Chapter Twenty-Five: Cardiology

Ning Shuyi leaned in for a closer look and saw that the post indeed had a location tag—it was at W City Central Hospital.

The post was a selfie of a girl, unmistakably the very Cai Xin they were searching for. Cai Xin appeared to be standing at the end of a corridor, snapping a photo of herself, accompanied by a few lines of self-encouragement, the sort people often use to lift their spirits.

The background of the photo was somewhat blurred. Ning Shuyi zoomed in and examined the wall beside Cai Xin in the picture, where an office plaque was visible. Unfortunately, the background was so out of focus that, even after enlarging the image as much as possible, the writing on the plaque remained unreadable.

Just then, Huo Yan gently tapped her from behind. Ning Shuyi guessed that he had found something. Not wanting to make the girl feel uneasy, she thanked her and returned the phone.

"I didn’t expect Cai Xin to be at the hospital! Well, never mind, we won’t bother her," she told the girl. "Actually, we were hoping to find Wang Yuluo. We can’t reach her, and someone mentioned that if you really can’t find her, you should look for Cai Xin—she’ll definitely be able to get in touch with Wang Yuluo."

"That’s not untrue," the bespectacled girl’s deskmate scoffed. "Wherever Wang Yuluo is, you’re sure to find Cai Xin too."

"Then, do you happen to have any way to contact Wang Yuluo, other than the number ending in xxxx?" Ning Shuyi picked up on the deskmate’s underlying tone, hinting at Cai Xin’s role as Wang Yuluo’s shadow, but she didn’t push further. In situations like this, the more inquisitive you appear, the more guarded people become.

"No, we don’t," the girl with glasses replied, shaking her head. "In fact, we don’t even have the number you just mentioned!"

"Of course not, she’s out of our league," the deskmate muttered dismissively, then turned away to chat about something else.

Ning Shuyi thanked them and headed out with Huo Yan.

Since Cai Xin’s social media post had been made less than an hour ago, and now they knew her approximate location, there was no need to linger any longer. It was best to go straight to W City Central Hospital.

This wasn’t a full-time school, after all—just a post-graduate exam prep class. The students here were little more than passing acquaintances; no one really knew anyone else deeply.

Moreover, judging by the reactions of the two girls just now, they didn’t seem particularly fond of Wang Yuluo. It was likely they simply kept to themselves, rarely interacting, and nothing more could be learned from them. Trying would only waste time and trouble others.

Leaving the tutoring center, they got into the car. Huo Yan entered "W City Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine" into the GPS. He hadn’t been in W City long, and most of his time before officially starting work had been spent in intensive training, so he wasn’t familiar with the area.

"What did you see just now?" Ning Shuyi asked after he finished entering the address.

As Huo Yan turned the wheel to pull a U-turn, he nodded. "Cardiology."

Ning Shuyi raised her brows in surprise. "Your eyesight is incredible! That photo was so blurry—how did you figure it out?"

"The shape of the characters," Huo Yan replied.

Ning Shuyi understood. She glanced at him. "So, it’s not just about having good eyesight. It’s the experience you’ve accumulated from your previous training and fieldwork, isn’t it?"

Huo Yan didn’t dispute her conclusion. "Every detail in the enemy’s surroundings is crucial; it determines the entire assessment."

Ning Shuyi deeply agreed. In this area, she had complete faith in Huo Yan. Their past experiences had led them to develop very different skillsets.

Her own knowledge came primarily from books and academic training, refined through practice. Whether dealing with the cunning or the truly dangerous, it all fell under internal matters among the people.

As the saying goes, practice brings true understanding. Sometimes, theory and reality don’t align, and when that happened, Ning Shuyi would simply reset her thinking, learn from her mistakes, and use elimination to reassess the situation.

But Huo Yan was different. He dealt with real adversaries. Every skill he possessed was a secret weapon, a decisive factor in life-and-death encounters.

In other words, in his original field, there was no margin for error. Even the smallest oversight could lead to disastrous consequences.

Reflecting on this, Ning Shuyi thought to herself that his former life must have been lived under tremendous pressure.

She quietly wondered if his constant vigilance—never being able to truly relax—stemmed from all this.

"By the way… can you read lips?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

At that moment, traffic ahead had ground to a halt, and a chorus of car horns blared around them. Huo Yan remained silent, focused on driving, as if he hadn’t heard her question over the noise.

Ning Shuyi, sensing his reluctance, didn’t press further. She didn’t believe for a second that Huo Yan, with his keen senses, hadn’t heard her. His silence spoke for itself: the question was too personal, and he wasn’t willing to be probed about his own affairs.

So, she didn’t insist. Instead, she turned her mind back to the scattered clues at hand, quietly organizing her thoughts as they drove.

They headed straight for W City Central Hospital. Trusting Huo Yan’s judgment completely, their destination was clear—cardiology.

By the time they arrived, it was nearly noon. Visiting hours were underway, so when they entered the cardiology ward, no one stopped or questioned them.

The aroma of food filled the corridor as staff delivered meals to each room. The smell made Ning Shuyi’s stomach grumble unexpectedly, startling her. She glanced around quickly.

Luckily, the corridor was empty—no one heard her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. As she looked around, she noticed an office by the window, its plaque visible. The outline of the characters matched perfectly with the background of Cai Xin’s selfie.

"Let’s go ask at the nurses’ station," Ning Shuyi said, gesturing for Huo Yan to follow. She took out her credentials and headed in that direction.