The white light of the infirmary was somewhat blinding.
That pale light hit Su Yu's tragic-looking leg, appearing exceptionally desolate.
Su Yu slumped in the plastic chair, watching the intern nurse—who looked harmless enough—holding a cotton ball soaked in iodine. She aimed at his knee, which was swollen like a large steamed bun fresh out of the steamer, and pressed down without a shred of mercy.
"Hiss—! Big sister! Gently! That's made of flesh, not carved from marble!"
Su Yu sucked in a breath of cold air, his facial features instantly twisting into a 'Mask of Pain'.
He felt as if the top of his skull had been flipped open by this sour, refreshing sensation!!
"Bear with it. If we don't clean out the gravel, it will get infected."
The nurse's voice was as gentle as a kindergarten teacher's, but the movements of her hands were as ruthless as the reincarnation of Rong Momo. The movement of the tweezers rummaging inside the wound made Su Yu suspect she was playing Minesweeper.
Su Yu felt just like the pitiful Ziwei, currently being tortured by the heartless Rong Momo.
Little Swallow, save me!
Fifteen minutes ago.
When Su Yu appeared before Kevin and Mei, limping along, the expressions on those two faces were spectacular enough to be screenshotted directly for meme packs.
Mei pushed up her glasses, her gaze scanning like an X-ray over Su Yu's jeans—which were not only worn through but seeping blood—and that wrist swollen like a pig's trotter.
As for Kevin, this handsome stoic who usually wouldn't bat an eye even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him, had a frown deep enough to crush a mosquito.
"Did you... go participate in Ninja Warrior or something, and get eliminated in the first round?"
Kevin's gaze lingered for two seconds on the bruise on his forehead, which was obviously from a fresh impact.
"No, I just slightly... underperformed a bit."
Su Yu forced out a smile that was uglier than crying.
"You guys know how it is. The fire escape design in this gym is anti-human; it's dark and steep. I have a fear of heights, my foot slipped, and I experienced a round of human bowling."
Kiana stood half a step behind him—this was the edge of the safe zone determined by the System.
She lowered her head, her bangs covering her eyes, not making a sound, like an elementary school student who had done something wrong.
Kevin and Mei exchanged a glance.
That kind of eye contact was probably something only bad friends who grew up wearing the same pair of pants could understand.
The bruising on his neck was so obvious; could it be that fire escapes these days also knew how to choke people?
"He's talking out of his ass."
"Obviously."
But both tacitly chose not to expose this lie, which was so clumsy even a three-year-old wouldn't be fooled.
"Go to the infirmary first."
Kevin sighed and stepped forward, hoisting one of Su Yu's arms directly onto his shoulder, carrying him like a wounded soldier.
Back to the present.
The nurse had finally completed her artistic creation, wrapping Su Yu's knee into a perfect white rice dumpling.
"Alright, try to move around less these next few days, and don't let the wound get wet."
The nurse packed up the medicine kit. Before leaving, she looked Su Yu up and down with eyes one would use to look at a rare animal.
"Seriously, how did you fall to get like this? Did you jump directly from the second floor?"
"Um... I was careless while saving a cat."
Su Yu didn't blush or skip a beat, the lie coming naturally.
"A particularly stubborn, particularly fierce stray cat with a particularly bad temper. It insisted on climbing up to the rooftop. When I went to catch it, it gave me a combo of Meow Meow Punches."
The nurse rolled her eyes, evidently taking this as some kind of lame pick-up line, turned around, pushed her cart, and walked away.
Only acquaintances remained in the infirmary.
The air was filled with the smell of disinfectant and a certain awkward silence.
Kevin leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his gaze looking as if he were watching a mentally challenged child.
His gaze moved from Su Yu's knee wrapped like a rice dumpling, to his wrist that was almost scraped raw, and then to the stains on his shirt that were a mix of dust and cement debris.
And, the strangle marks on his neck that couldn't be more obvious.
"Saving a cat."
Kevin repeated the phrase, feeling his intelligence had been somewhat insulted.
"Right, saving a cat."
Su Yu acted like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water; he even managed to free up a hand to fish out his phone.
"A particularly stubborn cat. It insisted on climbing to high places. I took a tumble when I went to catch it."
Kevin didn't speak.
He just looked quietly at Su Yu, his eyes carrying a look that said, "Do you take me for a fool?"
Not far away, Mei was handing a cup of hot water to Kiana.
That white-haired dumpling took the cup and whispered a small thank you, looking so well-behaved she didn't resemble that crazy girl who wanted to jump off a building just moments ago in the slightest.
Kiana's expression looked much calmer than before, and she would occasionally nod to respond with a few words.
Buzz—
Su Yu's phone vibrated once.
[Kevin: What exactly happened? Don't fob me off with that kind of reason meant to fool ghosts.]
Su Yu looked up, meeting Kevin's eyes directly, which had "Lenient confessional, strict resistance" written all over them.
Some things were indeed hard to say in front of the "cat."
He lowered his head, fingers tapping rapidly on the screen.
[Su Yu: Really was saving a cat. It's just that this cat is slightly... on the bigger side, and her strength is a bit greater too. Don't worry, I won't die.]
Send.
Kevin stared at the screen for three seconds, then speechlessly replied with a meme.
It was a fox squinting its eyes with a look of disdain, captioned: "Just this?"
Immediately followed by a second message.
[Kevin: Seriously, knowing you for so many years, this is the first time I've seen you go so hard for this kind of thing. Knees scraped raw, wrist contusion, a bump on your forehead... Did you go to save a cat or to wrestle a bear?]
Su Yu's fingers paused.
He stole a glance at Kiana not far away.
Under Mei's comfort, her emotions seemed to have stabilized a lot. She was holding the paper cup, drinking water in small sips, her side profile as tranquil as a painting.
Who could imagine that hidden inside this body was a Herrscher capable of blowing the world apart at any moment?
[Su Yu: ...Is it that exaggerated?]
[Kevin: Your knees are worn through, your wrist is swollen like that, and the back of your shirt is full of dust.]
[Kevin: Do you think I'm blind?]
Su Yu was silent for a moment.
The phone vibrated again.
[Kevin: Alright, no matter what trouble you've gotten into, if you need help, just ask.]
[Kevin: Mei and I are here.]
Looking at those words, warmth filled Su Yu's heart.
That's a true bro for you. In critical moments, far more reliable than that trash System that only knows how to pop up red warning boxes.
[Su Yu: There really is one thing I need your help with.]
[Kevin: What?]
[Su Yu: To be precise, I need Mei's help.]
Kevin looked up, glancing at Su Yu with some curiosity.
Su Yu didn't respond to his gaze, merely continuing to type.
[Kevin: As long as it's not illegal, Mei shouldn't refuse. Speak, what do you need?]
Su Yu hesitated a bit, organizing his language in his mind, trying to make this request sound less like something a pervert would say.
[Su Yu: Can you... have Mei make a "High-Potency Anti-Cat Scratch Artifact"?]
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