Because she was addicted

Lu Chenyan is so outspoken; who knows what earth-shattering thing he'll say next?

Wen Jia quickly threw off the covers and jumped out of bed.

"Get up, get up!"

She screamed and rushed out of the room, without washing her face or combing her hair.

Wen Lin gave her a reproachful look, "What are you yelling about on the first day of the Lunar New Year?" Then she smiled and said, "The sweet soup is in the pot, go and get it for Ayan. I'll go and get Ruoruo up." With that, she turned and went into the room.

Lu Chenyan looked at Wen Jia with amusement and reached out to ruffle her hair.

"Why didn't you sleep a little longer?"

Wen Jia glanced at him, "Who told you to talk nonsense in front of my sister? Who's been working too hard?"

"Weren't you screaming for help all night?" Lu Chenyan hugged her.

"Get lost! If you keep spouting nonsense, you won't get your sweet soup."

Wen Jia slapped him across the face and turned to go into the kitchen.

"The sweet soup was given to me by my sister, so it's not up to you to decide," Lu Chenyan said as he followed her in.

"Okay, you said it yourself. You have to drink a big bowl."

Wen Jia took out a large bowl of noodles and unceremoniously filled it to the brim for Lu Chenyan.

"Fine, I'll drink it."

Lu Chenyan was stubborn.

A minute later, he was groaning in pain.

This longan and red date soup was so sweet it was almost cloying. I couldn't swallow after just two sips. But then Wen Lin came out carrying Ruoruo, and seeing such a big bowl of sweet soup, she was overjoyed.

"Ayan, you like it? That's great. Jiajia always says I make it too sweet, but that's how it's customary in our hometown. The sweeter the better, as it symbolizes a sweet and happy new year."

Lu Chenyan had originally planned to secretly dispose of the remaining sweet soup while Wen Lin wasn't looking. But upon hearing Wen Lin's words, he immediately patted his chest...

"Sister, it's delicious, I really like it. We overseas Chinese in Japan also have this tradition; we drink sweet soup too, just with slightly different ingredients. Sister, you're such a good cook."

"Really? That's great! I'm so happy you like it. Don't worry, I prepared a lot. I'll cook more for you if it's not enough."

Wen Jia was trying so hard not to laugh that her stomach hurt.

Unable to refuse Wen Lin's hospitality, Lu Chenyan finished the entire bowl of wine without even flinching.

Wen Lin also had to invite him to have breakfast.

Lu Chenyan rubbed his stomach; he really couldn't eat anymore.

Wen Jia pulled him out the door.

Reaching the door, Lu Chenyan suddenly leaned against the wall and dry heaved. Wen Jia couldn't help but burst into laughter, teasingly saying:

"Mr. Lu, would you like a piece of candy to calm your nerves?"

Lu Chenyan felt so overwhelmed by the sweetness that his esophagus felt cloying, and his voice was almost hoarse.

Why didn't you say so sooner!

"Who told you to talk nonsense? You deserve it."

"However, my sister is right."

"What do you mean, 'not wrong'?"

"After eating such a sweet soup, this year will definitely be sweet and blissful, so sweet it'll be sickening." Lu Chenyan hugged Wen Jia and leaned in to kiss her on the lips.

……

in the hospital.

The on-duty doctor cleaned and applied medicine to Lu Chenyan's wound again in the ward, and Wen Jia watched the whole process with a grimace.

The doctor muttered something as he applied the medicine.

"That shouldn't be happening. How could it suddenly crack? Why would it crack when everything was fine? Did you do some strenuous exercise?"

Lu Chenyan and Wen Jia shook their heads in unison.

"That doesn't make sense!"

After the doctor finished bandaging Lu Chenyan, he looked at him with some suspicion and solemnly instructed him...

"Avoid getting it wet, avoid strenuous exercise, and eat a light diet."

The doctor added, "I suggest you be hospitalized. Your temperature was just checked and you have a slight fever. We'll draw some blood for tests later."

"Okay." Lu Chenyan cooperated well.

As soon as the doctor left, Lu Chenyan got dressed. "Come on, let's go play."

Wen Jia refused to leave, saying, "No, we have to do a blood test. What if the wound gets infected? I can't let you do whatever you want."

"Doctors just exaggerate to scare you. Look at me, I can eat and move around, what's wrong with me? Who wants to have their blood drawn on the first day of the Lunar New Year?"

"you!"

Wen Jia, as if coaxing a child, ordered Lu Chenyan to lie down and rest.

Half an hour later.

The nurse came in and pushed a bunch of saline solution, all of which were anti-inflammatory medications.

Lu Chenyan's face immediately turned sour.

"Is it okay if we don't fight?"

"No way," Wen Jia said firmly.

She finally understood: Lu Chenyan had escaped from the hospital yesterday.

"I watched you get your IV drip today. As a reward, I'll ask the doctor if you can go home to sleep tonight after the drip is finished. Okay?"

"Okay then."

Lu Chenyan was willing to do anything at the thought of being able to hold Wen Jia while sleeping at night.

While Lu Chenyan was receiving an IV drip, Wen Jia went out to find a doctor to inquire about his condition.

As soon as I went downstairs, I ran into Lu Chenyan's mother.

Madam Lu sat in the car, still as dignified and elegant as she had been when they met more than half a year ago. She showed no surprise at seeing Wen Jia; it was as if she had been waiting for her.

"Miss Wen, may I speak to you in private?"

Wen Jia thought for a moment, then got into Madam Lu's car.

The car started and slowly circled the hospital building.

"Madam, please speak frankly. Ayan is waiting for me to bring her lunch upstairs," Wen Jia said first.

Madam Lu said, "Miss Wen, I really didn't expect that after all this time, it would still be you in the end."

Wen Jia asked, "What conditions does Madam intend to offer this time for me to leave?"

Mrs. Lu shook her head. "Miss Wen, I'd like to tell you a story this time."

Her expression was somewhat solemn, even tinged with sorrow, and she remained silent for a long time before speaking:

"Miss Wen, I don't know if Ayan has told you that when he was 15 years old, he was kidnapped by kidnappers and held captive for half a month."

Wen Jia nodded.

This is something that Lu Chenyan just told her about in the early hours of this morning.

Upon seeing this, a tear glistened in Madam Lu's eyes.

"Ms. Wen, that year he and his older brother were kidnapped, and the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 1 million US dollars. His father and I raised money while searching for them. The kidnappers were caught quickly, but in order to retaliate against us, they refused to say where the two brothers were being held. We didn't find them until half a month later."

"That dry well was a full thirty meters deep. The opening was sealed with an iron plate, and the bottom was dark, damp, and cold, teeming with rats, cockroaches, and poisonous insects. When we found them, Ayan was already in a deep coma. He was holding Alan's body tightly in his arms, refusing to let go. Alan's face and limbs were gnawed beyond recognition by rats..."

"etc!"

Wen Jia trembled and cried out.

"What did you say? Ah Yan's older brother... he's dead?"

Mrs. Lu's tears fell in a stream. She took a deep breath and said painfully:

"Yes. The doctor said A-Lan has been dead for at least three days. After the kidnappers were captured, they went without food and water for at least ten days. We found the carcasses of rats that had been eaten raw at the bottom of the well, and we speculate that A-Yan was able to barely survive because of those rats."