CHAPTER 30 (PART 2)

Shi Li met his gaze seriously. His eyes were still cold, but compared to the emptiness they used to hold, they now clearly showed displeasure.

Although she still had to deal with his lingering hatred, she couldn’t help but laugh softly as she looked into his eyes.

Realizing her reaction was inappropriate, Shi Li quickly pressed her lips together. “S-Sorry.”

“…Are you laughing at my head?” Shen Jingyan frowned.

Shi Li immediately shook her head and walked over to sit beside him. “No, no. I was just thinking about how your surgery was successful, and I’m genuinely happy for you.”

After speaking, her gaze involuntarily fell on the bandages wrapped around his head. She stared for a moment before quietly looking away.

The hospital room fell silent. Shen Jingyan hadn’t fully recovered yet, and after a short while, fatigue appeared in his expression.

Shi Li pulled the blanket up over him. When their eyes met again, she hesitated before reaching under the blanket to hold the hand he had tucked beneath it.

A flicker of emotion crossed Shen Jingyan’s eyes as he silently looked at her.

“You… get better soon,” Shi Li murmured.

She had originally wanted to ask if he truly hated her, but before the words left her mouth, she realized there was no point in asking. His hatred value was displayed right in front of her—whether he hated her or not, she already had the answer.

Shi Li sighed and stood up to leave, but just as she was about to pull her hand away, he gripped it tightly.

She stopped and sat back down.

“I hate you,” Shen Jingyan said calmly. “The first emotion I felt after waking up was overwhelming hatred for you.”

Shi Li’s fingers trembled slightly as she lowered her gaze in silence.

After a long pause, his voice sounded again.

“But hatred is exhausting. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to sustain my resentment toward you. And frankly, that’s not beneficial to me.”

His words made Shi Li look up at him.

After a moment, she lowered her voice and said, “I’m sorry.”

It was an apology meant for the person he used to be.

She had already said it countless times since their reunion, but she still wanted to say it once more—to the person sitting in front of her now.

This complete Shen Jingyan.

Male Lead Hatred Value: 40%

Shen Jingyan curled his lips in self-mockery. “Every time you apologize, I soften. Maintaining hatred is truly exhausting.”

Shi Li was amused by his words, but tears welled up uncontrollably. She took a deep breath, carefully avoiding the tubes on his body, and nestled into his embrace, murmuring, “Then don’t waste your energy hating me anymore. I’ll never leave you again. I’ll always be good to you.”

Shen Jingyan remained silent. After a long while, he gently rested his hand on the back of her head. “I hope you mean it.”

Shi Li closed her eyes and hugged him tightly.

From then on, she kept her promise and treated him well every single day. By the time Shen Jingyan was discharged from the hospital, his hatred value had already dropped to 20%.

As his hair gradually grew back, the scars from the surgery finally healed. Shi Li loved the feel of his short buzzed hair—soft and fuzzy, not prickly at all. But every time she touched the scar on his scalp, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“When your hair was long before, I never noticed these scars. Now I see there are two of them,” Shi Li said, gently stroking his head with heartache.

Shen Jingyan lazily lay on the bed, letting her touch him. Over time, more and more subtle emotions had begun to surface in him. He was becoming more and more alive, and at times, he even revealed the carefree side of himself from his school days.

Shi Li adored this version of him. But every time she saw the scars on his head, a wave of fear would creep in.

“Honestly, you were fine before. You didn’t have to undergo surgery. What if it had failed?” Shi Li sighed. “You weren’t even that determined to do it at first. What made you change your mind?”

“There were two reasons—one shallow, one deep. Which one do you want to hear first?” Shen Jingyan pulled her into his arms, his voice unhurried.

Shi Li thought for a moment. “I want to hear both.”

“Pick an order, then.”

Shi Li didn’t struggle with the decision. “Let’s start with the shallow one.”

