Huo Guining immediately put on a cheerful face and waved to Huo Yueze through the window.
Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, Huo Yueze thought about telling some jokes to cheer her up.
But Huo Yueze's jokes were nothing short of disastrous, as they were all terrible puns.
"A chocolate bar and a tomato got into a fight. The chocolate won. Do you know why?"
Huo Guining shook her head.
"Because the chocolate bar!"
Huo Guining remained silent for a moment.
Huo Yueze, however, was thoroughly amused and continued with the next one...
"So, two people fell into a trap. The dead one is called 'dead person'. Guess what the living one is called?"
Huo Guining shook her head numbly.
"He's called 'Help!' Hahaha!"
By the time they got out of the car, Huo Guining's head was spinning with chocolate bars and what the living person was called...
She felt dizzy, and her chest felt uncomfortable.
Noticing her poor condition, Huo Yueze asked, "Sister, are you hungry?"
Huo Guining nodded.
Zuo Qinfang, who had no afternoon classes, had arrived home earlier than the two.
By now, the dining room table was set with dishes.
Seeing Huo Yueze bringing Guining home, Zuo Qinfang smiled warmly and said, "You're back."
The orange light cast upon her gave Huo Guining a sudden feeling of déjà vu.
In her previous life, her mother had also smiled like this, waiting for her to come home.
"We're back," Huo Guining smiled, "Hello, Aunt. The food smells delicious..."
...
As Huo Guining's car disappeared from view, Huo Xiaozheng also got into his car and set off.
Due to the sudden business trip, Huo Xiaozheng had brought Xi Chuan along.
"Oh? Isn't this Guining's little backpack?" Xi Chuan picked up the pink Mickey Mouse backpack from the passenger seat, sighing with a smile, "It's quite heavy."
Huo Xiaozheng let out a short laugh.
"Give it to me."
He took the backpack from Xi Chuan and indeed found it rather heavy.
He unzipped the backpack, frowning, "What's in here that makes it so heavy..."
It turned out to be the paint set he had given her, along with the little gold lock from Zheng Jinxiu, paintbrushes, an iPad, small toys, and tissues.
She's carrying quite a lot, Huo Xiaozheng thought.
Inside the pink backpack was a small zippered pocket that seemed to hold a white transparent bag.
Huo Xiaozheng opened it, intending to tidy things up for her.
In the transparent bag were clearly a strip of white pills.
The small bag also contained some loose, neatly cut white pills.
They appeared to be the same as the uncut ones.
Huo Xiaozheng turned the package over, puzzled, and saw the name of the medication printed on the back: "Cetirizine Hydrochloride Tablets."
He took out his phone and looked up the use of the drug.
An antihistamine?
Huo Xiaozheng pondered for a moment, then called Shen Shiyan.
"Did you prescribe Cetirizine Hydrochloride tablets for Guining?"
"I found them in Guining's bag. She's cut them into small pieces."
"Does Guining need antihistamines?"
After receiving a negative answer, Huo Xiaozheng's expression grew increasingly grave.
"What did you say?!"
Xi Chuan, sitting in the passenger seat, heard the anger in Huo Xiaozheng's voice and knew something was wrong.
Had Guining done something wrong?!
"Turn around!" Huo Xiaozheng hung up the phone, his expression icy.
The driver didn't dare delay and immediately made a U-turn at the next intersection.
"Guining doesn't need to take antihistamines. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
"If she accidentally took the wrong medication, it shouldn't be a problem if the dose wasn't too high."
"She might just experience dizziness or drowsiness. It'll pass when the effects wear off."
Shen Shiyan's words echoed in Huo Xiaozheng's mind.
Huo Xiaozheng could only hope he was overthinking things.
...
Meanwhile, after quickly finishing her meal, Huo Guining sat on the sofa for barely five minutes.
She then excused herself, saying she was tired from swimming and drawing all day, and wanted to go to bed early.
Seeing that she indeed looked unwell, Zuo Qinfang didn't even have time to cut fruit for her and immediately took her to rest.
After Zuo Qinfang left the room, Huo Guining got up and began rummaging through her luggage.
The familiar pink Mickey Mouse backpack was nowhere to be found.
Huo Guining's heart raced with panic.
The chest pain she had been suppressing was amplified by her fear, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
Refusing to give up, Huo Guining searched again.
Still nothing.
Clutching her chest, she carefully retraced the backpack's whereabouts.
In the morning, she had taken the backpack to the company, and it had stayed in Huo Xiaozheng's office.
And then...
Wait!
The backpack must have been left in the car from this morning!
Huo Guining grew increasingly desperate.
More than finding the backpack, she now worried about Huo Xiaozheng discovering her secret.
Under the layers of anxiety and fear, Huo Guining felt an unbearable pain in her chest.
She couldn't think about anything else now.
Huo Guining began to reassure herself: Don't be afraid, you won't die, you'll feel better after sleeping.
Just sleep.
Huo Guining worried that if she passed out by the sofa, it would raise Zuo Qinfang's suspicions and concerns.
She struggled to inch her way to the bed.
The surroundings were deathly quiet, amplifying her heartbeat a thousandfold. The rapid "thump-thump-thump" pounded in her ears.
"If there's a next time, I'll definitely keep the medicine with me at all times."
This was Huo Guining's last thought before she lost consciousness.
...
At Huo Yanqin's house.
Huo Yueze lay on the sofa, scrolling through his phone. Zuo Qinfang was tidying up in the kitchen.
Huo Yanqin couldn't stand the sight of Huo Yueze's lazy posture and couldn't help but give his leg a smack.
"Sit properly! Stand properly!"
Huo Yueze yelped in pain and sat up, complaining to Zuo Qinfang, "Mom! Dad hit me!"
Zuo Qinfang smiled, bringing out a plate of fruit.
"Were you lying down playing with your phone again?"
Huo Yueze pouted and bit into a cherry with a vengeance. "Ah, these are sister's favorites!"
A series of urgent knocks at the door interrupted their conversation.
"Who could it be at this hour?"
Huo Yueze got up to open the door. Seeing who it was, he exclaimed in surprise, "Uncle? How did you get back so quickly?"
Hearing this, Zuo Qinfang and Huo Yanqin quickly rose as well. "Xiaozheng?"
Huo Xiaozheng had no time for pleasantries. He asked urgently, "Where's Guining?"
Zuo Qinfang pointed behind her. "Guining's asleep in the room. She didn't look well..."
Before she could finish, Huo Xiaozheng strode towards the room.
"Click"
Huo Xiaozheng turned on the lights.
There was no sign of her on the bed.
As Huo Xiaozheng approached, he discovered her lying unconscious on the floor in front of the bed.
Zuo Qinfang gasped in shock. "How did this happen? She was fine when I left her!"
Huo Xiaozheng didn't bother to explain. He scooped Guining into his arms and said hurriedly, "I'm taking her to the hospital first."
Huo Yueze wanted to follow, but all he got was a mouthful of car exhaust.
