âMom, donât interrupt them, youâre making those young men feel awkward,â said a middle-aged woman to the patient on the neighbouring bed, her voice gentle.
When Yao Qi looked over, the woman nodded apologetically at him. He smiled back, indicating that it was all right.
âCan you tell me the rest after we go home?â He asked instead of requesting, implying that Liu Lin could refuse if he wanted to.
âYou want to know?â The eyes that had dimmed suddenly lit up again, pride colouring his expression and making him look a little smug.
âYes. If itâs about you, then I want to know about everything,â Yao Qi magnanimously smiled, not shying away from the topic in the slightest.
Shocked by these words, the old woman on the neighbouring bed cautiously peeked at them. Her daughter, on the other hand, had very good etiquette and didnât show any particular reaction. When Yao Qi spoke, the people from the outermost bed were also talking amongst themselves. Because his voice wasnât loud and there was a considerable distance between the beds, those people probably didnât hear what he just said.
After observing the expressions of all the people in this ward, Liu Lin felt even more proud.
Sigh, why was his baby so likeable?
What made him happy wasnât Yao Qiâs sappy words, but the fact that the man didnât try to conceal anything even when there were other people inside the room. This proved that in Yao Qiâs heart, the man genuinely viewed him as someone important. It was different from the situation in the corridor earlierâhe was the one who draped himself all over Yao Qi, and although his baby acquiesced, he didnât really respond to him.
What happened just now would be enough to keep him happy for quite some time, Liu Lin thought.
âAlright, then Iâll tell you after we get back home,â just like that, the happy Liu Lin smugly agreed to him.
Yao Qi also felt happy, internally thinking that Liu Lin was as silly as a husky. The one who managed to grab hold of him was Yao Qi, but had it been a scumbag who did, this guy wouldâve been scammed to the point where not a single strand of his hair could remain intact.
âThis person appears to be a brainless and violent madman, but in fact, his mind should be very clearââwas the diagnosis Yao Qi had made about Liu Lin in the past, but he had seemingly forgotten all about it now.
The two of them continued talking for a while, but it didnât last very long.
Yao Qiâs work and rest time had always been relatively regular, and tonightâs events had made him stay up later than his usual sleeping time. After some time, he simply fell asleep on Liu Linâs lap while chatting with the man. Worried that he would catch a cold, Liu Lin took off his jacket and draped it over Yao Qi. Fortunately, the weather hadnât gotten too cold at this time.
Afterwards, everyone in the ward fell asleep as well.
Liu Lin was bored out of his mind, so took out his phone and started playing games.
Not long after that, at about three in the morning, the girl finally woke up.
At first, she didnât realise where she was. It took a moment for her to become fully awake, and when the girl discovered that she was lying in the hospital, she almost screamed and jumped out of the bed. But nothing of the sort happened in the end.
Because just as she was about to scream, she heard the low, cold, and extremely dangerous voice of a man telling her, âQuiet.â
The girl was so frightened she instantly swallowed the scream back into her stomach, obeying his order.
This man was none other than Liu Lin.
As the one who had almost killed her, he was the only person whose voice could deter the girl to this extent.
She lay down on the bed as still as a corpse, not daring to move.
But after telling her to be quiet, the man simply ignored her. She began to feel restless, and so, at last, very cautiously, she propped up her body to glance at Liu Lin.
Dressed only in a sleeveless shirt, Liu Lin continued playing with his phone, not even bothering to acknowledge the girl when she looked at him.
Then the girl saw the man lying on Liu Linâs lap.
Liu Linâs thighs quivered a little, a very slight movement that wouldnât have been found out if it wasnât for the girlâs constant observation. She looked at Yao Qi, who was breathing evenly, and came to the conclusion that Liu Linâs legs had most likely already gone numb.
It couldnât get any better than this.
Her eyes gleaming with glee, the little girl groped around her waist, hand reaching out to the place where she usually kept her knifeâthen she remembered that she had hidden it away before going to find them. Her smile completely disappeared in a split second.
