Chen Xiao stared at the monitors for a long mont, his young face scrunched in concentration as he tried to make sense of the numbers and graphs and flashing lights. Then his gaze returned to Yuyan herself, tracking over her peaceful face and the gentle rise and fall of her chest with each breath, looking for visual confirmation that she really was just sleeping rather than dying or permanently broken.
"Can I hold her hand?" he asked quietly, and the question carried such vulnerable hope that Shuyin felt her chest tighten with protective affection for this small, worried child who was showing such fierce devotion despite their young ages.
"Of course you can," Shuyin said gently, standing and guiding him toward the examination table while keeping her body positioned to block his view of where the maintenance team was efficiently bundling Dr. Zhang’s corpse onto the dical gurney. "She’ll probably like knowing you’re here when she wakes up."
Chen Xiao climbed onto the small step stool soone had positioned beside the examination table, his small fra barely tall enough to reach even with the boost, and carefully took Yuyan’s limp hand in both of his tiny ones. He held it with the kind of exaggerated gentleness young children used when they’d been told to be very careful with sothing fragile, his face serious and focused as he stared at his sister’s unconscious face.
"I’m here, Yuyan," he whispered, leaning as close as the examination table’s height would allow. "You’re safe now. Aunt Shuyin found you and brought you to get better. You’re going to be okay."
Behind them, the maintenance team had efficiently bundled the corpse onto the dical gurney with professional speed, covering it with sheets and official-looking tags that would make the transport look entirely routine to anyone who happened to see it being wheeled through hospital corridors. They were already moving toward the door with smooth coordination, their movents carrying the kind of practiced competence that suggested this body would disappear into whatever disposal system existed for exactly this type of problem and would never be connected back to their Lu family or this examination room.
Ah Ling made brief eye contact with Lu Yuze, her slight nod confirming that everything was proceeding according to plan, that the scene had been adequately staged and the evidence sufficiently managed to avoid uncomfortable investigations.
"Dr. Lin should arrive within five minutes," she said softly...
Chen Xiao, completely absorbed in watching his sister’s face for any signs of consciousness returning, appeared to have missed or deliberately ignored the entire cleanup operation, his young mind focused entirely on the single most important thing in his world rather than suspicious adult activities he’d learned early were often better left unquestioned.
Shuyin felt so of the adrenaline finally starting to drain from her system, exhaustion settling into her bones as the imdiate crisis passed and the violence receded into recent mory rather than present action, her body recognizing that the danger was temporarily contained even if not entirely resolved.
Lu Yuze’s hand found hers, warm fingers lacing through her own with deliberate pressure that felt both possessive and grounding simultaneously, his touch anchoring her to the present mont rather than letting her spiral into anxiety about what had just happened and what complications might still arise from her loss of control.
His thumb brushed across her knuckles in that sa gentle gesture he’d used before, touch conveying things he probably didn’t have words for with Chen Xiao present and listening with the kind of acute awareness young children developed when they sensed adults were hiding important information.
They stood like that for several long monts, hands clasped beside Yuyan’s examination table while Chen Xiao murmured quiet reassurances to his unconscious sister in that sweet, earnest voice young children used when talking to people they loved, his small hands still holding hers with exaggerated gentleness.
Almost peaceful, if you ignored the fresh murder and the supernatural revelations and the complicated family mber who’d appeared and disappeared with equal suddenness, if you pretended this was just a normal dical situation with normal complications rather than the chaotic ss it actually represented.
Almost normal, in the strange new definition of normal that had developed around their unconventional family unit over the past impossible days.
Dr. Lin arrived exactly when promised, a composed woman in her late forties with sharp eyes and the kind of professional discretion that ca from treating wealthy clients who valued privacy over protocol and paid extrely well for the privilege of not being asked uncomfortable questions about suspicious situations.
She asked no questions about why the previous physician was absent, or why there had been a cleanup team in the hallway, or why the family seed unusually tense for what should have been a routine toxicology screening for a drugged teenager.
She simply examined Yuyan with thorough competence, drawing blood samples for testing with practiced efficiency, checking vitals and pupil response, and coordination with the kind of systematic attention that suggested she was genuinely competent despite her willingness to ignore red flags in exchange for generous compensation.
"Rohypnol, as suspected from the preliminary indicators," she confird after running the initial screening, her tone matter-of-fact and clinical. "Moderate dose, administered probably one to two hours ago based on current tabolization rates and residual concentration in her system. No other substances detected in the preliminary screening, though the full comprehensive panel will take several hours to process completely and I’ll send those results to your private physician once they’re available for review."
She made notes on her tablet with quick, precise movents, her fingers flying across the screen with professional efficiency. "She’s stable, vitals are all within normal paraters, no signs of complications or adverse reactions beyond the expected sedation. The drug effects should wear off completely within four to six hours maximum. I’d recomnd rest, hydration, and monitoring for any unusual symptoms over the next twenty-four hours as a precautionary asure. But she’s cleared for discharge if you prefer to complete recovery at ho rather than staying in a hospital environnt."
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