Chapter 8 "Smell what?"

The first motorcycle sped across the finish line in the rain, and the crowd inside the canopy erupted in cheers.

He took off his helmet, revealing Lin Yao's wicked face.

The cheers stopped for a moment, then gasps of surprise erupted.

Lin Yao was surrounded by his classmates from the vocational high school, and the boys shouted arrogantly.

"Brother Yao is awesome!!"

"Champion! Champion!!"

Qiao Xi waited for Lin Yao to enter the awning, then frowned and asked, "Where's Sheng Yu?"

Lin Yao raised his eyelids and pretended to think for two seconds before smiling and saying, "There's an overturned car at the last turn. I wonder if it's him."

Qiao Xi frowned even more, borrowed an umbrella from someone, and walked down the sidewalk with Liu Zhen to look for the person.

The stone steps beneath her feet were completely soaked by the rain. Wearing non-slip leather shoes, Liu Zhen struggled to move forward, holding onto the railing.

Seeing Qiao Xi's hurried pace, she assumed she was worried about Sheng Yu, so she comforted her, "Don't worry, the other drivers haven't come up yet, they must have seen Sheng Yu go to help."

"That's why I'm in a hurry," Qiao Xi said, raising an eyebrow.

Liu Zhen was taken aback for a moment, but quickly understood what she meant. "You want to go and help Sheng Yu as soon as possible so that he will owe you a favor."

Qiao Xi chuckled, her tone teasing, "If I could really get Sheng Yu to owe me a favor, I'd have to thank that good-for-nothing Tang Ci."

Liu Zhen laughed along with her.

Qiao Xi's carefully laid plans fell apart when they reached the bend. Sheng Yu's motorcycle did indeed overturn, but someone else was injured.

Motorcycles were parked along the roadside, and fluorescent warning signs were placed on the ground. As Liu Zhen had said, the remaining racers did stop when they saw a vehicle overturn. At this moment, they stood in twos and threes by the roadside, helping Sheng Yu lift the person in the bushes up.

Seeing the slender figure mostly obscured by Sheng Yu's body, Liu Zhen widened her eyes and said to Qiao Xi, "Isn't that—"

"Tang Ci." Qiao Xi interrupted her coldly, biting her lower lip as she looked at the scene a few steps away.

Tang Ci's white skirt was soaked and stained by the rain, sticking to Sheng Yu's trouser legs.

You can imagine how close the two of them were.

A taxi drove up from the foot of the mountain, with Zhou Yiyang, still shaken, in the passenger seat. He had been driving third, but stopped immediately when he saw Sheng Yu.

Zhou Yiyang didn't even have time to see who was in Sheng Yu's arms before Sheng Yu ordered him to go down the mountain and hail a taxi. Now that the taxi had stopped, he could see that the injured person was Tang Ci.

Tang Ci's face was even paler than before the match, and there were several abrasions on her fair arms, which looked quite serious.

Sheng Yu, however, showed no mercy and coldly grabbed her arm, throwing her into the back seat of the taxi.

He calmly instructed Jin Ming to find someone to drive his motorcycle back, and then he walked around the back of the motorcycle and got on from the other side.

The taxi quickly turned around and drove away in the direction of the hospital.

The remaining riders breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that no major accidents had occurred. They lost all interest in the race and the riders simply rode their bikes down the mountain.

Liu Zhen stomped her foot, flicked off the leaves stuck to the sole of her shoe, and sneered, "I didn't expect Tang Ci to be so scheming. I really underestimated her before."

Qiao Xi could deduce everything that was happening before her eyes with a little thought, but she didn't expect Tang Ci to go to such lengths to get entangled with Sheng Yu.

This was completely different from the Tang Ci she remembered, who only knew how to study and was indifferent to everything else.

Qiao Xi's competitive spirit burned higher and higher like a flame. Watching the taxi disappear from sight, she said softly, "Tang Ci, we'll see."

/

Hospital emergency department.

The on-duty doctor carefully examined Tang Ci's injuries. Although there was nothing seriously wrong, she had quite a few minor injuries.

Then, noticing the two tall boys standing at the door of the consultation room, the doctor asked Tang Ci, who had been quiet all along, in a low voice, "What happened to your injury? Should I call the police for you?"

Tang Ci immediately shook her head. "Thank you, doctor. I accidentally fell, and my classmate found me and brought me here."

She spoke softly and showed no signs of being coerced, which reassured the doctor, who then began treating her wound.

While bandaging the scratches on her arm, the doctor noticed a small red mark on her neck and casually asked, "What's wrong with your neck? Why is it red?"

Tang Ci subconsciously looked up at Sheng Yu, who was standing at the door. Sheng Yu crossed his arms and coldly repeated the doctor's words, "Tell me, how did you hurt your neck?"

Tang Ci's fingertips, which were hanging on the stool, curled up. She looked away and whispered to the doctor, "I got poked by a stone."

Hearing Sheng Yu's sneer, Tang Ci lowered her head even further.

After treating her wound, the doctor felt her forehead with the back of his hand, took out a thermometer, and found that she had a low-grade fever. He then asked, "Should I give her medicine or an IV drip?"

Tang Ci glanced at the clock on the wall; it was quite late. She said, "Taking the medicine is fine."

The doctor nodded and prescribed the medication, but when he opened her medical record, he frowned and paused, then suggested in a heavy tone, "Medication takes a long time to work, and your body can't afford to wait. You should get an IV drip instead."

Tang Ci swallowed hard and said okay.

As Sheng Yu left the consultation room with the payment slip, she remained standing there. Zhou Yiyang walked up to Tang Ci and asked with concern, "Is there anything seriously wrong?"

Tang Ci shook her head, "She has a slight fever, but an IV drip will do. You guys go back first."

Zhou Yiyang's phone rang just in time. After answering, he called out "Mom" a few times, and before hanging up, he promised into the microphone, "I'll definitely be home in half an hour."

Sheng Yu raised his chin at him and said, "Thank you for your help today. Go back now."

The phone call was urgent, so Zhou Yiyang didn't say anything more and turned to leave the emergency room building.

Standing in front of the self-service payment machine, Tang Ci turned to Sheng Yu behind her and said, "Your family must be worried too. You don't need to stay with me. You can go back first."

"Stop talking nonsense." Sheng Yu held the phone in his right hand and tapped the self-service machine with his knuckles, urging her to proceed to the next step.

Tang Ci clicked to pay, and before she could even take out her phone, the page had already redirected to a successful payment message.

She paused for a moment, realizing that Sheng Yu had already paid, and then said softly, "Thank you, I'll transfer the money to you."

Sheng Yu said with a hint of sarcasm, "That won't do, after all, I was the one who hit you."

Tang Ci had been holding back her words about the bet the whole way, but he choked her so badly that she couldn't say anything at all. She followed him to the infusion room in a daze.

A few patients were sitting sparsely in the infusion room. Two girls sitting by the door looked up when they heard footsteps. They were stunned when they saw Tang Ci's clothes. The girl accompanying her stepped forward and gently reminded her, "Your skirt is wet."

Tang Ci looked at the floor-to-ceiling window and noticed that her dress was now semi-transparent, with the outline of her white underwear faintly visible underneath.

Her cheeks flushed instantly. Tang Ci nervously tugged at her skirt, only to realize with dismay that it was no use. She lowered her head, silently hoping that Sheng Yu hadn't noticed.

Suddenly, the weight on her head increased, and everything went black. Tang Ci touched the jacket covering her head and heard Sheng Yu's indifferent voice from above, "Put it on."

Tang Ci opened her mouth, but swallowed the "thank you" that was on the tip of her tongue. She had thanked him too many times tonight, and Sheng Yu had responded indifferently. She was afraid that if she said it again, Sheng Yu would be offended, so she silently put on her jacket.

The men's jacket was too big for her, and Tang Ci rolled up the right sleeve several times before revealing her wrist.

Only after the nurse finished giving him the injection and left did Sheng Yu show any intention of leaving.

He took out his phone to check the time, ignored Tang Ci who was engrossed in looking at the floor tiles, and went straight out of the infusion room.

Tang Ci watched his tall figure walk through the brightly lit corridor and disappear around the corner before letting out a soft sigh.

She won the bet through despicable means, but lacked the courage to claim her prize from Sheng Yu.

Tang Ci stared blankly at the empty corridor for a while before snapping out of her daze when she heard her phone vibrate.

Miao Miao pieced together the complete story from the chatter of the race car drivers and spectators, and sent her seven or eight messages in a row.

"I should have known! Something's fishy!! You suddenly asked me to show you the track today, weren't you planning to ambush Sheng Yu's car all along?!"

"How dare you?! If anything really happens to you, I won't live either!"

"How are you doing right now?! Why aren't you answering the phone?!"

...

Tang Ci checked the call log and found no missed calls. Coupled with the lag when switching screens, she concluded that the old phone she got from Tang Jianwei was malfunctioning.

Fearing that Miao Miao would worry, Tang Ci hurriedly sent her a message to let her know that she was safe.

Upon learning that she was alright, Miaomiao didn't continue to blame her, but simply told her to get some rest.

Tang Ci felt a sudden pang of sadness. She scrolled through her chat history with Tang Jianwei, finding that their last conversation was at the end of last month.

Tang Jianwei asked her to bring Qin Ling some fried noodles from Partner Street after get off work.

Tang Ci swiped her finger and scrolled up again. The few conversations were limited to daily instructions. She was more like a tenant in the Tang family than a relative.

She put her phone away, listened to the heavy rain outside the window, and subconsciously wrapped her large coat tighter around herself. The faint scent of soap lingered in her nostrils, like a cotton quilt soaked through by the sun.

Greed began to grow in her heart. Tang Ci raised her jacket-clad arm and gently sniffed it.

"Smell what?"

A cold voice rang out from above her head. Tang Ci looked up in a panic and saw that Sheng Yu had returned at some point, carrying a plastic bag from the supermarket and staring intently at her.

The anti-inflammatory medication that had just been administered to her body had no effect whatsoever. Every cell in Tang Ci's body felt like it was on fire. Helpless, she licked her dry, chapped lips and stammered out a clumsy lie.

"Your clothes... smell of smoke."

Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow. "I didn't smoke today."

"..." Tang Ci only dared to look at the tips of his shoes, and mumbled an "um" before adding, "Maybe I was sick and smelled it wrong."

Sheng Yu looked at the soft whorl of hair on her head and didn't make things difficult for her anymore.

Sheng Yu tossed the plastic bag in her hand onto the empty seat to her left and sat down in the chair opposite her.

Tang Ci rubbed her face before looking up. "What did you buy?"

"Food," Sheng Yu commanded, half-lifting his eyelids. "Eat a little."

Tang Ci nodded obediently, untied the plastic bag, took out a piece of bread, and started eating.

She ate quickly but quietly, like a hamster, her thin cheeks puffing out. She chewed a few times with her lips closed, swallowed whole, and quickly finished a piece of bread.

After throwing the bread bag into the trash can, Tang Ci patted her chest slightly, still feeling a bit choked, so she took out a bottle of mineral water from the bag.

Tang Ci's fingertips gripped the bottle cap, but before she could twist it, she saw the pink logo on the bottle and stopped in her tracks.

Just as she was about to put the water bottle back in the plastic bag, Sheng Yu suddenly asked her, "Can't you open it?"

Tang Ciran raised her eyes blankly, "...It can be opened."

Under Sheng Yu's cold gaze, Tang Ci had no choice but to continue unscrewing the bottle cap and take a sip of the exorbitantly priced mineral water.

While drinking it, Tang Ci felt as if her heart was bleeding.

Eighteen yuan worth of bottled water is enough for her to eat in the cafeteria for a whole day.

Sheng Yu sat opposite her, and because his legs were so long, his knees almost touched hers.

Tang Ci anxiously changed her sitting posture several times.

Sheng Yu didn't notice her little actions. He leaned back in his metal chair with a relaxed posture, looking down at the game on his phone, which occasionally emitted a cheer after completing a level.

His expression was far from relaxed; it was more of an indifferent indifference, as if he were killing time.

Compared to the tense confrontations of the past, the two are now in a calm and peaceful state.

After a moment of hesitation, Tang Ci mustered her courage, took out her math textbook from her schoolbag, and handed it to him timidly.

Sheng Yu lazily raised his eyes, "?"

Tang Ci swallowed hard, lowered his eyes like a courtier paying homage, and raised the textbook in front of him. "If you're bored, you can do some exercises."

Sheng Yu sneered, "If you're bored, just close your eyes and go to sleep."

He refused, so Tang Ci had no choice but to awkwardly put away her textbook, but she still couldn't resist glancing at Sheng Yu's phone screen, where he was playing an old-fashioned game, Tetris.

Tang Ci patiently tried to persuade her with reason, saying, "There is scientific evidence that playing this kind of game will change a person's way of thinking. Over time, it will affect your intelligence and make you stupid."

Sheng Yu snapped off his phone screen, his dark eyes narrowing. "Don't you feel itchy all over?"

"No, no," Tang Ci denied instinctively, yet she was also instinctively curious: "Why does it itch?"

Sheng Yu tapped his phone on the chair, making a crisp tapping sound, "Because you always sound so annoying when you talk."

Tang Ci shrugged, sat up straight, and didn't provoke Sheng Yu, who seemed about to lose his temper.

/

Dr. Song from the cardiac surgery department was on the night shift. At 11:30 p.m., she came to the emergency department to pick up some documents.

Before leaving, she saw a tall, handsome young man standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window outside the infusion room. She didn't pay much attention to him at first, but as she was about to enter the elevator, she caught a glimpse of his dashing profile out of the corner of her eye, and her heart skipped a beat, her feet instantly stopping in her tracks.

She called out uncertainly in a low voice, "Xiao Yu?"

Sheng Yu snapped out of her reverie from the pitch-black window, turned her head and saw Song Min, smiled and said, "Aunt Song."

Song Min looked him up and down, noticing no injuries and that he seemed to be in good spirits. She asked, "Why are you in the emergency room? Are you feeling unwell?"

Sheng Yuchao raised his chin in the infusion room, "My classmate has a fever, so I'm here to keep him company."

Song Min glanced at the infusion room where only one person remained. A slender girl was asleep, her head drooping and leaning against the back of a chair, with an IV drip attached to the back of her hand. She was wearing a men's jacket that was clearly two sizes too big for her.

With her tense nerves relaxing, Song Min smiled and looked at Sheng Yu, "Little Yu has grown up and can take care of people now."

Sheng Yu, hands in his pockets, glanced at the sleeping Tang Ci with a blank expression and asked Song Min, "Aunt Song, are you on the night shift today?"

Song Min nodded, her gaze towards Sheng Yu as loving as ever. "How are you doing in high school? Are you still number one in your grade?"

Hearing her matter-of-fact words, Sheng Yu smiled and said, "You have a bit too high an expectation of me."

“It’s okay if it’s not.” Song Min pursed her lips and said softly, “Your mother always said that she would be satisfied as long as you were healthy and happy.”

The central air conditioning above the window continued to radiate cold air, and the two fell silent for a moment.

The corners of his lips that had been curled up straightened, and Sheng Yu looked coldly at the dark bushes outside the French windows, as if an invisible barrier had been erected to keep strangers away.

Song Min and Sheng Yu's mother had been colleagues for over a decade, essentially watching Sheng Yu grow up. After hesitating for a few seconds, she choked up as she asked the question that had troubled her for many years.

“Every year, the department organizes a grave-sweeping event for your mother. I always stay at the cemetery until I get off work, but I’ve never seen you there. You never reply to my messages,” Song Min asked, her voice choked with emotion. “Xiao Yu, have you always blamed us for not being quick enough to save your mother?”

