After recovering from the violent coughs, Kevin said, "Can you apply for leave these two days... To visit Luojiazhen? Your grandfather is in the old house, and Marie’s mom might also be going there...""Grandpa?" Bianca was surprised.‘Didn’t Grandpa go to Japan with Dad’s sister? When did he come back?’Kevin held his daughter's hand because he was worried that she would get angry. He coughed and told her everything weakly. After he told her everything, the doctor came in just in time.The doctor was there to do the daily monitoring and examination."Dad, I have to go first," Bianca said.Kevin nodded.She was lost in her thoughts as she tried to digest what her dad told her about Grandpa. She walked out of the hospital.In the ward, Kevin stretched one arm over to let the doctor draw his blood while his other picked up his ringing cell phone. "Hello, this is Kevin." Kevin was focused on the needle sticking into his arm and did not see who was calling before he picked up.
"He is..." Grandpa did not want to guess who the person was. If he guessed wrongly, it would be awkward.Luke walked in with his suit and straightened back. He reached out his hand politely and intimately wrapped his other arm around Bianca's waist. His gesture seemed to allow Grandpa to understand their relationship. "Are you the Jean Langdon that my son told me about?" Grandpa smiled and stood in front of the fire pit. He said, "I tried to remember your name well after Bea's father told me the two of you have been together for more than five years now and that the two of you are getting married soon."Bianca was worried that Luke would correct him, so she immediately interrupted and said, "Grandpa, look how thin you’ve gotten! Were you not used to life in Japan?""I'm old, and old people look like this." Grandpa put his arm around his hunched back and took the fire stick to another dilapidated room.After he searched for something for a long time, the old man took two small sto
Bianca held the bowls and chopsticks. She looked at Luke who was sitting across from her with her sorry eyes. Luke probably hated Jean. When Grandpa called him Jean, even though it felt bad, he had to swallow it for the time being."Grandpa, you should eat more too." Luke did not correct him and made sure the old man ate first.After he picked up food for Grandpa, he picked up two pieces of ribs for Bianca."Thank you." Bianca picked up a few grains of rice with her chopsticks but did not dare to look up at him. She took a small bite of the rice before she bit into the ribs that he picked up for her.It was then when Bianca noticed that the ribs that Luke picked up for Grandpa and her were fine pieces of ribs.It was the type with one single bone and had meat that could be easily bitten off.He ate the backbone.The small town was not fancy, so ribs were sold together with the backbone.Bianca picked up a piece of fine ribs and put it in his bowl. "You should eat too. Don't j
"The owner’s my buddy, so I asked him for a spare key to your room..."From what they heard, the unidentified man Jennifer was struggling from had a wife. His family lived in the small town.Bianca’s hand was grasping the sheet hard.She felt sad for her dad.Dad had struggled for more than 20 years to earn money to support Jennifer and her daughter.In the end, however, Dad was in the hospital enduring the pain from his terminal illness while his wife Jennifer was cheating on him."You dirty man...""Don't you like me being nasty? Anyway, I’m better than that guy of yours who either has this cancer or that cancer... Say it... Don’t you agree...""Ah... You’re good. You’re the best… Ahhh… Don't thrust so hard… You’re going too deep…”"Too deep? I think you can still take a couple more inches in you!" the man said crudely, "You’re at such an old age now. Why are you still pretending… I can go deeper… You’re not that tight either… And I’m the only one who can make you come…”Bi
The manner Allison was speaking in sounded very strange. Bianca was so shocked that she had forgotten to greet her."Where are you? I want to see you right away, Bianca Rayne. I think we need to sit down and talk seriously. It’ll be good for both you and me," Allison said selfishly.When they met at Crawford Manor, Allison treated her very warmly and called her Bea. This was the first time she had called her by her full name, Bianca Rayne. Bianca remembered that when she was five years old, she was pushed to the ground by other kids and ended up knocking her knee under her skirt on the gravel. One of her knees bled after getting scuffed badly.She had cried and gone home to look for her grandpa. She told him that she wanted her mommy and asked why everyone else had a mommy but her.The kids who had mommies always bullied her, calling her ‘little bastard’ and that bastards deserved to be bullied!Grandpa, who was exhausted from her crying, stopped his kind demeanor and had a very
