Chapter 477 We Can't Forget Our Past

She wasn't a magnanimous person after all. Even after so many years apart, she couldn't help but feel no feelings for Huo Nanxiao. Seeing him hurt because of another woman always made Xia Ningxi recall the past, and her heart ached silently.

She tried to suppress the bitterness in her heart and gently applied the ointment to the man's wound, her movements very light and gentle.

"The injury is quite serious. Don't let the wound get wet for the next few days," Xia Ningxi reminded her in a low voice, her voice slightly hoarse.

Huo Nanxiao noticed that her voice sounded a little unnatural and asked, "Why is your voice hoarse?"

"I caught a cold," Xia Ningxi casually made up an excuse.

She just wanted to get Huo Nanxiao the medicine quickly so she could leave this place.

What she didn't know was that because of her emotional fluctuations, the hands that were applying medicine to the man were trembling slightly. When the warmth from her fingertips touched the man's back, Huo Nanxiao could clearly feel Xia Ningxi's change.

He grasped Xia Ningxi's wrist, raised his eyes, and stared at her intently, his aggressive eyes unfathomable.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she was momentarily stunned.

"I turned back because her injuries hadn't healed yet, and I couldn't just watch her die."

The man's voice was deep.

Xia Ningxi was surprised and didn't understand why Huo Nanxiao would explain it that way. The clever girl didn't answer and just silently applied the medicine to the man, as if she hadn't heard anything at all.

Huo Nanxiao knew what she was thinking and didn't explain further.

The night view outside the window is beautiful. Lanyuan is a famous independent castle in the imperial city. Although it stands halfway up the mountain, it can take in the night view of half of the imperial city. It is so beautiful that it takes your breath away.

Xia Ningxi could not forget Huo Nanxiao's indifference towards her during the two years of their marriage, nor could she forget Huo Nanxiao's favoritism towards Xia Wanwan.

"What you do is your own business, you don't need to explain to me, it has nothing to do with me." Xia Ningxi's voice was crisp and clear, without a trace of warmth.

The man tightened his grip on her hand, his sharp eyes fixed on hers: "You really don't care at all?"

"It's late, I'm tired, I can go back now." Xia Ningxi directly gave him the order to leave.

The man remained motionless, showing no intention of leaving.

Xia Ningxi walked to the door, opened it, looked at him, and waited for him to leave on his own.

Huo Nanxiao was displeased. He got up from Xia Ningxi's bed and strode towards the door, but he didn't leave. He stopped in front of Xia Ningxi, his dark eyes fixed on her beautiful face. His deep and complex gaze seemed to peel away Xia Ningxi's layers one by one.

A naked gaze, ambiguous to the extreme.

Xia Ningxi's heart skipped a beat, and she almost instinctively took a step back to avoid the man's burning gaze.

He asked, "I've heard about the surgery, are you confident about it?"

Xia Ningxi was taken aback. Huo Nanxiao rarely cared about her work, so she was somewhat surprised and replied, "I'm not very confident."

"Then don't do it. I'll go and refuse them," Huo Nanxiao said domineeringly.

Xia Ningxi shook her head: "It's no use. This surgery has to be done sooner or later. There aren't many people in China who can perform this surgery right now. If I work with Tang En's team to find a solution, the chances of success will be much higher."

"In fact, the surgery itself is not technically difficult. The real challenge lies in the fact that Qiu Shiming demanded that his daughter be restored to her original appearance, which involves 'living transplantation,' which is illegal."

“Unless there is a donor, in which case the arms can be swapped after the donor dies, but I checked and Qiu Shiming’s daughter has a rather special constitution.”

"In our surgery department, we have a very good method. If a patient has lost a hand, we can cut open the abdomen, place the arm inside, and let it be nourished by the blood vessels in the abdomen. Generally, the stalk can be severed in about three weeks, which increases the success rate of reattachment."

"But it's different when she receives a hand donated by a donor."

The rest is very gory, and Xia Ningxi doesn't want to talk about it.

Huo Nanxiao also realized that the risk of the surgery failing was extremely high.

If the staff at the main hospital hadn't been unable to perform the surgery, Qiu Shiming wouldn't have transferred his daughter to Ninghai Hospital, which specializes in treating vegetative state patients; it's a bit of a mismatch in their expertise.

Qiu Shiming did this because he knew that Tang En's team was all at Ninghai Hospital.

Even so, this surgery cannot be performed casually. The best way would be to cut open the abdominal flap of Qiu Shiming's daughter and place the donated hand inside her abdomen to nourish it, which would be beneficial for the survival of the amputated limb. However, the patient's condition was not suitable at all.

They can only use science and technology to create an environment almost identical to the patient's abdomen, extract her blood vessels and blood to nourish the amputated limb, minimize the rejection reaction between the amputated limb and the patient, and increase the probability of surgical success.

This matter is very complicated and not as simple as outsiders imagine.

Xia Ningxi had a headache all day because of this matter. She was under a lot of pressure and didn't have the energy to argue with Huo Nanxiao. She just wanted to go back to her bed and get a good night's sleep.

She stubbornly remained silent.

Huo Nanxiao could tell that she was under a lot of pressure.

He realized that this woman was different from before. The Xia Ningxi used to love sharing her life and daily routine with Huo Nanxiao, even sharing a very sweet watermelon she bought with him. But back then, Huo Nanxiao never replied to her.

But Xia Ningxi still shared everything with him day after day—her joys, her sorrows, her happiness, her pains, her grief. But now…

She is so strong that it breaks your heart.

Huo Nanxiao pulled her into his arms, his strong hands holding her tightly.

"You... let me go." Xia Ningxi struggled.

Huo Nanxiao said in a deep voice, "I'll be leaving in a bit."

She lowered her hand from the man's chest, stopped struggling, and quietly let him hold her.

The air conditioning in the room was on full blast, and Xia Ningxi was only wearing a thin nightgown. She felt a little cold, while the man's body was hot and burning. His broad chest almost enveloped Xia Ningxi, and it was very warm to be held in his arms.

Xia Ningxi's petite, cold body stopped trembling and nestled quietly in the man's warm embrace, inhaling his familiar scent, a scent she loved. Her eyes were hazy, and she seemed somewhat dazed.

She's so disappointing; even after all these years, she still loves his scent.

But how could she so easily forget so many years of unrequited love, the marriage she had longed for, and the hundreds of days and nights they had shared a bed and become intimately entwined?

She was really petty and narrow-minded. Even after so much time had passed, and even though she had told herself not to care about Huo Nanxiao anymore and that they had broken up, she still couldn't help but feel secretly sad when she actually saw Huo Nanxiao with another woman.