*Panik*

It was 6:30 in the evening and father Ji had also just arrived back home from his work.

Mother Ji happily came to welcome him as usual and helped him take off his coat: "You are back? How was your day at work?"

Father Ji's stern face that gave many of his employees a scare, melted into a gentle smile at home. He very naturally let his wife take his coat and walked in after taking off his shoes.

Loosening his tie, he sat on the sofa and said, "It was the same as usual. Just that the new project about the energy source we are working on has experienced a bit of a block but it won't be long before we get some results."

"Ah, right. Ah Ming called me to inform that he'd be back tomorrow. He'd first visit the company before coming home at noon. Make sure to have the chef cook more for lunch."

Mother Ji happily nodded:"That's good. Father will also be back tomorrow then all the family members will be together. I must tell the chef to cook delicious food tomorrow!"

At this time, Ji RuanYu also came downstairs. He was looking at his phone with earphones stuck in his ears as he sat besides his father. He glanced at him and said,"Dad, you are back."

Then looked down at his phone again.

Father Ji: "Mm. I just came back. What are you looking at with so much interest? Your eyes are almost glued to the screen. Let me see."

Ji RuanYu hesitated a bit then thought that it wasn't really something to hide so he took off his earphones and handed over his phone to his father.

It was playing the video of Ji RongXue's piano performance at the mall. It hadn't even been that long since it was uploaded and yet the view count had already crossed millions with tens of thousands of likes and shares as well as thousands of comments that equally sung praises and admiration for the beautiful performance.

There were even some reviews and comments evaluating the music and techniques used by the girl while playing the piano left by some verified music accounts. They were all expressing their shock and appreciation for the girl as well as their curiosity about the music piece.

The post was bustling with activities as many discussed about the music and the identity of the young lady with great enthusiasm.

Scrolling through the comment section while listening to the music, father Ji was first nodding along with the notes while praising the young girl for being a genius when he was suddenly shocked stiff by the close up look of the young girl playing the piano.

Seeing his astonished face, mother Ji became a bit curious.

What could it be for him to show such an aghast look on his usually straight face?

She curiously pulled out an earpiece from father Ji's ear and put it in her ear then scooted closer to his side to glance at the screen when she also showed the exact same reaction as her husband.

Her eyes were wide open as she stared at the phone screen in disbelief. Her voice trembled when she hesitantly called out: "R-rong'er??"

Were her eyes deceiving her or was the person playing the piano in the video truly her daughter?? No no no, how could that be possible? She must've looked at the screen the wrong way.

Mother Ji closed her eyes and turned her face to the side then turned it back again and carefully opened her eyes but the result was another close-up look of Ji RongXue which showed her face that was too familiar to the Ji couple.

It was really her baby girl?!

How did she suddenly turn into a genius?!

Was she swapped with a fake?!

Or maybe that girl was just someone with the same face as her daughter???

.....How could there be such a coincidence in the world? It was really her daughter...

The Ji couple turned to stare at Ji RuanYu for an explanation.

Being stared at with such intense eyes, Ji RuanYu was a bit uncomfortable but then he realised that there was nothing for him to be nervous for.

"Um, mom. Didn't you go shopping with Ah Rong today? I thought you knew about this since you two were together the whole day."

"Shopping?"

"Ah?"

Mother Ji and father Ji spoke at the same time and now it was mother Ji's turn to be stared at by the other two.

She was puzzled: "Yeah, we did go shopping today but how is this...?"

"Wait..." She suddenly paused as she remembered something.

"Ah, right! When we were shopping today, Rong'er got separated from me and got lost. I was really panicked when I couldn't find her anywhere but then she came back on her own after a while so I didn't say much other than telling her to not stray away from my side. Maybe it was at that time..."

"So that's how it is...And I also thought how the background in the video looked strangely familiar. Also the music, I think I heard a bit of it while I was searching for Rong'er but I was too worried about her to care about it."

Hearing her musings, father Ji and Ji RuanYu had a complicated look on their face.

It really did sound like what she'd do the more they heard it ah...

Meanwhile, mother Ji was still going on with her self-talk:

"Ah- but I didn't know that Rong'er was so good at piano! I thought she didn't like it? I was really sad when I heard how she didn't like learning music at school and even felt depressed to think how my musical genes didn't go to any of my children. But it seems that she's actually a hidden genius ah!"

"My Rong'er is really the best!"

Father Ji and Ji RuanYu glanced at each other and saw the same helplessness inside the other's eyes. With a sigh, Ji RuanYu recounted the same excuse that Ji RongXue gave him.

"....And that's why she'd been learning music secretly."

When he finished speaking, the reactions of the Ji couple was very different. Father Ji had a dumbfounded face, just like the one Ji RuanYu had when he first heard about it from Ji RongXue. Meanwhile, mother Ji had a very proud look on her delicate face, her eyes seemed to be saying "look, look! This is my daughter! She is the best!"

