The engagement was with the younger brother, but I've fallen for the older brother.

He Sichen paused, his lips stopping on her jawline.

"What medicine?"

"Birth control pills."

She swallowed hard, her voice trailing off.

"As Dr. Xu said last time, the traditional approach won't work."

He stepped back a little, his breath still hot, but his voice was lowered.

"No need to eat."

"Birth control pills affect the endocrine system. Since you are sensitive to them, it's best to avoid taking them if possible."

Si Yimian's eyes widened, and her tone became dangerous.

"You want me to become a mother unintentionally?"

"I don't want to be a mother right now."

"I can't even take care of myself, let alone raise children. It would be like harming the future of our nation."

Their best state right now is to be neither innocent nor responsible.

What if we have a child?

He Sichen lowered his eyes, his thumb sliding from her chin to behind her ear, and pinched that soft flesh.

"I won't let you be the one."

"Then how can you guarantee it?"

He Sichen straightened up, took half a step back, and created some distance between himself and the crowd.

His expression was obscured in the darkness, but the sound of him unbuttoning his shirt cuffs could be heard, subtle yet clear.

"I took a contraceptive injection, one injection lasts for three months."

"It does not affect the endocrine system, and the metabolic cycle is controllable."

Si Yimian's pupils suddenly widened.

"When?"

"That day, at the hospital."

Si Yimian's mind raced for a moment before she suddenly realized what was going on.

"I asked you what you would do next time, and you didn't say a word."

"So you've been keeping quiet about something big all along."

"So you didn't answer my question that day because you already had the answer?"

He, a man, voluntarily got a contraceptive injection.

Because she was allergic to condoms, he took over the job for her.

It's still the same approach of targeting oneself.

What kind of incredibly sassy behavior is this?

Say nothing, do everything.

He Sichen unbuttoned all the buttons on his shirt, which fell to the ground, leaving him shirtless in front of her.

Whether you answer or not will not affect the outcome.

He took a step toward her, his shoulder blades momentarily opening up against her back before closing again.

Si Yimian saw his silhouette through the faint sunlight reflecting off the window.

"Dr. Crane."

She reached out and poked his side.

"You want to do it again next time too, don't you?"

He Sichen grabbed her mischievous fingers and held them in his palm.

She looked up, her voice so soft it could stretch into sugar threads.

"Dr. He, you are a really bad person."

"They don't say it, but they get everything done."

You talked way too much tonight.

He lowered his head and blocked it.

This time is different from before; I'm not in a hurry or being ruthless.

He supported the back of her head with one hand and slid the other down her spine, stopping at her lower back.

She bounced upwards and was caught in his arms.

Si Yimian wrapped her legs around his waist, took off his glasses, and threw them onto the entryway cabinet.

The lens made a crisp sound as it struck the wood grain.

He Sichen picked her up and turned around, walking from the entrance to the living room, kicking whatever they encountered along the way.

The coffee table was moved, the remote control fell onto the carpet, and the cushion rolled from the sofa to the floor.

He pushed her into the sofa, knelt on one knee between her legs, and looked down at her.

Light streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a striking contrast of light and shadow on half of his face amidst the neon lights of the city.

Without his glasses, He Sichen's eyes and brows were sharper than usual, his facade of a refined scoundrel completely shattered.

"How long did you bite your fingers in the car just now?"

"It's all your fault..."

He didn't let her finish speaking, and his kisses slid from her earlobe to her collarbone, stopping at the small indentation in her neck.

Her skin had a faint, sweet fragrance, just like her—she looked harmless, smelled even more harmless, but was actually deadly.

She doesn't remember much about what happened after that.

All I remember is that the route was very long, from the sofa to the bedroom.

He was very considerate of her feelings, observing her every move to make sure she could keep up and that she wasn't uncomfortable.

The city lights outside the window filtered through the sheer curtains, casting dappled patterns of light on his shoulder blades.

Si Yimian stared at the light, her consciousness sinking deeper and deeper like a beach repeatedly washed by the tide.

"Look at me."

He Sichen's voice was very low.

Si Yimian looked at him.

"remember."

He lowered his head slightly.

"it's me."

