“Are you a child? How do you manage to twist your ankle just going down the stairs?”
Qin Sheng bit her lip, looking utterly aggrieved. “I didn’t want to either… but it really hurts…”
“Can you stand up?”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, try.”
Shen Xiyan supported her as Qin Sheng sniffled and, leaning on his arm, managed to stand up. But as soon as she straightened, the weight pulled on her injured ankle, making it hurt even more.
Lin Ci watched silently, wanting to speak but holding back.
How could someone bear this much? Just watching made her feel pain—didn’t Qin Sheng feel it?
“Lin Ci, please help her. I’ll go register us at the front desk.”
Lin Ci took over for Shen Xiyan. Qin Sheng, enduring the pain, couldn’t help but smile at the corners of her mouth. “Did you get it now?”
Lin Ci glared. “You’re tricking him!”
“It’s a harmless lie. Is he losing anything? Not at all… I get his concern, and he gets the chance to take advantage of me. It’s a win-win.”
“Is it worth it?”
Lin Ci saw her little face all scrunched up in pain, her ankle a patchwork of bruises and swelling.
She just couldn’t understand!
Aren’t relationships supposed to be sweet? Why was Qin Sheng’s approach so different from everyone else’s—doing anything just to get closer to Xiyan, without a care for the means?
“If you’re asking these kinds of questions, then you’d better not get any ideas about Xiyan! For him, I’d be willing to die.”
She owed Xiyan her life.
“I don’t!”
“You know yourself whether you do or not…” Qin Sheng’s smile blossomed like a flower, her voice soft and sweet.
“Anyway, Xiyan will be mine in the end. I don’t care what you do now, because I don’t see you as competition at all.”
“But if you dare get all clingy with Xiyan again—like yesterday, acting all weak just because you’re on your period—I definitely won’t let you off!”
Lin Ci: “???”
Was… was that a threat?
Not far away, Shen Xiyan returned after registering, but was stopped by the cleaning lady who’d been waiting there. The two of them chatted animatedly, and Shen Xiyan’s expression darkened considerably.
“I understand…”
“You heard me! You saw the surveillance footage too—the girl fell by herself, don’t go blaming the hospital, or my pay will get docked!”
“Mm.”
Shen Xiyan came back to Qin Sheng’s side, supporting her arm. “Let’s go get Orthopedics to take a look…”
“Hiss~~ No, no! It hurts just to hop.”
Qin Sheng’s muscles twitched from the pain.
Shen Xiyan said nothing, just squatted down silently in front of her. “Get on.”
Lin Ci hurried forward, blurting out instinctively, “Xiyan!”
“Mm?”
Shen Xiyan turned his head. Qin Sheng turned as well.
Lin Ci hesitated, bit her lip, then shook her head with a wry smile. “It’s nothing.”
Looking at Shen Xiyan’s broad, strong shoulders, Qin Sheng’s pretty face instantly blossomed with a radiant smile. She gently leaned over, draping her small hands around his neck.
The moment they touched, Qin Sheng’s soft little body tensed up a bit…
It’s back! Everything’s back!
Just for an instant, she felt his warmth, and the pain in her ankle seemed to disappear. Even the sounds around her faded away, as if the entire world had gone quiet.
Shen Xiyan hooked his arm under her knees. She was so light and soft, like she had no bones at all, and he easily lifted her onto his back, then strode off toward Orthopedics without another word.
Qin Sheng leaned close to Shen Xiyan’s ear, blowing playfully. Shen Xiyan shivered, goosebumps rising all over, and scolded, “If you keep squirming, I’ll drop you!”
“Go ahead! If you can bear to drop such a beautiful girlfriend, then I’ll admit you’re something!” Qin Sheng took the chance to tug at Shen Xiyan’s ear.
Shen Xiyan couldn’t be bothered to argue, shaking his head to avoid her hand, his mind elsewhere.
Qin Sheng couldn’t see his face, puffed her cheeks, and asked in a tiny voice, “Xiyan, am I heavy?”
“Mm.”
Shen Xiyan’s expression showed no “concern,” instead carrying a shadowy gloom.
But Qin Sheng didn’t see it. She pretended to get angry, pouting, “My chest is perky and my butt’s round—where am I heavy? You’ll know how comfortable it is when you’re on top of me…”
“Even an injury can’t shut you up… can’t you be quiet?”
Shen Xiyan walked quickly, faster than his usual pace.
Qin Sheng could clearly hear his breathing, feel the pounding of his heart in his chest, and sense the irritation in his tone.
