Chapter 18: The Sleeping Beauty, Murong Xue!

At Qingzhou City First People's Hospital, the emergency room door opened from the inside, and a middle-aged doctor in a white coat stepped out.

Murong Shan, who had been waiting anxiously outside for a long time, hurried forward.

"Dean Bai, what is wrong with my daughter?"

Dean Bai Hongwen sighed. "Mr. Murong, Miss Murong’s physical functions are all normal; she is perfectly healthy, but..."

"But what?" Murong Shan asked urgently.

"But for some reason, while all of Miss Murong's other physiological indicators are normal, her brain waves are extremely weak!"

"Weak brain waves? Dean Bai, what do you mean by that?"

Bai Hongwen straightened his posture and explained, "Normally, when human brain cells are active, brain waves are very strong. This is most common during the day when a person is awake and working. Once night falls and one enters sleep, most brain cells enter a dormant state, and brain waves become weak. Of course, during sleep, some brain cells continue to function; they are responsible for transmitting information and arousal. When subjected to external stimuli, these cells wake the brain up for normal activity..."

Murong Shan’s brow furrowed into a knot. "Stop, stop, stop. Dean Bai, you’ve said so much, but what does this have to do with my daughter fainting?"

Bai Hongwen collected his thoughts and explained, "Mr. Murong, put it this way: Miss Murong fainted because her brain cells instantly entered a sleep state—she fell asleep!"

"Asleep?"

"Yes, but not in the traditional sense. It is more like animal hibernation!"

"Hibernation? Dean Bai, don’t play games. How can a human hibernate?"

Bai Hongwen adjusted his glasses and continued, "Mr. Murong, let me put it this way: we discovered that the brain cells responsible for waking Miss Murong’s brain into a normal state have also fallen asleep! We have tried applying external stimuli, but we have been unable to wake her brain!"

Murong Shan's eyes turned red. "Dean Bai, what the hell are you trying to say?" Even as the chairman of the Tiansheng Group, he could not help but swear at this moment.

"In layman's terms, Miss Murong is trapped in a state of permanent sleep! It is just like animal hibernation, but I don't know how long this state will last!"

"What? Trapped in sleep? How could this happen? Dean Bai, can my daughter wake up?"

"Generally speaking, if external stimulation reaches a certain threshold, it is possible to wake those brain cells responsible for normal arousal, and Miss Murong would wake up. You could say her current state is similar to Sleeping Beauty in fairy tales! The prince's kiss is the external stimulus that wakes the beauty. However, we have yet to find that stimulus!"

Murong Shan fell silent instantly. Standing to the side, Liu Ruiming and Shen Sining exchanged a glance, their expressions grave.

***

Murong Shan pulled Liu Ruiming and Shen Sining to the side.

"Old Liu, you were with Xiaoxue earlier. What exactly happened?"

Liu Ruiming looked at Shen Sining, his eyes complex. "Xiaoshan, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure. At first, Xiaoxue and I went to the Wanfu Stone-Cutting Yard in the suburbs to pick raw stones. She bought two decent ones. Later, she spoke a few words to Miss Sining, and then she suddenly fainted!"

Murong Shan narrowed his eyes and looked at Shen Sining. "Sining, what is going on?"

"I..." Shen Sining didn't know how to explain. After a moment of thought, she recounted the entire encounter to Murong Shan, including what Jiang Cheng had said to her.

As she spoke, Murong Shan’s expression grew increasingly grave. Suddenly, as if he had realized something, his eyes lit up.

Murong Shan asked urgently, "Sining, are you saying that this Jiang Cheng told you there was something wrong with Xiaoxue's brain? And he asked you to tell her to get it checked at a hospital, is that right?"

Shen Sining suddenly realized it too. "Yes! I thought Brother Cheng was just speaking out of frustration at the time, but now that I think about it, it doesn't seem that simple."

Murong Shan, as if clutching at a straw, quickly beckoned to the old butler behind him. "Uncle Ping, go with Sining now and invite this Jiang Cheng over!"

He then bowed to Shen Sining, pleading earnestly, "Sining, Xiaoxue is my only daughter. I really have to trouble you this time! You must save her! You must help me bring this Jiang Cheng back!"

Shen Sining nodded without hesitation. "Don't worry, Uncle Murong. Xiaoxue is my best friend; I will definitely save her!"

With that, Shen Sining walked toward the elevators with Uncle Ping. Murong Shan watched them go, his expression unreadable.

***

Meanwhile, in the back street of the hospital.

"Xiaoshu, where is Brother Cheng?"

"What's up, Sining? Cheng is here with me and Zhixia, having some skewers! What's wrong?"

"Where are you? Send me your location; I'm coming to find you right now!"

"Alright, come over. I'll order a few more skewers for you. Hello... hello?"

Qin Xiaoshu looked at his phone, amused. This Sining was always more eager than anyone else when it came to a free meal. Her family wasn't short on money, so he didn't quite get it. Must have been the influence of that girl named Huanhuan.

Qin Xiaoshu didn't think much of it and sent the location of the barbecue stand to Shen Sining.

"Boss! Ten more large kidney skewers! Twenty squid skewers, and ten grilled leeks!"

"Coming right up!"

Just as the group had taken a sip of ice-cold beer, the barbecue stand was suddenly surrounded by a dozen minivans. A Mercedes G-Wagon pulled up slowly alongside them.

The doors opened, and dozens of young men dressed in flashy clothes, wielding baseball bats, poured out of the vehicles. They swarmed Jiang Cheng and his two companions, surrounding them completely. They were burly and fierce-looking, a truly intimidating sight.

The scene terrified everyone else present. They dropped their skewers, threw down money, and ran for their lives. The barbecue stall owner tried to flee, but he was grabbed by several of the men.

Jiang Cheng and Qin Xiaoshu exchanged a confused glance. What on earth was going on? Was this a movie set?

Just as everyone stood in bewilderment, a paunchy, pot-bellied man with a shaved head and a thick gold chain around his neck emerged from the crowd. The man was about 1.75 meters tall, with dark skin, a sinister look on his face, and cold, sharp eyes. He swaggered over to Jiang Cheng's table, sat down on a stool without a word, and began devouring a freshly grilled lamb kidney without even glancing at them.

His lackeys weren't idle either; they cracked open a cold beer and poured a glass for the bald man. The man ate until his mouth was oily, took a gulp of beer, and let out a long sigh.

"Little girl, not bad for you! Your father owes me four million in usury, yet here you are, eating barbecue and living a cozy life. What's the matter? Do you think I, Chen Hu, don't exist?"