"I knew it! They say mother and daughter are the closest kins. An apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Truly, she's got the same hardworking and persistent nature as when I was young. Even her temper is the same!" Mother Ji excitedly chattered at the side.

Ji RuanYu and father Ji simply looked at her chatter on blankly. But still, father Ji and mother Ji easily accepted the fact that their daughter was a 'hidden musical prodigy'. They both blindly loved and doted on their daughter so to them, it didn't matter what she did as long as she was happy and didn't harm her own health.

If she wanted to slap on her music teacher's face with her progress that she worked hard on then just let her do it! It'd be even better if the slap was very resounding and hard so that they could also vent their dissatisfaction on the teacher for bullying their daughter at first.

And so, the two of them simply put aside the matter and talked about some trivial daily stuff. Ji RuanYu also took his phone back and continued to watch the video; he'd never admit that he was totally enamoured by the music lest his little sister got too arrogant about it.

It was already time for dinner. The servants busied themselves in setting up the dining table with the dishes.

Father Ji also came back from his room after taking a bath and sat on the sofa dressed in casual clothes. He was tall and handsome with masculine features and healthy wheat-colour skin tone. The maturity in his narrow cold eyes made him look very imposing.

With the formal business suit gone, he now looked very much like a capable father of a normal family.

Mother Ji was also in her thirties but she looked like she was in her twenties; still young and beautiful. The genes of the Ji family was further elevated by a notch with their gorgeous looks.

Mother Ji walked out of the dining hall and saw that her daughter still hadn't come downstairs.

"Rong'er hasn't come down yet?"

"She's been inside her room the whole time after coming back. Maybe she was tired so she fell asleep?" Ji RuanYu answered.

"Maybe..." Mother Ji nodded, "But still, she can't skip on her meals. Yu'er, can you go upstairs and wake her up?"

Ji RuanYu put his phone down and said, "Okay, mom."

He then went upstairs and stood before Ji RongXue's room. He lightly knocked on the door and called out: "Ah Rong! Are you there? Quickly wake up. It's time for dinner."

He waited for a while but didn't get any response from the other side. He pasted his ear to the door and listened for any noise inside but it was completely silent. He suddenly felt a bit uneasy and knocked on the door again, this time a bit louder.

"Ah Rong? Ah Rong, wake up! Mom's calling for you downstairs for dinner! It's your favourite chicken soup porridge today. Ah Rong? Ah Rong??"

No matter how he shouted and banged at the door, the inside was completely silent which was very strange for his loud commotion should be able to wake up even the deepest sleeper. He felt that something wasn't right.

Just then, mother Ji and father Ji also came up after hearing the commotion upstairs. They looked confused and worried.

"What happened? Why are you shouting like that?" Father Ji asked with a frown.

Ji RuanYu turned around and said: "Dad, Ah Rong isn't opening her door even though I've been banging on her door for a while now. There isn't any noise coming from inside either."

Mother Ji said, "She isn't opening the door? Maybe she is just fast asleep? After all, she must be tired from shopping around for so long today."

Father Ji didn't say anything and just went to the door and turned the doorknob. Fortunately, the door was unlocked.

With a click sound, the door opened and they could finally see a faint light coming from the room. The three of them quietly walked in and felt that the situation was indeed a bit strange.

They found Ji RongXue lying on the bed with her eyes shut from the door. They sighed in relief when they saw this.

Looks like she is just fast asleep.

But then, their relaxed heart jumped in their chest again when they got closer.

Wrong! Her sleeping position looked more like she'd fainted instead of going to sleep!

"Rong'er!" Mother Ji ran to the bedside and worriedly held her when she felt the scorching temperature under her palm through the fabric.

She exclaimed: "Ah! Her body is scorching hot! She is burning from fever! Quickly, call the doctor! Quick!"

Father Ji and Ji RuanYu were startled by her shout and quickly came to her side when they saw the abnormally flushed face and tightly knitted brows of Ji RongXue.

"Ah Rong!" Ji RuanYu worriedly went to hold her hand, his usually calm face now looked very panicky and terrible.

Father Ji was still able to keep his calm but his stern face looked very cold and his eyes held deep concern. But he still went out to call for the doctor.

Because of this incident, the whole Ji mansion was thrown into a state of panic for the whole night.

Even Grandpa Ji and elder brother Ji were alarmed by this news and quickly took the earliest flight after taking care of everything hastily.

When the family's doctor arrived, he was rushed into the room and urged to check what was wrong with their daughter.

The family doctor was a man of mixed-race in his early thirties with neat and tidy appearance with a gentle air around him. He had light green eyes and light brown hair with tall stature and soft facial features that didn't look feminine. He was named Chen Jin.

He had been the one in charge of looking after Ji RongXue's health all these times so he was very familiar with her condition.

