When Wu Xue arrived, she even brought a gift!
For the past two consecutive days, she had been taking care of Cao Baiming.
After two nights of rest, Cao Baiming felt his body had somewhat recovered.
Although his leg was still bandaged and the doctor repeatedly warned him not to get out of bed, Cao Baiming couldn't suppress his curiosity.
On the evening of the third day of his hospital stay, after having a meal made by Wu Xue, Cao Baiming finally decided to be bold.
While Wu Xue was out, he sat up from the bed.
He first put his healthy leg on the ground, then the injured one.
With a slight push, he stood up!
"What's going on?"
Cao Baiming felt a little shocked. The sensation from the injury seemed to cause no discomfort at all, and it felt just like normal.
So, with a mindset of trying it out, he took two more steps forward.
These two steps not only caused no problems but also made it impossible for an outsider to tell he had injured his leg.
"Has the injury already healed?"
Cao Baiming was full of doubt. Although he had the system's enhancement, this was too fast!
It had only been three days, just three days!
Even with the system increasing his recovery speed by nearly four times, it wasn't time yet.
Just then, he heard footsteps outside. Cao Baiming recognized them as Wu Xue's. She was back.
He had become very familiar with her footsteps over these past few days.
Cao Baiming didn't try to hide. Instead, he walked up to open the door for her himself.
Opening the door startled Wu Xue.
"You... how are you standing?"
In Wu Xue's eyes, Cao Baiming shouldn't have been able to stand up without any support for at least another half a month!
This wasn't just her subjective guess; it was what the doctor had said.
Looking at the person in front of her, standing steadily without any support, she felt as if she had seen a ghost.
"I feel like there's no problem anymore, at least I can walk a few steps!"
"This... you should rest first. I'll go buy you something."
Cao Baiming naturally knew what she was referring to.
In such a short time, no one had expected Cao Baiming to be able to stand up on his own, so they hadn't had time to get him a walker or crutches.
"There's no need for that!"
Cao Baiming said.
At this moment, the doctor came in to change his dressing.
It was a female nurse who entered, not Cao Baiming's primary physician, so she didn't make a fuss. She just instructed him to return to bed and continue his IV drip.
Cao Baiming had no choice but to comply, without saying much more.
The next day, after discussing with Wu Xue, they decided to go for a follow-up examination.
The doctor found it very strange. Why a follow-up examination after just a few days? What results could there be?
However, they had seen many people like this before, mostly due to anxiety and worry. Since he was requesting it, why refuse when there was money to be made?
The doctor naturally agreed.
Coincidentally, the team had arranged for Cao Baiming to be seen by the most expensive expert group at this hospital!
In the morning, Cao Baiming was early taken into a peculiar room for a series of examinations.
When he came out, the doctor informed him that the results would take time to come out and that the expert group would analyze them, with news only available in the afternoon.
Cao Baiming nodded naturally and returned to his room.
...
In the Arsenal training room.
Head coach Mikel Arteta was severely reprimanding the players.
"Do you know your own strength? As long as there is time left in the match, don't mess around. Execute the tactics I've given you properly. Is that so difficult?"
"You're not Henry, you're not Drogba. If you had that kind of skill, I wouldn't say a word. You could play however you want!"
On the tactics board were fresh diagrams from today.
Next week, they had two matches within a single week: a Europa League match against PSV Eindhoven and a league match against Leicester City.
Both teams were mid-tier. If this were the Arsenal of the past, they would have had a hundred percent absolute confidence. But now, they felt an inexplicable pressure.
Moreover, with Cao Baiming absent, the team had lost a significant source of strength!
This was undoubtedly a huge challenge for Arsenal, whose performance had just begun to improve!
Up to this point, although they were forced to a draw by Drogba at the last moment in the previous match, they had still maintained an unbeaten streak of six consecutive games!
No one wanted to break this record prematurely during Cao Baiming's absence!
"Players! Next week will be very tough. Boost your morale!"
...
The Arsenal management had also been closely monitoring news about Cao Baiming these past few days. They soon learned about his follow-up examination and requested that the hospital send over the results as soon as they were available.
Meanwhile, regarding the media, Arsenal had not disclosed much information about Cao Baiming's injury, only stating that he was "recovering..."
They didn't want the outside world to know too much about his condition, didn't want the media to sensationalize it, and certainly didn't want opponents to gain any advantage.
However, fans in China, unable to see the exact condition of Cao Baiming's injury, couldn't help but worry and speculate.
Because of this, rumors, disguised as inside information, began to spread wider and wider online.
Some of these claims were so outlandish that people would still believe them, which was truly astounding!
"Cao Baiming has already been discharged. I saw him outside a bar the other day."
"It's said that Cao Baiming's injury this time is serious and he might miss the entire season. Arsenal is planning how to offload him early!"
"It's rumored that Chelsea's tackle was deliberate, to make Cao Baiming miss the season and weaken a strong opponent. That's too damn devious!"
...
"Cao Baiming has recovered from his injury and has been discharged. He's in my bed right now."
Even this, some people believed...
Time passed quickly, and it was soon afternoon. Cao Baiming woke up on the hospital bed and opened his eyes.
A familiar scent wafted from his side.
Wu Xue hadn't left and had fallen asleep right beside Cao Baiming's bed.
Her long black hair still emanated fragrance. She was currently asleep, as peacefully as a child.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Three short knocks.
Wu Xue woke up from her dream. She blinked her groggy eyes, tidied her hair, and instinctively went to open the door.
She had forgotten that this was a hospital, and people could just come in.
Cao Baiming looked towards the door. It was indeed the doctor. He could tell from the short knocks.
This time, it wasn't the young nurse who entered, but Cao Baiming's primary physician. He wore steel-rimmed glasses and was around forty years old.
He was holding a stack of folders, and his brows were furrowed, as if he couldn't figure something out.
After waiting for about two seconds, the male doctor finally spoke.