The bathrooms on the ground floor were relatively far from the entrance. Shi Jin pushed David there, keeping a deliberate silence as he waited for the man to speak.

Sure enough, once they rounded a corner and were out of sight from the crowd in the emergency room, David asked, as casual as can be, “You called that person ‘Brother Nine’—is that your brother? He looks very young.”

Hey, you sure don’t beat around the bush—you asked about the key person right off the bat.

Continuing to pretend to be an easy mark, Shi Jin surrendered information without a blink: “No, Brother Nine is Jun-sh… Uh, my boss left him in charge here. He’s almost thirty, he just has a baby face.”

“Almost thirty? Oh, I am sorry, I always have trouble estimating the age of Chinese people. Um… This hospital looks really empty. Aren’t there any patients here?” David continued to ask “casually.”

On the inside, Shi Jin ridiculed the man for being so impatient, but played along on the surface. “No, this hospital has been contracted by my boss and is not receiving outside patients for the time being. Your group is a special case.”

David was apparently a poor boy because he seemed shocked by how the rich boss did things. “Contracted? Really? It must cost a lot of money to contract such a high-end hospital. Why did he do it, is someone from his family sick?”

Yeah, this guy really lacks patience.

Shi Jin sighed. He felt he’d overestimated Meng La’s acting skills.

In order not to appear too fake, he made sure to show vigilance and said in a hard voice, “I’m sorry, I can’t answer that, this is my boss’s private matter. Here’s the bathroom, feel free to use it.” After saying this, he rushed for the last few steps and drove David’s chair into the bathroom.

David noticed the shift in tone. Upon entering the bathroom, he checked Shi Jin’s expression in the large mirror over the sink. Seeing that the young doctor’s face was wary enough that it was visible despite the mask on his face, David turned to look at him and said, giving an awkward smile, “I am sorry. I am very curious and always ask too much questions, my mom always scolds me for that. Thank you for bringing me here. If I offended you just now, I am sorry, please forgive my rudeness.” 

Shi Jin looked at him, wavered, and slowly let his expression relax. He hesitated for a moment, then said, tone easing, “No, you didn’t offend me, it’s just… Oh, I might just be too sensitive, and I can’t say anything about my boss’s affairs. Anyway, thank you for saving my colleagues. Please use the toilet quickly if you can—I’ve been away from Dr. Long for too long and I’m sure he’ll reprimand me.”

“Ah, I am sorry. Sure, I will take care of it right away,” David replied immediately. He grabbed the armrests of the wheelchair and tried to stand up, but despite several tries, his legs failed to cooperate. Embarrassed, he gave Shi Jin an imploring glance.

Shi Jin watched his performance without speaking. When he deemed the time was right, he blinked, as if waking up from a momentary daze, and hurried forward. “I’m sorry, I forgot about your leg injury,” he said, sheepish. “Come on, I’ll help you up. Careful now.”

“Thank, thank you.” With help, David finally stood up, and tried to put a hand on Shi Jin’s shoulder.

Xiao Si screamed, <Stay away from him, JinJin! Your progress bar jumped to 980!>

At the system’s warning, Shi Jin’s eyebrows jumped up. He turned, “accidentally” kicking the wheelchair away, then pretended to stumble to one side and pushed David to the ground. He also used the man as a cushion and, while he was at it, “unintentionally” drove his elbow into his stomach.

“Urgh.”

David didn’t expect this to happen. Because of his leg injury, he couldn’t exert enough strength to maintain his balance, and since his hand was raised when he fell, he didn’t manage to protect his stomach, so he received full damage from Shi Jin’s “accidental” attack. The acid in his stomach was squeezed up the back of his throat, his fingers clenching into claws; he wanted to crush Shi Jin’s throat and throw him away.

Xiao Si shrieked again.

Shi Jin jumped to his feet, then swept down again and grabbed David’s arm, his voice full of anxiety, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I tripped over the wheelchair! Are you alright? How’s your wound? I didn’t fall on it, did I?”

As he spoke, he twisted again and held down the uninjured leg David was about to lift and attack with. “Show me your wound,” he said, pulling at the man’s pants. “I’m sorry, blame me for being so clumsy.”

His pants were being pulled down, his legs were pressed into the floor, and his stomach was still hurting. David’s heart burned with desire to strangle the damn little doctor, but now he was laid on his back with limited mobility and the situation was too disadvantageous for him, so he had to give up on the idea for the moment. He tried to bend his legs. “No, you didn’t fall on it, it’s fine. Can you help stand up first? I feel a little uncomfortable lying on the floor like this.”

Xiao Si relaxed a little. <The progress bar fell down to 970, but you’re still in danger, JinJin. Please be careful, all right?>

“I know, don’t worry,” Shi Jin placated the system. Keeping the embarrassed expression on his face, he grabbed Meng La’s arm and helped him up, making sure to stand a bit behind the man, in a position that was difficult to attack. “I’m really really sorry, this is all my fault. Do you want me to help you hold your pants?”

Hold my pants?

David’s expression distorted for a second, and the slight doubt that appeared in his mind due to Shi Jin’s too-perfect positioning dissipated in an instant. He threw Shi Jin a sideways glance.

Shi Jin looked back at him with innocent eyes, saying as if it was obvious, “Your clothes are too thick, it would be inconvenient for you to move. I’ll help you hold your pants so you can hold the urinal with both hands to support yourself. If you have to use one hand hold your pants, you might stumble and fall in or piss yourself, which wouldn’t be good.”

David was shocked that Shi Jin could discuss the topic of urination without batting an eyelid. “No, it’s fine, I can do it myself,” he said, fending off Shi Jin’s hand with determination.

“Oh, you don’t have to be embarrassed, we’re both men. Plus, I’m a doctor. Not only have I seen that thing plenty of times, I’ve also dissected it. So you don’t have to worry, I’m used to it. Besides, they’re all basically the same when they’re cut off.” Shi Jin was eager to help.

With the inexplicable feeling that his “younger brother” had gone cold, David shook his head, still refusing. “No, I really can manage by myself.” 

“Oh, if you’re sure.” Looking regretful, Shi Jin took a few steps back and stood still, watching David’s movements.

David felt as if he was forced to eat shit. “…Aren’t you going to turn around?”

Turn around? Are you kidding? I’m not suicidal.

Shi Jin rolled his eyes on the inside, but the expression on his face remained earnest and caring. “No, I’m worried you’ll fall in the middle of urinating and hurt yourself, so I’m going to stay with you just in case. Don’t worry, from here, I can’t see anything.”

David decided he’d made a rather serious mistake. He shouldn’t have chosen such a young doctor—the kid might’ve been naive and easy to trick, but it was offset by him being overzealous and hard to get rid of.

The plan needed to be carried out as soon as possible, he didn’t have much time to waste here. Unfortunate as it was, he had to give up on killing the doctor for the moment and get his work done instead.