The doctor returned quickly, holding the test results in his hand.
"Mr. Chao, it seems you were recently exposed to a prevalent virus, which led to a secondary bacterial infection. You’ll need about five days of intravenous treatment," the doctor said, handing the report to Chao Musheng. "But none of these conditions are severe, so there’s no need to worry."
"Thank you, Doctor." Chao Musheng glanced at Su Chenzhu, who wasn’t wearing a mask. "Will the people who’ve been in close contact with me today get infected?"
It must have been that coughing Mr. Xuan from Chenyuan who passed it to him.
"That depends on individual immunity. Adults generally have stronger resistance than minors," the doctor replied, noticing Su Chenzhu’s lack of a mask and guessing Mr. Chao’s concern was for the CEO. "But it would be better if visitors wore masks."
"Cough, cough." Chao Musheng covered his mouth as he coughed softly. "Mr. Su, maybe you should go home and rest today? The doctors and nurses here will take care of me. I’ll be fine."
The doctor chimed in, "We assign excellent nurses and caregivers to every patient in the ward to ensure—"
"It’s fine." Su Chenzhu cut the doctor off, tucking the blanket around Chao Musheng. "Don’t worry about these things when you’re sick. I won’t catch it."
Sensing that the CEO wasn’t interested in hearing more, the doctor wisely swallowed the rest of his words.
If the hospital director hadn’t personally received Su Chenzhu, he might have thought Chao Musheng was the real boss of Kunlun Group, and Su Chenzhu was just his personal assistant.
After working in the hospital for so many years, he’d seen countless workers rushing to finish reports even while hooked to IV drips—but this was the first time he’d seen an employee being doted on by his boss like this.
A boss who genuinely cared about his employees’ health was rarer than a three-legged toad.
A nurse wheeled in a treatment cart, followed by a bodyguard carrying a food container.
The nurse was experienced and quick with the needle, inserting the IV catheter into Chao Musheng’s hand before switching to the other for a skin test.
The skin test stung a little, and Chao Musheng couldn’t help but frown. Su Chenzhu instinctively reached out, shielding his view of the needle.
"Mr. Su." Chao Musheng pulled Su Chenzhu’s hand away with a resigned smile. "I’m not a child. I’m not afraid of needles."
"This is Mr. Su’s way of caring for you," the nurse said, withdrawing the needle and hanging the IV bag. "Fear of needles isn’t just for kids. Many adults need their partners to hold their hands too."
Realizing her slip, she quickly added, "Or friends, of course."
"The skin test needs about 20 minutes of observation before we can administer the medication," the nurse said, checking the time. Noticing the bodyguard still holding the food container and worried her earlier remark might have made Chao Musheng uncomfortable, she changed the subject. "Mr. Chao, you can eat something now if you’d like."
Su Chenzhu opened the food container the bodyguard had brought—there was congee and dishes, the congee meant for Chao Musheng.
Chao Musheng had no appetite, but seeing the sweat still beading on the bodyguard’s forehead, he picked up the spoon and forced himself to take slow, deliberate bites.
His gaze drifted to the dishes in Su Chenzhu’s bowl. The aroma, usually so enticing, now churned his stomach.
Noticing his discomfort, Su Chenzhu closed the container and left the room with it. When he returned minutes later, the only scent lingering on him was a faint trace of woody cologne—Chao Musheng could smell nothing else.
"Mr. Su, you finished eating so quickly?" Chao Musheng stirred his congee, which had barely been touched.
"Mm." Su Chenzhu nodded, pouring him a glass of water. "Don’t force yourself if you’re not hungry. Eat when you feel better."
"Alright." Chao Musheng set the spoon down and rinsed his mouth with water.
"Mr. Chao, we can start the IV now," the nurse said, adjusting the drip rate before settling into a corner to monitor him.
"Nurse," Secretary Liu whispered to her, "you’ve worked hard. We’ll watch over the patient. You can rest at the nurse’s station—we’ll call you when the IV is done."
The nurse hesitated. The rules for the VIP ward required nurses to supervise the entire IV process.
"Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of him," Secretary Liu reassured her with a smile. "I’ll explain to the head nurse later."
