Su Shanshan hummed an unknown little tune, looking perfectly content. She and Pei Xingyan each stood on their own side, busy with their own tasks. Pei Xingyan was handling some freeze-dried limes he’d found in the fridge that hadn’t spoiled yet, while Su Shanshan clumsily chopped a mango she’d somehow gotten hold of.
If one judged solely by this scene, it would definitely be seen as a warm, everyday moment.
But Pei Xingyan could still sense that Su Shanshan’s body was trembling. It wasn’t from fear or exhaustion. In his eyes, she was merely forcing herself to look cute, and it was a struggle.
She had gradually gotten used to the nickname “baby,” weaving it into her unknown little tune, so within a minute, Pei Xingyan had already heard the word “baby” a hundred times. It seemed like Su Shanshan was deliberately repeating it just to make sure he heard it.
But Pei Xingyan felt her true purpose wasn’t to avoid arousing his suspicion.
It was to keep him from noticing anything wrong, so that later the Su Shanshan he was familiar with would discover the anomaly instead.
From previous experiences, Pei Xingyan was almost certain now that Su Shanshan’s mind wasn’t intact. But why the other “fragments” of her mind hid their existence, he still couldn’t figure out.
Moreover, he wasn’t clear either whether the Su Shanshan he knew had a detailed understanding of what was happening to her.
Judging from certain details, perhaps she realized something was off, but she probably didn’t know the specifics, nor did she dare to face them.
As Pei Xingyan pondered this, a burst of sweet fragrance suddenly wafted into his nose. The girl holding the fruit plate appeared in front of him, her delicate, fair hand offering the fruit.
Her eyes curved into a smile, gentle and tender.
Pei Xingyan turned to meet her gaze, looking straight into her eyes, hoping to read something there.
He even considered doing something bold, to provoke this pretender and see how she would react.
“Have a bite, dear~”
Su Shanshan smiled and opened her mouth, bringing the plate a little closer.
She was fully in character now, far more perfect than before. Without careful scrutiny, it was impossible to detect anything amiss.
But the problem was, she was in high spirits.
People tend to lose their composure at moments like this.
“Dear?” Pei Xingyan raised an eyebrow and asked, “Have you ever called me that before?”
Her earlier use of “baby” had been awkward, but now, due to her momentary lapse, she finally slipped up.
Under normal circumstances, this would be a minor slip, maybe even a chance for flirtation with some. But for a girl already haunted by inner demons, it struck like a fierce blow straight to the heart.
She panicked, instinctively correcting herself, her body defensively retreating backward.
But just then, some water droplets had fallen from the plate, making the floor slippery. Without textured slippers, it was easy to lose footing. Her foot slipped, and she suddenly fell backward.
Everything happened too fast, and there was quite some distance between them, so Pei Xingyan couldn’t catch her from behind in time.
Fortunately, quick on his feet, he stretched out his leg, cushioning her fall and preventing her from landing hard on her backside.
Su Shanshan was still shaken, staring at him blankly, unable to recover her senses.
She seemed unharmed; after all, young people didn’t usually get seriously hurt from a single fall like elderly folks.
But then a few drops of blood fell to the floor, vivid and glaringly red. Pei Xingyan shifted his gaze and found a cut on Su Shanshan’s arm, sliced open by the edge of the table.
Su Shanshan stared at her arm in shock and was even more frightened. Her lips trembled incessantly, and her whole body shivered, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Pei Xingyan also felt a bit flustered, but with blood dripping steadily onto the floor, he couldn’t hesitate. He immediately took Su Shanshan’s hand and carefully examined the wound.
The cut wasn’t long nor deep, and hadn’t hit any major blood vessels. Pei Xingyan breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But it couldn’t be ignored. He asked Su Shanshan where the first aid kit was.
She remained dazed, staring at her wound with trembling lips.
Knowing she was no help at the moment, Pei Xingyan turned and rushed to the usual places where a first aid kit might be kept in a normal household. In a family like Su Shanshan’s, even if they lacked rice and oil, they would definitely have life-saving supplies.
TV cabinet, entranceway, bathroom sink…
He searched quickly, and finally found a box marked with a red cross inside the cabinet under the sink.
Pei Xingyan swiftly returned to where the accident happened. Su Shanshan was still slumped on the floor, motionless, but her condition was worsening. She looked utterly desperate, her hands grasping at empty air, trying to find something to hold onto.
But there was nothing she could clutch; only the cabinet, which stood at a right angle to the floor, and she couldn’t grip that.
Her breathing grew more rapid. At this rate, she was going to hyperventilate and risk alkalosis.
Suddenly, her hand was caught by something warm, and her arm was gently pulled straight.
The girl sitting on the floor turned her head dazedly, and a face both familiar and strange appeared before her eyes. He carefully applied white powder from the medicine box onto her arm.
His movements were so gentle, so soft. The girl felt no sting—although the wound should have hurt, she only sensed a coolness on her arm, along with the pleasant scent of his breath…
And… from this angle, his face was handsome too…
The girl felt a certain string inside her heart being struck sharply.
“Don’t worry, it’s not deep, and it won’t leave a scar,” Pei Xingyan said firmly. “You probably aren’t prone to scarring, so no ugly marks will remain.”
The girl gave a faint “hm” in response, her emotions unreadable.
But it was clear she had abandoned her act, no longer pretending to be warm or forcibly intimate. She quietly looked at him, a sincere smile curling the corners of her lips.
“All done!” Pei Xingyan called out cheerfully as he finished bandaging her.
He helped the girl up from the floor. She cooperated fully, no longer showing the faintest trace of resistance.
She looked at Pei Xingyan’s face, her eyes shining, but beneath the glow was a trace of reluctance.
It seemed like she had countless things to say, many greetings to give. It was as if she wanted to call out his name, or maybe brush her fingertips against his hand.
But what came out instead was her request: “I feel a little sleepy. Can you help me to the bedroom?”
Pei Xingyan nodded and supported her as they walked slowly.
The way upstairs wasn’t difficult. Although there was an elevator, the girl insisted on taking the stairs, as if she wanted to spend just a little more time close to him.
“That’s right. You really are good. If…” she suddenly said after entering the room, “If it were you, that would be good… I think it would be good…”
Pei Xingyan was baffled, not understanding what she meant.
But he didn’t need to figure it out. The girl slipped out of his support, sat on the edge of the bed, and before lying down, suddenly leaned forward to leave a wet trace of her lips on his face.
“When I wake up next time, you must be by my side~ or else I’ll come find you!”
She squinted her eyes, giving her most sincere smile, then buried herself in the blankets.
Soon after, she fell into a deep, motionless sleep, as if she wouldn’t wake up for quite some time.