Letting the wolf into the house

The rain outside the window seemed to be even heavier than before, drenching the road like a sprinkler. The tangled bandages on the ground were full of pus and blood. Wang Renyong's wound was purplish-green, and his knee was deeply sunken like a moldy peach.

It must have been his fault for delaying treatment, causing his senior brother to suffer like this. Xu Xi was overwhelmed with guilt. He didn't understand medical principles, and when he removed the bullet, he found many bone fragments that he couldn't clean up completely with his skills.

Moreover, he had to hide it from his agent to get the medicine, sneaking to the hospital at night. Unfortunately, the medical staff needed a prescription to dispense the medicine, and even if he paid several times the price, they wouldn't dare to take it. It wasn't until Qingcheng came to the film set that he remembered this other way. By the time he asked Qingcheng for the medicine, several days had already passed.

Meanwhile, in the dressing room, Dr. Muller spent two whole hours trying to persuade Wang Renyong, but he simply refused to have the amputation surgery.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve injured my leg. Back in the war, I even had bullets pulled out of my wounds, and I was fine then,” Wang Renyong argued.

“Things are different now. Back then, you had a hospital-wide consultation. Now, I have to sneak around even when I'm doing surgery with an assistant,” Dr. Mueller said seriously.

"I don't care, Bai Xi, call Qing Cheng over tomorrow. She knows a lot of people in the medical field." Wang Renyong said with a drooping mouth, as if he was sulking.

Even if Kiyosumi came, it would be useless. Dr. Muller must have been the person she carefully selected. Others may have more specialized medical skills, but their confidentiality would be worse.

As the conflict escalated, Xu Xi, who was keeping watch by the door, became extremely anxious. Although the dressing room was connected to his brother's secret room and had good soundproofing, the distance between the two doors was not enough to withstand the intense argument between the two. The plague was right next door!

Before Xu Xi could offer any comfort, Dr. Muller pointed at Wang Renyong and said in a trembling voice, "I suspect your wound is infected with some kind of virus. The analysis results should be available by noon tomorrow at the latest. If it is confirmed to be infected, I will carry you to the operating table even if it means carrying you myself."

“Even if I get infected, I don’t necessarily have to have my leg amputated. I’ll be a cripple without a leg. Help me think of a way, even scraping the bone and cutting off the flesh, I don’t want my leg amputated.” A trace of loneliness and sorrow appeared on Wang Renyong’s usually smiling face.

Dr. Mueller was furious, his voice barely contained: "You stubborn comrade, your life is the priority! Don't you understand?!"

“My life is for fighting. If I can’t fight, what’s the point of my life? Comrade Muller, please think of another way. If you can save my leg, I will offer incense and pray for you every month.” Wang Renyong clutched his knee, his eyes slightly red.

"You think scraping bone and cutting flesh is so easy? Conservative treatment involves cutting away rotten flesh and new polyps piece by piece. That feeling is no better than amputation, and there's no guarantee you'll survive," Dr. Mueller explained earnestly.

“I’m not afraid of death, so why would I be afraid of pain? I’ve escaped death several times. I think it’s because the King of Hell sees that I’m young and is too embarrassed to take me. This time will be the same,” Wang Renyong said.

Just then, extremely faint footsteps came from outside the door, clearly indicating that the pace had been deliberately slowed. Xu Xi quickly shushed the two of them twice, and they immediately shut up.

Dr. Muller left the dressing room, and Xu Xi lay back down on the bed. He gestured to Dr. Muller to go out and check under the pretext of going to the toilet.

Only he knew that his brother's temporary calm was likely an illusion. What if, like when he was in middle school, the plague god placed a bed outside his room to keep watch?

With his eyes closed and his whole body tense, Xu Xi listened intently to the footsteps outside. The person seemed to have stopped, whether in thought or waiting for an opportunity, he couldn't tell.

The creaking sound of the metal handle scraping against each other sent shivers down one's spine. Dr. Muller quickly opened the door, took a half-step back, and seemed startled by the person who had entered.

"Sorry, sorry, it's so cold downstairs. Do you have any blankets? You mean... you know, those quilts, the kind you use to cover yourself with." Liu Hui's Cantonese almost made Xu Xi, who was in bed, burst out laughing. He secretly opened his eyes a crack to observe.

Fortunately, Dr. Muller had a strong understanding and guessed that Liu Hui wanted a thin blanket. He looked around, picked up the blanket from the soft stool at the foot of the bed, and handed it to Liu Hui.

"Thanks for the sun." Liu Hui smiled and accepted the gift with both hands, his eyes quickly scanning the room. Dr. Mueller immediately locked the door, isolating the two of them outside the bedroom. Their awkward, disjointed conversation could still be faintly heard as they walked away.

Xu Xi didn't pay much attention to this little incident. Instead, he felt a bit sorry for the other person. It was one thing for them to sleep in the living room, but they hadn't even been given a blanket. He wondered if the blanket was thick enough and whether he should bring another quilt downstairs.

Moreover, the fact that the Plague God didn't come out to comment despite the noise outside suggests that he probably has no objection to Dr. Muller's treatment, which is a sign of his sycophancy towards foreigners! Xu Xin could guess that Qingcheng deliberately brought over a foreigner to ensure that the Plague God had nothing to criticize.

Just as Xu Xi was relaxing his limbs and feeling sleepy, Dr. Muller suddenly burst in and shook him awake. He rubbed his eyes groggily and hurriedly asked what had happened.

“Mr. Xu, I think there’s something wrong with that caregiver.” Muller’s abrupt remark completely banished Xu Xi’s drowsiness.

It turned out that Dr. Muller had accompanied Liu Hui to the stairwell out of politeness and happened to catch a glimpse of the black steel window downstairs being moved.

