By the time the news of Sikong Sui being out of danger reached Xie Ren, he was already on his way to his next mission.
There was a long silence on the other end of the communicator.
Then Xie Ren’s voice came through: “…She’s really okay?”
“She’s okay.” Sikong Nian leaned against the corridor wall, exhaustion from surviving a near-death experience evident in his tone. “Pei Sichen performed the surgery, and it was a success. She’s already awake.”
Another stretch of silence followed on the communicator.
Then Xie Ren said one word: “Good.”
“Xie Ren.” Sikong Nian’s voice grew serious. “Sui Sui asked me to pass on a message to you.”
“…What is it?”
“Come back to see her every month, or her favorability will drop.”
A soft, almost imperceptible chuckle came from the other end of the communicator.
“Understood,” Xie Ren said.
Then the communication cut off.
Sikong Nian tucked the communicator into his pocket and turned back toward the room.
He saw Sikong Sui propped up in bed, her left arm wrapped in thick bandages and slung across her chest, while her right hand held a piece of cake she was feeding herself.
Her cheeks were puffed out, like an adorable little hamster.
Pei Sichen sat in a chair by the window not far away, a book in his hands.
Clearly, he was listening to Sikong Sui talk, even though he hadn’t responded with a single word.
Sikong Nian pushed the door open and entered. Sikong Sui looked up, cream still smeared at the corner of her mouth, her eyes crinkling into a smile. “Brother! Do you want some cake? Dr. Pei bought it—it’s super delicious!”
One of life’s greatest joys: truly surviving a brush with death!
Sikong Nian walked over, sat down by the bed, and reached out to wipe the cream from her mouth.
“Don’t ever do something like this again.”
His voice was so low it seemed meant only for her ears. His eyes were slightly red, but he held back, not letting any emotion spill over. “Do you know how scared I was?”
Sikong Sui’s smile slowly faded.
Looking at Sikong Nian’s reddened eyes, a wave of something bitterswelled in her heart, stuck in her throat, unable to rise or fall.
It seemed as though, one by one, they were no longer just characters from a book but her family, her friends.
Sikong Sui set the cake aside and, with her uninjured hand, took hold of Sikong Nian’s fingers, giving them a gentle shake.
“I understand…” she said softly. “Brother, I won’t do it again.”
Sikong Nian looked at her, his lips parting as if to say something, but in the end, he only sighed and clasped her hand in return.
[System Notification: Fu Yuan’s Favorability -5. Current Favorability: 15.]
The System’s prompt suddenly rang in Sikong Sui’s mind, and she froze for a moment.
She nearly choked on her own saliva.
What?
Fu Yuan’s favorability dropped?
Why?
She hadn’t done anything!
She’d just returned from the brink of death and was lying quietly in bed eating cake. She hadn’t even seen Fu Yuan—how could his favorability have dropped?
Is there something wrong with this guy?
Sikong Sui cursed Fu Yuan eight hundred times in her heart, but on her face, she maintained a sweet, well-behaved smile.
“Brother,” Sikong Sui looked up, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at Sikong Nian. “Didn’t you have plans to play ball with Teacher Fu today?”
Sikong Nian was taken aback, his brow furrowing slightly. “You’re injured like this, and you’re still thinking about playing ball?”
“Play! Play!”
Sikong Sui released his hand, sitting up straighter on the bed with an expression as serious as if she were delivering an important report. “I’m fine, Dr. Pei is here, so don’t worry!”
Sikong Sui smiled, her mind already calculating with a flurry of thoughts.
Her brother would pursue Fu Yuan, while she would pursue Pei Sichen.
Two birds with one stone, two paths running in parallel.
Maximum efficiency.
She lowered her head to glance at her bandaged left shoulder.
With the natural advantage of being a patient—an injured Omega and the doctor caring for her—this was practically the easiest setup for emotional entanglements in the ABO world, bar none.
Perfect timing, location, and circumstances!
If she couldn’t seize this opportunity, then she, as a transmigrator, might as well pack up and leave.
Watching the flickering smile on his sister’s face, Sikong Nian suddenly felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside him.
She looked so happy—so happy that it made him feel as though she didn’t need him at all.
“You don’t want your brother to stay with you?” Sikong Nian asked.
Sikong Sui shook her head, her smile growing even brighter. “Brother, go handle your own business. Your little sister here is just fine.”
“Just fine, just fine.”
Sikong Nian’s eyes darkened.
He looked at Sikong Sui’s smiling face, at her curved eyes and upturned lips—her expression practically screaming “Hurry up and go” and “I can handle this.”
