Shi Lili's earth-shattering scream caused Huo Xiaozheng's already fierce expression to darken further.
As if laughing from anger, he crouched down and said softly to the woman lying on the ground, "What right does someone like you have to call yourself a mother?"
With that, he stood up without another glance and walked away.
The bodyguards behind him restrained Shi Lili and began to lead her away.
Xi Chuan rushed downstairs carrying Huo Ning, only to run into Huo Xiaozheng coming towards them.
Huo Ning was curled up in Xi Chuan's arms, her eyes tightly shut, looking just as she had in the hospital – pale-faced, drenched in cold sweat, and upon closer inspection, her limbs were trembling slightly.
"An ambulance has been called, but it'll take a while to get here."
Huo Xiaozheng reached out to take Huo Ning: "What happened?"
Xi Chuan wiped the cold sweat from his temples: "Miss Ning was giving her testimony as a witness about the abuse she suffered, when suddenly, for some reason, she seemed to go into a trance. She wouldn't respond no matter how we called her."
Lawyer Zheng, who was following closely behind, added: "However, Miss Ning's reaction directly confirms the abuse she endured. As for..."
"Ahem... ahem!" Xi Chuan couldn't help but interject as he saw Huo Xiaozheng's face growing increasingly grim.
But it was too late.
Huo Xiaozheng's cold gaze swept towards Lawyer Zheng: "Since Lawyer Zheng is so capable, you can personally handle that case in Africa next."
With that, Huo Xiaozheng pulled up Huo Ning's hood, covering her completely, and carried her out of the courtroom.
Behind them, Lawyer Zheng broke out in a cold sweat, tears of frustration welling up in his eyes...
Xi Chuan patted his shoulder, indicating he had tried his best.
This was the first time Huo Xiaozheng had exposed Huo Ning to public view. Ignoring the cameras of the surrounding reporters, he shielded Huo Ning's face from exposure and, with Xi Chuan's help, successfully got into the car.
"To Anzhen Children's Hospital."
The driver obeyed and immediately started the vehicle.
Xi Chuan, who had been dealing with the aftermath for his boss, rushed to catch up, only to get a mouthful of exhaust fumes.
Xi Chuan: So exhausted, feels like I can never love again.
In the car, Huo Xiaozheng continued to hold Huo Ning. Feeling the child in his arms gradually stop trembling and her breathing slowly calm, his worried heart finally settled.
Huo Xiaozheng carefully laid her down on the back seat.
"I'm sorry," Huo Ning's weak voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
Huo Xiaozheng thought he had misheard: "What?"
"Just now, my mom was shouting. I heard her voice. I'm sorry."
Huo Ning's thinking was simple. For Shi Lili to shout such things so brazenly and shamelessly, it was obviously an attempt to extort money from Huo Xiaozheng.
The original story had briefly mentioned that on that night at Gantang Court, Shi Lili had been a premeditated participant.
If that was the case, then her behavior was highly unethical.
Huo Ning didn't want to deal with her, nor did she want to have any connection with her.
But for Huo Xiaozheng, it wasn't that simple.
Huo Ning used to have the surname Shi, they had lived together for five years, and they had an undeniable blood relationship.
Rather than risk being misunderstood by Huo Xiaozheng, Huo Ning thought it better to take the initiative.
The car fell into silence.
Huo Xiaozheng's thoughts were in turmoil.
He rarely encountered situations this difficult to handle.
The little girl before him hadn't yet recovered from her ill state, and her hasty apology was likely an attempt to avoid being abandoned again.
I didn't kill Bowen, but Bowen died because of me.
In the adult world, even when feeling guilty about something, the entanglements were so complex that Huo Xiaozheng rarely felt pure guilt.
But Huo Ning was different.
For the first time, Huo Xiaozheng felt a desire to get close to his biological daughter. He looked at Huo Ning seriously and said, "This isn't your fault."
Huo Xiaozheng didn't seem to know how to comfort people, but Huo Ning still felt a hint of warmth.
Good, Huo Xiaozheng hadn't pushed the blame onto her.
Realizing this, Huo Ning let out a heavy sigh of relief.
When they arrived at Anzhen Children's Hospital, Huo Ning was still asleep. When she was woken up, faced with the stark whiteness around her, she felt a bit dazed.
"Are you sure there's nothing else wrong with her physically? She often seems like she can't wake up properly," Huo Xiaozheng's serious voice sounded to Huo Ning as if it was coming through a fog.
Huo Ning: ?
Shen Shiyan rubbed his forehead: "She's only five years old and her constitution is weak. Isn't it normal for her to sleep a lot?"
Huo Xiaozheng fell silent.
"Was this episode any different from previous ones?"
"I heard she suddenly couldn't speak and just sat there motionless." Huo Xiaozheng frowned as he spoke of this.
"You heard?" Shen Shiyan repeated with a hint of amusement.
Huo Xiaozheng didn't get annoyed: "She's been mostly by my side lately. Sometimes when she's away from me for a while, she's fine. Today when she asked to stay at home, I didn't object."
"Is that so?" Shen Shiyan's irrelevant response made Huo Xiaozheng want to refute.
"Ning Ning," Shen Shiyan called out.
Caught eavesdropping, Huo Ning had no choice but to open her eyes, looking at Shen Shiyan somewhat guiltily: "Dad is right."
Huo Xiaozheng said displeased: "Shen Shiyan, what do you mean?"
Shen Shiyan snorted: "I'm mocking certain people who think being a father is painless."
Having said that, Shen Shiyan had no intention of arguing further with Huo Xiaozheng. He walked over and sat by Huo Ning's bed: "Can you tell me why you felt unwell today?"
Huo Ning pursed her lips: "Do I have to say it?"
Shen Shiyan thought for a moment: "When a big tree gets sick, Dr. Woodpecker needs to peck open the bark to investigate the cause. Only then can he catch the bugs inside."
Such a childish analogy made Huo Ning want to mock it as immature, but she couldn't.
Not only could she not, but she also had to go along with Shen Shiyan.
"What if we don't catch the bug?"
"Then the tree will keep being sick. Its leaves will all fall off, and it won't bloom or bear fruit anymore." As a pediatrician, Shen Shiyan could come up with such fairy tales effortlessly.
Alright, she could talk about it. Besides, speaking out might earn her the villain's sympathy.
But it wasn't exactly a pleasant memory.
"Today when Li... when he looked at me, I remembered... before," Huo Ning found it difficult to choose her words as she spoke about this. "At first, he would only... bully me... when mom wasn't around..."
Huo Xiaozheng clenched his fists.
"Sometimes, he would use mom's makeup on me... When mom found out, she got very angry and would hit me, saying I was naughty... I didn't want mom to be angry because it meant I would go hungry."
"But he still put makeup on me in secret... and then looked at me like he did today..."
Huo Ning stuttered through describing the memories in her mind in childish language, feeling as if someone was squeezing her windpipe, making it hard to breathe.
These all came from the original Huo Ning's fears. Shi Ning couldn't understand these potential harms, but when faced with her abuser, she inevitably showed primal fear.
The child didn't understand, but the two adults listening were boiling with rage.
Huo Xiaozheng's gaze was cold and sharp, like an unsheathed sword, making one shudder.