She heard a blatantly mocking sneer coming from the man.
âIdiot.â Liu Lin gave her a disdainful gaze, his eyes belittling, his lips curved in a lopsided smirk. His whole body language was practically screaming that he was condescendingly looking down at her.
Youâre the idiot, youâre a fucking idiot, your whole family are idiots!
Not daring to glare at him, the girl lowered her head and cursed him in her heart, her eyes full of malice.
âScold me again and Iâll knock you back into the hospital when youâre healed. Wanna try?â snorted Liu Lin without even taking his eyes off his phone screen.
What the fuck??? The girl snapped up her head to look at him in surprise.
âI can guess what youâre thinking, so youâd better behave and stop thinking about all those small tricks.â Sure enough, the times had changed. The generations were different, and her experience wasnât comparable to himâshe was much greener than he had been at her age.
Liu Lin silently analysed in his mind.
After a while, the girl began to look pleased with herself as she quietly sat, pinching and rubbing the sheets with the hand that wasnât connected to the infusion.
âMy Xiao Qi sent you hereâbut you did it on purpose, right? You knew that Xiao Qi wouldnât leave you be just like that.â
Liu Lin was annoyed to see the girl pretending to play with the sheets because she didnât dare to ask him even though she was dying to. No matter what, she was still of the same kind as him, so he was disgusted to see her act so squeamish and cowardly. What a disgrace.
But at this juncture, Liu Linâs train of thought drifted back to her decision to collapse in front of Yao Qiâs shop, which made him immediately scoff in anger.
The girl started shaking again.
Indeed, she had done it on purpose.
She knew she would really die if she didnât receive any treatment this time.
She was betting on Yao Qi to send her to the hospital, with her chip being the fact that it was Liu Lin who left her in this state.
She had already planned it thoroughly, deliberately choosing the busiest time to collapse on the street. With so many people passing by, even if Yao Qi ignored her, there would definitely be another person who would take action.
In the worst case scenario, she would be sent to the hospital by the police.
But at least she could still survive.
In fact, the little girl was very lucky. If Liu Lin had already obtained his new ID card, then it was indeed the police who would be in charge of her now.
Yao Qi was not a stupidly naive person who would repay malice with kindness
But the little girl didnât know about this.
All she knew was that Yao Qi still took care of her.
And thus, she thought, âas expected of the âideal brotherâ whom Iâve been wanting and persistently chasing for so long.â
The little girl sneakily peeked at Yao Qi who was lying on Liu Linâs lap.
âHeâs mineâhe belongs to me, and only me. If you canât understand my words, then thereâs no more use for your ears, got it?â Liu Lin cocked up his eyebrow and raised his chin to stare down at her.
ââŠHeâs yours⊠I got it⊠donât cut my earsâŠâ The girl finally opened her mouth. She was a little tongue tied, and her words were rather incoherent, but she still held the grudge in her heart.
On the inside, she felt hateful to the point her teeth were throbbing.
âYou forgot what I told you before? I said youâre not allowed to follow us anymore.â
After a moment of silence, Liu Lin suddenly remembered this scrupleâif it wasnât for this brat, how could Yao Qi have given him the cold treatment?
Had Yao Qi not been sleeping on his lap, he swore that he would have wiped the floor with this brat.
Thatâs obviously not how it went!
The little girl glared at him, âWhat you said was âIf you dare to target Yao Qi again, Iâll crush your skull to piecesâ.â
He didnât say anything about not following them.
And she didnât follow anyone, did she? She just crashed in front of a flower shop.
Listening to her words, Liu Lin sneered and looked at her with a threatening smile.
âHeh, you mean to say that I was wrong?â At first his tone was flippant, sounding like a provocation, then he lowered his volume, spitting out a menacing command in a deep and sonorous voice, âStop spouting nonsense.â
âIâm sorry, I was wrongââ
Intimidated, the girl immediately apologised regardless of whether or not it was her fault.