Luke leaned in front of the car, his fiery body wrapped under his shirt and trousers. He was still clamoring to ejaculate.The man frowned and opened the car door to take his box of cigarettes and lighter. He lowered his head, lit a cigarette, and inhaled fiercely. It seemed that the only thing he could do was to smoke to suppress the unrest in his body.His eyes that were as black as ink looked at the room with the dim lights. The old house had been empty for several years, so there were no curtains installed. Luke continued staring at the room until she turned off the lights after a while. That night, Bianca did not sleep well.Luke barely slept in the first half of the night either. He returned to the town. The quiet night inevitably made him feel emotional as he thought back about everything that he experienced in the town.All the good and bad flooded into his mind vividly.Bianca woke up with a headache just a little after five in the morning.She could not sleep well i
"What did you just say?"Bianca's face stiffened.Allison must be joking.Perhaps that rich lady really hated her to the extreme and wanted to separate Luke from her. However, it was a little absurd to say such blatant lies."I said, you’re my daughter. Am I not clear enough?" Allison finished her sentence, reached out, and picked up her coffee cup. She took a sip from it, then raised her head to show an expressionless face. "So you can’t be together with Luke.”Bianca stared at Allison across her. One of Bianca’s hands was clasped across her other hand beneath the table. Her palms were slick with cold sweat.She never told Allison that she had lost her biological mother when she was a child. ‘How does Allison know about this? Did Luke tell her about it?’Bianca's mind was in a mess.She also remembered that Allison was the mistress who separated Susan, who had gone crazy that day, and Luke's father, Zachary. Allison then succeeded in taking over Susan’s position in the family.
"You can’t pick up the phone the way you are now." Allison did not need to look to guess who was calling.Bianca lowered her head as her tears continued to flow out."Come on, wipe your tears and follow me." Allison could not say anything comforting. She took out tissues and handed them to Bianca as if it was the best thing she could do.Bianca rejected the two tissues Allison was giving her. She took another deep breath, wiped the tears from her face, and walked into the hospital.A sad person who kept crying while they walked in the hospital would attract a lot of people's attention, but they would not stare because sad people were aplenty in a place like that.The elevators in the hospital were not busy in the afternoon.Soon, Bianca arrived at the floor where her dad was hospitalized."I need to go to the bathroom."She knew she had to take into account her dad's feelings and not let him see her embarrassed and sad.Allison stood silently at the bathroom door, waiting.Bi
Luca deliberately cracked her knuckles, making a loud 'pop' sound.Gerald immediately shrank back, pulling his neck in.“Ms. Craw, I’m sorry! I was being nosy. Please don’t be mad. I’ll just go take a nap,” he quickly apologized.“Hold on.” Luca stopped him.“What is it?” Gerald looked at her in confusion.“Do you know how to remove an IV yet?” asked Luca.“I’ve seen it done a lot, but I haven’t actually tried it myself.” A glint of eagerness flashed in Gerald’s eyes. “Ms. Craw, are you asking me to give it a shot?”“Do you want to try?” asked Luca.“Yes!” Gerald nodded enthusiastically. “I may not be a medical genius, but I can at least do something useful.”“Come with me. Let’s start with changing the IV bag,” instructed Luca.Gerald followed her, and under her guidance, he clumsily went through the steps but managed to replace the IV bag successfully.“This is so cool! I think I could totally be a nurse.” Gerald flashed a victory sign. “What do you think? Would I make a g
“Yeah, something came up with my family, so they got delayed. They just brought me my meal,” answered the volunteer.Luca glanced at his food, which consisted of meat and vegetables. It was clear that his family treated him very well.“That’s quite a feast,” remarked Luca.“Heh, they know I need the nutrition, so they always give me this much. Ms. Craw, have you eaten yet?” the volunteer asked cheerfully. Now that his health was improving, his appetite had returned, and his mood was much better too.“I have. You should eat more. I just came in to check how much IV fluid is left. There’s still quite a bit, so I think it won't be done before the guys are done eating," replied Luca.The volunteer chuckled. “They eat fast. You guys are amazing, taking such good care of me. I haven’t suffered at all since being here.”“Your recovery is our biggest wish,” replied Luca.“Mm, I’ll definitely cooperate with the treatment,” replied the volunteer.“Alright, I’ll get back to work. Enjoy yo
