At noon, Father Cen returned home. He usually ate lunch at the company, but with recent family matters—his wife in the hospital and daughter alone at home—he’d been checking on his wife first before coming home to accompany his daughter, worried about both of them feeling down.

Today, seeing Li Wu at home brought him great joy. He immediately put his arm around the young man’s shoulders, playfully complaining that he hadn’t come personally to share his college entrance exam success.

Li Wu could only repeatedly apologize.

Aunt Tang prepared a table full of dishes, and Cen Jin, breaking her usual pattern, didn’t eat in bed but joined everyone in her wheelchair.

Father Cen was surprised at first, but seeing his daughter’s gloomy expression had lightened somewhat today, he felt more at ease. Just as he was about to ladle some soup for Cen Jin, Li Wu had already picked up her small bowl from across the table, filling it with pork rib soup, carefully selecting the most tender ribs before setting it back.

Cen Jin picked up her spoon and naturally began drinking the soup.

Father Cen paused, sighing, “Little Wu, you’re so attentive!”

Li Wu felt embarrassed and reached out, saying, “Uncle, let me get you a bowl too.”

Father Cen insisted it wasn’t necessary and instead added a large portion of food to Li Wu’s bowl: “You need to eat more, you’re still so thin. Your sister hasn’t been feeding you well, has she?”

Cen Jin slightly choked, methodically finishing the meat in her mouth: “You should see what he looked like before, then judge whether I took good care of him or not.”

Father Cen laughed: “How different could he have been? Just went from a small handsome boy to a tall handsome young man, right?”

“God.” Stop gilding the lily, would you? Cen Jin gave up on her father and continued picking at her rice.

Li Wu blushed at the praise, stealing a glance at her while pretending to focus on his food.

Cen Jin asked about her mother’s condition: “How’s Mom doing?”

Father Cen said: “The doctor says she needs at least a week of IV fluids.”

Cen Jin asked: “Second Aunt is still taking care of her?”

Father Cen nodded: “Yes, your mom’s doing fine, eating and drinking well, just still coughing. Don’t worry about her, focus on getting better yourself. Besides, she has me, right?”

“Ah—” mentioning this made Cen Jin dejected: “I want to go to work, I’m dying of boredom at home.”

Father Cen consoled: “Think of it as an extended vacation,” then turned to look at Li Wu, who was quietly eating: “See, Little Wu’s here to keep you company now.”

Cen Jin said flatly: “I didn’t ask him to come.”

Father Cen was confused: “Weren’t you just saying how lonely you were being alone at home? Now someone’s here and you’re giving them the cold shoulder.”

He smiled warmly at Li Wu: “Little Wu, are you still staying at Jin Jin’s place these days?”

Li Wu hesitated slightly, wondering if Cen Jin’s parents knew he had moved out.

Under the table, his shoe tip was suddenly kicked.

Li Wu’s ears reddened as he glanced at Cen Jin. The woman was casually eating a piece of lotus root, not even a hint of her peripheral vision directed his way.

He knowingly played along with the lie: “Yes.”

Father Cen enthusiastically invited: “You must be free now that you’ve submitted your college applications, why not stay here at Yu Villa for the summer? You can keep your Sister Jin Jin company, we have TV and computers here, so you won’t be bored.”

Li Wu agreed without hesitation: “Okay.”

This time it wasn’t a kick, but a bump.

Fierce and clear warning.

Li Wu blinked rapidly, silently drawing his left leg back, no longer keeping it at a ninety-degree angle, preemptively avoiding more of Cen Jin’s covert attacks. What was up with this sister, still so imperious with an injured leg?

Father Cen naturally moved on to discuss his college applications: “Your sister mentioned you applied to F University?”

Li Wu nodded: “Yes.”

Father Cen asked: “What major?”

Cen Jin, who had been drinking soup, stopped when she heard her father ask this, quietly and attentively waiting for the young man’s answer.

Li Wu said: “Physics.”

Cen Jin felt a tightness in her chest and set her spoon back in the bowl.

Father Cen was curious: “Studying physics, shouldn’t you go to Beijing? Or the University of Science and Technology would be good too.”

