Chapter 45: Proactively Undressing

After being blocked by her sister twice in a row, Xia Qinyu’s joyful mood—sparked by Shen Chaoyi calling her cute—was forcibly doused by Yi Qingzhuo’s coldness.

Xia Qinyu crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks. “Sis, why are you so mean? I haven’t even said anything since I haven’t seen you in forever, and you’ve already snapped at me twice. I didn’t even go home first—I came straight here from the airport to find you.”

Yi Qingzhuo narrowed her eyes slightly, pulled a set of keys from her pocket, and tossed them toward Xia Qinyu. “Keys to the house. Go home. Your mom’s on a business trip and won’t be back for a day or two. Stay put at home, or go hang out with your old friends—whatever you want.”

Xia Qinyu raised her hand and caught the keys cleanly. They had no keychains or decorations, just two bare keys. She jingled them in front of her eyes.

Then she walked over to Yi Qingzhuo, wrapped her arms around her sister’s arm, and whined in a soft, coaxing voice, “No way~ I’ll go to the hospital with you and keep Aunt company. You’re getting discharged in two days anyway, right? We’ll go home together then.”

“Ah… Little Xia…” Shen Chaoyi felt a pang of worry upon seeing this, concerned that Xia Qinyu might aggravate Yi Qingzhuo’s injuries. She couldn’t help but speak up.

But Yi Qingzhuo quickly pulled her arm back, the crease between her brows deepening from the pain caused by Xia Qinyu’s unintentional tug. She didn’t say anything about it, though. “I don’t need you to stay with me. You go home and drop off your luggage. I’ll call someone to help you move it. I have things to do later.”

“Where to? I’ll come with you! I just got back and I really wanna go out and look around.” Xia Qinyu wasn’t put off by Yi Qingzhuo’s coldness; she didn’t take it to heart at all.

The affection between them hadn’t faded despite the ten-year gap.

“No need. You rest well at home.” Yi Qingzhuo raised a hand to block Xia Qinyu from getting closer.

Then she turned and pushed open the door to the internet cafe, saying to Shen Chaoyi, “Come in first.”

She flipped on all the lights, and the place immediately brightened up.

“Doctor Sister, are you and my sis friends?” Xia Qinyu, undeterred by Yi Qingzhuo’s rejection, turned to Shen Chaoyi with a smile.

Her expression seemed to say, “Yi Qingzhuo actually has a friend? That’s hard to believe.”

Shen Chaoyi’s eyes crinkled with a smile, and she nodded. “We’re friends. But right now, she’s my patient.”

Then Shen Chaoyi added a reminder, “She had major surgery before; she still has wounds on her. Right now she can barely move around on her own. No strenuous activity, so be careful not to touch her injuries.”

Yi Qingzhuo could endure pain—even if someone bumped into her, she wouldn’t say a word and would just bear it alone.

Xia Qinyu nodded. “Got it. I’ll be careful. My sis… she won’t have any lasting issues or anything, right?”

Ever since Yi Qingzhuo returned, she’d been harassed by relatives on her dad’s side, and the whole neighborhood was buzzing with gossip. Although Xia Qinyu was thousands of miles away and her mom deliberately kept things from her to avoid worrying her, the internet made everything accessible.

Xia Qinyu had followed local media accounts online, so she’d seen those reports.

As a kid, Xia Qinyu had always trailed after Yi Qingzhuo like a little shadow. Then that incident happened.

Her heart ached fiercely for Yi Qingzhuo; she was especially worried about her.

But Yi Qingzhuo wasn’t the type to air her grievances every day, so no matter how much Xia Qinyu pressed during their occasional phone calls, she could never pry anything out of her.

She didn’t know the full medical report.

That was exactly why Xia Qinyu couldn’t wait to return home right after graduation—to come see Yi Qingzhuo.

In her heart, she still deeply admired this older cousin.

Whether in academics or character, Yi Qingzhuo was someone she looked up to as a role model.

Xia Qinyu didn’t fear her because of the so-called “murder” accusation.

She knew Yi Qingzhuo—she could say she was the person closest to Yi Qingzhuo.

“I’ll let her tell you the specifics. It’s not easy to say right now,” Shen Chaoyi said, unwilling to reveal too much, in case Yi Qingzhuo preferred not to share it.

