After leaving the hospital, Jiang Xi still reminded Qin Sheng, “When you get home, make sure you don’t let anything slip! If they ask, just say I have gastritis.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want them to worry~~”
This was the kind of overused plot device you’d see in Korean dramas—get a terminal illness and just disappear from the world.
Once upon a time, when Jiang Xi was younger, she thought such storylines were melodramatic and childish.
But now that it was happening to her, she realized it was something that came naturally, from the heart—not melodramatic at all.
“Aunt, aren’t you treating them like fools?”
Qin Sheng turned her face, looking at her aunt’s “survivor’s relief” expression, her eyes flickering with complex, indescribable emotions, and said with a wry smile.
“Normal gastritis doesn’t require hospitalization. If it’s not normal gastritis… you’d have been in unbearable pain long ago.”
“How could you say you’d ‘tough it out’ yesterday and then get hospitalized today?”
“If they found out, they’d just assume your condition got worse and rush to the hospital to see you. How would you hide it then?”
“And besides, you can’t have surgery alone… otherwise, when the anesthesia wears off and there’s no one with you, it’s just too sad. Someone has to be with you.”
“Don’t call your Aunt pitiful!”
Jiang Xi raised her hand and gently knocked on Qin Sheng’s head as a light punishment, then thought for a moment, shrugged, and smiled, “…If it really comes to it, I’ll just go home. After all, I’m still their daughter.”
“Wouldn’t that be so unfair to you?” Qin Sheng’s eyes grew deep as she spoke, “And they’ll probably nag you again, saying they raised two useless brats who can’t even be there when you’re sick.”
“Aunt, how about this! We’ll just say you have a polyp in your stomach and need surgery, and I’ll take care of you.”
“You?” Jiang Xi looked a bit uneasy.
Qin Sheng nodded vigorously and said, “Yeah! I’m an art student, I barely go to class anyway, and I’m usually free… Besides, your surgery will only be troublesome for the first few days, you don’t need help with bathroom stuff…”
“Even if, worst case, you don’t trust me, we can always hire a caregiver. The caregiver will look after you, and I’ll keep you company and call the doctor if you need.”
“We’re already saving on surgery fees—what’s a couple hundred for a caregiver?”
“No way! No way! How can I let a kid like you take care of me?”
“It’ll be fine! It’ll be fine! If you don’t agree, I won’t lend you my card!”
Jiang Xi looked at Qin Sheng in astonishment.
Qin Sheng, oblivious, giggled and hooked her arm around her aunt’s, “Come on, let’s go home and pack up, then get the surgery done early. Every day we delay is another day of worrying.”
“………I’ll pay you back for all this money in the future.”
Qin Sheng shook her head and said, “No need, it’s insurance money anyway. If I don’t use it, it’ll be gone by the end of the year. Honestly, I should thank you for not letting those capitalists make a profit…”
“Besides, even if you paid me back, what difference would it make? I’d just end up bringing it as a dowry when I get married. What a hassle!”
Jiang Xi looked at the happiness on Qin Sheng’s face, hesitated to speak, but in the end couldn’t help herself, “You and Xiyan, how did you two even meet?”
“We just met, didn’t I tell you before?”
“…It still feels kind of unrealistic.”
What parent would accept such a far-fetched explanation?
Qin Sheng was strikingly beautiful, but usually came across as reserved and demure, with a natural elegance.
Jiang Xi had spent years in society and seen plenty of stunning women, but the truly exceptional ones—looks and figure aside—were rare for their unique aura.
That was charm, depth, an attraction that transcended appearances.
Lu Shuren once said, beautiful faces are a dime a dozen, but an interesting soul is one in a million.
Qin Sheng was just that kind of person—being with her, even doing nothing at all, felt comfortable.
Jiang Xi had never met a girl as perfect in both looks and character as her.
“That’s because, Aunt, you don’t know just how great Xiyan is…”
“It…”
Even though Jiang Xi was fiercely protective, now that they were seriously discussing this, she found it hard to lie to herself.
Qin Sheng’s liking for Xiyan was hard to understand, but Xiyan not liking Qin Sheng was even more so.
It’s like saying women like rich men, but men are saints?
A girl with a background so privileged she could save you ten lifetimes of struggle, who wouldn’t be tempted?
Xiyan could resist…
“He’s really wonderful~~” Qin Sheng looked at Jiang Xi with a bright smile and said softly, “Aunt, can I ask you for a favor?”
“Go ahead.”
“Xiyan doesn’t like me yet… If one day he does, and then I accidentally make him mad, could you help me talk to him? I’d hate to finally be with him only to break up over ‘some tiny misunderstanding’.”
“???” Jiang Xi looked utterly surprised.
What was she even saying?
