The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Looking at Zhi Qiu, who was sobbing loudly on her lap, Ye Shu felt a pang of sadness and heartache.

Throughout, Zhi Qiu has always presented herself to him as gentle, reliable, and capable of handling everything with ease.

She can manage her life well, comfort herself when she is unhappy, and lend a helping hand when she encounters difficulties.

Over time, in Ye Shu's mind, and in the minds of others, they would subconsciously feel that Sister Zhi Qiu was mature and strong, able to calmly deal with everything, and would not be easily defeated.

He relied on this reliability and became accustomed to this gentleness, to the point that he overlooked one thing: the true nature behind this maturity.

Ultimately, Zhi Qiu is just a personality derived from Xiao Xue.

Although she has a maturity beyond her years and plays the role of the eldest sister in the family, if you count from the moment she was born, her biological age is actually younger than Xiaoxue's.

She too was once a blank slate, and she too needed to grope her way to growth in the dark. She too felt fear, unease, and even breakdowns.

The reason she was able to withstand it might simply be because, before, there was no one she could trust to withstand it without breaking down.

Until now, until Ye Shu almost suddenly disappeared in front of her.

Ye Shu sighed softly, then slowly raised his hand and gently patted Zhi Qiu's head.

This was the first time he had touched Zhi Qiu's head. Although it was no different from Xiao Nuan and Xiao Xue's, it still felt different.

"Sister Zhi Qiu, I...I'm fine, I'm right here. Don't worry, when I was little, I had my fortune told, and the fortune teller said I had a very strong destiny and would live to be a hundred years old."

He couldn't find any other way to comfort him for the time being. After all, who could say for sure about life and death in the future? No one dared to make a 100% guarantee.

Zhi Qiu's crying gradually subsided, turning into continuous sobs.

She slowly raised her hand, tears welling in her eyes, and looked at Ye Shu. Her usual composure in the face of everything was gone; all that could be seen now was vulnerability.

Looking at her pitiful state, Ye Shu felt a lump in her throat and her eyes welled up with tears.

He quickly closed his eyes, forcing back the tears, and gave Zhi Qiu a slightly awkward smile.

"Sister Zhi Qiu, don't cry."

He reached out and gently touched her face, wiping away her tears.

"It's okay, it's really okay. If you cry like this, people outside will think I'm seriously injured."

Zhi Qiu didn't say anything, she just stared at him.

After crying for a while, releasing all the fear and bitterness I had been holding in, the heavy feeling that had been weighing on my heart also flowed away with my tears. At least I didn't feel like I couldn't breathe like before.

Seeing Ye Shu trying to smile at her even though she was about to burst into tears, she felt a warmth in her heart.

She moved forward a little, stretched out her arms and hugged Ye Shu's neck, then lay on top of him and pressed her face against his neck.

Ye Shu gently hugged her and patted her back to comfort her.

Zhi Qiu closed her eyes, nuzzled her face against Ye Shu's neck, and said:

"Little Shu, you must be very careful from now on, okay?"

Ye Shu immediately nodded:

"Yes, I promise. I will be more careful from now on. When crossing the street, I will be more observant and attentive to my surroundings. When walking, I will watch my step and the sky above me. When going down the stairs, I will take one step at a time. I will practice the 'thousand-pound drop' technique when I get back."

The joke was lame. Zhi Qiu just stirred slightly in his arms, it was hard to tell whether she was nodding or wiping away tears.

Then, she sniffed and continued:

"Then you can't just leave suddenly, understand? You can't make your sister so scared again, understand?"

"Yes, I promise, I'll always be fine and lively. We'll always be together, just like now, just like before, just like every day from now on."

As Ye Shu spoke, she hugged Zhi Qiu even tighter.

These words may sound a bit sentimental, but they truly reflect Ye Shu's current thoughts.

"That……"

Zhi Qiu spoke again:

"Little Shu has to dance for me when he gets back, okay?"

"Okay, I'll dance for you when I get back, until you're satisfied... um?"

