Lin Wan leaned back in her chair, muttering,
"I wasn't worried about you. I just don't want you dying here and dirtying our land."
A Jin let out a soft laugh.
"Relax. I won't die here. Even if I drop dead, I'll go back to B City first. Is that acceptable?"
Her breath caught.
Her lips parted, but nothing came out.
Her throat tightened unexpectedly.
Feeling the shift in her mood, A Jin immediately said,
"Hey, I'm joking. Haven't you heard that saying? 'Scoundrels live a thousand years.' So I'll definitely live a long time."
Only then did she exhale, the constraint in her throat loosened, though a faint ache remained.
She shot back dryly,
"Right. A thousand-year-old turtle, a ten-thousand-year-old tortoise. You'll live forever."
A Jin burst out laughing.
He didn't argue—just clasped her hand in his palm and kneaded it gently, lowering his eyelids as if savoring a rare moment of peace.
—
The infusion room held a dozen scattered patients.
A small TV at the front played the local news in a low murmur.
With nothing else to do, Lin Wan glanced at it for a while, then checked her watch—forty minutes had passed.
She turned her head—
—and froze.
Sometime during the wait, A Jin had fallen asleep.
Her first thought was Oh no—
Was he having a reaction? Fainting?
But after a second look, it didn't seem like that at all.
His complexion had improved; she leaned closer and heard a faint snore.
She exhaled, half laughing at herself for being overly tense.
He was simply sleeping.
His head had tipped to one side, his lips parted slightly.
It looked… a little silly, but not unpleasant.
She looked away quickly.
But after a moment of watching the TV, she found herself glancing at him again.
Then she noticed his jaw—
A faint shadow, the beginnings of stubble.
It surprised her.
In all the time she'd known him, she had never seen him unshaven.
He usually kept himself well-groomed.
His daily habits were fairly neat too—he tossed clothes around sometimes, but always put worn items properly into the laundry bin, sorted by type.
Everything he owned had its place; he could tell you the exact location of anything.
She'd even suspected he had mild OCD.
She pinched her thigh hard.
Lin Wan, you've gone insane.
At some point, she drifted off as well.
She was awakened by a nurse calling out to them.
Opening her eyes, she found the infusion room full.
The nurse smiled.
"If you're both feeling fine, you can go home and rest."
Embarrassed, Lin Wan checked her watch—
She had slept more than an hour.
Insane.
A Jin was blinking awake too, red-eyed and groggy.
Yet the first thing he asked was,
"Do you feel better?"
She nodded.
"And you?"
He hummed in response.
Then, "Hungry?"
She nodded again.
He grinned.
"Let's hurry and get something to eat. I'm starving—my stomach's kissing my spine."
—
It was long past lunchtime, so they grabbed a simple meal at a small restaurant near the hospital.
When the bill came, A Jin instinctively reached for his wallet.
"I'll pay," Lin Wan said quietly.
He shrugged.
"Alright. I suppose I owe you this one."
Outside, she asked,
"When are you going back?"
He blinked.
"What? You're kicking me out already? I saved your life, and one meal is enough to dismiss me?"
"Aren't you busy?"
"And you?"
"I have errands. I'm leaving tomorrow."
"Then I'll leave tomorrow too."
At the curb, she flagged down a taxi.
The moment she got in, she told the driver,
"Grand Hyatt, please."
A Jin frowned.
"What are you going there for?"
She gave him a sideways glance.
"Where else do you think you're sleeping?"
"Fuck—of course I'm going home with you!"
His voice was loud enough that the driver glanced at them in the rearview mirror.
Humiliation burned across Lin Wan's face.
She lowered her voice sharply.
"My place is small. It can't hold someone like you."
A Jin leaned close to her ear, amused.
"Come on, you know exactly how big I am."
Her face went hot.
"Shut up."
He was in an unusually good mood—
Maybe because she had shown him more softness today than usual—
And he got a bit carried away.
Seeing her annoyance, he quickly switched to a pitiful tone.
"Hey, I'm all alone in this place. If you dump me in some cold hotel room, what if the venom comes back in the middle of the night?"
He shook the plastic pharmacy bag for emphasis.
The driver peeked again.
Flustered, Lin Wan grabbed his arm and twisted hard.
"Enough!"
A Jin fell silent instantly.
Lin Wan sighed inwardly.
He really was easier to deal with when sick—
A little spirit came back in him, and he became intolerably annoying.
—
Before they reached her home, Lin Wan told the driver to stop.
A Jin looked confused—
Until he saw her walk into a small, narrow storefront shop.
He strolled after her.
She was selecting men's pajamas.
When she noticed him, she snatched a set casually, added a few daily necessities, and went to pay.
Afterward, she shoved the bag into his arms.
"Take it."
A Jin accepted it cheerfully and followed her out.
"You know," he said, "you didn't need to buy pajamas. I don't mind sleeping without—"
"I'm protecting my grandma's dignity," she cut in coldly.
He choked on his words.
After a moment, he started rummaging through the bag again.
"This fabric's not cotton. It won't be comfortable."
She stopped walking and glared.
"Give it back."
He hid the bag behind him, smiling.
"It's fine. I adapt well."
Lin Wan clenched her teeth and walked off, regretting every moment of softness that had led to this.
A Jin, however, was practically bubbling with joy.
When they reached her door, she pulled out her keys—
And he spotted the Crayon Shin-chan keychain dangling from them.
His joy overflowed.
Inside, he ran a hand over the living room sofa.
"Pretty tidy."
"I cleaned yesterday," she replied, guiding him to a smaller room.
"You'll sleep here."
"Your room?"
"Mhm. Rest a bit."
She turned to leave.
He asked,
"And you?"
She sighed helplessly.
"Are you three years old? Do I need to stay within arm's reach?"
"I'm a thirty-year-old child," he said shamelessly.
She gave him a long, exasperated look.
"Chen Jin, I used to think you were just a bastard. Now I know—you're also a fool."
He caught her eyes seriously.
"I always have been."
The air shifted—warm, fragile, unsteady.
Under his steady gaze, she grew flustered.
"I'm going to tidy up. You should sleep. I need quiet."
"Alright. But I should shower first."
"Wait. I'll boil some water."
She left the room.
A Jin glanced around the soft pink space and finally let out a full breath.
He sat on the edge of the bed—
—and realized just how exhausted he truly was.
Dozens of hours of strain, fear, rushing, and worry…
His mind, his heart, his entire body had been wound tight.
Now that he had finally found her—
The tension unraveled all at once.
He sank onto the mattress.
He didn't want to get up again.