What on earth went on in Qin Sheng’s mind all day?
“Aunt… can you?”
Qin Sheng’s kitten-like, timid eyes pierced right through Jiang Xi.
“If that day really comes, of course I will.”
“Then I’m relieved! Thank you, Aunt!!”
(*≥≤)
***
When the two of them got home, Wenwen was lying on the coffee table watching TV, trying hard to control her facial expressions so she wouldn’t laugh too much at the show and appear unladylike.
Meanwhile, Lin Ci, upon hearing the door open, reacted as if she’d been caught in the act, instinctively shoving Shen Xiyan, whose forehead knocked against the coffee table edge, sending Shen Xiyan rolling on the floor in pain.
Lin Ci panicked even more, “Xiyan! Are you okay?!”
“I’m fine, I’m fine…”
Shen Xiyan rubbed his reddened forehead and got up, looking at the two changing their shoes at the door, and quickly asked, “How did it go? What’s the diagnosis?”
Aunt looked relaxed, “It’s nothing, just a small polyp in my stomach. I’ll need to have it surgically removed later…”
“Huh? Is it serious?!”
Wenwen, always quick to tear up, was frightened by the word “surgery.”
Aunt shook her head, lips curling up, “It’s nothing, just have it removed, it’s about the same as an appendectomy…”
“Really?”
Shen Xiyan could tell Aunt’s “forced smile” was meant to keep them from worrying, so she was deliberately lying.
“Of course it’s true! With me accompanying Aunt, what could go wrong?”
Qin Sheng finally finished changing her shoes and cheerfully walked into the living room, her gaze sweeping past Shen Xiyan to Lin Ci sitting beside him.
Qin Sheng suddenly stiffened, her smile collapsing.
The two girls locked eyes, and in that instant, they understood many things.
[Green tea b*tch! I knew you were a thief in your past life, and you’re still going to outdo me in this one!]
[Qin Sheng really doesn’t seem to like me?]
Qin Sheng hid the murderous glint in her eyes well, smiling brightly, “Lin Ci, what are you doing here?”
“Just came over to do homework.”
“Oh… Xiyan is really good at some subjects.” Qin Sheng beamed.
She enthusiastically squeezed herself between Shen Xiyan and Lin Ci, not letting them sit together, chatting and laughing as if they were the closest of girlfriends.
Then, Qin Sheng noticed Lin Ci’s thighs were bright red, and saw several short hairs stuck to her nightdress. There was only one person in this house with hair like that.
She glanced at Shen Xiyan, stared at the red mark on his forehead, and instantly understood, grinding her molars in frustration.
“Xiyan, were you two doing homework this whole time?”
“Yeah.”
“What about you, Lin Ci?” Qin Sheng looked at Lin Ci.
“…Y-yeah, I was too…”
Lin Ci felt inexplicably suppressed by Qin Sheng’s aura.
Qin Sheng rolled her eyes.
Everyone knows that when you lie, your heart races and your blood flows faster. Lin Ci’s skin was thin, so the blood rushed to her face, turning it red.
Shen Xiyan didn’t notice the odd atmosphere. His attention was still on Aunt, and he said, “So someone will have to stay with you during the surgery, right? Can you help me get a leave of absence then?”
“No need… Qin Sheng said she’ll stay with me…”
“You?”
Qin Sheng took a deep breath, puffed out her chest, and said defiantly, “What about it? Can’t I do it?”
“Can you even take care of yourself, let alone Aunt?”
“We’ll hire a caregiver, okay? I’ll just sit and chat with Aunt, keep an eye on her IV, call the doctor if needed…”
“Anyway, I’m an art student, going to class or not doesn’t matter. How do you and Wenwen compare?”
Shen Xiyan:
“Phew~ Been busy all day, time to take a break~”
Qin Sheng strolled leisurely into the bathroom, and just then, Shen Xiyan’s phone rang.
A message notification.
Qin sent over a photo.
In the picture, Qin Sheng was sitting on the toilet, pants pulled down to her knees, showing off her fair thighs and half of her butt, her T-shirt covering her private parts, revealing only a shadowy hint of her “lush grassland,” but really, it was just a shadow.
[Was Lin Ci’s lap pillow comfy? Why not come use mine? You can touch wherever you want…]
Shen Xiyan’s hand trembled, nearly dropping his phone.
If anyone else saw this, both he and Qin Sheng would be doomed.
“How did she know Lin Ci gave me a lap pillow?”
“Was it Wenwen, the snitch?”
Before Shen Xiyan could think further, Qin Sheng sent another photo.
In this one, Qin Sheng made a seductive face, sucking on her index finger, the middle of her finger slightly bent.
[Sorry, I used the wrong verb just now, it should be… poke~~]
Shen Xiyan: “???”