The first moment of consciousness was accompanied by intense pain, excruciatingly so. He furrowed his brow and opened his eyes, slowly focusing on the bedside. He promptly closed his eyes again, indicating his reluctance to see Shen Zixia, that unreliable teammate.
"Awake?" Shen Zixia leaned in, pressed the call button on the bedside, and then gently pulled the blanket, murmuring, "Zihao, I'm sorry."
He opened his eyes again, suppressing the dryness in his throat, and spoke hoarsely, "Brother... I've come to my senses. I'll call you 'brother'... but Mengxi also calls you 'brother.' Although she's not our biological sister... it's not her fault, but, brother... she's your sister..."
Anyone with a hint of conscience wouldn't have improper thoughts about their own sister, so, main character, wake up!
Shen Zixia's hand hesitated as she reached for the water, her facial muscles twitching, but she didn't speak.
"I was wrong to bully Mengxi before. I thought she was trying to seduce you..." Apart from stealing his secret crush, this was indeed one of the reasons why the original host later bullied Shen Mengxi. Before Fan Lang took over Shen Mengxi's body, the original host still treated her sister fairly well. Although he had a somewhat stubborn personality, he wasn't a perverted villain who enjoyed tormenting people. Although he wasn't particularly close to Shen Mengxi in ordinary times, he was still much better than Shen Zixia, who always ignored his half-sister from another mother.
"She didn't." Shen Zixia finally spoke, casting his customary scolding gaze at his brother but stiffening momentarily when he saw the paleness of his face. After wiping his face, he sighed, "It was me... was it that obvious? When did you figure it out?"
"A long time ago." Ye Zhizhou flipped through the original host's memories, raised his eyes to look at him seriously, and continued, "Brother, don't let our parents down, and don't make things difficult for Mengxi. You know, this is not right... Brother, she's Mengxi, not Lian Xuejie." Lian Xue was Shen Zixia's first love, who died in a car accident several years ago. She had a somewhat rugged personality, somewhat similar to Fan Lang's version of Shen Mengxi. Shen Zixia first noticed the similarity between Fan Lang's version of Shen Mengxi and Lian Xue, and later, Shen Mengxi hung up on him in front of him... these mysteriously similar experiences finally made Shen Zixia completely obsessed.
Shen Zixia tightened his grip on the water glass, hesitated for a moment, and then turned away from his gaze, avoiding his eye contact.
[Shen Zixia's chance of falling in love with the main character has dropped to 70%. Please continue to work on it, host.]
It seems like he hit the mark. He swallowed some saliva to ease the dryness in his throat, then continued, "Brother, you've been using Mengxi as a substitute. Isn't that a form of deception to her? And Lian Xuejie, if she found out... would she really not hate you?"
"Stop it!" Shen Zixia turned around to interrupt him, his eyes dim and filled with pain, and his aura unusually dejected. "Stop it... I understand what you mean."
[Shen Zixia's chance of falling in love with the main character has dropped to 50%. Please continue to work on it, host.]
"It was my mistake." He quickly regained his composure, placed the cup of warm water with a straw in front of him, and said with lowered eyes, "I'm sorry, you're a good brother, and I... I'm not a good brother. It won't happen again, never again."
[Shen Zixia's chance of falling in love with the main character has dropped to 30%. Please continue to work on it, host.]
The fact that Shen Zixia had come to his senses made the pain worthwhile! His throat was parched, and he hurriedly leaned over to take a sip of water, moistening his throat. Then he added forcefully, "Brother, I just want a stable home, and I hope our family can be well... You won't destroy this family, will you?"
"...No." Shen Zixia, with a hint of expectation in his eyes, made an awkward attempt to pat his hair and said earnestly, "Zihao, I'm sorry, and thank you."
[Shen Zixia's chance of falling in love with the main character has dropped to 20%. Please continue to work on it, host.]
Finally, doctors and nurses arrived, and the two of them ended their conversation tacitly. After a thorough examination, Ye Zhizhou, exhausted, fell asleep again, unaware that someone had come quietly and sat by his bedside for a long time.
