Cheng Lei’s face darkened after listening, and he stammered.

"I..."

"I know you still want to argue that you know nothing, but I will also share my suspicions with Ying Ying."

Wang Hao, irked by Cheng Lei’s sanctimonious demeanor, pointed to his wound and said.

"If one day I find evidence that those five people were acting on someone’s orders, I will make sure the person behind this pays back double for my injuries!"

With that, Wang Hao got out of the car, slammed the door shut with force, and hailed another taxi to go home.

"Damn it!"

Feeling overpowered by Wang Hao, Cheng Lei punched the steering wheel hard in frustration.

Although he knew Wang Hao had no evidence and everything he said was mere conjecture, how could his guesses be so accurate?

Indeed, those five were not ordinary thieves, but experts Cheng Lei had recruited to help.

Cheng Lei had orchestrated a heroic rescue to win Zhou Yingying’s affection, but his plan was completely disrupted when Wang Hao unexpectedly showed up and stole the spotlight.

Just thinking of Zhou Yingying’s tender care for Wang Hao made Cheng Lei stamp his feet in anger.

"Zhou Yingying is mine, and nobody is going to snatch her away from me!"

Cheng Lei muttered bitterly as he watched Wang Hao’s car disappearing into the distance.

"Wang Hao, you just wait!"

...

"Dad, Mom, I’m home!"

Wang Hao yelled as soon as he reached the doorstep.

Hearing her son’s voice, Huang Yufen immediately put aside her work, delightedly coming to greet him.

When she saw that Wang Hao was alone, a hint of disappointment flickered in her eyes, and she looked behind him expectantly.

"Mom, what are you looking for?"

Wang Hao asked, puzzled.

"Where’s Xia Xue? Didn’t she come back with you?"

Huang Yufen couldn’t hide her disappointment when she didn’t see Xia Xue, glancing at Wang Hao.

"Mom, Xia Xue is busy managing the company for me in the county town!"

Wang Hao couldn’t help but sigh, thinking that his biological parents seemed to care more about their future daughter-in-law than their own son, only concerned about whether Xia Xue had returned with him.

"Is she really not back? Is she that busy?"

Huang Yufen still seemed unconvinced.

"Really! I’m not lying to you. Why do I feel like you only care about Xia Xue!"

Wang Hao shook his head in exasperation, then continued.

"Mom, go get me some hot water; the bandage on my wound has come loose. Help me clean it and dress it again."

Reminded by Wang Hao, Huang Yufen immediately came to her senses and noticed the bloodstains on Wang Hao’s shoulder.

Seeing how much blood Wang Hao had lost, Huang Yufen turned pale instantly and anxiously asked him what had happened.

Suddenly feeling a pang in his heart, Wang Hao thought bitterly that after all this time, and with all the blood on his shoulder, his mother had only just noticed. She had been so preoccupied with Xia Xue.

At this moment, he even began to question whether he was truly her biological child.

Huang Yufen quickly brought hot water for Wang Hao, intending to clean his wound, but Wang Hao felt puzzled. The doctor had specifically mentioned that it might hurt for a couple of days and advised taking painkillers if it became unbearable.

But now, why did the pain turn into itching instead? Could it be an infection?

That would be serious; Wang Hao hurriedly lifted the gauze to check.

As he uncovered it, he was startled by what he saw.

The flesh on his shoulder, which had been torn apart, had now healed with only a small scab forming on top.

"That was way too fast!"

Wang Hao said, dumbfounded.

At that moment, Wang Dazhu happened to come in and upon hearing Wang Hao, he chimed in.

"Yeah, it’s really quick. Everyone’s been saying you must have the Mountain God protecting you; even that is slow by comparison."

Wang Dazhu’s comment was confusingly out of context, leaving Wang Hao completely baffled about why the Mountain God was suddenly brought into the conversation.

"Dad, what are you talking about?"

Wang Hao couldn’t help but ask.

"I’m talking about the herbal medicine!"

Wang Dazhu seemed even more puzzled than Wang Hao and asked again.

"You haven’t gone to see it yet? Huh? How did you get hurt?"

