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Chapter 4: Princess Carry – His Waist is Unbelievably Soft
“Okay, okay, I’ll lift it gently.”
The boy, seemingly unused to talking to girls, awkwardly scratched his light brown hair before quickly grabbing the heavier suitcase and heading toward the stairs. Xu Ruanruan followed behind, pushing the lighter suitcase filled with clothes.
Even though she was aware of the cameras, Xu Ruanruan couldn’t help but sneak glances at Gu Si as she walked, captivated by his devilishly handsome looks.
Gu Si, meanwhile, sat with his legs crossed, watching Ning Qingyan’s clumsy and amateurish attempt at striking up a conversation. His long, narrow, and mischievous eyes lingered on the faint blush on Ning Qingyan’s neck. He licked his dry lips, feeling an inexplicable itch, and chuckled softly.
“Such an idiot.”
Green Tea System: Gu Si’s favorability +1.
The mocking chuckle paired with his devilishly charming face made him even more bewitching. Xu Ruanruan, being a complete face-con, felt her cheeks heat up and her heart race uncontrollably.
Distracted by her infatuation, she didn’t notice the stairs ahead. The suitcase bumped into the steps, and she stumbled forward in panic. Instinctively, she grabbed the edge of Ning Qingyan’s shirt, who was just a few steps ahead, lugging the heavier suitcase.
Caught off guard, Ning Qingyan, who was exerting all her strength to lift the suitcase, was yanked backward. Losing balance, she teetered dangerously. Seeing the heavy suitcase falling along with her, Xu Ruanruan reflexively stepped aside to avoid being hit.
The sudden commotion widened Gu Si’s eyes. In an instant, he kicked the table aside and bolted toward them, but the distance was too great to reach in time.
Ning Qingyan, however, remained startlingly calm. She focused all her strength on one hand to grab the railing, but the massive weight of the suitcase crushed her foot. The sharp pain drained her strength, and she fell backward. She adjusted her posture mid-fall, ensuring her head wouldn’t hit the ground.
Just as she braced for impact, a warm, soap-scented embrace caught her. The momentum, however, was too strong. Wen Shijin, with one hand protecting Ning Qingyan’s head, fell to the side, rolling away from the crashing suitcase.
The suitcase landed with a loud thud on one side of the floor, while Wen Shijin and Ning Qingyan landed safely on the other.
Wen Shijin, who had just come out of the kitchen after washing dishes, had calculated everything in the blink of an eye—the trajectory of the falling suitcase, the angle needed to minimize injury, and the distance required to cushion the fall. At most, he’d be sore from the impact of Ning Qingyan’s weight, but the boy’s slender frame turned out to be surprisingly soft.
Ning Qingyan, gritting her teeth against the sharp pain in her foot, quickly climbed off Wen Shijin, kneeling between his legs in a panic.
“Are you hurt? Does it hurt? Do we need to go to the hospital?”
Seeing her genuine concern, Wen Shijin suppressed the complicated feelings rising in his chest and shook his head. But as Ning Qingyan’s delicate legs pressed against his thigh, the normally composed boy found the tips of his ears reddening. For the first time, someone’s care stirred something unfamiliar in him.
Green Tea System: Wen Shijin’s favorability +1.
Relieved by his reassurance, Ning Qingyan exhaled deeply but frowned as she struggled to stand. The pain in her foot was unbearable, and cold sweat beaded her forehead.
“Ah, I don’t know what happened. I suddenly felt dizzy and fell forward. It’s a good thing you caught Ning Qingyan, or I’d have been guilty forever,” Xu Ruanruan said hurriedly, finally catching her breath. She walked over, glancing at Wen Shijin, and added in a sweet voice,
“You’re not hurt, right? Ning Qingyan isn’t exactly light.”
Wen Shijin’s gentle eyes turned indifferent as he glanced at her briefly. Without responding, he stood up, supporting Ning Qingyan with a hand around her slender waist.
“You shouldn’t move. Let me help you upstairs.”
His warm hand firmly supported Ning Qingyan’s waist as he leaned down and gently lifted her injured leg with his other hand.
“Elevating the injured limb promotes blood and lymph circulation and reduces swelling,” Wen Shijin explained, his calm voice carrying a soothing undertone.
Caught off guard by his touch, Ning Qingyan stiffened slightly. “I-I can walk by myself—” she stammered, the pain making her voice tremble.
Before she could finish, Gu Si’s sharp voice interrupted from behind.
“You should deal with your hand injury first. Leave him to me.”
Gu Si’s commanding tone brooked no argument. He pointed at the scrape on Wen Shijin’s hand, implying his concern.
