Accompanied by a loud bang, the luxury cruise ship suddenly rocked. Sitting on the sofa, Ling Chen and Zhu Xiaozhu were affected by the shaking, their bodies immediately leaning to one side.
Ling Chen was okay as he leaned backwards, but Zhu Xiaozhu, who was sitting opposite him, leaned forward, immediately losing her balance and lunging into Ling Chen’s arms.
Seeing this, Ling Chen, fearing that Zhu Xiaozhu might get hurt, didn’t dare to dodge and quickly opened his arms to embrace her. The fragrant and delicate body entered his arms, Zhu Xiaozhu’s soft chest happened to hit Ling Chen’s face.
Instantly, Ling Chen felt his face enveloped by two soft and full mounds, the faint fragrance caused his heart to flutter.
At this moment, the startled Zhu Xiaozhu came to her senses and saw the embarrassing posture between her and Ling Chen. Her pretty face instantly turned red, like the red glow on the horizon, radiantly beautiful.
Suppressing the shyness in her heart, Zhu Xiaozhu quickly moved backwards, freeing Ling Chen’s face from her bosom. However, just as she moved back, the ship shook again.
This time, the direction of the ship’s shaking was different, exactly opposite to before. As Zhu Xiaozhu moved backward, her feet slipped, and with a soft cry, she fell backward.
Seeing Zhu Xiaozhu’s head about to hit the corner of the rosewood sofa, Ling Chen panicked, without thinking too much, and reached out to encircle her slender waist. However, at this moment, Zhu Xiaozhu was off balance, her body almost tilted at a forty-degree angle, and even though Ling Chen embraced her, he couldn’t help her up.
In a flash, Ling Chen didn’t think twice, quickly holding Zhu Xiaozhu’s delicate body and turning, moving her above his own body.
Bang!
Protected by Ling Chen, Zhu Xiaozhu was safe, but Ling Chen’s back heavily hit the sofa, his waist exactly against the corner of the rosewood sofa.
This collision caused Ling Chen’s face to instantly change, his entire face almost twisted, intense pain emanating from his waist, his whole body seemingly numbed, unable to move.
Seeing Ling Chen’s pained expression, Zhu Xiaozhu was startled and quickly reached out to his arm, trying to pull him up.
"Don’t... don’t move..." Ling Chen immediately stopped Zhu Xiaozhu’s action.
After taking a few deep breaths, Ling Chen’s forehead began to sweat heavily. Once the pain slightly ebbed, with Zhu Xiaozhu’s help, Ling Chen slowly walked back to the sofa.
At this time, the ship was still rocking from side to side, but not as severely as before. Through the window, the thunderous sound of thunder and the torrential rain were clearly audible.
On the sea, a storm is a terrifying existence. If it weren’t for the sturdy construction of the luxury cruise ship to withstand the impact, it would probably have been flipped over by the waves.
"Ling Chen, is your injury severe?" In the room, Zhu Xiaozhu looked at Ling Chen with concern.
Ling Chen slightly lifted his lips, barely squeezing out a smile: "It’s nothing, just need to rest a bit."
Although he was saying it was nothing, he knew in his heart that the injury to his waist was very severe. He could only sit, fearing to walk around. He intentionally concealed his injury, to prevent Zhu Xiaozhu from feeling guilty.
However, being a doctor, Zhu Xiaozhu was deeply skilled in diagnosis; how could she fail to notice the severity of Ling Chen’s condition?
"I’ll take a look for you."
After saying that, disregarding Ling Chen’s refusal, Zhu Xiaozhu gently lifted Ling Chen’s outer garment, revealing his lower back. Suddenly, a palm-sized bruise was visible.
Seeing the injury on his body, Zhu Xiaozhu softly asked, "Does it hurt?"
Ling Chen grinned and said, "Not at all."
Hearing this, Zhu Xiaozhu gently pressed on the wound with her finger. Although Zhu Xiaozhu was very gentle, Ling Chen still gasped in pain, his body slightly trembling.
"So severe, yet you say it doesn’t hurt," Zhu Xiaozhu reproached him.
"It’s really fine, with my physical condition, a sleep will do," Ling Chen reassured.
"How could that be okay? I’ll treat your wound first, just wait." With that, Zhu Xiaozhu quickly ran into the bathroom. Soon after, she returned to Ling Chen’s side with a first aid kit from the guest room.
After about ten minutes, Ling Chen’s bruised waist was treated with ointment, and a cooling sensation through his skin significantly reduced the pain.
"Are you feeling better?" Zhu Xiaozhu looked up at Ling Chen and asked with concern.
"Much better, thank you."
"If it weren’t for trying to save me, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt, I should be the one thanking you. Alright, you should rest early, I will come again in the morning to help you change your bandages."
After sending Zhu Xiaozhu off, Ling Chen supported himself with the armrest of the sofa, slowly stood up, and then walked towards the bedroom.
However, just after taking two steps, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his spine, and his legs felt as if they had lost all sensation; his body immediately collapsed onto the floor.
This sudden mishap caused Ling Chen’s injured waist to be impacted again, the pain was so severe he almost crushed his teeth.
This is bad!
Ling Chen furrowed his brows, a sense of foreboding arose in his heart; the injury he suffered seemed to be more severe than he had anticipated, even normal walking had become so difficult.
In a couple of days, it will be the Heavenly Mechanism Great Ceremony, and he has to compete in martial arts with Yi Shuiyan. With his current condition, how can he fight against Yi Shuiyan? He probably can’t even make it onto the stage.
Meanwhile, his legs gradually began to regain sensation.
It’s okay, just need to sleep it off, Ling Chen comforted himself.
...
The next day.
After a night of stormy weather, the sky finally cleared up. A sliver of faint sunlight shone through the window, landing right on Ling Chen.
Thud thud thud!
"Ling Chen."
The sound of knocking accompanied by Wei Jiahao’s voice came from outside the door. Ling Chen, who was in deep sleep, immediately woke up. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and got ready to open the door. However, he discovered in horror that his lower body was completely unresponsive, numb. Except for his upper body, which could still move, nearly his whole body was limp on the bed.
How... how could this be? Ling Chen was terrified.
One night had passed, and instead of alleviating, his injury seemed to have worsened.
Thud thud thud!
The knocking continued.
Ling Chen tried several times, but his lower body continued to be unresponsive, as if paralyzed. Reluctantly, Ling Chen had to use the bedside telephone to call Qiu Yong’s room.
In less than two minutes, Qiu Yong and others, with the help of the staff, opened the door and entered.
"Ling Chen, what happened to you?"
Looking at Ling Chen who was confined to his bed, Qiu Yong asked.
Ling Chen smiled bitterly and said, "Big brother, it seems like my legs are ruined."
"What?"
Hearing this, everyone present was shocked, looking at him in disbelief.
Yuan Yun said solemnly, "Last night when we parted, you were fine, how did it turn into this so quickly?"
Ling Chen did not dare to conceal and recounted the event that happened in the room last night.