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

Xu Hongdou recalled, "Yesterday, Nanxing and I took it out for a walk and we met a villager selling mushrooms with a bamboo basket on his back at the village entrance. Sangbiao immediately went over and wouldn't leave, pawing at the bamboo basket, insisting on buying some."

Chen Nanxing continued, "Yes, I saw how much I wanted to eat them, and the villager said they were freshly picked that morning, so I bought some. I stir-fried them that evening..."

Lin Bufan listened and noticed the key point: "If this dog insisted on eating it, then why is it alright?"

Upon hearing this question, everyone realized what was going on and looked at Sang Biao with suspicion.

Sangbiao swallowed the noodles in its mouth, reluctantly pulled out its special phone, and pressed the buttons rapidly with its paws: "I tasted a piece, but it wasn't cooked, so I spat it out and didn't eat it."

"You noticed it wasn't cooked?" Chen Nanxing's voice rose eight octaves: "Why didn't you tell us if you could taste it?!"

Sang Biao typed faster, with a hint of self-righteousness: "Don't you guys like rare or medium-rare steaks? I thought you liked them raw, so I didn't say anything!"

This reason left everyone speechless, and for a moment they didn't know how to refute it.

Just as the atmosphere was getting a little awkward, Nana suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" and put down her spoon: "Wait, don't you guys think someone's missing this morning?"

Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing exchanged a glance, both somewhat bewildered. Da Mai, chewing on her spoon, thought for a moment and whispered, "Master Ma... doesn't seem to be here?"

“Yes!” Nana nodded. “Master Ma is right. But…” She paused, her expression somewhat worried, “There’s still one missing.”

Chen Nanxing asked, "Who is it?"

“Teacher Hu,” Nana looked at everyone, “Teacher Hu isn’t here either.”

Da Mai asked, somewhat puzzled, "But Teacher Hu never eats breakfast in the morning, so isn't it normal that he's not here?"

“No,” Nana shook her head, turning her gaze to Lin Bufan: “I heard from President Lin that Teacher Hu also contracted the virus and was taken to the hospital last night. Should we go and see him?”

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Lin Bufan.

Chen Nanxing was the first to ask, "Bufan, why did you take Teacher Hu to the hospital? Is he very ill? Is he beyond your ability to treat?"

Barley asked with some concern, "He's not dead, is he?"

Everyone looked at Damai in horror, wondering how she could utter such cold words from a mouth that was 37 degrees Celsius!

Da Mai, flustered by everyone's stares, quickly waved her hands, "I... I'm just a little worried, that's all!" She hurriedly changed the subject to Lin Bufan, "By the way, Mr. Lin, you still haven't said how serious Teacher Hu's condition is?"

Lin Bufan scooped up a spoonful of porridge and said slowly, "Don't worry, the doctor has examined me and said it's just common mushroom poisoning, nothing serious, just need to be observed. Old Ma is with me at the hospital, everything's fine."

Upon hearing this, Chen Nanxing was even more puzzled: "Since it's not serious, why didn't you treat him as well? Why did you make him go to the hospital?"

That was a very pertinent question, and Nana and Xu Hongdou also looked at it with curiosity.

Lin Bufan pretended to be a little embarrassed to say it: "Well... my treatment method... it's rather special."

"Special?" Xu Hongdou raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

“Well…” Lin Bufan’s eyes darted away, avoiding eye contact with the women: “My method… it’s only suitable for women, not men.”

Chen Nanxing became even more curious: "There's such a thing? Treating poisoning is divided into male and female? What exactly is the method?"

Da Mai muttered softly, "Is...is there something...that the meridians and acupoints are different?"

Lin Bufan gave a vague "hmm" and buried his head in his porridge, looking like he didn't want to talk any more.

The more he acts like this, the more curious people become.

Even Xu Hongdou, who was usually rather aloof, couldn't help but press, "Lin Bufan, you always leave us hanging. Tell us what really happened, we all want to know."

Lin Bufan looked up, glanced around, and seeing four pairs of eyes staring at him, sighed, put down his spoon, and his expression became somewhat subtle: "You... really want me to say it?"

"Speak!" Chen Nanxing urged.

"Well... I've already said it, you have to promise you won't blame me."

Seeing his strange expression, Xu Hongdou nodded and said, "Go ahead and tell me. What's wrong with talking about healing and saving lives? We promise we won't blame you."

“Yes,” Nana agreed, “It’s like going to the doctor. You can’t hide your illness and avoid seeing a doctor. There are no such rules about men and women not touching each other here.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Bufan took a deep breath, as if he had made a great decision.

“Alright, since you all want me to tell you, then I will.” He paused, lowered his voice, and spoke in a mysterious, fairytale-like tone: “You’ve all seen Snow White, right? The one… the princess is poisoned and falls into a deep sleep, and needs to be awakened by the prince’s kiss.”

Everyone was stunned, not understanding what this had to do with treating illness.

However, Xu Hongdou was an exception; she had already sensed something unusual!

Before she could think about it any further, Lin Bufan had already revealed the answer!

Yes, that's right!

The method I used was similar to that prince's—mouth-to-mouth, breathing through mouths, connecting minds, supplemented by the Taiqing Tranquilizing Qi, a unique technique passed down in my sect, which awakened you from your illusions.”

Xu Hongdou rolled her eyes in annoyance as her suspicions were confirmed. Nana and Damai were both taken aback, a blush quickly spreading across their faces. They lowered their heads in unison, their fingers unconsciously twisting together.

However, this shyness lasted for less than three seconds before being completely shattered by Lin Bufan's next words, leaving everyone stunned.

"However, fairy tales are fairy tales after all. They don't rely on scientific evidence. A kiss and the toxins automatically decompose? That doesn't make sense. We live in the real world, where we need to follow scientific logic, right?"

He glanced around at the puzzled crowd and continued, "You were poisoned because you ate undercooked mushrooms, right? The toxins are all in your stomachs. So, my secret method is—to suck out all the undigested mushrooms you ate, along with the toxins, through mouth-to-mouth contact! Once the culprit is out, you'll naturally be fine. How about that? Isn't it much more scientific than those ridiculous fairy tales?"

A deathly silence fell over the kitchen.

Xu Hongdou, Chen Nanxing, Nana, and Damai's expressions froze instantly, as if they had been collectively frozen in place. Their eyes widened, their mouths slightly open, and their minds buzzed. For a moment, all their thoughts, emotions, and language functions seemed to short-circuit, leaving them completely unaware of what to think, say, or do.

"vomit--!"

Chen Nanxing was the first to react. She quickly covered her mouth, let out a short, dry heave, and her face instantly turned deathly pale.

Then, it was as if a chain reaction was triggered—

"vomit……"

"Ahem... vomit..."

Xu Hongdou, Nana, and Damai also covered their mouths or chests one after another, their faces showing extremely uncomfortable and indescribable expressions, their stomachs churning.

Even Sang Biao, who was watching the show with great interest, gagged twice!

"Lin! Bu! Fan!" Chen Nanxing completely exploded. She stood up abruptly, disregarding any ladylike image, and grabbed a tissue box, throwing it at Lin Bu Fan: "You pervert! You're disgusting! I'm going to kill you!!"

After throwing away the tissues, Chen Nanxing didn't sit down, but rushed towards Lin Bufan across from him!

Lin Bufan caught the flying tissue box, nimbly circled around to the other side of the table, and forced an innocent smile on his face: "Hey, hey, hey! Comrade Chen Nanxing, watch your words and actions! Just now you said that we shouldn't hide our illnesses from medical treatment, and you even said it wasn't my fault! It hasn't even been two minutes, and you're already going back on your word? A person should keep their word!"

Chen Nanxing had already circled around the table and caught up, her cheeks flushed with anger: "That's what Nana and Hongdou said! I never said that!"

“But you nodded! You agreed! The look in your eyes at that time clearly said, ‘Go ahead and say it, I promise I won’t get angry!’” Lin Bufan said rapidly while dodging around the dining table.

"What's wrong with me nodding? Does nodding mean I agree? Even if I agree, can't I go back on my word now? Who says you can't go back on your word once you've agreed?" Chen Nanxing was both unreasonable and arrogant, and casually picked up a chopstick from the table as a "weapon".

Lin Bufan looked at Chen Nanxing in disbelief. Shouldn't I be the one saying this? How did you change like this too?

However, Chen Nanxing didn't give Lin Bufan much time to think, brandishing his chopsticks and quickening his pace. "Give me your life!"

Seeing that others were about to join in, Lin Bufan dashed out of the kitchen, with Chen Nanxing naturally in hot pursuit!

After the two men left, the three women in the kitchen looked down at the porridge in their bowls, none of them able to bring themselves to eat it. When they looked up again, they found that the other woman was just as pale and conflicted as they were, and they couldn't help but exchange bitter smiles.

Nana looked at the porridge in front of her, stirred it gently with a spoon, and said with little appetite, "How about... we don't eat it? I'm a little... um, I don't have an appetite."

Xu Hongdou glanced at the still-plenty of porridge left in the pot and hesitated, "There's so much, it's a bit of a waste to waste it."

Nana immediately said, "It's okay, we have a dog, right? Let it eat."

As soon as she finished speaking, Nana felt an almost tangible, coldly scrutinizing gaze fall upon her. She slowly turned her head and found Sang Biao looking up, his round, dog-like eyes staring at her intently, his gaze filled with a warning that said, "Try saying that again."

Nana suddenly realized that this "dog" in front of her could understand human speech! And it seemed to have a rather bad temper.

Nana jumped in fright and quickly waved her hands to explain, "No, no! I meant the big yellow dog that Grandma Li keeps! I didn't mean you! I definitely didn't mean you!"

Sang Biao slowly withdrew his gaze, lowered his head again, scratched at his instant noodle bowl with his paw, and continued to enjoy his phlegm-filled pickled cabbage noodles, as if that oppressive glance from just now was just an illusion.

Da Mai chewed on her spoon, looking at this and then that, her face still showing that bewildered yet determined expression. After hesitating for a while, she couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Um... did President Lin... really treat us like that?"

Xu Hongdou and Nana exchanged a glance, both seeing deep helplessness and a wry smile in each other's eyes, as if to say, "How could this silly child take it so seriously?"

Seeing that the two were just shaking their heads and sighing without saying a word, Da Mai got a little anxious and pressed, "Why don't you say something? Is it true or not? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Nana sighed, put down her spoon, and said with a mix of teasing and certainty, "Da Mai, use your clever little brain to think about this. With President Lin's status, and that... well, his personality, even if he really wanted to use that method, who do you think he'd let him do it? Letting Hongdou do it is one thing, after all, they... cough cough." She paused, glanced meaningfully at Xu Hongdou, and continued, "How could it possibly be our turn? We don't have that kind of 'good fortune'!"

Xu Hongdou immediately raised her hand and interjected with a serious expression: "Even if I say something, it's impossible for me to suck it! Absolutely impossible! I don't have that kind of luck!"

Barley was even more confused, his brows furrowed tightly. What did that mean? Only Red Bean drank it? Then how did I get better?

This question, like a seed, took root and sprouted in Da Mai's heart. Even after they had rested briefly and discussed it briefly before deciding to drive to the town hospital to visit Hu Youyu, Da Mai was still struggling with the decision.

Nana originally wanted to go too, but she had to go to work at "Youfeng Xiaoguan" so she asked Lin Bufan, Xu Hongdou, Chen Nanxing and Damai to be her representatives and send her greetings to Teacher Hu.

Lin Bufan was driving the car, which he had borrowed from Xie Zhiyao. One has to wonder, how much money did that guy make during those years as a venture capitalist? He buys two cars at a time!

Da Mai sat in the back seat next to Chen Nanxing, while Xu Hongdou was in the passenger seat. The car drove out of Yunmiao Village and headed towards the town along the country road.

Along the way, the scenery outside the window rushed past. Da Mai held back for a long time, but as they approached the hospital, she finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke cautiously. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet carriage:

"Mr. Lin... um... I still want to ask. How exactly did you treat us last night? Did you really... really use your mouth... to suck it?"

Lin Bufan, who was driving, twitched his lips almost imperceptibly. Xu Hongdou in the passenger seat and Chen Nanxing in the back seat simultaneously raised their hands to their foreheads and let out barely audible sighs.

Lin Bufan glanced at Da Mai in the rearview mirror, whose face was full of "curiosity" and "confusion," and deliberately dragged out his question: "So, do you hope I smoked it, or do you hope I didn't?"

Without a second thought, Barley immediately replied, "Of course I hope you didn't smoke!" Just thinking about it was...too unacceptable!

Lin Bufan nodded readily: "Oh, then I didn't smoke it."

barley:"……"

Although she received a negative answer, Da Mai felt that Lin Bufan's reply was too quick and casual, giving off a strong sense of perfunctoriness and lacking credibility. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask something more, but looking at Lin Bufan's profile as he focused on driving, and at Chen Nanxing's "please don't ask anymore" look beside her, she ultimately swallowed her words, her small face still filled with frustration that said, "I don't believe it, but I have no proof."