73: Chapter 73 I shouldn't have woken up...

The hospital room was very quiet.

The monitor occasionally emitted a faint beeping sound. The curtains were half-drawn, and the light from outside filtered in, illuminating the floor by the hospital bed until it looked bleached white.

Lu Cheng lay on the bed, his face still a bit pale, an IV needle in the back of his hand, looking completely still and quiet.

Xia Xi sat by the bedside, faint dark circles under her eyes, clearly not having rested well.

The hospital room door was gently pushed open.

Su Wan walked in.

She was dressed simply today in a light-colored jacket, her long hair tied back, giving her a cold and detached air.

After entering, she first glanced at Lu Cheng on the hospital bed, then looked at Xia Xi, who was watching over him. She paused for two seconds before speaking.

"Xia Xi, go rest for a while. I'll watch him for you."

Xia Xi was stunned for a moment and looked up at her.

"Ah? No need, I'm not tired."

That was what she said, but there was a hint of weakness in her voice.

Su Wan glanced at her, her tone calm.

"You can barely keep your eyes open."

Xia Xi instinctively wanted to refuse, but she opened her mouth and swallowed the words back.

She did have things to deal with today.

Because of the turmoil in the south, there were many follow-up matters at home to handle.

For her to have been able to stay here until now was already time she had squeezed out with difficulty.

If she dragged it out any longer, her father would probably come to drag her away himself.

Xia Xi looked at Su Wan, then at Lu Cheng on the bed. After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally nodded.

"Then... you watch him for a while for me."

"Mm."

"If he wakes up, send me a message immediately."

"Okay."

The door closed gently.

The room suddenly became quiet.

Su Wan stood where she was, her gaze falling on Lu Cheng, her eyes flickering slightly.

Now is a good time.

She had been keeping the system prompt in mind for the past few days.

[Remaining times for temporary task: 2]

[Please complete the massage action within the limited time]

If she didn't massage him now, the time limit would expire.

Su Wan pursed her lips, her earlobes quietly heating up.

Better to clear the count first.

She walked to the bedside, checked the door, then checked the angle of the surveillance camera in the room. After confirming there was no problem, she slowly sat down and reached out to gently lift Lu Cheng's arm.

"Just massage for a while..."

"It'll be very quick."

She whispered a reason to herself, took a deep breath, and spoke in a low voice.

"Technician Su Wan at your service."

On the hospital bed.

Lu Cheng, who had been in a daze, felt his consciousness just surfacing from chaos when he heard that sentence by his ear.

"..."

Lu Cheng's brain stalled on the spot.

That voice...

Su Wan?!

He was completely stunned, almost thinking he was still dreaming.

The next second, he felt his arm being gently pressed by a pair of cool hands, the pressure very light, kneading along his forearm muscles little by little.

Lu Cheng: "???"

What is this person planning to do???

His eyelids trembled slightly, but he forced himself not to open his eyes.

A bunch of messy thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

If...

I mean if.

If I wake up now, wouldn't Su Wan kill me to silence me??

Lu Cheng could only keep his eyes closed and play dead.

Su Wan was actually a bit nervous too.

Especially at a quiet time like this, with only the sounds of the instruments and her own breathing in the room.

But the task was right there.

She had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue.

Just like that, Lu Cheng had to keep his eyes closed while being massaged by Su Wan for half an hour.

During this half hour, he didn't dare say a word or move a muscle, fearing that if he were exposed, some unspeakable tragedy would occur in the hospital room.

Finally.

Su Wan stopped.

Lu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Is it over?

It should be over, right?

But the next second, that cold, clear voice sounded softly by his ear again.

"Technician Su Wan at your service."

Lu Cheng: "..."

Holy crap.

There's a second round?!

After Su Wan said this, her face began to heat up, but she gritted her teeth and continued to massage.

Lu Cheng continued to pretend to sleep, but his brain was racing faster and faster.

He thought a lot.

Really, he thought a lot.

First, why does Su Wan know how to massage?

Second, why does she want to massage him?

Could it be...

Does Su Wan have a system too?

Once this thought appeared, the more Lu Cheng thought about it, the more plausible it felt.

Otherwise, how could he explain why she kept finding opportunities to massage him these past few days?

It couldn't really be just to practice on him, right?

And every time she massaged him, her expression was extremely serious, with an indescribable awkwardness, like she was completing some mandatory task.

Her system... could it be a massage system?

You can get stronger by massaging people!

It seems... plausible, and then seeing that he hadn't woken up yet, she used him to practice?

By the bedside, Su Wan was still massaging seriously.

Lu Cheng kept his eyes closed, looking as peaceful as a vegetable.

Another half hour passed.

Su Wan finally stopped.

She let out a soft breath, raised her hand to wipe the fine sweat from her temples, and just as she was about to stand up, her gaze suddenly fell on Lu Cheng's face.

Su Wan paused, her eyes narrowing slightly.

The room was silent for two seconds.

