Three hours later, at a private clinic in Sky Dome Port.

Li Feng stared at He Qiuting’s incoming call, momentarily stunned. At this time, the latter should have been on a flight to London.

His first thought was that something must be wrong with He Qiuting’s health. Sure enough, as soon as he answered the call, he heard ragged breathing on the other end.

“Hello? Qiuting?” Li Feng’s heart tightened with concern. He found a quiet spot and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“…I don’t know.”

He Qiuting’s voice was hoarse, trembling with suppressed emotion. After a long silence, he finally managed to squeeze out a faint whisper, “I think… there’s something wrong with my mind.”

“What?” Li Feng frowned. “Where are you now? Is something physically wrong?”

“I’m on the high-speed train back to Sky Dome Port.”

After the plane landed at the transfer station, instead of continuing to London as originally planned, He Qiuting had Lin Xu book the earliest return ticket to Sky Dome Port.

Until he could figure out the cause of his episode, he needed to find a safe, secluded place rather than expose himself to public view and risk further complications.

Over the phone, He Qiuting described his experience on the plane to Li Feng. Even after recounting it, he still found it unbelievable.

First hearing unexplained voices?

Then suffocating to the point of losing consciousness?

“Auditory hallucinations are generally related to mental stress. You haven’t been resting well lately, plus the pressure from the Sky Citadel project – these kinds of symptoms might occur under such circumstances.”

Li Feng analyzed objectively before shifting his tone. “But you mentioned having asthma symptoms. Have you ever had this condition before?”

“No.” He Qiuting said. “It was during the suffocation that I heard that voice. It claimed to be some kind… System.”

“Said… that showing weakness to my lover would relieve the symptoms.”

“Also said the asthma would recur in seven hours.”

Li Feng’s frown deepened. “Did you try it?”

“What?”

“Calling Lu Shun.”

“Of course not.” He Qiuting looked utterly bewildered. After coughing twice, he lowered his voice and said, “We’ve already broken up. Besides, I haven’t gone so mad as to believe my own hallucinations.”

He Qiuting didn’t believe it, and after some thought, Li Feng also found it absurd. After a moment’s contemplation, he comforted him, “Qiuting, don’t panic just yet. From your description, it sounds like severe mental stress causing somatic reactions, which led to those breathing difficulties.”

He paused briefly. “Here’s what we’ll do – come straight to my place after you get off the high-speed train. We’ll run a comprehensive check-up.”

“Alright, thanks for your trouble.” He Qiuting acknowledged and hung up, returning to his seat.

From a distance, he saw Lin Xu looking around anxiously.

His face was filled with worry, his eyes tracking He Qiuting’s approach. Only after He Qiuting took his seat did Lin Xu lower his voice and say, “President He, we just received news that several foreign securities firms are inquiring about stock borrowing. The securities lending rates have skyrocketed.”

He Qiuting was taken aback. He unscrewed a bottle of water to moisten his throat. “Which securities firms specifically?”

“Offshore firms registered in Cayman. UBS…”

Before he could finish, He Qiuting’s phone vibrated.

The caller was an MD from a well-known investment bank. After some initial pleasantries, he gradually got to the main point.

“By the way, Qiuting, there’s something… Someone approached me at noon today about accessing your company’s stock inventory…”

The other person clicked his tongue. “The volume is huge, I think I should still let you know.”

“Can you tell me which firm it is?” He Qiuting’s brows tightened slightly.

“Ah, I can’t say that. I’m only giving you this call because of our deep brotherly bond. You know, I’m taking a risk by making this mistake to give you this heads-up.”

He Qiuting let out a silent, cold laugh.

Brotherly bond? What brotherly bond was there?

The other person was selling him this favor because they had their eyes on the major development project in Sky Citadel. In this circle, every exchange revolved around the word “interest.”

“I understand, thank you, brother. If there’s nothing else…” He Qiuting deliberately avoided piercing through the thin veil of interest, his tone indifferent. After thanking him, he was about to hang up.

“Wait, Qiuting.” The other person quickly stopped him. “Recently, have you had some conflict with CL over that piece of land in Ripple Capital?”

The air subtly froze.

At this point, even a fool would understand Lu Shun was setting up a plan to short his stocks.

First, borrow the shares, then short them.

How ruthless.

On the day of the breakup, he blocked all contact methods and quietly declared war from the capital level without a word.

But thinking about it, this was indeed Lu Shun’s style when he loved, he was endlessly gentle; when it ended, every cut drew blood.

“Qiuting.” The person on the phone cleared his throat, chuckling twice. “For the Sky Citadel project, I hope you’ll prioritize us. I hope we still have a chance to collaborate.”

…

The moment he hung up, He Qiuting’s stomach twisted violently. He instinctively hunched over, pressing his knuckles against his upper abdomen, taking a low, sharp breath.

“President He!” Lin Xu quickly supported his arm, feeling the tense muscles beneath the suit fabric. He was frantic with worry. “Eat something, please. You didn’t eat on the plane. If this continues, your stomach won’t be able to take it.”

Lin Xu didn’t know why He Qiuting had suddenly changed his itinerary. He only said there was something important and he needed to return to Sky Dome Port, but he didn’t reveal a single detail.

“Once we get off the high-speed train, go back to the company immediately and do two things for me.” He Qiuting turned his head slightly, his face devoid of color as he endured the pain. “Contact the major shareholders to temporarily halt stock lending, and draft a set of approval standards for stock borrowing for me, with more restrictions.”

