Chapter 211: Low Blood Sugar
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Xu Hao panicked and shouted, "Teacher! Qiao Yue has fainted!"
When Qiao Yu heard this, he quickly dropped everything and rushed over. He picked up Qiao Yue and ran to the school infirmary.
Everyone was still stunned, not knowing what had happened when Qiao Yu's figure had already disappeared out the window.
Xu Hao also stood up and ran out.
When Qiao Yu picked up Qiao Yue, he realized that Qiao Yue was very light. Although he wasn't as light as a feather, he definitely wasn't of a normal boy's weight.
Her eyes were tightly shut as she clutched her sleeves in pain.
Qiao Yu felt as if his heart had been punched, and it ached dully.
He put Qiao Yue down on the bed in the school doctor's office.
Qiao Yue opened her eyes slightly. "Where am I?"
"At the school doctor's office." Qiao Yu found a blanket and covered Qiao Yue with it. "Don't move, I'll go find the school doctor."
"No need, fourth brother." Qiao Yue's voice sounded weak, but her rejection was firm. "I have low blood sugar because I haven't eaten in a while. You can just get someone to buy me some food."
"But you fainted." Qiao Yu frowned.
Qiao Yue shook her head. If the school doctor examined her, her real gender would be exposed. She must persuade Qiao Yu to not help her find the school doctor.
"I'm fine. I was like this when I was at Nanshan Village. Don't go find the school doctor. I don't want any injection or medicine." Qiao Yue's face was sullen, and her tone was a little coquettish.
Qiao Yu sighed. He was worried about Qiao Yue, but since Qiao Yue had said that, he couldn't go against his wishes.
"Alright, I'll get you something to eat. You stay here. If the school doctor comes, you can ask her to prescribe you some medicine."
With that, Qiao Yu left.
Qiao Yue heaved a sigh of relief. She thought for a moment that Qiao Yu would learn her secret today.
She checked her own pulse. There seemed to be nothing wrong with her, except low blood sugar. However, she had been injured a while ago and she didn't know if there were any after-effects.
Forget it. She'd go to Yayi and have Zhou Lan examine her.
Qiao Yu came back quickly and placed a bag of bread in front of Qiao Yue. "Eat up. I've bought all the bread I can find in school."
Qiao Yue smiled. "Thank you, fourth brother." Qiao Yue then opened the package and started eating.
Qiao Yu looked at Qiao Yue. He had many questions but didn't know how to ask them.
When he carried Qiao Yue just now, he had a strange feeling. There was a faint fragrance on Qiao Yue, and his body seemed soft. Qiao Yue didn't feel like a boy.
Moreover, Qiao Yue's refusal to see the doctor made him even more suspicious. A bold idea emerged in his mind.
Could Qiao Yue be a girl?
His eyes swept across Qiao Yue's face. He had delicate but somewhat ruffian-like facial features, a slightly angular face and soft hair.
He looked no different from any other boy, except for his slightly smaller frame.
Qiao Yu frowned. He seemed to have developed feelings that he shouldn't have for this younger brother of his.
He turned his head away from Qiao Yue to calm himself down.
"How's the fixing of the school forum going? I was busy playing games and didn't pay attention." Qiao Yue asked casually.
Qiao Yu said, "We were getting errors about insufficient memory and disk space at first. I don't know which line of code cleared it all up in an instant. Also, someone seems to have injected a virus in St. Faustina's school forum. Now, they are the ones who are pissed."
Qiao Yue nodded. "Is this how the hacking competition between Harvey and St. Faustina's is? It doesn't look that difficult."
Qiao Yu rapped Qiao Yue on the head. "Of course not. There'll be a face-to-face competition later, but the teachers will set the questions and organize a hackathon."
Qiao Yue knew about hackathons although she had never participated in one before. YQ was a famous hackathon champion in D-Country.
She wondered if the person who hacked their school forum would appear at the hackathon later.
"But all computer science students must participate in the hackathon. You might even be able to get a good ranking!"
Qiao Yue shook her head. She didn't really want to take part in the hacking competition. She didn't want to stand out too much at Harvey. She was just a little curious about the person who created the program.