After finishing his classes, Su Yu ran to see Ye Zhizhou and was immediately pulled to the hospital rooftop by Shen Zixia, who was waiting at the door.
"What's wrong with you?" He switched the fruit basket to his other hand, asking with concern, "Has Zihao woken up?"
"He's awake." Shen Zixia lit a cigarette, squinting at the distant building. "Xiaoyu, let's drop it."
Su Yu looked puzzled. "Drop what?"
"I'm giving up." Shen Zixia turned his head to look at him, patting his shoulder. "I won't go the wrong way, you don't need to get close to Mengxi for my sake anymore. I know you don't like her."
"What, what are you saying? I don't understand." Su Yu turned his head to avoid his gaze, his eyes flickering.
"When Mother fought so fiercely to have Mengxi enter the Shen family back then, Aunt also joined in the fuss. I remember you were influenced back then and became very resentful of Mengxi. You even pushed her once, almost causing her to hit her head on a rock..." He smiled at the thought of the past, but it quickly faded. "You used to dislike her so much, but now you suddenly care about her and compete with me at every turn... I was blind and didn't see the problem before, but now... both you and Zihao are good brothers. I thank you both."
"I, I didn't really hate her that much..." Su Yu felt somewhat guilty from his words. "I know I went too far when I was a kid, and it wasn't all for you... I wanted to apologize to her, but I felt embarrassed, so I thought I'd treat her better... even though she's changed a bit from when she was a child..."
"She has indeed changed." Shen Zixia sighed as well, holding the cigarette in his hand without taking another drag, letting it burn away little by little until he extinguished it with his fingers when it was close to his fingers. "Let's all wake up now. Family is more important." After saying this, he patted Su Yu's shoulder again and walked away.
Su Yu turned to look at him, his gaze somewhat complex. Then he scratched his head in distress. "It's true that she's different from when she was a child... why do people change so easily? Can't they stay the way they were when they were kids..."
[Su Yu's chance of falling in love with the main character has dropped to 50%. Please continue to work on it, host.]
Ye Zhizhou was awakened by the light screen, and he groaned after glancing at it, then closed it with a low hum. He was in pain from the wound on his abdomen; it really hurt. To avoid revealing any problems to the doctors, he couldn't take any medicine either. Only the rapidly decreasing probability of the main characters falling in love with each other could provide him with some comfort.
"Does it hurt a lot?"
He only just noticed someone by his bedside, and when he turned to look, he saw Yin Feiyu holding a notebook and jotting something down. He forced a smile and said, "Oh, it's Dr. Yin. Um, when can I be discharged?"
"I don't know," Yin Feiyu replied without looking at him, lowering his head to sketch something in the notebook. He said coolly, "You're not my patient."
Then why are you here, scribbling in your notebook? Ye Zhizhou was taken aback and didn't know what to say. After reviewing the plot information, the person he understood the least was Yin Feiyu. This guy's feelings for the main character seemed to come out of nowhere. One moment he was just a random doctor, and the next, he was approaching the main character with all kinds of goodwill, making it difficult to discern the emotional context. After the main character died in Shen Mengxi's body, Yin Feiyu was the first to rush to the hospital to watch over the main character, tending to him meticulously day by day until he woke up. Logically, he should be deeply in love with the main character, right? But Yin Feiyu was the least jealous of all the male leads, except for Cen Yuebai! Even if the main character was caught cheating on him a thousand times, he could calmly go back to performing surgery!
"You've noticed, haven't you?"
"What?"
"Your sister, Shen Mengxi." A cold light flashed in Yin Feiyu's glasses, and he finally stopped sketching in the notebook. "Can all inexplicable things be explained by science? You and your sister are quite interesting."
Ye Zhizhou's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly felt a chill creeping up his neck. He mumbled, "Dr. Yin, I can't quite understand what you mean. Well, my sister is indeed quite cute... Haha..."
"I like dealing with smart people." Yin Feiyu put away his notebook, stuck the pen in his white coat pocket, and looked down at him. "I think you're smart, but right now, you're pretending to be stupid with me. That's okay; I'll figure it out. Your upgraded sister is a bit foolish. I think you're more suitable."
