Chapter 150: Utterly Exhausted

"Zhiming, have someone secretly keep an eye on this Xu Fei," the elder said.

"What's the matter, Grandpa?" the young man asked.

"Didn't you notice? Over by the hospital fence, one of the thief's accomplices has been lurking there, watching. I'm worried this person might pose a threat to Xu Fei."

"Understood, Grandpa."

The two of them—old and young—walked up to the hospital's third floor.

"Do you have an appointment?" a beautiful nurse approached and asked.

Zhiming took out a red booklet from his pocket.

The nurse glanced at it and immediately showed a deep respect in her expression.

"Oh, so it’s you..."

The old man waved his hand with a smile.

"It's nothing, young lady. Please take me to see Professor Feng."

The nurse nodded quickly and led them to the consultation room.

Outside the room, a crowd had already gathered.

As the nurse parted the people to lead the elder and the young man inside, voices arose from the crowd.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

"Yeah, wasn't there supposed to be a queue? How can they just cut in line?"

"This is favoritism, isn’t it?"

The nurse was about to open the door but was blocked by two men standing firmly in front of it.

"No special treatment! We've been waiting here all morning, how can they just walk right in?"

"Exactly! I just saw that old man holding a red booklet—what else could this be but special treatment?"

The nurse was about to explain the elder's status but the old man raised his hand to stop her.

"Forget it. I'll wait a bit longer."

Just then, the consultation room door opened, and an elderly professor with silver hair stepped out.

"Xiao Wang, has that person I mentioned arrived yet?"

The nurse hurriedly said, "The former leader is here."

Professor Feng looked up at the elder in the crowd.

"Ah, former leader, why are you standing out here? Xiao Wang, didn’t I tell you? When the former leader comes, bring him in immediately! How could you leave him waiting here?"

The nurse looked apologetic.

The old man smiled. "Xiao Feng, don’t blame Nurse Xiao Wang. She was about to take me in, but the crowd insisted there should be no special treatment."

Professor Feng looked at the stunned crowd.

"Do you all know who he is?"

The crowd shook their heads.

The professor was about to introduce him when the old man waved him off.

"Xiao Feng, let's go in."

"Alright."

Seeing the elder’s insistence, Professor Feng led them inside.

Only then did the crowd regain their composure.

"Nurse, who exactly was that old man?"

Xiao Wang glanced at them coolly. "I can only tell you his surname. If I say more, I might be breaking rules."

"Go on, tell us."

The crowd was too curious to wait.

"His surname is Zhu."

A collective gasp rose from the crowd.

In the provincial capital, there was an unspoken saying: better to cross paths with a desperate man than to anger someone named Zhu.

The Zhu family was incredibly prestigious here.

...

"How did things go?" An Lao San asked curiously when Xu Fei returned.

Xu Fei recounted what had happened at the Lin residence and his decision to take Lin Fang to the breakfast shop.

"You're impressive. Only you could come up with such a plan," An Lao San nodded admiringly.

Zhang Ze smiled, "It's really the best approach. Only by letting Lin Fang see how harsh society can be might she finally give up those unrealistic ideas."

"But..."

An Lao San chuckled and trailed off.

"Third Brother, I know what you want to say. Honestly, I just treat her like a little sister."

"She might not see it that way."

An Lao San smiled.

Xu Fei shook his head.

"Oh, by the way, downstairs I caught a thief. Didn't expect so many thieves and ruffians in the provincial capital."

An Lao San quickly asked, "You caught a thief?"

Xu Fei told him everything.

"Fei, be careful when you go out. These thieves usually work in gangs and hang around the hospital. This is their territory; they won’t let you off easily."

An Lao San spoke from experience.

Xu Fei nodded, already formulating a plan.

"But Fei, as long as they don’t target you, in a few days we can leave the city."

An Lao San’s words echoed Xu Fei’s own thoughts.

It couldn’t be that these two thieves would find him within days.

He treated the incident as a minor hiccup.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, Xu Fei took a lunchbox and headed downstairs early.

After all, Lin Fang was still at the breakfast shop.

He was genuinely worried.

Lin Fang was usually spoiled; he wondered how she had passed the night.

"Wait."

Just as Xu Fei was about to leave the ward, An Lao San called out to him.

"Put this on."

He handed Xu Fei a mask.

Xu Fei looked at it and laughed, "Third Brother, you’re something else. Where did you get this?"

"Stole it from the nurse’s station," An Lao San whispered.

"Stole it?"

Xu Fei chuckled and shook his head.

"It’s called fighting theft with theft."

An Lao San gave his theft a grand justification.

Xu Fei put on the mask and stepped out of the hospital.

Sure enough, at the hospital entrance he spotted the thief who had escaped yesterday.

But wearing the mask and with the morning crowds, he didn’t pay much attention.

He walked to the breakfast shop.

As he pushed the door open, he felt as if he had entered the wrong place.

He closed the door and glanced at the sign.

This was Liu Erpang’s breakfast shop, wasn’t it?

Puzzled, Xu Fei pushed the door open again and stepped inside.

My goodness.

The once filthy, chaotic breakfast shop was now spotless—though perhaps not sparkling, it was tidy and almost brand new.

"Fei Ge, you’re here," Xiao Lan came out of the kitchen, smiling as she gestured toward the bunk.

"She fell asleep upstairs. She cleaned all night and was really exhausted."

"Huh?"

Xu Fei was momentarily stunned.

"She didn’t sleep all night?"

"Yeah, I nearly couldn’t keep up with her."

Xu Fei nodded.

"So it seems she’s quite willing to stay?"

Xiao Lan thought for a moment before nodding.

"I haven’t heard her complain. Though at first, while she was washing the dishes, she did throw up a few times."

She smiled softly.

"Threw up?"

"Yeah, she didn’t even eat dinner."

Xu Fei pondered a moment.

Then he walked under the bunk and knocked hard on it.

"Get up, Lin Fang. It’s work time, not time to sleep."

After a moment, there was movement above, and Lin Fang sluggishly climbed down from the bunk exit.

"Big Brother Xu, what are you doing? I didn’t sleep all night. Can’t I rest a little?"

Xu Fei’s face turned serious.

"This is a breakfast shop, not your ladyship’s boudoir. If you want to sleep, go home and sleep."