As Zhang Yang returned from seeing Director Zhu and the others out, Gu Cheng remarked enviously while tidying up the gifts Director Zhao had sent.

"They came to see Mi Xue, not me!"

Zhang Yang smiled faintly, walked over, and sat down again by the bedside, gazing at Mi Xue's beautiful face, a slight pang of pain in his heart.

She was such a kind girl; fate shouldn't have treated her this way. A girl like this shouldn't have to suffer so much pain, especially this time. Zhang Yang secretly shuddered with lingering fear; if he hadn't been right there to call the ambulance, she might have been lost.

A girl like this should never endure so many trials; she should be cherished and adored. Thinking of this, Zhang Yang couldn't help but grasp Mi Xue's small hand resting outside the blanket.

"Don't think I don't know—if it weren't for you, they wouldn't have come. These two boxes are the highest grade Brain Platinum; they aren't cheap on the market. I saw them at the pharmacy last time; they were a hundred or two hundred each!"

Gu Cheng spoke without turning his head, continuing to sort things. The items Director Zhao brought were indeed quite good. Brain Platinum wasn't as wildly popular yet, but the advertising had taken hold, and the price was certainly not low.

"If you like them, you can take them!"

Zhang Yang smiled slightly; he wasn't keen on these health supplements.

Strictly speaking, supplements weren't inherently bad; quality supplements truly benefited the body, much like dietary therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The pity was that in the current environment, finding genuinely effective, high-quality supplements was incredibly difficult.

This era might be slightly better, but in the future, never mind supplements—even pharmaceuticals directly related to patients would see tampering, leading to incidents like toxic capsules.

"Forget it, I can't afford something so valuable!"

Gu Cheng finished tidying up the items and set them aside. As he turned back while speaking, he froze.

His eyes had caught Zhang Yang's hand intertwined with Mi Xue's. He quickly averted his gaze back to the side.

Gu Cheng was naturally a bit shy, but thankfully, people of this era were quite open-minded; holding hands was nothing significant. In their eyes, although Zhang Yang and Mi Xue weren't officially a couple yet, it was only a matter of time.

"Zhang Yang, we're back!"

The door to the ward opened again, and Hu Xin, Xiao Bin, and Xiao Dai walked in together. The female motorcycle driver responsible for the accident was nowhere in sight.

"So fast?"

Gu Cheng quickly inquired. Their arrival thankfully saved him from awkwardness; Gu Cheng had been contemplating slipping out to avoid being the third wheel.

Zhang Yang stood up as well, releasing Mi Xue's hand.

"Yeah, that brat was cooperative enough; she paid the medical fees and we let her go!"

Hu Xin chirped happily, holding up the brown leather bag in his hand, a hint of satisfaction on his face.

"Right, the person wasn't unreasonable. She paid ten thousand yuan for the initial medical fees and said she'd cover more if needed. Hu Xin and I figured ten thousand should be close enough, so we let her go for now!"

Xiao Bin chimed in. The money Hu Xin held was the ten thousand yuan medical compensation they had secured.

In '98, ten thousand yuan was no small sum; it was enough for a typical traffic accident. At this time, causing a fatality might only result in compensation of a few tens of thousands.

"Zhang Yang, don't worry. We kept her ID card, took down her home phone number and address. Moreover, she had a friend bring the money, and we even noted down her friend's license plate number!"

Seeing Zhang Yang deep in thought, Xiao Dai quickly added. Girls are often more meticulous; she had handled things Hu Xin and Xiao Bin had overlooked.

"It's fine. I know. Here's what we'll do: Hu Xin, go ahead and deposit eight thousand yuan at the hospital. We can't let the hospital absorb the cost for free; that's against regulations. Just settle the billing as required!"

Zhang Yang nodded. Besides the severe bone fractures, Mi Xue was generally fine, nothing major.

Ten thousand yuan in medical fees was more than enough. For Mi Xue's condition, treatment would cost around five or six thousand at most. The offending driver looked quite ordinary, but thankfully, she seemed responsible and didn't try to evade accountability.

Of course, if she had tried to run, Zhang Yang had plenty of ways to deal with her.

"Okay, I'll go do that right now!"

Hu Xin nodded immediately. There were on-duty doctors at the hospital, and keeping that much cash on him made him uneasy; turning it over to the hospital was better.

"I'll go with you!"

Xiao Dai quickly pulled Hu Xin along. After Hu Xin saved her previously, the two seemed to have grown closer; wherever Hu Xin went, Xiao Dai followed.

Xiao Bin didn't follow this time. He walked over, glanced at Mi Xue again, then looked up at Zhang Yang, scrutinizing him continuously.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Zhang Yang's brow twitched slightly. Xiao Bin's stare was too peculiar, prompting him to ask.

"Nothing. Chengzi, don't you feel that Zhang Yang seems a bit different than before?"

