Chapter 86
The disinfectant smelled clean yet pungent. Dr. Chen (not the psychologist, but the calm, middle-aged doctor Qi Jin often used, skilled at treating various "injuries that are inconvenient to disclose") skillfully sprayed medicine on Shi Ye's swollen wrist, wrapped it with an elastic bandage, and couldn't help but glance at Shi Ye's face a few more times during the process, his eyes showing obvious surprise and hesitation, but his professional ethics kept him silent, only nodding to Qi Jin: "Soft tissue contusion, no fracture or crack. Avoid exertion in the near future, spray the medicine on time, and have a follow-up examination in two days."
"Thank you, Uncle Chen." Qi Jin's voice was still a little tight, his gaze never leaving Shi Ye's wrist wrapped in bandages, the white ring was very glaring.
Dr. Chen tactfully packed his things and left, gently closing the door behind him. Only the two of them remained in the treatment room, along with the low hum of the equipment and the faint sound of traffic outside the window.
The air grew thick and silent once more. Shi She sat on the edge of the examination bed, shaking her wrist, which was wrapped up like a bun. She felt a little comical, yet also strangely... at ease. The pain was real, but this pain, like Qi Jin's unwavering gaze as he sat on the single sofa beside her, was so real that she couldn't escape it.
Those surging emotions—heartache, guilt, belated realization, and the unfamiliar yet overwhelming concern for the person in front of her after the protective barrier had been removed—were like a freshly opened carbonated drink, the bubbles rising and bubbling, making her chest feel bloated, and she had to get them out.
She licked her still dry lips, her mind racing with a jumble of thoughts: "What should I say now? 'Sorry I startled you'? Or 'It's a shame you're not practicing boxing with that kind of strength'? Or just ask 'What's next? Should I put Shi Ye or Su Xiao on my household registration?' The system is still playing dead, the survival mission is unclear, and the road ahead is shrouded in mist... But at least, the person in front of me is real."
Her gaze fell on Qi Jin's face. Qi Jin's face was still pale, and the bloodshot in his eyes had not yet faded, but in those usually deep and calm eyes, there were too many emotions that she could understand and could not understand: lingering fear, the vulnerability of regaining what was lost, lingering anger, and an intense focus that was hard to dispel.
Five years. Explosion. Search. Doubt. Torment.
Shi Ye suddenly felt that any language was as pale as a piece of inferior imprint paper in the face of Qi Jin's five years of experience.
She didn't know what the future held, what other tricks the system might pull, or whether Qin Ming, that venomous snake, would bite her again. She wasn't even sure how long this "return" state would last.
But one thing was crystal clear to her at that moment.
She didn't want to see that broken, suppressed pain in Qi Jin's eyes anymore. She didn't want him to suffer any more for any reason (even if it was beyond her control).
Long ago, by the lake, before the explosion, Qi Jin had cautiously proposed a "real engagement"... At the time, she refused because of the mission, because of fear, because of a bunch of other messy reasons, and even said hurtful things.
Now……
Shi Ye took a deep breath, with an almost reckless, desperate air, and a clear, burning impulse finally breaking through the soil in his heart. He raised his head, looked directly into Qi Jin's eyes, and spoke in a low voice, each word clear and resounding:
"Qi Jin".
Qi Jin's eyelashes trembled slightly, and his hands on his knees tightened slightly.
"Regarding the engagement you mentioned before," Shi Ye paused, feeling her cheeks and ears burning uncontrollably, but the words had already begun and were like a wild horse that couldn't be stopped, "Now, I agree."
After she finished speaking, she felt the air in the entire treatment room freeze. Qi Jin's pupils contracted sharply, and his body stiffened instantly, as if he hadn't understood, or as if he had been temporarily paralyzed by the immense amount of information contained in those words.
Looking at her reaction, Shi Ye's initial tension was suddenly replaced by a strange, sarcastic ease: "Damn it, is she still not quite there? Or does she think I'm crazy? I just came back from being 'resurrected' (in a different way) and she's already bringing up engagement? Isn't this a bit too wild? But anyway, it's already like this, so what if I have too many debts? Too many lice don't itch anymore. System debts are still debts, but emotional debts... hmm, that seems a bit different."
She was scrolling through comments in her mind, trying to ease the awkward silence that made her want to dig her toes into the ground, when she saw Qi Jin suddenly stand up from the sofa.
The movement was so fast that it stirred up a gust of wind.
The next second, Qi Jin was already standing in front of her, so close that she could see the sudden surge of emotions in his eyes, emotions that had been suppressed for far too long. There was shock, disbelief, dizziness from being hit by a huge surprise, and something deeper... a fierce determination to confirm something.
"You... say it again." Qi Jin's voice was hoarse and trembling slightly. His gaze was fixed on her, as if trying to extract the truth of his words from every subtle expression on her face.
Shi Ye's heart pounded again at her gaze, but the die was cast. She tilted her head back, steeled herself, and repeated herself in a clearer, even slightly detached tone, "Believe it or not, I said, engagement, I agree. Did you hear me? Should I record this and play it on repeat, Mr. Qi?"
Before she could finish speaking, Qi Jin had already leaned down, one hand bracing against the edge of the examination bed beside her, while the other hand gripped the back of her neck with irresistible force.
Then, he kissed her.
