Ye Fei had been hoping to take her hand and make a friendly gesture, but her attitude caught him off guard. He realized her anger probably stemmed from her father’s injury, which made him let out a bitter smile.
Li Xiaoyan was already furious, and seeing Ye Fei’s smile only made her angrier. Ignoring Zhang Qiang’s attempts to stop her and her father’s reprimands, she shouted at Ye Fei, "Get out!"
Ye Fei rubbed his nose, feeling somewhat helpless as he turned and left the room. He understood that staying would only make Li Xiaoyan angrier and potentially damage their relationship beyond repair.
After Ye Fei left, Zhang Qiang and Miao Xin also stepped out of the hospital room and joined Ye Fei in the hallway. Zhang Qiang gently patted his shoulder and said, "Don’t blame Xiaoyan. She’s just upset because of Old Li."
"I know," Ye Fei nodded. He could understand Li Xiaoyan’s feelings. When Li Yun had first been injured, Ye Fei had been just as angry. And he was only Li Yun’s comrade-in-arms; Li Xiaoyan was his own daughter.
Liu Junyi hadn’t returned yet, and the special forces team was being managed by Zhang Qiang and the other two captains. Zhang Qiang couldn’t stay long and left after a few words with Ye Fei.
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Miao Xin also had to go back for lunch with Dongfang Ruolan. She had wanted to invite Ye Fei to join them, but he preferred to stay and listen to what Li Yun and his daughter were saying.
He wanted to understand why Li Xiaoyan was so angry with him. He had already decided to take good care of Li Xiaoyan and didn’t want any misunderstandings between them.
After Ye Fei and the others left, Li Xiaoyan walked up to her father’s bedside and met his somewhat angry gaze with a stubborn look of her own.
After a long while, seeing that his daughter showed no sign of backing down, Li Yun sighed softly and said, "Xiaoyan, how can you speak like that? Ye Fei is my comrade-in-arms."
"So what?" Li Xiaoyan’s anger flared again at the mention of Ye Fei’s name.
Seeing that his daughter didn’t understand, Li Yun’s voice grew stern.
"So what? Do you know what a comrade-in-arms means? It’s someone you can trust with your life on the battlefield! I was just covering him, and I only got injured. Have you ever thought about the children of those who sacrificed themselves to cover me? Would they feel the same way as you?"
Li Xiaoyan felt wronged when her father misunderstood her. She pouted and said, "I’m not angry because you got hurt. I’m upset about his attitude. He clearly came back yesterday, so why did he wait until today to see you? The other uncles came yesterday! Just because he’s the nephew of the captain, does that mean he can take everyone’s efforts for granted?"
Li Yun realized he had misunderstood his daughter. But knowing Ye Fei well, he didn’t think Ye Fei was that kind of person either. He said, "Ye Fei isn’t like that. Maybe something more important came up yesterday."
"Humph!" Li Xiaoyan, seeing her father defend Ye Fei, felt discontented and pouted as she sulked to the side, leaving Li Yun with a wry smile on his face.
Ye Fei, who had overheard the entire conversation, understood the root of the misunderstanding.
He decided to clear it up. He gently knocked on the door and walked in.
Seeing that it was Ye Fei, Li Xiaoyan turned around on the sofa and gave him her back. Ignoring this, Ye Fei walked up to Li Yun’s bedside and said, "Uncle Li, I have to head back. I’ll come again this afternoon."
Li Yun smiled and said, "No need. If you have something to do, go ahead. I’ll be fine."
"Nothing is more important than Uncle Li’s health. You got hurt because of me. I should have come as soon as I got back yesterday, but I wanted you to recover faster, so I went back to prepare some things first," Ye Fei said with a serious expression, telling a white lie. He couldn’t very well tell Li Yun that he had prioritized seeing his beloved women over visiting him.
"Prepare something?"
Li Yun was taken aback and asked, "You mean those recovery pills?"
Ye Fei shook his head and said, "No, I never had high hopes for the recovery pills. The method I’m talking about can not only help you recover quickly but also significantly boost your strength. I originally planned to use it on you today, but now it seems better not to."
Li Xiaoyan, though still angry with Ye Fei, had been listening intently. When she heard that Ye Fei had been preparing something for treatment yesterday, her anger had already subsided, and she even felt a bit apologetic.
But now, hearing his words, she became angry again, thinking, How can he be so petty?
Just because I scolded him a few times, he gives up on treating Dad. What kind of comrade-in-arms is that?
And Dad got hurt because of him.
Fuming inside, Li Xiaoyan almost wanted to scold Ye Fei again.
But since it concerned her father’s health, she suppressed her anger, stood up, walked up to Ye Fei, bit her lip, and said in a low voice, "I’m sorry, I misunderstood you just now. Please help my dad. I’ll do anything if you can cure him!"