Suitable for what? What does "upgraded" mean? Could this guy have really discovered that both he and Shen Mengxi have had a complete personality change? And how did he find out? It's understandable for Shen Mengxi, but the original host had never even met Yin Feiyu before. There shouldn't have been any character inconsistency.
"I like the look in your eyes right now; it shows that you're thinking." Yin Feiyu suddenly bent down, getting closer and carefully observed him for a while. Then he straightened up and said, "You have memories, and she doesn't. Indeed, you're more suitable."
[Yin Feiyu's chance of falling in love with the main character has dropped to 50%. Please continue to work on it, host.]
How could it drop by half just like that? In this situation, this reduction in the chance of falling in love doesn't make anyone happy! Can it be increased again? He was starting to feel uneasy!
"Don't worry, I like to observe with my eyes; I don't like using a scalpel." Yin Feiyu seemed to have read his mind and quickly saw through his thoughts. He raised his hand, lightly tapped his temple, and said, "Don't stop thinking; you must continue to live well. You are my best specimen." After saying that, he turned and walked away at a leisurely pace.
Ye Zhizhou finally let out the breath he had been holding, feeling the pain in his wound even more.
[Yin Feiyu's chance of falling in love with the main character has dropped to 30%. Please continue to work on it, host.]
The tension was released too quickly!
After that, Shen's father and mother came to the hospital for a visit, but they sat for only a short while before hurriedly leaving. Ye Zhizhou suddenly felt sorry for the original host. His parents were too busy to care about him, his older brother initially ignored him, then came to resent him, and then accepted his half-sister from another mother who had been taken over by someone else. Not to mention, there was also that suppressed sexual orientation... No wonder the original host's personality became so twisted later on.
The police came by to inquire about the incident with the homeless man. After some consideration, Ye Zhizhou chose to confess that the homeless man was hired by the original host. It was better to bring up this matter early; otherwise, if Shen Zixia found out later, the slight decrease in favorability might go back up again.
Upon learning the truth, Shen Zixia was indeed shocked. He stared at Ye Zhizhou for a moment, then suddenly stood up and paced around the hospital room restlessly. He sat down at the bedside with a stern expression and said, "Zihao, in the future, don't have such biased thoughts. I didn't expect my foolish ideas to provoke you like this. It's good that you were able to rectify your mistake in time, but as for me... I'm sorry." Apart from apologizing, he didn't know what else to say. His younger brother had almost killed his own sister, and it was all because of him.
Thinking about what his younger brother had said earlier about wanting a stable home and their parents who appeared and disappeared hastily, Shen Zixia's eyes filled with a hint of helplessness and melancholy. "Zihao, I will sort out my feelings."
[Shen Zixia's chance of falling in love with the main character has dropped to 0%. The second soul flag has been removed. Congratulations, host. Please continue your efforts.]
Ye Zhizhou, who had been prepared to perform a penitence scene, was shocked. The soul flag has been removed? Wait, the second one?! Suddenly, the vague memories from before he fell into a coma became clear. He abruptly sat up but accidentally pulled at his wound, causing him to wince in pain and take a few shallow breaths.
"Don't move!" Shen Zixia hurriedly pressed his shoulder, furrowing his brow as he pressed the call button. He looked at Ye Zhizhou seriously and said, "Zihao, what I said is true, I promise! You'll be fine, I'll handle the situation with the homeless man, so don't worry."
That's not the point!
Suppressing the urge to ask Tontian for a pill, Ye Zhizhou urgently asked, "Did anyone come near me and speak to me after I got injured yesterday?" That mental power, the familiar tone of voice, and the flag that was directly removed! This time, one of the male leads was actually among them! Yin Feiyu's flag was directly excluded, and it wasn't Shen Zixia or Su Yu. That left Zhang Lin, Cao Yu, and Cen Yuebai... Wait, Cen Yuebai!
Shen Zixia was momentarily stunned by his question. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "I only noticed Dr. Yin rushing to your side, and then the ambulance arrived." At that time, he was somewhat confused and didn't pay attention to the surrounding situation.
