Chapter 264 - 118: Provocation

Chapter 264: Chapter 118: Provocation

The words were absurd, but they didn’t sound like a joke. His expression must not have been very good right then, because to her, he probably seemed a bit cold and aloof. It didn’t help that he favored black clothing and hadn’t put his phone down since he’d sat down, as if he were on some kind of classified mission and had only ducked into this small hospital for an IV drip by accident.

The young nurse stared at him blankly for two seconds before bursting into laughter.

"You look so cold and serious, but you’re such a smooth-talker. Cut the crap. Society is safer than ever these days. What girl needs you to save her life?"

Zhang Shutong felt another jab.

’Well, the original plan *was* to save her life,’ Zhang Shutong thought.

’But then her dad had to come back.’

"I’m not kidding around," the young nurse said. "I see you keep staring at your phone. Waiting for a message from her?"

Zhang Shutong nodded, and the two of them were once again talking on completely different wavelengths.

The young nurse offered her advice:

"I think you should stop talking about all this vague ’life and death’ stuff. If you want to win a girl back, you need to be more down-to-earth. You can’t just say a bunch of empty phrases like ’I want to save your life’ or ’I want to keep you safe.’ Those things are too big and abstract. It’s like the moon tonight—beautiful, right? But you can’t jump up and touch it. A simple walk with her in the evening would be far more touching. Instead of protecting her life, I’d say protecting her mood is more important.

"If you really want to keep her safe, then prove it with your actions. A thousand empty promises aren’t worth as much as pulling her to the inside of the sidewalk when you cross the street. And if you’re really worried about her, stop waiting for a message. Waiting all day isn’t as good as taking the initiative and just asking her yourself."

Zhang Shutong thought she made a lot of sense, but he really wasn’t talking about something vague and abstract.

Besides, he’d almost been led astray by her advice. He wasn’t trying to woo a girl.

He was just so tired it was unbearable and wanted someone to talk to.

’And your guess is the complete opposite of what’s happening. She didn’t think I was making empty promises; she just didn’t want to be a bother to me anymore.’

But Zhang Shutong couldn’t explain the details, and he was grateful that she was willing to chat with him.

"I think I understand," he said.

The young nurse asked again,

"Let me be honest. If you don’t even care what she thinks anymore, why are you even trying to find her?"

"It’s not that I don’t care. It’s that I can never figure out what she’s thinking." For a rare moment, Zhang Shutong sounded defeated. "I used to think I understood her, but I never really did."

"That’s just how it is sometimes. There are definitely girls out there who are hard to read. You’ll just have to try harder."

"I’ve already done my best," Zhang Shutong said without hesitation. "The results just haven’t been great."

"How so?"

"Every time I try to do something, I always mess it up."

"What do you mean? What did you do to her?"

"Well, I took her fishing, but it turned out she doesn’t like fishing. I took her to see a movie at school, but we didn’t finish it. I took her out for a whole day, but I don’t think we had a very good time. I tried to help solve a case and almost caused a huge misunderstanding. She’d ask me to watch movies, but I’d always leave halfway through. I..." Zhang Shutong had been rattling off the list effortlessly, but he paused for a moment before adding, "And after all that, I finally made it home, only for her to get into trouble again."

The young nurse was taken aback.

"You’ve got to be kidding me, buddy. Listen to me: do not go looking for her. It’ll be a complete waste of time. Just go home and sleep on it. You’re not just ’doing your best’—you’re doing your best to screw everything up!"

Zhang Shutong just smiled at that.

"Yeah, a little," he admitted.

She sighed.

"In that case, there’s nothing anyone can do. You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t hold a grudge."

"She’s never really blamed me for any of it."

"Well, good luck then? It sounds like you’ve already tried your best. Why don’t you get some sleep? It won’t be too late to find her tomorrow." The young nurse yawned. "Anyway, I can’t keep my eyes open. I’m heading out. Remember to call if you need your IV bag changed."

Zhang Shutong gave a soft hum of agreement.

As she left, she flicked off the lights, leaving only an old wall lamp glowing faintly, as if on its last legs.

The paint was peeling from the white walls. It was better when it was noisy; the silence only brought a sense of desolation.

Now Zhang Shutong was alone in the hospital room. His head began to droop again, but it seemed fate had no intention of letting him sleep. His phone buzzed.

Zhang Shutong glanced up. It wasn’t a message from anyone, but a friend request.

He never accepted friend requests from strangers on QQ, but this one was different. The request note read:

"I’m Qiumian’s best friend. It’s urgent and about her. Please accept!"

Zhang Shutong frowned instinctively.

’Why is her best friend contacting me if Gu Qiuyan is the one in trouble?’

He tapped ’Accept.’ The matter did seem urgent; a video call came through almost immediately.

A girl with short hair appeared on the screen, a smile revealing her prominent canine teeth.

"Hey there, handsome. I was starting to think you wouldn’t accept."

"Oh, it’s you," Zhang Shutong said, holding up his phone in a moment of realization. It was that young secretary.

"Must be fate, huh?"

"What’s wrong with her?"

"You really talk to everyone this way, don’t you? Hey, aren’t you the least bit curious how I found your QQ?"

"If there’s nothing important, I’m hanging up." Zhang Shutong decided he was being played. This was clearly a prank call. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Don’t hang up! I really do have something to tell you," the person on the other end said hurriedly. "Don’t you want to hear how Qiumian’s day was?"

"No."

"If you really didn’t, you would’ve hung up already, right? You hesitated. You wavered. You’re second-guessing yourself," she said, as if declaring victory.

’She’s a sharp one,’ Zhang Shutong thought with a sigh.

"Fine. Talk."

"Could you try for a better attitude? I’m just trying to help! I just finished counseling Qiumian, and now I’m here counseling you. Even if you don’t give me credit for results, at least give me credit for the effort I’m putting in at this hour!"