But the truth is clearly not so. His body was indeed strengthened, but he did not become a big-bellied man as a result.
Therefore, even if he eats and drinks his fill, the speed at which his body strengthens may not necessarily increase further.
Indeed, this was the case. After Zhou Ziwei finished eating and rested for a while, he got up and practiced Niu-style Tai Chi again. He found that this time his soul power was consumed even less, so little that it was hard to feel. Only after he returned all the soul power scattered throughout his body to his sea of souls could he count the approximate amount consumed.
This level of consumption is basically the same as the rate at which he absorbs his soul power when he sits quietly in meditation after dispersing it throughout his body.
Zhou Ziwei estimated that the effect of strengthening the body should not have much to do with whether or not he eats. Although the soul power was consumed very little, a small portion was still absorbed by the body. That means that the super-fast strengthening speed was probably because his body was too weak before, so he absorbed so much of it at once and strengthened it a lot in a short period of time.
Now that his physique has been enhanced to the level of an ordinary person, further strengthening will naturally slow down his speed.
In any case, as long as this enhancement effect persists, even if it's slow, he will eventually become stronger and stronger, so there's no need to rush it.
Thinking about it this way, Zhou Ziwei became more at ease. After all, being able to quickly become strong without the self-torturing training of athletes was something that ordinary people could only dream of. If he was still not satisfied, he would be struck by lightning. If he really became as strong as a sumo wrestler overnight using this method, it probably wouldn't be a good thing.
After all that, it was almost noon. Zhou Ziwei's body had just been strengthened, and all the fatigue from the night had vanished. Not to mention his spirit, he had absorbed 1,500 units of remnant soul energy overnight. Such a powerful and special energy, which symbolized life force, filled his sea of souls. It would be strange if he were to be mentally exhausted!
Li Yifeng didn't return all night, and there's still no sign of him at this hour.
No one knew where he'd run off to. Because of Liu Xiaofei's kidnapping just a couple of days ago, Zhou Ziwei was somewhat worried, so he called Li Yifeng. The phone rang for over half a minute, until Zhou Ziwei was almost frantic with worry, before the guy finally answered leisurely. He said he was currently in a scenic spot in the suburbs, lying in a luxurious RV, sleeping soundly with his little sister in his arms… and he blamed Zhou Ziwei for disturbing his sweet dreams… He said that once their jadeite rough stone exchange opened in a few days, he'd be surrounded by piles of valuable stones every day, and he probably wouldn't feel at ease leaving them even for a short while. He feared he'd never have the chance to be as carefree as he was now, so he had to seize the time to indulge himself.
Hearing this, Zhou Ziwei could only smile wryly. However, thinking that Li Yifeng's words made sense, he stopped paying attention to what Li Yifeng was doing. As long as nothing bad happened to him, that was fine.
After thinking for a while, he asked Li Yifeng to give him his bank card number so that he could deposit one million yuan into it later for Li Yifeng to use as funds for picking up girls.
These days, how can you pick up girls without money? Even though that guy drives a flashy Mercedes RV that makes everyone envious, if he takes a girl for a drive and then just runs to a roadside stall to buy two ten-yuan boxed lunches and eats them squatting on the side of the road... that difference is just too unacceptable.
Li Yifeng was silent for a moment after hearing this, then simply said "OK" and hung up the phone.
Sometimes saying "thank you" between brothers can hurt feelings. Anyway, Li Yifeng knew this in his heart. He knew that he had met a good brother who was definitely a true friend to him. Naturally, he would not let Zhou Ziwei down. There was no point in saying more thanks. As long as he worked hard to protect Zhou Ziwei's business here in the future, he would have a clear conscience.
Just after hanging up with Li Yifeng, Zhou Ziwei's phone rang again. It turned out to be Liu Xiaofei calling. She was using Gu Dongfeng's phone to make the call. Presumably, she was blind and couldn't make the call herself, so Gu Dongfeng must have called for her!
