Against Invalidity

The light in the lounge was dim, with only a small wall lamp emitting a warm orange glow.

Jiang Yunlu's eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were met with an unfamiliar ceiling. The air no longer smelled of disinfectant, but rather of aromatherapy—truly befitting a lounge.

She turned her head with sleep-heavy eyes. Outside the window, the night was as dark as ink, with the city's neon lights flashing in the distance. It was already dark.

Memories instantly flooded back, making her heart clench.

She struggled to sit up, only to find her aunt, Jiang Chengyue, resting her head on the edge of the bed. Her breathing was steady; she was clearly exhausted.

"Auntie!"

Anxious, Jiang Yunlu couldn't care less about anything else and quickly reached out to shake Jiang Chengyue's shoulder.

"Auntie! Wake up!"

Jolted awake by the shaking, Jiang Chengyue suddenly sat up straight. She rubbed her eyes groggily. "Hmm? What is it... Little Yunlu, you're awake?"

Before she could finish, her hand was tightly grasped by Jiang Yunlu. The small hands were ice-cold and carried a faint, almost imperceptible tremble.

"Auntie! How is Auntie Qiong? Was the surgery successful?"

Hearing this question, Jiang Chengyue seemed to have a heavy burden lifted off her shoulders. She let out an exaggerated sigh of relief and patted her chest earnestly.

"My god, thank goodness. At least the first thing you asked about when you woke up was Sister Qiong. I thought you were going to immediately ask about that boy named Lin Mo."

Jiang Yunlu's face instantly turned bright red, burning all the way from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.

She looked away in embarrassment, her voice dropping significantly. "Auntie, what are you talking about? Of course I'm more worried about Auntie Qiong!"

"Alright, alright, I'm just teasing you."

Seeing her like this, Jiang Chengyue wanted to laugh. She waved her hand, her expression relaxing.

"Don't worry, the surgery was very successful. Sister Qiong has nine lives; she'll recover quickly. You can go see her right now."

After saying that, Jiang Chengyue stood up and stretched, her joints letting out a series of soft pops.

Just then, she felt a gentle tug on the hem of her clothes.

She looked down to see Jiang Yunlu sitting on the bed, biting her lower lip, her gaze darting around, avoiding eye contact.

"Auntie..."

The voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, but Jiang Chengyue heard it loud and clear.

"Where is Lin Mo? When... did he leave?"

Just as I thought.

Jiang Chengyue rolled her eyes helplessly in her mind. This girl's feelings were practically written all over her face.

She replied grumpily, "He scrammed at noon."

"Oh..."

Jiang Yunlu's voice carried a hint of subtle disappointment, but she quickly muttered softly, "That makes sense, he still has classes. He actually took the whole morning off for me, that's really... too much trouble for him."

Seeing the complex expression of guilt and sweetness on her niece's face, Jiang Chengyue could only secretly rejoice that her older brother wasn't here, otherwise he would definitely go completely crazy.

She led Jiang Yunlu, and the two walked one after another toward the ICU ward.

Jiang Chengshan had already returned to the company to handle urgent matters, but the atmosphere in the hallway outside the ward was even heavier than during the day.

Several solemn-looking men in black suits stood on both sides of the corridor like silent statues, making passing nurses subconsciously lighten their footsteps.

This kind of formation, however, did not bring Jiang Chengyue much sense of security.

She stopped, turned around, and looked at Jiang Yunlu with a serious expression.

"Yunlu, I have something to tell you."

The relaxed atmosphere in the corridor vanished completely.

"Starting tomorrow, I will have someone follow you twenty-four hours a day to protect your safety."

Jiang Chengyue looked into her niece's eyes, speaking word by word.

"Don't resist it, be good. The situation is special right now and not very safe. What happened to Auntie Qiong this time... might not have been an accident."

The words "not an accident" were like a stone thrown into a deep pool, stirring up a thousand waves in Jiang Yunlu's heart.

She stared blankly at her aunt, then looked at the solemn bodyguards. The fear she had deliberately ignored earlier now surfaced clearly.

She nodded vigorously, her face turning a bit pale.

"I understand."

Walking up to the transparent glass of the ICU ward, Situ Qiong, who had already been taken off the equipment, was sitting on the hospital bed watching TV.

Sensing someone approaching, Situ Qiong turned her head to look out the window and immediately broke into a wide smile.

"Little Miss is here, come on in."

Jiang Chengyue didn't follow her in, letting Jiang Yunlu walk in quickly by herself.

As soon as she entered, Jiang Yunlu slowed her pace.

She carefully observed Situ Qiong.

Situ Qiong smiled, "Little Miss, I'm sorry to have made you worry."

Hearing this, Jiang Yunlu burst into tears and threw herself over. Afraid of hurting Situ Qiong, she only threw herself onto the edge of the bed.

"Auntie Qiong, are you alright? I was really terrified last night, I was so scared."

A trace of warmth flashed in Situ Qiong's eyes as she rubbed Jiang Yunlu's hair.

"It's alright, don't worry. I still want to live to see Little Miss get married and have children."

At the mention of this, a figure flashed through Jiang Yunlu's mind. With slightly reddened cheeks, she said:

"You will, Auntie Qiong. You will definitely get better."

Situ Qiong gently patted Jiang Yunlu's hand.

"That young man named Lin Mo, I also think he's quite nice. If Little Miss really likes him, don't worry too much about the Master; his objections are invalid."

--System: There are many voices outside opposing my love for you--

Meanwhile, at the school.

Evening self-study had just begun, and Lin Mo gathered up the test papers he had finished writing.

After the division into science and arts streams, the homework had actually decreased a bit, since a lot of the humanities content was gone.

It just became a little more tedious.

Just now, Lin Mo had been doing his test papers while observing Situ Dingyi's whereabouts.

After all, this guy was planning to secretly abduct Jiang Yunlu.

He intended to deal with these two people directly, and at the same time see what exactly was going on, since Auntie Qiong only had a partial understanding of the situation.

His divine sense followed the two of them.

Currently, at a freight company owned by the Situ family.

Situ Dingyi and Situ Ding'er were both sitting in the manager's office.

The general manager was someone else; they didn't understand business, but they certainly still had a position there.

Situ Dingyi put down his phone.

"I've spoken with the clan. They don't support our plan, so we can't do it."

Situ Ding'er slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, leaving a sunken palm print on the entire tabletop.

"Why? Can't we just take her away?"

"Setting aside the fact that the Situ family is already in a precarious situation, the task the Miss gave us is also very important."

"But the clan is unwilling to take the risk. If we are suppressed by the Yanhuang Awakening again, we might have to leave the Hidden Sect. Do you want everyone in the family to become ordinary people in the future?"

At this point, Situ Ding'er took a deep breath and sat back down.

"But if we do nothing, I'm afraid the Situ family will have no way out. The Gongsun family has produced three geniuses now, each of whom can easily crush us. If this continues, the Situ family will truly be carved up."

Situ Dingyi did not continue the conversation. Instead, he simply said in a mild tone, "The higher-ups won't allow it, so what can you do? There's no point in talking so much. Let's go have a drink. I'm tired."

With that, he stood up and headed outside.

Situ Ding'er hurriedly followed after him.