Chapter 3
After saying those words, Huo Ning appeared very calm. She sat alone by the floor-to-ceiling window, admiring the scenery outside.
This scene was observed by Shen Shiyan, who saw it as a 'poor child with no one to rely on, desperately pondering where the future lies.jpg' moment. If you added some background music like "Erquan Yingyue," you could easily make a fortune by setting up shop on the roadside.
Unaware of Shen Shiyan's thoughts, Huo Ning was fully focused on: The carp in the pond are so plump, they'd make such delicious grilled fish!
The two, dreaming different dreams in the same room - one full of hope, one melancholic - waited until the doorbell rang.
The visitor was Xi Chuan.
As Huo Ning had anticipated, Xi Chuan came to relocate her to another residence.
"Who will take care of her?" Shen Shiyan frowned.
Xi Chuan, not daring to offend the Shen family's eldest son, smiled and replied, "We've hired someone to provide 24-hour personal care."
"She's only five years old," Shen Shiyan furrowed his brow.
Xi Chuan thought to himself: Who could really make decisions for Huo Xiaozheng?
Seeing Xi Chuan's silence, Shen Shiyan also knew that their opinions didn't matter, and he too fell silent.
Huo Ning had no objections to this, after all, her opinion wasn't important in Huo Xiaozheng's eyes. She followed Xi Chuan into the car, obediently saying goodbye to Shen Shiyan.
She glanced at the door number, feeling a bit wistful: It's such a shame about those plump fish.
They soon arrived at the new residence, a house in the suburbs with three bedrooms and two living rooms, decorated modestly, with good security and landscaping in the surrounding area.
Xi Chuan had hired a housekeeper to provide 24-hour care for Huo Ning. Before leaving, Xi Chuan handed her his business card, instructing her to call him if anything came up.
Huo Ning nodded obediently.
After Xi Chuan left, Huo Ning settled in under the housekeeper's guidance.
"Miss Huo, this is your room," the housekeeper, surnamed Xu, was very kind. She crouched down to introduce Huo Ning to her surroundings: "If you need anything, you can always tell me."
Aunt Xu had a gentle face, and her hands, due to years of hard work, were covered in cracks. Her right index finger even had a band-aid on it.
Huo Ning asked with concern, "Auntie, what happened to your hand? Does it hurt?"
Aunt Xu didn't expect such a young girl to care about her hands. She smiled and said, "Winter's coming, and the skin cracks easily. I'm used to it, it doesn't hurt."
Huo Ning looked at the jagged wounds, thought for a moment, then held her hand and gently blew on it, childishly saying, "Blow the pain away~"
After blowing, Huo Ning felt a bit numb: It seems the 18-year-old soul couldn't overcome the 5-year-old body; this action was too childish.
Aunt Xu, however, was melted by her words and actions, her heart turning soft: "Thank you for your concern, little miss."
After blowing, Huo Ning said in a sweet voice, "Auntie, you can call me Ningning."
Aunt Xu had worked for many wealthy families before and had encountered many spoiled children.
Seeing how sweet and thoughtful Huo Ning was, she said with genuine affection, "Oh, Miss Ningning, are you hungry? I made some snacks before you arrived, would you like some?"
Huo Ning's eyes lit up: "Yes!"
The hospital food had been too bland, and she had no choice but to eat whatever was given. Now that she finally had dessert, she was overjoyed.
Aunt Xu was a great cook. Huo Ning devoured a mango mousse in one go, and if Aunt Xu hadn't stopped her, she would have eaten a strawberry daifuku as well. After eating her fill, Huo Ning couldn't resist the body's natural instincts of a young child and began to feel drowsy.
Before she could make it to her room, she fell asleep on the couch.
Fortunately, the heating was sufficient. Aunt Xu turned up the temperature, turned on the humidifier, and covered her with a thick blanket before going to clean the house.
Meanwhile, Xi Chuan returned to Huo Corporation.
"Mr. Huo, Shi... Miss Ningning has been sent to Royal Elegance Garden, and the live-in housekeeper has arrived."
"Mm, how's the investigation on that matter going?"
"Li Zhiyuan's dealings with the Jiang family have been kept very discreet, we don't have much to go on yet, but..." Speaking of this, Xi Chuan handed over the information he had just received to Huo Xiaozheng: "We've discovered that all of Miss Ningning's injuries were caused by Li Zhiyuan."