She paused for half a second, then understood.

He still cares about He Nanxian.

She minded that moment on the corridor wall, and she minded He Nanxian grabbing her wrist.

"He Sichen, I've always known."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then the tip of her nose, and then her lips.

She felt like she was being slowly simmered over a low flame, turned over and over, with no side spared.

heat.

Even though the air conditioner was on, my back was still damp with a thin layer of sweat.

It felt like a weak electric current was flowing through my skin, a tingling sensation that seeped into my bones.

She bit her lip and tried to gnaw on her fingers, but he grabbed her wrist and pressed it against the pillow.

Their fingers were intertwined, palm to palm, and he wouldn't let go even when she pinched the back of his hand with her nails.

Tonight is different from last time.

Last time it was a torrential downpour that soaked everything; this time it's a tidal flood.

It was neither too fast nor too slow, but it submerged her so much that she forgot everything.

Midway through, she mumbled something, and he looked down to listen.

She doesn't remember what she said, nor does she remember what he replied.

I only remember feeling very comfortable.

The city lights outside the window dimmed one by one.

When I wake up tomorrow, it will still be a relationship that I can't talk about.

But he didn't want to be a gentleman tonight.

I don't want to be a saint either.

I just want to be the person closest to her on her pillow.

……

Si Yimian was awakened by a dream.

In my dream, there was a girl standing in a white light, and I had the same face as her.

Si Yimian looked at her and suddenly knew who she was.

Finally, the girl smiled, a quiet and solemn smile.

"My life hasn't been very smooth, and the scripts I received were all incredibly difficult."

"I'm so sorry, I've left you with a mess."

"I apologize for not being able to make things easier for you at the start."

Si Yimian felt as if her throat was being choked; she wanted to speak, but couldn't make a sound.

The girl took a step closer, reached out, and touched her heart with her fingertips.

"I have something I'd like to ask of you."

"Never speak for me in forgiveness."

She paused.

"Especially He Nanxian, I will never forgive him."

Si Yimian's eyes welled up with tears, and she nodded vigorously.

If you don't forgive me, I will never say it's okay on your behalf.

The girl stepped back, her figure fading away.

The light gathered behind her, as if someone was slowly drawing a curtain.

"Thank you for making me live like a human being."

Si Yimian suddenly opened her eyes.

My heart was pounding, and my eyes were wet.

My lower abdomen felt like it had been pinched, and a sore, bloated sensation climbed up from my pubic bone, making my lower back feel weak as well.

She frowned, clamped the blanket between her legs, and reached to the side.

empty.

The sheets are cold now, and the person is gone.

She groggily turned over, the blanket slipped down, and a chill crept onto her skin.

She closed her eyes and curled up her knees, then suddenly realized something was wrong.

The next second, she suddenly opened her eyes, threw off the covers, and looked down.

On the light gray bed sheet, there was a palm-sized patch of dark red, like a withered flower.

Si Yimian stared at the mark, her mind racing through a series of questions: "Who am I?", "Where am I?", and "It's over."

He Sichen is the kind of man who would even replace a chair that someone else has sat on.

In his eyes, the bed sheet was probably already in a biochemically contaminated area and needed to be sent directly to the incinerator.

Is it too late for her to run back to the apartment across the street?

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

The door was pushed open, and billowing hot air rushed out first.

He Sichen walked out, a bath towel loosely tied around his waist, his hair still dripping wet, water droplets running down the grooves of his shoulder blades.

"Woke up so early?"

What would you like to eat for breakfast?

He glanced at her; she was sitting in the middle of the bed, hugging her knees, looking as if she had committed a grave offense.

He Sichen paused in drying his hair, draped the towel over his shoulder, and took two steps toward the bedside.

"Your face is so red, do you have a fever?"

He reached out and touched her forehead.

The back of my hand was cool to the touch, and it carried the dampness of a shower.

Si Yimian pulled the blanket up a little, leaving only her forehead exposed.

After careful consideration of the wording, I decided to be direct.

"Dr. Crane."

Her voice grew softer and softer, as if she wanted to shrink herself into a ball and roll off the bed.

"Your bed sheets might have to be cremated."