Chapter 48

Chi Yu didn’t leave with Ran Jin until the amusement park was about to close.

Later, she had bought Ran Jin many animal-themed hats, insisting that she try them on one by one. With every hat Ran Jin put on, Chi Yu would exclaim how cute it was and insist on buying it. This made Ran Jin unable to say “no,” even if she wanted to.

When it came time to move everything into the car, Chi Yu realized just how many trinkets she had bought. The back seat was almost completely filled; the giant yellow chick alone took up more than half the space, its head squeezed out of shape, glaring at Chi Yu with a less-than-friendly expression.

“You bought way too much,” Ran Jin said with a headache. “There’s no room for all this at my place.”

“There is room. Your study and bedroom are completely empty; there’s definitely space for some plushies.”

Ran Jin looked at the plush animal hats—little pandas, ducks, foxes… Facing each of these “cuties,” she felt she had long outgrown them. However, since Chi Yu had bought them for her, she secretly wanted them very much.

“If you think they’re messy, I’ll tidy them up for you,” Chi Yu said brashly.

Ran Jin knew her all too well: “You don’t even tidy your own room; how can you tidy mine?”

“That’s you not believing in me.” Chi Yu propped one hand on the car door. “I’ll head to your place tonight and give you a live demonstration.”

After playing all night, both of them had forgotten that Ran Jin’s knee wasn’t fully healed. stolen contentOn the drive back to the apartment, Ran Jin silently massaged her knee.

“Oh right, we played too hard.” At a red light, Chi Yu looked at her uncomfortable knee and said worriedly, “How is it? Does it hurt a lot?”

“It’s nothing, it’ll be fine once I move it a bit. It’s my own fault for not paying attention.” Ran Jin looked like she was in some discomfort, but she was still smiling. “I was too happy and forgot about it.”

Ran Jin was not typically a person who smiled much; in Chi Yu’s memory, she always carried a heavy air of gloom, an aura of melancholy following her wherever she went. It was rare to see a smile stay on her face for this long.

“It’s my fault for not reminding you.”

This red light was quite long. Chi Yu leaned toward Ran Jin and reached out to hold her knee, wanting to feel if there was any fluid or swelling. As Chi Yu held her, Ran Jin’s body and gaze gradually stiffened.

Chi Yu rubbed it for a moment, sensed the condition, and said, “There shouldn’t be any fluid. I’ll go up to the apartment in a bit to get your crutches; you wait for me in the car.”

“No need,” Ran Jin said. “It’s only a few steps to the elevator; I can walk.”

“Are you going to use the crutches, or am I going to carry you up?”

“…” Ran Jin hadn’t expected Chi Yu to be so forceful. “Then… the crutches, please.”

The light turned green, and Chi Yu gave her a sweet smile: “Good girl.”

Ran Jin: “…”

At the next red light, Chi Yu reached into the back seat, grabbed a panda plush hat, and plopped it onto Ran Jin’s head.

Ran Jin: “?”

“It’s night, the temperature is dropping. Protect your head, otherwise your knee will hurt again.”

Ran Jin, her head tucked snugly inside the black panda paws that served as earflaps: “?”

Chi Yu also put on a matching hat, turned on the music, and hummed a song as they drove to Ran Jin’s apartment.

Upon reaching the apartment parking lot, Chi Yu told her to stay in the car. She carried a large pile of plushies upstairs, stuffed them into the study, and quickly returned with the crutches.

Access to Ran Jin’s apartment had always been open to Chi Yu, and it hadn’t been changed; Chi Yu could pass through just by scanning her face.

After bringing the crutches, Ran Jin skillfully supported herself and got out of the car. She wanted to help carry some things, but Chi Yu had already taken them all in one go.

“Don’t worry about it; focus on walking.” Chi Yu wouldn’t let her touch anythinunauthorized copyg and ushered her upstairs.

