Wen Jiang, being a physician, placed great importance on health and self-care. Ever since his insomnia had eased, he made a habit of going to bed at a fixed hour each night. So when Ning Yan barged into his room, he was already sitting by the bed, taking off his shoes.

Seeing Ning Yan stride in so boldly, Wen Jiang froze mid-motion, one shoe still in hand. “Can’t this wait till morning? Do you have any idea what time it is?”

Ning Yan kicked at the table, his sword striking the edge with a clatter. Wen Jiang, as if by instinct, slipped his shoe back on. “Well… I suppose it’s not that late after all.”

He sat down at the table with composed ease. “I just took her for a walk through the streets. She was still shaken from that encounter with the mountain bandits, so I figured a bit of distraction might help. Get her mind off it.”

He recounted the events of the day, including how they’d helped the two children. “I could tell Qingqing was deeply moved. You know, at first I thought she wouldn’t be able to handle the roughness of the road. But I was wrong—she’s stronger than I expected. None of that pampered delicacy you warned me about.”

Wen Jiang had clearly formed a favorable impression of Bai Qingqing. He was halfway through his enthusiastic praise when he suddenly paused and squinted at Ning Yan. “Wait a minute… why are you asking about this so late at night?”

Catching sight of Ning Yan’s impassive expression, something clicked. Wen Jiang’s eyes lit up. “Don’t tell me—she wouldn’t let you accompany her, would she?”

Ning Yan lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. Wen Jiang slapped his thigh. “Knew it!”

Maybe it was the dim lighting in the room, but Wen Jiang seemed completely oblivious to the dark storm brewing behind Ning Yan’s face.

“Honestly,” he went on, “when she started having trouble sleeping, you wouldn’t let her come to me. What were you trying to prove, staying up with her like that? You think that’s appropriate? She trusts you completely, without hesitation—but maybe you should stop and think about what that means, for her.”

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“She’s my attendant now,” Ning Yan said.

Wen Jiang: “…”

Ning Yan didn’t see anything wrong. “When I’m with her, she can fall asleep. Can you do that?”

Wen Jiang’s mouth twitched. He couldn’t help raising his voice. “Is that the point? That’s just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. You need to fix the problem at its source. Or are you planning to be by her side forever?”

Ning Yan rolled his eyes and said nothing. Wen Jiang didn’t bother arguing further. “Anyway, I’m the doctor here. Listening to me is the smart thing to do. Qingqing’s trying hard to recover—there’s a toughness in her bones. I’d say she’ll be all right soon enough.”

After saying that, he noticed Ning Yan still didn’t seem ready to leave and frowned. “What, you’ve got more to say?”

Ning Yan let out a casual “Mm” and shifted to another topic. At first Wen Jiang listened patiently, but soon something felt off—the words turned increasingly aimless, and his gaze began to wander. “What the hell are you even talking about? Don’t think you can come here and ramble my ears off just because Qingqing kicked you out.”

Ning Yan replied coolly, “You’re overthinking it.”

“Overthink my ass! Like I don’t know you? You—you—!”

Wen Jiang was so furious he stammered. But since he knew he couldn’t win a fight against Ning Yan, he gave up, yanked his shoes off, and flopped back stiffly onto the bed.

“Go on, talk all you want. I’m sleeping.”

...

The next day, when Bai Qingqing saw Wen Jiang, she jumped. “Brother Wen, did you not sleep well last night? You look so… drained.”

The dark shadows beneath Wen Jiang’s eyes were almost theatrical—enough to give someone a fright at first glance.

He let out a few soulless chuckles. Then, when he spotted Ning Yan, his gaze sharpened like twin blades, grinding his teeth in fury. Why was this bastard still glowing with vitality?

Unfair. Absolutely unfair!