In five years, she had gained nothing else, but her strength had grown considerably.

In truth, given his character, he would never treat a girl in such a manner, but when it came to Xiyang, there were always exceptions.

Little Seven was sleeping soundly, curled up and clinging to an arm, her cheek nuzzling against it, her eyelids fluttering. Something felt strange. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring at—

Ah! Why am I in bed? And why am I hugging his arm?

Instinctively, she lashed out and kicked the man off the bed.

The man, who had been sleeping soundly in the middle of the night, opened his eyes in rare confusion. He felt a pain in his hip and looked down.

He was sitting on the floor?

“How did I end up in bed?” Little Seven eyed him warily, clutching her collar tightly. “Tell me, what did you do to me?”

“…”

“Control your imagination.” Yichen’s face was full of helplessness. He didn’t bother getting up, just sat there on the floor. “You were telling stories last night. I fell asleep soon after. I suppose you must have climbed into bed yourself. Now hurry up and help me up.”

Hearing this, Little Seven realized it was possible. Last night, she had been openly ogling his chest.

She instantly felt embarrassed and scrambled out of bed to help him up. “Um, sorry! I have sleepwalking issues when I fall asleep—I told you that, right? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” he replied calmly. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes, very well,” she mumbled, thinking how she’d spent the night sharing a bed with him; her reputation was surely ruined.

“Well, I’ll just—”

“Go buy me breakfast. I’m a bit hungry.”

“…”

She watched as the girl left the hospital room. Yichen got out of bed and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. It was only six o’clock, and even in the bustling city of A, the streets were sparsely populated at this early hour.

He spotted her figure hopping along outside.

A faint smile curved his lips.

The dawn’s first light began to spill over the man’s handsome features, gilding him in a thin layer of gold. The morning sun made him feel warm and safe.

“Mr. Lin, it’s time for your IV.”

At the sound, Lin Yichen walked to the bedside. “How many IV bags today?”

“Two should be enough,” the nurse replied, preparing the injection. “One this morning, another at noon.”

“Yichen, how are you feeling now?” A voice called from the doorway. Yichen looked up.

When he saw who it was, a flash of surprise crossed his handsome face.

He hadn’t expected her to come here.

Especially not so early in the morning.

“Aunt Xu!”

Xu Lu walked in gracefully, looking at him as she suddenly said something startling: “If you don’t give up TC, you’re in for a world of trouble.”

This rather provocative remark elicited little response from Yichen. His expression remained unchanged. “Aunt Xu, I doubt you came here so early just to threaten me.”

Xu Lu only smiled, offering no answer.

Sensing something wrong, Yichen suddenly looked up at the nurse. “You…”

No wonder she had insisted on his IV so early—there must be something mixed in the drip.

He suddenly felt weak all over, his vision blurring.

He tried to pull out the needle, but the nurse slapped his hand away.

The door swung open, and a man in a white coat and face mask entered.

Xu Lu smiled again and walked out.

The door was locked behind her.

The doctor took out a pocket watch and waved it in front of Yichen’s eyes. “Mr. Lin, do you have amnesia?”

Yichen’s eyelids felt heavy. Summoning his remaining strength, he grabbed the pocket watch. Though his voice was weak, it was ice-cold. “Trying to hypnotize me? Get lost.”

The doctor exchanged a glance with the nurse.

She picked up a pre-filled syringe and jabbed it toward Yichen’s arm.

He kicked out, but his strength was fading.

The nurse only staggered back a few steps.

The doctor moved in and held him down.

When Little Seven returned with breakfast, she found the door locked.

Why was it locked?

She thought she heard something heavy drop inside.

Immediately sensing something was wrong, she used her powers to force the door open—only to see Yichen pinned to the bed by a man in a white coat, while the nurse’s syringe was already in his arm.

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

The doctor, seeing it was just a young girl, wasn’t worried and tried to restrain her.

But before he could get close, a sudden force sent him crashing backwards into the wall, nearly breaking his spine.

The nurse, seeing things turn for the worse, immediately ran.

“Trying to run?”

At the same time, the doctor also tried to escape. Little Seven started to chase them.

“Xiyang.”

A weak voice called her back. She turned around. “Are you all right? What did they do to you?”

“I’m fine,” Yichen said, though he was weak, his head resting on her shoulder. “They injected me with something, but I’ll be okay in a bit.”

“Why did they inject you?” Little Seven brushed the cold sweat from his forehead. “Who were those people?”

“They work for my stepmother.”

“Your stepmother?”

He had a stepmother?

Was his mother gone?

She recalled the photo—only him and his mother, no father.

Could it be that his father remarried, and that’s why they’re estranged?

Little Seven found it all very complicated and hard to follow.

Her hand was suddenly grasped by a cold one, and a faint voice sounded in her ear, “Xiyang, I’ve never talked to you about my family or… myself. But I still don’t want you to know. Your world is simple and bright. You should stay just as you are—beautiful and pure—and remain by my—”

Before he could finish, he completely lost consciousness.

“Hey? Lin Yichen?”

Half an hour later, Pansen came in to give him a saline drip, his handsome face dark as liver. “Damn it, they actually dared to come here and stir up trouble. Don’t worry, Yichen, I’ve arranged three shifts of guards, and there are bodyguards outside the door. If your stepmother tries anything again, I’ll call your father directly.”

Yichen said little, but his face was grim.

Pansen knew Yichen didn’t want to hear about his stepmother. “By the way, Xiyang went out to buy breakfast again. She spilled the first one,” he added mischievously. “She’s been here since early morning. Looks like she’s getting more and more fond of you.”

At this, recalling how Xiyang had risked everything to save him, Yichen let a smile flicker at his lips.

He hadn’t expected her to be so strong, able to send a burly man flying.

He also remembered how she’d kicked him out of bed.

Really…

In five years, she hadn’t changed in any way—except her strength had grown.

Little Seven, having bought breakfast, entered the hospital and spotted Fang Li getting out of his car. She hurried over to greet him. “Good morning, Mr. Fang!”

Fang Li glanced at her, puzzled for a moment, then seemed to understand, but grew confused again. “Miss Ye, may I ask—when Mr. Lin fainted, we had a car ready downstairs, but we never saw you bring him down. Yet you were already at the hospital. Where did you come from? And how did you get here so quickly?”

When he’d called, only a few minutes had passed, but driving to the hospital should have taken at least ten.