He had always been the victim!Winnie frowned. âThen why did he not tell me these things? Did he not plan to tell me at all?ââYes.â Josiah sighed. âAlthough heâs almost in his thirties, he doesnât have much experience in dating. He knows you dislike him for being controlling toward you, but he cannot help himself. And now he is suffering from such a strange disease. In a broad sense, it can be said that he has a mental illness. He worries that if you find out that he is mentally ill, you will leave him. He is thinking of curing his illness first before he cleans up the mess of the Fairchild family. Only then can he completely focus on what he wants to do.âJosiah spoke while casting a sideways glance at Winnie.Then, he asked, âI see that your eyes are a little red and swollen. Would you like to put some ice on them?ââItâs okay.â Winnie shook her head.Josiah pursed his lips. âDid you cry just now? I believe you still have Xavier in your heart, right? Otherwise, why would your eyes be swollen from crying for him?âWinnie frowned. âTo be honest, Yulissa wanted to pierce me with those last dozen needles.
Xavier was on the verge of breaking down at that time, but he still turned around and protected me.ââYou always see true love in the moment of adversity. You are the only one who can get this kind of treatment from him. If it were someone else, he would never have sacrificed himself.â Josiah looked at Winnie seriously. âDumbo, some love is strong, obsessive, and passionate, just like how Xavier feels toward you. Perhaps you should reconsider your decision on your relationship with Xavier.ââI know. I kept thinking about him when I was sitting here a moment ago,â Winnie uttered as she put her hand into the pocket of the windbreaker.She quickly felt a mobile phone with a cracked screen and took it out. It was Xavierâs phone.Winnie subconsciously pressed the button on the phone, and unexpectedly, the screen of the broken phone suddenly lit up.The wallpaper of the phone was revealed.Although the screen was cracked quite severely, the wallpaper was still discernable.It was the only photo of her and Xavier.The photo was taken on Sirona Island when they were barbecuing on the beach. It was the last time she played dumb in front of him.The photo was taken after he strongly requested it.She already sensed something was off with him when taking the photo.At that time, he said to her, âDumbo, donât you ever lie to me, for I will take everything you say seriously.âBack then, she speculated that he had started to doubt her identity, so after dealing with the islanders who tried to blackmail them, she had a showdown with him.She looked at the photo again and felt that her smile was really silly back then. Yet, she recalled the pure happiness she was having at that time.She caressed the broken phone screen and put the phone back into the windbreakerâs pocket.Then, she clasped her hands together and leaned her head against them. She said, âI just want him to get better soon. Tell meâwhatâs the conclusion after you went in to listen for so long?âJosiah heard Winnieâs question, but he didnât know how to answer her. He merely kept mum.The silence persisted for a long time before Winnie took a deep breath and broke it. âCome on. Old Mr. Fairchild will come over later. You still have to tell him the truth.âJosiah sighed. âThe dose was too high. Based on previous reactions, itâs very likely that this drug will cause damage to the human brain.ââWhat do you mean?â Winnie sat up abruptly. âWill he become a retard?ââIâm not sure either!â Josiah was frustrated. His voice got lower as he spoke. âWe cannot rule out this possibility. It might even cause more detrimental effects, such as sending him into a vegetative state or even leading to brain death. Those are possible as well.â Hearing such words, Winnieâs eyes became red. âI was supposed to be the one who suffered all this.ââDonât blame yourself, Winnie. I can tell you with certainty that Xavier has never regretted everything he did for you. The only thing he regrets is that he didnât recognize the fact that he fell in love with a dumb girl in time and even let Yulissa cause you a lot of trouble.ââReally? Did he really think so?ââYes!â Josiah nodded. âHe once told me that if he could time travel, he would want to go back to the time before Yulissa showed up. He wouldnât have minded even if you were dumb.âThere was a lump in Winnieâs throat. Her heart suddenly softened. âHeâs the real dumb one.âJosiah chuckled lightly. âActually, out of curiosity, I have another question to ask you.ââWhat is it?ââIf⦠I mean hypotheticallyâwhat would you do if he woke up as a retard?âA tear suddenly fell from Winnieâs eyes. She lowered her head and said with a smile, âThen Iâll stay with him forever.âIn fact, she wasnât that determined at first, but after saying these words, she seemed to have made up her mind and was ready to commit herself to it.Right after Winnie finished her sentence, a sigh was heard.It was not from Winnie or Josiah.The two looked up and saw that Rufus was standing at the corner of the corridor.The two quickly stood up. Rufus raised his cane, gesturing to them that they didnât need to come over.He walked over and took a seat opposite them.Josiah asked, âOld Mr. Fairchild, when did you get here?âRufusâ eyes were slightly red. âIâve been here since the moment you said he might wake up a retard, or stuck in a vegetative state, or become brain dead.ââGrandpa Rufus!â Winnie opened her mouth. âPerhaps, there would be a better outcome.âRufus glanced at Winnie, then looked away, staring blankly at a small black spot on the floor tile.His voice seemed to have aged a lot all of a sudden. âWe can only wait for him to get through it. Itâs all up to fate now.ââNo!â Josiah stood up. âI canât just leave it to fate. Iâll go to the laboratory to check the analysis result of the venom.ââI will get some samples too and try to think of a way.âTwo police came to Winnie when she got up.âHi, are you Ms. Garland? I believe you were the one who made the report just now.
Please come with us for the investigation.âWinnie rubbed between her brows. âOkay, Iâll go with you.âThen, she turned to Josiah and said, âLeave me some samples of the venom. Donât finish them all.âJosiah nodded in response.It was already past five in the morning when Winnie came out of the police station.Someone was calling her from behind when she was walking down the stairs.âWinnie!âShe turned around. âCaptain Bennett?âChristopher walked over quickly. He put the cigarette in his hand back into the cigarette case. âAre you here to give a statement?ââYes. How about you? Did you just get off work?âChristopher nodded. âZyon has escaped, and Yulissa is dead now.
Weâre at a dead end in our investigation. By the way, did Yulissa do anything to you?âWinnie shook her head. âIâm fine. Itâs just that⦠Wait a minute; Iâve got a call.âWinnie saw that it was from Josiah and quickly answered the call. âHow is it? Is Xavier awake?ââYes,â Josiah said with a disheartened tone.
âAre you done over there? Come to the hospital when youâre done.ââIâll come over right now. What happened to him? Why do you sound like that?ââHeâ¦â Josiah sounded even more dispirited than before. âYou have to be mentally prepared.â