Inside the office, Sigewinne’s tiny figure held a thick, oversized syringe as she looked at Su Yu.
Normally, a syringe like that wouldn’t be a big deal, but with Sigewinne being so small and the syringe so thick, the visual impact it produced was simply too shocking.
Only after Su Yu swallowed hard did Sigewinne finally put the syringe away and begin her formal examination of him.
During the simple examination, Sigewinne’s expression grew more and more puzzled.
“How strange.
Have you been eating or drinking some kind of miracle elixir lately?
Your body looks quite sturdy, very healthy.
Then what were you dodging for just now?
I thought you’d been disobedient again and hadn’t followed doctor’s orders.”
Sigewinne released the thoroughly uncomfortable Su Yu and said with a furrowed brow.
From her years of medical experience, a patient who looked guilty the moment they saw a doctor was clearly one who hadn’t followed doctor’s orders…
“Huh?
Couldn’t it just be because I sleep early and wake up early?
Don’t go in with preconceived notions.”
Su Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead.
At this moment he was extremely grateful to his good brother, Brother Douzi.
It could be said that he owed it entirely to the tonic that guy had brought him that the qi and blood he’d burned through staying up late had been replenished.
From now on, he absolutely had to take a blade for his brother without hesitation!
Seeing Su Yu looking like a startled bird, Sigewinne became even more convinced that her initial judgment hadn’t been wrong.
But as a doctor, she naturally trusted the results of the examination she’d just performed even more.
“Fine, I’ll count you as a good kid.
Head pats.”
Su Yu hurriedly dodged Sigewinne’s little hand.
Come on—he liked giving head pats, but he didn’t like receiving them.
Especially from the tiny Sigewinne.
It was just too weird like this.
He’d rather be patted by mature ladies like Jean and Lisa…
“From what I understand, your ability to take care of people should be pretty good, right?”
Before long, Sigewinne’s attitude took a turn, and she looked at Su Yu with a beaming smile.
There was no ill intent in that smile; her gaze was quite sincere.
This was a sight Su Yu had never seen since first meeting Sigewinne.
He immediately raised his guard and said,
“Where’s this coming from?”
“You told me last time that you’re temporarily staying at Furina’s place, right.”
“That…
is there some necessary connection between the two?”
Su Yu was a little baffled.
Him living at Furina’s place, didn’t that just mean he was more like a freeloader mooching food and drink?
“Have you forgotten my identity?
All of your physical exam data is here with me, Originally I was thinking of using two sets of exam data to make a preliminary judgment on whether any students had potential health issues.”
“By pure coincidence, I also saw Furina’s examination report.
The interval between the two exams wasn’t long, but her weight…
cough cough, went up a tiny bit, so…”
After hearing this, Su Yu was somewhat speechless.
He couldn’t tell whether to call Sigewinne dutiful or just idle with nothing better to do.
“So the reason you’re asking me about this definitely isn’t just idle chatter.
Just say it directly.”
“Actually, I wanted to ask you to take care of someone.”
“Huh?
Me?”
“Just letting someone stay with you.
I didn’t really want to trouble you, but… Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
ah, my work is just too busy.
Normally I don’t get home until very late, and sometimes when things get hectic I end up staying at the hospital the whole time.”
Su Yu could tell that what Sigewinne was saying wasn’t a joke.
By common reasoning, Su Yu and Sigewinne weren’t close.
At most it was a doctor-and-patient sort of relationship.
At best, ordinary friends.
But the person in need of care that Sigewinne mentioned was clearly someone quite important to her.
That she could trust him this much did move Su Yu a little.
But…
no matter how you put it, although he could be considered someone who took care of Furina, that was a completely different matter from being a guardian.
And when you got right down to it, wasn’t he the one lodging there…?
Perhaps seeing the hesitation in Su Yu’s eyes, Sigewinne grabbed his wrist and headed toward the door.
“Come on, I’ll take you to see who that person is first.
After you understand the situation, if you still think it’s not right, I won’t force it.”
“Alright, let’s take a look first then.”
Things had been said to this extent, so refusing further wouldn’t be very nice.
Su Yu simply followed along.
Pushing open an unremarkable door, Su Yu finally saw just who the person Sigewinne had mentioned was.
About the same height as Sigewinne, with light purple short hair, and calm, rippleless eyes that seemed slightly hollow.
Even when Su Yu and Sigewinne entered the room, the look on her face remained fixed straight on a corner of the room.
