Chapter 402 No Strenuous Exercise
Benjamin woke up from the pain. He groggily opened his eyes to see a white ceiling above him.
The distinctive smell of disinfectant that filled hospitals permeated the air, and he suddenly started coughing.
The coughing pulled at his wounds.
Sharp pain spread through his entire body, and his face instantly turned deathly pale, completely drained of color.
Sophia, who had been sleeping with her head on the edge of the bed, was startled awake by his coughing. She jumped to her feet. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Benjamin weakly waved his hand, his voice dry and hoarse. "I'm fine. What are you doing here?"
He remembered specifically telling Chase before he passed out not to tell anyone about his injury.
Yet Sophia still found out.
"What? Am I not allowed to be here?" Sophia's face immediately fell, and she looked at him coldly.
If she hadn't been worried about him and called Chase, she would have been kept completely in the dark.
Seeing her angry, Benjamin propped himself up on one arm and reached out with his other hand, gently hooking her hand with his pinky finger.
"Don't be mad. That's not what I meant."
He just knew his injuries were serious and was afraid the sight of his wounds would scare her. She'd probably cry again.
He couldn't stand seeing her cry.
Feeling the warmth from his palm, Sophia's anger instantly melted away.
She held his hand and placed a pillow behind him so he could lean against the headboard.
"Your condition has stabilized. Don't do any strenuous activities for a while and rest properly."
Thankfully Alaric had treated his wounds in time, avoiding the risk of infection.
This was Sophia's first time witnessing how ruthlessly the GeneCipher Society operated, and her heart grew even more anxious and uneasy.
Benjamin raised an eyebrow. He didn't seem to notice the worry in her expression and instead teased, "Strenuous activities? Which kind are you referring to?"
"None of them!" Sophia's cheeks instantly flushed red, burning as if they'd been steamed over a stove.
She was just giving normal medical advice, but he had to turn it into a joke.
Benjamin leaned against the headboard, looking at her with amusement.
Her flushed cheeks looked like the sunset glow from outside the window had fallen on her face, and her bright eyes shimmered with light.
Just looking at her like this made him feel incredibly content, and even his injuries didn't hurt as much.
He tightened his grip on her hand, interlacing their fingers, staring at her intently. "Okay, I'll listen to you."
"Let go. Alaric and Matthew will be coming to see you soon. It wouldn't look good if they saw us like this."
"I won't let go. I'm holding my wife's hand. Why should I be afraid of people seeing?"
Sophia blushed and tried to pull away, but found that despite being injured, Benjamin was still quite strong.
Unable to break free, she simply gave up and let him hold her hand.
Suddenly, she remembered something and asked worriedly, "Chase said Mr. Bryant was the one who hurt you?"
"Yes."
At Sophia's question, Benjamin's expression suddenly turned cold.
He never imagined that Valentin would brazenly come to Silverlight City.
And before this, he hadn't received any information about it.
"Who exactly is this Mr. Bryant?" Sophia looked at him nervously.
Benjamin tightened his grip on her hand and said deliberately, "The real person in power behind the GeneCipher Society. I've had Chase investigating his whereabouts all along, but we never found anything. I never expected he'd actually come to Silverlight City."
Sophia's mouth dropped open in surprise. She found it hard to believe.
A thought flashed through her mind, and she took her phone from her bag and held it in front of Benjamin.
"This is surveillance footage Eldon pulled. I've already enhanced the image quality, but... it's still quite blurry."
The bar environment was too dark, and Valentin's face was obscured, making it impossible to see his features clearly.
Benjamin took her phone. His sharp eyes stared directly at the screen.
The video was spliced together—one segment showed him leading his men into the bar and straight into a private room.
The other segment showed them all hurriedly leaving.
He watched it several times but couldn't spot anything unusual.
Just then, someone knocked on the hospital room door from outside, and Alaric and Matthew walked in together.
Over the past two years, the White Group and the Lumina Group had business dealings, and Alaric and Matthew had been interacting more frequently. They'd developed into good friends.
They had many topics in common, whether it was company management, medical knowledge, or even their values, which were surprisingly similar.
Seeing Alaric and Matthew appear together, Benjamin instinctively tried to sit up, but accidentally pulled at his wounds again.
He clutched his chest and coughed weakly.
Sophia immediately poured a glass of warm water and held it to his lips, gently patting his back. "Drink some water."
Benjamin leaned back against the soft pillow and took two sips from Sophia's hand before waving her off.
"You're awake? Looks like those two years in the GeneCipher Society weren't wasted. If it were an ordinary person, they'd probably be half-dead by now."
Matthew was as sharp-tongued as ever.
Of course, he only showed this side when dealing with Benjamin.
When facing others, he always maintained a cool and dignified demeanor.
He just found Benjamin particularly irritating.
Benjamin lazily lifted his eyelids to glance at him and retorted sarcastically, "Thanks for the compliment. I didn't know I was so impressive until you said so."
"You!" Matthew was quite annoyed by his arrogant attitude, but given Sophia's presence, he didn't argue further.
Alaric smiled at their interaction. Once they'd settled down, he asked, "Have you watched the video? Did you notice anything unusual?"
Benjamin shook his head gravely. "No."
Alaric consoled him in a low voice, "It's okay. Since he's still in Silverlight City, we'll definitely find him. Just focus on recovering for now."
"Okay."
Benjamin lowered his eyes, his expression dark and unreadable.
Alaric and Matthew placed the backs of their hands on his forehead to check his temperature.
Only after confirming his fever had broken did they feel slightly relieved.
"By the way, Tobias's birthday party is in a few days... Given your condition, you probably won't be able to attend." Alaric sighed inwardly.
He didn't know what was going on lately.
Celestia had caught the flu from getting caught in the rain and was still in the hospital, and now Benjamin had been seriously injured and hospitalized too.
"My injuries aren't that serious. I'll probably be fine in a few days. Don't tell Tobias yet, so he won't worry."
Tobias's health wasn't great. Since Amelia's divorce and return home, things had been constantly chaotic, and Tobias had been looking worried every day.
Originally, he didn't want a big celebration for his seventieth birthday, but Alaric insisted on throwing him a party to cheer him up.