Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

When Lin Bufan and Huang Yimei arrived at the hotel lobby, Xu Hongdou was already waiting there. She had changed out of her hotel uniform and was wearing simple casual clothes, but her posture was still professional and straight, but her eyes were a little more complicated and expectant than last night.

"Hongdou? Do you want to go with us?" Lin Bufan looked at her in surprise.

Without waiting for Xu Hongdou to answer, Huang Yimei naturally took Xu Hongdou's arm and said to Lin Bufan with a smile, "We agreed last night that we will call each other sisters from now on. Today she will go home with me to meet my parents. When I have time later, I will also go to visit my uncle and aunt!"

Lin Bufan stared at the two people in front of him, their eyes widening, and a few strands of his colorful hair stood up in surprise. "No... weren't you two looking like you'd seen a ghost and couldn't accept it yesterday? How come after just one night, you're like one person? Isn't this progressing a little too fast?"

Huang Yimei glared at Lin Bufan in disapproval. "Who's having trouble accepting this? Don't talk nonsense! We were just too surprised at first. It's called fate, understand?" She shook her arm, which was linked with Xu Hongdou's. "Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense. It's getting late. Let's go! My parents are waiting!"

The three of them arrived at Huang Yimei's home and were struck by the unusual silence as soon as they entered. Although Huang's parents had already known about Xu Hongdou's existence from their daughter's morning phone call and had even seen the video, they were still so shocked when they saw a girl who looked almost identical to their daughter standing in front of them.

The rag in Huang's mother's hand fell to the ground, and Huang's father's glasses slid to the tip of his nose again. The old couple opened their mouths, their eyes switching back and forth between Huang Yimei and Xu Hongdou, and finally back to each other, as if they were recalling whether they had one or two children.

Finally, it was Fang Taichu who broke the silence. The little girl, who had been sitting on the carpet playing with her toys, looked up at the noise and immediately shouted "Mom," sprinting over with her short legs, and then... hugged Xu Hongdou's legs.

The scene suddenly fell silent. Fang Taichu raised his little head and looked at Xu Hongdou's face, which was exactly the same as her mother's. He seemed to sense something was wrong and frowned in confusion.

Huang Yimei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She squatted down and pulled her daughter over to her: "Xiaochu, admit your mistake! Mommy is here!"

Fang Taichu looked at Huang Yime, then turned to look at Xu Hongdou, her big eyes full of confusion, as if she couldn't understand why she had two mothers.

Huang's mother finally came to her senses and hurried forward to smooth things over, but her voice was still a little hazy: "Oh, come... come in and sit down! Hongdou, right? You really... really look alike..." She took Xu Hongdou's hand and looked her up and down, her eyes full of surprise and an indescribable sense of intimacy.

Father Huang also adjusted his glasses, trying to maintain the composure of the head of the family, and coughed lightly: "Welcome, welcome, please take a seat. Rose, go get Hongdou a glass of water."

The atmosphere during breakfast remained subtly lively yet awkward. Huang's parents' gazes kept drifting toward Xu Hongdou, as if they couldn't get enough of her. They asked numerous questions about her family and upbringing, each time they uncovered a surprising coincidence from their childhood or adolescence (like both owning the same out-of-print pencil case, or both injuring their left knees at some age)—there would be gasps of amazement and laughter.

As for Lin Bufan, Huang's father and mother no longer cared about him. Or rather, Lin Bufan didn't need the two elders to take care of him at all. He had already regarded this place as his own home and had integrated into it naturally!

Breakfast ended in this warm yet somewhat surreal atmosphere. As soon as Xu Hongdou put down her bowl and chopsticks, she looked at Lin Bufan anxiously, her eyes pleading.

"Mr. Lin..." she reminded softly, her fingers twisted together unconsciously.

Huang Yimei immediately understood. She had heard about Chen Nanxing from Xu Hongdou.

"By the way, Afan, business is more important. As for Nanxing... I'll go with you to take a look."

"Okay, let's go now." Lin Bufan looked at Huang's father and mother: "Uncle and aunt, Meigui and I will take Hongdou out to do something."

Huang's mother nodded quickly: "Okay, go and get back to your work." She took Xu Hongdou's hand and patted it gently: "Child, if you need any help, just let me know."

The three of them drove to the hospital. The smell of disinfectant filled the air, and the corridor was so quiet that only footsteps and the occasional ticking of instruments could be heard.

