Making up her mind, Tang Youxi decided to leave the Li family first.
But as soon as she stepped away from the computer desk, she felt her legs weaken, and a sharp pain shot through her temples.
Immediately after, the world before her eyes flickered between light and dark, accompanied by an increasingly intense headache.
Tang Youxi crouched on the ground, clutching her head. When she looked up, the determination and shrewdness in her eyes had vanished without a trace. Her large, watery eyes were filled with grievance, her lips trembled, and her voice was weak and powerless: "Xiaoxiao... When are you coming back... I'm in so much pain..."
By the time Li Xiaozhong returned, Da Ya was already asleep on the floor.
"Da Ya, why are you sleeping here? Get up quickly! What if you catch a cold?" Li Xiaozhong was startled and quickly helped Da Ya up. "What's wrong?"
"I hit my head before, and then my head started hurting on and off today." Da Ya looked at Li Xiaozhong aggrievedly and asked, "When is your sister coming back? I hurt..."
"You go back to your room first, and I'll find you some painkillers." Li Xiaozhong first helped Da Ya to the guest room to rest, poured her some water, and gave her medicine.
After taking the painkillers, Da Ya's pain indeed stopped, but lying on the floor all afternoon seemed to have caused her to catch a slight cold.
Li Xiaozhong quickly went to the kitchen to make hot congee. While Da Ya was eating, he dialed Xia Qing Tian's number: "Da Ya hit her head today and kept saying she had a headache. My sister previously instructed that Da Ya should not be exposed to the public, so I didn't dare to take her to the hospital."
"I understand. Thank you for taking care of her. I'll bring someone over right away." After hanging up, Xia Qing Tian immediately called the Xia family's doctor to head to the Li residence.
After examination, the doctor diagnosed it as nerve pain caused by external force, along with a slight cold leading to a weak digestive system.
She would be fine after a period of rest.
Hearing the doctor's diagnosis, Xia Qing Tian and Li Xiaozhong breathed a sigh of relief.
After sending the doctor back with the driver, Xia Qing Tian stayed at the Li residence. "Where is your sister?"
She had taken leave today due to the new energy project, and by rights, Li Xiaoxiao should also be out of school.
"My sister works at Gu's. They have a department meeting today, and she said she'll be back a bit later," Li Xiaozhong replied.
Ever since Xia Qing Tian brought Li Xiaoxiao onto that intern variety show, Li Xiaoxiao had been interning at Gu's whenever she didn't have classes. She was quite busy, but Li Xiaoxiao seemed happy and fulfilled, so Li Xiaozhong didn't stop her.
His sister's happiness had to come first.
"Oh, I see." Xia Qing Tian was reassured after Li Xiaozhong finished speaking and turned to look at Da Ya, who was huddled in the quilt with a look of a "poor little thing." She slowly sighed, "Da Ya is still suffering from amnesia, and her common sense isn't very good. Thank you both for your trouble. If you encounter any difficulties, please tell me anytime."
"I don't have any difficulties. Taking care of my sister alone is the same as taking care of both of them. It's about the same," Li Xiaozhong's tone hesitated, "It's just Xia Qing Yu that..."
Recently, no one had been bullying Xia Qing Yu at school, but she and Nie Qing Kong always felt a bit strange.
"What about Qing Yu?" Xia Qing Tian immediately asked when Li Xiaozhong mentioned Xia Qing Yu.
Seeing Xia Qing Tian's nervous and serious expression, Li Xiaozhong felt he might be making a mountain out of a molehill. He couldn't tell Xia Qing Tian everything; he wasn't a surveillance personnel for Xia Qing Yu.
"Xia Qing Yu has a national joint examination competition to participate in soon, which will likely be very strenuous," Li Xiaozhong then changed the subject and said, "It must be very tiring for you to take care of her, too."
"I'm not a very responsible elder sister. She takes care of me more than I do," Xia Qing Tian said with a dry laugh. "I really didn't know about the national joint exam. I'll prepare more good food for her when I get back to replenish her strength."
"Mm." Vaguely brushing it off, Li Xiaozhong just gave a dry laugh and found an excuse to leave the guest room where Da Ya was.
Xia Qing Tian tucked Da Ya in. "Da Ya, don't be afraid. Your amnesia was caused by external forces, and occasional stress and adverse reactions are normal. Next time you feel pain, take deep breaths and try to calm yourself down. If the pain is unbearable, call me, and I'll find a way to help you."
"Mm." Da Ya nodded and asked, "How's your investigation into my situation going?"
"I have some leads, but I don't know who wants to harm you yet, so I don't dare to contact your family easily." Xia Qing Tian was also being extra cautious. Tang Jiamingzhu was attacked and ended up in Z City. If she didn't believe the Tang family was involved, she wouldn't believe it.
Gu Yaoyang had also mentioned to her that the timing of this Tang Jiamingzhu's succession was rather special, and a faction of the elder generation of the Tang family had refused it.
Many Tang family elites had even walked away, including the Tang Professor at Z University.
Although Xia Qing Tian didn't understand the specific details, she could infer a thing or two.
She reached out and gently stroked Da Ya's forehead. "Don't be afraid, sleep. I'll stay here with you. I'll leave after you fall asleep, or when Li Xiaoxiao returns."
Hearing Xia Qing Tian say this, Da Ya finally felt at ease, nodded, closed her large watery eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
After confirming that Da Ya was indeed fast asleep, Xia Qing Tian quietly got up, left the guest room, and after giving Li Xiaozhong a few more instructions, returned to the Xia family.
Miao Tong had just finished his day's activities searching for Tang Jiamingzhu's whereabouts and returned at the same time as Xia Qing Tian.
Xia Qing Tian glanced at Miao Tong from the corner of her eye. He was wearing a hooded hat now, and his face looked much less swollen than last night, but it was still quite serious.
"Just got back from the hospital?" Xia Qing Tian asked. "What did the doctor say?"
"He told me to be careful in the future, to avoid irritants and stress for the next few days, and to rest more. It's all the usual advice," Miao Tong raised his hand as if to adjust his hair, but in reality, he was somewhat awkwardly covering his face. "It's nothing serious, just superficial wounds."
"Mm, that's good then." Xia Qing Tian knew that Miao Tong's injuries weren't severe, but they must have hurt.
Seeing Miao Tong's evasive demeanor, as if he didn't want Xia Qing Tian to notice his injuries, Xia Qing Tian said a few vague words and then started to walk back to her room.
"Qing Tian," Miao Tong suddenly called out to Xia Qing Tian, asking casually, "Do you know Tang Jiamingzhu?"
Hearing Miao Tong's sudden probing question, Xia Qing Tian's gaze shifted slightly, and she smiled. "Of course, I do. What's wrong?"
"I heard Tang Jiamingzhu is missing," Miao Tong stepped forward, his eyes fixed on Xia Qing Tian's face, as if unwilling to miss any of her micro-expressions.
"I know about that." While Miao Tong was observing Xia Qing Tian, Xia Qing Tian was also observing Miao Tong. She suddenly took a step towards Miao Tong, turning the tables: "What? Did the Miao family do it?"