Bai Tao’s voice trembled, the last syllable almost drifting away.
If she had not known from her previous life that Pei Jin would eventually become incredibly wealthy, she would have truly believed he was dead at this moment.
A perfectly healthy person was lying motionless behind a trash can, looking like a corpse at a crime scene.
Bai Tao took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness.
After walking a few steps, her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness around her, and she could barely make out a few vague outlines.
She walked over to Pei Jin and squatted down.
The rain was still falling, but it had eased somewhat. Bai Tao held the umbrella high, trying her best to shield Pei Jin’s upper body. Then she reached out and slowly placed her hand beneath his nose.
Her fingers were icy cold and still trembling uncontrollably. The moment she felt the warmth of his breath, she finally relaxed.
He was still alive.
That was good.
Bai Tao let out a long breath. She shook Pei Jin’s shoulder.
Pei Jin did not open his eyes, but his mouth opened slightly as he gasped for breath.
His breathing was rapid and hot, as though a surge of energy were trapped inside him.
Bai Tao turned on her phone’s flashlight and shone it at Pei Jin’s face.
She froze.
Pei Jin’s usually aloof and unapproachable face was flushed an unnatural red. Several fine scratches marked his skin, as though he had been scraped by something rough. Blood mixed with rainwater clung to his face, making the wounds look particularly painful.
There were also bruises around his eyes and mouth, though the dim light made them difficult to see clearly.
Bai Tao lowered the flashlight.
Pei Jin’s pants were torn, and there was a gash at his knee, exposing a wound covered in mud and blood. There were also several abrasions on his arms, some long and some short, with a few still oozing blood.
She tried to help Pei Jin up.
One hand supported his back while the other gripped his arm. She pulled with all her strength, but Pei Jin did not move at all.
Bai Tao tried again, leaning her entire body backward like she was in a tug-of-war.
Pei Jin shifted slightly, then dropped back down with a thud.
Bai Tao panted heavily and glared at him.
How could someone so thin be so heavy?
Fortunately, the hail had completely stopped.
Bai Tao thought for a moment before taking off her raincoat and spreading it on the ground.
The double raincoat was quite large when unfolded. She pushed Pei Jin onto it, and after struggling for a while, finally managed to get his entire body onto the raincoat.
Bai Tao squatted beside him and caught her breath.
The pharmacy was only a ten-minute walk away.
Should she leave Pei Jin here and run for help?
No.
She could not let someone else pick him up.
What if the little girl who had picked him up in her previous life happened to pass by while she was gone?
What if another passerby came along?
What if someone kindhearted took him to the hospital, and the first person he saw after waking up was not her, Bai Tao?
Then she would have wasted all her effort getting soaked tonight.
Bai Tao stood up, stuffed her phone into her undershirt, grabbed both corners of the raincoat, and began dragging Pei Jin through the alley like a sack of potatoes.
The raincoat slid across the puddles beneath him, making a hissing sound.
Bai Tao muttered as she walked.
“Pei Jin, you’re so heavy.”
“For this alone, you’ll have to give me a hundred million as thanks later.”
After a few more steps, the raincoat scraped against the wall.
Bai Tao gave it a hard tug and dragged it back onto the right path.
“Don’t be an ingrate, Pei Jin. Let me tell you, I hate ingrates the most.”
Rain struck her helmet as Bai Tao dragged Pei Jin step by step toward the pharmacy they had visited that afternoon.
Dragging someone was completely different from walking normally.
Five minutes later, Bai Tao’s arms began to ache.
Ten minutes later, she felt as though she had been lifting weights at the gym for an entire hour.
Finally, when she was only ten meters away, Bai Tao saw the pharmacy’s sign.
She put Pei Jin down and ran inside.
“Doctor! Doctor!”
Bai Tao’s voice was urgent and hoarse.
“Save my friend!”
The person on duty that night was different. It was not the young Pharmacy Intern who had treated Bai Tao’s wounds that afternoon, but a middle-aged man.
He wore a white coat and reading glasses and was sitting behind the counter, looking at his phone.
When he looked up and saw Bai Tao, he was startled.
Her hair was plastered to her scalp in clumps. Her lips were pale from the cold, her entire face was as white as flour, and her dark, unfocused eyes made her look like Sadako who had just crawled out of a well.
The man instinctively took half a step backward.
However, he still had his professional ethics. He quickly recovered and asked as he walked out,
“Where is she?”
He looked behind Bai Tao, but there was no one there.
Bai Tao pointed to the left.
The Doctor followed the direction of her finger and saw someone lying on the ground about ten meters away, looking like a discarded bag of trash.
“Ouch.”
He hurried over, and together with Bai Tao, carried Pei Jin into the examination room beside the pharmacy.
Pei Jin was placed on the examination bed.
The examination room was illuminated by harsh fluorescent lights, making the unnatural flush on his face even more obvious.
His skin had turned pale from being soaked by the rain, and the abrasions across his fair skin were particularly glaring. The red and purple bruises looked painful.
The Doctor quickly wiped the rain from Pei Jin’s body with a towel and frowned.
“What happened?”
Bai Tao stood to the side, still shivering from the cold.
“I don’t know. We were fine when we parted this afternoon, and then…”
“Help me get him up,” the Doctor interrupted. “Take off his clothes.”
“Huh?”
Bai Tao was stunned.
The middle-aged man frowned impatiently.
“Hurry up. We need to check whether he has any other injuries. If there’s a fracture, I can’t treat it here. You’ll have to take him to a big hospital.”
Bai Tao nodded and quickly moved closer.
The man helped Pei Jin sit up.
Bai Tao went behind him, sat on the edge of the bed, and wrapped her arms around Pei Jin’s waist from behind, allowing him to lean against her.
The moment her fingers touched Pei Jin’s side, she could feel the contours of his muscles even through his soaked clothes. They were firm, with a distinct youthful strength and resilience.
Pei Jin leaned back slightly, his head resting beside Bai Tao’s shoulder. His burning forehead accidentally brushed against her neck.
Bai Tao stiffened.
The Doctor did not notice any of this.
He lifted Pei Jin’s arms and gestured for Bai Tao to help.
Bai Tao steadied herself, grabbed the hem of Pei Jin’s black short-sleeved shirt with both hands, and carefully pulled it upward.
The shirt came off over his head, revealing broad shoulders and a lean waist.
Pei Jin’s skin was already fair, but after being soaked by the rain, it had become even paler, almost porcelain-like. The purplish bruises stood out starkly against his skin.
“Alright, you can get up now.”
Bai Tao gently laid Pei Jin flat on the bed.
As soon as she stood up, the Doctor pulled down Pei Jin’s pants with one swift movement.
Bai Tao instinctively turned her head.
Navy blue boxer briefs covered the long lines of his legs, and his body was still rising and falling with heavy breaths.
Her mind seemed to freeze.
The scene remained stuck in her head for two whole seconds.
What the hell?
She and Pei Jin were not even that close.
Bai Tao’s face instantly turned crimson. She spun around, putting her back to Pei Jin on the bed.
I really will thank you.
I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t.
Bai Tao had only taken half a step toward the door when the Doctor’s voice came from behind her.
“Come back. Don’t go. Help me turn him over.”
Bai Tao closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around.
For the next ten minutes, the Doctor directed Bai Tao as she helped examine Pei Jin from every angle.
Pei Jin never opened his eyes. Occasionally, however, he groaned in pain, his brows furrowing even more deeply.
Finally, the Doctor took off his reading glasses, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and gave his conclusion.
“Just some external injuries. He also got soaked in the rain, but nothing serious. The abrasion on his knee is a little deep. I’ll treat it for him. The rest are just bumps and scrapes. He’ll be fine after applying some medicine.”
“He must have been in a fight and gotten badly beaten. He hadn’t recovered yet when he got caught in the rain. Now he has a fever and needs an IV. If you’re still worried tomorrow, take him to a big hospital for a proper checkup.”
Bai Tao nodded repeatedly.
Then the Doctor said something that made her freeze.
“His underwear is completely soaked. It must be uncomfortable for him to keep wearing it. I’ll take it off for him.”
As he spoke, he reached for it.
“Are you his girlfriend? You can go home and get him a clean pair of underwear while he’s getting his IV.”
The next second, the Doctor worked quickly and efficiently.
“CK. The quality is definitely different. This must have cost several thousand.”
He crumpled the underwear he had removed, grabbed a plastic bag, put it inside, and handed it to Bai Tao.
He glanced carefully at the label.
“This brand is quite expensive, isn’t it? Take it home, wash it, and he can wear it again. Don’t waste it.”
His movements were so quick and smooth that they were almost as silky as melted chocolate.
Bai Tao stood there completely stunned.
Her face, which had been pale from the cold, was now bright red from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears. Even her neck had turned faintly pink.
Her lips opened and closed like a goldfish gasping for air.
Finally, she stretched out one finger and reluctantly hooked it around the plastic bag the Doctor had handed her.
Inside the transparent plastic bag was a small piece of navy blue fabric.
Bai Tao’s fingertips trembled slightly.
She pursed her lips and forced out a smile that looked more like a grimace.
“Thank you, Doctor.”
The Doctor waved his hand and began treating Pei Jin’s wounds, his movements light and efficient.
Bai Tao stood there holding the plastic bag, her soul seemingly drifting away.
She glanced at the plastic bag.
Then she glanced at it again.
She still could not accept this.
Had she still not escaped Earth Online?
Bai Tao frowned and held the transparent white plastic bag loosely between one finger, trying to keep it as far away from herself as possible.
Thankfully, it was already dark.
Otherwise, she would have been utterly humiliated.
The Doctor had told her to go home and get some clothes for Pei Jin.
Easier said than done.
In this pouring rain, where was she supposed to buy clothes?
Her hair was still wet, clinging to her face in clumps, and her clothes were soaked through. She looked like a water ghost that had just been dragged out of a river.
Bai Tao sighed and pushed open the pharmacy’s glass door.
The moment she stepped outside and turned right, she suddenly shouted.
“Ah!”
Bai Tao jumped backward several steps in fright.
A huge black shadow lay on the ground, and her heart nearly leaped out of her chest.
She looked closely.
It was the borrowed raincoat.
Somehow, it had been blown to the bottom of the pharmacy steps. A large dark patch lay spread across the ground, billowing and swaying in the wind.
Bai Tao fell silent.
No.
For a moment, she had thought it was a zombie crawling along the ground.
Terrifying.
Bai Tao clutched her chest for a moment before walking over and bending down to pick up the raincoat.
Under the streetlamp, she noticed a large tear at the bottom. The plastic sheet was badly frayed around the broken edge.
Bai Tao sighed helplessly.
She crumpled the raincoat and threw it into the trash can beside the pharmacy.
“I’m sorry, neighbor who lent me the raincoat. I’ll pay you back in this lifetime.”
Bai Tao took out her phone, opened the navigation, and followed the little blue arrow toward the basement.
The rain had eased considerably.
Bai Tao walked beneath the streetlights, her shadow stretching long and short. Water squelched inside her shoes, and every step felt like stepping on a soaked sponge.
She needed to return to the basement, dry herself off, change her clothes, and then figure out how to go out and buy clothes for Pei Jin.
Oh right.
She also needed to buy a new raincoat for her neighbor.
Before she knew it, she had reached the entrance to the community.
She casually glanced across the street out of habit.
Then she froze.
One glance felt like an eternity.
Across the street, a huge red sign shimmered brightly.
Jiajiayue Supermarket.
The supermarket doors beneath the sign were open, with bright white light shining from inside. People walked in and out carrying shopping bags of all sizes.
Ahhh!
Bai Tao almost shouted out loud.
She was so moved that she nearly cried.
Was this divine intervention?
Was this God’s mercy after seeing her suffer, finally showing her a way out?
Afraid the supermarket would close before she could return, Bai Tao ignored her soaked hair and clothes and the curious looks of passersby. She crossed the street and rushed into Jiajiayue Supermarket.
The supermarket did not have any particularly fashionable clothes, but there were piles of oversized T-shirts and shorts.
White, gray, navy blue.
They were neatly stacked on the shelves, and the prices nearly brought tears to Bai Tao’s eyes.
19 yuan.
29 yuan.
Was this heaven?