Xu Hongdou walked in front, her steps hurried. She stopped in front of the ward, took a deep breath, and then gently pushed the door open.

Lying on the hospital bed, Chen Nanxing was so thin she was almost unrecognizable, her face pale and her eyes sunken. Hearing the noise, she slowly opened her eyes and saw Xu Hongdou. She forced a smile, "Hongdou...you're here..."

But soon, her smile froze on her face, her eyes widened in disbelief. She raised her hand with difficulty to wipe her eyes, and looked towards the door again - and found that there were still two Xu Hongdou standing there.

Chen Nanxing's face showed a complex expression of confusion, despair, and even a hint of relief: "Am I... going to die? I'm starting to hallucinate... How can there be... two red beans..."

Lin Bufan quickly pushed aside Xu Hongdou and Huang Yimei and approached the bedside. His colorful hair stood out under the ward light. "It doesn't matter what the red beans and yellow beans are! What matters is that your Prince Charming has come to save you on a colorful cloud!"

Chen Nanxing looked at Lin Bufan's dazzling rainbow hair in confusion, gasping weakly, his voice so soft that it was almost inaudible: "But why... I see you with rainbow clouds on your head... Are you growing backwards?"

Lin Bufan: ...

You are the one who has grown up the wrong way, your whole family has grown up the wrong way!

If it wasn't for the fact that Chen Nanxing was almost dying, Lin Bufan would definitely let her know the feeling of the iron fist of love!

Xu Hongdou stepped forward and gently held Chen Nanxing's skinny hand. Her eyes were slightly red, but she tried hard to keep a smile. "Nanxing, you're not seeing things, and this isn't an illusion. This is Huang Yimei. She...she really does look exactly like me. This is Mr. Lin Bufan, the mecha driver you told me about some time ago. He has a way to help you."

Chen Nanxing's weak gaze moved back and forth between the two almost identical faces, finally landing on Lin Bufan. His voice was weak and trembling: "Seven-colored auspicious clouds... sir, are you really here to save me?"

Lin Bufan restrained his joking expression and nodded seriously, "Although I prefer you to call me Prince rather than Mr. Qicai Xiangyun, you are right, I am indeed here to help you.

Let me check on you first."

Lin Bufan took a step forward, gently placed his fingers on Chen Nanxing's wrist, and pretended to feel his pulse, but in fact he silently said in his heart: "System, use the recovery card."

Ding! Recovery Card activated successfully! Target: Chen Nanxing. Recovery time: 30 days. During this time, the condition will gradually improve until full recovery.

Lin Bufan let go of his hand and prepared to take a few calcium tablets from the system space for Chen Nanxing to eat. However, after searching around, he found that the two tablets he had just given to Huang's father were the last ones, and there were no more calcium tablets left!

Seeing Lin Bufan's troubled expression, Xu Hongdou's heart suddenly rose to her throat, and her voice trembled: "What's wrong? Is it... very difficult? Can it be cured?"

Lin Bufan came back to his senses and touched his chin in a pretentious manner: "It can be cured... but..." He dragged out his words, frowning slightly, as if he was thinking about some century-old problem.

Just when Xu Hongdou's heart was in her throat, she heard Lin Bufan say lightly, "I'm wondering which treatment method would be more appropriate?"

Hearing this, Xu Hongdou no longer cared to complain about Lin Bufan's heavy breathing. She excitedly grabbed Lin Bufan's arm, her nails almost digging into his flesh: "Any method is fine! As long as it can cure Nanxing, any method is fine!"

"That won't do!" Lin Bufan shook his head seriously and gently pushed Xu Hongdou's hand away. "We must fully respect the patient's wishes, emphasize harmonious doctor-patient relations, and ensure a two-way choice." He then turned to the frail Chen Nanxing lying on the bed, his tone becoming exceptionally gentle. "Ms. Nanxing, would you prefer...a sweeter treatment, or a more bitter one?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire ward fell silent. Xu Hongdou, Huang Yimei, and even the barely breathing Chen Nanxing all had bewildered expressions.

Sweeter? Bitterer? Is this about curing illness or choosing dessert? Shouldn't it be about Chinese medicine conditioning, Western medicine surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy?

