Overprotected By My Tsundere CEO

Chapter 315 - 203: The Ancient City of Loulanel, Miguel Smith Detects Something Amiss [Part 2]

Nora Scott frowned slightly, finding his nonsensical words rather baffling.

Back in the day, the border of Ancient Loulan was indeed adjacent to Jade Gate Pass in the Sand Delta, which gives them some connection, but now there’s only a small remnant of the Loulan ruins left, what does it have to do with Sand Delta?

What’s the connection between a geological survey team and Ancient Loulan?

"..."

Miguel Smith was taken aback by her reaction.

He sighed and stopped playing charades with Nora, opting instead to honestly explain the situation.

"I had heard quite a few legends about Loulan while in Sand Delta and the Western Region, and I was keen to check it out. This time, the place they’re going to is near Loulan, departing from Sand Delta, so they asked if I’d like to join."

"I thought it was a rare opportunity; you can go abroad anytime, but to go to such a remote place and find like-minded companions is rare. So, after some thought, I went."

Miguel explained briefly.

Nora: "..."

For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.

Going to such a remote place, no wonder they got robbed.

"I honestly didn’t expect that after traveling smoothly, we’d get robbed. There were six vehicles and dozens of us, yet less than ten of them had lethal weapons..."

Thinking about the thrilling and exciting scene, Miguel’s adrenaline rose slightly. Seeing Nora’s indifferent expression, he couldn’t help asking, "Aren’t you going to comfort me?"

Nora’s gaze fell on his left thigh, "How did you get stabbed in your leg?"

"..."

Miguel’s expression changed instantly, turning serious and silent.

"Is it something unspeakable?" Nora asked suspiciously.

"Well, I..." Miguel scratched his nose lightly, his gaze becoming evasive, his lowered voice carrying a certain embarrassment. "Er, I accidentally bumped into it myself."

"..."

Nora blinked her eyes, momentarily dumbfounded.

"You have no idea how dangerous it was. The leader, armed with both a gun and a knife, was fierce and menacing, obviously not someone to mess with, standing just half a step away from me..."

Halfway through his explanation, seeing Nora’s increasingly odd expression, Miguel felt a pang in his heart, "What kind of face is that?"

"Haha."

Nora couldn’t hold back, bursting into laughter.

"Nora! Have you no conscience? My leg is like this! Like this!"

Miguel fumed, gesturing wildly, pointing with trembling and excited fingers at his bandaged thigh, "It was at least half inside! A white blade went in, a red blade came out! The blood gushed out like a fountain. If I hadn’t received help in time, I could have died, you know?"

Showing him no mercy, Nora laughed even harder.

At this moment—

A sinister voice drifted in from the doorway, "Whether or not you’d die, I don’t know, but without timely help, the wound might heal on its own."

The interruption caused Miguel’s words of complaint to stop abruptly.

He blinked and awkwardly glanced towards the door, which had somehow been opened, where Benjamin Durant and Humphrey Jennings stood outside.

Benjamin rested a hand on the doorframe, his body slightly angled, his shoulders shrugging as if trying to suppress his laughter but failing, clearly amused.

Humphrey stood with arms crossed, maintaining a stern stance with a slightly furrowed brow, and watched him with an indifferent gaze. Though expressionless, it clearly conveyed scorn and disbelief, with an air of questioning his exaggerated antics as if unable to fathom their origin.

"..."

Miguel felt increasingly defeated inside, rendered speechless.

"Just focus on recovering," Nora finally managed to calm down, regaining her goddess-like composure, though traces of laughter still lingered in her eyes. She asked, "Should I tell your father?"

"Can I tell him about this?" Miguel groaned, clutching his head in despair.

"True."

Nora nodded in understanding.

Miguel had been wandering recklessly for months, and while Mr. Smith pretended otherwise, he was genuinely worried. If Mr. Smith found out Miguel had run into trouble, he might haul him home and lock him up forever, preventing him from ever stepping outside again.

"Are you leaving already?"

Seeing Nora rise to grab her bag, Miguel felt a bit disappointed.

Had their years of friendship only earned him a few minutes of her visit?

"No." Nora turned to him, "Just need to discuss something with a friend."

"Then why take your bag?"

Miguel stared closely at her cheap, worn backpack.

Nora hoisted the bag, raising an eyebrow, "Bringing it to discuss things."

She walked out, exchanged a few words with Benjamin and Humphrey, then Benjamin stopped laughing and came in, while Humphrey left with her.

"Buddy, next time let’s not be so earnest," Benjamin joked as he strolled in, pretending to be serious, even as he couldn’t resist playfully covering his mouth. "If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve thought it was a medal of honor from your valiant fight."

Miguel: "..."

Hu—miliating!

"But no matter how skilled you are in games, it doesn’t help in reality..." Benjamin plunged verbal daggers into Miguel’s heart continuously, "You need to work on your fitness."

"..."

Miguel was dumbstruck.

He finally realized that Benjamin still held a grudge over the thrashing he gave him in the last game they played in Lai’an City.

*

In the corridor.

Nora zipped her bag, took out a transparent file bag containing portrait sketches, and handed it to Humphrey.

"Can you keep an eye on these people for me?" Nora asked directly.

Humphrey lowered his head slightly, extracted the portraits from the file bag, and glanced through them. Recognizing some, he asked, "Can’t find them through the Durant Family?"

"Too much time has passed, it’s hard to trace them," Nora replied. "Even if they’re on the Northwest Line, they’re probably in hiding. The people from the Durant Family aren’t scattered into every nook and cranny. We’ll have to think of other ways."

"Got it," Humphrey nodded, "I’ll take care of it."

Nora raised an eyebrow, "Thanks."

Placing the portraits back into the bag, Humphrey asked, "I heard from Benjamin you’re going to stir things up at Serendipity Pavilion?"

"Yeah."

When her phone vibrated inside her pocket, Nora pulled it out, answering somewhat casually.

His brow furrowing for a moment then relaxing, Humphrey asked again, "Should I go with you?"

"No need, I have a different task for you." Nora replied. Catching sight of ’Pedro Langley’s’ name, she said, "We’ll talk later, I need to take a call."

As soon as she said it, she walked towards the end of the corridor, answering the call halfway, a slight smile curving her lips, indicating her cheerful mood.

Witnessing this, Humphrey had a sense of foreboding. He paused for a moment, a bit taken aback, unconsciously furrowing his brows.

After a brief pause, Humphrey entered the ward.

"Hey, could you get a patient a cup of water?"

As soon as he stepped in, he heard Miguel asking.

Humphrey glanced at him but said nothing, ignoring the request. He placed the file bag on the table and headed to the window.

Opening the window, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

The breeze immediately dissipated the smoke, leaving only a faint aroma, not too strong.

Miguel, seeing the unruly dude smoke as if he owned the place, felt disrespected as a patient but decided to let it go, thinking "In tolerance lies broad recognition."

Having lost hope for Humphrey to serve him tea, Miguel turned his gaze towards Benjamin for help.

Under Miguel’s expectant scrutiny, Benjamin felt uneasy, like he was tormenting a patient. He succumbed, quickly fetching some water.

The thermos cup was on the table. In his haste to pick it up, Benjamin accidentally knocked the file bag off, spilling all the portrait sketches on the floor.

"You’re such a—" clumsy fool.

Miguel’s words of complaint halted as his eyes fell on the portrait sketches.

```