Shen Shiyan hurried forward to check.
After communicating with the attending physician, he learned that Huo Ning had already been given Pethidine, but her symptoms showed no signs of improvement. He was deeply surprised.
Huo Xiaozheng stared at the little girl before him, his expression unmoved.
The excessive pain gradually made Huo Ning's mind hazy. In her vision, Huo Xiaozheng's figure overlapped with those of her parents.
She suddenly felt as if she had returned to her final moments in her previous life, with her father and mother by her side. They watched her suffer from the torment of illness with heartbreaking grief, yet couldn't bear to let her go.
She seemed to hear her mother's crying, begging Huo Ning not to be so cruel as to leave her.
In her foggy consciousness, Huo Ning confused the past and present.
Her heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife as she murmured, "Mom, I'm sorry..."
Huo Ning was in too much pain. She looked at her father by the bed and reached out to him.
Seeking comfort while crying and pleading, "Dad... I'm in so much pain... Will you let me go?"
She was only 5 years old. Huo Xiaozheng remembered the file about her on his desk.
He stepped forward and grasped her fingers. The small hand was cold and clammy, still shaking.
Huo Xiaozheng pondered for a moment, then said, "The medicine has been given. It won't hurt soon."
His tone wasn't particularly gentle, but Xi Chuan, who knew Huo Xiaozheng's temperament well, was surprised. For the usually cold CEO, this was already considered tender.
Aunt Xu's eyes were brimming with tears as she used a handkerchief to wipe away the cold sweat.
The damp bangs were a mess, sticking messily to her face.
But her eyes seemed to focus only on Huo Xiaozheng. Even though the pain had made her eyes lose focus, she still stared intently in Huo Xiaozheng's direction, deliriously calling him "Dad" and repeatedly begging him to let her go.
Huo Xiaozheng didn't respond further to the little girl's cries, only glancing at Shen Shiyan with an unreadable expression.
Shen Shiyan quickly finished reading the medical record and stepped forward: "All the necessary examinations have been done here, and the results are largely the same as when she was discharged previously. Given Ning Ning's current condition, I'm honestly at a loss. I've already communicated with the doctors here, and we'll try adding another dose of painkillers shortly..."
Shen Shiyan cautiously added, "But this kind of medication carries a certain risk of harm for children..."
Huo Xiaozheng interrupted, "Add it."
Shen Shiyan looked at Huo Xiaozheng with a complex expression. Seeing him unmoved, he turned to discuss the additional medication with the attending physician.
"Doctor Zeng, the little girl's vital signs are recovering!" the nurse exclaimed.
The attending physician and Shen Shiyan immediately checked and then looked at the little girl on the bed.
Her eyes were closed, her body no longer trembling, and her breathing had become calm. The hysterical crying from earlier had ceased.
Shen Shiyan seemed lost in thought.
Huo Ning's illness came as suddenly as it went. Shen Shiyan was adamant that Huo Ning didn't need to be hospitalized again, so Huo Xiaozheng had her sent home.
Unexpectedly, since Huo Xiaozheng had held Huo Ning's hand, she refused to let go.
They managed to pry her hand away and hand her to Aunt Xu, but the little girl seemed to sense something and started whimpering again, showing signs of pain returning.
Huo Xiaozheng, not believing it, let Xi Chuan and Shen Shiyan take turns, but the result was the same.
When she was in Shen Shiyan's arms, the little girl even woke up in pain.
It was somewhat mystical.
Huo Xiaozheng had no choice but to let her sleep against him.
Under these circumstances, Huo Xiaozheng couldn't send the little girl back to the suburbs and had to take her to his own villa.
Huo Ning still appeared as if she would wake up in pain if separated from Huo Xiaozheng, so he had no choice but to let her lie on the sofa.
Aunt Xu didn't dare criticize the big boss, and could only bring a small blanket and pillow to arrange her comfortably.
Shen Shiyan also came back with them.
"Do you have something to say?" Huo Xiaozheng sat down on the sofa, raising his hand to push the sweaty little head a bit further away.
"I have a theory about Ning Ning's illness," Shen Shiyan said, watching Huo Xiaozheng's actions with disapproval.
"After ruling out physical illnesses, Ning Ning's symptoms point to a psychological issue. So, I suspect she might have dissociative disorder."
Hearing this term, Huo Xiaozheng frowned, "Dissociative disorder?"
"Commonly known as hysteria," Shen Shiyan explained.
"Are you saying her illness is to attract my attention?" Huo Xiaozheng's fingers tapped on the sofa.
Shen Shiyan shook his head, "It's probably not to attract your attention. She shows signs of having been abused, and in such an adverse environment, she might have a stress response to intimate relationships. Your appearance is both hope and a new danger to her."
Huo Xiaozheng finally looked directly at Shen Shiyan, "So?"
"So, Ning Ning's illness isn't about attraction, but a cry for help," Shen Shiyan emphasized. "Just like in the emergency room, she was calling for help."
Huo Xiaozheng's fingers curled slightly.
"Then what do you suggest?"
Shen Shiyan took a deep breath, "If I'm not mistaken, she may desperately need you – a blood relative who embodies her last hope – to stay by her side."
"And each time you reject or ignore her, it will remind her of the abuse she suffered, and she might even cast you in the role of the abuser. One day, when your image completely overlaps with that of her abuser, she might..."
Shen Shiyan didn't finish, but Huo Xiaozheng understood his meaning.
"Why so sudden?" Huo Xiaozheng asked.
Shen Shiyan understood his confusion, "Maybe it's not sudden. Before this, this condition might have occurred many times, but because no one paid attention, no one knew."
At this point, there was no need for further discussion.
Huo Xiaozheng was approaching his thirties and had no experience with children before this. He rarely smiled, and even the younger members of his family didn't dare to get close to him.
He had been privileged since birth, and the biggest setback he had ever faced was merely a stumbling block in his emotional life. Although it annoyed him, he had the ability to vent his frustrations.
But his biological daughter couldn't.
She was only 5 years old. She couldn't choose her birth, yet she suffered these hardships for no reason.
Huo Xiaozheng glanced at his sleeping daughter.
"Find time to transfer her household registration under my name," Huo Xiaozheng instructed over the phone. "Also, get someone to renovate this place according to child-friendly standards."
On the other end of the phone, Xi Chuan was stunned for a few seconds before he reacted, immediately agreeing.
Perhaps due to extreme exhaustion, Huo Ning slept straight through until early the next morning.
Regarding this sudden onset of pain, after wracking her brain, the reborn Huo Ning came to the only possible conclusion: this was a warning from the novel world.
Perhaps because the suburban house was too far from Huo Xiaozheng, she was punished.
Understanding this, the first thing Huo Ning planned after waking up was how to stay by Huo Xiaozheng's side.
Aunt Xu opened the door to see Huo Ning staring blankly at the ceiling with her big eyes, like a soulless doll.
Remembering Mr. Huo's decision, Aunt Xu's eyes reddened slightly. Miss Ning Ning's suffering had finally come to an end.
So, when Huo Ning met Aunt Xu's reddened eyes, her innocent face was full of confusion: "?"
