"Trying to guilt me into this?"
Discerning the indifference in the man's voice, Li Susu's eyes turned a bright red, holding back her tears, "It's just a surgery, you're a doctor, aren't you?"
Huo Sichen parroted her words, "Just a… Heh, does Mrs. Huo not know? I have not touched a scalpel in five years."
His harsh words continued, "After such a long hiatus, I am not confident my hand wouldn't shake. If I'm not careful and I cut any other organ, that would not be good."
Li Susu's face pales.
Five years…
He hasn't performed surgery in so long?
Her eyes fill up, looking like she could burst into tears any minute. Huo Sichen suddenly feels irritated.
He roughly pushes her away and undoes the top button of his shirt, as if it would make him feel better.
"Don't want to carry out your wife duties? Get lost."
"Huo Sichen…"
The man threatens to carry on with his previous actions. Li Susu, panicked, turns and runs.
Watching her reaction, Huo Sichen stays silent for a long time before retreating to the bathroom.
The next day, Li Susu went to the hospital again.
She told Dean Lu about Huo Sichen not having performed surgery in five years.
The man was taken by surprise, "You talked to Mr. Huo?"
"Yes."
Dean Lu seemed to lament, "Xiaohuo used to be so dedicated to medicine. His accomplishments were mostly due to his persistence and hard work. Of course, his incomparable talent played an instrumental role too."
Li Susu felt a tightening in her heart.
She only just found out that Huo Sichen liked being a doctor so much.
But…
Had he decided to abandon medicine and enter the business world because of the humiliation his father cast upon him?
"Dean Lu, is there any other way? He… is no longer capable of performing the surgery successfully."
Dean Lu sighed and shook his head.
The light in her eyes abruptly extinguished.
Not wanting her parents to find out that the surgery might not be possible, Li Susu put on a happy facade at the hospital.
That night she returned home, Huo Sichen was still not back.
Li Susu, dragging her worn-out body, was preparing to take a bath in the guest room when she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to move her luggage over again.
Between worrying about her father's illness every day, feeling dazed, tired and weary, she just wasn't able to think about her luggage.
With no clothes to change into, and not wanting to wear Huo Sichen's again, Li Susu headed downstairs.
Who knew that the man would just happened to be returning from outside, looking stern and humorless.
Seeing Li Susu with her bag, Huo Sichen asked in a deep voice, "Where are you going this late?"
"Uh, I forgot to bring my luggage over."
It was obvious that she wasn't taking his words to heart, not taking being Mrs. Huo seriously.
Huo Sichen, with an icy look on his face, handed the desserts he held in his hands to Sister Mu, "For you."
Sister Mu took it with a bewildered look, "???"
It was the first time in over ten years of taking care of him that she'd received a 'gift'. She was truly flabbergasted.
The man, with a frown on his face, headed upstairs, making no move to drive Li Susu to fetch her luggage.
She looked envious as she stared at the logo on the box of desserts in Sister Mu's hands.
That was from her favorite bakery in the past.
Huo Sichen did it on purpose, right?
He knew she loved those, so he bought them to give to Sister Mu.
"Madam, why don't you have some. There's plenty," Sister Mu offered.
How could she dare? Li Susu shook her head, "I-I don't like it."
By the time Huo Sichen came downstairs again, she had already left. Seeing the intact box on the table, unopened, he asked coldly, "Where is she?"
Sister Mu was serving dinner, "Oh, Madam went home to get her stuff. Master, Madam is quite thin and frail, don't know if she can handle it on her own."
Huo Sichen: "What does that have to do with me? She's not stupid, she can ask somebody for help."
"… Oh. Master, dinner is ready, would you like to eat now?"
Huo Sichen glanced at the boxed dessert again, then coldly turned around, "I'm not hungry, I'll eat later."