Thinking that there might be others with Liu Xiaofei, Zhou Ziwei was very careful and polite in his speech, calling her Officer Liu repeatedly, positioning himself as a good citizen, so as not to be overheard by Liu Xiaofei's father and make him think that he was flirting with his daughter.
"Please stop calling me Officer Liu, okay? Is our relationship really only... only this kind of cold, distant one...?"
Hearing Zhou Ziwei's harsh tone, Liu Xiaofei finally couldn't help but cry.
After hearing Zhou Ziwei's explanation yesterday, and realizing that his appearance of being covered in blood and risking his life to save her was all fake... she was genuinely happy, happy that the person she loved was neither dead nor injured, and could still stand healthy in front of her.
But she was also really disappointed, disappointed that everything that had moved her was not real or perfect.
However, she concealed her disappointment well at the time and did not show it.
Afterwards, Liu Xiaofei thought about it for a long time and felt that she was really too foolish and focused too much on superficial things.
I guess I read too many dramatic love stories in the past, which is why I have such an idealized view of love.
Although it's true that Zhou Ziwei's limbs were broken, it's undeniable that he risked his life to save her, and it's also undeniable that he braved a hail of bullets. Even though Zhou Ziwei ultimately survived unharmed, that only proves that he is a capable man.
If he hadn't been brave and resourceful, or had just been a little unlucky... he might very well have been killed by those bandits' bullets.
If Zhou Ziwei really did what he said... that he only risked fighting the bandits because they were after him and he was just trying to solve his own problems, then that's even more impossible.
If Zhou Ziwei were truly just a selfish man who only cared about himself and disregarded others, he wouldn't have needed to risk his life alone at all. Making a phone call to the police would have been a normal reaction.
In that case, Liu Xiaofei would certainly die, but Zhou Ziwei would no longer be in any danger.
However, Zhou Ziwei did not do that, which shows that Zhou Ziwei still cares about Liu Xiaofei.
After Liu Xiaofei heard Gu Dongfeng describe how Zhou Ziwei miraculously removed the time bomb from her body at the risk of being blown up together, she became even more determined in her beliefs.
She knew that whether she liked it or not, Zhou Ziwei's image was deeply etched into her heart and could never be erased in this lifetime.
Or she could choose to leave Zhou Ziwei far behind and eventually, like most girls, marry a man who treats her well but whom she doesn't love... But at least for now, she can't do that... So she took the initiative to call Zhou Ziwei...
Hearing Liu Xiaofei's cries, Zhou Ziwei felt a sudden pang of pain in his heart. Although he had lived two lives, he had only experienced one failed relationship, which made him somewhat distrustful of love and instinctively resistant to it.
And to be honest, from the beginning until that night when Liu Xiaofei was kidnapped by the bandits, Zhou Ziwei didn't have any special feelings for Liu Xiaofei.
But Liu Xiaofei's feelings for him felt very real; a girl could cry her heart out for you... Although it might just be a misunderstanding, Zhou Ziwei didn't know if he would ever meet a girl like that again in his life, so he felt conflicted.
Having lived two lives and suffered severe setbacks in love, he no longer dared to make any promises to anyone easily. So, faced with Liu Xiaofei's tears, he didn't know what to do and could only remain silent...
“Zhou Ziwei… I don’t know if you like me or not, but I know… I’ll be very unhappy without you in this life, so… I don’t care if you have a wife or not, I’m going to stick with you for the rest of my life. Of course… the premise is that my eyes still have a chance to recover, because I don’t want to be a burden to you, so… I hope you can really cure me, so… I can happily cling to you, hehe… You’ll have to earn more money to support me then… I’ve heard that not many mistresses have to work and earn money themselves… Oh… if I were your secretary, that would be fine… It’s better than having those vixens clinging to you… Yes… it’s settled then… You must ask me to be your secretary then… hehe…”
Liu Xiaofei talked for a long time, laughing and crying, and then hung up the phone without waiting for Zhou Ziwei's reply, leaving Zhou Ziwei speechless for a long time.
