CHAPTER 28 (PART 2)

“What’s it about?” Shen Jingyan asked cooperatively.

Shi Li sniffled as the sweet potato’s aroma grew even stronger. She silently swallowed and spoke with a melancholic expression, “You’ve already seen some of it. It’s about a little boy and his mother… Let me tell you, this kid is really pitiful. His whole world revolves around his mother, but his mother’s world can’t revolve around just him. She has to work, raise him, and take care of daily necessities, so she can’t be with him 24/7.”

Shen Jingyan’s fingers twitched slightly. “And then?”

“…I already know the ending. The boy ends up taking his own life,” Shi Li sighed after speaking, her gaze briefly landing on the sweet potato before quickly looking away. “Even though his mother loved him more than her own life, she still couldn’t keep him here.”

“If someone loved him so much, why did he still choose to die?” Shen Jingyan asked again.

Shi Li blinked. “Because the person who loved him couldn’t be with him all the time. Unlike ‘normal people’ like us, who can pass the time doing other things when we’re alone. For example, when you’re at work, I can watch a movie to kill time, then we can go on a date when you’re back. Isn’t that nice?”

She carefully hinted to Shen Jingyan that his experiment was bound to fail, but she didn’t dare to be too obvious, fearing that he might realize she already knew too much.

After speaking, Shi Li anxiously waited for Shen Jingyan’s reaction. However, he simply stared at her silently without showing any emotion. Shi Li gulped nervously as he handed her the sweet potato.

Shi Li: “?”

“You’re already swallowing your saliva from craving it. Stop watching such movies—it’ll ruin your appetite,” Shen Jingyan said calmly.

Shi Li: “…Oh.”

Seeing that Shen Jingyan refused to take her bait, Shi Li wasn’t sure if he had been swayed. But she didn’t dare to push further, so she focused on eating her sweet potato. Once she was full, she followed him downstairs for a walk.

The experiment was still ongoing, and when Shen Jingyan told her she needed to get a brain CT scan, she panicked again.

…What was this for? Was he planning to perform brain surgery on her?!

That night, Shi Li couldn’t sleep, but she didn’t dare to toss and turn too much, afraid of waking Shen Jingyan.

As she struggled with how to save herself, she suddenly recalled how someone in her previous world had dealt with her. She then got up quietly and tiptoed toward the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” Shen Jingyan’s sleepy voice sounded, slightly muffled.

Shi Li froze for a moment before putting on a troubled expression. “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d take a hot shower to see if it helps.”

She had smartly adapted her excuse—rather than claiming she was going to the restroom, like the male supporting character in her past life, she openly said she was going to shower. That way, even if Shen Jingyan heard the sound of running water, he wouldn’t suspect anything, since she had told the truth from the start.

“Mm.” Shen Jingyan closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Shi Li listened to his breathing gradually stabilize. After confirming that he was asleep, she proceeded to the bathroom.

Once inside, she shut the door and turned the water temperature all the way down, gritting her teeth as she stepped under the icy stream. The feeling was unbearable, and after just a few minutes, she was ready to give up. But thinking about the brain scan the next day, she clenched her jaw and forced herself to endure.

After over ten minutes, her entire body was soaked to the bone. Only then did she turn on the hot water. The moment the warm stream hit her skin, she couldn’t help but sneeze. Once she had returned to a normal body temperature, she felt like her plan was foolproof. With a calm expression, she walked out of the bathroom.

Crawling back into Shen Jingyan’s arms, he instinctively pulled her close and sniffed her scent, muttering with his eyes still closed, “You didn’t use body wash.”

Shi Li’s heart skipped a beat before she groaned and clung to him. “I’m too exhausted and frustrated to care about body wash right now.”

Shen Jingyan kissed her forehead. “What about now? Are you sleepy?”

“…Not sure yet,” Shi Li hesitated before adding, feeling guilty, “But the hot shower did make me feel much better.”

“That’s good.” Shen Jingyan murmured before going back to sleep.

Lying in his arms, Shi Li found herself completely awake. No matter how hard she tried to stay still, she couldn’t help but fidget slightly.

After the third time she disturbed him, Shen Jingyan finally opened his eyes and looked at her with a blank expression. Feeling guilty, Shi Li said, “Sorry, I really can’t sleep… Should I go back to my room so you can rest?”

“No need. I can’t sleep either,” Shen Jingyan replied indifferently.

Shi Li felt a bit awkward. Just as she was about to say something nice to soothe him, she watched in shock as he unbuttoned his sleepwear, then pulled her beneath him.

Shi Li was stunned. “What are you doing?”

“Something that will help us both fall asleep faster.” Shen Jingyan spoke expressionlessly before tilting her chin up and kissing her.

Shi Li was momentarily speechless, then obediently closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

They went at it for more than an hour. By the time they were done, Shi Li was finally exhausted. Lying in Shen Jingyan’s arms, she drowsily thought that after the cold shower and the intense exhaustion, she would most likely get sick the next day and could use that as an excuse to avoid the scan.

