When Xia Qingshan woke up, he found his body to be very stiff and heavy. He struggled to turn over and get out of bed, but his body was stuck to the bed as if glued on, and he could not move. He moved his neck and his numb fingers moved.

When a person first wakes up, their brain is foggy. After a while, they clearly notice something is wrong with their body.

The caregiver who was with him saw that he had woken up and called the doctor. The doctor came in and examined him. When he saw the doctor, he opened his mouth wide and mumbled, "Doctor...I..."

He couldn't even utter such a short sentence. Besides being unable to move his body, his mind had become sluggish, and his tongue would tremble as soon as he opened his mouth.

He roughly understood what was wrong with him, because he had seen his father-in-law, Xia Wan's maternal grandfather, paralyzed after a stroke.

This is a complication of high blood pressure. He has always had high blood pressure and has been taking medication recently. He was planning to get through this period and then come to the hospital for a proper check-up and rest to lower his blood pressure. But this illness came on suddenly and was not in his plans at all.

Xia Qingshan couldn't quite hear what they were saying. Through his blurry vision, he looked at the people around him, some strangers and some familiar, all looking at him with pity.

Xia Qingshan refused to admit that he was paralyzed. In order to prove that he could move, he secretly pushed himself, even if it was just to lift an arm or move a leg. His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath.

This is just the beginning. In the later stages, his consciousness will become blurred, his mouth and eyes will become crooked, and he will emit a foul odor. Due to difficulty in movement, his muscles will atrophy, and he will be unable to urinate or defecate normally.

This is the kind of person Xia Qingshan doesn't want to be. If he has to live the rest of his life like this, he'd rather be dead.

Who could have imagined that the once decisive and efficient Chairman Xia Qingshan would end up like this, his eyes blankly open, tears streaming from his bloodshot eyes.

The people inside the house walked around, and the surrounding light dimmed, a layer of shadows enveloping him. Noticing someone beside him, Xia Qingshan slowly looked over.

It was his daughter, Xia Wan. She knelt beside his bed, holding his hands in her own, choking back tears: "Dad... I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I was wrong, I should have listened to you... I was wrong."

Xia Qingshan wanted to raise his hand to touch Xia Wan's head to comfort her, but he could only move his fingertips.

Xia Wan knelt before him, crying so hard that she went from soft sobs to wailing, as if she wanted to cry out all her tears. In her memory, the last time Xia Wan cried so hard was in front of her mother's body.

She cried so pitifully, but her father couldn't even offer her comfort. How could he have become so incompetent?

Xia Qingshan wanted to die, and the only way he could resist was by not eating or drinking. He dared to do this as soon as he woke up, and Xia Qingshan became extremely weak.

"Last night... I don't want to live anymore. You... send me abroad... give me an injection... let me die peacefully..."

“Dad, if you’re going to die, I’ll die with you. Think about me, okay? You’re my only family. If you’re gone too, what’s the point of me living? Can you hold on a little longer for my sake? Medical conditions are so much better now, it’s not like it was a few years ago. Just because Grandpa couldn’t be cured doesn’t mean you can’t. You’re healthier than Grandpa. The doctor said you still have a chance to recover. It’s normal that you can’t move right now because you just had surgery and your strength hasn’t recovered yet. Once you’ve recovered, the doctor will prescribe medication, and you’ll take it and cooperate with the follow-up checkups and rehabilitation training… you’ll be able to slowly get up and walk around. Once you’re better, we’ll go on a trip, and I’ll take you abroad.”

Fearing that Xia Qingshan wouldn't believe her and would remain stubborn, Xia Wan had no choice but to seek help from doctors. With the guidance of the attending physician and psychologist, Xia Qingshan's emotions gradually stabilized, and he was able to drink water and eat.

"How's the company doing?" Xia Qingshan asked.

"Assistant Zhang has taken care of it. Don't worry about work matters. What you should do now is get some rest."

He couldn't control what he thought. Sometimes, the more he tried to stop thinking, the more he thought. Xia Qingshan was paralyzed, but his mind wasn't completely blank yet. He knew the situation of the company before he fell into a coma.

The thought of Xicheng made his blood boil.

How can we save the Xia family? Should we ask someone for help? But who has that ability?

If he were still able to walk, he would definitely beg Lu Yan to help the Xia family through this crisis. He would even kneel down and beg her, and he would even hand over his real power.

Now that he is unable to move, whether the company can be retained is no longer a concern for him. He only hopes that Xia Wan can live a wealthy life for the rest of her life, without worrying about food, clothing and other necessities, and be able to maintain her current lifestyle.

"Please...please Lu Yan, help me..." I begged her not to kill me, to leave Xia Wan some money.

Xia Wan's heart sank. Thinking of Lu Yan's disdainful expression, she knew that Lu Yan was deliberately targeting the Xia family, so how could she possibly help them?

She suspected that the Xia family's predicament was all caused by Lu Yan. If it weren't for Lu Yan, the Xia family wouldn't have experienced this change, and her father wouldn't have fainted from anger.

When the company shareholders heard that Xia Qingshan had woken up, they all rushed over to see him, saying nice things, but they didn't even prepare a gift. They came empty-handed and in a menacing manner.

Xia Wan couldn't stop them even when she stood in the doorway.

The first thing these people said was to inquire about Xia Qingshan's health, asking how he was doing. When Xia Qingshan remained silent, they started talking about the company's problems, asking him how he was going to give them an explanation.

These snobs say nasty things. When Xia Qingshan was healthy, these people treated him with utmost respect and never raised their voices. But now that he's bedridden, all sorts of demons and monsters have come out. Even the minor shareholders on the periphery look at him with disdain and say nasty things.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!