The Basic Accomplishment of an Actor: A Master of Ventriloquism in the Great Sea City, Lost Soul...

Oh, my good Lord!

Look at this poor wretch, lying perfectly still on the bed. How utterly pitiful!

The cold sweat on Ye Cheng's forehead was multiplying. The terrifying part was that this situation was already the best-case scenario he could hope for at the moment.

Let's rewind the clock a bit.

Ye Cheng was still lying in the hospital playing the role of the Eldest Miss when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from the doorway. His heart rate spiked once again.

Oh no!

Step, step. Dongfang Zhixia appeared at the door. In her hand was a phone she had just hung up; she had been calling the Dongfang family's logistics team, instructing them to come over and transfer the patient to their own hospital.

"You're awake?"

Seeing Ye Cheng awake, Dongfang Zhixia paused for a moment. The heart that had been in her throat finally settled. She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling an indescribable sense of gladness that carried a hint of having survived a disaster.

She raised an elegant eyebrow, and her inexplicably authoritative voice echoed in the room. Just those few words almost triggered Ye Cheng's stress response, causing another Mount Everest peak to appear on the heart monitor next to him.

Step, step, step. Dongfang Zhixia walked in, speaking as she approached.

"Pack up. You'll be sleeping somewhere else later. For the time being, you'll stay obediently in our family's hospital. If you dare to run around again..."

Hearing this, Shen Qinghan silently let go of the fingers she had been prying away from Ye Cheng. She stood up and stared straight at the certain female gorilla who was spouting nonsense in front of her.

"If you haven't woken up yet, there's a bed right here for you to sleep on. I'll even cover your medical bills," Shen Qinghan said with a calm face.

Her cold, clear voice echoed through the room.

Ye Cheng drew in a sharp breath. Hiss... As expected of the Eldest Miss, insulting people with such artistic flair!

Everyone present understood the jab, except for Xia Tongxin. Her head was full of question marks. Seeing that the expressions of the people around her seemed to have changed, Xia Tongxin asked in her crisp voice.

"What does Xia Xia mean by that? Is this wicked woman sick?"

Head Maid: "..."

I'm begging you, Miss, please stop talking. It's already chaotic enough.

Having already witnessed the terrifying nature of a certain underworld heiress, the Head Maid dared not offend Dongfang Zhixia. She knew very well that Dongfang Zhixia was also a local snake of Dahai City—and a ruthless one at that!

Although she couldn't summon a massive crowd of thugs with a single phone call like Shen Qinghan, bullying outsiders like them would be a piece of cake, leaving them to suffer the consequences.

Coupled with their own Miss's arrogant and loudmouthed personality, there was a real chance they wouldn't make it out of Dahai City alive. That little stunt just now was scary enough; if it happened again, she would literally have to sling the girl over her shoulder and run.

The Head Maid hurriedly covered Xia Tongxin's mouth and whispered an explanation: "Miss, she means she's daydreaming, that her head..."

The Head Maid kept her voice low, muttering in a volume only the two of them could hear. She had no choice but to explain; otherwise, Xia Tongxin would definitely throw a tantrum demanding to know. It was better to just tell her straight.

Aside from the noblewoman, the person who understood Xia Tongxin best in the world was the Head Maid. The moment Xia Tongxin opened her mouth, the Head Maid instantly knew she was about to stir up some new trouble, and hurriedly interrupted her spellcasting animation.

Xia Tongxin blinked, a hint of enlightenment appearing in her eyes.

Oh, so that's how it is.

"Miss, you can't say it out loud, she'll get sad." After thinking for a moment, the Head Maid came up with an effective communication method and began weaving another reasonable white lie for Xia Tongxin.

Xia Tongxin was certainly arrogant, but it was also true that she had a kind heart. She was a special edition bratty little twerp.

Sure enough, the method worked.

Xia Tongxin, who had been blustering and ready to provoke Dongfang Zhixia, immediately quieted down. The gaze she directed at Dongfang Zhixia was now tinged with pity.

Head Maid: "..."

Although the process was wrong, as long as the result was right, it was fine. As for the rest... she would ignore it for now.

The Head Maid breathed a sigh of relief and finally let go of Xia Tongxin. Xia Tongxin shook her head back and forth, looking at Dongfang Zhixia with great pity: "It's okay, I'll cover all the medical expenses for your treatment!"

Dongfang Zhixia: "???"

Head Maid: "..."

Ye Cheng: "..."

Only Shen Qinghan nodded in strong agreement and started twisting the knife: "Even a child can see that you're sick. Aren't you going to get treated? The result of a terminal illness is being beyond cure."

Ye Cheng: "..."

Stop, please stop talking!

Even though the room was air-conditioned, Ye Cheng genuinely felt it was getting hotter and hotter. The sweat on his body was increasing. Damn it, why isn't this AC cooling things down!

Oh... so it's cold sweat.

Fuck!

"Kids say the darndest things, please excuse her..." the Head Maid muttered repeatedly as she scooped up Xia Tongxin, ready to make a run for it. If they didn't run now, Dongfang Zhixia was going to come over and beat them up.

Even though the Head Maid had learned self-defense—and quite a few varieties of it—she absolutely dared not lay a hand on Dongfang Zhixia. Dongfang Zhixia's status was too noble. Earlier, just blocking a certain underworld heiress at the door had resulted in a massive mob showing up to settle the score.

If she actually threw a punch, they really wouldn't even be able to leave Dahai City in a body bag.

"I'm not leaving! I didn't do anything wrong! Let me go!" Xia Tongxin's ultimate loli voice echoed through the hospital room.

Once again, she waged war against the doorframe, biting the doorway with her teeth and clawing desperately with her two little hands, using every ounce of strength she had.