When the time he had agreed with Liu Haiyang arrived that evening, Zhou Ziwei still drove to the hospital. Although he was a little unsure how to treat Liu Xiaofei, he had to cure her eyes no matter what, even if it meant getting into a lot of trouble. He couldn't let Liu Xiaofei live in darkness forever.
As soon as the car stopped at the hospital entrance, Zhou Ziwei saw Liu Haiyang standing there anxiously looking around. Seeing that there was already a strand of white hair at Liu Haiyang's hairline after only one night, Zhou Ziwei felt a little guilty.
He could have cured Liu Xiaofei's eyes yesterday, but because he didn't want to stand out too much, he delayed it for another day. He never expected that this would make Uncle Liu so anxious.
Seeing Zhou Ziwei get out of the car, Liu Haiyang breathed a sigh of relief, went up to him, smiled and patted Zhou Ziwei on the shoulder, saying, "My niece and her friend had something come up and left Tengchong. Xiaofei's mother, Mr. Gu, and I had arranged to visit him. Hehe... We've been relatives for so many years, but we haven't seen each other much in recent years. We need to catch up properly. If we drink too much, we might end up sleeping at his place. So, I'll have to trouble you to take care of Xiaofei for the night... Oh... As for the hospital, don't worry. Director Zhao already instructed that no one will disturb you tonight... Sigh... I already know what Xiaofei is thinking... You young people's affairs... I... I don't want to say anything more. Anyway, there's nothing I can do about it. I just hope you... can be kind to Xiaofei and try not to let her suffer. That's all I ask of you as her father..."
Volume 1 The Rebirth of a Prodigy Chapter 142 Nature
Upon hearing Liu Haiyang's words, Zhou Ziwei knew that when Liu Xiaofei made the phone call at noon, even if Liu Haiyang wasn't there with her, he must have overheard everything outside the door.
Otherwise, why did Liu Haiyang say yesterday that he would stand guard outside the door while Zhou Ziwei treated her daughter, and now he's talking about visiting Gu Dongfeng?
Of course... it's also possible that Liu Xiaofei deliberately wanted him to hear it. Otherwise, Liu Xiaofei is an elite graduate of a police academy. If she really didn't want to be overheard, she would surely have found a way to avoid it!
Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry. If any father knew that his daughter wanted to be another man's mistress, probably very few people could face it calmly! Even those greedy and greedy people would not feel good about it, let alone Liu Haiyang, a middle school teacher who is a role model for others.
Seeing the desolation and pain in Liu Haiyang's eyes, Zhou Ziwei didn't discourage him further or make any promises. He simply nodded slightly, then brushed past Liu Haiyang and walked into the hospital...
Zhou Ziwei went upstairs to Liu Xiaofei's room, where he saw Liu Xiaofei's mother helping Liu Xiaofei comb her hair.
Liu Xiaofei had clearly put a lot of effort into her appearance. Although she was still wearing the same uniform hospital gown, her hair had just been washed, and she smelled of shower gel. She had applied some moisturizing cosmetics to her face, and her sexy lips were adorned with rose-colored lipstick.
If it weren't for the thick bandage wrapped around her eyes, she wouldn't look like a patient at all, but more like a young girl getting ready to go out on a date with her boyfriend.
When Liu Xiaofei's mother heard the door open, her hand trembled slightly, and the comb fell to the ground. She slowly turned around and saw Zhou Ziwei standing at the door. A complicated expression appeared on her face. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then hesitated and stopped. In the end, she just shook her head gently, picked up a small bag and slung it over her arm. She said to Zhou Ziwei, "Treat her well," and then went out.
Zhou Ziwei finally broke down from the couple's behavior. Seeing this, he couldn't help but cough lightly and say, "Auntie... I heard that you and Uncle Liu are going to visit Mr. Gu's house?"
Liu Xiaofei's mother paused, turned around, glanced at Liu Xiaofei's joyful face, frowned and nodded slightly, saying, "Yes...we might stay at his place until very late, or...we might even stay at his house tonight, so...we're leaving Xiaofei in your care."
