Chapter 24: Emergency Contact: Sheng Yize

Sang Sui had originally wanted to call Yun Man about the hospitalization.

But thinking about how Yun Man tended to overthink everything, if she told her, she’d definitely be worried sick for days and nights, and she still had to take care of Grandma Sheng on top of that. After thinking it over, Sang Sui decided to drop it.

She put away her phone and sipped her porridge while glancing outside uncontrollably.

Sheng Yize was on the phone at the door. He was too far away for her to hear clearly.

The nurse was changing her IV. Seeing her keep glancing at the door, the nurse couldn’t help but smile and say, “Your boyfriend treats you really well. Men this thoughtful and handsome aren’t easy to find—you better treasure him!”

Sheng Yize had just finished his call and stepped in. His steps halted as he heard that.

Sang Sui’s face turned bright red instantly. She glanced at him, waving her hand in a panic to explain, “No, no, no, he’s not my boyfriend.”

“He’s not?” The nurse looked skeptical. “The way he panicked when you passed out, and then how he’s been taking care of you ever since you got hospitalized—I really thought you two were a couple.”

Sang Sui snuck a glance at the man.

She saw him leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, raising an eyebrow.

His expression was calm, showing no signs of anger or awkwardness.

He even seemed…

Like he was quite looking forward to her explanation, and maybe… just like the nurse, curious to hear the gossip where he was the male lead.

Sang Sui was beyond awkward. She hurried to clarify, “No, he’s my brother.”

“Brother?” The nurse looked shocked. “You two don’t really look alike, though?”

“Well, we’re half-siblings from different parents.”

“……”

After changing the IV, the nurse happened to glance up and see Sheng Yize still standing there—who knows how long he had been standing.

She looked incredibly awkward and, after telling him Sang Sui could be discharged today, hurried out of the room.

Sheng Yize looked at the girl on the hospital bed—who was now burying her head under the blanket out of embarrassment.

He let out a low grunt, stepped forward, and handed her a folder.

“Discharge paperwork. Fill in your personal information.”

Sang Sui froze and, like a little turtle, slowly crawled out of the blanket and sat up.

Trying her best to stay calm, she took the folder and glanced at it, then wrote her name and phone number at the signature section.

“There’s still the emergency contact info below.”

Her hand paused, and she looked up at him, hesitant.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, I just wanted to ask…” she asked cautiously, “Can I list you as the emergency contact?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“If you don’t want to, it’s totally fine. I just…”

“Why not list a family member?”

“I didn’t tell my mom about the hospitalization.”

Sheng Yize’s eyes dimmed slightly. After a few seconds, he gave a soft “mm.”

Sang Sui immediately wrote down his number, then suddenly realized something. She quickly lifted the corner of the paper to cover up the already-written digits.

She looked up and asked, “Oh right, what’s your number again?”

Sheng Yize didn’t notice anything unusual and told her the number.

Afraid he’d notice, Sang Sui turned slightly, pen in hand, pretending to copy it down blankly.

Once she finished, she let out a breath of relief.

In truth, she had memorized his number ages ago. She even got it before the start of her freshman year, earlier than when her mom had sent it to her.

Long before anyone knew, she had been quietly keeping tabs on all his updates.

But she never dared to call him. She didn’t dare let her little crush be exposed.

Even in front of her family, she always pretended like she didn’t remember his number at all.

Once everything was filled out, she handed the folder back to him.

Sheng Yize glanced at it and said, “Save my number.”

“Huh?” Sang Sui was confused.

Sheng Yize looked away from the folder and at her. “If anything happens with your health again, call me immediately.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Stay put, I’ll go handle the discharge paperwork.”

With that, he turned and left.

Sang Sui stared at his retreating figure, still floating in a haze of joy.

Did this mean…

She could now openly and justifiably memorize his phone number?

Unable to resist smiling, she immediately picked up her phone, opened her contacts, and created a new one—

Name: Sheng Yize
Phone: 186757xxx88
Finally, she hit Save.

—

When news spread that she was being discharged today, Chen Yi, Zou Jin, and Lin Luoluo all came by.

Each held a bouquet of flowers and stuffed them into her arms the moment they arrived, congratulating her on her recovery.

Sang Sui thanked them each. Just after she finished, she noticed Zou Jin was helping her pack up.

