Hospital room.
Without that annoying presence, even the smell of disinfectant seemed unusually sweet.
“Aunt, when is your surgery?”
“… I’ll do a final cleansing of my stomach and intestines tomorrow, then the day after.”
“I really want to stay with you.”
Aunt rolled her eyes: “I think you just want to take leave, don’t you?”
“… Aunt~~”
“Pouting won’t work on me. You can see for yourself, it’s not easy for Aunt to make money!”
This was one of the few complaints Shen Xiyan had ever heard from his Aunt in this lifetime.
When parents have no other way to make you understand hardship, they only have one standard line: ‘Making money isn’t easy, it’s exhausting, you have to study hard.’
But children always get particularly annoyed by this, feeling an unfounded pressure.
Now that Aunt said this, it was nothing more than not wanting Wenwen to come over.
Wenwen was obedient, at least more so than Shen Xiyan: “Then after your surgery, I’ll come visit you at night… just for a moment, okay?”
“No!”
“I’m here, don’t worry.” Qin Sheng pushed open the door and walked in, followed by a doctor.
Shen Xiyan immediately said, “Wenwen, we should go now.”
Staying longer would risk exposing Aunt’s real condition and cause unnecessary worry.
“Oh~~”
“How’s Qin Sheng going home? Still the driver?” Aunt asked.
“No, a taxi…”
“Then let Xiyan send you.”
“You don’t need to remind him, he already knows, right… Xiyan?” Qin Sheng giggled softly.
No matter how bad her mood, teasing or flirting with Shen Xiyan would quickly lift her spirits.
Perhaps this was what people meant when they said love could satisfy even hunger.
Stepping out of the hospital gates, Shen Xiyan spotted Song Wan in the parking lot, looking extremely impatient.
How could he tell?
Because she was shaking her leg… wildly shaking!
“Why is she here?”
“Because of me!”
Qin Sheng tugged at the ends of her hair with her delicate fingers, the slight curve of her hand playful, the corners of her mouth lifting faintly into a mischievous smile.
The dazzling moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting a halo around her hair, but her smile was wicked.
Shen Xiyan silently watched her for a long time, until a chill crept into his heart.
“… Are you causing trouble again?”
“What?”
… Shen Xiyan quietly sent Wenwen away to a distance.
“Don’t stare at me like that, it’s creepy. Here, put on your mask… the hospital’s pretty dirty, don’t catch some weird infection…” Qin Sheng opened her bag and pulled out two masks.
When Shen Xiyan refused to lower his head, she stood on tiptoe to help him put on the mask.
Afterwards, she put on her own mask, tilting her head slightly to brush back her hair, hooking the straps behind her ears so Shen Xiyan couldn’t see her expression.
But she still needed to sound serious.
“From now on, wear a mask whenever you go out. Cleanliness aside, the main thing is it instantly boosts your looks several levels—let them envy you!”
“What were you just doing?”
“Just now?”
“In the hospital room.”
Qin Sheng gave an innocent look. “Didn’t I say I went to see the doctor?”
“Is that so?”
Hearing this, Shen Xiyan propped one hand against the tree beside her head and pressed his face close to hers.
Qin Sheng’s eyes were big and beautiful, shimmering with moisture…
But she wasn’t about to back down, raising her eyelids to meet his gaze with those lovely eyes.
As Shen Xiyan leaned closer, his breath brushing against her face—
“Are you going to kiss me?”
“Ugh, you’re the worst! You had plenty of time at school but didn’t try. Now that I’m about to leave, you want to be gentle…”
“Sucking, licking, biting—I don’t need to teach you, you’ve probably learned all this from those little movies…”
Qin Sheng finally gave in, sending a spoiled, alluring glance, swallowing nervously before slowly closing her big eyes, pulling down her mask, tilting her chin up and pressing her lips toward his.
She moved forward an inch, Shen Xiyan pulled back an inch.
She moved forward an inch more, he retreated an inch again.
Qin Sheng: Forward! Forward! Forward!
Shen Xiyan: *!!!
Qin Sheng never managed to reach his lips and, embarrassed, opened her eyes sharply to stomp on his shoe.
“Hurry up! Kiss me!”
Shen Xiyan grabbed her lips in one hand, pinching her mouth into an “hourglass” shape.
“Xiyan, mmm! Ouch!”
… “Thanks.”
Shen Xiyan’s sudden words stunned Qin Sheng, who was focused on her exaggerated performance, making her lose the will to joke: “Thanks for what? Haven’t you already thanked me enough?”
“…” Shen Xiyan was speechless.
Knowing Qin Sheng as well as he did, that Huang guy’s fate wouldn’t be so easy.
Everything Qin Sheng did was just “acting.”
She might say nothing now, but in a few days, that person’s downfall would reach his ears through various channels, then Qin Sheng would reluctantly admit it, putting on a whole show again.
“In any case, thank you… and after Aunt’s surgery, I still have to thank you…”
“Then why don’t you repay me with yourself?”