Zhou Ziwei gently shook his head and said, "Now that Officer Liu... oh, now that Xiaofei is like this, I'm sure you won't feel at ease when you go to visit her. Why don't you... wait a little while until I finish treating Xiaofei, and if her eyes can recover, then you can take her with you when you go to visit her? Wouldn't that be better?"
"Ah... what did you say?"
Liu Xiaofei's mother was taken aback and said, "Didn't you say before...didn't you say that even if you could cure her, she would need...a whole night?"
Zhou Ziwei chuckled wryly and rubbed his nose, saying, "That's because Uncle Liu has a bit of a prejudice against me, that's why I said that on purpose... Actually, I'm not going to perform surgery on Xiaofei, it's just a qigong massage, why would it take all night? Hmm... Whether it's successful or not, half an hour should be enough. Why don't you and Uncle Liu go for a stroll outside first, and come back here in half an hour? Then you'll know the result. That's much better than you going to visit Mr. Gu's house in a state of anxiety, isn't it?"
"Really...you're telling the truth?"
Liu Xiaofei's mother was overjoyed. After hearing Liu Haiyang's arrangements, she had been quite uneasy, always worried that her daughter would suffer for nothing and that her eyes might not even be cured in the end, which would be a huge loss.
For the sake of her daughter's eyes, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, and since her daughter was also deeply in love with Zhou Ziwei, she had no choice but to reluctantly nod in agreement. After all, in Liu Xiaofei's current condition, even ophthalmologists all over the world probably couldn't guarantee a cure. Since Zhou Ziwei said there was some hope, and even the usually stubborn Liu Haiyang believed Zhou Ziwei's words, she, as a mother, naturally didn't want to give up this opportunity.
However, to Liu Xiaofei's mother's surprise, just when she was ready to be a cheap mother-in-law or even a cheap grandmother, Zhou Ziwei said such a thing. Instantly, her impression of Zhou Ziwei improved several levels.
She naturally knew her lover's temper and knew that, as Zhou Ziwei said, Liu Haiyang was just bad at speaking and had angered Zhou Ziwei, which was why Zhou Ziwei said those things on purpose. In reality, he was not the kind of person who would take advantage of someone's misfortune.
Now she was worried that Zhou Ziwei, to avoid suspicion, wouldn't want to spend too much time alone with Liu Xiaofei and would give her a perfunctory treatment. So she quickly said, "Oh dear... it's all that old man's fault, he just talks nonsense with his foul mouth... Mr. Zhou, you mustn't take him seriously... How about this... let's go out for a walk first, you don't necessarily have to take half an hour... even three hours, five hours... as long as it can cure my Xiaofei, it doesn't matter how long it takes. We trust you..."
Zhou Ziwei smiled upon hearing this and said, "Auntie, what I said earlier was true... Half an hour should be enough. Didn't Uncle Liu mention it to you? Yesterday, when I was demonstrating for Uncle Liu, I only massaged him for a few minutes and I was already exhausted. Because qigong massage is very troublesome... Xiaofei's situation is a bit special, so it might take a little longer, but it won't exceed half an hour. Massaging her for three to five hours is completely impossible..."
"Oh...I see..."
Liu Xiaofei's mother smiled sheepishly and said, "Then...you can do whatever you want! Lao Liu and I will come back in half an hour to check. If you're done here, just open the door to the ward, and we'll know. If you're not done yet, we promise we won't bother you. Hmm...it's settled then...Xiaofei, you must cooperate well with Mr. Zhou!"
After Liu Xiaofei's mother finished speaking, she hurriedly ran out with her bag to report the news to Liu Haiyang.
After Liu Xiaofei's mother left, Zhou Ziwei went over, closed the door, and locked it before returning to the bedside. He found that Liu Xiaofei, who had been cheerful, now had a resentful expression on her face.
"Why did you tell them to come back so soon?" Liu Xiaofei asked, pouting.
Zhou Ziwei said, "In fact, my treatment for you won't take long at all, half an hour will be enough!"