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Chapter 212: Follow-Up
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Qiao Yue felt fine when she arrived at home, so she went to see the old master first.
The old master looked well today. When Qiao Yue got home, he was sitting in his bedroom, receiving treatment from Lu Ying.
Although Old Master Qiao was almost fully recovered, to avoid having others in the family tamper with his health, Qiao Yue specially asked Lu Ying to come over every half a month to see if the same poison was still present in the old master's system.
When Qiao Yue entered, Lu Ying had just finished putting away his acupuncture needles.
"Xiao Yue, Lu Ying said that the medicinal cuisine you arranged for me is very good. My health has improved since he last saw me."
Lu Ying looked at Qiao Yue and nodded. The two of them exchanged a look.
"Old Master Qiao's in good health now. For his future medicinal dishes, you don't need to put too many nourishing herbs. Milder herbs will do." Lu Ying continued as he looked at the old master, "Old Master Qiao should be feeling fitter now. You asked me last time when you could do mental work and I think you are ready now. Just don't strain yourself."
Old Master Qiao smiled. "I'm old. These children can make decisions for me. I don't have to do any mental work anymore."
Looking at Old Master Qiao, Qiao Yue also smiled.
She had deliberately set aside these two years in hope of spending more time with her grandfather. Now, not only could she spend more time with him, but his health had also improved.
"Alright, Dr. Lu, I've asked the butler to prepare a meal for you. Please go and enjoy it now."
The old master probably had something say to Qiao Yue alone. Lu Ying understood his intent and left after saying goodbye.
After Lu Ying left, Qiao Yue sat down in front of her grandfather.
"Xiao Yue, how's school been?"
"Not too bad. I've improved in the last exam. I still have to thank fourth brother for tutoring me."
Old Master Qiao nodded. "I asked Qiao Jing last time to find you some work at the company. Has he found you anything?"
Qiao Yue nodded. "I still have school these days. I'm afraid I can only go during the winter break."
The old master had no objections. "Sure, just go with Qiao Jing's plan."
"Grandpa, I'm actually not very interested in the company. I would like to know why you want me to work there."
The old master sighed. "You're a smart kid. You should know our family's current situation."
Qiao Yue indeed knew a lot, but she dared not tell Old Master Qiao everything. After all, she didn't know how much Old Master Qiao knew about Qiao Yi and Qiao Li's doing.
The old master coughed. "My good-for-nothing children.... It's still fine if they lost money in their businesses but some of them have lost the Qiao family reputation."
Old Master Qiao shook his head.
"You mean..." Qiao Yue probed carefully.
"Your second uncle! I know all about his shady businesses and his relationship with Mahad."
Qiao Yue lowered her head. She didn't know that the old master knew so much.
"You and Qiao Jing are the children I can count on. I've thought about it. This family will eventually be handed over to you two."
Qiao Yue raised her head and looked at Old Master Qiao in disbelief. "Grandpa, I'm actually..."
Old Master Qiao shook his head. "Although Qiao Qing is our adopted daughter, she's more accomplished than her brothers. I've built such a big family business, not to have it squandered away by those unfilial children!"
"But first brother, second brother, and the others..." Qiao Yue asked.
"Qiao Xuan is obsessed with medicine, Qiao Ze has his ambitions, and Qiao Yu thinks too much. So, that leaves me with you and Qiao Jiang..." Old Master Qiao shook his head and sighed. "You must not disappoint me."
Qiao Yue could feel the burden on her shoulders become heavier. She never expected the old master to have such high hopes for her.
She thought that she was only here to be a catfish so that the Qiao grandchildren could become better.
Looking at Old Master Qiao's aged face, Qiao Yue couldn't bear to disappoint him, so she agreed. "I won't let you down, Grandpa."
Old Master Qiao patted her shoulder in satisfaction. "Alright, I would like to lie down for a while. You may go now."
Qiao Yue nodded and left the room.
She still had something to discuss with Lu Ying, so she went downstairs.
From a dark corner, a middle-aged man slowly walked out. He gritted his teeth as he watched Qiao Yue walk away.
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Chapter 213: Poisoned
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Lu Ying was eating at the dining table in the living room. Qiao Yue sat down opposite him.
