Chapter 153: Fingers Entwined

Shen Yijue still held back out of consideration for Mo Qi, not pulling the door handle with full force for fear of hurting her.

Mo Qi said, "Let go."

"Fine, I'll let go, you come out." Shen Yijue released the door handle and took a step back.

Mo Qi continued, "When I come out, you are not allowed to be angry."

She was actually negotiating with him.

The vein at Shen Yijue's temple twitched almost imperceptibly, and grinding his back teeth, he forced out, "Alright."

Having obtained his assurance, Mo Qi pushed the door open just a crack and peered out cautiously through raised eyes.

"Bang!" Seizing the moment, Shen Yijue strode forward and slammed his hand against the door panel. Any reaction from Mo Qi to close it again was out of the question.

Shen Yijue pulled the door open. Mo Qi gave him a sidelong glance, her lips pouting as she muttered, "You're cheating."

Shen Yijue was almost so angry he laughed. Who on earth was the one in the wrong here? And now she was turning the tables to accuse him of cheating.

"What are the examination results?" Seeing the gauze wrapped around Mo Qi's head, Shen Yijue's dark, deep pupils suddenly contracted.

Mo Qi handed over the prescription slip she was holding, blinking her eyes pitifully as she said, "The doctor said the results will only be out in a few days, and told me to rest properly, avoid getting emotional, and strictly refrain from irritability and impatience."

"Are you injured in the brain, or in your heart, liver, and lungs?" Shen Yijue glanced at the slip, turned his expressionless gaze back to Mo Qi, and asked.

"I don't know," Mo Qi blinked. "I'll do whatever the doctor says. One must strictly follow medical advice."

Knowing full well that she was deliberately playing dumb, the sight of the injury on her head made more than half of his anger vanish. Sighing with quiet helplessness, Shen Yijue asked, "Aside from the injury on your head, where else are you hurt?"

How could Mo Qi not know that Shen Yijue's heart had softened? She immediately seized the opportunity, pulling up her sleeves and trouser legs, and even rolling up her clothes a bit to expose the bruises on her body. "Look, they're all injuries, and they hurt so much."

Putting on a pitiful act, Mo Qi blinked twice until the rims of her eyes turned red.

Seeing the several large bruises on her body, Shen Yijue felt a mix of anger and heartache. "What did the doctor say after examining these injuries? Did any of them affect your bones and tendons?"

"They didn't damage my bones or tendons, but they hurt a lot."

The doctor, just stepping out of the examination room, happened to hear this remark. Giving her a strange look, the doctor asked, "Does it hurt a lot? Could there be a hairline fracture that wasn't detected?" During the examination just moments ago, she had clearly claimed it didn't hurt. Both the CT and ultrasound scans had also come back completely normal.

"Actually, it doesn't hurt that much after all." Mo Qi immediately reverted to a gentle and proper expression, nodded at the doctor, and said, "Doctor, sorry to trouble you. I'll go downstairs right now to pay and pick up the medicine."

The doctor looked at Mo Qi, then at Shen Yijue, and couldn't help shaking their head—these young people's ways of interacting were truly incomprehensible. Waving a hand, the doctor said, "Remember to come back in two days to change the dressing."

Once the doctor left, Mo Qi covertly lifted her eyelids, stealing a glance at Shen Yijue out of the corner of her eye.

Shen Yijue looked at her expressionlessly and asked, "Does it hurt a lot?"

Mo Qi remained silent. Shen Yijue continued, "Knowing it hurts a lot, you still dared to put yourself in harm's way?"

Mo Qi muttered, "The warehouse door was locked at the time, even if I wanted to get out, I couldn't." Besides, she intended to send that lunatic straight to prison in one fell swoop; she had no desire to escape early and leave behind such a hidden threat.

Shen Yijue reached out and pressed his hand gently over the gauze on Mo Qi's head, saying in a deep voice, "Mo Qi, don't make me regret letting go." She wanted to spread her wings and fly high, so he reined in his nature and compromised. But if such compromises were to put her in danger, he might just choose to repeat past mistakes.

