Chapter 9: Growing Suspicion

"Why did you skip class?"

Su Yao asked one last question before leaving.

As far as he knew, it was Su Yan who had insisted on attending Xinghua High School, even though her condition meant she was only suited to staying safely within the compound.

"No reason. I did it because I wanted to."

Su Yan's answer made Su Yao frown slightly.

However, he did not continue to press her.

Soon, the hospital room fell silent once again.

In the afternoon, Su Jianguo woke up, and Li Qiuhua, having received news of his accident, rushed to the hospital.

She was a mess of tears and snot, clinging to Su Jianguo and sobbing incessantly.

Having escaped death, Su Jianguo naturally felt a wave of emotion upon seeing his wife and children.

Su Yan found a random excuse to leave the ward.

But before she had even left the corridor, someone tugged at the hem of her clothes.

"Big sister, I want to go out and play with you too."

Five-year-old Su Qiang blinked his eyes, a naive and innocent smile on his little face.

"My eyes are inconvenient," Su Yan said, clearly refusing.

"Then I'll hold your hand."

Su Qiang didn't understand the implication at all; he simply grabbed her hand with his small one.

Su Yan froze for a moment, instinctively wanting to pull away, but before she could move, Su Qiang was already pulling her toward the exit.

The two of them, one big and one small, walked out of the hospital.

Su Qiang chattered away non-stop, brimming with excitement.

Su Yan just listened, her gaze beneath the black cloth occasionally falling on their joined hands.

She had lived with Granny Li for a long time and rarely had contact with other children her age. Furthermore, because of the path she had chosen, her personality had become increasingly cold and reclusive, and she deeply disliked being touched by others.

But for some reason, the small hand wrapped in hers didn't make her feel as resistant as before.

"Big sister, can you really not see?"

"Mm."

She didn't know if this question stemmed from a child's curiosity or if it had been prompted by Li Qiuhua or Su Mo.

"Ah, big sister, you're so pitiful."

Su Qiang suddenly blurted this out.

The corners of Su Yan's mouth lifted. For the first time in her life, someone had called her pitiful.

And it was such a little brat, at that.

"Aren't you afraid of me?"

Given her appearance, most children wouldn't willingly get close to her.

Su Qiang shook his head vigorously and puffed out his chest. "Not afraid! Dad said that you and I are family, and when I grow up, I'm going to protect Mom and my two sisters!"

Hearing this, Su Yan didn't know how to react for a moment.

"But Mom also said that you and I don't have the same mother," Su Qiang added, a look of confusion crossing his face.

Su Yan felt relieved instead. "Then did your mom tell you to stay away from your big sister?"

This time, Su Qiang shook his head and then nodded; clearly, the conflicting attitudes of his parents were too difficult for a five-year-old to comprehend.

"Big sister, I want to eat a sugar figurine."

The topic ended because all of Su Qiang's attention was drawn to a sugar figurine stall not far away.

Su Yan ruffled his hair. "Let's go, let's buy a sugar figurine."

The atmosphere in the hospital was oppressive.

Su Yao and the police chief, Liu Jun, who had rushed over, looked grave.

"This is the first time we've encountered a situation like this. We can't detect any lesions. It’s as if their internal organs were burned by something. None of the available treatments are having any effect. I'm afraid they won't last the night."

Almost all the doctors in the hospital had gathered here.

They had encountered all sorts of difficult and strange cases, but the condition of these three robbers completely crushed their medical understanding.

"How could perfectly healthy people end up like this? Could it be poisoning?" Liu Jun asked in a low voice.

The robbery that occurred today had shocked the entire city. He had intended to interrogate the three robbers as soon as they regained consciousness, but he hadn't expected them all to be dying!

"We haven't detected any toxins in their blood."

The doctor's answer plunged the surroundings into a deathly silence once again.

A moment later, Liu Jun could only tell the doctors to leave so he could get an update from Su Yao.

Su Yao recounted the events from start to finish, though he made up an excuse for why Su Yan had appeared in the alleyway for no reason.

"Chief, the interrogations of the other robbers are going smoothly. As for these three, one can only say they deserved it."

Although the situation was suspicious, it could only be attributed to the robbers suffering from an unknown illness.

Liu Jun, as expected, didn't dwell on Su Yan's situation. He affirmed, "Your response today was very swift, ensuring the safety of the villagers to the greatest extent."

"However, such a heinous robbery incident reflects many underlying issues. You stay here and handle the follow-up work."

"Yes, sir," Su Yao replied.

After seeing Liu Jun off, he hadn't even had a few minutes to relax when the monitors in the ward let out a piercing alarm...

Su Yan returned with Su Qiang and immediately sensed that something was wrong.

She ran into Su Yao in the corridor, his expression heavy and his gait hurried.

Su Yao glanced at her and walked past.

Su Yan raised an eyebrow. At that moment, the Ghost Shadow appeared to answer her confusion.

"My Lord, those three robbers are dead."

The news of their deaths didn't stir a ripple in her heart.

"Jianguo, you really scared me to death this time. If something had happened to you, the children and I wouldn't have been able to go on," Li Qiuhua said in the ward, still shaken by fear.

"Don't worry, I'm fine now, aren't I? Besides, Yan'er just came back; how could I bear to leave her behind?" Su Jianguo said what was on his mind.

Li Qiuhua immediately looked dissatisfied. "In your heart, there's only Su Yan as a daughter; Mo'er and Qiang'er aren't important."

"Of course not. They still have you, so I'm not worried."

Su Jianguo smiled at her after saying this.

Li Qiuhua still "hmphed." "When you left this morning, that girl said not to leave the factory today. If you had actually listened to her, this wouldn't have happened."

After the complaint was voiced, not only she, but Su Jianguo also stiffened.

Clearly, both of them had realized something at the same time.

"Jianguo, is there something wrong with that girl?"

Li Qiuhua was frightened by the thought, her voice trembling slightly.

Su Jianguo suddenly snapped back to reality and glared at her fiercely.

"You're the one with something wrong."

"No, look—she clearly can't see, but does she act like a blind person at all? Today, she insisted you not leave the factory. Did she know something was going to happen?"

Li Qiuhua felt a chill run through her. Could Su Yan be a monster?

Su Jianguo's expression was incredibly ugly. "Shut your mouth! Today's incident was just a coincidence. If I hear you say such things again, don't blame me for turning against you!"

He scolded her emotionally, but deep down, a sliver of unease had taken root.

At this very moment, Su Yan was standing outside the door, having heard every word of their conversation clearly.