After Serena left the operating room, the servants immediately prepared hot water for her. Only after she had bathed would she sit down for a meal.
The dishes on the table were prepared just as Serena requested—light and simple, yet every item was delicately made. Yet she found herself unable to eat.
Serena picked at her food, lost in thought. By the time the dishes had gone cold, she had only managed a few bites before hurrying back to her room.
With Ninth Royal Uncle (Nolan Dongling) away, Serena was the highest authority in this villa outside the city. The servants wanted to urge her to take care of her health, but none dared to actually speak up. They could only worry silently, hoping for Nolan’s quick return—otherwise, if he came back to find Serena thinner, it would be them who suffered.
The servants were anxious, and so was Serena. She had a general understanding of the Crown Prince’s condition, and from Ninth Royal Uncle (Nolan Dongling)’s words, knew it had worsened. Serena felt even less confident about the operation.
After practicing these past two days, she had regained the feel for heart surgery, but even so, her confidence was only at twenty percent.
With only a twenty percent chance, any doctor would advise the patient not to risk surgery, but to quietly wait for death.
But the Crown Prince was no ordinary patient. Even with only a slim chance, he would still choose to go through with the surgery.
“All I can do now is my best, and see if I can find a better surgical plan.” Back in her room, Serena drew several authoritative cardiac journals from the Smart Med‑Pack. Unfortunately, they were all early editions—the Smart Med‑Pack couldn’t update here.
Most of the journals were written by foreign cardiac experts, and there were few papers on heart surgery—Serena found only three. One of them had a novel idea: it proposed that coronary bypass and repair could be performed without cutting off arterial blood flow.
Serena's eyes lit up as she finished reading the entire article. She realized that while the theory was sound, putting it into practice was nearly impossible. Without cutting off arterial blood flow, massive bleeding could easily occur, and operating while the heart was still beating would put a huge strain on the myocardium—severe cases could result in the patient dying on the table.
During heart surgery, to prevent myocardial damage, surgeons use cardioplegic solution every twenty to thirty minutes.
"The idea is innovative, but the difficulty is enormous. If I had a professional medical team and world-class equipment, maybe I could risk it. But in my current environment, there's no way I can gamble with this." Serena closed the journal, blinked her dry eyes, yawned delicately, and slipped off her coat before falling asleep.
Maybe she was just too tired, or maybe her nerves were stretched too tight. Normally hyper-alert, Serena didn't react at all when Ninth Royal Uncle (Nolan Dongling) climbed into bed in the middle of the night.
"Silly girl." Nolan's heart ached as he gently pulled Serena into his arms. Serena instinctively found a comfortable spot against him, nuzzled her head, and drifted back to sleep.
Knowing how exhausted Serena was, Nolan moved quietly. In the darkness, he took her hands and gently massaged them.
He'd already heard about Serena spending seven or eight hours straight in the operating room these past two days. Except for eating and sleeping, she was always there. The place was soaked in blood, and the servants tasked with cleaning left every day looking pale as ghosts.
Seeing how exhausted Serena was, Nolan's eyes flashed with concern. He started to wonder if, once their Shandong mission was over, he could take her to the Jiangnan region just to relax and have fun—for once, purely for pleasure.
Serena slept soundly all night. When the first rays of morning sunlight spilled into the room, she slowly woke up—and then froze.
What’s going on? Have I been kidnapped?
Serena’s heart skipped a beat. She was wide awake now, panic overriding any lingering drowsiness. But when she saw the familiar face in front of her, her heart finally settled back into her chest.
As she calmed down, the faint scent of bamboo from Nolan drifted into her nose. Serena took a deep breath, now fully awake. Still, she didn’t move, remaining nestled quietly in Nolan’s arms.
Nolan had woken up the moment Serena startled, but he kept pretending to sleep, curious to see what she would do. Aside from her initial shock, Serena didn’t move at all.
Nolan opened his eyes and looked at Serena, her cheeks flushed. He unceremoniously bumped his forehead against hers—not hard, just enough to lightly scold her.
He didn’t believe Serena would stay still after that.
"Ouch, stop it! If you keep bumping me, I’ll get a concussion." Serena finally moved, balling her fists and wedging them between herself and Nolan. "It’s way too early for this, and your three-month deadline isn’t up yet."
Nolan coughed awkwardly, thrown off by Serena’s blunt words. He even forgot to ask what a concussion was.
In heat?
That phrase really doesn’t sound great, but damn, it’s accurate.
"Relax, I’ll keep my word. Three months means three months." Nolan said sincerely, looking every bit the honest gentleman who always keeps his promises.
Serena quietly let out a breath. She trusted Nolan’s character, but just as she let her guard down, Nolan suddenly rolled over and pinned her beneath him.
"Hey—"
Before Serena could finish, Nolan’s lips sealed hers.
"Mm—" Serena struggled a little, but Nolan ignored her resistance.
"Nolan, don’t forget your promise…"
"This—"
Nolan had just started to speak when a sudden commotion erupted outside the room…