Qiao Chuchu looked at Pei Youchuan's worried expression, her feelings a tangled mess.
[...It’s not that strange, really.]
[Because during that time, even if I lived separately from them, I was still like a lingering, malicious supporting character, showing up at every important occasion they attended.]
[For example, with Pei Youchuan, I once hid in his closet and suddenly popped out while he was changing. I also deliberately held his hand at a dinner party with many people, among other things I won’t mention.]
[The most intimate thing I did was pin him against a wall and force him to kiss me.]
[Ugh!]
[The more I think about it, the more disgusting it feels!]
[Back then, Pei Youchuan firmly rejected me and even sent me off to a nunnery for a week to "detox" from my inappropriate behavior.]
[Even though I was just following the system’s requirements, to Pei Youchuan and the others, I was just a creepy, obsessive sister who had gone off the rails after hitting puberty.]
[They had no idea how much torment I endured behind the scenes.]
"I know," Pei Youchuan suddenly said.
Qiao Chuchu was stunned. "What?"
Pei Youchuan’s eyes were filled with concern. "I know you were in pain, struggling, and suffering."
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Could it be...?"
[Can he hear my thoughts?!]
Pei Youchuan lowered his gaze and said solemnly, "I know you pulled a muscle in your arm while saving me. I know how unbearable that kind of pain can be."
He moved closer to the stunned Qiao Chuchu. "Since I hurt your arm, let me take care of you, Chuchu."
[Oh... So that’s what he meant. I thought he could read my mind.]
Qiao Chuchu was wearing a casual three-piece set, with a pale yellow padded camisole underneath.
Pei Youchuan, as if bewitching her, gently removed her outerwear.
He averted his eyes from her chest, warmed the medicated oil in his palms, and gently applied it to her arm.
She hissed in pain. "Ouch!"
Pei Youchuan massaged her muscles with a tender touch.
His warm hands kneaded her arm rhythmically. "Does it hurt?"
Chuchu leaned against the headboard, suppressing a groan and nodding.
Pei Youchuan licked his lips. "It’s okay, you can relax. If it hurts, you can cry out. It’s fine."
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared at her furrowed brows. "Does it feel better now?"
Qiao Chuchu nodded, trying not to let out a sound, her voice strained. "I have to admit, you’re pretty good at this."
Pei Youchuan’s lips curved into a slow smile. "I used to suffer from muscle strains a lot, so I learned how to do this to recover faster."
He glanced at his hands massaging her fair, delicate arm, feeling the softness of her skin. His breathing grew uneven. "Back then... why did you save me?"
Qiao Chuchu rolled her eyes. "Why do you even ask? Are you a child or something?"
"You could have died," Pei Youchuan muttered. "I’m willing to die, but I can’t let you risk your life."
Qiao Chuchu frowned, looking at him in surprise. "Did you get possessed or something? Did someone else’s soul take over your body?"
Pei Youchuan froze.
Qiao Chuchu pinched his face, scrutinizing him closely.
He blinked, flustered.
Qiao Chuchu leaned in closer, unaware that her thin camisole revealed a glimpse of something private.
He quickly looked away!
At the ceiling!
At the window!
At the stray hair on Qiao Chuchu’s forehead!
Qiao Chuchu leaned back against the bed, her expression puzzled. "Where did the confident, shameless you go? Why are you acting so weird now? If it were the old you, you’d be setting off fireworks and telling the whole world that I saved you. Why are you tiptoeing around me now?"
[It feels like you’re being humble, as if you don’t deserve me.]
Pei Youchuan’s heart skipped a beat, and he guiltily lowered his gaze. "I’m scared."
He whispered, so softly only he could hear, "I’m scared you’ll leave me."
Qiao Chuchu didn’t hear him, as she was busy gritting her teeth against the pain in her arm. "Use your brain. Isn’t it normal for me to save you? You’re family, after all."
[Actually, it had nothing to do with the plot. In that moment, I just wanted to save Pei Youchuan.]
Pei Youchuan looked up, surprised.
Qiao Chuchu tilted her chin up, looking at him playfully. "If I hadn’t saved you, you wouldn’t be here massaging me with medicated oil. You’d be lying in the morgue, waiting for us to cremate you."
She smiled warmly. "I don’t want to see you in the morgue!"
Pei Youchuan’s eyes reddened, his voice trembling. "Because you love me?"
Qiao Chuchu: "? I love your grandma’s shoehorn."
She puffed out her cheeks. "If I had to put a name to it, I’d say I care about you. You’re my third brother, the one I grew up with."
Pei Youchuan’s breath hitched, his face turning bright red, his chest heaving!
In a panic, he grabbed a pillow from Qiao Chuchu’s bed and covered his legs!
Qiao Chuchu: "? Why are you taking my pillow?"
"To cover myself," Pei Youchuan said gruffly, trying to hide his embarrassment. "I want to cover up."
Qiao Chuchu was confused and tried to take the pillow back. "Then don’t cover your legs with it."
Pei Youchuan pressed down on the pillow, refusing to let her lift it, his ears burning red. "I’ll buy you a new one. Don’t tell me you’re too stingy to give this to me!"
Qiao Chuchu, surprised by his intense reaction, let go. "Fine, fine, it’s yours!"
She leaned back against the bed, closing her eyes. "I’m going to nap. Don’t talk."
Pei Youchuan nodded, continuing to massage her arm while stealing glances at her.
Chuchu fell asleep.
Under his gentle touch.
His lips curled into an unconscious smile, his cheeks practically glowing, though the smile was silent.
Suddenly, he felt the atmosphere shift.
Pei Youchuan turned to look at the door.
Lin Shen stood there, holding a delicate thermal lunchbox, frozen in place.
He seemed to have just arrived.
Pei Youchuan raised an eyebrow, glanced at the peacefully sleeping Qiao Chuchu, and walked over to Lin Shen. "What do you want?"
Lin Shen was dazed, mumbling, "I made some porridge. I came to bring it to Qiao Chuchu."
His gaze dropped to Pei Youchuan’s legs. "Why are you..."
Pei Youchuan looked down. "Sorry, it’s a natural reaction."
He lowered his voice, almost boastfully. "You’re a man too. You understand, right? It’s hard to control around the woman you love."
Lin Shen’s eyes widened in shock, as if struck by lightning!
Pei Youchuan pushed him out the door. "You can leave. This hour is mine. From now on, have Lin Qing deliver your stuff. Didn’t you already lose your chance?"
Lin Shen: "? I lost my chance?"
"Yeah," Pei Youchuan grinned, though his eyes were cold. "You left her behind and went abroad for three years without coming back. Our Chuchu was heartbroken for a whole year because of you."
Lin Shen was even more stunned, his gaze turning dark. "No wonder you wouldn’t let her get a boyfriend. You had ulterior motives!"
Pei Youchuan’s face darkened, but he bit his tongue and said nothing.
Inside the room, Qiao Chuchu suddenly woke up, looking around. "Third brother?"
Pei Youchuan was about to go back in but stopped, turning to Lin Shen with a cold warning. "Seeing you will only remind Chuchu of her past pain. Leave!"
"No!" Lin Shen refused to back down, pushing past Pei Youchuan and entering the room. "Chuchu, I need to talk to you!"