“What about you? Are you going to Doctor Li?” Lin Xu watched his pained expression, his own heart aching in sympathy. “Let me go with you. I can’t rest easy seeing you like this.”

He Qiuting shook his head. “I’m fine.”

[Keyword detected I’m fine]

The System suddenly triggered, and the mechanical voice sounded again.

He Qiuting stiffened all over, hearing the voice say, “Punishment for stubbornness is about to activate. Body sensitivity increased tenfold.”

Beep

“Hmm…”

He Qiuting’s pupils contracted sharply. The original twisting pain unexpectedly escalated into excruciating agony, making his vision go dark and nearly causing him to faint on the spot.

His fingers gripped the armrest tightly, the knuckles turning a frightening shade of bluish-purple.

“President He!!” Lin Xu cried out in alarm, his eyes reddening with urgency. “Is it hurting badly? President He?”

He Qiuting’s back was completely hunched over. He leaned forward on the table, his sweat-drenched forehead pressed against his arm, his back heaving violently. He couldn’t utter a single word.

He endured until they got off the car and was directly taken by Lin Xu to Li Feng’s private clinic.

He Qiuting felt completely dazed, worn down by the pain and psychological fear. He sent Lin Xu away to handle company matters while he underwent Li Feng’s examination.

He had a CT scan, a pulmonary function test, and a bronchial dilation test.

Everything was normal, with no organic lesions.

Looking at the test results, Li Feng breathed a sigh of relief. “Your stomach issues are more serious, and your blood sugar is a bit low, but everything else is normal.”

He Qiuting tilted his head, his expression somewhat disoriented. “No problems…?”

“That’s right, Qiuting. Look at the reports, look at the scans.” Li Feng spread them out before him one by one. “Science doesn’t lie.”

“But the voice I heard that System it felt so real. It seems to be following me.” He Qiuting leaned back in the chair, his complexion extremely poor. His throat moved restlessly. “If what it said is true, then I’ll have an Asthma attack in an hour, and it’ll be worse than the last time.”

“Qiuting, you…” Li Feng looked at him with concern. “Maybe Lin Xu is right. You should get some proper rest. You’re putting too much pressure on yourself.”

“…” He Qiuting fell silent, unsure if he was truly going mad. Once the thought emerged, it became uncontrollable.

Was he really losing his mind?

“Listen to me. Go home now, eat something, and get a good night’s sleep. Things will feel much better when you wake up.” Li Feng prescribed him some sleeping pills, reminding him to take small doses to avoid aggravating his stomach.

But He Qiuting didn’t absorb a single word. His mind was in chaos as he glanced down at his watch.

One hour left.

If he really had an Asthma attack in an hour, just as the voice had said, it would prove the System was real.

He Qiuting didn’t linger. He drove home, stopping by a pharmacy on the way to buy two inhalers for Asthma, just in case.

He Qiuting’s home was far from the city center, and the forty-plus-minute drive drained almost all his energy.

When he arrived home, he found the door slightly ajar, with clattering sounds coming from inside.

Frowning, He Qiuting pushed the door open.

As he entered, he first saw the mess scattered across the floor, then two open suitcases lying on the ground. A familiar figure stood with his back to him, haphazardly stuffing things into the luggage.

He Qiuting glanced sideways and noticed that one of his pillowcases had been crammed into the suitcase.

He Qiuting bowed to no one but Lu Shun.

How could one person have so much energy?

Just last night, he was in the emergency room, and today he’d only been sustained by glucose he should have been weak.

Yet here he was, energetic enough to do all this!

While managing his stocks, he had also escaped from the hospital and come all the way to He Qiuting’s home to pack.

Even if they were splitting up, he could have waited until he recovered.

He Qiuting didn’t understand and couldn’t be bothered to ask. He walked past Lu Shun silently and headed straight for the bathroom.

His stomach felt uncomfortable; he wanted to vomit, though he wasn’t sure if he could.

Seeing He Qiuting, Lu Shun was shocked.

He put down what he was holding, stepped over the suitcase with his long legs, and instinctively followed He Qiuting. “Why are you back?”

He knew He Qiuting’s schedule and understood its importance to Cloud Horizon. Given He Qiuting’s temperament, even a typhoon wouldn’t stop him from pushing through the wind.

He Qiuting didn’t respond, silently closing the bathroom door with a crisp click of the lock.

From behind the door came Lu Shun’s grumbling voice, “Are you mute or something? Is talking to me a crime… damn.”

He Qiuting ignored him, feeling a flicker of irritation.

He wasn’t entirely sure what he was angry about was it Lu Shun blocking him? The plan to short his stocks? Or the urgency with which Lu Shun wanted to move out?

He didn’t know.

Maybe it was nothing at all, just the overwhelming discomfort he was feeling.

He Qiuting lifted the toilet lid and pressed the flush button, creating noise to mask his movements.

His stomach churned violently, a burning sensation making his vision blur. He suppressed the urge, not wanting to make too much sound.

But the next moment, his stomach twisted sharply.

“Ugh.”

The flushing sound ended, but He Qiuting could no longer hold back. He bent over, retching violently, broken coughs squeezing from his throat as stomach acid mixed with streaks of blood splattered onto the white porcelain of the toilet.

Bang, bang, bang.

Urgent knocking sounded from outside the bathroom, followed by Lu Shun’s voice through the door, tinged with panic.

“He Qiuting?”

“Say something! What’s wrong with you!?”

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