Ran Jin watched Chi Yu, who was carrying so many bags she looked like she might need to balance one on her head. After pressing the elevator button, she reached out: “Give me some; I can do it. Don’t let yourself trip.”

Chi Yu refused, determined to pamper the birthday girl to the end: “You just walk. These few things won’t defeat me.”

Ran Jin sighed and entered the elevator, holding the “open” button for Chi Yu.

Back inside the home, Chi Yu set the things down and helped Ran Jin sit on the sofa. She took the medicine provided by the hospital out of the cabinet with practiced ease, told Ran Jin to roll up her pant leg, and said, “I’ll help you apply the medicine.”

“Give it to me; I can do it myself. You don’t need to keep crouching.”

Chi Yu sat down right next to her. “This is fine, right? Why are you always so naggy? Back when you first came to my house, didn’t I help you with your medicine plenty of times?”

Mentioning this naturally brought back memories of Chi Yu helping her undress. Memories of her private clothing being removed by Chi Yu surfaced unbidden in Ran Jin’s mind.

Chi Yu likely thought of something as well; her movements paused for a second before she lowered her head to take the topical medicine out of its packaging.

“You’ve taken care of me so much and even saved my life. Now the injury on your knee started because of me, and the pain exists because of me. Can’t you just relax and rely on me?”

Chi Yu tossed the packaging onto the coffee table. When she looked up, her eyes were rimmed with red, and her expression was stubborn: “Or am I not worth relying on?”

Chi Yu’s emotions were the key to opening the door to Ran Jin’s heart. At the slightest change in her mood, Ran Jin’s inner defenses wavered. This was especially true now that the emotion of “distress” had spread across her face.

Originally, Ran Jin wanted to tell her it was just a minor injury, a coincidence; that she hadn’t saved her on purpose, but had simply resolved a crisis while looking for her. It was the same kind of wording she had used countless times before when she wanted Chi Yu to hate her or wanted to leave Chi Yu’s world.

“I did it willingly.”

But what she finally said was the same as the countless times before. She couldn’t bring herself to truly make Chi Yu sad. She would risk her life against anyone who hurt Chi Yu even a little, let alone when the cause was herself.

Seeing Chi Yu’s eyes turn red, Ran Jin’s heart—which had become numb to everything else—ached uncontrollably. Protecting Chi Yu, her “deity,” was her instinct.

She originally thought this sentence would make Chi Yu less sad, but after she said it, the redness in Chi Yu’s eyes didn’t fade; instead, a surge of tears gathered instantly.

“Xiao Yu?” Ran Jin was startled and grabbed Chi Yu’s sleeve.

Chi Yu quickly lowered her head, not wanting Ran Jin to see how moved she was. Even though she lowered her head quickly, the tears falling from her eyes were clearly seen by Ran Jin.

“Willingly… but in the end, you’re still the one suffering this pain?”

Chi Yu had long been tired of crying; she had once sworn never to cry again, and to face everything with full energy no matter Read on BaiLianTaleswhat happened. Who would have thought that because of one short sentence from Ran Jin, her chest would feel like it was being torn open?

Chi Yu’s voice carried a suppressed tremble. She was hurting and she was crying, and Ran Jin was the “culprit” behind it all.

Clearly, nothing major had happened; she hadn’t died, and she was almost fully healed. Xiao Yu shouldn’t be this sad.

The tissues were at the far end of the coffee table, a bit out of reach. Ran Jin gently placed the back of her finger under Chi Yu’s eye, wiping away her tears bit by bit. Knowing she cared about her makeup, Ran Jin’s movements were very careful not to smudge it.

“I’m very happy that you were willing to stay with me today and take me to the amusement park.”

Ran Jin hesitantly gripped Chi Yu’s wrist, looking at the snowy-white skin at the center of Chi Yu’s collar and the thin, bright necklace hidden within.

“A little pain is fine once it’s endured, but happy memories can stay with me for a lifetime. Whenever I think of them, they can cancel out the pain. Xiao Yu, what you give me is the best.”

