As if on cue, Sun Lixia’s phone rang and the voice of her distraught brother, Sun Weilong sounded on the other end, "Sister, you have to rush to the hospital, dad had a stroke."

Sun Lixia felt her blood run cold. "What?" she gasped, clutching the phone tighter.

"I don’t know what happened but his butler told me he collapsed and the doctors say it’s a stroke," Sun Weilong’s voice was strained with worry. "I am on my way there too."

"Okay, okay, I will be there," Sun Lixia managed to reply, her mind reeling.

The call ended and a stunned silence fell over the room. Li Xiaojun was at her side in an instant. "What’s wrong, honey?"

Sun Lixia turned to him, her face ashen. "My father, he had a stroke. I have to rush to the hospital."

Li Xiaojun’s eyes widened with concern. "Let’s go, I’m coming with you," he said resolutely.

Li Chen and Li Xinjie exchanged worried glances. Zhang Mei gently touched Sun Lixia’s arm. "You go, he will be happy seeing you all there."

"I will update you," Li Chen promised, giving Zhang Mei’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

With no time to waste, Sun Lixia, Li Xiaojun, Li Chen and Li Xinjie hurried out and drove straight to the hospital. When they arrived, Sun Weilong had also just gotten there. He strode over to them, his expression grave.

"Brother-in-law, what happened?" Li Xiaojun asked urgently.

Sun Weilong shook his head, lines of distress etched on his face. "I don’t know, all I heard was that he had a stroke. I’m still waiting on the doctors."

Li Xinjie frowned deeply. "But Uncle Weilong, this doesn’t make sense. Grandpa was fine a week ago during the family dinner."

"I don’t know either," Sun Weilong admitted, running a hand through his hair. "All we can do is wait for now."

They didn’t have to wait long before Sun Gang arrived, dragging his feet and eyeing the group with undisguised displeasure. He went straight to his father without so much as a greeting. "Dad, how is Grandpa?"

"I don’t know, we’re still waiting for an update," Sun Weilong replied tersely.

Sun Fang joined them next, offering Li Chen and Li Xinjie a polite nod before turning to Sun Lixia and Li Xiaojun. "Aunt, Uncle," he said solemnly.

After acknowledging Sun Fang, he turned his attention back to his father. "Dad, wasn’t Grandpa strict on his medication?"

Sun Weilong’s brow furrowed. "As far as I know he had been taking his medication very well, with his butler ensuring it personally."

"It doesn’t make sense," Sun Fang said with a shake of his head.

"Yes, it doesn’t," Li Chen agreed, his voice laced with worry.

Sun Gang scoffed loudly. "Come on, Grandpa is old and had high blood pressure. This shouldn’t come as a surprise."

Sun Weilong’s eyes flashed with anger at his son’s callous words. "You watch your tongue," he warned in a lowered voice. "That is your grandfather you are talking about, my father."

But Sun Gang was undeterred. "Exactly, look at how old both you and Aunt Lixia are already. What about him?"

The crass comment hung heavy in the air as the rest of the family struggled to process Sun Gang’s disrespectful words. But their shock was quickly pushed aside by the arrival of another unexpected person - Yang Bojun.

Sun Weilong’s jaw clenched at the sight of the man hurrying towards them. "Bojun, what are you doing here?"

Before he could answer, Sun Gang spoke up. "I called him. Grandpa is also his father, isn’t it? I believe it was proven."

Yang Bojun smirked openly at Sun Weilong. "I see you didn’t plan on telling me that my father was in the hospital."

Utterly disgusted, Sun Weilong rolled his eyes and focused his attention on his sister instead. "Sis, I think we need to investigate this thoroughly."

But Yang Bojun had other ideas. "Sun Weilong, oh dear brother, don’t be in denial now," he taunted. "Daddy dearest is old. Look at me, already this old. We should just allow him to leave in peace."

The vile insinuation proved to be the last straw for Sun Lixia. Without warning, she lashed out, delivering a hard punch squarely to Yang Bojun’s face. His nose cracked audibly and began gushing blood.

Yang Bojun recoiled, cupping his profusely bleeding nose. "Such a temper, sis," he sneered, undeterred. "You’re lucky I don’t touch women and that you and I share a father." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Li Chen stepped forward, fury blazing in his eyes. "Even if you didn’t, I would have chopped your hand off if you had dared to touch her."

The threat didn’t seem to faze Yang Bojun. "Such little respect for your uncle, I see, Li Chen."

Li Chen opened his mouth to respond, but Li Xiaojun placed a calming hand on his son’s arm. "He’s not worth it, son."

But Yang Bojun wasn’t finished taunting them yet. "Ah, you must be my brother-in-law," he said to Li Xiaojun with mock politeness. "I heard about you, how you were kidnapped, got your freedom 25 years later. It must hurt to have missed so much of the world."

Li Xinjie’s restraint finally snapped. "One more word from you, and I will make sure the doctors arrange your own room here," he snarled, his eyes blazing with fury.

For the first time, a flicker of unease passed over Yang Bojun’s face as he registered the deadly seriousness of Li Xinjie’s threat. He swallowed hard, suddenly regretting provoking the younger man’s ire.

Sun Weilong interjected before tensions could escalate further. "Let’s not fight, okay?" he said tightly. "We are family after all and we are here for Dad."

Yang Bojun sneered again, but there was a new wariness in his eyes as he glanced at Li Xinjie. "Excuse me, I have to tend to my broken nose."

He slunk away, leaving a tense silence in his wake. Sun Fang was the first to break it, shaking his head in disbelief. "What a punch, Aunt Lixia. But next time, don’t dirty your hands with such scum."

"He is our uncle, be respectful," Sun Gang chided, only to receive a withering look from his brother.

"I will never acknowledge that man as my uncle."

Their argument was cut short by the arrival of the doctor, his expression grave. "I have bad news."

A leaden knot formed in the pit of Sun Lixia’s stomach as she met the doctor’s somber gaze. "How is my father?"

The doctor paused, as if steeling himself to deliver the devastating blow. "Miss Sun, your father suffered a severe stroke. We tried all we could but right now he is still unconscious."

Sun Weilong felt his heart plummet, but he needed to know the full extent of it. "Just tell it to us straight, doctor."

The doctor drew in a sobering breath before continuing. "I’m afraid Old Master Sun suffered brain damage. If he were to make it through this ordeal alive, he will remain in a vegetative state, unresponsive."

The words hit them like a physical blow, a collective cry of anguish rising up from the stunned family members. Sun Lixia’s legs nearly buckled beneath her as the weight of the doctor’s prognosis threatened to crush her.

"What really caused the stroke?" she managed to ask, her voice cracking with grief.

"We are still running tests to determine the cause," the doctor replied solemnly. "But his medication levels were abnormally low, almost as if he hadn’t been taking his prescriptions properly."