Chapter 7

The strong smell of disinfectant surrounded me as I slowly opened my eyes.

What greeted me was the distinctive white of a hospital room, and an unfamiliar girl.

She leaned in, her face full of joy: "Sir, you're finally awake!"

"I... Ouch!"

I tried to sit up, but a wave of intense pain washed over me.

"Careful!"

She quickly helped me sit up, placing a pillow behind my back, then scolded me fiercely: "Take it easy! Don't you know your own condition?"

"The doctor said you have multiple soft tissue contusions and a mild concussion. You need to stay in the hospital for a few days for observation."

I forced an ugly smile: "Thank you."

"You really should thank me. If I hadn't happened to pass by, you might have been beaten to death without anyone knowing."

She handed me a bowl of porridge: "Here, you must be hungry? The doctor said you have a gastric hemorrhage from the beating, so you can only have porridge. I ordered this takeout, it's still hot."

I tried to raise my hand to take it, but the movement pulled at my wounds, making me groan.

Her expression twisted slightly, but then she sighed: "Alright, I'll feed you."

"Thank you."

"By the way, I'm Emily."

I swallowed the warm meat porridge: "I'm Tyler."

Emily blew on the spoonful of porridge, casually saying: "Later, give me your family's phone number, I'll contact them for you."

I lowered my eyes: "I don't have any family."

She paused, then said apologetically: "I'm sorry, I didn't know. Then give me your friend's number, I'll call them."

Friends?

Sophia didn't allow me to have friends. She had cut off all my social connections, forcing me to live in the cage she provided.

"I don't have any friends either."

I struggled to speak, really afraid that Emily would think I was intentionally trying to cling to her.

Emily looked surprised: "Not even one?"

I silently swallowed the porridge in my mouth.

Emily sighed: "Then I guess I'll have to take care of you for the next few days."

"Thank you."

I thanked her once again.

In the short time I had spent with Emily, I didn't know how many times I had said "thank you".

Emily patiently fed me the whole bowl of porridge. As she was cleaning up, she suddenly handed me a stack of blood-stained papers.

"When I rescued you, I found you desperately protecting these papers with your body, so I brought them along."

The originally white papers now had several black footprints and indelible bloodstains.

It completely stung my eyes.

What important document? What time constraint?

It was just a trap set by Sophia to win Jack's favor.

As long as this fool believed it and fell for it.

I looked away: "It's just waste paper. Please throw it away for me."