Under the circumstances that her opponent was way stronger, she should have the self awareness to submit when necessary.
âGet your face over here,â Liu Lin sniggered once again, lifting up his hand.
Tremblingly, the girl brought her face forward.
What happened next was as expected.
The man ruthlessly smacked down his palm across her cheek, the momentum sending her tilting sideways. When she turned back around, a trickle of blood seeped out of the corner of her mouth.
Late into the night, the sound of the slap rang inside the ward, rousing up all the people who were staying to keep watch over the patients. Yao Qi was also awakened, but his eyes were still very hazy, dazedly looking up at Liu Lin from his lap. He looked so piteous that Liu Lin almost got hard, but his arousal lost to a feeling of self blame over waking the man due to his momentary slip of anger.
âItâs okay, you continue to sleep,â Liu Lin stroked Yao Qiâs head, and then began to lightly pat his back, coaxing him back to sleep with a soft voice. Only after Yao Qi closed his eyes did Liu Lin raise his head to glance at the others who were woken up by him. When those people saw that whatever happened had nothing to do with them, they also went back to sleep.
He continued to leave comforting pats on Yao Qiâs back before looking back at the girl.
âDo you know why I hit you?â Liu Linâs voice was close to a whisper.
âYes,â The girl nodded.
By playing technicalities with his words, she was poking at Liu Linâs dignity, because for people like them, language was a boundary. Both of them clearly understood the meaning of Liu Linâs previous warning, but in order to save her life, she made use of the gap between his words to justify herself, which was equivalent to stepping on Liu Linâs territory. In comparison to her mistake, getting hit by a single slap was actually a very benevolent punishment.
But of course, she fully believed that if it wasnât for the man sleeping on his lap, Liu Linâs retaliation wouldnât have stopped at a mere slap, and her skull truly wouldnât have escaped unscathed.
She silently contemplated that this current situation was really one of the best outcomes for her.
The only way it could be improved was if her âbrotherâ was awake.
âIf you dare to appear in front of me after this, Iâll beat you until you wake up in the hospital again.â Liu Lin had his left eye closed and his head tilted, staring at her with his right eye.
ââŠâ The girl pursed her lips, saying nothing.
To be honest, she didnât want to give up on Yao Qi.
Yao Qi was her âideal brotherâ. She had been obsessing over him for so long, and for such a long amount of time, it was this obsession that enabled her to survive and persist to this day, deeply taking its roots inside her bones. She didnât want to give up, but she was extremely afraid of the man in front of her.
But that doesnât mean I agree, the girl remarked in her mind, bowing down her head.
Liu Lin would never be fooled by her petty tricks. When he looked upon her again, it was with murderous intent in his eyes.
âDonât keep thinking about doing stupid things, or else Iâll kill you.â
His barely audible voice pierced through the girlâs eardrums. Her body began to shake, her fists subsequently clenching, but even the pain of fingernails digging into her palms couldnât pull back her fraying thoughts.
Youâre obviously the same kind as me, equally tainted, and equally unwanted, but why are you so much stronger than me?!
How can you find someone who loves you?!!
Why do you have a home?!!!
How can you live such a good life?!!!
You donât want me to make trouble, right? You want to kick me while Iâm down? But all I want is to go! against! you!!
Xiao Qi: *sleepy-eyed* Whatâs wrong?
Ah-Lin: *staring at the sleepy Xiao Qi and wanting to kiss him, then feeling extremely sad because he canât reach his lips with this current posture* Itâs okay, you go to sleep
Little girl: Why can you live better than me? (ă=Đ=)ăâ»ââ» *going crazy*
Ah-Lin: Because Iâm the one who gets [beeped] by Xiao Qi~â„ïž *smug*
Little girl: âŠLike hell it is! Itâs obviously because this is a danmei novel!
Ah-Lin: Since you already knew, then why do you still ask?
Little girl: *choking* My chest feels so tight, I donât think I can breathe anymore.