Her mother smiled and winked at Daisy, "Yes, your dad has already eaten. I'll take it back, heat it up tomorrow, skim off the oil, and send it to your dad to drink."
"Alright, just as you say," Daisy said, linking her arm through her mother's. "You should go back and rest quickly. I'll be here tonight."
Seeing the fatigue in her daughter's eyes, her mother said, "You've been watching over him for so many days, are you tired? How about I don't go back tonight and you go rest?"
"Mom! I'm perfectly fine, don't worry so much. Go back and get a good night's sleep so you'll have the energy to accompany my dad during the day," Daisy pushed her towards the door, saying, "If you fall sick too, that would really be trying to kill me."
"Pah, pah, what do you mean I'll fall sick, or die? Can't you say something more pleasant?" Her mother picked up the things she was taking back and walked out of the ward, chiding her, "You're so grown up, yet you're still so careless with your words."
"Okay, I'll be careful from now on. It's fine to speak auspicious words all the time, right?" She escorted her mother to the ward door and watched her get into the elevator. The smile that had been on her face vanished.
She sagged, leaning against the wall, and stood in the corridor outside the ward for a few minutes, composing herself before going in to be with her father.
...
Huangfu Shaohua left the alley, which he had become quite familiar with, and continued walking alone.
He thought of Daisy's hair, now shorter than ever, and her noticeably thinner frame.
Even though she had thrown him and his back hurt, he still felt for her.
As he walked, he realized he had left the bustling area and the road ahead had fewer streetlights and fewer pedestrians.
He stood at an intersection, preparing to hail a taxi home. As he raised his hand, a van suddenly appeared from nowhere and stopped abruptly in front of him.
Before he could react, the van door swung open, and two burly men jumped out, grabbing him and attempting to drag him into the vehicle.
He immediately planted a foot on the step of the van door and resisted with all his might. He broke free from the man on his left and threw a punch at the man on his right, roaring, "What do you want?"
The man he punched clutched his face, pulled a spray bottle from his pocket, and quickly sprayed it towards him.
He knew it was likely a knockout agent and quickly covered his mouth and nose with one arm. He turned and kicked the man on his left, who was lunging at him again, in the chest.
The man crumpled to the ground, unable to recover immediately.
Before practicing boxing, Huangfu Shaohua had also trained in Muay Thai. Under normal circumstances, three or four people were no match for him.
The man holding the spray bottle, seeing that he might not be able to defeat him, tried to find an opportunity to spray him again.
He spun around and kicked the spray bottle out of the man's hand.
The man who had been kneeling on the ground got up again, fumbled for a small knife on his person, and lunged at him.
Just as he was about to subdue the man who no longer had the spray, he reacted a little slowly to the incoming knife. He couldn't dodge it completely and was still cut on the arm.
At that moment, a patrol car happened to drive by. The police officers inside saw them fighting, stopped their car, and got out to investigate.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the two burly men stopped fighting Huangfu Shaohua, jumped back into the van, and the driver floored the accelerator, speeding away.
The patrol officers were too late to pursue the van and went to check on Huangfu Shaohua, who was still by the roadside.
Huangfu Shaohua pressed hard on the wound on his arm and said, "I was attacked by thugs. They tried to drag me into the van. I fought with them, and they had a knife and a spray that can knock people out."
One of the officers, while asking for his identification, told him, "We'll take you to the hospital first."
Another officer took photos of the scene, and together they took Huangfu Shaohua to a nearby hospital.
...
After dinner, Wu Xiufang took a walk in the garden, waiting for good news about Shaohua's date.
She felt this time it should be successful.
She had met the younger daughter of the Luo family. She was dignified, spoke and acted with grace and politeness, and was a perfect match for Shaohua in every way.
She believed they would surely have a good impression of each other upon meeting, and as long as they were willing to continue dating, marriage would be a matter of time.
Just then, Mrs. Luo called her, speaking in a very displeased tone and saying a great deal.
Mrs. Luo blamed her for concealing Shaohua's divorce, and for his ex-wife being neither male nor female, and for bringing someone to disrupt her daughter's date with Shaohua that evening.
Wu Xiufang felt embarrassed and could only apologize over the phone, saying she would explain when they met next time.
Mrs. Luo hung up the phone, still very angry.
Wu Xiufang did not expect Daisy to do such a thing, to ruin Shaohua's date with someone else.
But strangely, since this meeting was unsuccessful and the Luo family's daughter had gone home, Shaohua had not yet returned.
Just as she was about to contact Shaohua, she received a call from an unknown number.
"Is this Ms. Wu?"
"I am."
"Do you have a son named Huangfu Shaohua?"
"Yes. Who is this, what happened to him?" Wu Xiufang asked.
"I'm a police officer. He was attacked by thugs on the road and is now in the hospital. Please come over."
Upon hearing this, Wu Xiufang felt her limbs go weak and asked nervously, "What exactly happened to him?"
"Don't get agitated. He has an arm injury, but otherwise, he's fine. Come to the hospital first and we'll talk."
Wu Xiufang quickly instructed the driver to prepare the car.
She had arranged their date at a restaurant in a bustling area, so how could there be robbers?
From Mrs. Luo's tone earlier, the Luo family's daughter had returned home safely, but Shaohua had met with an accident.
When she arrived at the hospital, she saw that Shaohua's arm had been bandaged, and he was clearly conscious, talking to two police officers.
As soon as Wu Xiufang saw his bandaged arm, which was much more swollen than his uninjured one, she said with concern, "Why didn't you call the family driver to pick you up after dinner? What exactly happened?"
Shaohua glanced at Wu Xiufang and said calmly, "I must have run into some fierce bandits who wanted to rob me."
Wu Xiufang felt scared just hearing it and immediately questioned the police officers beside them, saying, "How can there be such thugs in the city center? Don't you send more people to maintain public order?"
One of the officers explained, "The area where Mr. Huangfu was attacked is no longer in the city center. Some of the streetlights there are broken and under repair. We will strengthen patrols in that area in the future."
Wu Xiufang was about to scold the police again, but Huangfu Shaohua stopped her, saying, "Mom, thanks to their patrols, I only sustained minor injuries. Please don't say any more."
The two police officers had finished taking their statements. Seeing that the victim's family had arrived, they saw no need to stay longer and said to Huangfu Shaohua, "We will contact you again to assist with the investigation."
Based on the current situation, it was likely a gang that suddenly pulls pedestrians into their cars on the street, demanding bank card PINs for robbery.
Fortunately, this victim was skilled and able to fight back against the thugs, thus avoiding significant losses.
As soon as the police left, Wu Xiufang immediately said, "How badly are you hurt? I know the director here, I'll have him find the best doctor to examine you again."