"What about Cen Yuebai? Did he come to see me?" Ye Zhizhou grabbed Shen Zixia's hand, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the voice he heard before losing consciousness belonged to Cen Yuebai. "Where is he? He... He..." It wasn't easy to talk about this mental power, and he couldn't mention the birthmark on his buttocks. In addition to his anxiety, the pain from his wound made him somewhat bewildered.
"Why are you so concerned about whether he came to see you?" Shen Zixia suddenly remembered the rumors he had vaguely heard earlier and asked with a serious expression, "Zihao, are you... attracted to men?"
He wasn't attracted to men; he was attracted to his lover! Even if his lover was a dog, he still liked him!
The more anxious he became, the more his wound hurt. A nurse had rushed over and, seeing that Ye Zhizhou's face had turned pale, immediately approached, scolded him, "You're injured and still not staying still. Now you'll have to suffer for a few more days. You're a patient who can't be reasoned with!" She then looked at Shen Zixia, her voice rising a few notches. "How are you accompanying him? You're pressing down on the patient like this, do you want to prolong his recovery? Quickly let go, I'll call the doctor to come and re-stitch his wound."
Shen Zixia quickly released his hand.
The nurse's scolding had calmed Ye Zhizhou down a bit, and he suddenly felt embarrassed about how worked up he had been. He smiled awkwardly at Shen Zixia.
"You really..." Shen Zixia's serious expression turned into a helpless one as he approached and patted Ye Zhizhou's head. "Why are you still so impulsive, just like when you were a child..." After saying that, he paused for a moment as if he remembered something, then gently patted him again. There was a hint of nostalgia and relief in his eyes. "That's fine. Like whoever you want to like. Cen Yuebai seems to have feelings for Mengxi... well, just take care of yourself."
Ye Zhizhou stared blankly at him, replaying the words "Cen Yuebai seems to have feelings for Mengxi" in his mind. The part about Cen Yuebai from the plot data suddenly became clear in his memory, and he was furiously trying to increase his presence.
Indeed, his lover in this world was one of the male leads, a member of the harem, someone who had gone through various experiences with the protagonist! According to the timeline of the plot, his lover had already developed some affection for the protagonist! They had even embraced in front of the original protagonist!
Embracing, they had actually embraced! If he didn't show up, was his lover planning to go all the way with the protagonist!
Despicable! Unforgivable! He must castrate him!
"Hey, is it really that painful? Relax a bit. If you tense up like this, how can I stitch up your wound?" The doctor, who had rushed over while he was lost in thought, patted his pillow and shook his head disapprovingly. "Young people these days, and the doctor-patient relationship now, really... I'm just stitching up a wound for you, and you're looking at me with such hostility. If you keep this up, my hand might shake."
He snapped back to reality from the plot and took a deep breath to relax his body. Then, he moved his gaze, filled with a murderous intent, away from the doctor in irritation.
Suddenly, the door to the ward was pushed open, followed by a soft, melodious meow. A slender figure appeared in the doorway, with a small nurse trailing behind.
"You can't bring pets into the hospital! Sir, stop right there, stop!" Ye Zhizhou turned his head at the sound of the cat's meow, and his gaze met Cen Yuebai's calm and emotionless eyes. In an instant, he confirmed the other's identity. The jealousy he had suppressed surged up again, and he pounded the bed in anger, exhaling sharply, "You unfaithful man! How dare you cheat on me! We're done! Divorce! I won't be with you anymore!"
The little cat stared at him, its tiny voice trembling as it let out a meow.
Shen Zixia was also stunned.
The doctor and nurse were dumbfounded.
Cen Yuebai quickly took a few steps forward, grabbed the doctor's hand, and stared into the doctor's eyes with a cold tone. "Don't let your hand tremble; he'll feel the pain."
There was a murderous aura!
The doctor swallowed hard, nodded stiffly, and focused his thoughts on the wound. In his mind, he couldn't help but sigh countless times about the doctor-patient relationship nowadays... being a doctor was so difficult.