The crowd cheered, and Qiqi was once again pushed aside. Then, Rong Yi tugged at her clothes from beside her. "Let's go. They don't need us here anymore."
He stood up as he spoke, brushed off his robes, and walked out the door.
Qiqi watched his carefree retreating figure and smiled knowingly—Rong Yi, are you trying to play the role of a superhero? Appearing just in time at a critical moment and then quietly slipping away once the job is done.
She hesitated, glancing back at Senior Brother Lu's hospital room, wondering if she should say goodbye before leaving.
Just then, Rong Yi had taken two or three steps but stopped again, speaking in a muffled tone without turning around. "If you want to stay here and keep taking care of your senior brother, that's fine too. I'll head back on my own."
Qiqi immediately trotted over cheerfully. "Hey, wait for me! Senior Brother has so many people looking after him, and he's fine now—he doesn't need me. Let's go back together."
She caught up and chattered on. "Rong Yi, you've worked hard. You swapped your heart and soul again this time—are you feeling dizzy? Is anything uncomfortable? Let's take a taxi back. You've been exhausted for so long, no need to squeeze onto the bus with me..."
Rong Yi turned his head and smiled at her. His smile was bright and sunny, truly captivating enough to topple cities.
But as soon as they got into the taxi, he collapsed onto the seat without warning—"thud." Poor kid, swapping heart and soul was too draining, forcibly intervening in someone else's was even more exhausting, and on top of that, he'd lost blood from being sucked in by the Hell's Eye. He'd been holding on with sheer willpower in front of others, but now that he was finally in a safe place, he let himself fall without worry.
The car had already started moving, so Qiqi had no choice but to get Rong Yi home. Fortunately, though he had collapsed, he was still conscious—just too weak to move.
She settled Rong Yi in the back seat. To protect him from bumping his head during the car's jolts, she sat back there too. Rong Yi's head rested on her lap, his long black hair spreading out, covering her entirely.
So, Qiqi bent down and gently brushed his hair behind his ears, carefully shielding his head with her hand.
As she did all this, Rong Yi kept his eyes open, gazing at her from up close. His look was incredibly tender, so soft it seemed ready to drip with water, making Qiqi very uneasy.
Rong Yi, why are you staring at me with that strange look? Your eyes are so bright, like two little flames crackling and burning in your dark phoenix eyes, making my heart flutter nervously.
And his head was resting on her lap, the warm breath of the man occasionally brushing against the girl's skin, leaving Qiqi feeling a bit awkward. Her face gradually turned red.
She prayed the car would speed up, hoping to end this awkwardness sooner, but things never went as she wished. They hit a massive traffic jam, and what should have been a forty-minute drive took nearly an hour and a half.
Rong Yi, however, was delighted by this. He thought that the city's terrible traffic jams had finally come in handy for once. If only it could stay jammed like this forever—how wonderful that would be.
He watched happily as the girl's fair face slowly flushed, eventually turning into a perfectly ripe peach—pink, red, and utterly adorable.
A seductive smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
Finally, they arrived home. Qiqi quickly got out of the car, but Rong Yi still lay motionless in the back seat.