Bai Tao found a Saleswoman and gestured to indicate Pei Jin’s size.
“He’s this tall.”
She raised her hand above her head to indicate his height.
“Quite thin, but with broad shoulders.”
The Saleswoman said nothing. She simply pulled a white T-shirt and a pair of black shorts from the shelf.
Bai Tao took them.
Then she suddenly remembered a serious problem.
Underwear.
She needed to buy underwear.
Bai Tao paused.
After hesitating for two seconds, she took a deep breath.
It was fine.
She was only buying it. It wasn’t like she was going to wear it.
Still, she felt incredibly embarrassed.
She walked over to the men’s underwear section.
Various colors and styles were displayed on the shelves. Cotton, silk, boxer briefs, briefs. There was a dazzling variety.
Bai Tao froze.
Waist…
She made a circle with her hands, indicating an approximate size.
“Waist… about this much.”
The Saleswoman looked at the circle she had made and nodded.
“And then?”
She asked again.
“Size?”
Bai Tao opened her mouth.
Then a scene suddenly flashed uncontrollably through her mind.
Her CPU went completely blank.
She curved one hand into an arc and whispered,
“Then… about… this much… when it’s bulging.”
The Saleswoman paused.
She looked up at Bai Tao.
A slow smile spread across her face.
Her eyes swept over Bai Tao’s face and hands twice before finally settling on Bai Tao’s already bright red ears.
“This much when it’s bulging?”
The Saleswoman’s voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for everyone within several meters to hear.
“Is it up or not?”
Bai Tao:
Several staff members arranging the shelves and a few passing Saleswomen immediately stopped what they were doing.
They looked at Bai Tao and began chuckling.
The laughter was not loud, but it was devastating.
Bai Tao felt herself turning red from head to toe, like a boiled shrimp.
She wanted nothing more than to disappear into the ground right there in front of the shelves.
Just as she wished she could evaporate, another Saleswoman walked over and patted the first Saleswoman on the shoulder.
“Old Li, this young lady is shy. Why are you teasing her?”
Bai Tao looked gratefully at the aunt who had come to her rescue.
Before she could thank her, Aunt Li waved her hand and laughed even louder.
“Hahaha, what’s wrong with buying something for your boyfriend?”
She turned to Bai Tao, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“Young lady, did he get up or not?”
Bai Tao:
Is this really necessary?
Is this really necessary?
Bai Tao opened her mouth.
She wanted to say that Pei Jin was not her boyfriend, but she swallowed the words back.
She was afraid that if she said he was not her boyfriend, the aunts would only become more curious.
“If he’s not your boyfriend, then what is your relationship?”
“Then how do you know what he’s like?”
Bai Tao decisively gave up on explaining.
She quickly waved her hand.
“He didn’t get up. He didn’t get up.”
Aunt Li nodded knowingly, handed her a suitable size, and said with a smile something Bai Tao would probably never forget for the rest of her life.
“Young lady, you’re quite lucky.”
Bai Tao took the underwear without daring to look at it.
She immediately covered it with the old man’s undershirt, pushed the cart, and ran.
He probably had not gotten up yet.
How could a virgin like her, who had never been with a man in either of her two lives, know so much?
Bai Tao ran to the checkout counter, paid, grabbed her shopping bags, and rushed out of the supermarket.
Standing at the entrance, she gasped for breath.
Her eyes accidentally landed on the glass door beside her.
The glass reflected a disheveled beauty.
Her hair was soaked and plastered to her scalp, while her clothes were wrinkled and clinging to her body.
Oh right.
She had not bought a hair dryer yet.
Bai Tao took a deep breath, turned around, and went back into the supermarket.
She deliberately avoided the clothing section.
She went around to another aisle and picked up a cheap hair dryer from the daily necessities section.
After paying, Bai Tao carried her shopping bag to the entrance and opened her umbrella.
She had already stepped out with one foot when she suddenly remembered.
A raincoat.
She had not bought one yet.
Bai Tao closed her eyes briefly.
Then she turned around and went into the supermarket for the third time.
She kept her head down the entire time, taking the longest route possible before grabbing the most expensive double raincoat.
When she finally walked out of the supermarket for the third time, Bai Tao let out a long sigh.
