He Siheng was injured, so he couldn’t ride the motorcycle. Tan Jing hailed a taxi and took him to the hospital. Because of the aphrodisiac injection, He Siheng had blood drawn for tests. Fortunately, the Alpha had given him a Temporary Mark in time, so there were no major issues with his body—just the wound on his hand was somewhat serious and needed immediate debridement.
While the doctor treated He Siheng’s wound, Tan Jing called Tan Wan.
“This is outrageous. How can you hide something this big from his parents? You’ve kept his Differentiation a secret from me for so long too? You don’t treat me like family… Fine, fine, as long as Xiao Heng is okay. I’ll handle our parents. I’m heading to the police station now, but you should know that sentencing for harming an undifferentiated person is much lighter than for harming an Omega. Hiding it like this…”
“Give him the harshest sentence.” Tan Jing’s voice was flat. “I know you have ways.”
He paused. “By the way, your car keys are still with me.”
“…” Tan Wan went berserk on the other end of the line. “You brat, are you asking for my help or threatening me?”
Not in the mood to banter with her, Tan Jing hung up and walked into the treatment room.
He Siheng’s right hand had bled quite a bit. Fortunately, the wound wasn’t very deep and didn’t require stitches, but it still hurt terribly. His brows were twisted like hemp ropes, and he kept nagging the doctor treating his wound without pause. “Hiss, it hurts, hurts. Lighter, lighter.”
The doctor was helpless. “I haven’t even touched it with the cotton swab yet, and you’re already yelling.”
He Siheng was about to argue back when he saw Tan Jing enter. He immediately shut his mouth and sat up straight pretentiously. “I didn’t say it hurt. Go ahead, you can go harder—no problem.”
The doctor: “…”
He Siheng glanced at Tan Jing, cleared his throat. “Is everything handled?”
Tan Jing hummed in affirmation and stopped by his side, lowering his eyes to look at his seriously injured right hand. His expression wasn’t great.
He Siheng hadn’t noticed before, but now he saw Tan Jing’s expensive formal attire—he had clearly rushed over straight from the banquet. His white shirt was stained with a lot of blood, ruined beyond repair.
Seeing Tan Jing’s poor complexion, he figured it made sense. A perfectly good birthday turning into this—anyone would be in a bad mood.
Feeling a bit guilty, He Siheng cleared his throat. “Thanks for today. Get that suit reimbursed from me later.”
“How did you find me so fast, anyway?” He suddenly changed the subject, giving a little flattery. “Pretty impressive.”
Tan Jing’s tone was indifferent. “I went to your house and used your tablet to locate your phone.”
He Siheng thought, This guy’s pretty clever. He was about to praise him when he realized something off. “How did you know my tablet’s password?”
Tan Jing gave him a look and tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Is Tan Wan’s birthday some big secret?”
He Siheng: “…”
He usually unlocked with fingerprints, so he hadn’t changed the numeric password. Using the crush’s birthday as a password during puppy love wasn’t uncommon. Before they fell out, he seemed to recall mentioning it to Tan Jing, who had called it childish.
If it were before, He Siheng would have shot back, but now that Tan Jing said it, it felt inexplicably embarrassing. What’s with that?
He Siheng wanted to quibble a bit when he heard Tan Jing ask the doctor, “How’s his hand injury? Will there be any aftereffects?”
“The wound was just deep enough to need stitches if it were any deeper, but luckily it didn’t hit any nerves or blood vessels. Keep it dry, avoid pressure, don’t lift heavy things, watch for infection, and it should heal in about two weeks.”
Tan Jing’s expression finally eased a bit. He thanked the doctor.
Seeing him visibly relax, He Siheng realized Tan Jing had been worried about his hand.
For some reason, an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart—like eating a lemon candy, sour and a bit sweet. But calling it sweet felt a little off.
He Siheng scratched his cheek with his fingers and let out an awkward dry laugh, making small talk. “Good thing I didn’t land on my face, or my handsome mug would’ve been ruined today. If I’d been disfigured, finding a partner later would be tough.”
Seeing him still in the mood to joke, warmth entered Tan Jing’s eyes. “Find what partner? Isn’t there a ready-made one right here?”
He Siheng was stunned.
A hint of amusement curved Tan Jing’s lips. “Didn’t someone say that even the dean would call us a match made in heaven?”
He Siheng: “…”
Tan Jing: “I heard your parents are quite satisfied with me. Should I go to your house for dinner again next time?”
He Siheng: “…………”
Damn!
How did this guy hear everything? Did that call never disconnect?
He Siheng’s face flushed red, wishing he could burrow into the ground.
Seeing his hand finally bandaged after the doctor finished up, he eagerly stood. “All done? Can we go now?”
“Don’t rush.” The doctor unhurriedly set aside the used debridement kit and tore open a syringe package. “You still need a tetanus shot before you can leave.”
The moment he heard about the injection, He Siheng jumped up like a startled cat, instinctively bolting for the door. But Tan Jing was faster, grabbing his shoulders first and pressing him back into the chair.
Looking at his world-ending expression, amusement colored Tan Jing’s eyes. “Why run?”
For He Siheng, it really was the end of the world. He’d already taken one aphrodisiac shot today—not enough? Now another tetanus shot. Two shots!
No matter how he tried to stand, he couldn’t break free from Tan Jing’s firm hold on the chair.
He pinned his last hope on the doctor, pleading desperately. “Doctor, didn’t you say my wound isn’t deep and doesn’t need stitches? No need for tetanus, right?”
The doctor remained unmoved, with solid reasoning. “Your wound is exactly at the depth where it doesn’t need stitches but does need tetanus.”
He Siheng: “…”
Bad luck had come knocking, and bad luck let it right in—bad luck had arrived home.
The doctor added, “Do a skin test on the wrist first before the shot.”
He Siheng’s voice rose sharply. “A skin test too?!”
He struggled even harder under Tan Jing’s grip, no longer caring about face. His free right hand clutched Tan Jing’s clothes like a lifeline. He looked up pleadingly. “Bro, Jing Bro, I’m calling you bro now—save me!”
Tan Jing looked down at him tenderly. “Since you’re calling me that…”
He Siheng’s eyes lit up, thinking it worked. “Bro, you’re my real bro!”
Tan Jing: “…Big brother will tell the doctor to go easy on the needle.”
He Siheng: “…”
The light in He Siheng’s eyes extinguished completely. Fortunately, the skin test dose was small, the injection quick, and the pain bearable.
But after the skin test period passed, He Siheng watched as the doctor approached with the syringe. He eyed the needle, which was half a finger long, and suddenly felt awful.
