Lu Ning lowered her head, covering her mouth as she coughed violently.
Her back was thin and hunched over, as if she could cough her lungs out at any moment.
Lu Bei’s tone was harsh. “Don’t think that by pretending to be sick and weak, I won’t teach you a lesson. I told you to take care of Xiang Xiang at school—fetch her water, bring her meals—and what did you do? You let a patient go get your food instead! Not only did you not show any gratitude, but you even tripped Xiang Xiang on purpose. Has your conscience been eaten by a dog?”
Lu Ning forced herself to suppress her cough. “I didn’t push her. It was she herself…”
“Are you trying to say Xiang Xiang tripped because she was careless? Do you think I’d believe such a pathetic excuse? Admit it—you did it on purpose!”
Lu Ning’s eyes burned as she straightened her back. “I won’t admit it.”
Slap! A hard slap landed on her face, stinging instantly.
But no matter how much her face hurt, it couldn’t compare to the pain deep in her heart.
She was already numb to it.
“Lu Bei, why are you hitting her?” Lu Nanfeng strode in and pulled the furious Lu Bei back.
“Second brother, she did such a malicious thing and still refuses to admit it. I don’t have such a vicious, unrepentant sister!”
Qin Xiang stood at the door, her hand wrapped in bandages, looking pitiful.
With red eyes, she spoke softly, “Fourth brother, I already said it was my fault. It has nothing to do with Sister Ning.”
“Xiang Xiang, you’re just too kind. Today I must properly teach Lu Ning a lesson, or she’ll only get worse!”
As Lu Bei was about to strike again, Ji Chiqian dragged a chair with a screech across the floor, creating an ear-piercing sound.
Lu Ning looked over at the noise.
Ji Chiqian leaned casually against the table, his face expressionless, his eyes sharp and cold. “You’re her family?”
Lu Nanfeng nodded. “Yes, we’re her brothers.”
“She has a fever of 39 degrees, likely an infection. She needs further tests. Also, she’s hypoglycemic and a little malnourished.”
Lu Bei was stunned. “She’s really sick?”
He had thought Lu Ning was faking illness to escape responsibility.
Ji Chiqian’s voice was calm and slow. “Then maybe you should get your eyes checked. Can’t you see it’s obvious?”
This girl was pale and visibly sick. How hard was it to see she was unwell?
Lu Bei choked. “What do you mean by that?”
Ji Chiqian frowned slightly, his tone indifferent. “Exactly what I said. Even if she’s your adopted sister, since you raised her, you’re responsible for her.”
Hearing the words ‘adopted sister,’ Lu Ning’s eyes showed a trace of mockery.
Lu Nanfeng quickly clarified, “She’s our biological sister, not adopted.”
Ji Chiqian raised an eyebrow. “You’d need a magnifying glass to see it. If you hadn’t said you were family, I’d have called the police for domestic violence against a minor.”
Lu Bei, seeing Lu Ning’s swollen face, spoke unpleasantly, “You don’t understand. I’m teaching her!”
Lu Nanfeng was speechless.
He had thought Lu Ning was healthy and wouldn’t get sick just from falling into the water like Qin Xiang.
Lu Bei looked at Ji Chiqian disdainfully. “You don’t know her. Lu Ning always fakes illness to avoid responsibility. This time, she deliberately hurt Xiang Xiang. Xiang Xiang’s father died saving her. Sometimes I really want to cut open her heart to see if it’s black!”
Lu Ning’s throat burned. She wanted to argue but, in the end, said nothing.
It was useless anyway. They would never believe her.
Qin Xiang bit her lip. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have been so clumsy, and I shouldn’t have insisted on getting Sister Ning’s lunch.”
“It is your fault,” Ji Chiqian said coldly. “Since you’re sick and receiving IV treatment, you shouldn’t have gone to the classroom. You knew you were sick and still went to make trouble for others. Don’t act like being weak makes you right.”
Lu Ning widened her eyes, stunned as she looked at the sharp-tongued school doctor.
He actually spoke up for her?
Did he… believe her?
Her eyes turned slightly red. Even a stranger could see the truth, yet her brothers couldn’t—or rather, they didn’t want to see it because they favored Qin Xiang.
Qin Xiang’s expression froze, and she gritted her teeth inwardly. What was wrong with this school doctor?
Didn’t he see she was sick and still went to get Lu Ning food?
Why wasn’t he moved by her kindness and instead defended Lu Ning?
This wasn’t right. This trick always worked before.
Qin Xiang couldn’t say a word and could only lower her head pitifully.
Lu Bei stepped forward to defend Qin Xiang. “Xiang Xiang still attends class even when she’s sick because there are less than a hundred days until the college entrance exam. She can’t afford to miss lessons. She was just trying to mend things with Lu Ning, but some people just don’t appreciate it.”
Lu Ning found it laughable.
This morning, her fourth brother had reminded her to take care of Qin Xiang, fetch water and food for her—but now, when Qin Xiang did the same, it wasn’t considered interfering with her studies?
So he did know there were only a hundred days left for the college entrance exam.
It’s just that her exam wasn’t as important as Qin Xiang’s.
Lu Nanfeng spoke up, “Lu Bei, take Xiang Xiang back to rest first.”
“Second brother!”
“Are you going to ignore what I say now?”
Lu Bei fell silent and left with Qin Xiang.
The infirmary quieted down again.
Lu Nanfeng frowned. “Ning Ning, if you don’t want to take care of Xiang Xiang, fine. But don’t do this kind of thing again.”
Lu Ning kept her head down. Her throat hurt too much; she didn’t want to say a word.
She pulled the blanket over her head, not wanting to see them anymore.
“Lu Ning, if you keep acting out like this, I can’t keep covering for you.”
Lu Nanfeng was getting annoyed.
He reached out and pulled the blanket away. “Come home with me now. We need to talk.”
He had to talk to Lu Ning today.
Qin Xiang couldn’t continue being hurt like this.
Ji Chiqian pressed down on Lu Nanfeng’s arm, his gaze cold. “She can leave after finishing her IV. Family members, wait outside.”
Ji Chiqian’s gaze was arrogant, leaving no room for refusal.
Lu Ning looked up in surprise at the man standing between her and her brother. His figure was tall and imposing.
She noticed a scar on his wrist—dark red and ugly, very eye-catching.
She had one just like it on her leg, left from a childhood car accident.
Had he also been in an accident?
Lu Nanfeng didn’t back down. “I’m her brother. I want to take her home. We have doctors at home.”
“Then why did you let her have such a high fever for so long?”
Lu Nanfeng, seeing Lu Ning’s pale face, felt a little guilty. “She didn’t say anything about being sick.”
And this morning, he had tried to check her forehead, but she had avoided his hand.
How could this be his fault?
Maybe Lu Ning deliberately delayed treatment to avoid responsibility.
Ji Chiqian’s tone turned harsh. “Sir, if you try to take her by force, I will call the police for child abuse. And according to the law, if a minor experiences domestic violence, she can apply for personal protection.”
“I’m her biological brother, her guardian!”
“But just now, I personally saw you hit her. There’s surveillance here as evidence. I believe the police will make a fair judgment.”
Ji Chiqian remained calm and unyielding. “She doesn’t want to go with you right now. You have no right to force her.”
Lu Ning’s heart trembled slightly as she secretly peeked at the man standing protectively in front of her.