Chen Jin calmly set his bag to the side and felt Ji RongXue's pulse then felt her temperature with his hand. He then took out a thermometer to measure her body temperature and took it out after it beeped.

"She has a high fever of 39.5°C. She's also caught a cold and her old illness must've flared from the stimulation of the fever. Fortunately, she wasn't too stimulated or else it could've resulted into a stroke. It would've been difficult in her muddled state to take her medicine in time and would've led her into a more critical state."

When the other family members standing at the side with worried expressions heard his diagnosis and speculation of the possible outcome, their heart jolted in fear.

Their back went cold when they imagined it.

Their little princess had only just recovered from the shock she experienced at school and barely escaped from death's door. Just when they thought she was finally feeling better and took their eyes off of her for a while, this happened! How could they not feel bad when they suddenly heard that their little princess nearly had a brush against death?

Mother Ji suppressed her tears that were threatening to fall down her eyes and guiltily murmured, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have brought Rong'er out with me in such cold weather just because I thought she'd be bored at home. I should've thought more about her health and prevented this from happening. This is all my fault..."

"Nonsense! It's not your fault. You had Rong'er's wellbeing in mind so don't blame yourself! The doctor is here now so she will be fine. Don't cry." Father Ji softly comforted his wife and turned to look at Chen Jin again.

"Doctor Chen, how is Rong'er's condition? Is it serious?"

Chen Jin replied calmly: "Don't worry. I was only pointing out some possibilities but her situation isn't serious. It's only a high fever and cold. After taking the necessary medicines and stabilising her old illness, we will have to wait till her fever has burned out to determine anything else."

"I will prescribe the necessary medication and see if it works for now. If her condition worsens, we will have to admit her to the hospital. Her health isn't good because of her congenital disease so we must observe her condition more to come to a decision."

Father Ji nodded with a serious face."Thank you for your hard work, doctor Chen. I will have someone get the prescribed medicines immediately. I will notify you if there is any change. Let me see you off to the entrance."

Chen Jin politely exchanged some pleasantries and wrote down a list of prescription then went out of the room in father Ji's lead.

After the two were gone, mother Ji and Ji RuanYu went to the bedside and looked after the unconscious Ji RongXue, taking care of her meticulously. Nobody could get a good sleep even if they tried to take a rest and just busied themselves with something else for the whole night.

The next morning, elder brother Ji, Ji RuanMing took an early flight back to B city and went straight to the hospital.

Ji RongXue's condition wasn't good. Her fever didn't go down the whole night and instead became more severe. Her whole body was hot like fire, just a touch could make one instinctively withdraw their hand from the burning sensation.

She also hadn't regained her consciousness throughout the process which had everyone pacing around impatiently in worry and fear. So after discussing it with Doctor Chen Jin again, they quickly admitted her to the hospital which finally stabilised her condition a bit.

When Ji RuanMing arrived at the special ward where Ji RongXue was in, her fever had already subsided quite a lot and her complexion wasn't as bad as last night but she'd yet to regain her consciousness.

Inside the ward, mother Ji was sitting on a chair beside the hospital bed while his younger brother was sitting on the bed, peeling an apple. Father Ji couldn't stay for long to accompany his daughter and went to take care of office matters at the company just an hour ago, despite his reluctance.

When Ji RuanMing opened the ward door and stepped inside, the two raised their head immediately at the sound.

Without letting anyone react, he asked worriedly: "How is RongRong? Is it very serious? What did the doctor say?"

Seeing that it was him, mother Ji smiled at him stiffly while holding in her tears. "Ming'er, you are back? You didn't have to rush over right after taking care of your business. What if you ruined your health like this? Come, sit down."

Ji RuanYu also called out to him: "Big brother."

Ji RuanMing calmed his erratic heart and walked over to take a seat then continued asking.

"What happened? How did RongRong suddenly get sick? I wasn't told the details over the phone call. Is it something serious?"

While saying this, his concerned eyes never strayed from the unconscious Ji RongXue. He looked at her pale complexion and his brows tightened a bit, his voice tinged with pain and worry for his sister.

Mother Ji quickly patted his back to calm him down and said, "Calm down. The doctor said that Rong'er only had a common cold and a high fever. After the fever is gone, she will be fine. She only needs more rest to recover her vitality. She will wake up soon."

Ji RuanMing could finally set his heart, that was lodged in his throat, back down to it's original place.

"It's good that she is fine. I was nearly scared to death when I heard that something happened to RongRong. I was even about to rush over in the middle of a meeting but my assistant held me back so I could only come over after taking care of everything."

"You, ah, are always so calm and rational at all the other times. But when it comes to Rong'er, you always react so strongly." said mother Ji in a half-joking, half-serious way.

"I can't help it, mom. After all, RongRong is my only little sister. How can I not worry about her?"

Mother Ji held his hand in hers and patted it gently. "I know and I'm glad that you care so much about your little sister."