Ye Yao's pupils suddenly contracted!

But everything happened too fast!

Leng Siqing's legs buckled, she lost her balance, and she fell uncontrollably to the ground!

"ah--!"

A sharp, piercing pain shot through Leng Siqing's ankle, instantly causing her to break out in a cold sweat!

"Siqing!"

Ye Yao squatted down and helped Leng Siqing, who was slumped on the ground and whose face was pale with pain, to her feet.

"Where did you fall? Let me see!"

His voice carried a deep sense of panic and heartache that he himself was unaware of.

"Foot...ankle..."

Leng Siqing was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice trembled.

Ye Yao carefully took off her shoes and socks, and saw that her slender, fair ankles were visibly swelling and turning red!

"You twisted your ankle!"

Ye Yao felt as if his heart was being gripped by a large hand. He no longer cared about the difference between men and women. Without saying a word, he directly swept Leng Siqing up in his arms!

"What are you doing! Brother Ye Yao! Put me down right now!"

Leng Siqing was both surprised and ashamed, and instinctively struggled.

"Don't move!"

Ye Yao gave a low shout, his tone filled with unprecedented tension.

"I'll carry you to the infirmary!"

Ye Yao placed Leng Siqing on the chair, squatted down, and without a word, carried her steadily on his broad back.

"Hurry up!"

After saying that, he carried her on his back and sprinted downstairs to the infirmary at the speed of a 100-meter dash!

Leng Siqing lay on Ye Yao's strong back, feeling his steady and powerful heartbeat and the fresh scent of soap pods emanating from his body, her mind completely blank.

Shyness, panic, heartache, grievance, and a hint of warmth she craved, which she dared not even admit herself…

A mix of complex emotions completely threw her into a state of panic.

In the infirmary, the on-duty school doctor examined the patient and diagnosed her with an acute ligament sprain.

"Luckily, no bones were broken, but this twist was quite severe, so I need to rest well and won't be able to walk for at least a week."

The old school doctor applied medicine to Leng Siqing while giving her instructions.

Ye Yao listened from the side, his brows furrowed with heartache.

He busied himself with her, applying ice packs and carefully applying medicated oil.

The meticulous care and concern he showed made the old school doctor jokingly ask, "Professor Ye, is this your partner? You seem so nervous."

One sentence made Leng Siqing's cheeks burn red instantly, and her heart jumped into her throat.

She subconsciously looked up and nervously glanced at Ye Yao.

She was both afraid of his admission and secretly hoping for something.

Ye Yao was taken aback by the old school doctor's question.

He glanced at Leng Siqing, whose face was flushed and who was embarrassed and uneasy, and forcibly suppressed the urge to blurt out "yes".

He knew that he was the teacher and Siqing was the student.

At school, any gossip can be extremely damaging to a girl's reputation.

He can't be so selfish.

In the end, Ye Yao could only manage a gentle but slightly stiff smile, shaking his head at the old school doctor: "You're joking. She's the girl I treat like a younger sister, so naturally I'm a little nervous."

The phrase "She is the girl I treat like a younger sister" was like a bucket of ice water poured over Leng Siqing's head.

Yes... little sister.

It turns out that in his heart, she was always just his younger sister.

What was I expecting just now?

The pain in my ankle seemed nothing compared to the bitterness and sorrow in my heart at that moment.

Leng Siqing lowered her head, her long eyelashes concealing the sudden surge of disappointment in her eyes, her voice barely a whisper: "...Thank you, doctor."

Seeing her dejected look, Ye Yao unconsciously tightened his grip on the medicated oil, feeling a tightness and pain in his heart, as if something was blocking it.

He knew she had misunderstood.

But how could he explain it?

It was already late at night when I came out of the infirmary.

Ye Yao insisted on carrying her home. Leng Siqing wanted to refuse, saying she could hop back on one foot, but under Ye Yao's unwavering insistence, she finally gave in.

Her face flushed, and like a koala, she nestled against his broad back once more.

This time, however, her state of mind was completely different.

The pleasant fragrance emanating from Ye Yao lingered around my nose, while I felt his firm and warm body temperature against my back.

All of this should have brought her peace of mind.

But at this moment, it felt like a series of soft knives, repeatedly torturing her heart.

So close, yet so far.

Neither of them spoke the rest of the way.

The atmosphere was so quiet it was almost awkward.

A sense of oppression, difficult to articulate, quietly fermented in the air.

Finally, after holding back her emotions for so long, Leng Siqing could no longer hold back.

She lay on Ye Yao's back, tears streaming down her face like broken beads, silently soaking his clothes.

"Waaaaah..."

The suppressed, animalistic whimpers sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Ye Yao suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?"

He stopped, his voice filled with anxiety and worry: "Is your foot hurting again?"

"no……"

Leng Siqing shook her head, buried her face deeper into his back, and cried even harder.

"It's all my fault... I'm so useless... Waaah... I can't do anything right, I only cause trouble for Brother Ye Yao, and... I even hold you back..."

The more she talked, the more aggrieved she felt, and the more she felt worthless.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!