“If I didn’t have the surgery, I would never be a normal person. Even though I could intellectually analyze most of your emotions, anything more complex was beyond me. I figured you might betray me again in the future because of this. But at the same time, I didn’t want to forcefully turn you into my dependent through the surgery. So after thinking about it for a long time, I decided that I should be the one to change.” Shen Jingyan spoke slowly, his fingers tracing the curve of her spine. “Now that I’m normal, without any emotional barriers, considering our difference in intelligence, you’ll never escape me for the rest of your life.”

“…I was actually really touched at first, but you really didn’t have to say that last part.” Shi Li was speechless. She suddenly tensed as she felt his hand slipping somewhere it shouldn’t be.

Shen Jingyan remained composed, as if he wasn’t the one doing something improper. “I’m just stating the truth. I wasn’t trying to insult you.”

“Fine, I admit that my brain isn’t on the same level as yours… but take your hand out!” Shi Li finally lost patience.

The corners of Shen Jingyan’s lips lifted in a smirk. His response was to tighten his grip.

Shi Li let out a muffled groan and slumped against him, exhausted. After a long time, she murmured, “Stop bullying me… I’m not even fully recovered yet…”

“I told you not to rest on the bed. Who told you not to listen?” Shen Jingyan said slowly, his tone unhurried.

Shi Li’s eyes turned slightly red as she clung to his neck, pressing a small kiss to his lips in a soft plea. “Don’t tease me anymore.”

Shen Jingyan finally withdrew his hand at the right moment, grabbed a tissue, and wiped his fingers meticulously.

Shi Li’s face burned as she watched his movements. Embarrassed, she forcefully changed the subject. “Didn’t you say there were two reasons? What about the other one?”

Shen Jingyan’s hand paused. He gave her a deep look. “It was still because of you.”

“Me?” Shi Li shifted away slightly, wary of his intentions.

Shen Jingyan gave a small nod. “Do you remember the night I made you sleep in a separate room?”

Shi Li thought for a moment before quietly nodding.

Shen Jingyan let out a soft chuckle. “That night, my heart was beating fast, but it felt like there was a layer of separation between us. So I thought, if I had normal human emotions, maybe I could truly feel happiness. You should wear that outfit again sometime—I want to see it.”

Shi Li stared at him, stunned, before finally speaking with difficulty. “…So the deep reason you underwent such a major surgery was because you wanted to see me wear that outfit again?”

Shen Jingyan paused. “Is that a problem?”

“…What do you think?” Shi Li was at a loss for words. “I knew you were a pervert before, but I didn’t expect that even after practically turning into a robot, you’d still be this much of a pervert.”

Shen Jingyan fell silent for a moment before narrowing his eyes slightly. “What do you mean by ‘I was a pervert before’? Did you always think I was a pervert?”

Shi Li accidentally let her thoughts slip and quickly cleared her throat. “Wasn’t it obvious? I mean, I don’t know who it was, but someone used to stick to me like glue every day, never doing anything serious, with only one thing on their mind all the time.”

She glanced at Shen Jingyan cautiously. Hatred Value: 20%.

…Phew, at least it didn’t go up.

Just as she exhaled in relief, she was suddenly pulled beneath him.

Shi Li gasped and hurriedly pressed her hands against his chest. “What are you doing?!”

“Revisiting my so-called ‘perverted’ younger self.” Shen Jingyan sneered before kissing her with undeniable dominance.

Shi Li let out a muffled sound, struggling at first, but after a few half-hearted pushes, she eventually surrendered.

Heat surged wave after wave, consuming her mind in a dizzying blur. Just as she felt like her soul was about to leave her body, she heard him whisper in her ear, “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. I thought I could after we graduated high school, but I never expected to wait this long.”

Shi Li’s eyes stung with emotion. After a long pause, she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, “Then let me make it up to you now. I’ll give you everything you missed out on in the past ten years.”

“Really?” Shen Jingyan’s eyes darkened, his breath coming in shallow pants as he stared at her.

“Mm.”

Shen Jingyan remained silent for a moment before smiling—a complicated, unreadable smile.

This was enough. Some debts were too tangled to sort out, so there was no point in calculating them anymore.

As long as she stayed by his side, nothing else mattered.

