The Favored Heiress
Chapter 244: The Laboratory and Me, Choose One

Chapter 244: Chapter 244: The Laboratory and Me, Choose One

Li Qiao looked at Shang Yu with a guilty conscience, coughed twice, stretched out her hand to pat the bed, and signaled for him to sit down, "Why has Master Yan come?"

The man stood tall and erect, making the room seem cramped and oppressive.

Not to mention his intimidating presence, as well as his cool, piercing eyes. Anyone could tell he was extremely displeased right now.

Shang Yu ignored her gesture to pat the bed, his lips pressed tightly together, his Adam’s apple moving over his covered eyelids.

The atmosphere grew tense for a moment, and Li Qiao glanced at him, silently lifting the blanket, planning to get out of bed.

But, the man stepped forward just in time, walked to the side of the bed, and sat down, his rough fingers pinching her chin, his eyes deep, his voice even lower, "Why didn’t you answer the phone?"

Li Qiao blinked, twisting her waist as she began to search for her phone under the pillow, still trying to justify herself, "I was asleep, I didn’t hear the phone ring..."

As soon as she finished speaking, she had turned the space under her pillow upside down.

She couldn’t find the phone!

Li Qiao pinched the pillow, thought for a few seconds, her eyes flickering with a resigned sigh, "My phone was left in... the laboratory."

She had had a terrible headache that afternoon and vaguely remembered, after taking her father’s call, leaving her phone on the desk.

Later, when she returned to her dorm in a daze, she seemed to have forgotten to take it.

Li Qiao stole a glance at Shang Yu, pursed the corners of her mouth, "Did you call me many times?"

At this moment, the man turned his head to look at her, his deep eyes filled with complexity.

His lips grew tense, his tone hoarse and stern, "The laboratory or me, choose one."

Li Qiao suddenly raised her eyes, crashing into the man’s dark gaze, not understanding, "What?"

"Choose!" Shang Yu said sternly, his dark eyes staring straight at Li Qiao, void of any hint of jest.

This was a difficult choice, and Li Qiao fell into silence.

She really didn’t know what had happened today, but judging from Shang Yu’s behavior since he walked in, it seemed... he was angry.

Li Qiao knew full well that he wasn’t upset because she didn’t answer the phone; he must be angry that she was sick and hadn’t told him.

She felt... quite wronged.

Li Qiao’s chin was pinched again, forcing her to look Shang Yu in the eye, trying to salvage the situation, "Master Yan, I..."

But before she could finish, the man raised his eyebrows and repeated, "Give me an answer."

Li Qiao sighed deeply, repressing any extraneous expressions, turned her head and slowly withdrew her chin from his fingertips.

This action seemed to interpret her choice.

Shang Yu’s pupils contracted sharply, and his Adam’s apple rolled violently.

Then, Li Qiao reached out to brush the hair from her cheek, and suddenly, a glint of light caught her eye.

Upon closer inspection, she saw the cold gold cufflinks she’d given him, neatly worn on his sleeves.

Li Qiao’s heart instantly softened, she glanced at Shang Yu, wiped her face with one hand, and said unhurriedly, "You, I choose you..."

After all, ever since she met Shang Yu, all her bottom lines and principles were broken unconditionally for him.

The answer to this multiple-choice question was always the same.

Perhaps pleased by Li Qiao’s response, Shang Yu’s tense features gradually relaxed, and he let out a sighed breath.

He said nothing, just touched Li Qiao’s cheek, then stood up, bent down, and picked her up from the bed.

"What are you doing?" Li Qiao instinctively wrapped her arms around his shoulders, looking sideways at the man and asked in a muted voice.

With her in his arms, Shang Yu walked toward the door, glanced down at her, and said in a deep voice, "Going home to recuperate."

She probably didn’t know how pale her face was, even her lips were dry and peeling; he found it very annoying to look at.

Li Qiao pulled a face and buried it in his shoulder without saying a word, letting him carry her out of the dormitory.

Behind them, Liuyun closed the door that had been kicked in. Li Qiao glanced at the password lock hanging precariously on the door panel and said expressionlessly, "Whoever broke it, fix it."

