Chapter 20: The Married Beta Meets a Guy Late at Night

Chapter 20: Married Beta's Late-Night Encounter with a Salesclerk

The corridor was illuminated by incandescent lights, the floor smelled faintly of disinfectant, and an eerie silence hung in the air, broken only by the subtle hum of some distant machinery.

Bai Yu, carrying a white insulated flask, walked past the nurses' station and entered the water dispenser room. A large stainless steel water dispenser dominated the space, its polished surface reflecting his image as he approached.

He placed his flask beneath the tap, pressed the lever, and scalding hot water gushed into the container.

While waiting for the flask to fill, Bai Yu softly hummed a pop song. Suddenly, he noticed a dark shadow in the reflection on the water dispenser, distinct from his own.

Someone was standing behind him, right at the doorway.

Bai Yu's breath caught in his throat. Lingering shadows from the past sent a chill creeping up from the soles of his feet, causing the white insulated flask in his hand to tremble almost imperceptibly.

In the hushed water dispenser room, only the gurgle of boiling water filling the flask could be heard. The dark figure at the door remained motionless, and Bai Yu felt its unwavering gaze fixed upon him.

Was it Qiao Yihan, or had someone else merely stumbled upon the room?

No, if it were anyone else, they would have walked straight to the water dispenser to get water, not stood there silently, unmoving and unspoken.

Three years had passed, yet Qiao Yihan had reappeared. This was a hospital—what sinister act might he commit?

What should he do?

The shadow began to stir, expanding and drawing closer with each deliberate step.

Bai Yu lowered his gaze to the nearly full flask of boiling water, his hand trembling uncontrollably.

When Bai Yu looked up again, the shadow was already directly behind him.

In that critical moment, Bai Yu resolved that if the person behind him was Qiao Yihan, he would splash the boiling water on him, make an immediate escape, and take Bai Li with him.

But upon turning, Bai Yu discovered that the person before him was not Qiao Yihan, but Situ Jing.

Bai Yu's eyes widened in shock. The flask of boiling water in his hand was poised to tip, and even as he instinctively recoiled, some water still sloshed out.

With a sharp hiss, steam billowed as the water hit the floor. A portion splashed onto the back of Bai Yu's hand, leaving a red mark. "Ouch, that's hot!"

Situ Jing seized Bai Yu's scalded hand and held it under the cold water faucet. "So easily startled—are you a sand cat?"

For a fleeting moment, Bai Yu's terrified expression was as if he had encountered some monstrous creature.

"What's a sand cat?" Bai Yu asked, still reeling from the shock, allowing Situ Jing to rinse his hand.

"Look it up yourself."

Bai Yu suspected Situ Jing's comment wasn't complimentary. He reached into his pants pocket with his left hand but found no phone.

A warm hand touched his, then retrieved his phone from his pocket and handed it to him.

Search result: [Sand cats are small felines native to desert regions. They are extremely timid and can even die from excessive fright.]

Bai Yu had indeed been startled—by his own vivid imagination. His heart still pounded. With Situ Jing by his side, he felt a flicker of reassurance, perhaps because he was an S-class Alpha.

They stood in close proximity, Bai Yu leaning against Situ Jing's chest, enveloped by his arms from behind. While such intimacy was ill-suited for a hospital, who would be in the water dispenser room in the dead of night? Since Situ Jing seemed unconcerned, Bai Yu allowed himself the comfort of his embrace.

Bai Yu gazed at his hand, still being rinsed by cold water. "Why did you come here so suddenly?"

Situ Jing retorted coolly, "Didn't you see my message?"

Bai Yu checked his phone and found a message from Situ Jing sent half an hour earlier: [Come down, hospital parking lot.]

Situ Jing had waited in the parking lot for half an hour. When Bai Yu neither appeared nor answered his calls, he grew impatient and came upstairs, just in time to see Bai Yu heading to the water dispenser room with his flask.

"Good thing you didn't splash me."

Indeed, it was fortunate he hadn't scalded Situ Jing; otherwise, he couldn't imagine the repercussions.

Beyond Situ Jing himself, there was his family, a vast business empire. If he had been visibly injured, countless questions would have arisen.

Bai Yu glanced at Situ Jing. He had changed out of his daytime clothes, now wearing a black polo T-shirt that subtly highlighted his well-defined arm muscles, paired with black casual trousers. The absence of logos made the brand indiscernible, but Bai Yu assumed his attire was invariably expensive.

"If I had scalded you, how much would I have to pay?"

"The clothes alone are thirty thousand. If your skin, or even your face, were burned, the medical costs would far exceed that. But don't worry, I wouldn't make you pay—I'd just add a little extra to your workload."

"Oh..."

Situ Jing sensed Bai Yu's mind was still elsewhere, not fully recovered. "How have you survived these twenty-one years being so utterly clueless?"

"I'm not clueless."

"Why does a ladybug have seven legs?"

At first, Bai Yu didn't grasp Situ Jing's meaning, but after a moment, he recalled the ladybug clay sculpture from the insect museum. "Did I really draw seven legs?"

"What do you think?"

After teasing Bai Yu, Situ Jing's somber mood surprisingly lifted.

He leaned closer to Bai Yu's neck, detecting a fresh, sweet candy scent alongside the fig fragrance. "What junk food have you been eating now?"

"It's not junk food—just a lychee-flavored lollipop. The fruit vendor's son gave it to me when I bought fruit."

"You'll eat anything anyone gives you?" Situ Jing tightened his grip on Bai Yu's wrist slightly.