Qin Sheng protested indignantly:
“In ancient times, girls repaid favors like this—if the benefactor was ugly, they’d say, ‘In the next life, I’ll repay your great kindness as a beast of burden.’”
“If he was decent-looking, they’d say, ‘I have no other way to repay, so I’ll offer myself to you…’ I’m really not ugly. Why can’t you just go along with me? I’ll make you very comfortable…”
Shen Xiyan twitched at the corner of his mouth: “A simple thank you is enough.”
“A simple thank you?”
Qin Sheng rolled her eyes and blushed slightly, embarrassed:
“I haven’t shaved, and I just went to the bathroom, so maybe I have a bit of… something. You don’t mind, do you? Or would you be excited? Then I won’t even bother removing my armpit hair anymore…”
Shen Xiyan: “??!”
His lips twitched as if to say something, but in the end, he stayed silent.
“Just kidding… I only helped with Aunt’s medical expenses, accompanied her during surgery, kept those annoying people away, and helped her find a job… that’s it, really nothing hard!” Qin Sheng flicked her crutch-hand and stared at him with wide eyes.
Shen Xiyan sighed deeply: “Tell me, what do you want this time?”
“What kind of thing are you saying? Like I’m threatening you? I’m just an ordinary high school student, my words don’t carry weight, none of this is really my credit.”
Shen Xiyan understood—she was emphasizing that she had to ask for favors behind the scenes and felt wronged.
Seeing him silent, Qin Sheng pouted: “Do you always find me annoying?”
“… How could I?”
“How could you means you do find me annoying, right?”
Shen Xiyan’s stunned expression: “When did you find out?”
“Xiyan~~”
Qin Sheng stamped her foot angrily but it looked no different from pouting.
Her fingers shyly twisted together, maybe seeing his helpless expression, she mistook his reaction for affection, which made her strangely satisfied.
Everything she had done now felt meaningful, brightening her mood.
“Then I’ll make a not-so-excessive request~~”
“You go ahead. Whether it’s excessive or not, I’ll decide.”
“I don’t have many friends, and weekends are boring, but this weekend I don’t want to be bored. How about you treat me and take me to the street to hang out…”
“In a few days, my foot will be almost healed, so we can call it rehabilitation after childbirth… pfft! Just rehab.”
“That kind of thing you can simply call a ‘date,’ no need to make it complicated…”
Qin Sheng stressed: “Dates are with boyfriends. We’re just purely going out shopping.”
“After that, Aunt’s work is off the table, even if we end up hating each other and never speak again, I won’t use this to blackmail you anymore. Isn’t that a good deal?”
“Yeah, that’s a good deal.”
“So, do you agree?”
“I agree my ass. What do you want?”
“I want to go out shopping…” Qin Sheng was satisfied, lightly biting her lip, wearing a shy expression.
Adults have very low standards for happiness.
If she could, she wouldn’t want to go anywhere—just rent a room and spend forty-eight hours straight with Shen Xiyan.
Eating, bathing, sleeping… What are those?
If after it’s over, even one of you can get out of bed, that’s disrespectful to ‘love!’
“If you’re willing, we can pinky swear… if not, that’s okay, at worst it’s…”
Qin Sheng lowered her head, her pale fingers nervously picking at her thigh, staring at her toes, voice soft and squeezed out like from her throat.
“Qin Sheng… I really admire you. You knowingly walk right into traps.”
“Because Aunt is really important to you… We both want this.”
“Have you considered that if I accompany you but remain emotionally detached, then you’re the one losing out?”
“That sounds like I’m afraid of losing out. We sleeping together means I’m the loser, but I’m hoping you’ll take care of me…”
Seeing Shen Xiyan reach out his hand, Qin Sheng smiled again.
Her eyes smiled, but she tried not to show it too obviously.
Her delicate nose wrinkled, but in the end, she couldn’t help herself and quickly pulled up her mask.
“I’m going back. You should get to bed early too. If there’s anything upsetting at home… talk to Song Wan and the others. If that doesn’t work, you can talk to me.”
Shen Xiyan still worried about that bottle of Sleeping Pills.
“Thank you…”
“Good night.”
“Xiyan.”
Before he could turn around, a soft, delicate body suddenly flung itself around his back, holding him tightly where he couldn’t see.
Qin Sheng’s slender, fair, and well-proportioned hands locked over his chest from behind.
She was holding on tight!
Then Shen Xiyan felt her forehead press against his back: “I should be the one thanking you… Thank you for giving me a reason to live in this world.”
His heart raced uncontrollably:
… Isn’t that a bit over the top?”
“No, it’s true. I know it’s wrong to threaten you, but please believe me, I really like you.
I like you so much that I can’t live without you.
So please, have a little more patience with me. I’m begging you.”
Maybe because of intense focus,
Shen Xiyan felt this moment slow down by many times, but in reality, it lasted only two or three seconds.
Qin Sheng hugged him once from behind, then immediately pulled away.
“Good night! Qin Sheng will always love you!”