"I know half an hour is enough, but didn't you say you wanted the whole night? Don't you... don't you want to stay here with me tonight?"
Zhou Ziwei was speechless...
“I know you like me…” Liu Xiaofei bit her lip and said, “At least you like my body… that can’t be fake, right? Humph… don’t try to deny it. That time… when I was electrocuted by the water heater, your heart was beating so fast when you were massaging my chest… I heard it all.”
Zhou Ziwei was speechless... Then, without saying a word, he immediately stepped forward and removed the gauze wrapped around Liu Xiaofei's eyes, one layer at a time.
"What are you doing... Can't you talk to her for a while first? She's actually very nervous..."
After the gauze over Liu Xiaofei's eyes was completely removed, she tried to open her eyes, but everything in front of her was still pitch black, which immediately dimmed her expression, which had been so cheerful.
Although she had once received a "massage" from Zhou Ziwei, Liu Xiaofei could be said to believe more than anyone else how miraculous Zhou Ziwei's "medical skills" were. However, she also knew how difficult it was to treat the retina. Although Qigong was miraculous, would it really be useful for this kind of medical problem in the world?
For a young woman in the prime of her life, the prospect of facing a life that may forever be shrouded in darkness is an unimaginable pressure. Under the influence of such anxieties and anxieties, even the most cheerful person would find it difficult to maintain a calm state of mind.
"Don't be afraid... I will definitely heal your eyes, I promise..."
Seeing Liu Xiaofei's pitiful and sorrowful appearance, Zhou Ziwei's heart softened. He gently stroked her long, black hair and softly comforted her, saying, "Don't worry... I will definitely let you see this world again. You should believe me."
In fact, Zhou Ziwei's words were not entirely comforting. If Zhou Ziwei was only 70-80% confident about treating Liu Xiaofei's eyes yesterday, he was at least 90% confident today.
After all, the power of the soul has many benefits after evolution, and it will surely be even more effective in healing injuries.
Hearing Zhou Ziwei's soft words of comfort and feeling his gentle touch, Liu Xiaofei's emotions quickly calmed down. A happy smile returned to her lips. She wrinkled her little nose slightly, stuck out her tongue, and said, "Okay... then hurry up and heal me! After you heal my eyes, I'll let you touch my chest... okay?"
"Uh..." Zhou Ziwei's expression froze upon hearing this, and he immediately became both amused and exasperated...
The treatment went very smoothly, even beyond Zhou Ziwei's expectations.
The pale red soul power, which has the ability to strengthen body cells, is more than twice as powerful as ordinary soul power when used to heal injuries.
For Zhou Ziwei, the biggest obstacle was that his eyes were too close to a person's sea of souls. This area was also most severely affected by Liu Xiaofei's own sea of souls. Therefore, Zhou Ziwei spent most of his time playing hide-and-seek with the soul power that Liu Xiaofei instinctively operated in her body.
When it was actually used to repair the ruptured retina, it didn't even take half a minute to complete the task.
"Alright, you can open your eyes now... See... can you see anything now?"
After Zhou Ziwei felt that Liu Xiaofei's retina had been completely repaired, he finally let go of her hand and slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ah...it's over so quickly...I dare not open my eyes...I...I'm so scared..." But for some reason, Liu Xiaofei became more and more flustered at this moment, tightly closing her eyes and refusing to open them even for a moment.
For her, as long as she doesn't open her eyes, there is still a glimmer of hope for recovery. But if she opens her eyes and still can't see anything, then it will probably be utter despair.
Zhou Ziwei shook his head helplessly, then took out a miniature flashlight from his pocket, waved it in front of Liu Xiaofei's eyes, and said, "Open your eyes and look... what am I holding in my hand?"
"No... I won't watch... Don't lie to me..." Liu Xiaofei said stubbornly.
Zhou Ziwei didn't say anything more, but suddenly turned on the flashlight, and a white beam of light shone straight onto Liu Xiaofei's eyelids.