Lu Ying quickly pulled the food towards himself. "These are all mine. Don't snatch my food. One phone call from you and I came here without lunch, and now you're not letting me eat."
Qiao Yue smiled and said, "There's no hurry. I still have trouble you with something else today."
"What is it?"
"We'll talk after you finish."
Lu Ying lowered his head and ate two mouthfuls of rice. Finally, he couldn't stand Qiao Yue watch him eat from across the table and put down his chopsticks.
"Why don't you tell me first. I can't eat in peace with you watching me like this."
"I think I'm sick but I don't know what's wrong with me. If you can, please take a look for me?"
Lu Ying raised his eyebrows. "You are testing me, right? Do you think I don't know your standards and you're asking me for help?"
"I can't see the problem this time. Maybe it's because I'm the patient. Doctors can't treat themselves. It's not like you don't understand this principle."
Lu Ying nodded.
Qiao Yue sat next to Lu Ying and let him check her pulse.
Lu Ying put his fingers on Qiao Yue's wrist. He didn't feel anything extraordinary.
"Other than a little spleen deficiency, there's no big problem. You're so busy, so it's normal to have a little spleen deficiency." Lu Ying frowned. "Are there other symptoms recently?"
"When I was in Nanshan Village, I always felt tired. I felt the same way when I first came to the Qiao family. The fatigue subsided for a while, but it seems to have returned lately." Qiao Yue replied.
Lu Ying frowned. "It sounds like you've been poisoned, but I don't know what with."
Qiao Yue also frowned. The pharmaceutical market was constantly evolving. Different poisons were being developed every day. In this aspect, Lu Ying knew more than she did.
"How about this? I'll try to detoxify you with acupuncture first to see if it works. If not, I may need to take some blood for testing."
Qiao Yue nodded. This was a good idea.
Qiao Yue brought Lu Ying back to her room.
Lu Ying used the most traditional detoxification method. He inserted needles into several important acupoints. If the needles turned black, it meant that Qiao Yue had been poisoned. Although this was a traditional method, it could detect most poisons.
Qiao Yue closed her eyes as she waited to be poked.
Fine needles pierced into her skin, and blood seeped out. Qiao Yue didn't feel any pain. Instead, she felt relieved.
Half an hour later, Lu Ying removed the needles. Only one needle turned slightly black, the rest of the needles had no reaction.
The acupoint where the black needle was put was one responsible for the central nervous system. Qiao Yue frowned as she looked at it.
Whoever poisoned her had used poison to attack her central nervous system.
"You're right." Lu Ying sighed, "What kind of lion's den is this? I'm starting to worry about your safety if you stay here."
Qiao Yue shook her head and smiled. "You don't have to worry too much. I'll be more careful in future."
Lu Ying drew a vial of blood from Qiao Yue. "The toxins still need to be removed. It's not good to have it in the system for too long. I'll take this blood back and study it."
Qiao Yue nodded in agreement.
Qiao Yue walked Lu Ying out of her room. As soon as they stepped out, they ran into Qiao Jing, who seemed to have come out of the old master's room.
"Good evening, second brother. I'm not feeling well, so I asked Lu Ying to take a look."
Qiao Jing nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Lu. Grandpa just told me that you are a brilliant doctor. Thank you for taking the trouble."
Lu Ying bowed slightly and went downstairs first. Qiao Yue was about to go down to see Lu Ying off when Qiao Jing suddenly called out to her.
"What's the matter?" Qiao Yue asked.
"Come to my study. I have something to give you."
Qiao Yue followed Qiao Jing to his study and Qiao Jing dropped a stack of documents in front of her.
Qiao Yue looked at the documents. Most of them were about the Qiao family business operations. "What's the matter? Do you plan to share your position as the head of the Qiao family with me?" Qiao Yue teased.
Qiao Jing smiled. "You'll be doing an internship at Qiao Corporation during your winter break. You'll need to familiarize yourself with these beforehand."
"Don't these involve trade secrets? Am I allowed to see?" Qiao Yue teased.
"Of course you can. You're a member of the Qiao family. This is also Grandpa's request."
