...

Because Lin Wanning had to elevate her foot, she was still lying on the trolley. Upon seeing Xu Qingfan return, the girl's once bitter expression instantly transformed into a joyful smile.

"Qingfan, the doctor just said I possibly don't have a fracture this time." Lin Wanning's voice was exceedingly sweet, causing the nurses working in the room to pause their tasks.

"You're so cute!"

"Your brother really cares about you, you two must have a great relationship."

Lin Wanning shyly scratched her hair, wishing she could clarify publicly that she and Qingfan weren't actually siblings.

Xu Qingfan didn't respond to the nurses' teasing, politely nodded, then pinched Lin Wanning's cheeks and said, "Even if there's no fracture, you'll need to recover for a month or two. I haven't told your parents yet, afraid they'll rush here and cause issues. Let's wait for the results before telling them."

"Mm-hmm!" Lin Wanning's face lit up with joy immediately.

Because Qingfan indirectly helped her clarify!

Indeed.

After hearing Xu Qingfan's words, the nurses, who had returned to their work, quickly muttered to each other in voices only they could hear:

"So they're not actually siblings."

"Wow, they're still in high school but have already met the parents."

"They really suit each other. I wish I had a caring brother like that."

"Sweet high school romance, I want to experience it too!"

"Yeah, right, if anyone is going to have a romance, it's me first. I've been single for twenty-six years; feels like these years went to waste."

"..."

They thought their whispers were quiet enough, but in fact, Xu Qingfan and Lin Wanning heard everything clearly.

Lin Wanning's ears grew warm, and her heart fluttered, suddenly feeling no pain in her foot.

Xu Qingfan pretended not to hear, took out his phone, and snapped pictures of her "pig's feet."

"Ah, Qingfan, what are you doing~" Lin Wanning was startled by the shutter sound, "Don't take pictures, delete them, delete now!"

Xu Qingfan extended a finger and said "say no," took a few more pictures of her pig's feet, then put away his phone, saying, "I'm setting Wanning's pig's feet as my wallpaper until you recover."

"If you're not careful next time, I'll post it on my social media!" He leaned close to her face and threatened.

"Wh-What... Qingfan, you can't do that, no way!" Lin Wanning was embarrassed and anxious, turning her head away and pouting.

The two nurses witnessing the scene were enjoying it, thinking that if Xu Qingfan and Lin Wanning weren't still in high school, they'd move the civil affairs bureau right here today.

"See, now you know to appreciate your health." Xu Qingfan tapped her forehead before standing upright.

"I... I didn't mean to." Lin Wanning felt wronged, and if she were standing, she would've put her hands on her hips.

This particular way she said "I" was so sweet, Xu Qingfan was used to it and didn't mind, but the people secretly shipping them were curling their toes.

Xu Qingfan brought a stool over to sit beside her, saw her foot was exposed to the air, turned to the room's nurses and asked, "Excuse me, can I wrap my sister's foot with a down jacket? It's cold in winter."

"Ah!"

Thinking they were found out, the two nurses were startled.

After calming down, they quickly replied, "Feeling cold? Please wait a moment."

They solved the issue by turning on the heater in the room, and Xu Qingfan realized wrapping her foot with clothes wasn't an option, so he put away the down jacket.

"Cold?" He habitually checked Lin Wanning's forehead.

"Not cold." Lin Wanning shook her head, held out her hand for Qingfan to check, hoping he'd hold her hand.

Xu Qingfan covered Lin Wanning's small hand with his big one, while the two nurses briefly left the room, leaving only him and Lin Wanning.

"Does it still hurt?" Xu Qingfan looked at her foot and asked.

"No..." Lin Wanning shook her head, then quickly nodded, "It does!"

"Does it hurt or not?" Xu Qingfan tapped her fingernail.

"It hurts!"

After saying it hurts, Lin Wanning shyly added, "Qingfan, kiss it, then the pain will go away."

"Pft..."

Xu Qingfan restrained himself from spitting out his drink, pointing to her foot and asking, "Kiss Wanning's foot?"

"No... of course not!" Lin Wanning was instantly flustered; when did she ever say to kiss her foot!

"Not the foot, then where?" the cheeky guy smiled at her, pretending not to know.

Lin Wanning blushed, didn't answer, and gently touched her lips with her finger.

"Oh~ so it's a kiss on the lips, I thought Wanning wanted me to kiss her foot." The cheeky guy acted like he just realized.

Lin Wanning squeezed the bed sheet tightly, turned her head away, refusing to talk to Qingfan who was teasing her.

"Alright, here comes the kiss." Xu Qingfan got up, walked to the other side of the bed, bent down slightly, and aimed for the girl's red lips.

Lin Wanning immediately shut her eyes shyly, preparing to extend her tongue, but just then, Xu Qingfan stopped.

Lin Wanning opened her eyes in confusion, seeing the two nurses standing at the door who had just left.

"Gah~" with flushed cheeks, Lin Wanning quickly looked away at the ceiling, pretending to be dead.

The two nurses regretted interrupting, standing awkwardly at the door, unable to decide between entering or leaving.

"Um, how long until my sister's X-ray results are ready?" Xu Qingfan asked to ease the awkwardness.

"Oh right, the X-ray. The results will be out soon; we're heading to the operating room now." The two recalled their task, moving the trolley in.

Xu Qingfan made way for them, following after they left.

This time, the operating room was just a few departments away on the same floor.

Xu Qingfan saw the attending physician from earlier and quickly ran over to ask, "Doctor, have my sister's results come out?"

She pressed her finger down, smiling and said, "Good news, no fracture, ligament injury isn't severe. Surgery will lead to faster recovery, but without it, it'll take a bit longer — possibly over two months — but minimal aftereffects."

Without much hesitation, Xu Qingfan immediately said, "Then no surgery, we'll take the slow recovery route."

He looked at Lin Wanning, and seeing her nod, he continued the rest of his sentence.

"Alright, I'll bandage the wound first, and discuss care instructions when we're out." The doctor nodded, readying Lin Wanning for the operating table.

Xu Qingfan finally exhaled deeply, took out his phone to call Lin Qiaoshan.

Once the call connected, he didn't give Uncle Lin a chance to speak, quickly explained, "Uncle, Wanning sprained her foot in gym class, we're at the People's Hospital now. No fracture, the doctor said it's a ligament injury that needs two months' rest."

At this time, Lin Qiaoshan was worried sick from the call, but knowing it was just a ligament injury, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I understand, her mom and I are on the way. Does she need surgery?" Lin Qiaoshan calmed down and asked.

"The doctor said surgery isn't needed for minimal aftereffects, so I didn't opt for it." Xu Qingfan answered concisely.

"Alright, thank you, little Fan." Tears of heartache overflowed from Lin Qiaoshan's eyes, yet he expressed his gratitude solemnly.

"Oh, it's what I ought to do, Uncle. Call me when you reach the hospital, and I'll have our driver show you upstairs." Xu Qingfan smiled lightly.

Since middle school, it had been a while since he heard gratitude from Lin Qiaoshan.

"Okay, talk to you then."

Lin Qiaoshan said and hung up the phone, grabbing his mobile and crocodile leather bag, rushing to the finance office to find Wen Wanqing.

...