Upon learning that the young girl had something on her mind, Xia Chen rode the little electric scooter so hard it practically smoked, finally arriving at City Center Hospital within half an hour.
Once at the hospital, he hurried without a pause toward the girl's ward. Entering the room, Xia Chen's gaze instinctively swept toward the hospital bed, where he found a "glutinous rice dumpling" completely wrapped up in it.
"Look, I wasn't lying to you. You two talk it out, I have things to do, I'm leaving." The nurse spread her hands, her expression entirely helpless.
Seeing this, Xia Chen hastily offered a flattering smile and said, "Alright, I'm truly sorry to have troubled you."
"It's nothing, this is what we're supposed to do. It's probably just that your sister's personality is too introverted." Seeing how polite he was, the nurse felt a bit embarrassed.
After the nurse left, Xia Chen quietly walked over, sat down by the bedside, and poked the "little dough ball" on the bed with his finger.
The girl inside seemed to sense something, as she clumsily shifted her body. But someone's finger chased relentlessly after her, and knowing the other person was doing it on purpose, the girl eventually stopped moving.
Thinking the young miss had given in, Xia Chen hadn't even had time to show a smug smile when he heard a series of sobs coming from beneath the blanket.
"Damn it, I pushed it too far." Xia Chen remorsefully beat his own head.
"Um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I just saw you weren't happy and wanted to cheer you up."
The moment his words fell, the sobbing under the blanket came to an abrupt halt.
Xia Chen scratched his head in bewilderment, thinking to himself, "This girl's emotions are truly impossible to figure out."
Before he could snap out of it, a small head quietly poked out from under the blanket. The girl's doe-like eyes were wide open, staring intently right at him.
Tears glittered in her eyes, and an expression of astonishment appeared on her fair cheeks—the young miss clearly hadn't expected the person who had just teased her to be Xia Chen.
"I—I wasn't crying." After a moment, the girl's soft voice came through.
Looking at the girl with her reddened eyes, Xia Chen tentatively asked, "Really didn't cry?"
The girl vigorously shook her head, the tears in her eyes nearly flying out from the motion.
"Didn't cry."
Seeing how stubborn the young miss was being, Xia Chen had no choice but to go along with it and reply, "Alright, no crying, no crying."
"Is he comforting me?" Shi Yao tightly grabbed the blanket, thinking to herself.
That heart of hers, which had seemingly died years ago, actually felt a trace of warmth at this moment.
"Thank you for saving me."
The girl knelt halfway on the bed with her hands placed before her, a cascade of loose hair resting casually across her delicate shoulders.
Her upper body bent forward, giving Xia Chen a standard, full bow.
In her heart, aside from the man before her, she truly couldn't think of any reason why anyone would save her. Or rather, ever since she heard Xia Chen's voice earlier, she had already been prepared to face death calmly; in this world, there was still someone who cared about her.
"Don't, I can't take this." Startled by the girl's sudden gesture, Xia Chen hurriedly moved aside. This expression of gratitude was simply more than he could bear.
Looking somewhat baffled by Xia Chen's reaction, the young miss blinked her doe-like eyes at him, as if saying that he was fully worthy of it.
Seeing the girl's dazed appearance, Xia Chen pinched his own temples. For now, he just assumed the girl was still in shock and her brain hadn't caught up yet.
"You don't need to be like this. Besides, anyone who ran into that kind of situation would have made the same choice I did."
As he said this, Xia Chen felt a slight twinge of guilt. His initial plan had been to run away first and then call the police, but since he was a weakling who was afraid he couldn't outrun the other person, he had decided to take a gamble instead.
Shi Yao nodded in a half-understanding way, but she still silently recited to herself in her heart: "No, they wouldn't. Everyone hates me; only you were willing to talk to me and willing to buy my skewers."
"Right, I'm Xia Chen, what's your name?" Only now did Xia Chen realize he still didn't know the girl's name.