Ye Shu agreed without thinking, the words just slipping out of his mouth. It wasn't until he finished speaking that his mind processed what he'd said.

Ye Shu looked down into her arms and saw Zhi Qiu looking up at her. Her tears were still wet on her face, and her eyes and nose were red, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, her usual smile.

Oh no, we've fallen for their trap again!

Why do I always get scammed?

"Um, Sister Zhi Qiu, about dancing..."

Ye Shu tried to discuss it and see if there was any room for negotiation.

"Waaaaah... Little Shu... Waaaaah..."

Zhi Qiu didn't give him any chance at all. She lowered her head and pressed her face against his neck again. But her crying was too fake. It was more like she was being unreasonable than crying.

"No, Sister Zhi Qiu, listen to me, this thing..."

"Waaaaah..."

"What I mean is, actually, his dance..."

"Waaaaah..."

As soon as Ye Shu opens her mouth, Zhi Qiu starts whimpering.

Ye Shu was speechless. Wasn't this just being a scoundrel? But he really had no way to deal with this kind of scoundrel.

"Alright, alright, stop crying. I'll jump, I'll jump, okay? But it's a promise, just once."

"Okay then."

Zhi Qiu sat up from his arms and stopped crying.

Although her eyes were swollen from crying, they have now closed up again, and the corners of her mouth are slightly upturned.

Seeing her looking so much better after the storm, Ye Shu simply took two tissues from the bedside table and gently wiped away her tears.

"Look at you crying! Don't you want your eyes to stay in this state? How swollen will they be tomorrow morning?"

"Your sister feels sorry for you."

Zhi Qiu didn't dodge; she simply tilted her head slightly upwards and cooperated with Ye Shu in wiping her face.

Wiping away her tears, Zhi Qiu blinked and looked at Ye Shu, asking:

"Little Shu, are you hungry? I'll go buy something to eat, it's almost noon."

Ye Shu touched her stomach. To be honest, after experiencing such a rollercoaster of emotions, she didn't feel anything.

"I'm not very hungry yet..."

"But my sister is hungry."

Zhi Qiu smiled at Ye Shu:

"I'm crying because I'm hungry."

Indeed, crying, especially heart-wrenching crying, is very physically demanding. That's why many people feel exhausted after crying, and some even fall asleep while crying.

After Zhi Qiu finished speaking, she leaned over again and gently kissed Ye Shu on the cheek.

"Little Shu, wait for me to come back. I'm going to buy lunch, I'll be right there."

After saying that, she turned and went to the bathroom to wash her face with cold water, but her eyes were already swollen. The cold water made them even redder, making her look pitiful yet stubbornly beautiful.

After Zhi Qiu left the ward, Ye Shu was left alone again.

Ye Shu looked at the small stain on his pants that Zhi Qiu had cried through, and thought about many things.

On one hand, he felt guilty. He hadn't expected that his accident would frighten Zhi Qiu so much, and he felt very remorseful.

But on the other hand, he was also a little happy.

Yes, I'm happy.

For four years of university, I was away from home, living alone. Getting sick and injured were common occurrences.

He went to the hospital for an IV drip when he had a bad cold, fell off his bike and broke his arm and leg, and suffered from acute gastroenteritis, vomiting and diarrhea all night long... During these times, it's not that he wasn't afraid, or that he didn't want people to care about him.

But whenever he received a call from home, he still made it a habit to only report good news and not bad news, so as not to cause trouble for his family.

After all, we live so far away, even if we told them, it wouldn't do any real good except make our family anxious.

At that time, I really had to tough it out on my own, gritting my teeth and enduring the pain, taking care of myself in the hospital.

But now, there is someone who, because of an accident, will rush over and throw themselves into your arms, crying uncontrollably.

Her tears and her breakdown were telling him, Ye Shu, that someone cares about you, and that your safety affects someone else's entire being.

It seems I really need to be more careful about everything from now on.

Because now, it seems that his life no longer truly belongs to him alone.