Chapter 860
Though she was only 7 years old, she appeared more mature than her peers. Her eyes held a hint of vigilance 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 explained 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 and come 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’ll come with you to the hospital later. I have a car, so it’s pretty convenient, and I don’t have any other plans for the day.” Rosalie considered the offer and accepted, 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. Unexplainably, 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 particularly fond of him,” Rosalie explained.
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.
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 explanation 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
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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 discomfort.”
Rosalie and Lillian were both stunned.
“Is that even possible?” Lillian couldn’t help but exclaim.
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 uncommon instances of complete insensitivity to pain,” the doctor explained. Rosalie quietly observed Zekiah, who appeared unfazed by it all. She realized that when he had claimed 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!”