Startled, Ning Qingyan noticed the raw scrape on Wen Shijin’s hand for the first time. She quickly grabbed Gu Si’s arm for support and moved away from Wen Shijin’s grasp.
“Your hand is injured? Forget it. I can manage on my own!”
Gu Si swiftly pulled Ning Qingyan into his arms, ruffling her hair playfully.
“Manage on your own? You mean hopping up the stairs on one foot? Don’t be stubborn.”
Before she could protest further, Gu Si bent down and effortlessly scooped her up into a princess carry. He froze briefly, surprised by the softness of her waist.
“Let me down!” Ning Qingyan exclaimed, her face flushing as she glanced at Xu Ruanruan. Embarrassed, she pleaded,
“It’s just a small injury! I don’t need to be carried. Put me down, right now!”
Gu Si noticed the boy’s embarrassed expression and immediately realized that he didn’t want to lose face by being princess-carried in front of the female guests. Finding it amusing, he put her down without hesitation.
Wen Shijin frowned slightly and said in a calm, gentle voice:
“Carry her on your back. Otherwise, hopping up on one foot might worsen the friction on the injury, making the swelling worse.”
Carrying her on his back was much more acceptable to Ning Qingyan, so she agreed.
And so, Gu Si adjusted and carried her on his back up the stairs.
“Lift your calf a bit higher. Don’t hit it on the staircase railing,” Wen Shijin reminded, his phoenix eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at Ning Qingyan’s leg. His tone remained gentle.
“I got it,” Gu Si responded in his usual assertive, deep voice. Soon, his tall figure carrying Ning Qingyan disappeared into the doorway of her room.
Meanwhile, Xu Ruanruan, who had been largely ignored, felt awkward. She glanced at Wen Shijin’s warm and gentle eyes, feeling embarrassed as she said:
“Ah, did Ning Qingyan hurt her leg? I didn’t notice earlier. Are your hands okay? The show’s crew probably has a first aid kit in one of the rooms. Should I help you bandage—”
Before she could finish, Xu Ruanruan felt a subtle but profound sense of distance when she met Wen Shijin’s calm phoenix eyes, even though he still appeared as gentle and refined as ever. She hesitated and swallowed the rest of her words.
“Thank you, but there’s no need. I’m used to handling bandages myself,” Wen Shijin replied in his warm voice. After straightening the table that Gu Si had kicked earlier, he turned and went upstairs.
The living room fell silent, leaving only Xu Ruanruan. Her eyes reddened slightly as she pitifully picked up the toppled suitcase, glanced at the staircase, frowned, and gave up trying to carry it upstairs herself.
Sigh, I’ll just wait until they come down to help me.
Gu Si carried Ning Qingyan into the bedroom. The boy’s body was unexpectedly soft, and he stayed perfectly still on Gu Si’s back, surprisingly obedient. Amused, Gu Si decided to tease her:
“How is a boy this soft? Were you a girl in your past life?”
By the time he finished speaking, he had gently placed her on the bed and looked down at her from above. Seeing her wince in pain, his tone softened:
“Where are you hurt? Can you handle bandaging it yourself?”
Ning Qingyan naturally refused to let him help with the medicine. Enduring the pain, she gritted her teeth and said, one word at a time:
“I can handle it. It’s not that bad. The first aid kit is on the cabinet in the living room. Could you grab it for me? And maybe a glass of water, too?”
Gu Si didn’t doubt her and said, “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”
The moment Gu Si left, Ning Qingyan winced and hissed in pain. She retrieved a first aid kit from her nightstand, carefully removed her shoes, and peeled off the bloodied sock that had stuck to her skin.
Her foot and a few toes were bruised and swollen, with broken skin that was bleeding slightly.
She opened the first aid kit and began tending to her wound, biting her lip to endure the pain. The bloodstained sock lying nearby stood out starkly.
When Gu Si returned with the first aid kit and a glass of water, the sight of Ning Qingyan tending to herself with a pained expression softened his usually brash demeanor. For the first time, he felt a pang of concern. His previously cocky and playful gaze softened as he sat beside her, took the bandage, and began wrapping her foot gently.
On another floor, Huo Qi had heard the commotion as well. His long, slender fingers danced across the keyboard, rapidly navigating through the monitors that displayed fluctuating graphs. After finishing a task, he closed his laptop with precision and left his room.
From the second-floor railing, he glanced down and saw only a single girl sitting at the bottom of the staircase, next to two suitcases.
Hearing his footsteps, Xu Ruanruan looked up, her previously sulky and teary-eyed expression instantly brightening. She quickly stood up and greeted him:
“Hi, I’m Xu Ruanruan, one of the female guests. They’ve all gone to their rooms, and I can’t move my luggage upstairs by myself—it’s a bit heavy. Could you help me, big brother?”