That sour, hollow feeling in his chest, as if something had been carved out of it, was unbearable.
Sikong Nian closed his eyes for a moment, pushing down the chaotic thoughts.
He leaned close to Sikong Sui’s ear, his voice dropping so low that only the two of them could hear. “Suisui.”
“Your brother is going to find Teacher Fu. Aren’t you jealous?”
Sikong Sui froze for a moment.
She turned to look at Sikong Nian, her heart skipping a beat, but she quickly suppressed that strange feeling.
Her smile grew even brighter as she reached out and patted Sikong Nian’s shoulder. “Not jealous, not jealous. Brother, go ahead with peace of mind…”
Sikong Nian watched her, his lips parting slightly as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words back.
Then he spoke, his voice as light as a falling leaf. “But the one your brother marked is you.”
Sikong Sui had just lowered her head to pick up a piece of cake, and as these words drifted into her ears, she happened to take a bite of the cream.
The sweet, cloying taste melted on her tongue.
She mumbled indistinctly, “Huh? Brother, what did you say?”
Sikong Nian looked at her silly expression, cream smeared at the corner of her mouth, and smiled faintly—so faint it was almost imperceptible.
“Nothing. I’m leaving. Call me if anything comes up.”
“Go on, go on.” Sikong Sui waved her uninjured hand at him, her mouth still full of cake.
Sikong Nian walked to the door, paused, and turned back to glance at her.
He watched her for a few seconds before turning to Pei Sichen and giving him a few instructions.
Pei Sichen nodded in acknowledgment, his expression impassive.
Sikong Nian pulled open the door and stepped out.
The moment the door closed behind him, he leaned against the corridor wall, eyes closed, standing there for a long time.
Finally, only two people remained in the hospital room.
Sikong Sui finished the last bite of cake, placed the fork on the empty plate, and licked her lips contentedly.
Then she turned her head to look at Pei Sichen by the window.
Pei Sichen was still reading.
From the moment she started eating the cake until now, he had turned exactly one page.
One page.
Half an hour passed, and only one page was turned.
Sikong Sui silently calculated in her mind, a slight smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
This wasn’t reading at all—it was clearly using the book as a cover to eavesdrop on her conversation with her brother.
She cleared her throat, deciding to officially begin her Affection Quest!
“Dr. Pei…” Her voice was sweet and coquettish, “Thank you so much for everything this time.”
Pei Sichen turned a page of his book without even lifting his eyelids. “You’re welcome.”
Sikong Sui: “…”
Alright, one word.
Fine, that’s progress!
Sikong Sui cheered herself on internally.
It’s okay, an iceberg can’t be melted in a day. Patience is key, strategy is key, and…
“Dr. Pei’s medical skills are truly amazing!” Sikong Sui hopped off the bed, her bare feet landing on the floor.
She bounced around like a rabbit just released from its cage.
She bounced twice, spun in a circle, then stood still, spreading her arms wide. “Dr. Pei, after your treatment, my back doesn’t hurt anymore, my legs don’t ache anymore, and I even have the energy to eat cake!”
After saying this, she deliberately raised her bandaged hand and waved it.
Pei Sichen finally looked up.
He glanced at her.
Just once.
His gaze swept over her face like a breeze skimming the surface of ice, leaving no trace behind.
Then he lowered his head and continued reading, uttering two words: “Thank you.”
Sikong Sui’s hand froze mid-air, her smile stiffening on her face.
Sikong Sui: “…”
Is he using “thank you” as punctuation now?
Sikong Sui slowly lowered her raised hand, took a deep breath, and told herself: It’s okay, the first tactic failed—that’s normal.
Pei Sichen isn’t an ordinary person; you can’t understand him with ordinary logic.
Change tactics, change tactics. Try all thirty-six stratagems—one of them is bound to work for him.
She turned her gaze to the window. The sky had already darkened.
The last glimmer of sunset was slowly fading at the horizon, and the night sky, like a piece of deep blue velvet, was gradually closing in from the four corners of the heavens.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. Eight o’clock in the evening—time for a bath.
Sikong Sui’s eyes darted around.
Nighttime, in the bathroom.
Sikong Sui stood under the showerhead, the bathroom filled with steam and the sweet fragrance of body wash.
The scent of milky jasmine and peach, intensified by the hot water, grew richer, spreading through the small space.
She looked down at the bandage on her left shoulder.
Pei Sichen had changed the dressing and re-bandaged it with waterproof material. She could shower, but she couldn’t soak in a bath, scrub too hard, or take too long.
Carefully, she finished washing with her right hand, then turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around herself.
Then she cautiously sat down on the floor.