When Qiao Yue heard this, she suddenly thought of something. "Second brother, will you be mad if I fight with you for the family inheritance?"
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Chapter 214: Falling Ill
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Qiao Jing was stunned. "We are both members of the Qiao family, why should we fight over it?"
Qiao Yue wasn't interested in the Qiao family assets, but from what Old Master Qiao said, the Qiao family wasn't as clean as she thought.
However, Qiao Yue didn't want to see the Qiao family reputation tainted because of those unsavory people.
If her mother was alive, she would not want this to happen either.
"I know what you're worried about," Qiao Jing said. "Although I can't fully control the Qiao family yet, I won't let those people mess us up."
Qiao Jing could tell what she was worried about.
"That's one of the reasons I would like you to join the company earlier. I know that you are on my side, right?"
Qiao Yue was stunned. She didn't expect Qiao Jing to know so much, but since he was able to find out about her relationship with KA, it wouldn't be difficult for him to find out what Qiao Yi and Qiao Li were up to.
Why hadn't he dealt with them yet? Perhaps it wasn't the right time yet, or perhaps it was because they were family.
"What if I want to deal with the other members of the Qiao family? Will you stop me?"
Qiao Jing's eyes darkened. "We might be after the same people."
Qiao Yue nodded and smiled. "Then, let's work together."
Qiao Jing ruffled her hair. "Other than this, why did you ask Lu Ying to examine you?"
"No, I didn't," Qiao Yue subconsciously hid her arms behind her back.
Lu Ying had just given her acupuncture, so there were still needle marks and band-aids on her arms.
Qiao Jing caught her hiding her arms and pull them from behind her back.
"I didn't." Qiao Yue subconsciously retracted her arms, but she wasn't as strong as Qiao Jing, so he still held them.
"Then what is this?" Qiao Jing held one of her wrists and rubbed the band-aid on her arm with his other hand.
"Don't tell me that you accidentally hurt yourself." Qiao Jing inched closer to her and looked into her eyes. "No?"
Qiao Yue retracted her arm. "I've been feeling sleepy all the time lately, so I asked Lu Ying to take a look."
Qiao Jing's eyes darkened. "What's the matter? Are you exhausted from preparing for the exams?"
He had been paying attention to Qiao Yue in the past two days. Although she was studying hard, she didn't wake up early or burn the midnight oil.
Qiao Yue shook her head.
Qiao Jing immediately understood. "I'll ask them to check if there's anything wrong with your food."
Qiao Jing was smart enough to notice that her sleepiness was abnormal.
"When did it start?" Qiao Jing asked.
"When I was at Nanshan Village, and then in the past two days. I was fine during the time in between."
Qiao Jing's brows furrowed even more. He had his suspicions but he couldn't tell Qiao Yue. There was indeed a big problem within the Qiao family.
Someone had been playing games under his nose and harm had reached Qiao Yue. He would not tolerate any of it.
"I'll find out. No one can touch you."
Qiao Jing was still holding and caressing Qiao Yue's wrist.
His touch felt warm, and it made her a little dizzy.
Qiao Yue sighed and looked up again. She met Qiao Jing's eyes and asked, "Second brother, will you protect me?"
Qiao Jing was stumped by the question.
"Qiao Jing, will you protect me?" Qiao Yue repeated.
Qiao Jing nodded, but something in his eyes changed. "I will protect you, always."
Qiao Yue took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Someone must have drugged me, but I don't know who it is. The symptoms are very similar to Grandpa's. If I'm not wrong, Grandpa must have felt sleepy all the time before he fell ill and became unconscious."
Qiao Yue's words triggered something in Qiao Jing. He frowned. "The old master was drugged?"
Qiao Yue nodded.
Qiao Jing finally understood why Qiao Yue had asked that question.
"Tell me what you know, I'll look into it."
Qiao Yue told Qiao Jing all the details she knew about the old master's illness.
Qiao Jing's brows furrowed even more as he listened.
The old master had fallen ill at home back then, which meant that if he had been drugged, the culprit lived under their roof.
Qiao Yue knew that if the culprit found out that they knew that the old master had been drugged, Qiao Yue's safety would be under threat.