Ye Fei couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile. Did he really seem like a bad guy? His well-intentioned reminder had been misunderstood as an attempt to take advantage of the situation.
Li Yun hadn’t thought much of it at first, but after hearing his daughter’s words, he couldn’t help but feel a bit suspicious.
However, it wasn’t about questioning Ye Fei’s character; he just felt that Ye Fei might be trying to one-up his daughter, considering he was only sixteen years old.
But when he saw the bitter smile on Ye Fei’s face, Li Yun realized that his assumptions were wrong. He asked, "Ye Fei, is there something troubling you?"
Ye Fei nodded and said seriously, "Yes, my method can indeed help you recover and gain great strength, but the side effects are quite significant. Right now, Auntie Dongfang is working on developing the Tendon-Connecting and Pulse-Continuing Pill, which has no side effects at all. So, I suggest you wait."
Ye Fei’s words made Li Xiaoyan realize that she had misunderstood him again. She felt a deep sense of guilt but, being a girl with pride, she couldn’t bring herself to apologize to Ye Fei and just sat down sullenly.
Li Yun, on the other hand, asked curiously, "Can you tell me what the side effects are?"
Lying there, unable to move, was extremely uncomfortable.
Since Ye Fei had originally planned to use his method before knowing about Dongfang Ruolan’s Tendon-Connecting and Pulse-Continuing Pill, the side effects couldn’t be too severe.
He wanted to ask Ye Fei, and if they weren’t too hard to accept, he wouldn’t wait for the pill to be developed.
"Well..."
Ye Fei hesitated for a moment, then leaned down and whispered the side effects of the device into Li Yun’s ear, adding with a wry smile, "If there had been any other way, I wouldn’t have wanted to use this on you."
To his surprise, Li Yun suddenly laughed and said, "If the side effect you mentioned is the only one, then use it on me now. There’s no need to wait for Dr. Dongfang’s Tendon-Connecting and Pulse-Continuing Pill."
"Ah?" Li Yun’s decision left Ye Fei stunned. If Li Yun had been an old man, it would have been different, but he was only forty, in the prime of his life. How could he just give up on that aspect of his abilities?
Seeing Ye Fei’s confusion, Li Yun explained with a smile, "Xiaoyan’s mother has been gone for many years, and I’ve been inactive in that regard for a long time. It’s better to be done with it now and avoid any more distractions. Besides, you said using that method would increase my strength, which would be great for contributing more to the special forces team."
Since Li Yun was so open-minded, Ye Fei didn’t argue further. It was clear that Li Yun didn’t place much importance on that aspect of his life.
Most of his energy was focused on the special forces team, and the rest was devoted to loving his daughter.
Both being straightforward people, once the decision was made, neither wanted to waste any more time. So, Ye Fei left Li Yun’s hospital room to borrow a car from the special forces team.
Although carrying Li Yun out of the military base by hand and then taking a car outside wouldn’t have been a problem for Ye Fei, doing so would have drawn unnecessary attention.
After Ye Fei left, Li Xiaoyan approached her father and asked, "Dad, what were you talking about just now? I couldn’t understand a word. What side effect did he mention, and why did he bring up Mom?"
She had wanted to ask this question earlier but didn’t feel comfortable doing so with Ye Fei around. So, she waited until he left.
"Well..." Li Yun was momentarily at a loss for words. This was not an easy topic to explain to his daughter, so he evaded the question by saying, "You’ll understand when you’re older."
"What? When I was little, you always used that excuse on me. Now that I’m grown up, you still say the same thing!" Li Xiaoyan pouted in dissatisfaction. Seeing that her father had no intention of explaining further, she sat down and sulked.
Li Yun couldn’t help but let out a wry smile. Had he been too protective of his daughter? Although she was the same age as Ye Fei, the two seemed worlds apart in maturity.
Ye Fei’s reputation in the special forces team was now on par with Liu Junyi’s.
Borrowing a car here was no problem at all. In fact, several team members volunteered to be his driver. However, considering that the fewer people who knew about his secret, the better, Ye Fei declined their offers.
As for the fact that he had never driven before, that was no longer an issue for him.
Although he had never operated a vehicle personally, he knew what to pay attention to. The only things he lacked were proficiency and quick reflexes, which were easily manageable given his current reaction speed.
Back in Li Yun’s hospital room, Ye Fei helped him get ready, nodded to Li Xiaoyan, and then carried Li Yun out.
Although Li Yun’s evasive answer had made Li Xiaoyan a bit upset, she was still very worried about her father’s health. She wanted to go with them but hesitated when neither of them invited her.
By the time she made up her mind to follow, they had already disappeared. When she ran out, all she saw was the back of a car leaving the hospital gate.
"Bad guy, bad guy!"
Li Xiaoyan, feeling ignored, kicked a nearby pillar in frustration, not knowing whether the poor pillar had become a stand-in for Li Yun or Ye Fei in her mind.