With that, Shen Chaoyi walked into the internet cafe.

Unexpectedly, Yi Qingzhuo was standing in the dark spot just inside the entrance. Her black clothes blended perfectly into that patch of shadow.

Shen Chaoyi’s peripheral vision caught her suddenly, and she jolted all over. “You…”

She’d been scared again.

Yi Qingzhuo reached behind her and shut the door. “You’re too jumpy.”

“You were hiding here without making a sound—that’s terrifying!” Shen Chaoyi tried to steady her racing heart, her face full of fright.

Yi Qingzhuo not only walked without a sound but also appeared and disappeared silently like a ghost. Shen Chaoyi had been startled more than once by her sudden appearances.

The worst part was that when Shen Chaoyi was scared out of her wits, Yi Qingzhuo remained completely calm.

She’d nonchalantly blame it on Shen Chaoyi being too easily scared.

Yi Qingzhuo shot Shen Chaoyi a sideways glance, not bothering to argue. She raised her hand and locked the door from the inside.

“Your little sister is still outside…” Shen Chaoyi found her voice and reminded her gently.

But Yi Qingzhuo seemed to do it on purpose. When Xia Qinyu patted the door to signal that there was still someone outside, Yi Qingzhuo’s expression didn’t change.

She sent a text message: “Wait outside for me for ten minutes.”

After that, she turned and walked deeper into the cafe. As she walked, she took off her jacket.

Stepping past Xia Qinyu’s mountain of luggage, she went behind the front desk and casually draped the jacket over the back of a chair.

Then she smoothly pulled off her T-shirt, holding it in her hand as she sat down.

Shen Chaoyi had just stepped into the front desk area when she saw Yi Qingzhuo being extremely proactive about undressing.

The T-shirt flashed before her eyes, and Yi Qingzhuo’s large expanse of pale skin eagerly rushed into Shen Chaoyi’s view.

Shen Chaoyi’s pupils contracted. She stared in astonishment for a moment.

Then, by muscle memory, she averted her gaze. “There are surveillance cameras here. And your employees will be coming in to work; seeing you like this… doesn’t seem appropriate.”

So eager, huh.

No wonder she didn’t let Xia Qinyu in.

Who in their right mind would casually strip naked in an internet cafe full of cameras?

Anyone watching would think this place was shady.

Hearing that, Yi Qingzhuo’s face darkened. “I’ll delete the footage later.”

“And… I’m not completely naked.”

Yi Qingzhuo’s last words came out through gritted teeth.

At that, Shen Chaoyi turned her head back.

She saw that Yi Qingzhuo was actually still wearing a sports bra. Below, she had removed the fixator, but there was still a layer of white gauze wrapped around her.

Earlier, Shen Chaoyi had subconsciously assumed that Yi Qingzhuo was so careless about taking off her clothes that she didn’t care about being exposed. She hadn’t thought it through—Yi Qingzhuo’s gauze had been tied by Shen Chaoyi’s own hands, and Yi Qingzhuo had always worn a sports bra to avoid awkwardness during dressing changes. Even without the T-shirt, nothing was exposed.

Shen Chaoyi lowered her head, her face visibly reddening. “Sorry, I misunderstood you.”

“It’s fine.” Yi Qingzhuo smiled.

She approached the front desk and leaned in to check Yi Qingzhuo’s wound.

Yi Qingzhuo rested her chin on her right hand, a faint smirk tugging at her lips as she opened the medical kit. “Doctor Shen, you’ve been up all night—aren’t you tired?”

She meant: you don’t have to be this dutiful. You could go rest earlier instead of coming all the way to the internet cafe with me.

“It’s okay, why do you ask?” Shen Chaoyi bent over slightly and used scissors to cut through the layers of gauze around Yi Qingzhuo’s waist.

The rustling sound of scissors cutting through gauze filled the air. Shen Chaoyi silently controlled her breathing, trying to keep the hot air from her breath from escaping too heavily.

Being this close to her made her heart seem to beat in sync with Yi Qingzhuo’s.

Yi Qingzhuo wasn’t much better off. The hand resting on the table beside her unconsciously clenched into a fist.

She gritted her teeth and lowered her voice by two tones. “Nothing.”