"Alright." Seeing that Chao Musheng had already fallen asleep and Su Chenzhu wasn’t leaving his side, the nurse understood the implication. "I’ll check in every half hour."
She was a nurse, after all—she took responsibility for her patients.
Secretary Liu thanked her. "We appreciate it."
The cold IV fluid seeped into his veins. Chao Musheng closed his eyes. "Mr. Su, could you charge my phone? I want to sleep for a while."
"Rest well." Su Chenzhu took the phone and plugged it in. "I’ll stay right here."
Once Chao Musheng was asleep, he sat silently by the bed, watching the tiny bubbles rise in the IV bag.
"Boss." Secretary Liu tiptoed over and whispered, "You have a call."
Su Chenzhu snapped out of his thoughts and stepped into the ward’s conference room, shutting the door before answering.
"Push the Song family’s acquisition price to the lowest before making a move," he said calmly. "They’re trying to use Assistant Chao to pull strings?"
"Don’t entertain it." His tone turned icy. "Assistant Chao’s surname is Chao, not Song."
At Song Enterprises.
"Chairman." The secretary entered the office, his expression complicated as he took in the chairman, who had aged years in less than a week. "Kunlun rejected our terms. They said… if you don’t sign today, there won’t be any further negotiations."
Song Enterprises was in turmoil. With daily tax audits, the scandal surrounding Young Master Song, shareholders dumping stocks, and employees in panic, Kunlun was the only one willing to take on the mess.
Chairman Song read the acquisition terms over and over—a harsh deal that would reduce Song Enterprises to a mere subsidiary of Kunlun.
But if he didn’t sign, he couldn’t cover the tax liabilities. Not only would his relatives working at Song Enterprises face consequences, but even Song Cheng would—
His personal and company funds were frozen by the bank. To hire a top legal team for Song Cheng, he had no choice but to sign.
"Did you tell them that Kunlun’s executive assistant, Chao Musheng, is my grandson?" Chairman Song clung to one last hope.
The secretary hesitated. If Kunlun cared about that, they wouldn’t have drafted such ruthless terms.
"Never mind." Chairman Song sighed, the sound carrying the weight of a lifetime’s pride crumbling away. Hunched over, he signed with a trembling hand.
"If Chao Musheng hadn’t interfered, Song Enterprises wouldn’t have fallen this far," Chairman Song muttered after the final stroke. "That boy is a wolf cub—once provoked, he’ll tear you apart without mercy."
The secretary silently picked up the acquisition documents from the desk and walked out of the chairman's office. The atmosphere outside was cold and desolate.
A few colleagues from the executive office barely reacted when they saw him emerge. Everyone knew the Song Corporation was on the verge of collapse, and whether they could keep their jobs was uncertain.
Who would have thought the once-glorious Song Corporation would meet its end like this?
Hungry.
So hungry.
Two players who hadn’t eaten yet watched as Xiaojuan and the others emerged from the break room, looking utterly satisfied. They even felt the irrational urge to dig through the trash for leftovers.
"Have you all finished eating?" The supervisor approached the group of five. "The hallway is crowded with people coming and going. Hurry up and mop the floors—don’t let patients and their families think our hospital’s hygiene standards are poor."
"Got it, Supervisor." Xiaojuan, now well-fed and energized, immediately put on gloves and went to clean the public area outside her assigned ward.
"Good." The supervisor smiled. "Look at Xiaojuan’s work ethic. You should all learn from her, especially you two."
He glared at the two players who had skipped lunch. "In a hospital, you need to maintain high spirits. Patients are already suffering from illness—seeing your gloomy faces will only make them feel worse."
"Pull yourselves together." The supervisor frowned. "If you can’t handle it, leave."
The two immediately forced smiles, trying to appease him.
"Since it’s your first day, I’ll let it slide." The supervisor clasped his hands behind his back. "But don’t let it happen again."
Once the supervisor left, one of the players clutched his stomach and muttered, "Didn’t expect NPCs in this dungeon to pull PUA tactics too."
He’d encountered all kinds of bizarre superiors in dungeons—some who liked eating people, others who enjoyed hunting players for sport. But this was the first time he’d met one who psychologically manipulated players just to squeeze more work out of them.
