Su Xiao stuffed her phone back into her pocket, stealing a glance at Luo Tiantian out of the corner of her eye.
The other person was still leaning their head to the side, looking at the street. The lines of their profile were as beautiful as a masterpiece. No matter how she looked at it, that slightly furrowed brow and those tightly pursed lips seemed to be shrouded in a layer of deep, inescapable sorrow.
“Are you tired of walking? We’re almost there, so just hang in there a little longer.”
She tried to take Luo Tiantian’s hand.
Luo Tiantian quickly retracted his hand into his sleeve and took a small step to the side, widening the distance between them.
“I can walk on my own.”
Su Xiao’s hand grabbed only empty air. She felt a small sting of disappointment, but seeing Luo Tiantian act like a startled little fawn, her disappointment transformed into an even stronger sense of affection and a desire to protect.
“Tiantian, what kind of work do you do? You look like you’re about my age. Are you a student?”
“No.”
“Then what do you do? Drawing, music, or social media? You’re so good-looking, plenty of people would love you if you were a model or a streamer!”
“…None of those.” Luo Tiantian really didn’t want to talk about his current predicament. “I worked as a delivery driver and did some odd jobs.”
“A delivery driver?”
Su Xiao’s eyes widened, and a look of even deeper pity appeared on her face. “Isn’t that really hard? Working in the wind and sun… and those platforms are always exploiting people! Plus, some people love leaving malicious negative reviews just to get your pay docked. Someone as beautiful as you should have a more relaxing job.”
Luo Tiantian: “…”
Seeing him remain silent, Su Xiao assumed he was acknowledging the hardships of life. Both her sense of justice and her protective instincts surged, and her tone became even more tender. “It’s okay, things will get better. You’re so pretty, your luck is bound to change! By the way, where do you live? Should I take you home after the checkup?”
“No, really, that won’t be necessary,” Luo Tiantian hurriedly refused.
“I insist!” Su Xiao was persistent. “It’s not safe for a girl to be out this late alone. Besides, your complexion is still a bit pale. I wouldn’t feel right about it.”
“…”
‘Is it possible that I’m actually still a boy?’
Luo Tiantian felt incredibly awkward. He had forgotten to deny it at the very beginning, and now it was likely too late.
They entered the hospital.
Luo Tiantian chose the same physical examination process he had undergone before. He figured as long as he got the report, he could bring it to the doctor later and just say he was a friend of “Luo Tiantian.”
Su Xiao was extremely proactive throughout the whole process, running back and forth. She kept casting worried glances at Luo Tiantian, asking if he was thirsty, if he wanted water, or if the chair was too hard.
Luo Tiantian felt like he was sitting on a bed of needles. The occasional gazes from people around them made him even more uncomfortable. Most of those looks lingered on Su Xiao and him before turning into expressions of realization or envy. Clearly, they were being mistaken for a couple — one lively and outgoing, the other cool and introverted.
In reality, Luo Tiantian had known Su Xiao for less than 30 minutes. He was completely dazed. If it weren’t for the fact that Su Xiao had already paid the money, he would have bolted long ago.
When a beautiful woman you’ve just met is this good to you, she either wants your kidneys or… she wants your kidneys.
“Your friend is so good to you,” an older woman waiting for her number laughed and said to Luo Tiantian.
Luo Tiantian couldn’t force a smile.
Once the examination process was finished, they reached the final step: the urine sample.
Luo Tiantian stood at the door of the restroom, trapped in a dilemma.
He should go into the men’s room.
However, with his current appearance, he was supposed to go into the women’s room.
If he went into the men’s room, he would probably scare them.
But his conscience was having a hard time letting this go.
To make matters worse, Su Xiao was right beside him, staring straight at him.
“What’s wrong? Do you want me to go in with you?”
Su Xiao excitedly moved to Luo Tiantian’s side and grabbed his wrist. “Let’s go, let’s go. If you can’t catch it yourself, I’ll help you…”
“Wait… No…”
Luo Tiantian hurriedly refused, his cheeks burning. He took the cup and rushed into the women’s restroom.
“Oh, okay.” Su Xiao felt a bit disappointed, but seeing Luo Tiantian’s blushing face, she felt like it was worth the price of admission. She took out her phone and quickly captured the scene.
Then… she set it as her wallpaper.
Beautiful!
Su Xiao was delighted, her lips curling into a smile.
‘Hehe, Shen Xixi, since you won’t worry about me and won’t help me find that delivery driver, I’ll find them myself!’
‘And pretty girls… they’re all mine!’
—
Shen Xixi stared at the screen of her disconnected phone, raising an eyebrow.
Su Xiao had actually hung up on her? That was a first.
She had indeed wanted to ask where Su Xiao had run off to. It wasn’t that she was worried; it was mostly just annoying. Having an unstable factor running around outside was always a potential headache.
But more importantly, after she had finished checking the mall gift packs and wanted to return to the game, the system gave her an unexpected prompt:
**[Distinguished SSVIP Player, the special assistance character you are following — Bao Si Program Core — is currently occupied, in a state of forced rest and emotional buffering. They are temporarily unable to respond to interactions. Estimated recovery time: 6 hours in-game (approximately 2 hours in the real world). Please try again later.]**
The wording felt somewhat novel to Shen Xixi.
It seemed the AI complexity of this Bao Si was far beyond what she had imagined; it even simulated a cooldown period after a high-intensity emotional impact. Was it because that mother-daughter scene in the woodshed had been too taxing?
Being this realistic… this human… was the only way to make playing worthwhile.
Since she couldn’t play for now, she had called Su Xiao out of boredom, only to be hung up on.
“Running wild outside and not even picking up the phone?”
Shen Xixi snorted coldly and picked up the tablet nearby. It was connected to her apartment’s **Smart Security System**, allowing her to check the entrance records and surveillance footage.
She pulled up the logs and quickly saw the footage of Su Xiao slamming the door and storming out, right after their argument.
“Quite the temper.” Shen Xixi curled her lip. She had intended to ignore it, but her gaze shifted from the timestamp on the monitor to the darkening sky outside.
Given Su Xiao’s mental state, if she really caused some kind of trouble out there at night, the one who would have to deal with the mess would be her.
“What a nuisance,” she muttered under her breath, but she still pulled up the **Location Sharing** on her phone — something she had insisted on installing for emergencies when Su Xiao first moved in.
The location showed that Su Xiao was near the **City Hospital**?
The hospital?
What happened to her? Wasn’t she just throwing a fit over a takeout order?
Shen Xixi frowned. Although Su Xiao was neurotic, her physical health seemed fine. Why would she suddenly run to the hospital?
And after the locator stayed at the hospital entrance for a while, it moved inside?
Could something have actually happened?
Or had her delusions become so severe that she went to the hospital for a confrontation?
Shen Xixi felt a headache coming on.
She put down the tablet and looked at the heavy twilight outside.
‘I’ll go take a look.’
Tsk, what a pain.
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