Chapter 13: Bad ideas

Lin Jianqing fell silent. Shen Huaixue might have known all along that he would come to the hospital.

He slowly released his mother’s hand and tucked the corner of the blanket in for her. His movements were very gentle, as if afraid to disturb the rare peaceful sleep on the hospital bed.

“Where is she?”

“The small break room at the end of the hall.”

Lin Jianqing nodded and said nothing more. He walked out of the ward and gently closed the door behind him.

The moment the door clicked shut, the bright corridor light fell across his face, making his complexion look paler than usual.

The door to the small break room at the end of the hallway was half open.

As Lin Jianqing approached, he saw Shen Huaixue sitting inside at a glance.

She was dressed very low-key today—a light-colored shirt, black trousers, her jacket casually draped over the back of the chair.

Her long hair was loosely pinned up, revealing her slender, fair neck. She sat by the window with a steaming cup of coffee in front of her, her posture relaxed.

Hearing footsteps, Shen Huaixue looked up.

Her dark eyes settled on Lin Jianqing, as if she had already calculated that he would appear before her at this time and with this expression.

“You’re here?”

Lin Jianqing stood at the doorway, not immediately stepping inside.

“You knew I would come?”

Shen Huaixue picked up her coffee and took a light sip.

“Your mother is here, so of course you would come.”

She said it very calmly—so calmly that the small loosening in Lin Jianqing’s heart, caused by his mother’s improvement, once again congealed into tiny thorns.

“You also arranged the caregiver?”

“Mm.”

“The treatment plan too?”

“I just let professionals do what they do best. And isn’t the answer to your question obvious?”

Shen Huaixue set down her coffee cup and lifted her eyes to him.

“What, not satisfied?”

Lin Jianqing looked at her. Should he say he wasn’t satisfied? And… why did every word that came out of Shen Huaixue’s mouth sound to him like it carried a hint of sarcasm?

All of this was something he couldn’t have begged for before, but… Lin Jianqing wasn’t sure what he wanted to say to Shen Huaixue now. In the end, he spoke in a low voice.

“Thank you.”

There was no choice. He was living under someone else’s roof, so of course Lin Jianqing had to bow to his benefactor.

It was just that this benefactor didn’t match her outward appearance at all.

A faint smile flickered in Shen Huaixue’s eyes, as if she had finally heard what she wanted to hear.

“Isn’t this better?” She leaned back in her chair, her tone light. “Your mother gets better treatment, and you don’t have to be suffocated by the hospital every day. Lin Jianqing, you should have agreed to me sooner.”

Lin Jianqing’s hands, hanging at his sides, slowly clenched.

“So this is what you wanted?”

Shen Huaixue tilted her head.

“What?”

“To make me understand that as long as I listen to you, a lot of things will get better.”

The break room fell silent for a moment. Sunlight from the window fell on Shen Huaixue, making her look clean and gentle.

But Lin Jianqing knew it was only a facade.

Shen Huaixue looked at him and suddenly let out a soft laugh.

“You’re overthinking it.”

She stood up and slowly walked toward him, the distance between them narrowing inch by inch. Lin Jianqing instinctively wanted to step back, but the door frame was right behind him—he couldn’t retreat far.

Shen Huaixue stopped in front of him, her voice dropping very low.

“I’m just fulfilling the contract.”

She looked into his eyes, her tone so gentle it was almost harmless. But the gentler she was, the more Lin Jianqing felt something was off.

“See? I’ve already started doing what I promised you. So, Lin Jianqing, you need to properly fulfill what you promised me.”

Lin Jianqing said nothing. So this was what she was waiting for.

He looked at Shen Huaixue’s nearly flawless, beautiful face and felt only an indescribable sense of powerlessness.

After a long silence, he finally asked in a low voice.

“What do you need me to do today?”

Shen Huaixue looked at him, the smile on her face slowly deepening.

“Don’t be nervous.”

She reached out, as if to smooth the stray hair from his forehead. Lin Jianqing instinctively turned his head away to dodge. Shen Huaixue’s hand froze in midair.

The atmosphere stiffened for a moment.

But soon, as if nothing had happened, she withdrew her hand.

“Come find me after class tonight.”

“Wear the same outfit as yesterday,” Shen Huaixue added finally.

Lin Jianqing’s expression shifted slightly, but before he could speak, Shen Huaixue added another light remark.

“Relax. It’s just dinner. And you don’t need to be so tense—I’m not really going to do anything to you. Don’t be so hostile toward me.”

Lin Jianqing looked at her, not immediately agreeing.

Shen Huaixue didn’t rush him. She just stood there, waiting quietly. Because she knew Lin Jianqing would nod in the end.

And Lin Jianqing knew he didn’t have much room to refuse.

Finally, he took a soft breath.

“I understand.”

His face was full of reluctance, but faced with Shen Huaixue’s request, he had no choice but to agree.

It wasn’t that he hated wearing women’s clothing—it was just that putting it on and taking it off was troublesome. Second, if he ran into someone he knew, it would be hard to explain. How was that any different from having his dark history exposed?

The last point was Shen Huaixue herself. This person… for some reason, when Shen Huaixue looked at him with that gaze, his whole body felt an inexplicable discomfort.

That kind of gaze… Lin Jianqing couldn’t quite describe it.

“Alright, alright. Don’t make such a miserable face. Haven’t I already solved all the difficulties you were facing before? Why are you still frowning?”

Money.

Seeing Lin Jianqing’s reluctant expression, even though Shen Huaixue had already guessed why he was like that, she still had to ask.

That was the root of her nasty personality. Even knowing the truth, she would still say it out loud to embarrass the other person.

Especially Lin Jianqing—this man whose front and profile were extremely similar to the person she had loved before.

Too bad… he was a man. If only he were a woman.

Shen Huaixue didn’t know if she could control herself. Maybe she should find a time to take some scissors and cut off what he had down there?

(*·w⋅)

Anyway, Federation biotechnology was already very advanced. Turning a man into a woman wasn’t impossible—just a matter of spending more money.

And money was the last thing Shen Huaixue lacked.

“What are you thinking about?” Lin Jianqing originally wanted to retort, but when he saw the usually cold-faced Shen Huaixue’s expression turn a little lecherous, he immediately felt that her mind must be wandering to something weird. A look of disgust appeared on his already pale face.

“Nothing. I’m just looking at your body frame to see what would suit you. But you’re too thin. I’ll take you to get some supplements tonight.” Feeling Lin Jianqing’s disgusted gaze, Shen Huaixue immediately retracted her outrageous thought from a moment ago.

If she really did turn Lin Jianqing into a woman, he would probably hate her to death.

“I don’t need you to supplement me. I have class this afternoon. You have to wait until I finish class,” Lin Jianqing said, then turned his face away and stopped looking at Shen Huaixue.

“Fine. I’ll wait for you after class. Well, do you want me to drive you back to school?”

“No need to trouble yourself, President Shen.” With that, Lin Jianqing fled the hospital.

He really didn’t want to wear women’s clothing, but since she had already spoken, he had no way to refuse.