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Chapter 215: Provocation
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
And that was why Qiao Yue had asked him if he would protect her.
Qiao Jing nodded. "I'll look into it."
Qiao Yue looked at Qiao Jing. She didn't know why, but she felt a sense of calm that she had never felt before.
Since she came to the Qiao family, she felt a sense of security that she had never experienced before. There were people here who treated her as family.
But her feelings for Qiao Jing seemed to be a little different.
Lately, she had been asking him questions that she thought she would never ask.
The two of them chatted for a while more before they returned to their respective rooms.
After Lu Ying's treatment, Qiao Yue felt more alert. She turned on her laptop and began to study the code that St. Faustina's used to invade their school forum.
If she guessed right, St. Faustina's would cause more trouble before the hackathon. She must think of a way to deal with them beforehand.
Harvey had been celebrating its 100th anniversary for the past two days and Friday would be the anniversary party.
Every class would perform at the anniversary party and after that, friendly competitions with students from invited schools would take place. The winning class would be rewarded.
So, lessons were completely optional in the past two days. Students who would be taking part in the hackathon were busy studying. Students who would be performing were busy rehearsing.
Hong Ning and Xu Hao were responsible for Qiao Yue's class performance. They have chosen a few girls to dance on stage.
Hong Ning had been studying dance for many years and was good at various types of dance. She was also a good choreographer and teacher.
On the way to the library, Qiao Yue passed by a few rehearsal studios, which were all used by students for their rehearsals. Qiao Xin was standing at the door of the studio at the end, blocking Qiao Yue's classmates from entering.
Hong Ning was standing at the door and arguing with Qiao Xin.
"We have reserved this studio online in advance a few days ago. What right do you have to use it now?"
As Hong Ning said this, she shielded her classmates behind her like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
Qiao Xin stood on the door sill with her arms crossed. Upon closer inspection, there were a few burly men standing in the studio behind her. They were all wearing t-shirts with the logo of AT Company.
"So what if you've reserved it online? I'm in a hurry to rehearse my performance. Don't you know who I am?" Qiao Xin rolled her eyes so hard that she could see her brain.
"I don't care who you are. Do you understand the first come, first served principle?"
Hong Ning pushed Qiao Xin away and walk into the studio.
"Let me tell you. I've already signed a contract with AT Company from D-Country. I'll be a big star in future. If you provoke me now, I'll make sure you'll bear the consequences!"
Qiao Xin then shoved Hong Ning so hard that she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
"So what if you've signed a contract? You haven't even made your debut yet. There are so many others who have signed contracts to become trainees but never made their debuts." Hong Ning mocked as he stood up and patted the dust off her body.
"You're a nobody. Why are you fighting with me?" Qiao Xin cursed in exasperation.
Hong Ning's words weren't unreasonable. Nowadays, there were many shady entertainment companies that signed artistes but never let them make their debuts. The companies would keep delaying their debuts just so that the artistes would proactively terminate their contracts and pay the penalty.
When Qiao Yue was in the entertainment industry, she had paid special attention to such a phenomenon, so she had specifically asked the entertainment companies under KA to avoid such unscrupulous means to make money.
With Qiao Xin's talent, she might not make her debut even if she had signed with a talent agency. As for AT Company, they had other motives. Even if Qiao Xin eventually made her debut, their motives weren't pure.
"Even if you come from a prominent family, you shouldn't bully people like this." Hong Ning put her hands on her waist and was about to push Qiao Xin again.
Qiao Yue knew a little about Hong Ning.
Hong Ning came from an ordinary family. She was a dancer, and because she was good at dancing and had good grades, she was accepted by Harvey as an exception.
Although many children from prominent families attended Harvey, not many were like Qiao Xin. Most people respected people like Hong Ning who had real talent and ability.
"If you continue to make trouble for me, be careful that I'll get the Qiao family to find trouble with you!" Qiao Xin shouted and pushed Hong Ning away.
Qiao Yue walked over and supported Hong Ning.
She looked at Qiao Xin and said with a frown, "If you take pleasure in bullying your classmates, the Qiao family will not back you up."
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