"No, no, absolutely not." Mo Qi's heart tightened. She quickly cupped Shen Yijue's palm and said earnestly, "You have to trust me. Without absolute certainty, I would never take risks lightly."

"Is your certainty an exchange based on the premise of getting yourself hurt?"

"That was an accident."

"Do you think I can endure a few more accidents like this?" Shen Yijue's gaze was profound. After receiving Xiao Zhang's call, he had spent every moment reminding himself to trust Mo Qi, to believe she could handle the situation well. Yet his mind refused to obey, constantly conjuring the worst possible outcomes. None of those outcomes were acceptable to him, whichever one it might be.

Mo Qi was left speechless. She knew Shen Yijue's anger stemmed entirely from his care and concern for her, and precisely because of that, she was willing to lower her stance first.

The two remained silent for a moment until Mo Qi broke the silence, "Shall we go downstairs to get the medicine first?"

Shen Yijue glanced at her and turned to walk toward the elevators.

Falling two steps behind, Mo Qi watched his retreating figure and smiled silently before breaking into a light jog to catch up. She reached out to take his palm, murmuring softly, "Actually, I'm really glad you came."

Shen Yijue turned his hand over to grip hers tightly, tilting his head slightly to look down at her.

Mo Qi's hand shifted, her fingers weaving one by one into the gaps between his, interlocking their fingers.

Shen Yijue's muscles tensed for a fraction of a second before he clasped her fingers even tighter.

"Ding." The elevator arrived at their floor. The doors had barely parted when low murmurs drifted out from within.

Mo Qi quickly withdrew her hand, placing it behind her back as if nothing had happened.

The people inside the elevator all glanced up at the pair. At the very front was an elderly man seated in a wheelchair, and pushing the chair from behind appeared to be his daughter.

Behind them stood another three or four people.

Calmly stepping into the elevator, Mo Qi bypassed the elderly man in the wheelchair and walked over to stand in the corner.

Shen Yijue followed her in and stationed himself right beside her.

The compact elevator instantly felt somewhat crowded with the addition of the two of them.

Mo Qi was fine, flanked by the elevator wall on her left and Shen Yijue on her right. But Shen Yijue's imposing aura caused the people nearby to subconsciously give them a sliver of space.

Mo Qi squeezed her palm where their fingers had just been interlocked; her ears grew slightly warm, and her heartbeat quickened far beyond its usual pace.

Wearing dark glasses and staring straight ahead, Shen Yijue naturally extended his left hand toward Mo Qi.

Lowering her gaze without a trace, Mo Qi hesitated for a moment before extending her right hand and placing it into his palm.

Shen Yijue seemed to have developed a preference for the sensation of interlocking fingers. He tightened his grip around Mo Qi's hand, and only then did his previously taut lips slowly relax into an almost imperceptible, faint smile.

With a composed expression, Mo Qi stared straight ahead, though the roots of her ears were burning to the point of spontaneous combustion.

Anyone standing in front of them only needed to turn their head slightly to see their clasped hands. For some inexplicable reason, Mo Qi felt a faint wave of tension.

The descent from the third floor to the first was far too fast. As the occupants of the elevator gradually trickled out, Mo Qi tried to pull her hand away, but Shen Yijue kept his hold, showing no intention of letting go.

Mo Qi murmured under her breath, "Someone's going to see us."

He didn't care if people saw them. Although he thought this, Shen Yijue nevertheless loosened his grip on Mo Qi's hand.

Mo Qi breathed a sigh of relief, while a strange trace of disappointment lingered in her heart. When on earth would she be able to stand openly by Shen Yijue's side in the light of day?

"Let's go." The flush on Mo Qi's ears instantly faded as she stepped out of the elevator first.

Shen Yijue understood Mo Qi's pride. Even though she could easily hand everything over for him to handle, her proud self-respect refused to let her rely on him too heavily.

Regarding this, he felt both appreciation and helplessness.