doctor had mentioned that people suffering from depression could become sensitive and paranoid, and that seemed to be the case for Renee. Renee was not as generous and straightforward as she used to be—she'd become suspicious, aloof, and uncaring. "What did he tell you to do?" Renee demanded as she approached Leia. "You're my best friend, so you should be taking my side. Why do you trust someone who works for my enemy? Don't you remember what Briar's done? How could the doctor be a nice person if he works for her?""Calm down, Ren. The doctor didn't say much. He just said that you're now—" After a pause, Leia took a deep breath. "He said you aren't well. You're sad and agitated, and he's afraid that... you might be suffering from depression. So, he wants us to pay attention to your mental health." "Hmph! So, he thinks I'm mentally ill!" R
Leia knew the doctor was right—Renee was seriously ill. "I understand you, Ren." She walked over and held Renee's hands, then hugged her tightly. "I know that you're sad and stressed, but don't feel guilty. If you think being with us is stressful, then we won't disturb you. You can have some peace. When you're feeling better, I'll come and take you home." Leia finally believed Jovan's words. Jovan hadn't forcefully locked Renee up—it was Renee who didn't want to go home. Although Leia didn't understand Renee's reasons, she respected and supported her decision. "Do you want me to go? Will it make you feel better?" Leia whispered."I don't want you to go, but I'm in a very bad state. Your being here will just stress me out even more. I don't want you all to see my bad side, so..." Renee bit back a sob. "Give me some time. I'll go home once I'm better.""You're saying that you still want to stay in Jovan's manor? You don't want to see us?" Leia asked, sounding disappointed. "I won't s
"Thank you for understanding," Renee said emotionlessly as she stood there. She knew she was probably ill. In the past, she was an enthusiastic, straightforward, and bright sunflower, but now… she had become like moss that only grew in the dark. She was indifferent even when faced with others' love and goodwill. At last, Leia left the hospital without Renee.Xavier had been waiting at Everheart Manor, and was confused to see Leia come home alone. "What happened? Where's Renee?" He had thought that Leia would be able to bring Renee home, but things didn't look that simple now."She didn't want to come back." Leia walked into the manor listlessly. "See! I told you—she wants to be with Jovan. You can't just force her to come home." Xavier smirked and held his hand out to Leia. "You lost the bet, so tell me… How should I punish you?"Xavier and Leia had made a bet a week ago. Xavier felt that Renee didn't want to come home since she had not contacted them for a while, but Leia had i
"Symbiosis and the host," Xavier answered."Symbiosis and the host?" Stupefied, Leia questioned, "Is that some kind of sci-fi thing? I only heard such terms in crazy cartoons.""I heard that if a person's organ is transplanted to another person, the donor will infest the patient. Their actions, behaviors, characters, and preferences will merge. It's as if the patient's soul is snatched away." Xavier had read about it in books and sounded convincing. "So, you’re saying that the master of Ren's new eyes has infested her? Is that why she's changed so much?" Leia asked hesitantly."We can't rule it out!" Xavier continued, "Let's talk about Jovan. Don't you think he's more tolerable after he started using Renee's eyes? He doesn't seem so annoying. Even Stefan became smarter and more cunning after he started using Jovan's eyes. They had shown the symptoms of symbiosis and the host." "It seems true when you put it that way..." Leia touched her chin and nodded in agreement. Stefan, Jov
"We'll know once we find the owner of the eyes," Xavier muttered, putting his hands in his pockets. He felt that it was easy to find such a person, but it was odd that they hadn't found anyone at all even after a worldwide search… and Jovan had found them instead. "It looks like we have to ask Jovan." Leia decided she needed to speak to Jovan. After such an eventful day, she was tired and wanted to head upstairs for a rest. As she was halfway up the stairs, she recalled something and turned to Xavier. "Is there any news about Stefan?" "Not yet." Xavier sounded hopeful as he said, "But no news is good. I believe that Stefan has a plan." "I hope so." Leia clenched her fists and said angrily, "He'd better have a good explanation for my bestie! Ren needs him the most right now, but he's not here. I'm sure Ren won't forgive him, and neither will I. If I see him, I'll beat him up!""I hope you'll have the chance to do that..." Xavier's gaze was unreadable as he said softly, "We'll kno
After Leia left, Renee snuck past the nurses and hurried away to find Briar. She smoothly left the hospital and headed to Hunt Enterprise, then cautiously waited behind a flowerbed in a corner. Leia was right—since Briar was a shareholder and member of the board of directors of Hunt Enterprise, she would probably visit the company often. Hence, Renee figured she would be able to meet Briar if she waited at Hunt Enterprise.Renee waited for over an hour, and the night breeze grew colder. Renee was feeling cold because she had only put on a thin cotton coat. "Achoo!" She sneezed and wrapped her arms tighter around herself, feeling miserable. Time passed by, and though Hunt Enterprise had a culture of working overtime, most of its employees had already left."What's going on? Did she exit through the back door because she knew that I was waiting for her?" Renee wondered, hesitant to enter the company to search for Briar.Suddenly, a young woman came from behind and tapped Renee's shoul