Chapter 197 Causing Trouble
"You know where we found Sophia? In a trash can by the roadside. She was barely breathing, just hanging on by a thread. Lucky for her, she ran into Master..."
Benjamin listened quietly and carefully as he heard about everything that happened to Sophia from age three to twenty.
As a child, Sophia was so well-behaved it broke your heart.
"When she first woke up, she was fighting to do chores. Don't let her small size fool you - she was incredibly efficient at work. From childhood to now, she's never been willful, except for marrying you."
Benjamin listened carefully, and soon more than half the bottle of wine was gone.
When Joshua finally noticed, he found only half the wine left in the bottle.
He quickly dodged and grabbed the bottle, hugging it to his chest while eyeing Benjamin warily.
"You can't drink anymore. Wasn't this supposed to be for me?"
Benjamin raised an eyebrow helplessly. "Who said I got this for you? I clearly brought this to drink myself."
Looking at Benjamin's cold demeanor, Joshua was so angry he gritted his teeth.
But the aura emanating from the other man was too powerful. Even though Joshua had met all kinds of people in the entertainment industry, he couldn't help being intimidated by his cold, powerful presence.
Without much ground to stand on, he still straightened his back and glared at Benjamin angrily. "I'm Sophia's family, you need to be nice to me, or I'll badmouth you to Sophia."
Benjamin snorted coldly, tilted his head back to finish the last bit of wine in his glass, and glanced at him dismissively. "You think my wife would believe you?"
Joshua: "..."
Was it really okay to show off their relationship so late at night? Could he spare a thought for him, a single person?
Unable to win against Benjamin, Joshua had no choice but to pull out his trump card - he grabbed the bottle and drank it all in one go.
Benjamin raised an eyebrow, quietly watching his actions without stopping him.
Only after Joshua finished the bottle did he slowly stand up, looking down to smooth out the slight wrinkles in his suit, and walk toward the exit.
"It's getting late, I should go."
"Wait, you're not going to fight me for it anymore?"
Benjamin paused slightly, turned to look at him, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Why would I fight you for it?"
Joshua and Benjamin locked eyes, and suddenly he realized he'd been played.
"If you weren't going to fight me for it, why didn't you stop me just now? Such a good bottle of wine wasted like that."
"Why would I stop you?" Benjamin's expression was calm, his thin lips slowly curving into a smile. "Joshua, if you take my stuff, you have to help me out. I'm leaving now."
After Benjamin left, Joshua hugged the bottle with a pained expression.
Benjamin, that shrewd businessman - no wonder he could go toe-to-toe with Matthew!
So calculating!
If he remembered correctly, this bottle of wine cost around a hundred thousand dollars.
Wouldn't it have been better to savor it slowly?
He hadn't even tasted it properly!
Early the next morning, Sophia opened her eyes to find herself being held in someone's arms. Her eyes met a sexy, muscular chest.
Sophia looked up and saw Benjamin still sleeping, a mischievous glint flashing in her eyes.
A fair, slender finger slowly moved toward Benjamin, finally landing on his well-defined abs.
Benjamin's eyelashes trembled slightly. He opened his eyes and grabbed the mischievous hand on his body.
"What are you doing?"
Sophia blinked guiltily. "I'm not doing anything."
Benjamin's narrow eyes stared at her for a moment, then he hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her into his embrace.
He rolled over, pinning her beneath him.
Sophia was startled by his sudden movement. Looking at Benjamin's sexy collarbone and abs, she suddenly didn't know where to look and could only avert her gaze.
"If you like it so much, how about I let you touch all you want?" Benjamin took Sophia's slender hand and pressed it flat against his chest.
It was burning hot there, so hot it felt like Sophia's heart would melt.
A blush slowly crept up her cheeks, making them look delicate and tempting.
"Benjamin, stop it. I need to get up and go to the hospital." She struggled, trying to break free from his hold.
But Benjamin was too strong, and she couldn't break free.
"Francis said you can go in later today. Rest a bit more, I'll have breakfast brought in."
Sophia's eyes were full of confusion. "Aren't there many patients today?"
"Most of them have been treated. The remaining ones can be handled by the hospital's doctors." Benjamin relayed Francis's words to Sophia.
Sophia nodded in understanding, then asked, "So does that mean we'll go to the village today?"
"Yes."
After breakfast, Benjamin took Sophia to the hospital and walked in with her.
The number of patients in the hospital had clearly decreased significantly. The queue that initially stretched to the hospital gate now only had a few dozen people.
Sophia walked inside with a relieved smile on her face.
But just as she entered the hospital building, she heard a commotion inside.
"Everyone come look! This heartless hospital killed someone! Yesterday my husband just got medicine from the hospital, and last night he started vomiting and having diarrhea!"
"The internet made that fever medicine sound so miraculous - I think it's all fake!"
"Everyone come judge for yourselves! Look at what's happened to my husband now. What am I supposed to do if something happens to him!"
...
The old woman's cursing and shouting echoed through the lobby. The patients who had come for treatment all stepped back two paces, afraid of getting caught up in it.
Their gazes unanimously fell on the old man lying in the middle of the crowd, looking terrible.
His complexion was very poor, he looked weak and powerless, even his breathing was faint - clearly seriously ill.
Could there really be a problem with the medicine?
Many people suddenly felt doubtful.
Most of them had come to the hospital because they heard treatment was free here.
Also, they'd heard the hospital recently got a new batch of medicine that was very effective for treating fever and colds.
But now it seemed that might not be the case.
Alfonso stood in the crowd, trying hard to reason with the troublemaking old woman.
"Let's talk this through. Are you here to cause trouble or to solve the problem?"
The old woman put her hands on her hips, looking aggressive. "What do you mean 'cause trouble'? Which eye saw me causing trouble? I'm just trying to get justice for my husband! He got sick after taking your medicine!"
The old woman was simply dressed, looking lean and shrewd, even adopting the attitude she used when quarreling with people at the village entrance.
Alfonso, being an intellectual, was quickly overwhelmed.
Sophia stood outside the crowd and listened for a while. After understanding the whole situation, she immediately pushed through the crowd and walked in.