Yu Xiaoke jumped in fright, her whole body giving a shudder, her scalp prickling with alarm. How had this person appeared behind her without a sound?

"You—how did you get behind me?" Yu Xiaoke recovered her wits and eyed Wei Zhao warily. Was this man a ghost?

"Weren't you looking for someone?" Wei Zhao countered.

"I... you..." Yu Xiaoke glared at Wei Zhao, at a loss for words.

"With that pitiful skill of yours, you want to learn how to tail someone? Go home and rest. This world is actually a very dangerous place. It's a miracle someone like you has survived this long." Wei Zhao looked at Yu Xiaoke with a trace of pity. It was only because he happened to be an upright sort; had he been someone with crooked intentions, Yu Xiaoke wouldn't even have found a place to cry.

"You're the miracle!" Yu Xiaoke glared at Wei Zhao, puffing with anger. "Hey, are you in the same line of work?"

Yu Xiaoke figured Wei Zhao might be a fellow professional. Otherwise, how could he be so skilled in the art of theft, so utterly elusive?

"Heh... practice a few more years, and maybe you could be." Wei Zhao smiled.

"Since you're so amazing, then accept my challenge!" Yu Xiaoke resorted to goading him. "Hey, are you afraid of losing, so you don't dare accept the challenge?"

"If you say so, then sure." Wei Zhao shrugged. "Stop following me. You can't keep up."

"I..." Yu Xiaoke truly had no recourse. Faced with someone like Wei Zhao, who was impervious to both soft and hard approaches, what could she do? Gritting her teeth, unwilling to give up, she said, "Then can you at least give me back my wallet?"

"Oh, here, take it. It's no use to me anyway." Wei Zhao was straightforward and agreed right away.

Yu Xiaoke was overjoyed and was about to thank him when she saw her large wallet come flying toward her. She caught it hastily! But one look and she was dumbstruck, because the wallet was completely empty—her ten thousand plus yuan, not a single cent left.

"Hey, where's my money?" Yu Xiaoke felt she'd been played.

"You only asked for the wallet, not the money." Wei Zhao smiled and walked off quickly. "Remember what I said—go home and practice a few years before coming out again, or you'll be finished sooner or later. Also, I find it hard to understand—are you genuinely kind-hearted, or were you using the chance to accuse me as a cover to steal my wallet? Your method of operation isn't very likable."

"I'm so mad! I'm so mad!" Yu Xiaoke watched Wei Zhao's departing figure, stomping her feet hatefully, as if trying to crush him into pieces. "I'll stomp you to death, stomp you to death! Acting so cocky, putting on airs with me, looking down on me, making me... ahhhhh, my foot..."

Yu Xiaoke had stomped on a rock and nearly fractured her foot.

Wei Zhao turned a corner and returned to the hospital. He saw the beggar still there soliciting alms. Upon seeing Wei Zhao, the beggar's gaze shifted evasively, but Wei Zhao had no intention of doing anything to him. Whether the man was a fraud or not had little to do with him.

Upstairs in the nurses' duty room, Wei Zhao found Tang Yun. Xiaofen and Guan Xin had just returned from the follow-up consultation. Seeing Wei Zhao enter, Guan Xin's face flushed slightly. She seemed about to say something, but caught sight of Tang Yun and held back.

It was Wei Zhao who took the initiative to greet Guan Xin. "Xinxin, is Xiaofen's illness nothing serious now?"

In truth, Wei Zhao could see that Xiaofen's spirits had improved considerably. Her illness had stemmed from her heart; now that the knot in her heart was untied, the problem was largely resolved. Only the aftereffects left from before still needed to be controlled with medication.

"It's nothing now. The doctor said if she doesn't have another episode, she won't need to come back to the hospital." Guan Xin shook her head.

"Thank you for your trouble." Wei Zhao nodded. "I saw Grandpa Guan today, though it was rather rushed. I'll pay a visit another day."

"Mm!" Guan Xin nodded. She wanted to offer to cook for Wei Zhao, but Tang Yun was there too, and she didn't want to say it outright for fear of causing misunderstanding. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Tang Yun, why don't you come too? I'll cook for you both?"

"I'd better not... I've been rather busy lately. Our house is gone, and I still don't know what to do." Tang Yun felt a bit awkward about going—it would seem as though she didn't trust Wei Zhao, which would make her look petty. To Guan Xin's invitation, she said, "Actually, it's Xiaofen and my father's matters that have been such a trouble to you. I should be the one treating you. Once we've sorted out our housing, I'll make barbecue and treat you?"

"Sure!" Guan Xin agreed with a smile.

As they were talking, someone called Guan Xin from the doorway, and she went off to attend to her duties. Wei Zhao and Tang Yun went together to Tang Jucheng's hospital room. Kang Xiaobo, Xiaofen, and Liu Xinwen had already left earlier—they knew the Tang family wanted to discuss housing matters with Wei Zhao and didn't want to intrude.

"Uncle Tang, how are you feeling?" Wei Zhao saw that Tang Jucheng could actually already walk on the floor with the help of a crutch. He was recovering quite quickly.

"Not bad! Much better than after the last surgery. Your Chinese medicine is very effective—even the hospital doctors were astonished!" Tang Jucheng said with a smile. "But when they asked me for the prescription, I didn't give it to them. I told them I'd bought the finished medicine with money and didn't have the formula."

Wei Zhao nodded. It seemed Tang Jucheng was no pedant—he was rather sharp, knowing the prescription was valuable and shouldn't be given away carelessly. This kind of formula that promoted bone growth and recovery could also be mass-produced, and the economic benefits would be considerable.

"Don't give them the prescription. If anyone else asks, just say Professor Guan Xuemin prepared the medicine for you, and they won't ask again." Wei Zhao gave Tang Jucheng a shield. Within the medical system, Guan Xuemin's prestige was irreplaceable. "By the way, Uncle Tang, Auntie Wang, Tang Yun said you were looking for me?"

"Yes, Xiaoyi. I was thinking of discussing with you whether we should buy a house. Living in the hospital like this isn't really workable. The hospital fees are more expensive per day than a hotel—it's not worth it!" Although the money wasn't coming out of Mother Tang's pocket, she still felt the pinch. If only Wei Zhao would give her that money instead.

"That's true. The hospital is never as good as your own home." Wei Zhao nodded. He had overlooked this point before, because Wei Zhao himself was a wanderer with no fixed abode and had grown accustomed to such a life of drifting. But Tang Yun's family was different—they were ordinary folk, and without the feeling of home, it was truly uncomfortable.

"Exactly. I can get out of bed now, and I keep wanting to find something to do. Lying in bed all that time before was really tedious!" Tang Jucheng chimed in. "But to do anything, you need a base of operations. I can't exactly look for work while staying in the hospital, can I?"

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