She sat there for a few seconds, making sure her posture looked sufficiently pitiful.
Very satisfied.
The towel just barely covered the important parts, revealing her fair shoulders and slender legs.
Her hair, damp and disheveled, cascaded over her shoulders, water droplets dripping from the ends onto the floor.
She stretched out her right foot and lightly tapped the floor with her toes.
Then she spoke.
“Oh dear… Dr. Pei… I’ve fallen…”
“Come help me, please…”
She even added a slight tremble to her voice, making the whole sentence sound more convincing.
Outside the door, there was silence for two seconds.
Then came the sound of steady footsteps, approaching from a distance and stopping just outside the bathroom door.
“Your Highness Suisui, are you alright?”
Pei Sichen’s voice came through the door, still carrying that calm, almost indifferent tone.
“No, no!”
Sikong Sui’s voice grew even more pitiful, even tinged with a hint of tears. “Come in and help me, quick…”
Pei Sichen outside the door fell silent.
Sikong Sui pricked up her ears, hearing him stand outside for a few seconds.
Then came an extremely soft, almost imperceptible sigh.
“It’s not appropriate. Men and women should maintain boundaries.”
“Doctor Pei, I’m your patient!” Sikong Sui’s tone was full of righteous indignation.
Pei Sichen outside the door fell silent again for a few seconds.
Then the door opened.
Pei Sichen stood at the doorway, backlit by the corridor light, his entire figure enveloped in a hazy glow.
He had changed into dark-colored loungewear, his expression still that poker face, devoid of any extra emotion.
But Sikong Sui noticed his gaze quickly swept over her the moment he pushed the door open.
Then it shifted away immediately, as if scalded.
She sat on the floor, the towel barely covering her chest and the tops of her thighs.
Her fair skin, moistened by the steam, glowed with a faint pink hue, like a freshly washed peach.
Water droplets slid down her collarbone, over her rounded shoulders, and disappeared beneath the edge of the towel.
Her hair was soaked, dark strands clinging to her cheeks and neck, making her face appear even smaller and fairer.
Her toes wriggled on the floor, their rounded tips glowing softly under the warm yellow light.
Pei Sichen turned his head away.
His movement was swift, almost as if he were avoiding something.
His gaze fixed on a spot above the bathroom doorframe, his jawline tense, his Adam’s apple bobbing once.
Then he reached out a hand toward her.
“Get up,” he said, his voice slightly lower than usual.
Sikong Sui looked at the outstretched hand.
The fingers were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, faint blue veins visible on the back of his hand.
Truly the hands of a surgeon—a hand enthusiast’s delight.
She reached out and grasped his fingers.
Her fingers slid from his fingertips to his knuckles, from his knuckles to his palm, and finally, she used his strength to stand up.
The moment she stood, her body swayed slightly.
The edge of the towel brushed against his arm, slipping down a little.
“Doctor Pei, your hand…” Sikong Sui’s voice was small, tinged with just the right amount of shyness.
Pei Sichen turned his head back.
His gaze instinctively fell on her, and then he saw…
His own hand, positioned just below her chest, almost touching where it shouldn’t.
His fingers could even feel the warmth radiating from her skin.
Pei Sichen’s pupils trembled slightly. “Sorry.”
Then he turned his head away again.
Sikong Sui stood where she was, looking at the back of his head, noticing the faint, almost microscopic pink tinge on the tips of his ears.
She smiled silently to herself.
“I can’t walk…”
Sikong Sui’s voice was pitiful, her tone drawn out. “Help…”
Before she could finish her sentence, she was lifted into the air.
Sikong Sui: “…”
Pei Sichen had picked her up.
One hand supported her back, the other slipped under her knees, and she was securely nestled in his arms.
The edge of the towel brushed against his arm, slipping down a little.
Sikong Sui quickly reached out to press against her chest, her ear tips reddening like boiled shrimp.
His body temperature was on the lower side, and through the bath towel and the thin loungewear, Sikong Sui could feel the coolness emanating from him.
Sikong Sui nestled obediently in his arms, one hand holding the bath towel against her chest, the other gently resting on his shoulder.
Pei Sichen’s body stiffened slightly at that touch.
He placed her on the bed, the distance between them so close that Sikong Sui could clearly see the curve of his eyelashes.
Long, thick, and slightly curled, like two tiny fans.
Then he straightened up and stepped back.
“Your Highness Suisui, rest early,” he said, turning around and heading toward the door.
Sikong Sui sat on the bed, watching his retreating figure, a slow smile curling at the corners of her lips.
“Doctor Pei…” she called out just as he reached the door.
“Don’t go… I need to change my bandages…”