"Why are you treating me like this?! I'm the one who saved him! Grandpa Cow is mine! You're all bad guys, big stupid pigs, demons... Let me go! I'm the savior! Xia Xia, you dairy cow demon, let me go..."

It was like the final death throes of a cockroach after being sprayed with insecticide—bursting its guts, oh wait, no, bursting with skills.

She blurted out everything at once, saying whatever came to mind. She vented all the injustice she had faced, her inner unwillingness, grievances, and anger, all in one breath without stuttering at all.

When it came to demonic whispers, Xia Tongxin was quite an authority. Furthermore, she could insult people without using a single dirty word, yet still make her fury deeply felt. She looked exactly like... an angry kitten, the chicken-wing-stuffed-with-rice edition.

With her hands on her hips, it looked like she was about to bust out some Muay Thai moves. It was just a pity... she had zero attack power.

Both Dongfang Zhixia and Shen Qinghan listened with faces full of question marks. What Grandpa Cow? What demon? What the... But one thing was certain: this little thing in front of them seemed to be here to claim the person on the bed too?

Ye Cheng alone was listening while drenched in sweat.

You damn little cockroach, are you treating me like a stepping stone? At a time like this, when your bro is literally laid out on a hospital bed, you're still stirring up drama. You really just can't bear to see me survive, can you?

Just you wait!

Silently, in his little black book of revenge, Ye Cheng aggressively marked down a tally for Xia Tongxin. This pink-brained little creature really had a knack for screwing people over!

Seeing Xia Tongxin acting like such an idiot, Dongfang Zhixia actually felt her anger dissipate. After all... what kind of adult would seriously get mad at a child?

Of course, that was assuming the adult in front of you wasn't named Ye Cheng. Otherwise, you definitely wouldn't be in for a good time!

In perfect sync, after Xia Tongxin unleashed a barrage of "skills," Dongfang Zhixia and Shen Qinghan silently turned their gazes to Ye Cheng.

Ye Cheng: "..."

Damn it, you little cockroach, I will remember this!

"I... cough, cough..."

In Dahai City, there lived a master of vocal mimicry, located in the southwest corner of the Xia family hospital...

The Head Maid: "..."

The Head Maid knew that a certain despicable guy was about to start his performance again. But this did not seem like a bad idea. At the very least, it could hard-control those two... wait, no, her own Young Miss was also...

Ye Cheng put on a look as if he were on his deathbed. He appeared incredibly weak, coughing heavily after speaking just a single sentence.

"I... I want to go back to school, cough, cough..."

"Mm, alright," Shen Qinghan said calmly.

Dongfang Zhixia furrowed her brows. However, glancing at Ye Cheng lying on the hospital bed, she felt a sudden prick in her heart. A stifling discomfort washed over her, and in the end, she merely gave a soft snort and said nothing, silently agreeing to it.

"I don't agree, I— mmph!" Hearing that they were leaving, Xia Tongxin immediately grew unhappy and prepared to output another barrage of words. This time, however, the Head Maid was quick and clamped a hand over her mouth.

Since when did "minions" have the right to speak?

And so, Ye Cheng's group left in an ambulance. Xia Tongxin kicked up a fuss and followed along, leading to the scene that had just unfolded.

The smell of gunpowder inside the vehicle began to thicken again. Ye Cheng did not even dare to open his eyes. If he woke up now, how was he supposed to use the pity card to survive the clash between these two eldest misses?

I will just slap a silence on them!

I do not care about any of this...

I will just lie in bed for a week first and figure out how to fool my way out of this mess. Ye Cheng kept his eyes closed, plotting while keeping up his act. Whenever the Eldest Miss and the Guild President looked like they were about to tear into each other, he would cough a couple of times to farm some sympathy points.

Right after Ye Cheng's group left the hospital, Tang Yuyao and Lin Baizhi arrived, only to find an empty room. The bed was still warm, but the person was gone.

Going to either the Dongfang family's hospital or the Shen family's hospital was not the optimal solution. If the truth behind this incident was unraveled, he would be doomed. He had to muddy the waters.

If worse comes to worst, I will just fake amnesia and act like an idiot. Just babble nonsense—I am familiar with that routine...

I just need to observe that idiot hamster a bit more.

Right, where is the hamster?

Ye Cheng suddenly remembered this issue. Before he passed out, he recalled her falling asleep. Shouldn't she be awake by now?

Poor hamster, she had completely lost her mind...

Ye Cheng sighed inwardly, shook his head, and silently mourned for the hamster for three seconds. She was not very smart to begin with, and after being scared like that, she was probably lying on a hospital slab right alongside him.

The ambulance drove steadily toward the hospital located inside Dahai City's Noble Academy. Inside the vehicle, the bickering sounds of Shen Qinghan and Dongfang Zhixia taking verbal jabs at each other could be heard from time to time as the vehicle gradually drove further away...

Meanwhile.

Inside the academy, at the hospital.

A beautiful woman clutched a tissue in her hand, her eyes red from crying. Tang Shouye also had a solemn expression as he looked at the little secretary in front of him, who was sitting motionless like a wooden doll.

They had been here for over ten minutes. The beautiful woman had said a lot of things but had not received a single response, causing her to sob uncontrollably.

"Boohoo, Mengmeng, boohoo... It is one thing that you have not visited your aunt in so long, but how could something like this happen to you..."

"Mengmeng, it is me, it is your aunt. Please say something, do not scare your aunt like this..."

"Boohoo..."

The little secretary sat motionless on the bed with a vacant expression, staring at her own hands. In her daze, the clothes on her body once again appeared to become filthy—blood, there was blood everywhere!