Chapter 154: Night Talk

“Mom, take care. Don’t worry too much.”

Bai Yao said the caring words out loud.

“Don’t you have work to go to? The doctors and nurses can take care of me just fine.”

‘But please don’t come back.’

Even though being in the hospital had made Mom gentler than usual these past few days, she still nagged and scolded plenty.

For the first couple of days, Bai Yao was actually glad Mom was there.

But after a while, she felt smothered again and started getting irritated.

Mom quickly packed a small shoulder bag and looked at Qiu Ye with some concern.

“Auntie, don’t worry. I’ll definitely take good care of Bai Yao.”

“Alright, then. I’ll be back in a day or two.”

Watching Mom leave, Bai Yao let out a long sigh of relief.

‘Finally, some freedom. Even if I’m stuck in bed and can’t run around.’

“Want to watch something?” Qiu Ye sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the laptop.

“I don’t know. I’m so bored.”

Qiu Ye opened up the anime Bai Yao hadn’t finished watching yet and glanced at the time.

“You watch for a bit. I’ll go out and get you something to eat?”

“I want pickled fish.”

“Order delivery?”

It was already getting dark, time for dinner.

Bai Yao didn’t have much in the way of entertainment right now; her biggest daily anticipation was for the three meals.

Eating something tasty made her mood a little better.

“Where are you sleeping tonight?” Bai Yao asked, fidgeting a little.

“That foldable cot is too small, right? Are you going back to the dorm?”

“It’s fine. I’ll stay with you tonight.”

“You really don’t have to.”

Bai Yao muttered to herself, then turned her head to look at the anime playing on the computer and chatted with Qiu Ye.

“What do you think of my mom?”

“She seems pretty nice, right? I feel like most parents aren’t as open-minded as her.”

“That’s true.”

Bai Yao didn’t know what her mom really thought after learning her son had become her daughter, but at least she never showed it.

As for her dad… although he always said there was no money, he still paid the hospital fees.

But Bai Yao still felt bitter toward him.

With Mom, it was the nagging and getting yelled at that bothered her.

With Dad, she didn’t even want to ask him for a single cent.

“In a little while, you’ll be completely a girl,” Qiu Ye said.

Bai Yao stared at the anime and muttered, “Doesn’t feel that different.”

‘Being a girl just means a different way to pee. I don’t have much of a chest anyway. Wearing an extra bra doesn’t even really register.’

“But next semester, won’t my classmates think I went to Thailand for surgery?”

Qiu Ye frowned.

“Who would dare say that?”

When he frowned, he looked especially fierce, like he was ready to throw a punch.

Bai Yao was used to it by now.

Before, seeing him frown made her cautious and scared.

Now, it just felt like he was protective, which gave her a sense of security.

“Why are you so fierce?”

She rolled her eyes.

“Where’s my delivery? Should be here soon, right?”

Qiu Ye immediately relaxed his expression and grinned cheekily.

“I’ll go downstairs and buy you some snacks.”

“I want Coke.”

Qiu Ye left the hospital room for a while.

Bai Yao propped herself up on her elbows and shifted her body slightly to find a more comfortable position.

She figured she’d be on crutches for at least half a year.

‘Just thinking about it sucks.’

But it also meant she could avoid a lot of trouble.

Like being the best man—oh, maid of honor—for her cousin.

It just meant she’d need Qiu Ye to take care of her the whole time.

“Hello, delivery here.”

“Over here.”

Bai Yao raised her arm and waved towards the hospital room door.

The delivery guy peeked inside, casually put the bag on the cabinet by the door, and hurried off.

“Hey! Can’t you see I can’t get up?! Why leave it so far away …”

She strained her neck to watch the delivery, worried someone might walk by and take it.

Fortunately, Qiu Ye came back with snacks and drinks not long after.

“The delivery’s here.”

“Good.”

Bai Yao complained, “The delivery guy didn’t even look at my situation. Just dropped it and left.”

She definitely complained more than before.

In the past, she kept everything to herself.