“Hello there, little Qiqi, do you remember who I am today?”
Sigewinne very practicedly stroked the girl’s head.
Her eyes were full of the care a doctor had for a patient.
Within them was also a trace of helplessness.
“Uh…
a very familiar voice and appearance.
Wait, let me look…”
“Oh, it’s Sister Sigewinne.
Sorry, my memory’s getting worse and worse…”
The girl named Qiqi marked a page in her diary, then closed the diary.
Her movements were practiced too.
It seemed the same thing had happened more than once.
“It’s fine.
Watch some TV for a bit first.
I’ll talk with your Brother Su Yu for a while, then I’ll watch with you after.”
“Okay.
Is the big brother’s name Su Yu?
I’ve written it down.”
Qiqi opened her diary and wrote some more.
After a short while, she closed it again and walked toward the television with clumsy steps.
“You see?
This is the child I was hoping to ask you to take care of.”
Sigewinne, who had originally planned to use an emotional appeal to influence Su Yu, had now completely lost her earlier intentions.
Her tone grew lower and lower.
She couldn’t help murmuring,
“It’s gotten a bit worse again.
I don’t know how long this child can hold on.”
what illness does she have?”
Seeing a girl who ought to be bouncing around full of energy in this state, Su Yu’s mood shifted somewhat as well.
At the same time, he grew a bit more puzzled.
He knew why Qiqi was like this back in Teyvat.
But in this peaceful, scientific world, how Qiqi had ended up like this was something he couldn’t figure out.
Honestly, he hadn’t thought of Qiqi at the start.
After all, a lot of the original tragedies didn’t exist in this world.
For example, Raiden Makoto, who worked tirelessly and without complaint.
And Xiao, still searching for traces of Zhongli, along with his four companions.
And the twins hadn’t fallen out either, though Aether “inexplicably” was quite hostile toward him.
But right now, Su Yu could be certain: Qiqi here was absolutely a tragedy.
Since it was a tragedy, then the tragedy had to be changed.
It just so happened he had the Universal Potion.
Could I be the protagonist?
To think there’d be such a coincidence.
Su Yu even began to think a little chunnibyou-style.
“Ah, this is also what I’ve been puzzled about.
Qiqi’s memory is declining day by day, which matches the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.”
“But the other details don’t line up.
This child is still so young.
If it really were Alzheimer’s, that would be far too rare.”
“I’ve checked all the medical records relating to these symptoms to date, and I still can’t be one hundred percent certain just what illness she has.”
“This is also why I want to ask you.
Her condition will get worse and worse, until eventually she won’t even know who she is, or be able to take care of herself.
I can’t accept an outcome like that.
I have to hurry and research a cure.”
“That being the case, naturally I won’t be able to provide much more in her daily life…”
Sigewinne had just finished speaking when Su Yu reached out and pressed a hand on her shoulder, cutting off what she was about to say next:
“I’ll take it on.”
“It’s fine, I understand…
Huh?
You agree?
You you you, you have no other conditions?”
“What kind of person do you take me for?”
Su Yu was instantly speechless.
For a moment he even forgot the shadow cast on him by Sigewinne’s needle, and he even reached out and rubbed her head.
Seeing the expression on Sigewinne’s face shifting between happy and annoyed, Su Yu found it quite amusing.
Chances like this were rare.
Seemingly hearing the two of them talking, Qiqi tilted her head and looked over.
Though she’d heard her own fate being decided, she showed not the slightest opinion on it.
She merely obediently shuffled over and took Su Yu’s and Sigewinne’s hands.
“Qiqi, you…”
“Sister Sigewinne, Brother Su Yu, let’s head out after we finish watching this episode of the Tenth Set of Radio Calisthenics.”
“Mm.” *2
At this moment, Su Yu’s and Sigewinne’s eyes were surprisingly identical as they quietly accompanied the little one, though their mindsets were slightly different.
Sigewinne and Qiqi held the thought of cherishing their final time together, while Su Yu was just accompanying them.
After all, neither of them knew about the potion he held.
Still, this feeling wasn’t bad either.
He’d give the two of them a surprise later!
Thinking of how Qiqi would soon be able to play with expressions as rich as any other girl, Su Yu couldn’t help but rub Qiqi’s little purple head.
Qiqi didn’t understand this unfamiliar brother’s gesture, but seeing Sigewinne also gazing at her dotingly with a smile, Qiqi too tugged at the corners of her mouth, revealing a somewhat stiff, yet somewhat cute smile.