Must be said, Xue Kangning was indeed recovering quite well, full of vigor over the phone. Even though Xue Er didn't have the speakerphone on, his scolding echoed endlessly through the living room.
Hearing his grandfather's roaring, Xue Rou was so upset her eyes turned red with anger. She looked like a wronged little rabbit, yet she didn't dare say much in response.
Xue Er hadn't expected the situation to turn serious so abruptly either.
Only a few hours had passed, yet Xue Kangning's prejudice against Su Hao seemed to have deepened even further.
Clearly, Xue Yi had been stirring up trouble behind the scenes.
"I heard from Aohan that the cooperation between Shangxue Company and Dazzling Group has run into trouble. Considering you are my son, I've already instructed Aohan to help sort out Dazzling Group and resolve Shangxue Company's urgent crisis."
"Tomorrow, your family will wait for me at Shangxue Company and cooperate fully with Aohan. If you mess this up, you can all step down from your positions."
With that, Xue Kangning hung up the phone without a shred of mercy.
The atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.
Although none of them were happy about this development, Xue Kangning had lost his memory after all—and the ignorant are not to be blamed. To avoid aggravating him, even with hearts full of grievance, they couldn't possibly start a shouting match with the old man.
"Su Hao, I'm afraid you'll have to suffer a little tomorrow. When the old man arrives, could you perhaps step away for a while?" Xue Er asked with a troubled expression, sighing as he spoke. "He's getting on in years. If he gets so angry that something happens to him..."
"I understand. How could a doctor possibly bicker with a patient?"
Seeing how reasonable Su Hao was, Xue Er grew even fonder of this prospective son-in-law.
The group gathered around and temporarily put their worries aside, enjoying a pleasant lunch together.
Right after they finished eating, Xue Kangning called again, announcing that he was coming for a home visit to see if Su Hao was still there.
To prevent any conflict with the old man, Su Hao had no choice but to leave in advance.
"Wait!"
Just as Su Hao was heading out the door, Shen Yue called him back and handed him a bank card.
"There are five hundred thousand in here. Keep it for any emergencies."
Su Hao was deeply touched.
He and Shen Yue were unrelated by blood, and they had only known each other for two or three days.
Yet Shen Yue had been nothing short of wonderful to him—first giving him money to buy clothes, telling Xue Rou not to mistreat him, and now handing him cash to help him get settled. Many biological parents might not even do this much.
"Aunt Qin, there's really no need for the money. With my medical skills, am I going to struggle to make a living?"
"But..."
Shen Yue wanted to say more, but Su Hao seized the chance and slipped out.
To everyone's surprise, Xue Er chased after him.
"Why are you rushing off like that, you kid? You having the ability to earn money is one thing, but our intentions as your elders are another."
"I've had Rourou send the bank card PIN to your phone. Just spend it without a worry. The moment the old man recovers his memory, I'll notify you to come right back."
Su Hao never expected that Xue Er, who had previously been somewhat opposed to him and Xue Rou being together, not only had a change of heart but was now caring for him just as attentively as Shen Yue.
"Thank you, Uncle Xue!"
Seeing that the other man's hospitality was hard to refuse, Su Hao didn't push back any further.
"Dad, I'll walk Su Hao out. You go on back."
Xue Rou waved her hand and stepped into the elevator with Su Hao.
"My parents are right. You're out here on your own, and you can't get by without money in your pocket. Make sure you don't skimp on yourself."
"Let me know once you've found a place to stay. Whenever I have some time, I'll definitely come visit you."
Xue Rou tenderly adjusted Su Hao's clothes, just like a wife seeing off her husband on a journey.
Feeling her warmth and care, Su Hao smiled and said, "A blessing in disguise—who knows? I can even use this time to earn a bigger bride price so I can marry you in style!"
"Such a smooth-talker! Who said anything about marrying you?"
A gentle, lotus-like smile blossomed on Su Hao's face as he reached out and pulled Xue Rou into his embrace by the waist.