She glanced down at the white transparent plastic bag inside her shopping bag.
A small piece of navy blue fabric was visible inside.
Then she remembered the Doctor’s words.
“It’s Charles & Keith. Pretty expensive, right?”
“Take it home, wash it, and you can still wear it. Don’t waste it.”
Bai Tao disgustedly pushed the plastic bag into the deepest part of her shopping bag with one finger.
Holding her umbrella and carrying her things, she walked back toward her little basement.
She put the shopping bags on the floor, grabbed a change of clothes and a towel, and went into the bathroom.
After waiting two minutes, she smiled.
It was a smile that made her want to take a shower.
There was no hot water.
Bai Tao stared at the woman in the mirror.
Her hair was plastered to her face like seaweed.
She remained silent for three seconds.
Then she resigned herself to picking up the kettle and filling it with water.
Once the water was hot, she poured it into a basin, added some cold water, and roughly dried herself with a towel.
Then she plugged in the cheap hair dryer she had bought from the supermarket.
After about two minutes, Bai Tao thought it was probably fine.
Although it was nowhere near as good as a Dyson, at least it was a hair dryer.
Five minutes passed.
Seven minutes passed.
Ten minutes passed.
Bai Tao held the hair dryer.
Her hand already hurt from using it, but her hair was still only half dry. It remained damp to the touch, as though she had just run wet hands through it.
Even more frustrating was the fact that, for some unknown reason, the lousy hair dryer kept catching strands of her hair in the gaps of its back cover.
A burnt smell began to fill the air.
It smelled like dried mosquito meat.
Bai Tao expressionlessly switched off the hair dryer.
She stared at it for two seconds and genuinely wanted to throw it away.
But remembering that she had paid for it, she silently placed it back on the table.
She was silent.
She was exhausted.
She no longer had the energy to be angry with a hair dryer.
Bai Tao lowered her head, pushed all her wet hair forward, buried her face in it, and took a deep breath.
Then she frantically shook her head from side to side several times.
Water droplets splashed onto the mirror, the walls, the floor, and everywhere else.
Bai Tao looked up at herself in the mirror.
And you know what?
It worked.
Her hair was still damp, but at least it was no longer dripping.
Bai Tao smiled at herself in the mirror.
She looked presentable enough.
She grabbed the raincoat and the clothes she had bought for Pei Jin, stepped out of her room, and walked toward the door across the street.
She raised her hand, about to knock.
Then her hand froze in midair.
Bai Tao paused and strained her ears.
A dull, rhythmic thumping sound faintly came from behind the door.
The sound of a bed hitting the wall.
Again and again.
Bai Tao blinked.
Then she tentatively pressed her ear against the door.
Apart from the rhythmic thumping, she could occasionally hear low, labored breathing.
A man.
And not just one.
Bai Tao’s eyes widened instantly.
Her face turned crimson.
She recoiled as though she had been burned and stumbled backward two steps, almost tripping over her own foot.
No.
Was this really happening?
Thank goodness she had not knocked.
She did not dare think any further.
Bai Tao turned and practically ran back to her room.
She closed the door, leaned against it, and took several deep breaths to calm herself.
Then she pulled out a pen and paper and wrote a note on the coffee table.
“Sorry, your original raincoats had a hole in them. This is a new one I bought. It’s the best raincoat in the supermarket. If there are any problems, please contact me when I get back.”
Bai Tao had originally planned to knock on their door tomorrow to return the raincoats.
But she was worried she might not be back tomorrow morning.
If they went out and it rained again without raincoats, it would be awkward.
So she had to return them now.
Bai Tao took a deep breath, gently opened her door, and quickly walked toward the electric scooter like a thief.
She hung the new raincoat on the handlebars and stacked the two helmets on top.
After that, carrying the new clothes she had bought for Pei Jin, Bai Tao walked back into the night.
The streets were completely deserted.
Empty roads, dim streetlights, and the occasional car passing by and splashing water.
The smell of damp earth after the rain lingered in the air.
Bai Tao looked down the empty street.
She had to buy an electric scooter as soon as possible.
Otherwise, walking back and forth like this all day would really ruin her legs.