Volume One, Chapter 55: Possessed by a Spirit

"Sister, what do you mean by that?" Su Xiaohui froze for a moment. Could it be that the Song family's original nanny had returned?

"Didn't you write a letter to Aunt Wang asking her to come back? The Song family no longer needs me, so I can just return to the Huo family and focus on taking care of Commander Huo," Su Wan said, a smile blooming at the corners of her lips, her brows lifting with unmistakable joy.

"Did you see just now? I fed Commander Huo fish soup, and he didn't object at all. Because of all the negative rumors about me in the past, the Huo family doesn't like me. If I take this opportunity to take care of Commander Huo properly and help his wounds heal quickly, the Huo family will surely change their impression of me out of gratitude for my hard work. Who knows, they might even accept me."

Watching Su Xiaohui's face turn darker by the second, Su Wan continued excitedly, "Besides, Commander Huo is a man who draws a clear line between gratitude and resentment. When he misunderstood me at the train station, he immediately wrote a letter of self-criticism to apologize to me. Since I'm taking such good care of him this time, Commander Huo will definitely buy me a leather suitcase after being discharged, and perhaps give me money and ration tickets to buy pretty clothes and shoes, and even pocket money when I go back to school."

What? Commander Huo had previously written a letter of self-criticism for Su Wan?

Su Xiaohui's eyes widened in disbelief as she listened. She had spent quite a few cents on stamps and stationery, and gone to great lengths to ruin Su Wan's job, never expecting that it would instead give Su Wan an opportunity to shine in front of the Huo family and Commander Huo. Moreover, given Commander Huo's character, he was indeed capable of doing such things. Pretty clothes and shoes were precisely what she desired most.

Su Xiaohui was twisted with rage inside, but on the surface, she still feigned ignorance. "Sister, I don't understand what you're talking about. What letter? What Aunt Wang coming back? Does this mean you're moving back to live with the Huo family next month?"

Su Wan's smile grew even more radiant as she affectionately looped her arm around Su Xiaohui's, wearing the look of someone who knew the truth and was telling her to drop the act. "That's right! After returning to the Huo family, I'll spend my days focusing on making nutritious meals and stewing soups for Commander Huo, feeding him, and wiping his face. I won't even need to do housework; it'll be much easier than working at the Song family. And since Uncle Huo is such a kind person, he certainly won't let me take care of Commander Huo for nothing. He might give me monetary allowances and ration tickets. Grandmother Huo will see all of this with her own eyes and realize how hard I'm working, so she won't think I'm just living off the Huo family for free—she'll know I'm pulling my weight."

These last words were clearly a dig at Su Xiaohui. Although Su Xiaohui also helped with housework every day, the household already had a nanny, making her presence completely unnecessary. If anything, she only lightened Aunt Wu's burden.

Every single word Su Wan uttered struck right at Su Xiaohui's sore spot. Su Xiaohui's expression now looked as unpleasant as if she had swallowed a can of fermented herring. She was filled with such bitter hatred that she almost dug her fingernails into her own flesh, yet she had to force a smile on her face.

"Is... is that so? But doesn't Commander Huo already have someone he likes? Perhaps Commander Huo's fiancee will come to take care of him, and she won't need you to do it, Sister."

This was clearly supposed to be her golden opportunity to impress the Huo family, as well as the prime moment to spend time alone with Commander Huo and foster their relationship. She had never expected Su Wan to snatch it away from her. The hatred and fury burning in her heart were immense. Why did that Aunt Wang have to return neither early nor late, but precisely when Commander Huo was sick and hospitalized?

"Which bride-to-be rushes to a sickbed to take care of someone? Even if she wanted to, Commander Huo certainly wouldn't allow it." Su Wan sneered as she watched Su Xiaohui's expression teeter on the verge of collapse, delivering a final blow: "No matter what, you really timed this letter of yours so well."

With a smug and mocking arch of her brows, she turned and left.

Watching Su Wan's departing figure, Su Xiaohui clenched her fists tightly, her eyes filled with venomous malice as she nearly drove herself crazy with rage. However, with people constantly passing by the hospital, she had to suppress her emotions, rushing into an empty, secluded alley where she kicked the wall violently and screamed to vent her frustration. The usually docile and obedient face now looked distorted and terrifying.

Why did all the good things fall into Su Wan's lap? Whenever she wanted a job, she immediately found one. Whenever she wanted to take care of Commander Huo, Aunt Wang returned at this exact moment.

Her eyes brimbed with ruthlessness; she would never let Su Wan get her way.

With that thought, she began tearing at her own hair, slapping herself across the face several times with loud smacks, slamming her thighs and arms against the brick wall, and finally rolling around in the muddy ground for a few circles. Only then did she stand up and walk toward the Huo residence.

As for Su Wan, who should have been long gone, she had actually turned back the moment Su Xiaohui bolted into the empty alley. Hiding behind a wall, she had watched Su Xiaohui's entire performance with crystal clarity.

She knew Su Xiaohui's dark, twisted nature all too well. Of course she had no intention of going to the hospital to look after Huo Xiaohan; she had simply said it to provoke her.

Sure enough, after making herself look like this, Su Xiaohui was heading back to the Huo family to play the victim and elicit pity.

The original owner had suffered far too many losses at Su Xiaohui's hands, and her reputation had been ruined by these very tactics.

Su Wan curved her lips into a cold smile and returned to the military district hospital.

At that moment, Huo Hong had arrived at the hospital, carrying the soup and meals brewed by Aunt Wu. Xie Bailing was presumably still on the train, Huo Xiaohan was not yet married, and there were no sisters in the household. Although the authorities had assigned dedicated personnel to look after Huo Xiaohan, nothing could compare to the tender care of a family member. As Huo Xiaohan's paternal aunt, Huo Hong naturally took on the responsibility of accompanying him.

"Aunt Hong, you're here! Commander Huo just finished the fish soup I made and is resting in his ward," Su Wan said, standing at the hospital entrance. Before long, she spotted Huo Hong, walked up to her with a furrowed brow and a worried expression, as if she had something on her mind.

"Su Wan, you came to see Xiaohan too." Huo Hong had felt somewhat bothered before the surgery because she hadn't seen Su Wan around. But hearing this now, and noticing the thermos in Su Wan's hand, her heart softened. Seeing Su Wan's troubled and solemn expression, she asked in confusion, "Su Wan, what's the matter with you?"

"Aunt Hong, I don't know what's wrong with my sister. Ever since that nitrite incident, it feels like... has she suffered some kind of mental shock? Her behavior seems a bit abnormal." Su Wan bit her lip, her clear, limpid eyes filled with genuine anxiety.

"Just now, after my sister and I parted ways at the hospital, I suddenly heard a scream coming from a small alley. Curious, I ran over to take a look, and I saw my sister slapping herself, pulling her hair, and slamming herself against the wall, before finally lying down and rolling around in the mud. I was so terrified I didn't dare to go near her. But a moment later, my sister suddenly snapped out of it and walked home as if nothing had happened. Aunt Hong, could my sister be possessed, or run into something unclean? In our hometown dialect, we'd say a ghost took over her body."