Ning Chen rubbed the bridge of his nose. If Song Xiaoshuang was the one who'd drugged him last night, what was she after?

All she'd have needed was for someone to see the two of them lying in one bed. That alone would have driven a wedge between him and Ning Mao and ruined his name.

In any world, seducing your own brother's wife was beyond the pale.

But she hadn't done it. Why not?

One, she hadn't come for his life.

Two, she hadn't ruined his name either.

So what did whoever drugged him really want?

Ning Chen really could think it over a hundred ways and never get to the bottom of her.

There was no point forcing it. If he kept grinding away at it, he'd only box himself in.

Besides, he hadn't lost anything. No need to agonize over it. He'd just be more careful from now on.

He went out to the back courtyard, meaning to take Lone Stride for a stroll.

But for some reason, the moment he saw Lone Stride, a sharp pain stabbed through his chest, as if someone had grabbed his heart in a fist and squeezed. It hurt so much that cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Lone Stride saw the agony on his face, padded over and kept licking his hand, as if trying to soothe him.

The pain in Ning Chen's chest only got worse.

Surely he hadn't come down with some strange illness?

Gritting his teeth against it, Ning Chen left the back courtyard and sent someone to fetch a doctor right away.

But the moment he reached the front hall, that piercing pain simply vanished.

How strange.

If anything, that worried Ning Chen more.

Pain that never let up was one thing. Pain that came and went was what scared him. That was usually the sign of something serious.

The doctor arrived about an hour later.

It was the same old doctor as the night before. His surname was Li. He was a highly skilled physician who worked at the clinic Zisu had opened, and…