Shen Jingyan was true to his word—if he said he would make up for ten years of regrets, then he would make up for ten years of regrets.

Shi Li stayed in bed for three whole days, feeling more than once that he was going to wear her out completely. At times, she even suspected he had secretly taken some kind of enhancement drug, but every time such doubts arose, Shen Jingyan would personally prove her wrong—so much so that she didn’t dare question it again.

After three days of this, the hatred value dropped to 3%, but Shi Li had finally reached her limit. Wrapping herself in a blanket, she fled to another room, locked the door, and collapsed into sleep. She slept from evening until the next evening—a full 24 hours.

Yet, even after sleeping for so long, she didn’t feel any more refreshed. Instead, hunger gnawed at her, making her feel weak and lightheaded. Sitting on the bed in a daze, she hesitated about whether to order takeout when a knock sounded at the door.

Shi Li shut her eyes and played dead, pretending she hadn’t heard anything.

“There’s a food festival happening in the neighborhood—over a hundred food stalls downstairs. Want to go check it out?” Shen Jingyan’s voice came from outside.

Shi Li’s heart stirred, and she silently opened her eyes.

Half an hour later, the two of them appeared among the street food stalls. The rich aromas wafting in the air made her stomach growl even louder. However, perhaps because of the festival, many residents had invited their friends and relatives, making the neighborhood especially crowded. Each stall had long lines in front of it.

Shen Jingyan hadn’t expected such a crowd and instinctively frowned.

“You go rest. I’ll get us something to eat,” Shi Li, knowing him well, pushed him toward a bench to sit down.

Shen Jingyan hesitated for a moment. “Just grab whatever. If you don’t find anything you like, I’ll order delivery.”

“Got it.” Shi Li responded before darting off like a little butterfly into the crowd.

Shen Jingyan watched as she disappeared, and suddenly, an overwhelming fear gripped him. Without thinking, he rushed after her—only to realize that he couldn’t find her anymore.

“Shi Li! Shi Li!” His eyes turned red as he frantically called her name, his voice carrying a hint of panic. The people around him looked at him strangely and instinctively stepped away.

“Shi Li!”

“I’m here! I’m here!”

Shi Li ran toward him in a hurry, startled by the panic in his eyes. She quickly stepped forward and hugged him. “I’m here. I just went to buy food—I didn’t go far.”

“I thought…” Shen Jingyan’s voice suddenly caught in his throat.

Shi Li patted his back comfortingly. “I know. I understand. Don’t be scared—I’ll always be by your side. I won’t leave.”

“Really?”

“Mm.”

Shi Li soothed him for a long time, and once he finally calmed down, she sighed and pulled him back upstairs. At this rate, they might as well just order takeout.

Back home, Shen Jingyan’s emotions had clearly stabilized, and he also realized how uncharacteristically panicked he had been. He cleared his throat. “The emotional mechanism is still new… it’s easy to lose control.”

Shi Li laughed and threw herself into his arms, as if she hadn’t noticed him trying to save face. “I love you so much.”

A faint blush crept up Shen Jingyan’s face. “Why are you saying that out of nowhere?”

“If you ever can’t find me again, just call my name like that. As long as I hear you, I’ll definitely find you.” Shi Li looked at him seriously.

Shen Jingyan stared at her. “Really?”

“Mm, really.” Shi Li smiled.

Male Lead Hatred Value: 1%

“…Let’s eat first.” The doorbell rang. Shen Jingyan, in a good mood, gently pushed her aside and got up to answer it.

Shi Li chuckled—she found this more emotional version of him even more adorable. When he brought the food over, the two of them dug in, finally filling their stomachs.

That night, they shared the same bed as usual. Just as Shi Li was about to drift off, she heard a quiet whisper in her ear.

“I love you too.”

She heard him clearly, but she was too sleepy to respond.

She slept deeply—so deeply that she didn’t even notice the world around her dissolving into dust, nor did she realize that a second petal had appeared on her wrist.

By the time she opened her eyes again, she was lying in a thatched cottage.

She had arrived in a new world.