It was what she wanted most.

Chi Yu’s tears pitter-pattered onto the back of Ran Jin’s hand.

Ran Jin: “…” Did I say everything right tonight?

Chi Yu took a moment to settle her feelings; the word “sentimental” whirled through her mind. She let out a “ha” unauthorized copyand laughed, sniffing as she pushed the negative emotions out of her chest: “Don’t mind me, my emotions have been coming out of nowhere lately. Did I scare you? Come on, roll up your pant leg and stop stalling.”

With that, Chi Yu began to roll up her pant leg.

But the pants were narrow and form-fitting; they got stuck halfway up the calf. Chi Yu said directly: “Take your pants off.”

Ran Jin: “…”

After saying it, Chi Yu realized it wasn’t quite appropriate, but not wanting to appear awkward or panicked, she turned her head and said: “You take them off, I’ll go get your pajama pants for you. I won’t look.”

Chi Yu meant what she said. When she went into Ran Jin’s bedroom and brought out the neatly folded pajama pants, Ran Jin had just unzipped her pants. She had removed the leg that was already healed, but the one with the painful knee was hard to bend. The pants were tight, and she was overthinking it; the more anxious she felt, the harder they were to take off.

“Don’t pull so hard. I can see you’re good at taking care of others, but your self-care is quite poor.”

Chi Yu placed the pajama pants on an armchair, walked over to Ran Jin, and knelt on the sofa cushion beside Ran Jin’s waist. She leaned down and grabbed her waistband to help her.

“Wait a second!” Ran Jin’s face suddenly flushed deep red.

“What for? Stop stalling.” Chi Yu looked at Ran Jin’s face, then glanced down at her fair legs. “Let’s just get this over with. You, lift your waist up a bit.”

“Move a bit here.” Chi Yu tugged the waistband; it caught just below her waist, signaling her to lift up. Chi Yu was leaning over, her upper body parallel to Ran Jin’s, her nose almost touching Ran Jin’s cheek.

Ran Jin endured and endured, finally suppressing the urge to sneeze with great difficulty. If it happened again this time, Xiao Yu would definitely find out… it was just too embarrassing.

But with Chi Yu pulling at her pants, Ran Jin knew that given Chi Yu’s personality, she wouldn’t stop until she succeeded if she didn’t cooperate. Ran Jin could only obediently follow Chi Yu’s lead. She did whatever Chi Yu told her to do, and the pants were removed smoothly.

Chi Yu turned around to grab the pajama pants to put them on her.

“I can do it myself, really,” Ran Jin almost swore to heaven.

“Oh…” Chi Yu pretended nothing had happened. She rubbed the topical medicine in her palms according to the instructions until it was warm. Seeing Ran Jin put on the pajama pants almost instantly, she found it a bit funny and said, “Roll them up yourself, I’ll rub it in for you.”

Having resigned to her fate, Ran Jin rolled up the pant leg. Chi Yu’s burning palm pressed against her knee, and soon, the throbbing pain of the injury was covered and dissolved by that fire-like heat.

After massaging for half an hour, Chi Yu told her to move around a bit. Ran Jin lifted her leg; the swelling and pain had basically disappeared.

“That’s good.” A thin layer of sweat had appeared on Chi Yu’s forehead. She finished washing her hands, and when she came out, she glanced at the wall clock and said, “There are only five minutes left of today. Have you made your birthday wish yet?”

Back at the office, Ran Jin felt there was nothing worth wishing for, but now she had a wish.

“Make a wish before the day is over,” Chi Yu said, tilting her head and smiling at her.

“Okay.”

Chi Yu’s bright smile remained in front of Ran Jin’s eyes even when she closed them to make her wish. Ran Jin clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and made a devout wish—

I have only one wish.

I hope Xiao Yu is happy and joyful throughout this life, free from illness and disaster.