"According to their neighbors, Li Zhiyuan frequently abused Miss Ningning. The most severe incident resulted in Miss Ningning wearing a cast on her upper limb for a long time due to a fracture."
Xi Chuan handed the medical records to Huo Xiaozheng.
"But after that, the neighbors never heard the child cry again."
Huo Xiaozheng pondered for a moment, then said, "Keep this matter under wraps for now, and tell the local police to withdraw the charges, saying we intend to settle privately."
Xi Chuan looked at Huo Xiaozheng in disbelief.
Huo Xiaozheng narrowed his eyes: "What? Do you have any objections to my decision?"
Xi Chuan belatedly broke out in a cold sweat, immediately lowering his head and denying: "No. Then about Shi Lili..."
"Give her the compensation she wants, and as for the child..." Huo Xiaozheng said coldly, "Let her think I want to adopt Shi Ning."
Xi Chuan hurriedly left.
It's no wonder Huo Xiaozheng was so casual about dismissing Shi Lili. During Xi Chuan's negotiations with her, he discovered that Shi Lili truly didn't want Shi Ning. It was only due to social pressure that she hadn't abandoned the child.
In other words, Shi Lili probably had no idea that the child was Mr. Huo's. Otherwise, she wouldn't have missed such a golden opportunity all these years.
So, when Xi Chuan contacted Shi Lili, informed her of the relevant intentions, promised her a 'hundred thousand' in compensation, and proposed to sponsor Huo Ning, Shi Lili only hesitated for three seconds before accepting Xi Chuan's proposal.
After completing all this, Xi Chuan sighed, feeling sorry for Ningning.
The object of his pity, Huo Ning, was sleeping soundly. In her hazy state, a familiar pain spread through her chest and back, just like before she transmigrated, when she was in the late stages of cancer - that unbearable, nearly suffocating pain.
She gasped for air, her peaceful sleep long gone. The intense pain caused her to break out in a cold sweat all over her body, and she couldn't help but moan in agony.
Hearing the painful cries, Aunt Xu ran over. Seeing her curled up like a bow, she was startled: "Miss Ningning, what's wrong?"
In the week since transmigrating, Huo Ning had almost forgotten this kind of pain. So when it started again, she was on the verge of breaking down. She whimpered through her tears: "It... hurts..."
Aunt Xu thought she might have gotten sick from the afternoon sweets and asked nervously, "Is it your stomach? Let Aunt Xu take a look."
Huo Ning was in too much pain to speak. Her bangs were quickly soaked with cold sweat, sticking to her face in strands, looking pitiful and miserable as she shook her head.
Seeing this, Aunt Xu didn't dare delay and immediately called 120 (emergency services).
Although it was in the suburbs, the ambulance arrived quickly after hearing the situation. They rushed Huo Ning to the nearest hospital.
On the way, Huo Ning's pain didn't subside at all, and even seemed to be getting worse. By the time they reached the hospital, her lips were colorless, and she was barely conscious.
"Where are the family members? Why aren't they here yet? The child's condition is very serious. Did she have any underlying health issues?" The attending physician had never seen such a case before. There were no obvious organic lesions in the examination, but the young patient's symptoms were alarming, with abnormal blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing.
Faced with the doctor's questions, Aunt Xu couldn't answer: "I'm the nanny, and it's my first day taking care of Miss Ningning. I'm not familiar with her condition, but the family members are on their way and should be here soon."
The attending physician had no choice but to administer painkillers.
After the ambulance picked up Huo Ning, Aunt Xu immediately called Xi Chuan to inform him of the situation.
Worried that Xi Chuan might not believe her, Aunt Xu even recorded a short video and sent it to him.
After watching the video, Xi Chuan didn't dare delay and immediately informed Huo Xiaozheng of the situation.
Huo Xiaozheng paused the meeting, called the attending physician to learn about Huo Ning's condition, then cancelled the meeting and brought Shen Shiyan along to the hospital.
When they arrived at the hospital, Huo Ning's tiny body was curled up in a ball on the hospital bed, shaking uncontrollably and emitting whimpers like a small animal on the brink of death, one after another.
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