He clearly remembered that the curtains were drawn when he arrived, and just as he was about to go downstairs to check, Liu Hui turned around and bumped into him, and the blanket was "accidentally" placed on his head.

When he pulled back the blanket, he only saw a dark shadow flash past the window. Liu Hui then feigned surprise that the window wasn't closed properly. If Liu Hui hadn't made such a fuss, Dr. Muller would have at most thought it was a CC agent playing tricks and pretended not to see anything.

"Coincidentally, the shadowy figure is a cat. I sometimes feed stray cats in the backyard. Besides, my house is surrounded by secret agents. Petty thieves avoid it. It's actually quite safe. Without the orders of the plague god, they wouldn't dare to enter the house." Xu Xi yawned, and sleepiness came over him again.

"There are so many coincidences. It's windy and rainy outside, and he still opened the window to let in fresh air. Isn't he afraid of the cold? It's a contradiction." Muller shook his head.

“Dr. Mueller, you’re being too sensitive. It’s perfectly normal for someone to feel cold only after breathing in fresh air for a while.” Xu Xi tried his best to comfort the caregiver downstairs. He had a good impression of Mr. Liu, and besides, Liu Hui was introduced by Qingcheng, so there couldn’t be any problem.

Dr. Muller sighed, "Well, you've never done work behind enemy lines, so it's understandable that you're a bit less vigilant. I'll remind Comrade Wang again later, so you should listen to his opinion."

"Okay, thank you." Xu Xi lowered his head in shame. He really couldn't see the problem. Who but a spy would have the word "bad guy" written on their forehead?

After Dr. Muller left, Xu Xi pulled out the makeshift bed and added another quilt for his senior brother. Wang Renyong seemed to be thinking about something, but in the end he didn't say anything to Xu Xi, only telling him to make sure to find Qingcheng tomorrow.

Even if his senior brother didn't ask, he would still ask Qingcheng to do small things.

The next day, Qingcheng cheerfully packed her belongings in the office. The last few minutes before leaving get off work always brought her joy. She planned to go to Kaisiling to buy a chestnut cake for Lao Wang later.

Ring ring~ Ring ring~

Qingcheng immediately felt a sense of impending doom. She least wanted to hear the phone ring before leaving get off work, so she said "Hello" in a bad mood. Her fiancé's voice came through the receiver: "Huahua, did you receive a letter for me yesterday?"

Once the floodgates of memory were opened, recollections poured out. Qingcheng replied, "Yes, yes, I put it on the cabinet in your entryway, under the key tray. Look for it."

The sound of rummaging came from the other end of the phone. After a while, Gao Junxiao came back to report that he had found it, but next time he should tell him after receiving a letter, so as not to worry him.

"Sorry, I've been so busy lately, I keep forgetting things. I won't do it again. You can eat dinner by yourself, I'm going to see Xu Xi." Qingcheng hurriedly hung up the phone and gave a brief explanation.

"Oh," Gao Junxiao replied simply, his voice sounding as if it came from a dark hole, carrying a hint of anger.

Qingcheng's hand holding the phone trembled slightly. Why was the old man suddenly angry? She tried to recall if she had said anything offensive. Xu Xi was injured; everyone in Shanghai knew. Was it strange for a close friend to visit him?

"I'm going to visit him in the hospital," Kiyosumi added cautiously.

"I know, he broke his leg," Gao Junxiao said casually. "Why didn't you ask me to come with you?"

For a moment, Qingcheng choked. She touched her chin and a sudden idea flashed in her mind: "Actually, I went there on a mission. Xu Xi's agent is very strict. Only a few media people can go in. I was lucky enough to get one of the first batch of permission. But we talked about the interview content. I was afraid you would be bored. I'll go with you later, okay?"

"No," Gao Junxiao refused outright.

Hiss~ Qingcheng gasped. What kind of spoiled brat was he throwing this tantrum? Was he just hungry? Maybe we should send him to his in-laws' house for dinner.

“You guys haven’t eaten yet, have you? Xu Xi probably can’t go out in that state. It’s perfect that no one appreciates the big table of food I cooked, so I’ve decided to give it to that kid.” Gao Junxiao’s voice was tight, as if he was squeezing it out from between his teeth.

Haha, Qingcheng immediately understood why the old man was angry. She suppressed her laughter and teased her fiancé: "Hehe, that's too high a standard. Xu Xi probably needs an emperor's tongue to be worthy of it."

Gao Junxiao drawled, "There's no need—it would be a pity if it collapsed anyway."

"You're so wasteful! Can't you just give it all to me? Don't share it with others. I love your cooking the most." Qingcheng rolled her eyes. It's so tiring to coax a man.

Once the flattery landed, Gao Junxiao's attitude softened considerably: "Wait here and don't move, I'll come get you."

Since things had come to this, Qingcheng could only cooperate with him. She slumped weakly onto the table. It seemed there was no time to buy a cake. Right, she had to call Xu Xi first so he could make preparations. She didn't want Old Wang to still be hungry after they had all finished eating.

The crescent moon rose, the night was dark and starless, and it was highly likely that it would rain again tomorrow. Qingcheng, arm in arm with Gao Junxiao, knocked on Xu Xi's door.

The person who opened the door was an unfamiliar face. The man was ordinary and unremarkable, and his accent clearly indicated that he was from Guangdong. Qingcheng glanced at him curiously, and then was pulled away by Gao Junxiao. Xu Xi was already sitting at the dining table.

The man closed the door and went into the kitchen. Qingcheng asked the busy figure in the kitchen, "Is this your new Cantonese chef?"

In an instant, Xu Xi's expression changed drastically.