Abel's hand paused for a moment before he continued stroking her eyelids.“What’s wrong?” His voice was eerily low, carrying a chilling edge.Hera could not see his expression, but just the sound of his voice was enough to send shivers down her spine.“Thank you.” Hera forced herself to smile, summoning what little courage she had.“No need for thanks. Just be good from now on.” Abel’s fingers continued their slow, deliberate caress. It was like he was handling a priceless treasure.Hera remained still, letting him touch her without protest. More than anything, she did not dare to speak. She was terrified that if she broke the moment and interrupted whatever was going through his mind, he would be displeased.At that moment, Luca brought the food to the table and asked, “Mr. Abel, Ms. Sanchez, lunch is ready. Would you prefer to eat here or in your room?”“I’ll go with whatever my baby wants.” Hera smiled sweetly, masking her fear behind a bright smile. For some reason, she ha
“I’m just making plans with a friend. No need to go into all that, right?” As Luca said, she lifted her gaze to meet Shanks.His eyes were as deep as the ocean, and in that split second of eye contact, she felt like she was being pulled in. She suddenly felt like she had just exposed herself.Awkwardly, she cleared her throat and said, “Mr. Shanks, I’ll head downstairs to make lunch.”Shanks did not call her out on it, nor did he press further. He simply returned to his experiment.Downstairs, Luca saw Abel sitting on the living room couch. Ignoring him was not an option.Luca greeted him politely, “Mr. Abel.”Abel took a slow drag from his cigar, his blue eyes scanning her from head to toe. He was deep in thought.He remained silent, seemingly deep in thought. His dark and brooding expression sent a chill down Luca’s spine. Without saying a word, she turned around and walked straight into the kitchen.Gerald was already inside.When he saw her, he mouthed, “You’re here?”Luc
If Shanks’ prescription could help Hera sleep earlier, that would not be a bad thing.“Then I need to be treat…” Hera paused for a moment, realizing she could not say the word treatment. That would imply she was sick, and she could not let people know that. Instead, she corrected herself and asked, “How long will I need to take this herbal medicine?”“You can stop when your test results are back to normal,” replied Luca as she picked up the medical waste and headed out of the room.Gerald followed closely behind and asked with curiosity, “Ms. Craw, how long is that?”“How long is a standard treatment cycle?” Luca asked in return.Gerald pondered for a moment. “Usually about a month?”“The average endocrine cycle for women is three months, so the minimum duration for proper regulation is three months,” explained Luca.Although Abel could take action at any time, there was no way Hera could endure three full months of treatment. However, until Abel made his move, she would have
Luca’s head was slightly tilted, her cheek burning with pain.Abel had not held back at all. The force of his slap was merciless. A numbness spread across her face at an alarming speed.From the next room, someone peeked out again and asked in a low voice, “You okay?”“I’m fine.” Luca’s expression remained calm. This kind of injury was nothing to her.Back on the Island of Despair, she had endured far worse during training. She survived, did she not?Without another word, Luca pushed open the lab door and stepped inside.The man watching shook his head. Her face was already that swollen, and she still said she was fine… What a tough woman. She took a slap that hard and brushed it off like it was nothing.Shanks lifted his head when he heard the door open. When he saw it was Luca and noticed how swollen the side of her face was, his brows furrowed.“Abel did this?”“Who else?” Luca let out a bitter laugh, only to wince as the movement tugged at the pain. She sucked in a sharp b
“No.” Shanks’ tone was cold and firm with no trace of hesitation.Abel still looked doubtful.Shanks added, “Would you like to see her medical report?”Abel was startled for a moment. How did Shanks know he had been thinking about that report?Now that Shanks brought it up, the idea lost its appeal.Abel shook his head. “Even if you showed it to me, I wouldn’t understand it. Shanks, Kassy’s life is in your hands. If you can give her a second chance, I’ll provide as much research funding as you need."Shanks remained silent. He could save Kassy. In fact, his research had always been for Kassy.However, he did not expect Abel to be so ruthless as to insist on using a living person as a donor for Kassy. That was something he could not accept.Kassy’s condition could be treated with organs from a brain-dead patient. Why destroy a perfectly healthy life?Shanks was not acting out of mercy. He simply refused to go against his medical ethics.He was not someone who had to save lives
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh