Chapter 41

Nan Yayin hates hospitals. She feels uncomfortable all over whenever she sits on a hospital bed.

I could bear it for the first few days, but when I heard Qiao Yan say that it would be better to stay in the hospital for a couple more days in case anything unexpected happens.

As soon as she returned to the ward, Nan Yayin stared at her silently. Well, actually, she wasn't that silent. Seeing that Qiao Yan ignored her, she said to herself, "The doctor said I can leave now. Why do you insist that I stay here for a few more days?"

Qiao Yan had witnessed his prowess firsthand in the hospital room. Aside from the time she was in class when he would be quieter, he would constantly ask, "When can we go back?"

As the questions progressed, he started answering them himself. It wasn't that Qiao Yan didn't want to take him back, but she was always worried. It wouldn't be too late to leave after these two days when there was really nothing else to do, since there was nothing else to do anyway.

"One day, one day at most." Nan Yayin leaned closer. "I don't want to stay here anymore."

Qiao Yan rubbed his face. "Okay, tomorrow is the last day. We'll go home the day after tomorrow."

Logically speaking, he should be discharged today. In fact, it's still two days. However, seeing Qiao Yan's helpless and yielding look, Nan Ya Yin thought that there was really only one day left, tomorrow.

He seemed much more relaxed, and even sitting on the hospital bed, he appeared cheerful.

Actually, the ward wasn't small, and it was a single room, so it shouldn't be a problem with the environment. Qiao Yan had been taking care of him here, while Shu Yin was being cared for by Shu Juan and Xiao Lu was also looking after her, so he suddenly had a lot of free time.

He suddenly said, "The world feels so vast."

Qiao Yan wondered if the ward was too small, so she went upstairs and opened the window a little to let in some fresh air. "It's just one more day, just bear with it a little longer."

She stepped forward and touched the back of his head. Nan Yayin wanted to say something, but she had been doing this a lot lately, touching his head whenever she had a spare moment.

"Does it still hurt?" Qiao Yan sat on the edge of the bed. When the police arrested Jiang Qi that day, they arrived so quickly that she held Nan Ya Yin and forgot to kick him a couple of times. Touching the bump on the back of his head, she regretted not beating him up back then. At the very least, she could have smashed him with her terminal.

Nan Ya Yin leaned her head against her, feeling the warm fingertips slowly sliding down to the back of her neck.

He felt his glands beating like another heart, and he felt that he always needed Qiao Yan. Could the power of the temporary mark really be that great?

Nan Yayin snuggled against Qiao Yan, burying her face in her shoulder and refusing to lift it.

Qiao Yan understood what this meant, so she patted Nan Yayin and asked him to raise his head. When he raised his head with a little shyness, she said, "Come to class, otherwise I will only have time when I go home after I go to school. I have seen your previous test scores and found that you are actually very smart, but you just did not spend much time on the subjects you are not good at."

Nan Ya Yin stiffened his neck. He wasn't good at initiating romance; he always relied on Qiao Yan to figure things out on his own, and Qiao Yan always understood. But today, he didn't understand?

"No..." he hesitated, his eyes occasionally slipping down to look at Qiao Yan's mouth, only to quickly look away again.

"Is it because you need to take care of Shuyin?" Qiao Yan was adjusting the terminal and even looking for course materials, as if he really was going to give him a lesson.

He won't get any benefits if he can't speak well. Just like Qiao Yan said to him back then, he speaks in circles. If he had to say "no" against his will, Qiao Yan would really think so.

Nan Yayin lowered her head and nodded repeatedly. After composing herself, she looked up again and asked, "Which class are you taking?"

Qiao Yan suppressed a laugh, "Let's start with what you're good at for now, so you won't easily get averse to learning."

After she finished speaking, she leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth. "Can we begin?"

Caught off guard by her sudden attack, Nan Yayin stumbled back to the head of the bed, bumping into the wall with a light but not heavy impact. Qiao Yan couldn't stop her.

"Aren't you annoying?" Nan Yayin muttered as she burrowed under the covers. "I'm not going to class anymore, I want to sleep."

"How can you sleep when it's so bright?" Qiao Yan touched his head through the blanket. "Let me check if you hit it too hard."

"No!" There was a thin padding on the headboard, and he hadn't bumped into it hard. It only hurt a little when he bumped into it, but he couldn't feel it anymore.

"Okay, next time I kiss you I'll catch you," Qiao Yan said with a smile, "that way I won't bump into anything next time."

When Nan Yayin said she wouldn't attend class, Qiao Yan told her to rest. However, he still opened the course materials in the evening, and by the time she got home, Nan Yayin felt like her head was about to explode.

-

Two days later, back in the house in the Linglan District, Qiao Yan felt a rare sense of homecoming.

"Where is Shuyin?" Nan Yayin asked. "Was Shujuan brought back?"

Qiao Yan nodded, reached out her hand to him, and pulled him to sit on the sofa.

"What are you doing?" Nan Ya Yin placed her hand beside her, looking like she was about to leave but wasn't.

"It's rare to have such a leisurely day." Qiao Yan kissed his face tenderly again. She seemed to like this, and only let go when Nan Ya Yin couldn't take it anymore and started to struggle.

"You're so clingy," Nan Yayin complained softly. "And you didn't even say that one thing to me properly."

"What?"

"You have to remember." Nan Ya Yin pulled away from his embrace. "You've told me twice already, don't you remember?"

Qiao Yan now understood how Nan Ya Yin's program worked, and she retorted, "I've said it twice and you haven't given me a proper response. Are you... going to refuse?"

"You were in your most vulnerable period back then! You'd be lucky to believe half of what you said." Nan Ya Yin suddenly jumped up. "What do you mean by rejection? Does not agreeing yet mean rejection? Can't I think about it carefully?"

He was terrified that Qiao Yan was just making fun of him, but he couldn't escape her. She would try to cling to him as soon as she came over, and he would feel uncomfortable if he tried to stay away.

“Say it!” Nan Yayin’s face scrunched up.

He kisses and hugs her every day, and there are marks she left on his neck, yet he still asks for a single sentence to reassure her.

Qiao Yan knew he lacked a sense of security, so she took his hand and said, "Next time, you have to say what you want. This is good too. Next time, you can just say you want to hear me say I like you."

Nan Ya Yin felt her face burn when she heard her say that. "Who would say that?"

He was led back to sit on Qiao Yan's lap. "This makes it all pointless."

Qiao Yan supported his waist and looked up at him, "I like you."

Her eyes were deep, like a bottomless pool, making it difficult for Nan Ya Yin to discern her expression. However, the curve of her eyes made those deep pools seem to hold unfathomable affection.

"I like you," Qiao Yan said again.

Nan Yayin nodded, resting her head on her shoulder, but Qiao Yan seemed to have said enough and repeated herself.

Nan Yayin looked up, frowning as if she wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, it sounded like she had water in her mouth, "I understand."

"Is this the correct answer?" Qiao Yan patted him on the shoulder. "I don't think it's portrayed this way in the TV series."

"I like you." Qiao Yan repeated himself like a broken record, not waiting for Nan Ya Yin's reply.

"I like you."

Nan Ya Yin was forced to kiss her, pressing her lips hard until their teeth touched.

"Shut up." Nan Yayin raised her head. "You're not allowed to say anything more."

"I haven't received an answer yet." Qiao Yan tilted her head, looking somewhat sad. "Don't you like me?"

“I didn’t say that,” Nan Ya Yin retorted almost immediately after hearing it.

"So you like me?" Qiao Yan slowly and gradually seduced Nan Yayin, firmly grasping his emerging thoughts and pulling them outward little by little.

Nan Yayin nodded, as if she had given up all hope.

Qiao Yan tilted her head back to kiss him, following the instructions given by the person in the terminal. It wasn't just lips touching lips; after kissing Nan Ya Yin until he was dazed, she asked him, "Do you like me?"

Nan Yayin nodded again.

"You have to say it." Qiao Yan was extremely patient, and then tilted his head back for another deep kiss.

When he finally made up his mind, he covered his eyes and let out a whisper.

"I like you, I like Qiao Yan."