Can’t they knock instead of kicking?

Wang Yue followed them, nodding silently in response, "Yes, Miss Li."

He regretted it, wishing he had let Liuyun kick down the door just earlier.

Stepping out of the dorm building, Li Qiao, with a scowl set deeply on her face, nestled in Shang Yu’s embrace without uttering a word, her little expression notably icy.

As they neared the front of the laboratory building, Li Qiao was just about to speak when the man turned his head to Liuyun behind him and instructed, "Go get the cellphone."

"Yes," Liuyun pivoted on his heel and hurried toward the laboratory building.

Li Qiao leaned on the man’s shoulder, her doe eyes fixed steadily on his figure.

One could see that Liuyun walked into the laboratory building with royal composure, not only unobstructed by the security at the door, but actually greeted with a polite bow from them.

Indeed, the so-called security guards near the laboratory building were all bodyguards trained by the Yan Emperor.

Li Qiao curled her lip, retracting her gaze, and lifted her eyes to Shang Yu’s chiselled jaw, muttering slowly, "Just getting the cellphone isn’t enough, I have quite a few things in the lab, too. Ask Liuyun to pack them up as well."

After all, she would have to bear the consequences of the choices she made herself.

At her words, the man’s pace noticeably faltered, his thin lips parted slightly as he looked down at Li Qiao, his eyes carrying a hint of helplessness.

Shang Yu stayed silent for a long while before finally pressing his lips together and sighing, "I’ve obtained three days leave for you. You should recover from your illness before coming back to work yourself to the bone."

Li Qiao felt a tremor in her heart, and the sullen mood from before instantly vanished.

Coming back to her senses, she couldn’t help but chuckle, then bumped her forehead against his cheek a bit annoyed, "Why didn’t you say that earlier?"

From the beginning, he had given in.

Shang Yu, looking at her once again lively cheeks, felt helpless inside, and could only hold her tighter as he warned in a low voice, "Don’t think about coming back until you’ve recovered."

...

That evening, it was no surprise that Li Qiao was taken back to the South Sea Mansion by Shang Yu.

She didn’t walk the entire way, being carried to the car and then from the car, because she wasn’t wearing shoes.

Back in the Mansion’s living room, the man placed a pair of cotton slippers on the floor and turned back to Liuyun, "Have the doctor come over."

He truly treated her as a patient.

Li Qiao sat on the sofa with her knees bent, glancing up from the cellphone screen, but didn’t refuse.

She had received many messages throughout the afternoon.

Some were from Shang Yu, and some from others.

At the moment, she was still replying to the messages one by one.

Shortly afterward, Li Qiao locked her phone screen and looked up at the man who had settled into a chair, trying to find a topic to lighten the mood, "Master Yan, have you ever attended an internal meeting of the Five Giants of the South Sea?"

Before Shang Yu could respond, the Mansion’s private doctor had already bustled into the living room with his medical case in hand.

The man appeared to be in his thirties, with a decent appearance and polite manners.

He approached the sofa, nodded to Shang Yu, "Master Yan."

"Yes, examine her," the man inclined his head toward Li Qiao, then got up and walked to a window nearby, silently lighting up a cigarette.

Li Qiao looked at his dark silhouette, which was nearly merging into the night outside, giving off a somewhat desolate aura.

She tugged at the corner of her mouth, pondering how to cheer him up, but before her thoughts could clear, the family doctor started his examination.

The steps were simple, devoid of common Western medicine practices, but instead... it was traditional Chinese pulse reading.

Moments later, Li Qiao’s wrist was released, and the family doctor had already withdrawn his hand and stood up.

Then, he walked behind Shang Yu and reported in a measured tone, "Master Yan, Miss Li seems to have suffered from long-term lack of sleep, leading to a deficiency in qi and blood.

The issue isn’t serious, but I recommend dietary nourishment for qi and blood combined with rest for about half a month for recovery."

Li Qiao: "..."

Recovery?

Rest for half a month?

She’s just sleep-deprived, why don’t you suggest half a year of rest?