CM - 9

Huangzhuang Hospital, Emergency Room.

Zhou Shuirong went to get medicine for Shen Tingwen. The nurse was dressing his wound. During this time, she stole several glances at Shen Tingwen, her eyelids rising and falling, imprinting his deep-set features onto her hippocampus.

It’s worth noting that even with her mind wandering, she didn’t stop her work; she was quite dedicated.

Shen Tingwen had grown up, long shedding the childishness of youth, yet not quite a man either. But it was this in-between feeling, between boy and man, that was lethal, making people involuntarily fix their gaze on him.

Not to mention women who had been single for too long, even happily married women couldn’t remain oblivious.

Just as men couldn’t control themselves from looking at beautiful women, women couldn’t control themselves from going wild in their hearts for an attractive man they favored.

The nurse bandaged Shen Tingwen’s wound and gave him some instructions. Before she could finish, someone walked by, then turned back, staring at Shen Tingwen for a few seconds and asking, “Shen Yuan?”

Shen Tingwen said faintly, “You’ve got the wrong person.”

The person looked at him twice more, somewhat confused, but said nothing further and left.

The nurse noticed that Shen Tingwen spoke very calmly, completely unlike most people’s reactions when mistaken for someone else. Others would at least show a little surprise or embarrassment; he showed none.

After the instructions were given, Zhou Shuirong returned, placing the medicine on the table.

Shen Tingwen was a little shy, not daring to look at her: “Thank you.”

The nurse saw the young man switch between two kinds of gazes so naturally, and her blooming infatuation diminished by thirty percent. A sentence suddenly drifted into her ears: A younger man is just a younger man. He plays games with you using a hundred faces, leaving you flustered, yet he can easily disengage.

She couldn’t help but shiver, pulling her medical cart away. Young men were alluring, but also mischievous. Better to observe from a distance and satisfy one’s craving that way.

Zhou Shuirong pulled a chair over and sat down: “What happened?”

Shen Tingwen no longer concealed it: “I went to see Chen Fuyu, a girl from Grade 2.”

Chen Fuyu again.

Shen Tingwen said: “I saw her brother bullying someone and couldn’t resist meddling, and then a little conflict occurred. The cut on my arm wasn’t from them hitting me; I accidentally did it myself.”

Idiot, Zhou Shuirong muttered under her breath, always thinking of others.

Perhaps influenced by Vanessa, Zhou Shuirong was very inclined towards him when she encountered someone who was bullied just like her. She twisted open a bottle of water for him and handed it to him.

Shen Tingwen’s one hand was injured, and the other was pressing the tetanus shot injection site, leaving him unable to take the water. He mechanically repeated several gestures of trying to take it, then finally said, “I’m not very thirsty.”

Zhou Shuirong saw him struggling, stood up, and brought the bottle opening to his lips: “Open.”

Shen Tingwen looked up at her for a long time. After she repeated it, he slightly parted his lips, his two lips lightly touching the bottle opening.

Zhou Shuirong slowly raised the bottle, and water flowed gently into Shen Tingwen’s mouth. Half a mouthful, disobediently, didn’t enter his mouth, but stubbornly flowed down the corner of his lips, across his chin, and down past his bobbing Adam’s apple...

Zhou Shuirong inadvertently glanced, and that glance inexplicably made her swallow.

She immediately looked away, but she couldn’t not look while feeding someone water. If she looked, she would strangely swallow again. After much thought, she could only look at his mouth, wishing he would drink faster.

Who knew Shen Tingwen drank so slowly? That mouth, that little pink tongue occasionally peeking out, and that row of neat, white puppy teeth, made her even stranger, both strange and embarrassed. Finally, she stopped letting him drink, took the water away, and said, “I’ll call a car to take you back.”

“No need, I can go back myself,” Shen Tingwen said.

Zhou Shuirong acted as if she didn’t hear him and insisted on calling a car.

In the car, neither of them said a word until they were outside Shen Tingwen’s residential complex. Shen Tingwen said, “I’m here,” and Zhou Shuirong tersely replied, “Mm.”

The injured part of Shen Tingwen’s arm would hurt if he moved it slightly, so unbuckling his seatbelt was a bit difficult.

Zhou Shuirong saw him struggling and reached out to help him. As her hand reached over, their faces were close, and Shen Tingwen’s lemon-scented breath brushed across her face.

Time stood still for three seconds. Zhou Shuirong unbuckled his seatbelt, then opened the car door for him, and sat back.

Shen Tingwen didn’t immediately get out. He said ‘goodnight’ before stepping out of the car.

Zhou Shuirong didn’t look at him: “Goodnight.”

After Shen Tingwen got out of the car, the driver asked Zhou Shuirong where she was going next. She was about to answer when Shen Tingwen returned, bent down, and looked at Zhou Shuirong in the car. This time, his voice was very soft, with a hint of formality, sounding very alluring and even a little flirty: “Thank you.”