His instinctive movement caught my attention. I looked at him in astonishment, "As... you..." "I''m fine..." But as soon as he uttered those words, something was clearly wrong. His tall and straight figure leaned toward me, and I seemed to catch a whiff of a bloody smell.


    Panicking, I shouted loudly, "Doctor!" By the tthe doctor arrived, he had already passed out.


    The doctor cautiously conducted an examination and found an injury on his arm. It seemed to be a gunshot wound which had been hastily treated, and the blood on the bandage had partially coagted.


    The doctor cut off the bandage, treated the wound again, and administered an anti-inmmatory IV. Despite all this, he remained unconscious,pletely unaware of everything that was happening around him.


    Afterpleting the examination, the doctor reassured me, "Don''t worry. Mr. As isn''t in aa; he''s just in a deep sleep. Fortunately, the wound isn''t infected, and the bullet seems to have grazed him. The wound isn''t deep, and he should recover soon." Only then did I feel at ease, but I still questioned it. He went to find the antidote, but how did he end up with a gunshot wound? Who injured him? Where was Dn? Wasn''t Dn supposed to protect him? How did Dn let him get hurt? I truly couldn''t fathom what happened during the 36 hours he was away.


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    Jared took care of Trinity, who had already recovered from danger, and cto As''s ward. He was still showing no signs of waking up.


    Looking at the wound on his arm, Jared''s eyes were calm. Despite its calm appearance, I was certain it was brewing a storm. After a moment, he nced atand whispered, "You should take a break too. You''ve worked hard." He didn''t say more, and I almost forgot that I hadn''t slept for over 24 hours.


    After seeing him off, I stared at the deeply sleeping As for a long time. I had witnessed him in this state once before, during his staged car ident when I visited him in Pleca Park.


    I was still somewhat uneasy, so I went to ask the doctor. The doctor assuredwith certainty and responsibility, "He is indeed in a deep sleep, and that''s a good sign." Upon returning to his side, I gently touched his cheek, silently praying that everything would be fine. I theny down on the sofa in the ward and fell into a deep and sweet sleep. If it weren''t for Ryan''s call, I would still be sleeping.  As soon as I saw it was Ryan, I was startled, and the drowsiness vanished instantly because I realized that we were supposed to head to Bourdamun today. I quickly answered the phone and told Ryan to pickup at my ce.


    I realized I was sleeping on As''s hospital bed, and he was nowhere to be seen. didn''t even have tto greet Jaked before running out of el et the hospital, rushing back to Amethyst Apartments. I took a quick shower, changed clothes, and ran out to Ryan''s car in one go.  Only then did I have the tto call As.


    Fortunately, he answered immediately, "Where did you run off to?" "As, are you feeling better? Where did you go just now? Do you still feel ufortable after the shower? How did you get shot?" I asked all the questions I had in one ne breath, and then answered his questions, "I made an appointment in Bourdamun. I left in a hurry without saying goodbye to you Ryan cto pickup, and we''re on our way. Don''t worry about me. I stept well."  "Wait forto cback, just wait in the hospital. I probably can''t make it back to Foswood today. Lauren will be back tomorrow at 4 p.m. I''ll try my best to cback and pick her up." After saying all that quickly, I added, "Oh right. How are you feeling today?" After a moment of silence, he chuckled. "I''m fine. I''ve been sleep-deprived, but I''ve recovered with a good rest. Don''t worry. I''ll be waiting for you." "Tell Mr. Jared that I''ll be back to visit Trinity. I hope she''s awake by then," I said, finally smiling in relief.


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