"If you don't marry me, who else would you marry?"
Xue Rou blinked, breathing in the faint, clean scent radiating from Su Hao as his warm breath drew close. She felt her ears burning hot.
She pressed close against Su Hao, her hazy eyes brimming with infinite, tender affection, and couldn't resist standing on tiptoe to give him a quick kiss.
"In this life, I'm only ever marrying a big silly dummy named Su Hao!"
Chapter 25: Refusing to Treat Him
Good times are always fleeting.
As the elevator doors opened, Xue Rou bid a reluctant farewell and watched Su Hao depart.
The moment he left, Xue Kangning, supported by Xue Yi, arrived at the elevator lobby.
Xue Rou let out a helpless sigh, mixed with a healthy dose of relief—thank goodness she had let Su Hao leave. Running right into each other would have only added insult to injury.
Little did she know, while Su Hao missed crossing paths with Xue Kangning, he ran straight into Xue Aohan instead.
At that moment, Su Hao was crossing the street while Xue Aohan was tearing past in a top-tier supercar. As she sped by him, she flipped him the middle finger in deliberate provocation.
Su Hao couldn't be bothered to argue with such a brain-dead woman; however arrogant she was now, she would end up looking just that pathetic before long.
Right on cue, Feng Zhongyi called, inviting him to a nearby cafe.
"What is it? Did you run into a patient you couldn't cure and need my help?"
"Uncle-Master is truly as wise as a god." Exposed, Feng Zhongyi blushed with embarrassment.
"Here's the situation: a while back, I took on a patient with a very complex condition. Her husband is Zhao Chenggong, a famous tycoon in Jinling. He begged me relentlessly and even promised a hefty consultation fee, hoping I could help cure her."
"Unfortunately, my heart is willing but my skills fall short—this isn't money I'm meant to earn. But I figured that kind of illness should be a walk in the park for Uncle-Master, so I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to take on this case?"
"A hefty consultation fee? What's the exact amount?" Su Hao asked casually.
"At least a hundred million. Not only that, he's also an investor in several pharmacies and hospitals throughout Jinling."
Feng Zhongyi spoke candidly: "If we can use this opportunity to get on his good side, we'll undoubtedly reap plenty of related benefits down the line!"
Desperate to broker a cooperation between the two parties, Feng Zhongyi showered Zhao Chenggong with endless praise.
Su Hao pondered for a moment. "Even though I don't know what the exact illness is, for it to give you such a headache, it surely can't be simple."
"How about this: tell him to prepare one hundred and fifty million for a life-saving fee. If he agrees to that, I'll take the case."
"No problem at all! I'll call him right now!"
Feng Zhongyi picked up his phone. Initially planning to haggle a bit with Zhao Chenggong, he had intended to ask for two hundred million.
To his surprise, Zhao Chenggong was wealthy and unbothered, agreeing on the spot without any counter-offer.
"Old Feng, if you can truly get your Uncle-Master to come and treat my wife, a mere two hundred million is nothing."
"Mr. Zhao is indeed a shrewd man. Get things ready; I'll bring my Uncle-Master over right away."
Hanging up, Feng Zhongyi set off with Su Hao toward the Zhao family estate.
..................
At the same time, inside the Zhao family manor, Zhao Tai leaped out of his car in a frantic rush.
He was in such a hurry because he had received word that his grandmother's illness could be saved—Feng Zhongyi's own Uncle-Master was stepping in personally, and the chances of success were high.
Wanting to pay his respects to this divine physician, he had tossed all his work aside.
What's more, he had brought Xue Aohan along so she could broaden her horizons as well.
"You're back just in time. Go wait at the entrance; Old Feng and the others should be arriving soon," Zhao Chenggong reminded him.
Facing such a living immortal, Zhao Tai didn't dare to be negligent either. Leading Xue Aohan, he stood at the entrance, fully prepared.
