The chicken soup in his mouth was fishy and salty.
There wasn’t even a hint of rich chicken fat aroma—just the stench of poultry scalded in hot water, faintly mixed with the smell of chicken droppings.
“Ugh—gurgle—”
Seeing Li Mingliang retching, Liu Meiling simply held his head with one hand and force-fed him the soup with the other. “Old Li, don’t waste your sister’s kindness!”
Drink it!
“Gulp gulp gulp—ugh—”
Li Mingliang pounded his chest, unable to stop vomiting. Qin Xiangru circled around the lunchbox in confusion.
Did Liu Meiling take the wrong one?
“Look at you, why drink so fast? Xiangru stewed this all morning. Tastes good, right?”
Li Mingliang had just stopped vomiting. Looking at Qin Xiangru, he forced himself to nod: “It’s good!”
Xiangru was so kind—if she found out the soup tasted bad, she’d blame herself and lose sleep.
Hearing his affirmation, Qin Xiangru smiled in satisfaction.
Meanwhile, in Room 203 on the same floor—
Qian Mianmian carefully opened the lunchbox. Seeing the rich, savory chicken soup inside, she exchanged glances with her brother.
“Did Mom change her personality?”
Qian Feng shook his head. “Just drink it. Probably because Auntie is around, so she doesn’t dare treat us badly.”
Qian Mianmian agreed. Ever since they were little, their mother had never liked them. Forget cooking for them—just not making them do chores was already rare.
She opened another lunchbox and widened her eyes, swallowing repeatedly.
“Brother, buns! Meat buns!”
At the same time—
Liu Meiling received her second mission.
0928 didn’t bother explaining and directly issued the task:
[300 meters ahead, there is an injured person who needs immediate treatment. Host, please proceed at once!]
The bold red text flashed before Liu Meiling. She didn’t even bother making an excuse—she tossed the lunchbox aside and sprinted toward the marked location.
Behind her, Li Mingliang was hit on the head by the lunchbox, cried out, and fainted again.
Three hundred meters from the hospital, by a foul-smelling drainage ditch—
Xiao Yunchen hadn’t had a drop of water for three days. Leaning against the wall, his body was numb from the cold.
Blood trickled down from his head across his eyelashes. He weakly raised his hand—his fingertips were bluish.
Was he about to die?
He wasn’t willing… he hadn’t even gotten married yet…
“Is anyone there? Anyone?”
In a daze, he heard a voice. He raised his head, blood blurring his vision. Through the red haze, a not-so-young face appeared.
“Don’t die on me!”
In her urgency, Liu Meiling ran to a nearby supply store, bought some coarse salt for a dime, crushed it with a stone, and sprinkled it onto his wounds.
0928 gasped. Hell was empty—the King of Hell was walking among the living. No wonder it hadn’t seen any ghosts this year—its host was basically a living demon king…
The salt mixed with the blood, and the intense sting jolted Xiao Yunchen awake. Gritting his teeth, he said: “I won’t die… go get help!”
The sharp pain made his back tense, sweat soaking his clothes.
Liu Meiling let out a sigh of relief. Seeing he could hold on, she sprinted toward the hospital, shouting:
“Help! Someone fell into the ditch!”
The ditch behind the hospital was over three meters deep, with no footholds on either side.
Liu Meiling borrowed a ladder from the hospital and grabbed three sturdy men. With a rope she somehow found, she shouted:
“Hey! Can you still move?”
Xiao Yunchen’s scalp tingled. “Yes!”
He had to be able to move—even if he couldn’t.
Dragging one injured leg, he climbed halfway up the ladder. Once Liu Meiling could reach him, they tied a rope around his waist five times and hauled him up like a dead dog.
When he opened his eyes again, that same kind-looking face appeared before him.
His heart tightened.
He had been saved… so why didn’t he feel happy at all?
Seeing him awake, Liu Meiling smiled kindly and introduced herself:
“Young man, my name is Liu Meiling. I work at the textile factory and live at No. 08, Huanxin Family Compound of the steel plant!
Remember this face!
I’m the one who saved you!”
Doing good deeds without leaving a name? That didn’t exist for Liu Meiling. If she did something good, people should remember it.
Xiao Yunchen nodded slowly, as if enlightened: “Aunt Liu, I’ll remember. I’ll definitely repay you!”
Liu Meiling beamed—she liked sensible young men like this.
Then she stretched out her plump hand: “Registration fee: 0.2 yuan. Medical fee: 1.5 yuan.”
“Oh… oh!”
As Xiao Yunchen moved, his head throbbed with pain. Covering it, he looked confused.
“Who… am I?”
“Don’t pretend. Pay up!”
But he truly couldn’t remember anything.
0928 finally admitted defeat: “Unfortunately, host… he really has amnesia.”
Liu Meiling’s face instantly changed. What?! Real amnesia? Then what about her medical expenses?!
0928 coughed lightly: “Don’t worry. To protect the host’s rights, the system now has a compensation feature. I’ve already submitted a claim. In about two hours, your expenses will be refunded—double.”
“Oh… alright then.”
Liu Meiling immediately smiled again. Since he had amnesia, she decided to leave.
“Are you my mom?”
Liu Meiling: ?
“No. I’m just a kind passerby!”
She turned and went back to the hospital, intending to eavesdrop on Li Mingliang and Qin Xiangru.
Unfortunately, they had already been discharged.
Li Mingliang only had cracked ribs—not serious—and just needed rest. Since Qin Xiangru was there, she handled the discharge, and they left together.
On her way home, Liu Meiling ran into Qian Feng and Qian Mianmian, who were also leaving the hospital.
She quickly stepped forward: “Why not stay a few more days? You’ve got too many health issues—rest properly.”
Qian Feng smiled politely but distantly: “Sorry for troubling you, Auntie. I’ll repay the hospital fees later.”
Someone like him didn’t deserve rest. If he didn’t work, Mianmian wouldn’t have living expenses.
She was in her final year of high school—already under pressure—and had taken time off because of him.
His life was already like this. He couldn’t drag his sister down too.
Liu Meiling swallowed her words and simply pulled them along home.
She had already thrown out the eldest son’s belongings anyway—letting him stay one night was already generous.
First, she would settle these two siblings.
Worried they wouldn’t have food, she took them to a state-run restaurant.
Qian Mianmian didn’t even dare sit, clutching her clothes nervously: “Auntie, we can just eat something simple… we don’t need to come here.”
Liu Meiling waved her hand boldly:
“It’s fine! Sit. Auntie has money!”
Just then—
“Mom? Why are you here? No wonder you don’t cook anymore—you’ve been sneaking out to eat good food!”