"You think an NPC who makes us work from 3 PM to 5 AM has any hobbies besides exploitation?" The other player resignedly picked up a mop. "Even sweatshops aren’t this brutal."
Their conversation reached You Jiu’s ears. He glanced at Xiaojuan, who was working with unsettling enthusiasm, and sighed. This damn dungeon was getting more inhumane by the minute.
They were players, not village donkeys—and even donkeys didn’t work 14-hour days.
Chao Musheng’s phone rang.
Su Chenzhu glanced at Chao Musheng, who was sound asleep in the hospital bed, and declined the call.
But the phone rang again. After a brief hesitation, Su Chenzhu answered.
"Old Fourth, it’s the weekend. Second Brother and I are meeting some alumni for karaoke tonight. You coming?"
"Sorry, I’m a friend of Chao Musheng’s."
Silence stretched for a few seconds on the other end. "Hello, I’m Old Fourth’s friend. Is he there?"
"He’s asleep right now."
"Asleep?!" Old Third nearly tripped over his words. "Then why are you next to him?"
If Old Fourth was asleep, why was a strange man answering his phone? That couldn’t be right.
"He’s sick. I’m at the hospital taking care of him." The voice on the other end was youthful, nothing like his own dull monotone.
"Old Fourth is sick?" Old Third panicked. "How bad is it? Which hospital is he at? What did the doctor say?"
Su Chenzhu replied, "Thank you for your concern. It’s not serious—just needs a few days of IV fluids."
Murmurs of conversation filtered through the phone. Su Chenzhu tightened his grip on the device, his gaze drifting back to Chao Musheng’s face.
Chao Musheng was always surrounded by friends—bright, energetic people who could sling an arm over his shoulder without a second thought.
He would never be the special one.
"Sir? Sir!"
"Are you still there?"
"I am." Su Chenzhu lowered his lashes. "Chao Musheng still has a few hours left on his IV drip today."
"Then we’ll come see him in three hours. Could you give us the hospital address and room number?"
Su Chenzhu pressed his lips together, then calmly recited the details.
Chao Musheng had friends, family, so many people who loved him.
That was good. It was good to be loved and cared for.
By 5 PM, the two players who hadn’t eaten lunch were starving, their stomachs pressed against their spines. They dragged their mops across the floor, forced to clean every time someone passed through the hallway.
Just as they finished another round and finally caught their breath, a group of young men and women stepped out of the elevator.
They radiated an untarnished vitality, untouched by the grind of society. As they passed the nurses’ station, they cheerfully greeted the staff, their laughter brimming with life.
Oh no.
The two players slumped against the wall, despair written all over their faces.
Time to mop again.
"Wow, this place is fancy." Old Third gaped at the freshly mopped hallway, hesitating to step on the gleaming floor.
"Hello, everyone." Secretary Liu approached the group. "Chao Musheng is awake now. Please follow me."
He glanced at the gifts they carried—mostly fragrant, spicy snacks, except for the bag of fruit held by a slender young man.
"Thanks, bro!" The group filed into the room, spotting Chao Musheng with an IV needle in his hand. One of them triumphantly raised a pack of spicy chicken feet. "Chao, we’re here to see you!"
Chao Musheng stared at their offerings. "..."
Who in their right mind brought food a patient couldn’t eat as a get-well gift?
"Zhou Yi?" Chao Musheng ignored the others, focusing on the one holding fruit. "You came too?"
At least there was one decent person in the crowd!
"I ran into them downstairs and found out you were hospitalized." Zhou Yi set the fruit on the table. "Are you okay?"
"Just a viral fever. A couple days of IV fluids and I’ll be fine." Chao Musheng frowned. "Why were you at the hospital entrance? Are you sick too?"
"No, my parents work here as cleaners. I was bringing them dinner." Zhou Yi scanned the room. "Is no one here with you?"
"There is." Chao Musheng smiled toward the small conference room door. "He didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, so he stepped out."
If they knew it was Mr. Su taking care of him, they’d probably freeze up, unsure where to put their hands and feet.
Maybe that was why Mr. Su had excused himself to "handle paperwork" in the adjoining room.
Behind the door, Su Chenzhu peered through the crack, watching Chao Musheng surrounded by his friends.
Then, with a quiet ache, he looked away.