"Ow, why are you squeezing me so hard while rinsing my hand? That kid is adorable, just turned five. I often buy fruit from his family, so we know each other. Is it wrong to accept it?"

A thud echoed from outside the water dispenser room. Bai Li, dressed in blue-and-white striped patient pajamas, appeared at the doorway, having accidentally dropped her phone.

Bai Yu immediately pulled his hand away from Situ Jing's and rushed to pick up the phone for Bai Li. "Why did you come out?"

"I waited for you for ages, and you didn't come back, so I came looking for you."

Bai Li cast a timid glance at Situ Jing. "Brother, who is he?"

"Um..." Bai Yu stammered, "He's my friend. He came to the hospital to see me and, well, to check on you too."

Situ Jing managed a polite, faint smile, offering no contradiction to Bai Yu's explanation.

Bai Li observed, "But it's the middle of the night."

Bai Yu's mind raced, concocting a plausible excuse. "His job involves shifts—morning, afternoon, and night. He just finished his night shift today, so he came by."

"Oh, really? What kind of work does he do?" Bai Li pressed further.

"Ah? Well..."

Situ Jing's demeanor and appearance didn't suggest an ordinary office worker. Given the mention of shift work, the most fitting occupation Bai Yu could conjure was: "Salesclerk."

Situ Jing let out a cold chuckle. A salesclerk? How fitting.

Bai Li approached Bai Yu and looked at his right hand. "Brother, did you get burned?"

"Yeah, I accidentally scalded myself while getting water." The water in the dispenser was freshly boiled, 100°C pure water. After the burn, Situ Jing had Bai Yu rinse it under cold water for twenty minutes to cool it down. The back of his hand hadn't blistered, but it throbbed with a fiery pain.

Situ Jing suggested, "Let's go to the emergency room to get it treated."

At the emergency room, the doctor prescribed Bai Yu a tube of burn ointment. After application, his hand was wrapped in gauze.

On the way back to the ward, an awkward and heavy silence settled among the three.

Bai Yu felt that Situ Jing likely preferred to avoid unnecessary encounters with strangers. If he were more approachable, he might have visited Bai Li at the hospital earlier, and he wouldn't have pulled Bai Yu aside during their hot pot dinner that day.

So, Bai Yu wondered why Situ Jing had come to the hospital in the dead of night to see him.

Was it insomnia?

Since Situ Jing had come in person, Bai Yu knew he would have to leave with him tonight.

Bai Yu told his sister, "I'm going out to eat with my friend. I won't be back at the hospital tonight, and I might have something important to do tomorrow."

"Okay," Bai Li replied, entering the ward and settling into bed. "I'll go to sleep then."

Situ Jing didn't enter, remaining in the hallway, watching from a distance as Bai Yu leaned over to tuck his sister in.

This was the first time Situ Jing had seen Bai Yu when he wasn't with him. There was no wariness, no fawning, just a tender gaze fixed on Bai Li in bed.

It was like raising a cat for a while, believing you were its sole owner, its provider.

Then one day, you follow the cat and witness it bringing bones to another cat, grooming it.

Though you'd long known this stray cat had a sister, the realization that in his world, you, the owner, weren't his primary concern—that his genuine affection and his feigned compliance were so starkly different, and that he even brushed off your hand—stirred an inexplicable resentment in Situ Jing's heart.

This wasn't quite what Situ Jing had anticipated upon his arrival. At the very least, he no longer felt inclined to have another car tryst with Bai Yu.

Bai Yu gathered his belongings, gently closed the ward door, informed the night nurse, and then prepared to go downstairs with Situ Jing.

The night breeze, carrying a hint of moisture, rustled their clothes. Bai Yu softly asked, "Shall we go? Where to?"

Situ Jing turned towards the elevator, tossing over his shoulder, "No need. I'm leaving."

"Leaving?"

Bai Yu sensed Situ Jing was in a foul mood. To come all the way to the hospital in the middle of the night, make an appearance, and then leave alone—he couldn't fathom why. He hurried to catch up.

As they rode the elevator together, Bai Yu asked, "Did you come because you couldn't sleep?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"I'm the salesclerk who couldn't meet today's sales target, got chewed out by the manager with 'If you won't do it, there are plenty who will,' and came straight to you after work to complain about my boss and coworkers," Situ Jing said mockingly.

Bai Yu couldn't tell if Situ Jing was merely teasing or genuinely upset about the excuse he had fabricated.

"If you don't want to keep it a secret, I can tell Bai Li that you're the one helping her."

"Unnecessary. My contract isn't with her, and I don't need her gratitude. That's all there is to it."

The elevator descended slowly, the numbers changing floor by floor. Bai Yu clutched the strap of his crossbody bag. "Are you really sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"No," Situ Jing's voice was cold and unequivocal, without even a glance at Bai Yu.

"Alright, I'll walk you to the parking lot and then come back."

Situ Jing's lips tightened, he exhaled deeply, and shoved his hands into his pockets, appearing even more displeased.

Bai Yu had no idea what he meant. Did he want to go together after all? But it was truly late, and he wasn't particularly keen on going out.

"I've applied the ointment, and it has a bit of a smell. I'll come find you once it's healed," Bai Yu said, raising his burned right hand.

The elevator doors opened, and a night-shift nurse stepped in. Silence fell between them once more.

After Situ Jing drove off, Bai Yu walked back to the inpatient building and sent him a message: [Good night, meow.gif]

In a deserted, dimly lit corner on the third floor of the hospital's outpatient building, a shadowy figure watched the car merge onto the main road, then tossed a cigarette butt to the ground, crushed it underfoot, and departed.