Shoko wore a clean, loose-fitting white medical coat. Its relaxed cut sat easily on her, giving her a casual, languid air. Her neat, short brown hair lay softly against her ears, with wisps falling over her forehead, softening the coat's cool formality and lending her a distinctly girlish gentleness.
A faint weariness from staying up late lingered around her eyes, and her manner was relaxed and languid. Only the small beauty mark beneath her eye stood out clearly, a touch of liveliness tucked within her cool demeanor.
The moment she entered, she spotted Satō in the visitor's chair, his eyes bloodshot from staying up as he struggled to remain alert. Her tone was casual but brooked no refusal. "You've been up all night. Stop pushing yourself. You don't need to stay here. Go get some rest."
Still uneasy, Satō said hesitantly, "But Miss Ieiri, Qingxiao..."
"With me here, nothing will happen to him." Shoko shrugged lightly. Her words were airy, yet carried a reassuring confidence. "If even I can't save him, no one at Jujutsu High can."
That was true, and Satō had no argument. Only after reminding Qingxiao to rest properly and call immediately if anything came up did he drag his exhausted body out of the ward, repeatedly glancing back as he went.
The door closed softly. Qingxiao and Shoko were suddenly the only two left in the enclosed ward. The air fell quiet at once, and the atmosphere became inexplicably delicate.
Shoko strolled over to the bedside and looked down at the boy lying there, his face still pale. Her eyes curved with a hint of teasing. "Well, if it isn't the new student who exorcised a Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit right after enrolling. You really are hard to kill."
Looking at the girl who had saved his life, Qingxiao said quietly, his throat slightly hoarse, "But it's only your first day here too..."
He knew full well that he owed his survival half to Heavenly Motion and half to the girl before him and her Reverse Cursed Technique.
With the teasing over, Shoko set aside her casual expression and bent down earnestly to reexamine his injuries.
She deftly raised a hand and gently lifted the hem of Qingxiao's hospital gown, focusing on the healed wound across his waist and abdomen. Yesterday's bloody, vicious tear, which had nearly pierced through his torso, had completely healed. No festering or broken flesh remained, but neither had it faded without a trace.
In its place was a long, narrow, sharp-edged light brown scar stretching across the side of his waist and abdomen. Its slightly uneven texture bore the unmistakable marks of a tearing injury.
A flicker of surprise crossed Shoko's eyes. "It's healing even faster than I expected," she murmured. "This recovery speed is nothing like a sorcerer's. It could rival a cursed spirit's."
Having spent years studying healing techniques and working with numerous human teaching specimens and injured patients, she had seen countless sorcerers' physical conditions. Flabby, stiff, deformed, and strained bodies were everywhere; a physique this perfect was exceedingly rare.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted downward to Qingxiao's firm, well-proportioned torso, and for a moment, she stared in a slight daze.
Shoko was faintly astonished. Yesterday, I was too busy saving his life. I was focused on treating him the whole time and had no chance to look at anything else. Looking at him today, this boy's body is actually this perfect.
His muscles were neither exaggerated like a bodybuilder's nor lightly built. Every contour was compact, firm, and brimming with explosive power. The definition of his torso was crisp and sharp. When his muscles tightened, their lines were taut and clean; when relaxed, they flowed naturally, combining an exceptional sense of strength with beauty in motion, full of tension.
Out of medical curiosity, she unconsciously reached out with her slightly cool fingertips and gently brushed over his clearly defined abs.
They felt firm, their definition crisp, with just the right balance of softness and hardness-a textbook-perfect physique.
"His body fat must be below eight percent." She silently marveled.
It was so perfectly proportioned that she could not help herself for a moment and gently squeezed his firm chest muscles as well, carefully feeling their tension and the resilience of his body.
Throughout it all, her eyes remained clear and focused, filled with curiosity and a desire to learn.
For Qingxiao, however, it was an entirely different experience.
The moment her soft, slightly cool fingertips touched his skin, a warm, delicate sensation spread through his skin and into his limbs.
Qingxiao froze. Every muscle in his body went taut, and his mind crashed on the spot.
A scorching rush of heat shot straight to his head. His cheeks flushed visibly crimson, his ears turned so red they seemed about to bleed, and even his neck took on a faint blush.
In two lifetimes, he had never had someone of the opposite sex touch his body so closely and directly. Even knowing that she was only conducting a professional examination, he could not suppress the panic and fluttering in his heart.
Just then, Shoko finally snapped out of her absorbed observation.
Her fingertips paused. She looked at her hand resting on the boy's body, then met Qingxiao's utterly flushed, flustered face, and froze in bewilderment.
A second later, an overwhelming wave of embarrassment engulfed her.
I actually treated a living person like a teaching specimen and felt him up?!
Shoko abruptly straightened with a huge movement, turning her head away in a panic and putting her back to the bed. Her delicate profile instantly flushed crimson, and even the tips of her ears turned thoroughly red. Her usual relaxed composure collapsed completely. Her heart pounded wildly, and her toes curled with embarrassment.
She thought she had hidden it perfectly, but Qingxiao clearly saw it all: her faintly trembling shoulders, reddened ears, and flustered breathing.
After several seconds of strained silence, Shoko forcibly pushed down her embarrassment and tried to steady her slightly trembling voice, putting on an indifferent air as though nothing had happened. "You're recovering very well. There's no residual cursed energy or internal injury. After two days of observation, you can be discharged as normal."
Once she finished speaking, she did not dare linger another second. Almost fleeing, she hurried lightly to the door and pushed it open, swiftly leaving the ward. Even the way she shut the door betrayed some panic.
The empty ward fell silent once more.
Qingxiao lay there in a daze. Only after a long while did he slowly breathe out, his heart still hammering wildly in his chest, the burning heat refusing to fade.
He knew that Shoko's gaze had been pure and focused just now, with no such intentions.
But knowing that was one thing. Having a strikingly beautiful girl with a languid, gentle air touch him so closely still left him helplessly flushed, his heart racing and his thoughts in disarray.
He raised a hand to touch his burning cheek and muttered, "Quite the technique..."
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