The once imposing real estate magnate, Guo Changan, was now a picture of sheer terror.
On the hospital bed, Guo Kang and the middle-aged woman exchanged glances, their faces etched with surprise. In all their years, they had never seen Guo Changan display such an expression.
"Dad, what happened?" Guo Kang asked, bewildered.
The middle-aged woman echoed his concern, "Old Guo, what is it? Your, your face looks so terrible."
Hearing his wife and son's questions, Guo Changan snapped back to reality, frantically picking up the phone that had fallen to the floor.
However, President Zhang's call had already ended.
As Guo Changan replayed President Zhang's words in his mind, cold sweat trickled down his forehead, drenching his back.
"What is it?!" Guo Changan looked up, his gaze fiercely fixed on his son, Guo Kang.
Guo Kang flinched at his father's intense stare, having never witnessed such anger from him. He stammered, "Dad, why are you looking at me like that?"
Guo Changan walked with heavy steps to Guo Kang's bedside, his furious eyes still locked onto his son.
Sensing Guo Changan's agitated state, the middle-aged woman quickly stood up and blocked his path. "Guo Changan, I'm warning you, if you dare lay a finger on our son, I'll fight you to the death!"
"Slap!"
In a fit of rage, Guo Changan raised his hand and struck the middle-aged woman across the face.
She froze, stunned, her hand flying to her cheek. She looked at Guo Changan with disbelief.
They had been married for decades, and this was the first time Guo Changan had ever laid a hand on her!
"Guo Changan, you, you actually hit me!" Tears welled up as the middle-aged woman pointed at him, her voice trembling with anger.
Guo Changan's chest heaved with fury. He raised a trembling hand and pointed at Guo Kang. "So what if I hit you? Do you know what kind of trouble your precious son has caused!"
"So what if he caused trouble? He just hit a trash collector, right? We can solve it with money. Do you need to be this angry? If you're not going to get revenge for our son, you're scaring him, and you even hit me! Are you crazy!"
Guo Changan felt as though he was about to explode. Clutching his chest, he looked at the middle-aged woman. "Yes, I'm going crazy! I'm going crazy from you and your son! Do you know who that kid your son provoked is?!"
The middle-aged woman was startled by Guo Changan's outburst. "N-no, isn't he just a doctor from a mental hospital?"
Guo Changan sneered. "A doctor? Do you think a doctor would make Er Gou hang up my call immediately? Would a doctor make Hu Zi's subordinates curse me out? Would the underground boss Da Xiong have to call him 'Brother Fan'? Would Zhang Shiliang say that he's someone I, Guo Changan, can't afford to offend?!"
"W-what?!" The middle-aged woman's eyes widened in shock at Guo Changan's words.
Guo Kang was equally astonished. "Dad, are you, are you joking? He's just a doctor, how could he be so powerful?"
He couldn't believe that a mere doctor from a mental hospital would possess such a formidable background!
Guo Changan glared at Guo Kang, his emotions running high. "Joking? Do you think I have that much influence? That President Zhang would joke with me?!"
"President Zhang just told me that Chen Fan is Qin Hongguo's son-in-law! And he also has ties with Chairman Long of Wanhao Group. Now, do you know what kind of disaster you, you beast, have caused?!"
"What? He, he's the Qin family's son-in-law? And has ties with the chairman of Wanhao Group?" Guo Kang was completely dumbfounded.
He had never seen his father so agitated before, and he knew his father would never lie to him.
"My, my heavens, Qin Hongguo? Old Guo, are you, are you talking about Qin Hongguo of the Hua Nan Qin family?!" The middle-aged woman's face was also filled with horror, her legs trembling slightly.
"Who else could it be?!" Guo Changan replied coldly.
"Stomp, stomp, stomp."
The middle-aged woman stumbled back several steps, her powdered face turning ashen with fear.
The Qin family, Wanhao Group, and Da Xiong! These three forces were beyond the capabilities of their real estate company to contend with!
"Old Guo, then, then what do we do now? Tell me, do you think that kid will retaliate against us?" the middle-aged woman asked, her voice laced with panic.
Guo Changan's expression was icy. "How should I know? But I can be sure of one thing: if we truly anger that kid, our company will be finished!"
Hearing this, the middle-aged woman nearly collapsed.
It had taken them decades to reach their current status. She didn't want to fall from grace, didn't want to return to the days when they struggled for basic necessities!
Guo Changan glared at the middle-aged woman. "You know fear now? I've told you long ago that your doting on your son would lead to trouble one day, but you refused to believe me. Now you finally do!"
The middle-aged woman's eyes welled up with tears again. "Husband, I know I was wrong. What should we do now? Our company can't be lost!"
Guo Changan walked towards Guo Kang.
Guo Kang looked at his furious father, his face filled with alarm. "Dad, what, what are you going to do?"
He then turned to his mother for help. "Mom, save me! Mom, I'm still injured!"
But the middle-aged woman, though her heart ached, remained impassive.
"You beast! You dare appeal to your mother? Today, I'll beat you to death!" With that, Guo Changan pulled off his belt and lashed it fiercely at Guo Kang.
"Ouch, ah! Roar!"
"Dad, Dad, stop! Dad, you're killing me! Mom! Quickly stop my dad!"
"Roar!"
Piercing screams echoed through the hospital room.
Jiangcheng City Mental Hospital.
Chen Fan finally completed the high-difficulty surgery after two hours.
However, the extent of Grandma Fang's recovery would still depend on her own physical condition, given her advanced age.
Qin Shuran had been waiting anxiously outside the operating room. Seeing Chen Fan walk out, relaxed, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that Grandma Fang's life was surely saved.
Glancing at the time, it was already two in the morning. She planned to change at the clinic and go home to rest.
Tomorrow, she still had to take the dashcam footage to the police station; that video was crucial evidence.
"They're there, that's the kid who beat up Young Master Guo!" Just then, a woman's voice suddenly rang out in the hospital's outpatient hall.
Chen Fan and Qin Shuran heard it and looked over. When Chen Fan saw a woman leading seven or eight young men towards them, his expression immediately darkened.