Li Wu dared not notice Cen Jin’s reaction, forcing himself to say calmly: “F University offered a 100,000 yuan scholarship, full tuition waiver, and guaranteed admission to their graduate program. A professor has contacted me, and I’ve discussed my research interests with him. I’ll study there first, and if I can directly enter the PhD program in my senior year, even better. I don’t want to and won’t add any more financial burden on Sister Cen Jin.”

Mentioning Cen Jin, he naturally glanced at her. The woman showed no reaction, still focused on eating.

Father Cen nodded in understanding: “Ah, you’ve always been a mature and sensible child, you must have thought this through carefully. But won’t going straight to a PhD be too much pressure? Isn’t that like burning your bridges?”

Li Wu was quiet for a second before saying firmly: “Once I’ve chosen, I’ll face it. I don’t want to let go of what I love, so I’ll work twice as hard.”

Cen Jin bit the tip of her chopsticks, her fine brows furrowing.

Taking advantage of the moment, he boldly spoke up, uncertain if she would kick him again. Li Wu quickly looked down under the table, secretly pulling back his right leg too.

Cen Jin noticed his small movements and leaned back slightly, watching him with composed attention. When she looked up, their eyes met, and Li Wu was immediately caught by her gaze. He hurriedly looked away, continuing to eat while dimples appeared on his cheeks.

Meanwhile, Father Cen, still oblivious, nodded in agreement and encouraged him: “That’s right, where there’s a will there’s a way. Little Wu, uncle has high hopes for you.”

—

In the afternoon, Cen Jin played mobile games in bed while Li Wu, now properly established as her royal guard character, steadfastly protected her flanks. This time, however, he held a book in his hands—the same one Cen Jin had been reading that morning.

After winning three games in a row, Cen Jin put down her phone, satisfied and ready for a short rest.

She adjusted her neck against the pillow and turned to look at Li Wu: “I’m going to take a nap, you should go sleep in your room too.”

Li Wu glanced up: “I’m not tired,” after thinking, he added: “I won’t disturb you.”

Cen Jin pulled the blanket up to her stomach: “I can’t sleep with someone nearby.”

Li Wu paused slightly, hesitantly asking: “Didn’t you… sleep together with your husband before?”

“…” Cen Jin immediately grabbed the plush rabbit from her headboard and threw it at him. It was so annoying—she had become half-disabled and could only threaten with soft objects.

Li Wu caught it one-handed, secretly grateful the book was already in his hand. He looked down at the innocent rabbit that had been used as a weapon, stroked its head, and tucked it into his arms.

Perhaps because his natural movement was too adorably pure and childlike, Cen Jin’s accumulated annoyance instantly dissipated. She stopped arguing with this 24-hour irritating caregiver and closed her eyes, commanding: “Close the door.”

Li Wu: “Huh?”

Cen Jin said in the darkness: “I really can’t sleep with the door open.”

“Oh.” Li Wu got up to close the door, then looked at the window: “Should I draw the curtains?”

Cen Jin half-opened her eyes: “Yes.”

Li Wu went to close the curtains.

The curtains’ light-blocking effect was excellent—with a swoosh, the entire bedroom fast-forwarded from day to night in a second.

After standing stiffly in the dim light for a few seconds, Li Wu felt something wasn’t quite right and raised his hand to create a small gap in the curtains, letting in some clean daylight.

His heart settled a bit, and he turned to look at Cen Jin, finding her lying flat, hands on her stomach, eyes slightly closed, like Sleeping Beauty—but this Sleeping Beauty was lying rigidly straight, looking somewhat strained.

He called out: “Sister.”

“Hmm?” Cen Jin frowned slightly without opening her eyes.

“Can’t you turn over?”

“I don’t know if I can.” She was afraid to try, having lain like a corpse for over ten days.

Li Wu looked at her injured limb: “I can help you.”

“No need.”

“Mm.” He started walking back.

Cen Jin helplessly opened her eyes and waved her hand: “Fine, come help me turn over, I want to lie on my right side.”

Li Wu turned back, circling to the bedside.