Chen Nanxing looked at Lin Bufan's serious expression, though it was difficult to look completely serious with his colorful hair. She then glanced at the anxious Xu Hongdou beside her. She didn't really hold out much hope, thinking this was probably someone her friend had brought in to comfort her... well... someone special. Not wanting to disappoint Hongdou's feelings, nor to make things too difficult for her, she forced a weak smile, her voice as light as a feather: "Then... let's do something sweet... I've suffered enough... lately..."

"Alright! Respect the patient's wishes and choose the sweet treatment!" Lin Bufan slapped his thigh, as if he had solved a major problem. Then, under everyone's puzzled gaze, he reached into the trouser pocket that looked like Doraemon's treasure bag and began to grope.

A few seconds later, under everyone's stunned gaze, Lin Bufan actually pulled out an Alpine strawberry-flavored lollipop from his pocket! The plastic wrapper reflected a multicolored luster under the ward light.

He skillfully peeled off the candy wrapper with a "swish", revealing the orange-red candy inside, and then carefully and with an almost sacred expression, he stuffed the lollipop into Chen Nanxing's slightly open mouth.

Chen Nanxing subconsciously held the candy in his mouth, and a sweet smell of artificial flavor instantly melted in his mouth.

There was deathly silence in the ward.

Xu Hongdou widened her eyes, looked at Chen Nanxing who was holding a lollipop and also looked confused, and then looked at Lin Bufan who had a "Mission Accomplished" expression on his face. Her brain froze for several seconds before she suddenly reacted.

"But... can we start the treatment?" Xu Hongdou suppressed the absurd uneasiness in her heart, her voice trembling slightly, and she asked with the last glimmer of hope.

Lin Bufan spread his hands as if it was a matter of course: "Treatment? It's over."

"It's over?!" Xu Hongdou's voice suddenly rose, and she pointed at the lollipop in Chen Nanxing's mouth, her fingertips trembling. "You call this treatment? Lin Bufan! It's already this time and you're still joking like this! This is a lollipop! An Alpine strawberry-flavored lollipop!"

"Superficial! Too superficial!" Lin Bufan shook his head in grief, pointing at the lollipop with a serious expression as if he was introducing a national treasure: "Comrade Xu Hongdou, please don't judge my exclusive secret recipe with ordinary eyes! This may look like an ordinary lollipop, but its core, its essence, can you see it with your naked eyes?

This candy is made from lotus bud honey from the thousand-year-old Tianshan Snow Lotus, mixed with the juice of ten-thousand-year-old Kunlun ginseng, supplemented with deep-sea pearl powder and extracts of spiritual plants cultivated in space... Through 9981 nano-scale processes, quantum entanglement technology is used to infuse life energy, finally condensing into this sweet but not greasy Nine-Transformation Soul-Restoring Candy, which not only treats the symptoms but also the root cause! Its sweetness merely masks the tremendous medicinal power contained within, allowing patients to be reborn in joy! Do you understand?"

"I understand you..."

Even Xu Hongdou, who was always aloof, almost burst out swearing. There was no other way. When she was with Lin Bufan, she really couldn't control her emotions!

Just when Xu Hongdou was about to go completely crazy and was about to pull the lollipop out of Chen Nanxing's mouth and throw it at Lin Bufan's face, a faint but clear scream came from the hospital bed.

"Wait... Red Bean..."

It’s Chen Nanxing.

"Strange... my body... seems... to not hurt that much anymore..."

As he spoke, Chen Nanxing subconsciously pressed lightly on the upper abdomen where he had felt the most intense pain before, his eyes filled with disbelief: "That constant... piercing pain... seems to have... loosened a lot..."

Xu Hongdou was about to scold Lin Bufan when she suddenly stopped. She immediately rushed to the bedside and held Chen Nanxing's hand tightly: "Nanxing? Are you serious? You are not comforting me?" Her voice trembled with disbelief, and her eyes eagerly searched her friend's face for any trace of disguise.

Huang Yimei also came closer and looked at Chen Nanxing with concern.

Chen Nanxing shook her head slowly. Although her movements were still slight, her eyes were much clearer than before. "Really... Hongdou... Although I still have no strength... But that... suffocating... dull pain... is really getting lighter..." As she spoke, she felt it again. "Also... This candy in my mouth... The sweetness of the melting... seems... to have a very faint... herbal fragrance? I was too anxious to taste it just now..."

Lin Bufan believed Chen Nanxing's words that the pain was relieved, but he disagreed with his words about the herbal fragrance. After all, no one would add so-called herbs to a lollipop that was sold for 50 cents retail and even cheaper wholesale!