CHAPTER 286: CHAPTER 286: IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES

Housekeeper Zhao, seeing the situation, didn’t say much. He set the pocket watch aside and joined Xu Ke in trying to hold down Sheng Wenhao, attempting to prevent him from further injuring himself. But the two of them misjudged Wenhao’s strength.

Wenhao appeared lean, but his strength was astonishingly great. Xu Ke, while holding his hand, nearly lost his grip as Wenhao, like a wild beast bereft of reason, opened his mouth to bite the arm that Xu Ke used to restrain him.

Not only did Wenhao struggle fiercely with his upper body, but his lower body was equally challenging. Twice, he almost toppled Housekeeper Zhao. The housekeeper’s meticulously groomed hair was slightly disheveled. "Family Head, I’m almost losing control here," Housekeeper Zhao said, pinning down Wenhao’s kicking feet with all his upper body strength.

"Take his belt off and tie up his legs first," Xu Ke said, using his knee and one hand to restrain Sheng Wenhao’s thrashing upper body. Taking advantage of a brief respite, Xu Ke deftly removed Wenhao’s belt with a flick of his wrist and tossed it to Housekeeper Zhao.

By the time Housekeeper Zhao had tied up Wenhao’s legs and helped Xu Ke completely subdue Wenhao’s upper body, more than half an hour had passed. Xu Ke’s back was soaked with sweat, and his arms felt fatigued.

As Xu Ke and Housekeeper Zhao worked together to move Wenhao onto the bed, the private doctor arrived.

"How is he? Is he badly hurt?" Xu Ke watched the private doctor use tweezers to extract shards of glass embedded in Wenhao’s flesh. With every piece removed, Wenhao’s body shuddered reflexively, the muscles in his shoulders tensing involuntarily.

The private doctor expertly extracted the last shard from Wenhao’s back, speaking in a calm and steady voice: "It’s not a serious injury, just a little extensive. Bathing would be a bit inconvenient. If his back hurts too much, he can take a pain reliever, but not too many, as it’s not good for the body."

"Why did he suddenly become so out of control, even going so far as to hurt himself? What’s the reason?" Xu Ke asked in a composed manner, observing the doctor sprinkle an off-white powder onto Wenhao’s wounds.

"It’s hard to say. It may be a relapse of an old condition, or possibly an overdose of stimulants, or a resurgence of drug addiction. But when I examined Wenhao’s injuries, I noticed needle marks on his arm, so I’m personally more inclined towards the third possibility. Still, we can’t rule out the others. We might only discover the true cause once he wakes up," the private doctor stated.

"I understand. Zhao, please take him out for now," Xu Ke replied, maintaining a neutral tone.

Once he heard the door close, Xu Ke’s expression shifted. A storm brewed in his eyes, like a black tornado mixed with an aura of destruction.

Xu Ke remained silent, standing quietly at the bedside, gazing intently at Sheng Wenhao until the knock of Housekeeper Zhao brought him back to reality. He slowly concealed his emotions, leaving the bedroom gracefully.

"Keep today’s incident confidential. Let the servants who saw it keep their mouths shut. Tomorrow morning, have the kitchen prepare some light, easy-to-digest meals. You don’t need to take care of matters here anymore. Get some rest early," Xu Ke said calmly.

"Yes," Housekeeper Zhao responded with a slight bow.

Returning to the bedroom, Xu Ke changed his clothes and slipped into bed. Lin Mengyao, sensing the bed’s sag next to her, groggily snuggled into Xu Ke’s embrace in her sleep.

Lin Mengyao’s actions were like a timely downpour dousing the volcanic eruption brewing within Xu Ke. Bathed in moonlight, Xu Ke meticulously traced the outline of Mengyao’s features with his gaze. Lost in time, he gradually drifted into slumber.

"Hiss!" In the morning, Sheng Wenhao awoke to unfamiliar surroundings. Reflecting on what happened before falling asleep, he quickly grasped his situation. As he tried to get out of bed, a sharp pain in his back snapped him fully awake.

It was as if Sheng Wenhao had realized something, and his face turned pale in an instant.

"You’re awake." The shock had not yet faded from Wenhao’s face when a voice next to him sent a jolt down his spine, making his body tremble with the anxiety that Xu Ke might have discovered his secret.

"Why are you leaning over my bed first thing in the morning?" Wenhao forced a smile onto his pale face before turning his head to look at Xu Ke.

"Was it the Sheng Family who did this? How long has it been? Why didn’t you tell me?" With bloodshot eyes, a parched voice, and a shadow of stubble on his chin after a sleepless night, Xu Ke looked uncharacteristically disheveled.

Seeing Xu Ke in this state, Wenhao felt both touched by his friend’s concern for him and embarrassed that he had been seen in such a vulnerable state. His voice grew hoarse, "You can’t help with this. As you said, you knew nothing about my time in Africa. I refuse to spend my life there, and the only way out was to accept their terms. It was my only chance to escape."

"I’ll stay with you. We’ll quit together. I’ve marked this grudge, and I will make the Sheng Family pay for what they’ve done," Xu Ke said after a moment of silence, the storm brewing in his eyes intimidating Wenhao.

"Don’t go head-to-head with the Sheng Family. It seems they have someone backing them; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so daring. This kind of drug isn’t even seen on the market, only available from them. You’re not alone now; you have a wife. Don’t involve your family because of me. This grudge is my own, and I’ll settle it myself," Wenhao said, a pale smile appearing on his gaunt face.

"Do it yourself? How can you handle it alone? I can protect my wife. You’re my brother, and I won’t just stand by. If you truly consider me a brother, don’t refuse me. They want to use you to gain my trust and go against me, right? That’s our opportunity. No matter who they have behind them, I’ll avenge you for this," Xu Ke said.

Xu Ke’s firm tone and attitude warmed Wenhao’s heart as if he’d soaked in a hot spring, making him feel warmly comforted, even lessening the pain in his back wounds.