Xiao Bin shook his head, pulling Gu Cheng back over. Hearing Xiao Bin, Gu Cheng also started observing Zhang Yang carefully, nodding along the way.

"Now that you mention it, I feel it too. Maybe he's gotten more handsome, or perhaps he has better charisma!"

Gu Cheng said slowly, and Xiao Bin immediately nodded, "Yes, that's exactly the feeling! Zhang Yang, why are you getting handsomer?"

Xiao Bin maintained a very serious expression as he spoke, as did Gu Cheng.

"What's gotten into you two?"

Zhang Yang felt a mix of exasperation and amusement. He hadn't expected the two of them to start teasing him about how he was becoming "more handsome."

This body wasn't incredibly handsome, but it wasn't bad either—definitely above average. Zhang Yang was quite tall; if he really dressed up, he wouldn't be inferior to the body he inhabited in his previous life.

But never in his life had he heard anyone, especially another man, tell him he was getting progressively handsomer.

"No, we're serious. Your aura genuinely feels different compared to before!"

Xiao Bin shook his head, looking somewhat puzzled. He truly felt Zhang Yang had changed, but he couldn't quite articulate how; he just felt things were better than before.

"Right, me too! You seem more charming!"

Gu Cheng nodded in agreement. Prompted by Xiao Bin, he also felt it. His comment made Zhang Yang pause slightly.

Charm.

The System's data had five categories, and one of them was Charm. Zhang Yang remembered that upgrading the System today had earned him reward missions that increased his Charm.

With a thought, the System's main interface reappeared before him. It wasn't yet time, but he could still summon it.

The five columns appeared before Zhang Yang, who directly clicked on the Data section.

"Charm 13, Luck 12, Audiovisual 10, Taste/Smell 12, Strength 22!"

These were the current numerical values in the data panel. Compared to the beginning, all metrics had indeed increased, and Charm was the highest value, excluding Strength.

Zhang Yang recalled that his initial Charm rating was only 11, and the reward mission, 'Director Zhao's Gratitude,' had added 2 points.

However, the change from 11 to 13 wasn't that noticeable, leaving Zhang Yang slightly confused.

"Host's speculation is correct. Increases in System data will directly manifest physically. As your Charm value rises, your attraction to others will increase!"

The mechanical female voice suddenly sounded, startling Zhang Yang by appearing without preamble.

"That can't be right either. All these values have changed, so why is only Charm so obvious? Didn't the Luck index increase more significantly?"

Zhang Yang paused and asked silently. Among these stats, Luck had changed the most—it was only 5 initially, now 12, more than doubled.

"The manifestation of Luck is not superficial; you will gradually see its benefits as time goes on," the mechanical voice replied slowly, sounding almost amused.

Zhang Yang frowned slightly again and asked, "Audiovisual, Taste/Smell, and Strength indexes have all increased; why aren't they showing such obvious effects?"

Audiovisual was 9, now 10—not a big change. However, Taste/Smell had increased significantly, from 7 to 12, the largest jump besides Luck.

"They have, but the Host hasn't noticed yet. If you calm down and focus, you will certainly perceive the new changes!"

"Alright, I'll try to feel it then!"

Zhang Yang nodded lightly. This communication with the System hadn't taken much time. Xiao Bin and Gu Cheng were still talking. They had only mentioned Zhang Yang's slight change and hadn't paid it serious attention; it wasn't prominent enough unless Xiao Bin looked closely.

Standing there, Zhang Yang listened carefully to Xiao Bin and Gu Cheng's conversation. His hearing seemed slightly better, but the sensation wasn't pronounced.

As for sight, his vision had always been excellent, so there was no noticeable change there either.

That left Taste/Smell.

Zhang Yang drew a breath through his nose, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. He smelled various medicinal odors.

It wasn't unusual to smell medicine in a hospital; everyone did.

The key difference was that this time, the medicinal smell was sharper, more pungent, and he could even vaguely distinguish some of the specific drugs mixed within it.

This sensation was definitely much more vivid than before.

Furthermore, Zhang Yang felt he could smell odors he had never noticed before, such as the scent of the sheets covering Mi Xue's injured leg. This might be due to the closer proximity, but Zhang Yang knew that normally, from his position, he absolutely couldn't perceive such things.

All these signs indicated that his sense of smell had indeed increased noticeably; everything the System claimed was true.

As for taste and strength, Zhang Yang didn't intend to test them here; this wasn't the right place. The evidence from his sense of smell was sufficient proof.

At this moment, Zhang Yang suddenly felt that upgrading the System hadn't been a mistake. At least his own capabilities had genuinely increased, and this increase was more effective than anything he could achieve through mere training.

…………………… I sincerely apologize to everyone. This chapter was supposed to be updated yesterday, but for some reason, it didn't upload. I am rectifying it now; this is yesterday's chapter. I still owe one chapter from yesterday, both being three-thousand-word chapters. Little Yu will make up all of them, please rest assured!