Chapter 860
Though she was only 7 years old, she appeared more mature than her peers. Her eyes held a hint
of vignce and caution as she gazed at Rosalie.
In contrast to most children her age, she had clearly grasped the significance of self-preservation in
the harsh realities of life.
“Because my own kids are around Zeki’s age. When I see Zeki injured, I can’t help but want to lend
a hand. After all, taking Zeki to see a doctor is something I can easily manage,” Rosalie exined
calmly, without any intention of forming a closer bond.
Karina fell silent for a moment and turned to look at Zekiah who had been by her side. She seemed
to be hesitating about something.
Zekiah spoke up. “Karrie, I’m not in pain.”
“Even if you’re not in pain, you’re still injured. You’re limping when you walk, aren’t you?” Karina
responded, then looked up at Rosalie. “Ms. Leighton, please wait for me. I’ll be back in a little while,
and then we can go to the hospital together with Zeki.”
Following that, Karina patiently repeated some words to Zekiah before instructing him to wait for her
at the entrance of the concession stand.
Zekiah held onto the hem of Karina’s clothing, unwilling to let go.
“Zeki, be good. I’ll go put down my schoolbag ande back to find you in a little while!” Karina
reassured Zekiah, gently patting his head.
At this, Zekiah reluctantly released his grip.
Karina then swiftly ran in the opposite direction, soon disappearing from view. Lillian turned to
Rosalie and said, “I’lle with you to the hospitalter. I have a car, so it’s pretty convenient, and I
don’t have any other ns for the day.” Rosalie considered the offer and epted, saying, “That
would be great, thanks.” “Don’t mention about it. These siblings are quite interesting, and it’s
unfortunate that the kid, as Amelia mentioned, is badly injured and hasn’t been to the hospital yet,”
Lillian said, deliberately lowering her voice to ensure Zekiah couldn’t overhear.
When she heard about these siblings from Amelia, Lillian couldn’t help but feel a sense of
sympathy. Lillian was an only child and had no siblings, so she secretly envied the bond between
these siblings.
As for Zekiah, he obediently stood at the entrance of the concession stand, just like a small
sculpture, not moving at all.
Rosalie squinted her eyes, staring at Zekiah. Unexinably, Zekiah seemed oddly familiar, as if she
had seen him somewhere before.
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“Is it because this child is exceptionally good-looking? Isn’t there a saying that good-looking people
tend to resemble each other?” Rosalie pondered quietly.
“What’s going on? You’ve been staring at that child,” Lillian asked.
“I just find the family that adopted him a bit peculiar. They already have a son of their own, yet they
adopted another boy. If it’s out of affection, that would make sense, but it seems they might not be
particrly fond of him,” Rosalie exined.
After all, if they genuinely cared for the child, they wouldn’t have struck him to the point where even
a ruler was broken.
“Who knows? Nowadays, people have all sorts of strange reasons. I’ve heard stories about people
adopting children with certain astrological signs to protect their households from evil spirits,” Lillian
said, curling her lips.
Rosalie pressed her lips together slightly, deep in thought.
Just then, Karina returned. This time, she didn’t have her schoolbag but carried a small crossbody
bag. She took Zekiah’s hand and told Rosalie, “Ms. Leighton, I’m ready. You can take Zeki to the
hospital now.”
Rosalie responded with a gentle smile. “All right, let’s go,” Lillian said as she shrugged. After Lillian
drove the car over, and once they all got in, Rosalie asked Karina, “Did you let your parents know
about this when you went home just now?”
“I left a note,” Karina replied. But she knew that leaving a note or not wouldn’t make a difference.
Even if she and Zekiah were away from home the whole night, their father wouldn’t care, and
neither would their stepmother.
This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.
Their stepmother probably wished they both weren’t home.
On the way to the hospital, Rosalie couldn’t help but notice how tightly Karina’s tiny hand held onto
Zekiah’s, as if in this world, these two children only had each other to rely on.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Rosalie registered Zekiah to see a specialist. When Zekiah removed
his clothes in front of the doctor, Rosalie gasped, and even Lillian at her side was left astonished.
The injuries underneath Zekiah’s clothing were far more severe than what was visible on his
exposed skin. The doctor, wearing a frown, questioned, “What’s wrong with you adults? This is
almost abusive! How could you strike a child this bad?”
Rosalie refrained from providing much exnation and simply asked about the severity of the
injuries.
The doctor gently touched the bruised areas on Zekiah’s body. Zekiah would only furrow his brows
in response to pain when the doctor applied significant pressure, otherwise, he remained almost
expressionless.
To be cautious, the doctor scheduled X-rays and a blood test.
After a series of tests, the doctor turned to Rosalie and Lillian. “It appears this
08:25
child might have a naturally high pain tolerance. If we were to rate pain on a scale of 1 to 10, where
5 would be quite painful for an average person, he experience something akin to minor difort.”
Rosalie and Lillian were both stunned.
“Is that even possible?” Lillian couldn’t help but exim.
may only
“Among the vast number of humans, there will always be exceptions. In fact, his condition isn’t very
rare, affecting approximately one in every hundred thousand people. The only variation lies in their
pain tolerance, and there are even more umon instances ofplete insensitivity to pain,” the
doctor exined. Rosalie quietly observed Zekiah, who appeared unfazed by it all. She realized
that when he had imed not to be in pain earlier, it was because his sensitivity to pain was weaker
than that of the average person.
Rosalie, however, didn’t see this as a positive trait, as pain serves as a way for our bodies to protect
themselves.
In the case of a child like Zekiah, with significantly reduced pain sensitivity, his body could be injured
without him realizing it.
“Doctor, is Zeki going to be okay? When will his injuries heal?” Karina asked. “These are superficial
wounds, and the bones aren’t affected. Just apply some ointment, and he’ll be fine,” the doctor
reassured. Then, he turned to Rosalie and added, “As adults, please, never strike a child like this
again. This child has a diminished pain perception, and as adults, you should be well aware of
where to draw the line!”