It wasn't a gentle probe, nor a cautious touch.
It was a brutal act of plunder and confirmation that finally found an outlet after five years of suppression, repeated torment in despair and hope, and near collapse amidst doubt and confirmation.
The moment their lips touched, Shi Ye felt a "boom" in her mind, as if something had exploded. The touch was warm and soft, yet it carried Qi Jin's unique and undeniable aggressiveness. She could feel his lips trembling slightly, and taste a faint hint of coffee bitterness and Qi Jin's cool yet burning breath.
She instinctively tried to back away, but the back of her neck was firmly held, leaving her nowhere to escape. Her wrists were immobilized, preventing her from pushing back, and she was trapped in the narrow space between Qi Jin's body and the examination bed.
"Holy crap! Is this for real?! Wait! I'm not ready! Isn't this moving too fast! We just confirmed our relationship (?) and we're already hitting a home run? Oh wait, we haven't confirmed our relationship yet, we just agreed to get engaged... But what's the difference between this and kissing right away! Qi Jin, isn't your action a bit too much! Ugh..."
Before the initial shock and complaints had even subsided, Qi Jin's kiss deepened. No longer content with a simple lip-to-lip contact, he pried open her teeth and plunged in, his almost desperate yearning and undeniable possessiveness overwhelming all her senses.
Shi She was initially stiff, trying to resist the overwhelming onslaught, but gradually, in Qi Jin's ardent and persistent kisses, in the waves of emotion that almost swallowed her whole, her taut nerves melted away like softened candy. All her chaotic thoughts, unsolved mysteries, and uncertainties about the future seemed to evaporate temporarily in that scalding kiss.
All that remained was the primal entanglement between lips and teeth, the thunderous pounding of the heart, and the chilling warmth emanating from the point of skin contact.
She could feel Qi Jin's fingers trembling slightly as they gripped the back of her neck, could feel his hot breath on her cheek, and could sense something far more complex and profound than the surface ferocity contained in the kiss—the ecstasy of regaining what was lost, the explosion of five years of pent-up emotions, the eagerness to confirm her existence, and a hint of… barely perceptible vulnerability, the fear that she might disappear again.
She didn't know how much time had passed, until Shi She felt like the air in her lungs was about to be squeezed out, and she felt dizzy and couldn't help but let out a soft whimper from her throat. Only then did Qi Jin seem to suddenly wake up and abruptly release her lips.
Their foreheads touched, their breaths mingling, rapid and hot.
Qi Jin's eyes were close, the intense emotions surging within them still unsettled, like the sea after a storm, still turbulent beneath the surface. Her fingertips lingered on Shi Ye's nape, gently caressing the delicate skin there, as if confirming that this was not an illusion.
Shi Ye gasped for breath, her cheeks flushed, her lips slightly swollen from the kiss, and her eyes still watery and bewildered. Looking at Qi Jin's face so close to hers, her mind went blank, leaving only one thought: "...Your lung capacity is amazing. Also, my wrist seems...worse? Did I pull it?"
This overly practical thought made her hiss, and she subconsciously moved her bandaged wrist.
Qi Jin noticed immediately. She quickly stepped back a little, her gaze falling on Shi Ye's wrist. Her brows furrowed, and the fierce and aggressive aura from before was instantly replaced by tension: "Did you pull it? Does it hurt?"
Seeing her expression change so quickly, Shi Ye's urge to tease her rekindled: "Now you know to ask? When you were kissing so passionately just now, why didn't you think of me as an injured person? Mr. Qi, isn't your focus shifting a bit too casually?"
But she didn't say it aloud, only shaking her head, her voice still a little breathless: "No...it's nothing." She paused, looking at Qi Jin's still tightly furrowed brows and the lingering worry in his eyes, a part of her heart softened completely, and she couldn't help but mutter softly, "It's just...next time, could you give me a heads-up? Or, pick a time when I'm not injured?"
Looking at her slightly swollen lips and her eyes that held a hint of complaint but no resistance, Qi Jin felt the boulder in his heart, which had been suspended for five years, frozen for five years, and just scorched by a raging fire, finally land with a "thud".
She reached out and, with utmost gentleness, brushed her fingertips across Shi Ye's moist lips, a gesture as precious as if she were touching a fragile dream.
“There won’t be a next time.” Qi Jin’s voice was low and hoarse, but it carried an undeniable firmness. “Shi Ye, you’ve agreed. You can’t go back on your word.”
Looking at the almost obsessive seriousness in her eyes, Shi Ye sighed inwardly, but couldn't help but retort, "What if the system turns me into someone else again?"
Qi Jin's eyes instantly turned cold, and he tightened his grip on her hand slightly: "Then I'll find you again. Once, twice, a hundred times." She paused, then said, word by word, "You'll never disappear from my sight again."
Shi Ye looked into her eyes, and the determination and seriousness in them made her swallow back all her complaints.
Okay.
Having a lot of debt doesn't mean you have to worry.
Anyway... it doesn't seem like I'm losing out.
She pursed her lips and didn't say anything more, just letting Qi Jin hold her hand tightly (the one that wasn't injured), feeling the incredibly real warmth and strength coming from her palm.
Outside the window, the sun is shining brightly.
In the treatment room, the smell of disinfectant seemed to be diluted by a certain enchanting yet resolute aura.
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