Before long, a car drove in from a distance.
The moment Feng Zhongyi stepped out of the vehicle, Zhao Tai hurried over politely, introduced himself, and subtly nodded toward Xue Aohan.
Feng Zhongyi merely grunted an acknowledgment, his expression showing little change.
"Old Feng, we've prepared some tea. You and your Uncle-Master can enjoy it together," Xue Aohan said cautiously.
Big figures often had eccentric personalities, so instead of rushing Feng Zhongyi's Uncle-Master to get out of the car, she phrased it carefully to avoid any misunderstandings.
"Uncle-Master Su, please!"
Treading carefully, Feng Zhongyi helped a man step down from the vehicle. When Xue Aohan saw who it was, her mind went completely blank.
"Su Hao? How is it you?!"
Xue Aohan was the first to snap, her eyes nearly popping out of her head.
Zhao Tai wore an equally dumbfounded expression; in his wildest dreams, he never would have guessed that Feng Zhongyi's Uncle-Master would be this country bumpkin.
Initially, Su Hao had been wondering if Zhao Chenggong had any connection to the Zhao family. Now, seeing Xue Aohan and Zhao Tai, the pieces clicked into place instantly.
He turned around and climbed right back into the car. The speed of his movement and the loud slam of the car door startled Feng Zhongyi so badly he jumped.
Caught completely off guard, Feng Zhongyi hurriedly opened the car door, leaned inside, and asked, "Uncle-Master Su, what are you doing?"
Su Hao's reply was just two words: "Drive back."
Though confused, Feng Zhongyi didn't dare disobey his elder's command.
Without a moment's hesitation, he scrambled back into the vehicle and ordered the driver to turn around and leave.
"What is going on?!"
Zhao Chenggong was utterly bewildered, having no clue what had just transpired.
Equally bewildered was Feng Zhongyi himself.
Truth be told, he was somewhat reluctant to offend the Zhao family and actually wanted to build a rapport with them.
"Uncle-Master Su, walking out on them right in front of their faces... won't that look a bit bad?"
"If I hadn't beaten those two up right in front of Zhao Chenggong, I'd already be showing him immense respect."
Su Hao let out a cold snort and waved a hand. "Tell Zhao Chenggong that I refuse to treat his wife's illness. He can go look for someone else."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Zhao Chenggong's call came through.
Panicking over the phone, he asked Feng Zhongyi, "Old Feng, what on earth happened? Did you run into some tricky situation? Why did you suddenly turn around and leave?"
Equally clueless, Feng Zhongyi was nevertheless bound by Su Hao's authority and could only repeat Su Hao's words word-for-word. Having never encountered such a situation before, Zhao Chenggong's head spun, and it took him a long while to stammer out, "Old Feng, you don't seem like the type to go back on your word. Is it because you're unhappy with the price? If so, we can always discuss it further!"
"There's nothing to discuss! Your grandson and his girlfriend targeted my wife and even pulled strings to suppress her company. Since my wife isn't going to have an easy life, don't expect your wife to have one either!"
With that, Su Hao shot a glance at Feng Zhongyi, signaling him to hang up.
"Uncle-Master Su, you... you're married?!"
Su Hao replied flatly, "We haven't gotten our marriage certificate yet, so not legally, but it's pretty much the same thing."
"Is your prospective wife Xue Rou, the second granddaughter of Elder Xue?"
Quick on the uptake, Feng Zhongyi said with mild surprise, "I figured Uncle-Master's wife would either be the young mistress of some ancient clan or an elite career woman of one in a million. I never expected..."
"I don't have ambitions that grand. As long as I have a wife who cares about me and looks decent enough, that's enough." Su Hao rolled down the car window as he spoke.
His dating standards left Feng Zhongyi flushed with embarrassment.
Compared to his Uncle-Master's noble character, his own mindset was truly far too vulgar.
Meanwhile, Zhao Chenggong's head was still ringing.
