Chapter Four: Did She Come Back to Sleep Last Night?

Su Zheng’s words made Qiao Lan’s face pale dramatically. The embarrassment and annoyance she had felt were instantly replaced by fear.

“Brother Zheng, what am I supposed to do?” she asked, panic-stricken.

Su Zheng said nothing, but gestured for her to extend her hand so he could check her pulse in detail.

Qiao Lan dared not hesitate and hurriedly offered her fair arm to him.

In less than a minute, Su Zheng let go, frowning slightly as he looked at her.

“You weren’t telling the truth, were you?”

“Brother Zheng, I…” Qiao Lan’s expression grew awkward under his questioning. She had found his earlier questions too embarrassing to answer honestly, so she’d just answered offhand. Even with her personality, speaking of such matters to a young man she barely knew was mortifying.

“Brother Zheng, what illness do I actually have?” At this moment, her greatest concern was her condition.

“Judging from your complexion, you’ve been suffering from irregular routines for a long time, which has caused stagnation of your inner energy, rising false fire, and resulting in a deficiency of yin. That’s why you experience intermittent pain in your lower abdomen, which never fully resolves and has been getting worse.

If, as you said, you feel no discomfort even when urinating, then it means the yin deficiency has accumulated into toxic yin, severely damaging your physiological functions. Even if treated, it would leave lasting aftereffects, and you would never be able to bear children.”

Su Zheng explained gravely.

Qiao Lan’s anxiety flared instantly, pushing aside all other thoughts. “No, actually, what I said before wasn’t accurate!”

“Then be clear about it.”

“Um… the symptoms you mentioned—I have all of them,” she admitted, her face flushed with shame, her voice barely louder than a mosquito’s, not daring to meet his gaze.

“That’s better. In that case, it can still be treated.”

Su Zheng nodded slightly, his clear eyes unaffected by her embarrassment.

“That’s wonderful. Thank you, Brother Zheng! I really can’t thank you enough!”

“Go fetch the silver needles.”

Qiao Lan left at once.

The needles were in her mother’s hospital room; Su Zheng planned to treat her mother again at dawn to cleanse her remaining toxins completely.

After Su Zheng finished the acupuncture session for Qiao Lan, she immediately sensed a transformation within herself. The stabbing pain that had tormented her lower abdomen vanished!

Her gratitude was immense, but she was even more astonished.

As the head of Yang City’s most prestigious private wellness center, the founder of the Yishou Pavilion brand, she had connections everywhere and had met countless medical experts and professors. None of them could compare to Su Zheng!

Meeting him by chance and having her chronic ailment resolved felt like fate’s gracious favor.

“Brother Zheng, your mother needs good nutrition. Here’s some money—just a token of my appreciation. Please use it to buy her some supplements,” Qiao Lan said, handing him a black card with a smile.

“I appreciate the gesture, but I can’t accept this money. We agreed before—besides, you’ve helped me a lot as well. We’re even,” Su Zheng replied, waving her off.

He was short on money, but he saw no reason to ask for more when they’d already come to an understanding. Now that he possessed these medical skills, once his mother recovered, earning money would not be difficult.

Of course, before that, he still had an important matter to settle.

He had to go to the Chen family and confront Chen Muxue.

The scene at the hotel entrance was a memory he could hardly bear. The thought of it made his heart bleed.

Two years of marriage, day and night together, and in return, he received her shameful betrayal. What was the point in carrying on?

A notification sounded on his phone. Looking down, Su Zheng saw a friend request from an unfamiliar number.

“When I was at the hospital front desk earlier, I happened to see your contact information. Brother Zheng, can we be friends?” Qiao Lan said with a gentle smile, anticipation written all over her face.

After a moment’s thought, Su Zheng accepted the request.

“Thank you for allowing it, Brother Zheng. We’re friends now! If you ever need anything from me, just say the word!” Qiao Lan declared, her mood lifted.

“If there’s nothing else, you should head home. I need to check on my mother’s recovery,” Su Zheng said, getting up to leave.

“Brother Zheng, actually, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“One of my clients has a strange illness. He’s seen many specialists, but none have been able to help. If you have time, could you take a look at him?”

“Don’t worry, your consultation fee will be generous. The patient is the patriarch of the Li family here in Yang City—money is no object for him,” she hurriedly explained, seeing Su Zheng frown.

“We’ll talk about it later. I’ll contact you when I’m free.”

With that, Su Zheng left.

Qiao Lan was delighted. Once Su Zheng had gone, she put her mask and sunglasses back on and left the hospital as well.

Early the next morning, after his mother awoke, Su Zheng performed acupuncture again, finally eradicating her lingering ailments.

“Mom, is there anywhere you still feel unwell?”

“I’m fine now, really. Don’t worry, Xiao Zheng. Apart from a bit of weakness, I feel perfectly well!” Yu Qiulei’s face was still a little pale, but she was in good spirits, her expression deeply moved.

“This time, after nearly dying, I’ve thought through a lot. I don’t resent your father anymore—it’s all fate.

Back then, when he took your sister and disappeared without a word, maybe he had his reasons. Maybe it wasn’t that he didn’t want us.

By the way, my hospital stay must have cost a fortune, didn’t it? Oh, you child, why did you arrange for me to be in a room like this? It must be expensive! Go find a nurse and tell her I’m not used to staying here. Let’s get discharged quickly. I just need a few days’ rest at home to recover!”

When she realized she was in a luxurious ward, Yu Qiulei chided Su Zheng, unable to bear the thought of her son spending so much money needlessly.

“Mom, just rest here and don’t worry about the money. And from now on, you don’t need to take any more handicraft work home. I’ve found a job with a good salary,” Su Zheng said sincerely, feeling an unexplainable ache as he looked at his anxious mother.

When his father disappeared with his sister during Su Zheng’s high school years, all the burdens of the family fell on his mother’s shoulders. Back then, Su Zheng swore that one day he’d find his father and ask him face-to-face why he abandoned his family.

He comforted his mother for a while longer until a nurse brought breakfast. When his mother had eaten, he quickly ate a few bites himself and left the hospital.

At Liyuan Community, Chen Muxue’s home.

Su Zheng pressed the doorbell.

“Who is it?” A middle-aged woman with a perm opened the door.

“It’s you? Hmph! You still have the nerve to come back? I thought you had some backbone and would never return to this house!” As soon as she saw it was Su Zheng, his mother-in-law, Lu Hongmei, scowled and shot him a disdainful look.

Su Zheng was unfazed. He wasn’t here to argue, but to settle things with the Chen family once and for all.

After he silently entered, his father-in-law, Chen Jianguo, who was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, threw it aside in anger and went out to the balcony to smoke, muttering curses under his breath as if just being in the same room as Su Zheng would bring bad luck.

“Did Muxue come home last night?” Su Zheng asked, ignoring his in-laws’ attitude and suppressing the turmoil within him.