Chapter 71: He Won't Notice

After hearing all this, Lu Yunzhou fell silent.

Then he turned to Xiaoxiao and instructed, "Make sure she gets plenty of rest."

"I understand, Young Master Lu." Xiaoxiao's face was taut with anxiety and sincerity.

#

Only after everyone had left did Xiaoxiao bring in a cup of hot tea, addressing her respectfully, "Commander."

Shen Chaoxi glanced up at her. "They've all gone?"

"Yes," Xiaoxiao nodded.

"Commander, aren’t you worried they’ll notice something is wrong?" Xiaoxiao was genuinely concerned. She feared Gu Suizhou would see through the fact that Shen Chaoxi had a spinal injury and a penetrating gunshot wound to her chest.

But she knew that Shen Chaoxi must have her own plan, so she hadn’t objected.

"He won’t notice." The most serious injuries on Shen Chaoxi’s body were her spine and the gunshot wound to her chest. But after half a month of recovery at the Main Military District, the chest wound had nearly healed and was in the process of mending. As long as no one used any instruments to scan her, no one would be able to detect the gunshot wound.

As for her spine, after the last round of acupuncture, she had already managed to stand. Even if Gu Suizhou was a doctor, he wouldn’t see anything unusual.

After Xiaoxiao had recounted what happened to her a month ago, there was no reason for them to suspect anything else. Xiaoxiao had simply said she’d been kidnapped and injured. As for the specifics, no one could know, and Lu Yunzhou hadn’t asked for details either. Xiaoxiao’s explanation was half true, half false—who would suspect otherwise?

"Commander, about what happened today?" Suddenly, Xiaoxiao glanced at the closed door, her expression grave as she faced Shen Chaoxi.

"Have Jiang Chen look into it," Shen Chaoxi replied, her gaze severe. She recalled Shen Sisi’s abduction in Blackwater City and everything that had happened before. She understood—none of this was a coincidence.

Those kidnappers today had been used by someone. There had already been anomalies in Blackwater City before. This meant that once the person behind it realized Blackwater City might be exposed, they deliberately set things in motion: letting the kidnappers seize Shen Chaoxi and take her to Blackwater City, so that, because of Shen Chaoxi’s identity, the military would be drawn in.

Such a cunning plan.

To orchestrate everything so flawlessly.

Sheng Ting’s side had been investigating Lu Zhinan all along, but nothing suspicious had been found.

#

Early the next morning, Shen Sisi woke up.

Shen Chaoxi was still having breakfast when Shen Sisi, her face still puffy and changed into fresh clothes, burst in with a boiled egg pressed against her cheek. Xiaoxiao was startled by her sudden entrance, and as soon as she looked up, she caught sight of Shen Sisi’s face, still swollen and red from a slap.

"You—?" Xiaoxiao was momentarily taken aback.

But Shen Sisi brushed past her without a word.

Their eyes met, and in that instant, Shen Sisi lifted her chin with a haughty air, shooting a glance at her.

There wasn’t a single innocent person by Shen Chaoxi’s side!

Only today did Shen Sisi realize that the person from last night had been one of Shen Chaoxi’s servants.

"Your face is still swollen, yet you’re in such a hurry to see me. What, did you miss me that much?" Shen Chaoxi sipped her morning tea calmly, her tone lightly teasing as she glanced sideways at Shen Sisi bursting in.

"Don’t get sarcastic with me, Shen Chaoxi," Shen Sisi retorted, briefly stunned by the girl’s playful words. She’d rushed in, head high, only to meet that pair of bright, smiling eyes.

Caught off guard, Shen Sisi turned her head away, avoiding the burning gaze, her pride nearly spilling from her eyes.

"Oh?" Their eyes met for a moment.

Shen Chaoxi quietly withdrew her gaze, as if she had glimpsed a different emotion in Shen Sisi’s eyes.

"Then why are you here?"

"I..." Shen Sisi faltered, frowning as if she didn’t know how to answer.

Indeed—why had she come?

Upon waking, she’d thought back to the night before and was filled with questions she still hadn’t unraveled. Or perhaps it was the subtle feeling that had arisen in her heart upon learning that Shen Chaoxi had saved her—a feeling that drove her to rush over before even eating breakfast, though she couldn’t quite say why.

Her mind suddenly went blank.

After a pause, Shen Chaoxi arched an eyebrow, "Would you like to have breakfast with me?"

Shen Sisi, who had been standing foolishly in place, glanced up at the sound of the girl’s voice to find Shen Chaoxi gazing at her with interest, her half-lidded eyes glimmering with a hint of amusement.

"I’m not hungry," Shen Sisi replied, a little awkwardly, turning her face aside.

"Don’t think that just because of this, I’ll forgive you."

Shen Chaoxi: "?" She owed her nothing—what was there to forgive?

"You hit me yesterday." Shen Sisi risked a furtive glance her way, then quickly looked away, finally voicing what was on her mind.

So that was it.

But Shen Chaoxi simply lowered her eyes and sipped her tea unbothered, not the least bit guilty for what Shen Sisi had said. Her expression remained calm.

Then she heard Shen Sisi mutter, a hint of embarrassment in her voice, "And you hit me pretty hard."

"So?" Shen Chaoxi replied, her tone light and almost flippant.

"So, considering you saved me, I’ll—temporarily, and only with great reluctance—forgive you," Shen Sisi stammered, clearly ill at ease.

Having said that, she seemed at a loss for what else to say.

But then she remembered something more serious.

"Um—" Shen Sisi’s expression turned proud, her cheeks puffed up like a little hamster as her gaze flicked over Shen Chaoxi several times before finally settling on her face as she stared intently. "I’m going home."

"But don’t worry, I won’t say a word about your business to anyone." Even if only because Shen Chaoxi had saved her life, she wouldn’t gossip.

Though she still didn’t understand why Shen Chaoxi had been there last night, nor why all the rumors in the capital about Shen Chaoxi’s frailty and constant illness were false.

They’d always said she was delicate and sickly, but who was the one who had slit the villain’s throat with a single stroke last night?

Shen Sisi had been completely terrified. But she knew—the Shen family was a military and political family; that Shen Chaoxi was such a person didn’t surprise her at all.

Perhaps at first she’d been shocked and incredulous.

But Shen Sisi thought that if Shen Chaoxi really were the frail and helpless heiress people said she was, she herself would never have admired her.

She’d always believed the Shen family was a family of generals and statesmen—her grandfather and several cousins were all outstanding, shining like stars in the sky.

Only Shen Chaoxi was always seen as a burden, pampered for her poor health, lacking even a trace of the Shen family’s backbone.

There were many things Shen Sisi didn’t know.

But last night, in her moment of greatest terror and helplessness, when Shen Chaoxi appeared before her, she felt as if she’d truly met the real Shen Chaoxi for the first time.

This was how she was meant to be—just like her grandfather and the others.

Shen Sisi herself didn’t quite understand her feelings.

But she knew—this was how Shen Chaoxi ought to be.

With that, as she thought of her imminent departure, she felt she ought to say something.

So, staring at Shen Chaoxi, who didn’t even look up from her tea, Shen Sisi said quietly,

"And... thank you for saving me."

With that, Shen Sisi’s ears reddened. As if the ground had become scalding underfoot, she disappeared at record speed, rushing out without looking back.

Shen Chaoxi simply looked up, watching Shen Sisi’s retreating figure, a faint smile curving her lips, her eyes reflecting a trace of something inscrutable.