He could tell that Feng Zhongyi's Uncle-Master was very young—likely that same young man who had just stepped out of the car only to jump right back in.
The guy looked twenty-three or twenty-four at most, perhaps even younger. How on earth could he be Feng Zhongyi's Uncle-Master?
Wasn't there a massive gap in their seniority?
Of course, age wasn't the critical issue right now.
Zhao Chenggong called Zhao Tai and Xue Aohan into the house to question them about the bad blood between the two of them and Su Hao.
The pair still hadn't realized the gravity of the situation and recounted everything without hiding a thing.
When Xue Aohan mentioned how easily Su Hao had put that scumbag in his place the other day, a look of profound shock crossed Zhao Chenggong's face.
After all, he knew all too well how formidable that scumbag's strength was!
"You cannot go up against Su Hao. Apologize to him."
The moment those words left Zhao Chenggong's mouth, Xue Aohan looked stunned.
"Grandpa Zhao, why?"
Zhao Chenggong narrowed his eyes. "No why. This must be done."
"And what if I refuse?" Zhao Tai's face suddenly darkened.
Zhao Chenggong rebuked angrily, "Your grandmother's life is hanging by a thread. Can you stop crossing me for once right now?"
"When my mother's life was hanging by a thread, why didn't you say that?" Zhao Tai asked, clenching his fists and biting out each word.
Zhao Chenggong was left speechless.
Back then, Zhao Tai's father had defied family rules and married an ordinary woman, driving him into a rage.
Ever since Zhao Tai's mother entered the household, Zhao Chenggong had never given her a pleasant look and demanded that the entire family isolate her, ultimately driving her to tragedy.
The next day, Zhao Tai's father drowned himself to follow her in death, leaving seven-year-old Zhao Tai entirely alone in the world.
Out of guilt toward Zhao Tai, he had granted every single one of the boy's requests over the years, endlessly indulging his delinquent behavior and turning him into a man with little competence and an oversized temper.
"Aohan, come drink with me."
Seeing Zhao Chenggong stay silent, Zhao Tai pulled a long face and dragged Xue Aohan away.
Zhao Chenggong watched their retreating backs, let out a low sigh, and sent his trusted aide to keep a covert watch on them.
The moment he learned Zhao Tai was making trouble for Su Hao, the aide was to report back to him—at the very least, he had to make sure Zhao Tai didn't get beaten to death.
With such a good-for-nothing grandson, Zhao Chenggong couldn't manage him for the time being.
Yet, watching his wife's condition deteriorate day by day, he simply couldn't remain indifferent. Left with no other choice, he could only contact Feng Zhongyi once more.
By this time, Feng Zhongyi had already parted ways with Su Hao. After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally pressed the answer button.
"Mr. Zhao, what else is there?"
"Old Feng, my good-for-nothing grandson was spoiled rotten by me. I genuinely had no idea about the things he did. If there was any offense given to Mr. Su, I am more than willing to go over and apologize in person." Zhao Chenggong's attitude was exceptionally sincere, lowering his pride completely.
"I just hope Old Feng can help arrange this for me one more time. My wife's illness can't drag on any longer!"
Feng Zhongyi found himself in a tight spot. "Mr. Zhao, it's not that I won't help you, but my Uncle-Master is currently very displeased. Even if you go apologize in person, I doubt he'll give you the time of day. We should probably just let this matter drop."
"Old Feng!"
Zhao Chenggong pleaded desperately, "This is a matter of life and death! How can we just drop it?"
"I've already prepared the money. How about this—if Mr. Su can cure my wife's illness, I'm willing to double the consultation fee. Four hundred million, how's that?"
"On top of that, if Old Feng can help me get what I wish for, I'll prepare a hundred million as a thank-you gift for you as the middleman. I won't let you speak on my behalf for nothing!"
While Feng Zhongyi wasn't someone blinded by money, he had indeed been rather short on funds lately.
