An An watched with a heartache, "Uncle Shen, why do you need to take so much medicine? Won't it be very bitter? Mom doesn't want to swallow it."
For Huo Rou, who was unconscious, the most difficult thing was to make her open her mouth to eat.
"This medicine isn't bitter. When have the medicines I give your mother ever been bitter?" Shen Wuyou looked at An An, hoping he could help, "Help Uncle feed this medicine to your mother. Only when An An feeds it will she be able to swallow it with peace of mind."
With An An's cooperation, after all the medicine was given, the indicators on the monitoring equipment began to change.
Shen Wuyou said that Huo Rou might not wake up until tomorrow and asked everyone to go back and rest, but no one was willing to leave and all waited there with bated breath.
Huo Rou's phone, which had been silenced in her bag, flickered silently during this time, and Qin Ningyi's calls went unanswered one after another.
An An looked at the caller ID on the phone and remembered what Zou Xiaoxiao had said to Qin Ningyi during her morning run. He looked at Huo Rou, who had not yet woken up, and hesitated for a long time.
"Hello, Dad," An An finally answered the phone.
When Qin Ningyi heard An An's voice, the feeling of panic in his heart had not subsided.
After finishing his inquiries, he accompanied Grandpa Qin to inspect the surroundings, putting on a show of a thorough inspection. In the evening, he ate with some old friends who rarely got together.
He had been uneasy all afternoon. He finally found an excuse to leave and called Huo Rou, but the call couldn't connect.
Accustomed to restraining his desires, he was now having wild thoughts.
"Have you eaten?" Qin Ningyi adjusted his demeanor and asked gently.
An An answered smoothly, "Yes."
"Did you eat out? The butler said you went out and haven't returned."
"Mhm." Qin Ningyi had a faint feeling that something was wrong. Although An An hadn't been very talkative before, this was the first time he had been so reticent.
"Where's Mom?"
"We've returned to our place here, Mom is sleeping." An An followed Huo Rou's instructions not to tell Qin Ningyi that they were in Taichuan City.
And after what happened during his morning run, his trust in Qin Ningyi had significantly decreased.
Hearing that Huo Rou had gone back to sleep, Qin Ningyi felt some doubt, but Huo Rou had been quite tired recently and should get more rest.
"Then take good care of your mother. I'll be back soon." After saying this, he asked, "An An, what do you want? Dad will bring it back for you from Taichuan City."
"Qin Ge, let's go, Grandpa is rushing us." Before An An could speak, he heard Zou Xiaoxiao's voice from the other end of the phone.
"An An doesn't want anything. Dad, you should get busy. An An is going to sleep too." An An's gaze fell on the sleeping Huo Rou. He didn't want anything except his mother.
The cold attitude of his son made Qin Ningyi feel a little sad. An An no longer trusted him. It seemed some things needed to be accelerated.
He found an excuse to return to the old residence later. Grandpa Qin looked at him with his hawk-like eyes, "Ning Yi, you've been very off tonight. Is there something wrong with the company?"
"No, Grandpa. I have other matters to attend to on this trip. I'll come back later to play chess with you." Qin Ningyi said ambiguously.
Anyone who can read minds must also be good at hiding their thoughts. Grandpa Qin looked at him for a while, "Go. Come back early. After a day of work, your grandmother must be waiting at home to see you."
"Okay, Grandpa, take care." Qin Ningyi saw Grandpa Qin off and got into the car that had come to pick him up.
"Mr. Qin, where are we going?" The driver was someone from the company notified by Xiao Konglin, and he had only received instructions to pick him up.
Qin Ningyi looked at the address sent by the other party on his phone and gave a destination with a deep gaze.
Although this place was within the city, its clever design gave it a sense of peace amidst the bustling city.
The people at the entrance saw a car approaching and quickly stepped forward. They looked at the person in the car with expressionless faces.
The middle-aged man standing at the forefront bowed respectfully and asked, "Are you Mr. Qin?"
Qin Ningyi looked at the wariness in his eyes and nodded, "Wang Haozhu should have told you my intentions. There's no need to be so guarded."
"No matter what, you are Grandpa Qin's grandson. We won't lack the proper reception for you." The man spoke politely, but the people behind him showed more than what his words implied.
"Excuse me, Young Master Qin, please get out of the car and we'll take you in." He pointed to the car they had prepared at the entrance and invited Qin Ningyi to get out with a smile.
Since he was coming to the Jiang family's territory, Qin Ningyi was prepared for whatever difficulties he might face.
He got out of the car calmly and was about to walk towards that car.
A fierce-looking man bared his teeth and stopped him, "Young Master Qin, please allow us to frisk you."
Ordinary drivers had never seen such a scene. Seeing Qin Ningyi being troubled, the driver instinctively reached for his phone to make a call.
The middle-aged man picked up a gun through the glass and pointed it at him, "I advise you not to make a call."
The driver heard his sinister voice and looked up to see a dark muzzle. His unlocking motion paused, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
Qin Ningyi ignored the fierce-looking man in front of him and turned to the middle-aged man calmly, "He's just an ordinary driver, don't scare him."
"Xiao Chen, don't make the call. I'm fine. You can go back now." Qin Ningyi instructed the driver.
"But Mr. Qin, they..." He was a local and naturally understood the situation in Taichuan City.
People who could possess firearms in Taichuan City, besides the military, could only be the Jiang family.
So, this was the Jiang family?
Thinking of this, the driver's heart became even more flustered. Legend had it that the Jiang family operated in both legitimate and illegitimate circles, always walking a fine line without ever getting wet. Why would Mr. Qin bring him here?!
"What's wrong with us?" The middle-aged man smiled very friendly. Although the muzzle was no longer pointed at him, his slow manner of playing with the handgun was still terrifying!
"Nothing, nothing!" Xiao Chen shook his head like a rattle drum.
Someone looked at him and snorted with laughter, "Is this Young Master Qin's subordinate? Why is he so cowardly?"
"Yeah, why don't we take him? We'll train him. How can such a coward be worthy of you!"
"Elder Jiang is waiting inside. Are you sure you want to waste time here?" Qin Ningyi said coldly to remind them.
Upon hearing Elder Jiang's name, these people restrained themselves a bit. The middle-aged man smilingly put away his gun, "Just scaring you. Let's go. After leaving, don't cause us any trouble. Otherwise..."
Under his threat, Xiao Chen looked at Qin Ningyi and received Qin Ningyi's instruction, "Let's go. No need to call the police."
After Xiao Chen drove away, the fierce-looking man stepped forward, "My apologies, Young Master Qin."
Qin Ningyi dodged his hand, threw his jacket in front of him, and then showed them his bag one by one.
Just as the man was about to object to Qin Ningyi's self-frisking, the middle-aged man stopped him and shook his head.
They didn't really want to break ties with the Qin family completely. Since Qin Ningyi had abided by their rules, they wouldn't make things too difficult.