Sheng Yu was stunned for a moment, then pinched her tightly furrowed brows with her fingertips before saying in a low voice, "I was there the whole time during the rescue. I know you did your best, and I don't blame anyone."

Song Min wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and asked, puzzled, "Then why don't you go to sweep your mother's grave?"

Sheng Yu frowned and moved his lips, but didn't say anything. He raised his hand to press the elevator button, and with his palm blocking the elevator door, he said to Song Min, "You're tired, go back and rest."

Tang Ci had already woken up. When she heard the conversation outside the door, she hesitated for two seconds before deciding whether to open her eyes, and then missed the opportunity to wake up.

She could only bury her head deeper and deeper like an ostrich, pretending to be still fast asleep.

The elevator started running with a low whistle, and Sheng Yu's footsteps gradually approached. Tang Ci's heart pounded, and she barely managed to steady her breathing.

Sheng Yu walked over to Tang Ci and stopped, looking down at her trembling eyelashes, and said, "Stop pretending."

Tang Ci rubbed her eyes, looked up and said in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hear you talking."

"I'm not blaming you," Sheng Yu said indifferently, glancing at the IV tube that was about to reach the bottom. He pressed on the back of her hand and deftly pulled out the needle. "Let's go."

The back of her hand was pressed by his warm fingertips, and the belated pain slowly came over her. Tang Ci pressed the medical tape on the needle hole, got up and ran a few steps to catch up with him.

The hospital's emergency department leads directly to the street. When the two reached the door, the rain was still drizzling.

They had no umbrellas, so they had to stand under the porch waiting for an empty bus.

The porch was spacious, and the two stood silently on either side.

Two groups of patients arrived in ambulances one after another. Medical staff carried stretchers and quickly walked past them, while family members followed in a panic, tears welling up in their eyes.

Tang Ci thought of the conversation she had just overheard in the infusion room, and her gaze kept drifting towards Sheng Yu.

Sheng Yu, however, was completely indifferent to the life-or-death situation that brushed past him. He looked across the street with a detached expression, as if nothing could stir his emotions.

The chaotic footsteps gradually faded away. Tang Ci quietly walked to Sheng Yu's side, raised her hand and tugged at the hem of his T-shirt. When Sheng Yu lowered his eyes, she pointed to her mouth.

Sheng Yu said calmly, "Speak."

Tang Ci met his gaze directly without flinching and said, word by word, "Sheng Yu, I won the bet today."

Sheng Yu raised his eyebrows, "You broke the rules and you still have the nerve to bring up the bet?"

“This is an amateur competition,” Tang Ci whispered, “there are no rules.”

Sheng Yu crossed his arms and sneered, "You know so much, but do you know what responsibility I would have to bear if I really killed you?"

"I'm sorry, I won't do that to you again." Tang Ci promised, her face pale, then said domineeringly in a fearful tone, "But this time you have to accept your loss."

Sheng Yu remained silent, staring at her expressionlessly.

After staring into his dark eyes for a few seconds, Tang Ci suddenly lowered her eyelashes and said very softly, "Life is so long, just take responsibility for yourself this time. Learning is really simple."

Perhaps because she had become too persistent to resist, Sheng Yu didn't keep her waiting for long this time. "How long?"

Tang Ci quickly looked up. "One semester, but your total score needs to improve by at least two hundred places."

"OK."

He suddenly became more agreeable, which made Tang Ci unable to control herself from taking advantage of him. She swallowed and asked, "Then can I move back to sit next to you?"

Sheng Yu slowly curled the corners of her lips, then suddenly bowed, her gaze level with hers.

When Tang Ci looked up at his thick, deep eyes and brows, the machine running in her mind instantly shut down, and the tips of her ears burned bright red.

Sheng Yu narrowed his eyes and asked in an ambiguous and flirtatious tone, "Tang Ci, do you really just want to tutor me?"