Now, even the smallest thing made her want to tell Qiu Ye.

“Give him a bad review?”

“No, that’s unnecessary.”

Complaining was for comfort, not revenge.

Qiu Ye helped Bai Yao sit up against the headboard.

He thought about feeding her, but she had already grabbed the bowl.

“My leg’s broken, not my hands, okay?”

Before, when her pelvis was fractured and she couldn’t sit up, she had to lie flat and let people feed her.

Now that she was better, she’d be embarrassed to be fed.

Even though she needed help, she still wanted to do what she could by herself.

Qiu Ye didn’t insist.

He picked up a few thick slices of fish and put them in her bowl.

“Tell me if you’re uncomfortable sitting.”

Watching anime and eating with Mom gone, Bai Yao clearly felt more relaxed.

Her one good leg was even swinging back and forth.

In a good mood, she teased Qiu Ye.

“So when are you going to tell my parents?”

“Tell them what?”

“Say you’re my boyfriend?”

Qiu Ye’s expression stiffened, and he looked a bit scared.

“No rush, right?”

“Aren’t you scared, too? Weren’t you the one who wanted me to go home with you over winter break to meet your parents?”

Bai Yao rolled her eyes.

“Give me another piece of fish.”

“I’m scared your parents won’t accept it, not that I’m scared,” Qiu Ye defended himself. “Besides, I think Auntie probably already has a guess.”

“You think?”

Now it was Bai Yao’s turn to be a little nervous.

She thought back to how her mom acted toward Qiu Ye.

They seemed to get along well these past few days.

“Otherwise, why would she trust me to stay and take care of you?”

“Uh… you look honest.”

Bai Yao didn’t even believe that herself.

Qiu Ye with his “thug face,” no matter how handsome, didn’t exactly give off an honest impression.

These past days in the hospital, Bai Yao had caught up on all the anime she’d missed or wanted to watch but never had time for.

It wasn’t too boring.

Tonight, watching anime and joking about the plot with Qiu Ye, time flew by.

Around ten at night, Bai Yao started getting sleepy.

Qiu Ye yawned too, stood up, and unfolded the folding visitor bed, planning to sleep in the room tonight.

“Are you actually sleeping here?”

That visitor cot was narrow and short, even smaller than the dorm bed.

“It’s fine. Fits just right, doesn’t it?”

Qiu Ye lay down on it, and sure enough, it was just the right size.

The room lights were off, with only a little light from the corridor coming through the observation window.

Though they were on different beds, they were only about a dozen centimeters apart, facing each other like they were sharing a bed.

Qiu Ye reached out and took Bai Yao’s hand.

In the dim light, the outline of her face was slightly blurry.

After nine days in the hospital, she had a bit more haggardness on her face, less of her usual sparkle, and even her familiar cold expression was hard to make out.

“If I still can’t be discharged by New Year’s, what will you do?”

Bai Yao’s voice was soft and weak, like she was about to fall asleep.

“Then I’ll stay with you until New Year’s.”

“What about your family?”

“Just say my girlfriend got in a car accident. That’s fine, right?”

Qiu Ye lowered his voice, afraid of disturbing the patient next door, and chatted with Bai Yao before bed.

For some reason, with the lights on, they just watched anime and talked about the plot.

As soon as the lights went off, all kinds of topics came flooding in.

“How much betrothal gift would your side expect?”

“Eight hundred thousand or a million? I heard my cousin spent over a million.”

“That ridiculous?”

“I can give you a discount?”

“How about we go live up north in the future? We can see snow. You’ve never seen snow, right?”

“How about a trip to Harbin after New Year’s? I’ll be the local host and plan everything perfectly for you.”

“What should we name our future children?”

As they chatted, Qiu Ye gradually went quiet.

Bai Yao yawned sleepily, glanced at the closed hospital door, then at Qiu Ye’s face.

That flutter she hadn’t felt in a long time stirred faintly again.

“Mmm…”

‘Am I turning into a pervert?’