Xu Xinghe frowned. How could something like this happen in the middle of the night?

Seeing Director Li's anxious look, she couldn't bring herself to refuse. "Okay, wait for me a moment, I'll go get the ointment."

She turned and went back into the house, took out a small bottle of ointment from her storage space, put it in her pocket, and hurriedly followed Director Li to the guesthouse.

Upon entering the room, I saw Lin Hui lying on the floor, her face covered in tears, with scissors still stuck in the back of her foot, staining the area with blood.

"Xinghe! You've finally come!" Lin Hui cried out as if she had seen a savior when she saw Xu Xinghe, "Quickly give me the ointment, I'm in so much pain!"

Xu Xinghe squatted down and first examined the wound.

The scissors didn't cut too deeply, but they didn't damage any bones or tendons either. If handled properly, it shouldn't cause any serious harm.

"Director Li, please pull out the scissors first, disinfect them with alcohol, and then I will apply the medicine to her."

"No! I'm afraid of pain!" Lin Hui screamed immediately. "Just apply the ointment directly!"

“If you don’t disinfect, you’ll get infected.” Xu Xinghe said calmly. “An infection isn’t just about scarring; it could be much more serious.”

Director Li also advised, "Huihui, listen to Xinghe, the disinfection is very fast, just bear with it for a while."

As he spoke, he pressed down on Lin Hui's leg, quickly pulled out the scissors, and used the saline solution he had prepared to clean the wound.

Lin Hui cried out in pain, but dared not struggle any longer.

After Director Li finished disinfecting, Xu Xinghe opened the ointment box, dipped a little ointment, and applied it to the wound.

Just then, Lin Hui's trousers slipped up as she struggled, revealing her calves.

Xu Xinghe's gaze froze; she noticed a clear scar on the girl's calf.

When Lin Hui injured her leg last time, the ointment she gave her was plentiful and extremely effective. In theory, as long as it was applied on time, it should not leave any scars.

Although the scar is not deep, it is clearly visible, indicating that the medication was not used consistently, or rather, not used enough.

If that's the case, she must still have ointment on her hands. Why would she endure the pain and wait for me to come?

Xu Xinghe's heart instantly became suspicious, but she didn't stop her hands and continued to apply the medicine. "Okay, now that this ointment is on, at least it won't hurt tonight and it can also prevent infection. I'll come back tomorrow to apply the medicine again."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hui was instantly stunned, forgetting to cry out, "You...you're not going to leave me any ointment? I'm really afraid of pain, what if I wake up in the middle of the night in pain again?"

"I'm out of ointment," Xu Xinghe said calmly, looking at her with a serene gaze. "This ointment is very troublesome to make, and it requires special medicinal materials. I can only make a small amount each time. The ointment you used before was from my long-stored stock, but it's all gone now. The little bit I had left was just for emergencies. I'll have to make a fresh batch tomorrow to make more."

"What did you say?" Lin Hui's face turned deathly pale instantly, forgetting even the pain from her wound. "No...no more ointment?"

In order to get the ointment, she endured so much pain, even getting a hole in the back of her foot and suffering excruciating pain, only to find out that Xu Xinghe had run out of ointment.

Then all her suffering was for nothing, wasn't it?

I didn't get the ointment, and I'm still covered in injuries, which might even leave scars!

Overwhelmed by immense disappointment and anger, coupled with the excruciating pain from her wounds, Lin Hui's vision went black, and she fainted from lack of breath.

Director Li was so frightened that he quickly hugged her, "Huihui, what's wrong?"

Xu Xinghe stood up and looked at the unconscious Lin Hui.

She said the ointment was gone, but that was on purpose.

The unusual scar on Lin Hui's calf made her suspicious, and the other person's reaction at this moment confirmed her suspicions.

She had clearly said that she would come to apply the medicine on time tomorrow to ensure that the wound would not hurt and would not leave a scar, but Lin Hui's appearance of being struck by lightning and fainting from despair when she heard that there was no ointment was really too abnormal.

She didn't seem to care whether the wound hurt or left a scar; she simply and eagerly wanted the ointment itself.

This obsession with ointment goes far beyond what an injured person needs for pain relief and scar removal, which is truly strange.

Xu Xinghe didn't point it out, but calmly looked at the flustered Director Li and said, "Director Li, your sister-in-law must have been in a lot of pain and was so emotional that she fainted. She's fine. Let her rest well when she wakes up. I'll be going now."

"Okay, okay!" Director Li quickly responded, helping Lin Hui lie down on the bed while turning around and taking out a few receipts and some money from his pocket, trying to give them to Xu Xinghe. "Comrade Xu, I'm really sorry to trouble you tonight, having to make a trip in the middle of the night. Please take these things; they're just a small token of my appreciation."

"No need, Director Li." Xu Xinghe pushed his hand away. "It's just a small favor. My sister-in-law and I are quite familiar with each other. It would be too formal to talk about money or tickets. I'll come back tomorrow to apply the medicine for her. You take care of her first."

After saying that, she didn't linger and turned to leave the guesthouse.

The night wind carried a chill.

Xu Xinghe walked back along the quiet path.

Along the way, Lin Hui's various actions flashed through his mind.

Individually, each of these things seems to have a reasonable explanation, but when put together, coupled with her unusual obsession with the ointment, Xu Xinghe always felt that something was wrong.

But aside from these vague inconsistencies, she had no substantial evidence to prove that Lin Hui really had a problem.

Back in the courtyard, Xu Xinghe took off her coat, crawled into bed, but didn't fall asleep immediately.

She closed her eyes and carefully recalled every detail of her time with Lin Hui, trying to find more flaws. But after thinking it over, apart from her obsession with the ointment being too abnormal, Lin Hui didn't seem to have done anything else out of line.

Perhaps I'm just overthinking things?

Perhaps Lin Hui was just too afraid of pain and too concerned about the scars on her body, which is why she reacted so strongly.

As Xu Xinghe pondered, drowsiness gradually crept in, and accompanied by the occasional chirping of insects outside the window, she fell into a deep sleep once again.

In the guesthouse, Lin Hui woke up slowly not long after she fainted.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she hurriedly touched the back of her foot, feeling the faint pain from the wound. When she remembered that Xu Xinghe said the ointment was gone, her face instantly darkened, and the anger and resentment in her heart almost overflowed.

"Huihui, you're awake? How are you feeling? Are you still in pain?"

Lin Hui looked at Director Li, her heart filled with resentment, but she couldn't show it. She could only grit her teeth and say, "I'm alright, just a little dizzy. What about Xinghe? Didn't she leave any ointment?"

"No, she said she ran out of ointment and will come back tomorrow to get you some more. Don't worry too much, Comrade Xu is a reliable person, she'll definitely come tomorrow."

Lin Hui sneered inwardly.

Is it reliable?

If it were reliable, there would be no shortage of ointment!

But now that things have come to this, she has no other choice but to patiently wait until tomorrow.