Then, Su Wan spoke slowly.

"Are you awake?"

No matter what, Su Wan was an Empress; she hadn't noticed while massaging, but now, observing Lu Cheng's breathing pattern and eye movement, she knew instantly that he was awake.

Lu Cheng's heart skipped a beat on the hospital bed.

It's over.

He'd been discovered.

He held out for two seconds, realized he really couldn't keep pretending, and could only slowly open his eyes, flashing Su Wan an extremely awkward smile.

"Morning... morning..."

"When did you wake up?"

Lu Cheng's eyes darted away; I shouldn't have woken up...

This question, if answered poorly, could easily cost him his life.

But Su Wan was staring right at him, clearly not planning to let it go.

Lu Cheng coughed dryly, deciding to tell half the truth.

"From the first time... you said..."

He paused, glanced at Su Wan, and then deliberately pinched his voice, imitating the serious tone she had used earlier.

"Technician Su Wan at your service~"

"Started..."

The air instantly went quiet.

Su Wan froze completely.

The next second, her face turned bright red from her neck all the way to her forehead.

Lu Cheng had been prepared for her to be furious and slap him to death.

Instead, Su Wan just stood there, her fingers curling, her eyes darting around, clearly flustered.

"I..."

She opened her mouth, her voice dropping a few decibels.

"My mom has been a bit too tired lately, and I was thinking of massaging her to help her relax..."

Lu Cheng looked at her like this, and remembered Su Wan massaging him these past few days...

Hmm... the three great illusions of life: my phone is ringing, I can counter-kill, and... she doesn't like me, right?!

Compared to the last one, I'd rather believe Su Wan bound a massage system...

However... Lu Cheng still climbed down the step she provided.

"Oh... is that so."

As soon as Su Wan heard that, she knew this guy didn't believe her at all.

She pursed her lips, the redness on her face not yet faded, her voice lower.

"Please..."

"Just pretend you didn't see this."

"Mm... okay..."

There was a sudden awkward silence in the room.

Su Wan immediately stood up, as if wanting to escape this place of trouble quickly.

"Since you're awake, I'll go call the doctor for you."

After saying that, she didn't give Lu Cheng a chance to say anything else, turned around, and walked out.

Before long, a doctor and a nurse came in together.

The leader was a middle-aged doctor wearing glasses, whose movements were very efficient. After entering, he first glanced at the data at the head of the bed, then looked at Lu Cheng.

"Awake? How do you feel?"

Lu Cheng moved his neck.

"Not bad."

The doctor nodded and began the examination.

He measured blood pressure, checked Source Power fluctuations, examined pupil reactions, and had Lu Cheng raise his hands, make a fist, and get up to try some basic movements.

After tossing about for ten minutes or so, the doctor closed his clipboard.

"It's not a big problem."

"Your body is severely overdrawn and your energy and blood are seriously depleted; it's a sequela of a forced outburst. Just need to supplement it."

"Don't move around too much these few days, don't rush to be discharged, observe for two days first."

When Lu Cheng heard "don't rush to be discharged," his face fell.

"Doctor, I feel like my recovery ability is quite strong."

The doctor looked at him.

"Strong recovery ability doesn't mean you can use it to mess around with your life."

"In your condition, if you mess around again, your foundation might have problems."

Lu Cheng immediately behaved.

"Fine, I'll follow the arrangements."

The doctor grunted, gave a few more instructions about diet and rest, and then left with the nurse.

The hospital room became quiet again.

Lu Cheng leaned against the headboard and reached for the phone beside him.

He turned it on.

Messages exploded immediately.

The class group, the martial arts gym group, private chats from several acquaintances—everyone was asking how he was!

"Bro! You alive?"

"Bro! If you didn't reply again, I was ready to order a wreath for you!"

Lu Cheng's mouth twitched. He replied to a few important people first to report he was safe.

Then he clicked on the news to take a look.

For the past few days, there hadn't been much movement in reports related to the ruins in the North and South Districts. The official stance was very tight, and a lot of information was being suppressed and not released.

Instead, there was a lot more news about cult infiltration, screening of abnormal personnel, and prevention propaganda.

Headlines were scrolling across the screen.

[Citizens, please pay attention to strange gathering activities]

[If you discover suspicious contaminated items, please report them immediately]

[The Federation will strengthen patrols in key areas]

Lu Cheng watched these news items, his eyes darkening slightly.

The cult had suffered a major loss this time and probably wouldn't just let it go easily.

Just as he was thinking about this, the hospital room door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

Lu Cheng looked up.

A man in a suit and leather shoes walked in.

The other person was burly with broad shoulders and back, and a very steady aura; even just walking into the hospital room normally, he carried an oppressive feeling of someone who had long held a high position.

Lu Cheng was stunned for a moment.

He had seen this face many times on TV.

The mayor of Rong City.

Xia Yunchi.

Oh no.

Isn't this Xia Xi's dad? Why did he come in person???