Chapter 5

"Watch out!"

Seeing the hot soup flying towards him, Lucas instinctively pulled Riley into his arms to protect her.

Then he watched helplessly as a huge pot of scalding chicken broth poured all over him.

"Ahh!"

In an instant, Lucas was drenched in soup, his skin immediately turning bright red from the burns. The searing pain nearly made him pass out.

"Lucas!"

Riley pushed Lucas away, her eyes full of panic. "Don't be afraid, I'll take you to the hospital right away!"

He looked up at her, the pain spreading through his whole body. He used all his strength but couldn't say a word.

Then he looked at Tristan.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Xu. Are you alright? Riley, thank goodness Mr. Xu protected you."

Seeing Tristan's fake panic and the satisfaction hidden in his eyes, Lucas immediately realized what had happened and said shakily:

"You did that on purpose?"

Hearing this, Tristan was stunned for a moment, then tears started falling from the grown man's eyes. "Mr. Xu, what are you saying? How could I do that on purpose? I know you feel insecure and prejudiced against me. It's my fault for making you get burned!"

"But you can't slander me like this."

Seeing Tristan cry, Sophie resolutely stepped in front of him and angrily said:

"Lucas! That's enough! So what if you got a little burn? Why are you making such a big deal out of it? Tristan worked hard to cook for us, he's tired enough already! Besides..."

Sophie looked at Riley, whose eyes were now filled with doubt and anger, and raised her chin to continue, "Besides, my sister was right there. Even if Tristan wanted to hurt someone, he'd never hurt my sister, right?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the doubt in Riley's eyes instantly disappeared. She looked at Lucas with furrowed brows and said disappointedly,

"That's right, Lucas. Tristan wouldn't hurt anyone, least of all me. Please don't overthink things, okay?"

Hearing these words, Lucas felt countless emotions rushing to his head, tears welling up in his eyes.

Riley sighed, her voice becoming calm. "Lucas, let's go to the hospital, alright?"

Lucas knew that no matter what else he said, Riley wouldn't believe him now.

He was about to nod when-

"Oh no, Tristan, you're hurt so badly!" Sophie cried out.

Riley's attention immediately shifted. She rushed over to Tristan in a panic. His snow-white arm had some small blisters, looking quite "severe" indeed.

Tristan put his arm behind his back, shaking his head with red-rimmed eyes.

"I'm fine. Mr. Xu looks much worse. You should take him to the hospital first."

He had barely finished speaking when Riley turned back towards Lucas. Tristan immediately put on an agonized expression.

"Ah! Riley! My heart hurts so much. It must be the shock of Mr. Xu accusing me just now. Ah, Riley..."

Tristan collapsed, grabbing Riley's hand as she tried to support him. He gasped weakly, "Riley, am I dying? Will I never see you again?"

Sophie stomped her foot anxiously. "Sis! Tristan's heart condition is bad. Let's get him to the hospital quickly!"

"I-I'm fine..." Tristan continued gasping pitifully.

But this act undoubtedly made Riley's heart ache. She could no longer think about the disheveled Lucas. She helped Tristan up and headed for the door.

Just before leaving, she seemed to remember something and turned back to Lucas with a guilty look.

"Tristan's heart is weak. I'm afraid something might happen to him. The hospital isn't far from here."

"...Lucas, you can take a taxi to the hospital yourself."

It wasn't until their three figures had disappeared from view that Lucas came back to his senses, inhaling sharply through clenched teeth as he fought against the pain.

Seeing how severely he was injured yet left behind, the servants quickly ran over with painkillers and alcohol.

But Lucas's burns were too severe. Even after taking the painkillers, he still had to lean against the wall for support, enduring the pain as he slowly made his way towards the hospital.

With each step, he moved further and further away from the place he had called "home."