She quickly stopped him. “Zou Jin-ge, how can I let you help? I’ll do it myself.”

“No, no,” Zou Jin brushed her hand aside, “You’re just getting better—sit and rest, I’ve got this.”

“Sang Sui, just let him pack,” Chen Yi said with arms crossed. “Sheng-ge gave him a discount and invited him here.”

“Huh?” Sang Sui blinked. “So the ‘auntie’ Sheng Yize said would help me pack was… you?”

Zou Jin’s hands froze. He looked up at Sang Sui.

A few seconds later, he threw down the stuff in indignation.

“Damn it, I’m gonna settle this with him!”

He stormed out of the room, full of righteous fury.

“Pffft—HAHAHAHAHA!” Lin Luoluo laughed so hard she slapped her thigh.

Chen Yi glanced over.

The wide-open mouth froze in place. Lin Luoluo quickly stopped laughing and quietly closed her mouth.

She then pressed her lips together into a polite, ladylike smile.

“I-I’ll help pack things for Suisui!”

She bent down and started organizing.

So embarrassing!

Chen Yi looked at her and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“……”

Lin Luoluo buried her head even lower.

—

On the way back to school, Chen Yi drove.

Zou Jin was in the passenger seat, while Sheng Yize, Sang Sui, and Lin Luoluo sat in the back.

All the way, Zou Jin was fuming and wildly gesturing, like he wanted to tear Sheng Yize apart on the spot.

“Sheng Yize, you tricked me!”

“Tricked you?” Sheng Yize opened his eyes and glanced at him. “Didn’t you accept the offer I gave?”

Zou Jin puffed up. “I—I did.”

Sheng Yize gave him a sideways glance.

Zou Jin looked guilty but still tried to argue, “But you… you can’t just call me an auntie! I’m a guy!”

“Go to Thailand and change your gender, problem solved.”

“……”

Sang Sui couldn’t help but laugh.

Sheng Yize tilted his head to look at her.

She quickly stifled her laughter and leaned back, pretending to be frail.

The man reached out, grabbed a nearby cushion, and placed it behind her waist. Then he turned back to Zou Jin.

Zou Jin frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Come with me later to crack open some walnuts.”

“Why walnuts?”

“A customer wants them.”

“Which customer?”

“You don’t know them.”

“Then I’m not going.”

“The team lead on that project…”

“They’re giving them to me, Sheng-ge?”

“If you crack the walnuts, they are.”

“That’s all? Easy! What’s our company motto? The customer is God! Oh yeah!”

“…………”

Word has it that day, Zou Jin cracked walnuts for Sheng Yize the entire afternoon—his hands were nearly blistered.

—

After returning to school, Sang Sui resumed classes the next day.

That noon after class, just as she was about to head to the cafeteria with Lin Luoluo, her phone rang.

She picked it up and looked—

It was Sheng Yize!

Her eyes widened slightly, nervousness making her swallow a few times.

Why would he…

Call her out of the blue?

The phone kept ringing. Lin Luoluo asked why she wasn’t picking up.

Sang Sui snapped out of it, cautiously slid to answer, and placed it by her ear.

A deep, magnetic voice came through—

“Come to the cafeteria.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Lunch.”

“Huh?”

“Hurry.”

Then he hung up.

—

When Sang Sui and Lin Luoluo arrived at the cafeteria, they saw from a distance Sheng Yize, Chen Yi, and Zou Jin sitting by the window.

Zou Jin spotted her and waved excitedly, “Sang Sui-meimei, over here!!”

Sang Sui and Lin Luoluo walked over. As they got close, they saw the table was full of freshly stir-fried, steaming dishes.

Zou Jin smiled. “Sang Sui-meimei, Sheng-ge had the cafeteria chef specially make these for you. Pretty nice, huh?”

Sheng Yize looked at her and nodded toward the seat. “Sit.”

What the heck?

Sang Sui sat down with skepticism. The moment she did, Sheng Yize pulled out a package from who-knows-where and set it in front of her.

He looked serious. “Take this home and eat it.”

“What is it?” Sang Sui looked suspicious and opened it.

“Shelled walnuts.”

“Why are you giving me this?”

“For your brain.”

“…………”

Much obliged!

Zou Jin leaned over to get a look.

Wait a sec—why did those shelled walnuts look so familiar?

Holy crap, weren’t those the ones he spent the whole afternoon cracking?!