With that in mind, she fell into a deep sleep, waking up only at around ten the next morning. She opened her eyes, saw the empty spot beside her, and felt completely satisfied.

“You’re awake?” Shen Jingyan’s voice came from nearby.

Shi Li’s heart tightened. She turned toward the sound and saw Shen Jingyan standing by the window, sipping a cup of coffee.

“…You didn’t go to work?” Shi Li asked, speechless.

Shen Jingyan looked at her. “My main task today is taking you for your check-up. Since you’re awake, get up.”

“W-wait a second,” Shi Li quickly grabbed the blanket and then weakly said, “I don’t think I can go today.”

“Why?” Shen Jingyan asked.

Shi Li coughed. “I think I might be sick.”

Shen Jingyan paused, set down his coffee, picked up an ear thermometer, and calmly scanned her ear. Then, in an even tone, he told her, “Your temperature is normal. No fever.”

“…Maybe it’s a cold?” Shi Li said. But as she listened to her perfectly normal voice and felt her body—aside from some fatigue, there wasn’t any discomfort—she suddenly felt a little guilty.

Shen Jingyan stared at her expressionlessly. After a moment of silence, he issued a command: “Get up. We’re going to the company.”

Shi Li: “…”

Under Shen Jingyan’s silent pressure, she had no choice but to reluctantly follow him. On the way there, she couldn’t understand—she had stood under cold water for so long last night, so why was there no reaction at all?

Sitting in the car, Shi Li let out a sigh. Shen Jingyan glanced at her indifferently but kept driving.

When they arrived at the lab, Shi Li noticed there were more people than before—almost the entire team was present. It seemed that today’s check-up was crucial.

Her mind raced as she searched for a way out. After much hesitation, she quietly said to Shen Jingyan, “Can we talk alone?”

“Let’s finish the check-up first.” Shen Jingyan looked at her, his deep, dark eyes seeming to see right through her.

Shi Li swallowed and awkwardly said, “Just a quick talk. I have something really important to tell you.”

Shen Jingyan stared at her for a long time. Only when she couldn’t hold his gaze anymore and looked away did he calmly walk toward his office. Shi Li let out a breath of relief and quickly followed.

Once inside, Shi Li locked the door, sat across from Shen Jingyan, and after a long internal struggle, finally spoke. “I don’t want to do the check-up today.”

“Why?” Shen Jingyan asked.

Shi Li pursed her lips. “Because last night…”

She trailed off after just a few words, looking at him expectantly, hoping he would figure it out himself.

Shen Jingyan silently met her gaze. After a moment, he said, “You didn’t sleep well, so you’re in a bad mood and don’t want to cooperate?”

“…No, it’s because of what we did last night—no, strictly speaking, early this morning. Have you forgotten?” Shi Li hinted.

Shen Jingyan understood immediately. After a brief silence, he said, “We didn’t do it for that long. You shouldn’t be so exhausted that you can’t even do a check-up.”

“Ugh, why don’t you get it?” Shi Li grew anxious. “We didn’t use protection last night. No protection, you understand? What if I’m already pregnant? What if the check-up involves strong radiation?”

She was just a spiritual entity, so pregnancy was impossible, but right now, she couldn’t care less.

Shen Jingyan paused, clearly not expecting this to be her concern.

Shi Li coughed and half-jokingly, half-seriously said, “I don’t particularly like kids, and I’m not ready for one, but if it’s yours, then maybe…”

“If you don’t want one, then we should take precautions in advance,” Shen Jingyan interrupted. “I’ll have someone bring over emergency contraception.”

…Wow, he sure is quick to respond. Shi Li was speechless for a moment. Seeing that he was really about to call for the pills, she quickly stopped him. “No way!”

“Why not?” Shen Jingyan asked.

Shi Li forced a laugh. “That kind of medication is bad for the body.”

“Pregnancy is even worse for the body. It was my oversight last night, and I apologize. I’ll schedule a vasectomy soon so you won’t have to worry about this again.” Shen Jingyan spoke indifferently.

Shi Li resisted the urge to roll her eyes and decided to go on the offensive. “I refuse to take it! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re really up to. You just don’t want me to interfere with your experiment, so you’re trying to talk me into this while pretending to care about me. Let me ask you—what’s more important, your experiment or me?”

Shen Jingyan fell silent.

Shi Li scoffed coldly. “I knew it. You don’t actually care about me at all.” Saying that, she put on an angry expression and turned to storm out.

But before she could leave, Shen Jingyan grabbed her. He silently looked into her eyes for a moment before calmly saying, “If you don’t want to do the check-up, there’s no need to blame everything on me.”

Shi Li’s heart skipped a beat, and she stammered, “W-who’s blaming you?”

“If you’re dead set against taking the pill, then we’ll just wait. Modern technology is pretty good—you can confirm pregnancy in about a week,” Shen Jingyan said. Then, after a pause, he added, “A check-up a week later won’t be too late.”

Shi Li: “…” So there’s no escaping it, huh?

At least she had bought herself a week. That was enough. Shi Li glanced at him, considering this an agreement. So, after wandering around the biotech company for a while, she returned home unharmed.