The two-meter wide bed, with her lying near the edge for easier access, forced him to kneel one leg on the bed to help. His movement was far beyond what she expected, and Cen Jin’s face darkened: “What are you doing, climbing onto the bed?”

“…” Li Wu couldn’t retreat or move forward, only stopping to explain: “The bed’s too wide, I can’t reach you without getting on it.”

Just today, how many ambiguous statements like this had he made? Cen Jin’s head burned, and she shooed him: “Get down, I won’t turn over.”

Lying flat was fine too, she’d get numb to it eventually. Cen Jin turned away her eyes, extremely frustrated, consoling herself thus.

The next moment, the mattress sank beside her as the young man directly leaned forward, one hand protecting her abdomen, the other pushing her back, turning her to her side without hesitation.

His movement was careful but swift; Cen Jin hadn’t even processed it when a surprised “mmm” escaped her lips. This sound was slightly out of control, sounding incredibly delicate. Cen Jin immediately felt her face flush red, thankfully facing away from Li Wu—if he had noticed, she might as well die on the spot. Cen Jin gripped the corner of her pillow, feeling this brat had willfully crushed her dignity. From now on, she didn’t want to say another word to him.

Li Wu let out a breath and stepped back from the bed, putting his slippers back on.

The air conditioning seemed completely ineffective; he belatedly noticed a fine layer of sweat on his back, and his throat felt slightly dry and tight. His chest rose and fell once as he looked at the back of Cen Jin’s head and asked: “I didn’t touch your left leg, did I?”

Cen Jin gave a light “mm.”

Li Wu’s gaze lingered on her thin shoulder blades, hmm… why did she seem even more rigid than when lying flat before?

Worried she was in pain but keeping it to herself, he confirmed again: “Really didn’t touch it?”

“Are you a broken record? When I say you didn’t touch it, you didn’t touch it!” She exploded: “Shut up, I’m going to sleep!”

Li Wu was startled into silence: “Oh…”

The young man returned to his chair, and as luck would have it, the final result of the turning-over incident that had nearly driven Cen Jin to mental suicide was that she now faced the direction where Li Wu sat.

He sat upright, she lay on her side, they stared at each other for several seconds before Cen Jin sighed at her oversight and closed her eyes, playing dead.

Li Wu’s lips curved slightly as he lowered his head to read, taking care not to make too much noise with the pages lest he disturb her. He read these two pages twenty times, almost memorizing them.

The room was rather dark, and Li Wu rubbed his eyelid, looking up from the book.

The woman seemed to have fallen asleep, half her face sunk into the soft pillow, her eyelashes lying smoothly below her eyes, her breathing steady, her slightly parted lips full and pink.

And she said she couldn’t sleep with someone nearby. Wasn’t she sleeping quite peacefully?

Li Wu quietly gazed at her, his eyes gradually becoming unrestrained, suddenly smiling, his breathing quickening slightly.

The next second, the woman abruptly opened her eyes.

Li Wu immediately ducked his head, frantically flipping through the book, his heart in chaos.

“What are you looking at?” Her voice was cool.

Li Wu looked up, his large eyes bright and dark: “Reading.” He awkwardly scratched his neck, glancing at the cover, very seriously: “Macbeth, Shakespeare’s work.”

Cen Jin also exhaled through her nose and closed her eyes again.

Li Wu, still shaken, breathed very softly, forcing himself to focus on the book in his hands, not to let his mind wander.

Suddenly, the young man’s gaze stopped, his finger hovering over a passage in the book—

“From this time, such I account thy love. Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem the ornament of life and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’?”

Li Wu felt struck, gradually curling his fist.

He looked again at that serene face on the bed, as pure as moonlight, took a deep breath, and tentatively called out: “Sister.”

Cen Jin didn’t open her eyes, but her brows wrinkled in annoyance: “Hmm?”

“I was looking at you,” the confession made the young man’s heart race, his face burning, his tone extremely serious: “You’re so beautiful.”

The air warmed slightly in the few seconds of silence, and Cen Jin turned back over as if escaping, returning to lying flat.