Mi Chenxuan glanced at her, grabbed a pen, crossed out the mischievous face she drew, and sketched a crying face beside it, "I'm going back first because of my Fifth Brother and Sixth Sister, but I'll come back to see you later."
Mi Chenxuan ran faster than a rabbit and dashed back to Tong Airui's ward.
"You're all here; do you think Dad and Mom will get suspicious?" Tong Airui leaned against the headboard, frowning at his younger brother and sister standing by the bed.
The sixth sister put a hand on the fifth brother's shoulder and said with a mischievous smile, "No worries. Didn't my fifth brother lose the race? He said he needed to get some air, so I told Mom that I was worried he might do something foolish, so I followed him here."
"Tong Aino, if you mention the race again, watch out, I'll hit you!" Tong Aino swung a fist at his sister.
"Brother, my fifth brother wants to hit me!" Tong Aini pouted.
"When has he really hit you?" Tong Airui smiled helplessly.
"He's the only one in our family who hits me!" Mi Chenxuan pouted as he walked over.
"You know to come back? Where have you been?" Tong Aino gave Mi Chenxuan a kick in the butt.
Mi Chenxuan was prepared and deftly dodged to the side, the kick merely brushing his pants. "Nature calls! I went to pee!"
"Isn't there a bathroom in the ward? Tomorrow I'll have Ol' Seven sew you up, so you can't pee and hold it in until you burst!" Tong Aino got angrier as he spoke, chasing after Mi Chenxuan to hit him, "I ask you to look after my brother, and you disappear without a trace. If I don't hit you for a day, you raise the roof."
Tong Aini giggled, "My fifth brother lost the race and is venting his anger on Ol' Eight. You two brothers are really cowardly—one got injured by a little girl, the other lost to a little girl."
"Your fifth brother lacks skill; I got ambushed!" Tong Airui glared at his sister, annoyed.
Tong Aini pursed her lips, picked up a big bag from the floor, "Ol' Seven told me all your underwear got worn out by Yuan Hang washing them, so I brought you fifty pairs this time."
Tong Airui looked at the big bag on the bed with a frown.
"What's that look on your face?" Tong Aini looked at her brother unhappily.
"It's great!" Tong Airui forced out the words through gritted teeth.
Tong Aino pulled Mi Chenxuan over, "Aini, step outside for a bit, I want to check on how my brother's recovery is going."
"Why is everyone so keen on checking on me?" Tong Airui pressed down the blanket to guard against his brother's sneak attack.
Tong Aini couldn't help laughing and quickly exited the ward.
As the door closed, her fourth brother's roar could be heard from inside. It wasn't that she was being unkind and not helping her fourth brother, it's just she was worried about his condition. After the fifth brother checked, everyone felt more assured.
Standing by the door, Tong Aini saw a girl with bandages around her head rolling herself out in a wheelchair from the adjacent ward. She quickly rushed over, "Where are you headed? Let me help you."
Yi Luowa looked up at her, this girl was not only tall but also very pretty. Yi Luowa smiled and shook her head, giving a thumbs-up gesture to express her thanks.
Tong Aini was stunned, "You... can't speak?"
Such a beautiful girl being unable to speak made Tong Aini's heart inexplicably ache for a moment.
Yi Luowa shook her head, pointed at her throat, and mouthed: Temporarily.
Tong Aini chuckled, "I thought so, it'd be a shame if such a pretty girl couldn't talk."
Yi Luowa smiled and wheeled herself forward. Uncle Li had been avoiding her, and she needed to find him to clear many things up and plan her next steps.
After searching around, Yi Luowa finally found Uncle Li in Ao Xiang's room.
Seeing Yi Luowa blocking the doorway with her wheelchair, Uncle Li laughed awkwardly, "You're here, Luowa, weren't you worried about Ao Xiang? Come on in."
Yi Luowa glanced at Ao Xiang in bed, curled her lips into a smile, and mouthed, "Are you alright?"
Ao Xiang nodded with a smile, "I'm fine, don't worry about me."
Yi Luowa smiled, "They wouldn't let me come, I thought you were a goner. Hearing your voice full of energy puts my mind at ease."
"You haven't won all the race championships yet, I won't be going anywhere!"
Yi Luowa turned her gaze to Uncle Li, smiling, "How long were you planning on hiding from me?"
Uncle Li spoke earnestly, "I wasn't hiding. Earlier, I saw you chatting happily with the second young master of the Mi family, so I went to Dr. Mai to see what we could do about the second master's surgery. When Dr. Mai said we weren't needed, I came to check on Ao Xiang."
"If you had a different expression, I might have believed you, but this face shows you're lying." Yi Luowa smirked slightly, "Go ahead, tell me how that person convinced you to put on such a show with him."
"Who did I put on a show with?" Uncle Li feigned ignorance.
Ao Xiang chuckled, "Uncle Li, Luowa's already figured it out, you might as well stop pretending."
"You brat, stop talking! I must keep my word!" Uncle Li looked around, contemplating escape.
Yi Luowa sat in her wheelchair, shrugging, "Ninth floor, and I've blocked the only exit. If you were twenty years younger, you might try climbing out the window, but alas, you're—old—now!"
"You cheeky girl, you'll be the death of me sooner or later!" Uncle Li glared at her, "Even unable to speak, you still manage to tick me off, life's unbearable!"
Yi Luowa patiently observed Uncle Li, "Spill it, and I'll let you off easy."
"You cheeky girl, stop pushing me, you already know who it is, just go ask him."
Yi Luowa's hand had been tapping a rhythm on her knee but stopped abruptly as she instinctively rubbed her pants before mouthing, "I don't want to see him, seeing him disgusts me."
Uncle Li gave her a spiteful look, "Such a good guy, why does he disgust you?"
"Is he a good guy?" Yi Luowa scoffed and then, with tears welling up, stared intently at Uncle Li.
Uncle Li pointed at her, frustrated but also fearing her tears, hesitated before saying, "Yesterday, I got tired and lay down in Ao Lie's ward for a while. In the middle of the night, someone shook me awake. This person was quite skilled, entering the room without me or Ao Lie noticing."
Halfway through the story, Uncle Li stopped.
Yi Luowa didn't rush him, but the tears were already hanging on her lashes like pearls.
Uncle Li hurried over, wringing his big hands anxiously, "Little ancestor, please don't cry, alright! I'll talk!"
Yi Luowa sniffled and nodded her head.
"The person told me that someone had pulled out Second Master's oxygen mask and tried to smother him. But the person's people made some noise to scare the attacker away. I was furious at the moment, ready to go out and kill someone, but the person told me to be patient and to play along to find out what the culprit was really after. So, we secretly moved Second Master to another ward, and the rest you know."
"Uncle Li, just based on these few words, you believed him?" Yi Luowa stared at Uncle Li, shaking her head, "You must be hiding something from me."