The doctor's curiosity grew after the examination. There was nothing unusual about the young lady, so why was she still unconscious? The blood test results from this morning showed a reduced alcohol concentration, meaning it couldn't possibly be a hangover.
For a moment, he couldn't give Sheng Chenjin a definitive answer. Meanwhile, at the other end of the room, Sheng Chenjin was losing patience with the doctor.
"You've finished your examination. I assume you can tell me what's wrong with her now?" Sheng Chenjin's tone was laced with a chilling aura. The doctor took a deep breath.
He approached Sheng Chenjin and said, "Sir, I've conducted a thorough examination of the young lady. Her body shows no abnormalities, and I haven't found any signs of illness."
"So, you're implying she's faking it?" Whether Sheng Chenjin was merely guessing or had concrete proof, he suddenly uttered this sentence, causing Shi Xinxin, who was in bed, to break out in a cold sweat.
How could she have forgotten about the family doctor? If she insisted on pretending to be asleep, the doctor would surely expose her lie. Regardless, she decided to play it by ear for now.
Upon hearing Sheng Chenjin's words, the doctor found it difficult to respond. Logically, it was a distinct possibility, but he didn't know how to explain the reason for the young lady's feigned sleep to Sheng Chenjin.
After all, he was unaware of what had transpired between them. The doctor felt deeply wronged.
After a moment of silence, he looked up and said to Sheng Chenjin, "Sir, many clinical studies have shown that if drunk individuals develop any lingering issues, they tend to manifest within 24 hours. The young lady got drunk late last night. If there were any underlying conditions, they would still be in the incubation period, so it's normal not to detect them."
Listening to the doctor's explanation, Shi Xinxin felt utterly confused. She clearly felt fine. Although the doctor had mentioned a mild concussion earlier, she didn't even feel dizzy now. Why was it suddenly in the incubation period? What game was the doctor playing?
Sheng Chenjin also looked at the doctor with suspicion. However, the examination and his years of medical experience had already led him to the conclusion that the only possibility was that the young lady was feigning sleep.
During the examination, her eyeballs hadn't moved, indicating she wasn't in a deep sleep. Her pupils were normal, and she wasn't in a coma.
Therefore, just as the gentleman had speculated, the young lady was indeed pretending to be asleep. However, as a doctor, he couldn't directly expose her without understanding her reasons.
Fortunately, this was Sheng Chenjin's home, and he was only facing Sheng Chenjin. It wouldn't matter if he employed a little stratagem.
Regardless of Sheng Chenjin's expression, the doctor continued, "However, sir, rest assured that once these conditions are diagnosed, the possibility of a cure is very high. Since this is the young lady's first time consuming alcohol, and the intake wasn't excessively high, it won't cause severe reactions. The only restriction is that for the next 24 hours, the young lady cannot consume any food."
Upon hearing this, Shi Xinxin's heart sank completely. What was this doctor playing at? She longed to jump up right then and there and tell the doctor she was perfectly fine.
Right now, besides her hunger, all her organs were incredibly healthy. But she couldn't. Sheng Chenjin and the butler were standing nearby. If she were to jump up now, Sheng Chenjin would know that she was still employing this little tactic of feigning sleep even after returning.
Sheng Chenjin would flay her alive. Shi Xinxin clenched her fists tightly under the covers. What kind of clinical study was this? This had truly put her in a predicament.
"As the young lady's condition hasn't been diagnosed yet, consuming food during this period could potentially trigger discomfort due to certain ingredients in the food, which would then be problematic."
The doctor spoke as professionally as possible to make his explanation more credible to Sheng Chenjin, though he felt quite uneasy. If the young lady refused to wake up, and more than 24 hours passed, he might have to resort to forced medical intervention to wake Shi Xinxin.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility. Seeing Sheng Chenjin's stern demeanor, even the experienced doctor felt a little apprehensive.
Sheng Chenjin's tone finally softened slightly upon hearing this. "Alright. We'll wait until this evening. If she's still not awake by then, I'll have no choice but to revoke your medical license. Don't let me find out you can't even cure such a minor ailment."
Sheng Chenjin threatened him verbally while scrutinizing him with his eyes, as if the doctor were up to something. The butler could tell that his master's concern for the young lady now surpassed anything else in his life, even his rationality.
Even the butler, listening to the doctor's nonsensical ramblings, had already concluded that the young lady was deliberately faking her sleep, possibly to avoid punishment from his master, as the events of last night were quite serious.
The butler nodded thoughtfully, but unfortunately, Sheng Chenjin noticed it. "Butler, you understand medicine too?" Sheng Chenjin asked curiously. He had never known the butler to be knowledgeable about medicine.
The butler stepped forward and said, "Sir, I'm not very familiar with medicine, but I have heard of the report the doctor mentioned. I read it in some magazine before. There is indeed such a claim. Perhaps, sir, we should wait a little longer."
As the butler spoke, he secretly glanced at the doctor. When their eyes met, the butler instantly understood. The young lady was indeed just pretending to be asleep, and the doctor's seemingly scientific theory was just a small ploy.
If a healthy person was not allowed to eat for 24 hours, they would surely not be able to endure the hunger and would wake up on their own.
This was the doctor's last resort. The butler sighed softly.
"Very well. We'll proceed as you say. You may both go now." Although Sheng Chenjin said this, he was still extremely anxious. It wasn't that he truly believed Shi Xinxin had a serious illness; he could always punish the doctor later. He was afraid that even punishing the doctor would be of no use if she still didn't wake up.
He didn't know what had happened last night. When he went to pick up Shi Xinxin, she was already in this state. Faced with these unknowns, Sheng Chenjin was both angry and heartbroken.
After the butler and the doctor left, Sheng Chenjin sat back on the chair by the bedside and quietly watched Shi Xinxin. Could she have truly become a sleeping beauty?
If that were the case, he would tear down that bar and thoroughly punish everyone who had been to that bar that night. Even if he wasn't present that evening, he would dig three feet deep to find all of them.