Reborn not to be a beast of burden, I set the rules.

The nurse disinfected the area with iodine and applied an ice pack. Ye Ming frowned slightly but remained silent.

Xu Wei stared at his back, at the bruise, feeling as if something was gripping her heart tightly.

She suddenly remembered that moment when he had shielded her in his arms, his back to the speeding mountain bike.

She lay on top of him, completely unharmed.

And he...

The nurse treated the wound, gave a few instructions, and then turned to leave.

Xu Wei walked to Ye Ming's side.

She reached out and gently touched the uninjured skin on the side of his back. Her fingertips were very light, as if afraid of hurting him.

"Does it hurt?" she asked softly.

Ye Ming turned his head to look at her: "It doesn't hurt."

Xu Wei didn't believe it. She looked at the bruise, her eyes reddening, her voice trembling, "Why...why did you do that?"

Ye Ming paused for a second: "How?"

"I'll use myself to block it." Xu Wei bit her lip. "Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?"

Ye Ming thought for a moment and said, "There's no time to think."

Xu Wei was stunned.

She lowered her head so he wouldn't see her reddened eyes.

After a while, she whispered, "What you just said..."

Ye Ming didn't say anything.

Xu Wei looked up at him and said, "Tell me, it would be such a waste if such a handsome face were to fall onto the curb."

Ye Ming turned his face away.

What did I say? If I don't acknowledge it, then it doesn't exist.

"I didn't say that," he said in a muffled voice. "You misheard."

As soon as he spoke, his neck turned red.

Xu Wei stared at the red for two seconds.

Her eyes were curved like crescent moons.

"Oh." She nodded, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Then I must have misheard."

Ye Ming didn't say anything and started getting dressed.

Xu Wei stood there, watching him put on his shirt and button it up one button at a time.

He didn't look at her.

But she noticed that his neck and the base of his ears were still red.

Xu Wei didn't say anything more.

But the smile in his eyes grew stronger and stronger.

It was almost eight o'clock when I left the hospital.

The streetlights were blindingly bright, and cars and people were coming and going on the street.

Ye Ming took out his phone from his pocket and glanced at it.

The upper right corner of the screen shattered into a spiderweb pattern, a large area went black, and the touchscreen became noticeably sluggish.

He rubbed the crack with his thumb without saying a word.

Xu Wei leaned closer and saw the shattered screen; her heart clenched.

"Your phone... broke because of me..."

Ye Ming put his phone back in his pocket: "It still works, it won't affect anything."

Ye Ming looked around: "Where do you live? I'll take you home."

Xu Wei was taken aback for a moment, and wanted to say no, but when she met his gaze, she swallowed her words.

"Gulou, Longjiang Residential Area," she said softly. "If you take the bus, you'll have to transfer."

Ye Ming nodded and walked towards the bus stop.

Xu Wei followed behind, watching his back.

The streetlights shone on him; his shoulders were straight, and his steps were neither hurried nor slow.

Even after being hit like that, he still walks steadily.

She suddenly felt much more at ease.

This person seems capable of handling anything.

The bus wasn't crowded, and they sat in the last row.

Xu Wei leaned against the window, and Ye Ming sat beside her.

The only sound in the carriage was the hum of the engine. Occasionally, there would be a bump, and the two men's arms would lightly touch each other before separating again.

Xu Wei turned her head to look at him.

He leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, his face expressionless.

The light from the streetlamp flashed past the window and fell on his face, his silhouette appearing and disappearing in the flickering light.

She remembered what he had just said.

"Such a beautiful face, it would be such a waste if it bumped into a curb."

She remembered him raising his hand, extending it halfway, and then withdrawing it.

She remembered the blush spreading across his neck when he turned his face away and said "I didn't say anything."

And just now, when he was buttoning his clothes, there was that little red mark behind his ear.

The corners of his mouth unconsciously curved upwards.

This person is really interesting.

On the bus, Xu Wei leaned against the window and suddenly asked in a low voice, "That old policeman was talking about... which young girl was it on Zhujiang Road?"

Ye Ming was silent for a second.

Why is this girl asking so many questions?

"A friend."

Xu Wei said "Oh" and didn't ask any further questions.

Twenty minutes later, the car arrived at the station.

The two got out of the car and walked into Longjiang Residential Area.

This area is one of the earlier residential areas in Huijing, built around 2000. The buildings are not tall, but the greenery is quite nice.

Under the dim streetlights, there were several osmanthus trees, and a faint fragrance wafted in the air.

