Grandma Jing blinked in surprise when she saw so many people gathered. Only later did she realize she had fainted. She felt embarrassed. "I was just chatting with the young man. We talked and talked until I felt tightness in my chest, like I couldn't breathe. After that, I don't remember what happened."
"Do you feel any discomfort now?" the old Chinese doctor asked.
Grandma Jing shook her head. "I feel fine, actually refreshed. It's just that for the past while, I often felt dizzy and groggy. But now it's completely gone."
"That's good. I measured your blood pressure, and it's back to normal. Don't take random medicine anymore," the old Chinese doctor said.
Grandma Jing still looked puzzled, but when she caught her granddaughter winking hard at her, she finally just nodded along. Truth was, she had suspected something herself. When she occasionally forgot to take her medicine, she felt fine. But when she took it daily, she often felt worse. The worse she felt, the more frequently she took it. Without any instruments at home to measure, the older generation judged whether to take medicine simply based on whether they felt unwell.
The family sincerely thanked both doctors. Jing An, ashamed of wrongly accusing Lin Yi, said, "Sorry, young man, we misunderstood you just now. What you said was right. It's just that we don't understand medicine and couldn't gamble with an elder's life."
Lin Yi gave a calm smile. His hoarse, aged voice carried steadiness. "Fortunately, it wasn't serious. We made it in time. Since things are fine now, I'll be leaving."
Grandma Jing waved her hand. "Xiao Lin, next time I'll treat you properly. This time I really troubled you."
"You're too polite."
Jing Shu frowned. Something about Lin Yi always gave her a sense of deathly stillness, like the aura of an old man in his sixties or seventies crammed inside the body of a young man in his twenties. It felt mismatched, as if he had been cast in the wrong role.
"Grandma, how did you even meet this man, and how do you find so much to talk about with him?" Jing Shu asked.
Every three years was a generation gap. A difference of decades was like a canyon. What could they possibly have in common?
"Don't be fooled by how young Xiao Lin looks. He knows a lot, especially about our Northwest cave dwellings. I have nothing to do all day, so chatting with him makes me feel young again. Back in the famine years, we lived in caves. Nothing like today."
She sighed. "This child is pitiful too. The first time I saw him, he was pinned under the unit door. I stepped on him before realizing I'd stepped on a person.
The second time, he got stuck in a drainage ditch while walking. I asked if he needed help, but he refused.
The third time, someone threw garbage from upstairs, and it hit him on the head, leaving him bleeding. That was when I bandaged him, and we got acquainted."
Jing Shu raised her eyebrows. Were there really people in this world as unlucky as Lin Yi? She had met people like Su Mali, blessed with ridiculous luck, but someone like Lin Yi seemed to have the opposite. Yet if he was so unlucky, how could he hold double certifications? He did sound capable when he spoke.
At least it was a false alarm with Grandma Jing. The Western doctor left first, personally escorted by Jing An.
Still, Jing Shu resolved to investigate Lin Yi further. She suspected he might have approached Grandma Jing on purpose. If he was "Zero," then the likelihood was even higher.
But maybe she was overthinking. If she were to be linked to anyone, it should have been agent "Zero-Eight," since she had destroyed the entire Zhetian organization.
As for anyone above Zero-Eight, she had asked Wang Dazhao to dig for ages, but no news ever surfaced. So she probably had nothing to do with them.
As for Zero himself, Jing Shu remembered that in her previous life's apocalypse, he only died several years later. His name only spread after that, when it was revealed he had stirred up half of China's turmoil. Who would have thought such chaos had been orchestrated by one man? Without that revelation, Jing Shu would never have known the half year of inhuman cruelty had been deliberately guided.
She exhaled. She was too small a figure. Someone as infamous as Zero should not even know she existed.
"At worst, wasn't Zero supposed to have gone to America?"
Her thoughts were a mess. Just then, the old Chinese doctor was about to leave when he paused at the doorway.
"Jing Shu, I'd like to ask a favor."
Jing Shu nodded. "What is it? Please say."
"Mr. Qian wants you to make a dish. It must be made from milk, preserve the full nutrition of milk, but taste nothing like milk, and not be milk itself." The old Chinese doctor looked embarrassed.
Jing Shu arched a brow. "Was the landlord's foolish son still not better?"
"How is Qian Shengqian's condition now?" She hadn't heard from Qian Duoduo in a while.
"After eating the ice cream you made, he improved for a bit. But afterward, whenever he ate anything containing milk, he would vomit. So lately, Mr. Qian hasn't dared let him touch ice cream."
"So his condition worsened?" Jing Shu frowned. Had her ice cream been too strong?
"No, no, not like that."
Since the old doctor refused to elaborate, Jing Shu dropped the question. "Then please wait here. I'll make something now."
…
Half an hour later, Jing Shu returned with an insulated food box. "Whether it works or not, please return the box afterward. I don't have many sets left, and we'll need them when migrating."
The old Chinese doctor stroked his eight-part beard, opened the box, and saw golden cubes steaming with fragrance. They looked like fried chicken and smelled sweet.
"What is this?"
"Fried fresh milk."
The old Chinese doctor: "???"
Jing Shu explained. He tasted one, and his eyes lit up. Crispy golden outside, snowy white inside. The crust was crisp while the center was tender, the rich milk wrapped and transformed. Truly the saying came to life:
Dip in egg wash, coat with breadcrumbs, fry till golden. The kids next door will cry with envy.
Most importantly, there was no trace of milk flavor. Instead, it carried a tropical sweetness, like banana and pineapple, smooth and delicious.
Satisfied, the old Chinese doctor left with the dish. Watching him board a private jet, Jing Shu realized this visit must have been authorized by Qian Duoduo himself.
Her dish had settled the debt.
Later, when relatives heard Grandma Jing had fainted, First Aunt and Second Aunt both called. Once reassured, First Aunt announced she would host a wedding for her son and daughter-in-law and invited the whole family to attend.