From her perspective, this was obviously proof that Shen Xiyan cared about her, so her tone grew even more smug.
She deliberately wiggled her butt, rubbing the two soft mounds against Shen Xiyan’s back. “Can’t help it~~ I’m so happy you’re willing to carry me. I thought you’d make me hop all the way…”
The hospital corridor was crowded and chaotic.
But at this moment, Qin Sheng only felt herself wrapped in an indescribable sense of security.
She inhaled Shen Xiyan’s scent, then suddenly bumped her chin against the back of his head, whispering, “Xiyan… thank you, thank you for not leaving me behind…”
Shen Xiyan didn’t answer.
Although Qin Sheng usually kept to herself, that was only because she felt others weren’t worth her time. She had a calm, unbothered air—her “running away from home” was proof of her strong will.
But when it came to being smooth and charming, she was no slouch. Otherwise, how could she have won over her aunt so easily?
Even her playful, spoiled side in front of Shen Xiyan was just part of her emotional intelligence. Soft-hearted Shen Xiyan always gave in to Qin Sheng’s sweet tricks, lowering his boundaries again and again.
And back then, Shen Xiyan was just an inexperienced boy, who quite enjoyed it.
After a long while, Shen Xiyan finally joked, “You might be the first person to fall so badly on flat ground. You didn’t do it on purpose to trick me into caring for you, did you?”
Qin Sheng’s eyes widened. “Of course I really fell! How could you think that?”
“I want the truth. Don’t lie to me.”
Qin Sheng’s little face tensed, staring at Shen Xiyan’s profile, trying to see something in his eyes—but there was nothing there.
“It was a real fall! No matter how much I mess around, I wouldn’t hurt myself on purpose, would I?”
“Are you sure?”
“Mm.”
“Qin Sheng, you should know, the thing I hate most is being lied to.”
“I know…”
Qin Sheng rested her chin on Shen Xiyan’s shoulder, tilting her head to gaze at his face—sharp features, a straight nose, dark, shining eyes, radiating a masculine charm that made her swoon.
Time really flies…
She’d looked at this face for ten years. This time, she wanted to look for a lifetime.
A wave of sourness rose in Shen Xiyan’s heart for no reason, and his eyelids drooped. “I get it.”
Some people would rather hurt themselves than hurt others.
Lin Ci and Wenwen were both like that.
But Qin Sheng was the type who, to achieve her goals, could hurt herself—and others too.
These days, he kept feeling like the Qin Sheng from his past life and the one before him now were two different people.
But he was wrong. Qin Sheng was always Qin Sheng.
***
In the Orthopedics consultation room.
Qin Sheng sat in a chair while an older female doctor examined her ankle.
“Have you had an X-ray?”
Shen Xiyan handed over the film, watching the doctor’s emotionless face, and couldn’t help but ask, “Is it serious?”
“It’s not too bad… but you fell pretty hard. There’s already some swelling. If it had been a bit worse, you might’ve fractured it, and then it’d take three months at least to heal—and you might have lasting problems.”
“How long do I need to rest now?”
“Ten days to half a month, depending on how you recover. Don’t wear shoes for now. Put on some ointment every day, just wear slippers.”
“But I still have to go to school!”
“You still want to go to school like this?” The doctor gave her a knowing look.
A normal student would be begging for a sick note about now, right?
Qin Sheng glanced at Shen Xiyan and declared, “I’m a student, of course I have to go to school!”
“Then go buy a crutch. It’s better than hopping around on one foot…”
“Got it.”
Shen Xiyan carried her shoes and socks in one hand, helped her limp over to a chair, then went to the pharmacy to get her a crutch.
He crouched down, untied her shoes, took them off to reveal white socks, then pulled those off too, exposing her fair, delicate little feet.
Her toenails were neatly trimmed, a natural pink, with not a speck of dirt between them. Her ankles and feet were perfectly proportioned, the skin soft and white, making people want to hold and play with them…
“Xiyan~~ it hurts!”
“…Who’s to blame?” Shen Xiyan applied the medicine with a blank face.
“Blame gravity!” Qin Sheng said hopefully, “But how am I supposed to get home later? It’s so far—can you carry me?”
Shen Xiyan’s face didn’t change. “You still want to go home like this?”
“What else?”
“I’ve already called Song Wan. She’ll come pick you up.”
“I don’t want that!!” Qin Sheng’s pretty face darkened instantly.
Shen Xiyan stared at her in silence.