2. Consequences Sun Yani didn't close the door until ten minutes after arriving home. She remained silent to her mother's questions, not telling her about the security guard's presence. She simply hoped for a quick morning, so her son could be back to life. 

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" A series of rapid knocks on the door rang out. 

"What's wrong?" Sun Yani and Liu Wei woke up simultaneously. 

"Yani, Liu Wei, something bad has happened!" Her mother's anxious voice called out from outside. 

"Is it Xinxin..." Yani immediately stood up and opened the door. 

Upon opening the door, Liu Xin was sleeping soundly on the living room sofa. This had been his resting place for the past three days. Even the TV at full volume couldn't wake him. What surprised the family most was that the child wanted nothing but sleep, and wouldn't even wake up to eat just because 

he was hungry. "Mom, what's wrong? Is it Xinxin..." Yani didn't dare to continue. 

"It's not Xinxin, it's your dad, your dad," her mother explained. 

Yani's heart relaxed a little, but then it quickly surged again. She suddenly thought of her father's high blood pressure. Could it be... Yani hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? What's wrong with my dad?" 

"Hey," her mother slapped her thigh. "That useless old man! I told him so many times before I came here not to play mahjong, but he wouldn't listen and insisted on gambling. Just now, a neighbor called to say he gambled again last night, and the first hand he got was Thirteen Yao. That's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Your dad's blood pressure went up, and he's been taken to the hospital. 

" "Then let's go check it out," Yani said, turning back to her room to change. 

"You wait at home. I'll go with Mom. Xinxin hasn't woken up yet, and Xiaolei can't be seen. You stay home and take care of the kids, and I'll drive Mom. Oh, it's one thing after another. My parents are still in the US and can't get back for a while. It's so frustrating," Liu Wei grumbled as he got dressed. 

After seeing her husband and mother off, Sun Yani sat down beside Liu Xin. She held her still-feeding younger son while quietly watching over her older son, who was still soundly asleep. 

She suddenly thought of that taboo: no man can intrude. Otherwise... what will happen? Perhaps even her mother didn't know. Could it be a rumor? After all, she'd tried it, and it hadn't worked. Even now, she could still feel Xinxin's normal body temperature and the steady breathing of a sound sleeper. If this method wasn't real, then whether a man intruded last night wouldn't matter. She'd better trust science. She'd have to take Xinxin to the hospital when they got back, Sun Yani thought. 

"Mom—" A cry she hadn't heard in a lifetime, that sound... that sound... Sun Yani saw her eldest son, Sun Xin, slowly opening his eyes, continuing to cry out, "Mom—." 

"Great, my good son, my good son, you're finally awake." Sun Yani's heart was filled with indescribable joy. She didn't even know what to do. She could only pick up her son, and in her haste, she even forgot to hold her younger son, Liu Lei, still nursing. 

"Ka... Ka..." Liu Lei, trapped between his mother and his older brother, struggled.

"Mom, I'm hungry," Liu Xin pleaded with his mother. 

"Oh, I am. Yeah, you haven't eaten in over three days. You should be hungry. Mom will make you something." Yani immediately put her two sons down and stood up, heading for the kitchen. 

"Mom, I'm so hungry—" Before she could even finish the word "hungry," Liu Xin snatched the bottle from his younger brother's mouth and thrust it into his own, slurping it down like a hungry wolf. 

Under normal circumstances, Yani would have reprimanded Liu Xin, but now, she wasn't angry at her eldest son's behavior; she even felt pity. She quickly went to the kitchen and rummaged through the drawers, searching for something to eat. 

In less than thirty seconds, a large pile of ready-to-eat food lay before Liu Xin. There were leftover fried dough sticks from yesterday morning and unfinished dinner from last night—it was cold, but the child was hungry. She also pulled out all the milk, eggs, and ham from the refrigerator, leaving only the pork frozen in the freezer. 

Yani brought a cup of hot water and placed it in front of Liu Xin. 

Liu Xin threw away his bottle and shoveled the food from the table into his mouth. He was so hungry he didn't care if it was fresh from the refrigerator. Seeing her son devouring it so voraciously, Yani felt relieved. 

She suddenly thought of her father and wondered how he was doing. 

"Hello, Liu Wei, how's Dad?" Yani put the phone aside so as not to disturb her son's meal. 

"The doctor said it's not optimistic. We might need to observe. This is really serious. I didn't expect someone would be hospitalized out of sheer joy." Liu Wei's voice was heavy. "How's Xinxin? Is he awake?" 

"He's awake. He said he was hungry the moment he woke up and is wolfing down his food." Yani's tone was tinged with joy. 

"Oh, that's good. Tell him to eat slowly. He hasn't eaten in days. Eating too fast can upset his stomach," Liu Wei urged. 

"I know. I'll keep an eye on him. If anything happens, let me know immediately. Don't hide it from me, okay?" Yani urged Liu Wei in the same tone. 

"Got it. Okay, the doctor's out. That's all for now." With that, Liu Wei hung up. 

Yani's father's greatest hobby in life was gambling. Yani even remembered that, after losing money, he once... 

"Ah!" As Yani turned around, she was startled by the sight before her. All the food that had been on the table was gone. Only a few plates and plastic bags of fresh food remained. Where had all the food gone? Could it be? Yani didn't dare to think any further. 

"Mom, I'm hungry..." Liu Xin, who had already eaten three days' worth of food for three adults, pleaded again. 

How could... How could this happen... Yani felt dizzy. What on earth could have happened? A five-year-old child had actually eaten so much. Was this the result of a man's intrusion?