Xu Wei stopped in front of a six-story building.

"I've arrived." She turned to look at him.

Ye Ming nodded: "Let's go up."

Xu Wei didn't move.

She looked at him, opened her mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Ye Ming didn't say anything either.

After a few seconds of silence, Xu Wei whispered, "Be careful when you go back, don't get the injury on your back wet."

Ye Ming hummed in agreement.

Xu Wei turned and went upstairs. After taking a few steps, she looked back again.

Ye Ming was still standing there, the streetlights shining on him, his face half-lit and half-shadowed, making it impossible to see his expression.

She waved to him.

Ye Ming also raised his hand and waved.

My benefactor from a past life, I am truly repaying your kindness this time.

Then he turned around and walked out of the residential area.

Xu Wei stood at the entrance of the building, watching his figure walk further and further away.

The streetlights cast a long shadow over him.

She suddenly felt that with someone like that by her side, she had nothing to fear.

Xu Wei returned home, threw herself onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling for a long time.

The wound on his elbow, the cracked thumb he rubbed, the words "no time to think," the "what a pity" spoken so softly as if to himself, the hand he raised and then withdrew, the red spreading across his neck, and that steady, upright figure under the streetlight just now...

All the images were swirling in my mind.

She suddenly remembered what the old policeman had said.

"Was it you who saved that little girl on Zhujiang Road?"

Little girl.

who is it?

She took out her phone and sent a message to Ye Ming:

"Thank you for today."

A few minutes later, my phone vibrated.

Ye Ming's reply was just one word: "Mm".

Xu Wei stared at that word for a long time, both angry and amused: "How could this person be like this!"

But she still unconsciously curved her beautiful eyes into a smile.

She got up and went to knock on her parents' bedroom door.

"Dad, Mom, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

Mom is watching TV, and Dad is reading the newspaper.

The two looked up at the same time and were somewhat surprised to see their daughter's rosy face.

"What's wrong?" Mom patted the seat next to her. "Come sit down."

Xu Wei sat down on the edge of the bed, looking down at her phone as if she was organizing her thoughts.

"Something happened today," she said, her voice softer than usual. "A classmate and I were outside when we were hit by a bicycle."

Her mother's expression changed: "Are you injured?"

"No, no," Xu Wei quickly waved her hand. "I'm fine, nothing's wrong at all."

Her father put down his newspaper and looked at her: "What's wrong?"

Xu Wei was silent for two seconds.

"That classmate..." she paused, "He was hit while protecting me. He scraped his elbow and had a large bruise on his back."

Mom frowned: "Is it that serious?"

"Thankfully, I've already had it treated at the hospital," Xu Wei said. "But..."

She paused, then lowered her voice even further: "His phone broke. It was brand new, he'd only been using it for a short time, and the screen is so cracked it's unusable."

Mom and Dad exchanged a glance.

Dad put down his newspaper and said calmly, "You should pay for it. They saved you, and now your phone is broken. It's only right and proper that they compensate you."

Mom nodded, "That makes sense. Did you get enough New Year's money? If not, Mom and Dad will give you some more."

Xu Wei paused for a moment, then looked up at them.

She had prepared a lot of things to say, wanting to say that the phone really should be replaced, wanting to say that she couldn't be heartless since the other person was injured like that, wanting to say that she wasn't wasting money...

To my surprise, my parents didn't ask anything.

Her heart warmed again.

"That's enough," she said softly. "I just wanted to let you know."

Her mother glanced at her, smiled, and shook her head: "Go on, go to sleep early."

Xu Wei nodded, stood up, and walked out.

As she reached the door, she suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, "Dad, Mom, aren't you going to ask if it's a male or female classmate?"

Dad didn't even look up: "I don't care who it is."

Mom laughed: "Why ask so many questions? You'll tell me when you want to."

Xu Wei paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Goodnight." She closed the door and went back to her room.

Leaning against the door, she took out her phone again and looked at the "hmm".

She remembered that her cousin had posted a picture of her newly bought Apple phone on QQ Space, which seemed to be a grey market import she bought on Zhujiang Road.

She found her cousin's number and sent her a text message: "Sis, where did you buy your iPhone? Come with me to Zhujiang Road tomorrow."

Not long after, my cousin replied, "Okay, I'll take you tomorrow. I promise I won't rip you off. Which one do you want?"

Xu Wei thought for a moment and replied, "The latest kind, the 3GS, white."

My cousin quickly replied with "OK".

Xu Wei smiled slightly.

I'll definitely give him a surprise tomorrow.