Second Confession!

Morning.

Nine o'clock.

Drip, drip. The IV needle in Dong Xuebin's wrist hurt so much that he bared his teeth. Seeing that there was nothing urgent here for the moment, Qu Yunxuan gave him a few instructions, took the keys from him, and went home to fetch his things. Towels, a washbasin, underwear, socks—she had to prepare all of that. The dress pants and shirt they had bought at YanSha Shopping City that day had also been burned, along with his shoes, so she needed to bring him a new set.

As soon as Qu Yunxuan left, the young nurse administering his IV smiled. "Your aunt is really beautiful."

The elderly man with the fracture beside him also said, "That girl's quite wonderful. So virtuous, too."

Dong Xuebin practically glowed, as though they had been praising him instead.

Before eleven, Qu Yunxuan came back, panting as she pulled a suitcase behind her. She put away the clothes, toothbrush, detergent, lunchbox, and everything else in the cabinet one by one. Then Aunt Xuan wiped the fine beads of sweat from her face. Without even taking a break, she lifted Dong Xuebin's blanket, pulled off the dirty socks on his feet, gently held his foot as she put on a fresh pair for him, then took a plastic basin and soap into the restroom. Squatting on the floor, she diligently washed his socks.

Dong Xuebin was deeply moved. "Aunt Xuan, take a rest."

With her hands covered in soap suds, Qu Yunxuan turned back and smiled. "I'm not tired. Don't move around, all right? You're on an IV."

"Okay, okay, got it."

Looking at the smooth, fair stretch of lower back exposed beneath Aunt Xuan's clothes as she crouched there, Dong Xuebin's eyes were drawn over despite himself. Maybe it was because his mind had wandered in a naughty direction, but the urge to pee suddenly hit him. He looked up at the IV bottle. He had just finished one, and this one was still more than half full. It definitely would not be done for another half hour. He wanted to hold it, but the pressure below was too urgent. So he painfully climbed out from under the covers, endured the pain in his shoulder and foot, and got down to put on his shoes.

Qu Yunxuan, who had just finished washing the socks, jumped in fright. "What are you doing?"

Dong Xuebin gave an awkward laugh. "Ahem, going to the bathroom." He reached for the IV bottle.

"Don't move!" Qu Yunxuan hurriedly rinsed her hands. "The hand you can use has the needle in it. You can't carry that!"

Going to the bathroom had already been difficult yesterday. With the IV today, it was even more troublesome. Dong Xuebin understood that, but he was too embarrassed to ask Aunt Xuan for help. "It's fine. I'll be out in a minute." Ignoring her, he pinched the tube clamp shut to temporarily stop the flow, grabbed the IV bottle, and limped toward the restroom.

Qu Yunxuan strode over, both annoyed and worried. "Why won't you listen? Are you asking for a beating?" She quickly snatched the IV bottle from his hand, supported him with her left arm, and said, "Always trying to show off. Come on, I'm going with you."

Dong Xuebin said awkwardly, "No, really, there's no need."

Qu Yunxuan put on a stern face and raised her hand. "Want me to hit you? Hurry up."

"Fine." Unable to argue with her, Dong Xuebin could only enter the restroom reluctantly.

Hospital restrooms usually had a rack or hook for IV bottles, but after searching around, Dong Xuebin and Qu Yunxuan found nothing. After an awkward pause, Aunt Xuan shut the door, openly lifted the toilet lid, held the IV bottle over her head, and turned her face toward the wall of white tiles. "Hurry up. I won't look."

Dong Xuebin was so embarrassed he wanted to die. "Ah, I... you..."

"What are you embarrassed about?" Qu Yunxuan turned and glared at him. "Hurry up."

When she turned away again, Dong Xuebin felt like crying. He fumbled with the pants of his hospital gown one-handedly, but could not pull them down for ages.

"I'll count to three. If you still don't move, I'm really going to hit you," Qu Yunxuan said with her back to him. "One... two... three."

Out of options, Dong Xuebin gritted his teeth, yanked down his pants, and relieved himself.

Splash, splash. It was the first time Dong Xuebin had ever felt that sound was so utterly shameful. This was humiliating.

Once the sound finally stopped, Qu Yunxuan reached over and flushed the toilet for him, then helped the red-faced Dong Xuebin back to bed. "I bought some bananas and apples on the way here. Which do you want?"

After climbing back under the covers, Dong Xuebin said, "Uh, not yet."

"How can you not eat? You need nutrition." Qu Yunxuan gently peeled a banana and held it out to him. "Be good. Open your mouth. Ah..."

Dong Xuebin thought that this was not even the first time he had embarrassed himself in front of Aunt Xuan, so he ignored the amused looks from the old man with the fracture and his son beside them, opened his mouth, and took a bite. After he swallowed, Qu Yunxuan smilingly moved the banana forward again. "Good boy. Have another bite. Ah..." Aunt Xuan was half-kneeling on the bed, half-sitting and half-standing. As she fed him the banana, her body and legs shifted forward.

Her knee, wrapped in nylon stockings, slipped straight into the warm blankets.

Dong Xuebin suddenly felt warmth on his hand, followed by a silky, delicate sensation against his palm—it was Aunt Xuan's leg.

Dong Xuebin's heart stirred, and the words buried deep inside him slipped out again. "Aunt Xuan, I like you. Be my girlfriend."

Qu Yunxuan froze, both hands holding the banana stiffly in midair.

Having been through this once already, Dong Xuebin was much more practiced this time. "I've never met a woman as virtuous as you. I liked you the moment I saw you. Aunt Xuan, I know there's a huge gap between us in every way, but if you can, could you give me a chance?"

Qu Yunxuan's face grew warm. She put the banana on the table. "This is too sudden. You saying this... I wasn't mentally prepared at all."

Dong Xuebin was overjoyed. Aunt Xuan had not said he was not her type this time. Haha, it looked like the Refreshing Great Battle had really worked wonders. He was one step closer to success! "...I know it's a little abrupt, but I really like you so much I could die. Be my girlfriend, okay?"

Qu Yunxuan said nothing.

"Okay?"

After a while, she sighed. "I'm sorry, Xiao Bin. I'm not in the mood to date anyone for now."

Although he had known there was an eighty-percent chance she would reject him, Dong Xuebin could not help feeling dejected. "Why? Is my appearance no good? My personality? Or something else?"

Qu Yunxuan shook her head slightly and turned to look out the window. "Don't feel so inferior. In my eyes, you're good in every way. It's my own problem." Her voice paused. "Do you remember what I said when you came to pick me up from the newspaper office that day? My dream is to have a company of my own. I've been working toward that dream for the past few years. I really don't have the heart to date."

Dong Xuebin gave an "Uh." "Starting a company would take at least a million, right? Could you save that much on a newspaper office salary?"

Qu Yunxuan said nothing.

Dong Xuebin said, "You absolutely won't date until your career gets off the ground?"

Qu Yunxuan nodded. "That's what I've planned. I'm sorry."

"Then what if you have your own company?" Dong Xuebin asked hopefully. "Could you date me then?"

A faint blush rose on Qu Yunxuan's cheeks. After hesitating, she got up and headed out. "...I'll go ask the doctor about your condition."

Fuck.

There was... a chance.

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!!!