Mu Qianqian was shocked. Her eyes went wide, and her jaw nearly hit the floor.
She shook her head vigorously. "How could he possibly be cured? Sister, even if you couldn't save Director Huo, you shouldn't just make things up to deceive people."
Cui Lirong instantly shot her a sharp, icy glare. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Meeting Cui Lirong's gaze, Mu Qianqian shrank back in fear, murmuring, "Aunt... Auntie, as far as I know, sister's medical skills are just things she picked up on her own. She's never even had a proper teacher. How could she possibly treat an injury as severe as Director Huo's?"
Mu Qingxuan curled her lips slightly, though there was no hint of warmth in her eyes.
She laid it out plainly. "Qianqian, do you not want Changfeng to be cured?"
Her true thoughts exposed, Mu Qianqian reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She bristled with anxious denial. "...Of course not!"
She averted her eyes in panic, trying to escape the scrutinizing gazes of everyone around her.
In truth, Mu Qianqian was desperately hoping Huo Changfeng would die. When she first arrived at the hospital and heard that Mu Qingxuan had already entered the operating room to treat him, she had been praying that he would die right under her sister's hands.
That way, Mu Qingxuan's fate in this lifetime would be a hundred times more miserable than hers had been in her past life.
But these were thoughts Mu Qianqian could never voice aloud.
In her panic, she nearly bit her tongue trying to explain herself. "Sister, you've misunderstood me. I was only worried that you wanted to show off and take all the credit for yourself. Wouldn't that hurt the feelings of the actual doctors?"
Mu Qingxuan found this amusing.
Rolling her eyes elegantly, she remarked dryly, "I had no idea you were so considerate of the doctors, Qianqian."
Mu Qianqian parted her lips, ready to say more, but Shi Feihua quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.
Bowing slightly to Huo Jianye and Cui Lirong, Shi Feihua said, "Uncle, Aunt, it's wonderful that Cousin is alright. A close call like this means he's bound to have great blessings once he wakes up."
"I remember Cousin loves the wontons from Yunhua Restaurant. I'll go buy some for him right now."
Huo Jianye's expression was cold as he nodded curtly. "Go on."
If they didn't leave soon, Cui Lirong looked ready to tear Mu Qianqian apart.
Shi Feihua dragged the reluctant Mu Qianqian away.
The moment they cleared the floor, Mu Qianqian flung off Shi Feihua's hand. "What did you pull me away for? That hurt!"
*Slap!*
Unable to bear it any longer, Shi Feihua struck Mu Qianqian across the face.
"Have you lost your mind? Cousin is my uncle and aunt's pride and joy! It's bad enough you secretly wish him ill, but you were actually stupid enough to say it right to their faces! Are you tired of living a comfortable life?"
The veins on Shi Feihua's forehead bulged like writhing, angry earthworms.
His teeth ground together so hard his jaw muscles clenched tight. As he glared at her, his otherwise handsome face twisted into a hideous mask of rage.
Mu Qianqian's head snapped to the side. Dazed by the blow, tears immediately welled up and spilled over.
"You hit me?"
Looking at her face, Shi Feihua knew she still had no grasp of how serious this was.
He laughed out of sheer frustration.
He rubbed his temples. "I don't care what feud you have with your sister, and I'm not going to ask why you want my cousin dead. But you mark my words, Mu Qianqian—if you slip up in front of my uncle and aunt again, I will never forgive you."
Shi Feihua's parents had never amounted to much. His current job relied entirely on the Huo family's connections and influence.
Even his early return to the city, which spared him from further hardship in the countryside, was arranged through Huo Jianye's pull.
He knew that if he struggled to find a better job in the future, he would have to rely on the Huo family again.
Ruining his relationship with them now would be nothing short of digging his own grave.
"Why did I want that? It was all for you!"
Mu Qianqian looked up suddenly, her eyes red with rage. Clutching her cheek, she spat back, "Uncle and Aunt only have one son, Huo Changfeng! If he dies, you are their closest nephew by blood. Won't all of the Huo family's resources go to you then?"
"You're the only fool here who can't see the big picture!"
Shi Feihua froze, his fingers twitching slightly. "You..."
He stared at her, wide-eyed with shock.
Mu Qianqian's words presented a path he had never even considered.
Yet, it was incredibly tempting.
The thought of the Huo family's vast resources suddenly coming within his grasp made his chest tighten with greed.
"...So that's what you were thinking..." He let out a long breath. "I didn't realize you were looking out for me so much. I'm sorry, I was too impulsive just now."
"But now that Cousin has been saved, none of that will come to me anyway. You need to watch your tongue from now on. Don't make Uncle and Aunt dislike us, or the loss will outweigh the gain."
Shi Feihua pressed his lips into a thin line.
For a split second, a dark thought crossed his mind: *If only Huo Changfeng hadn't survived.*
If he were dead, not only would the Huo family's inheritance likely fall to him...
...but even Huo Changfeng's new bride, Mu Qingxuan, would...
He swallowed hard, a vile desire igniting in the depths of his heart.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go to Yunhua Restaurant and buy the wontons first."
Shi Feihua reached out and gently took Mu Qianqian's hand, his touch tender, as if to make up for the slap he had just delivered.
Mu Qianqian followed behind him, her eyes burning with malice.
She was utterly baffled.
Why did Huo Changfeng, who was supposed to die, come back to life? Why was this lifetime turning out differently from her past life?
By all accounts, the current Mu Qingxuan was just an inexperienced girl in her early twenties. She shouldn't have any advanced medical skills, let alone the ability to bring Huo Changfeng back from the brink of death.
Unless...
...she had been reborn too!
The moment this possibility occurred to her, cold sweat broke out across Mu Qianqian's back.
No, that was impossible!
If Mu Qingxuan had also been reborn, how could she have let Mu Qianqian steal her marriage to Shi Feihua, along with her future as the wife of the wealthiest man?
She definitely hadn't been reborn.
Mu Qianqian reassured herself in her heart.
***
Meanwhile, back at the hospital.
Mu Qingxuan had spent the entire day performing acupuncture. After coming out of the operating room, she had forced herself to trade barbs with Mu Qianqian, and now her head was spinning with exhaustion.
She swayed on her feet, nearly collapsing to the floor.
Cui Lirong quickly caught her, her eyes full of maternal affection. "Child, you've worked so hard today. Go get some rest."
Mu Qingxuan nodded weakly.
Since there weren't many patients in the Military Region Hospital lately, Maid Wang settled Mu Qingxuan in the empty ward right next to Huo Changfeng's. Just as she was about to ask her if she wanted to eat something before sleeping, she turned around.
She saw that Mu Qingxuan had already fallen fast asleep, lying sprawled across the bed with her shoes still on.
Maid Wang felt both amused and deeply sympathetic.
Gently, she took off Mu Qingxuan's shoes and coat, pulled the blanket over her, and quietly left the room.
Mu Qingxuan slept straight through to the next morning.
The bright morning sun was streaming through the window. Squinting against the light, she remembered her patient of a husband and immediately rushed to the ward next door.
On the hospital bed, Huo Changfeng was still fast asleep.
But as Mu Qingxuan's eyes swept over the items on the nightstand, her pupils suddenly contracted in shock.