It was only then that Wang Dazhu noticed Wang Hao’s wound, but upon closer inspection, it didn’t look too serious, though the bloodstains on his clothes were somewhat alarming.

"It’s nothing, I need to hurry and check on the greenhouse!"

Right now, all Wang Hao could think about was inspecting the greenhouse, as it seemed from his father’s tone that something had happened there, so he quickly changed his clothes and left.

Watching Wang Hao’s retreating figure, Wang Dazhu was momentarily stunned and said with a puzzled face.

"How does he know if he hasn’t seen it? Could it be that the Mountain God appeared to him in a dream?"

When Wang Hao arrived at the greenhouse, he saw Wang Xiaoer busily working inside.

After the failure of the herbal medicine experiments in the other two greenhouses, Wang Xiaoer had become particularly attentive to the last one, taking care of it daily as diligently as one would care for a wife.

As he entered the greenhouse and saw that the medicinal herbs had grown up to thigh height, Wang Hao was taken aback.

He had only been away for about ten days; how could they have grown so tall?

Wang Hao was ecstatic after the inspection.

"Wang Hao, how does it look? I didn’t let you down, did I? This batch of medicinal herbs is as good as anyone else’s!"

Seeing Wang Hao, Wang Xiaoer quickly ran over to take credit, grinning foolishly.

"Not bad at all, I’ll give you a bonus once it’s sold for money!"

After encouraging Wang Xiaoer, Wang Hao dashed to another greenhouse to inspect it.

After making a complete round, he found that aside from the two that had failed in the experiment, the growth of the rest was very good.

Wang Hao knew in his heart why this was; it must be the result of Su Zhenping watering the greenhouses on schedule with water from the dragon pool.

Thinking of Su Zhenping, Wang Hao looked around but didn’t see him anywhere.

"Wang Xiaoer, didn’t Uncle Su come today?"

Wang Hao asked Wang Xiaoer.

"Uncle Su comes every day, but he said he has to tend to the mountain produce shop during the day and usually comes over in the evening and early morning," replied Wang Xiaoer, with a tone of bewilderment, before muttering to himself.

"Uncle Su works tirelessly day and night, I really don’t know how he can handle it!"

Wang Hao certainly knew why Su Zhenping said that, but since it concerned the dragon pool water, he didn’t explain and decided to personally go to Su Zhenping’s house to find him.

"Big Brother Hao, you’re back!"

Su Lin saw Wang Hao from afar and quickly came to meet him, grabbing Wang Hao’s hand and asking.

"How is Shi Han?"

Wang Hao rubbed Su Lin’s tender little hand and found that the girl’s hand was getting softer and softer.

Su Lin, feeling the affectionate gesture from Wang Hao and with no one else around, didn’t reject it; instead, she quite enjoyed being fondled.

"Shi Han is doing well over there. Plus, Xia Xue is tutoring her, so both her studies and life are going great. What’s there to worry about?"

Wang Hao smiled and replied, his hands continuing their movement, becoming firmer because he knew Su Lin enjoyed such intimate gestures from him, and he could see the deep love and longing in her eyes.

As Wang Hao expected, Su Lin’s face flushed, and she lowered her head, her little hands forming into tight fists, trembling slightly.

Although he had touched Su Lin’s hand countless times before, their contact hadn’t gone any deeper.

As his large hand caressed her, Su Lin was incredibly nervous.

"I... I..."

Su Lin stuttered, unable to articulate her words.

"Hmm? What’s wrong? Is it too hot?"

Wang Hao feigned ignorance as he asked.

"No..."

Su Lin lifted her head, her cheeks rosy, and her large, teary eyes looked at him dazedly.

At that moment, she resembled a ripe apple, waiting for a man to pick her.

"Oh, that’s good then!"

Wang Hao nodded and continued to toy with Su Lin’s jade-like hand.

Su Lin closed her eyes shyly, letting Wang Hao fool around.

Just then, Su Zhenping suddenly burst out of the house, stumbling upon Wang Hao holding Su Lin’s hand without caring, and dragged Wang Hao towards the backyard...