"I—I'm Shi Yao." Shi Yao bit her lower lip tightly, her behavior and posture filled with nervous apprehension."Shi Yao." Xia Chen silently repeated the name a few times in his mind, then flashed a warm smile at her. "That's a very pretty name."
"Really?"
Hearing this, Shi Yao abruptly looked up, her eyes betraying an irrepressible joy.
Xia Chen reached out to stroke her head and said with a gentle smile, "Of course. I never lie."
A stinging sensation rose in Shi Yao's nose. At home, her father detested her, her older brother bullied her, and her mother had gone abroad and left her behind when she was very young. Yet Xia Chen, a complete stranger, was treating her with such tenderness.
She hadn't been entirely unconscious back in the alley; she had vaguely sensed that someone had picked her up. At the time, though, Shi Yao had thought she had died and been carried away by an angel. Only now did she realize that the person who had lifted her wasn't an angel, but Xia Chen.
"Hey, kiddo, don't cry. I've already called the police. I'm sure they'll catch those traffickers who kidnapped you very soon."
Using his hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of the girl's eyes, Xia Chen assumed she was still overwhelmed by shock.
"Mm, thank you," Shi Yao said, nodding vigorously through her tear-filled eyes.
Afterward, the two of them chatted about everyday matters, mostly with Xia Chen asking and Shi Yao answering. During their conversation, he brought up the question that had been puzzling him the most: why was someone as young as her selling skewers at the night market?
Shi Yao's explanation was that she had always played around instead of studying, which left her knowing nothing during exams. Naturally, she hadn't managed to get into university, so she had decided to enter the workforce early.
Though Xia Chen harbored some doubts about the young girl's excuse, he chose not to probe any deeper.
He felt that the girl in front of him looked well-behaved, and her speech carried an innate refinement. No matter how he looked at it, she didn't seem like the kind of "bad kid" who got into fights and skipped classes.
"Right, what's your parents' phone number? You didn't go home at all last night, so they must be worried sick about you."
Only now did Xia Chen think of this, and he intended to have the girl make a call home to let them know she was safe.Upon hearing this, Shi Yao instinctively tightened her grip on the edge of the blanket. She gently shook her head and remained silent.
Xia Chen was somewhat baffled by her reaction. After mulling it over, he decided to wait until she was discharged from City Center Hospital before addressing the matter further.
If worst came to worst, he would see the good deed through to the end, personally escort her home, and offer a thorough explanation to her family.
Before he knew it, noon had arrived. Xia Chen took out his phone to check the time. Seeing that it was lunchtime, he turned to the girl in the hospital bed and asked, "What would you like for lunch?"
"I don't eat lunch," Shi Yao blurted out instinctively. But the next second, she realized her mistake and hurriedly backtracked, denying it. "I mean... I'm not very hungry right now, so there's no need for lunch."
For her, being able to have a single meal a day was already something to be deeply grateful for.
Xia Chen frowned and said sternly, "That won't do at all. Even if you aren't hungry, you still have to eat, or you'll get gastritis."
What he didn't know was that the young girl hadn't even eaten breakfast today. As for why she couldn't feel hunger, it was simply because she had long since grown used to it.
Xia Chen's slightly stern tone startled the girl. She immediately buried her small head between her knees, looking very much like a little ostrich.
Seeing that Shi Yao's emotions were unstable, Xia Chen had no choice to change his approach. He reached out to gently ruffle her short, tousled hair and coaxed her in a low voice.
"Be a good girl. Let's eat a little bit, okay? Just a little?"
The gentle voice drifted into her ears. Only then did Shi Yao timidly poke her head back out, her voice barely audible.
"Okay."
"There, that's more like it. What do you want to eat?"
"Can I have steamed buns?" Shi Yao lowered her gaze, and before finishing, she remembered to add, "Vermicelli filling."
Xia Chen was momentarily stunned, then chuckled. "Of course. As long as they aren't filled with people."
Upon hearing his joke, the pale corners of the girl's lips curved upward in a nearly imperceptible smile.