Having come out of the deep mountains years ago, he watched as the folks back home grew older, poorer, and increasingly strapped in harsh conditions. He desperately wanted to improve their living standards and help pave roads for them.
Charity work was like a bottomless pit; no matter how much money he had, it was never enough.
Yet relying solely on his own earnings was far too slow.
A hundred million in fees—he had no idea how many cases he would need to take on to earn that kind of sum.
After weighing the pros and cons, Feng Zhongyi finally relented.
"Since Mr. Zhao is so sincere, I'll try to smooth things over for you once more. But the outcome might not be good; you'd better prepare yourself mentally."
"Thank you, Old Feng."
Zhao Chenggong let out a long sigh of relief. After hanging up the phone, he walked over to his wife's hospital bed and tightly grasped her withered, aged hand.
"I will make you live through this. You have to hold on."
"Don't forget, you still have to go look at the rapeseed flowers with me!"
Chapter 26: I'll Make You Pay the Price Tonight
At 3:00 PM, at the apartment.
Since Xue Rou was staying with her parents lately and wouldn't be returning to her own place, Su Hao got the spare key from Song Keke and returned to the empty home.
Looking at the traces of Xue Rou's life everywhere, Su Hao couldn't help but sigh.
He couldn't just sit around and wait for things to happen; he had to hurry up and help Xue Kangning recover his memory or investigate Aunt Qin's affairs thoroughly.
Only by slapping the evidence right in front of Xue Kangning could this long-distance, Cowherd-and-Weaver-Girl-style separation between him and Xue Rou finally come to an end.
After reviewing the surveillance footage, Su Hao discovered that no suspicious individuals had entered or left the Xue residence, essentially ruling out an outside perpetrator.
The only slightly unusual thing was that on the day of the incident, Xue Zhiyi had returned home at noon, shouting for Aunt Qin before he even stepped through the door. He had seemed drunk and demanded that Aunt Qin brew him a hangover remedy.
"That timeframe matches the moment Xue Kangning was poisoned almost perfectly. Could Xue Zhiyi have used the time Aunt Qin was brewing the hangover remedy to drug Xue Kangning?"
Just as Su Hao was turning this over in his mind, a knock sounded at the door.
Peeking through the peephole, Su Hao saw a man in a suit standing outside.
With an aggressive attitude, the man spoke loudly, "I'm from property management. A neighbor filed a complaint about noise coming from your apartment."
"Noise? I'm the only one home, and there hasn't been a single sound. Did you make a mistake?"
As Su Hao spoke, he casually opened the door.
"Swish!"
The moment the door opened, a dagger materialized in the suit-clad man's hand, thrusting straight toward his lower abdomen.
Quick as lightning, Su Hao kicked the dagger out of the man's hand, twisted his arm behind his back with a counter-maneuver, and forced him flat onto the floor.
"I don't think you and I have any bad blood between us, do we?"
"You and Xue Rou killed my mother! I'm going to avenge her!"
The man spoke with bitter resentment, his eye rims burning red as tears threatened to spill.
Completely baffled, Su Hao asked, "Who is your mother?"
"You have the nerve to ask? I just heard from the investigators today that my mother's death wasn't an accident at all! It was your family's internal strife that used her as a scapegoat!"
Hearing this, Su Hao had a sudden moment of clarity.
Xue Rou had mentioned that Aunt Qin had two sons. The one who came to announce her death that day was the older brother; this fellow in front of him must be the younger one.
"I'm very sorry about Aunt Qin's death, but the fault doesn't lie with Xue Rou and me."
Knowing this punk was also a pitiful soul, Su Hao didn't plan on making things difficult for him. He spoke as he released his grip on the man.
To his surprise, this brat wouldn't let it go. The moment he regained his freedom, he snatched up the dagger from the floor and lunged at Su Hao all over again.
Su Hao frowned. This time, he couldn't even be bothered to dodge.