"Yes, a grand reunion ending." Bai Chuanxia handed over the manuscript. He noticed Hashimoto Arina's phone on the desk. She didn't usually have a habit of using her phone. It was casually tossed aside, suggesting she had just finished a call, and then broke down in tears while slumped on the desk. The damp stains on her sleeve confirmed this guess, right up until he walked in.
"Arina-sis, you look upset. Did you have a difficult patient?"
Hashimoto Arina also noticed the tear stains on her sleeve and covered her forehead with her hand. "Honestly, I was trying to maintain my persona as a cheerful older sister who bravely faces difficulties, but you saw my weak side. Go ahead and laugh if you want to." She then shrugged casually, giving him an expression that invited ridicule.
Bai Chuanxia didn't let her change the subject. He said with a joking tone, "If you're in trouble, Arina-sis, you can tell me. Don't let this appearance fool you; I'm very, very rich." Although he drew the manga with a cynical motive, his works still brought him a very considerable income.
"Don't talk like a rich old man, you jerk!" Hashimoto Arina reached up and tapped his head, then waved her hand. "It's nothing serious. Your big sister can handle it."
"Is it..." Bai Chuanxia lowered his voice, testing the waters, "about your boyfriend?" He remembered the two nurses gossiping in the hallway the day he got the app, mentioning they saw Hashimoto Arina getting into a handsome young man's Porsche.
The cheerful smile on Hashimoto Arina's face gradually faded, replaced by a maternal, affectionate one. "Adults have adult troubles, too."
In that instant, Bai Chuanxia clearly felt a river hiding beneath her smile. The two of them were standing on opposite banks. They could see each other and talk happily, but they had no way to cross to the other side.
"I'm not a child!" Bai Chuanxia became agitated. Beyond the system's reward, he genuinely liked this cheerful older sister. Now wasn't the best time, but the 93 Affection Level on the system gave him a sliver of hope. "I... I like..."
The word 'like' was muffled as a small hand covered his lips.
In Hashimoto Arina's eyes, there was alarm, fear, and confusion. She looked at him and gently shook her head.
A feeling of intense frustration swelled up in Bai Chuanxia. He reached up, grasping her arm, intending to pull her hand away, but he didn't apply any force. He read an imploration in Hashimoto Arina's eyes—the fear and confusion of being afraid to lose something.
Bai Chuanxia's heart instantly softened, and his arm relaxed.
They held the gaze until Bai Chuanxia started having trouble breathing. Only then did Hashimoto Arina hastily release him. She frantically stood up, patting his back, her usual composure gone. She was flustered. "Sorry, sorry, Xia! Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Bai Chuanxia raised a hand to stop her, took a few deep breaths, and when his breathing stabilized, he forced a smile. "I'm fine. I was just trying to say I like the ending. I'm sure Arina-sis will like it too."
Hashimoto Arina's movements paused. She looked at the manuscript. Unlike his usual drafts, this one was clearly drawn with more care. The characters seemed more three-dimensional, and every line felt infused with emotion, as if the figures were about to come alive.
"I just came to drop off the manuscript today. Once you've read it, remember to tell me your critique." He finished, waved his hand, and turned to walk out the door.
Hashimoto Arina didn't see him out this time, but after watching Bai Chuanxia leave the office, a worried expression crossed her face. She carefully took small steps to the doorway, peeked out half her face, and only when she watched Bai Chuanxia slowly enter his ward did she withdraw her gaze.
She sat back at her desk, picked up the manuscript, and began reading carefully, page by page. Touching the raised textures on the paper, it was as if she could see the young man, filled with a certain expectation, pouring his emotions into every stroke, outlining the ending she wanted to see.
As she turned the pages, a few tears fell onto the paper. Hashimoto Arina instantly became flustered, hurriedly wiping the tears from the manuscript with her sleeve, terrified of damaging the drawing.
In the ward, Bai Chuanxia lay on the bed, staring blankly. He had started to question his life. The big 93 Affection Level on the app was definitely not a hallucination. He even suspected the total was out of a thousand, because under normal game settings, reaching a 93 Affection Level would mean the target would cooperate fully with any pose.
But his rationality quickly dismissed this theory. If the max score was 1000, the exchange items in the store would never cost just two digits. It wouldn't make sense for him to clear out the store after conquering just one target.
Undeniably, the app worked on a 100-point scale. But why did an Affection Level as high as 93 still result in a failed confession? Bai Chuanxia was utterly stumped.
He pondered this until the afternoon when Mizukui came to the ward to pick up the original manuscript.
"What are you thinking about? You seem distracted." Mizukui still had an unlit cigarette in her mouth. She stood by the bed, her 179cm height and long legs making her look tall, like a model just stepping off a fashion runway.
Bai Chuanxia couldn't find an answer. With a mindset of nothing to lose, he asked, "If a certain girl has a very high affection for you, say 93 out of 100, but still rejects your confession, why would that be?" He looked up at Mizukui, hoping for a constructive answer.
But he quickly realized that Mizukui's gaze was filled with pity. After a moment, she said, "Is there a possibility that her affection for you is just your misperception? You just think she has affection for you."
"..." Bai Chuanxia's mouth twitched. He knew Mizukui must think he was delusional now. But the situation was awkward. He couldn't exactly pull out his phone and shove the '93 Affection Level' in her face.
Mizukui saw his mournful look and seemed to feel she'd been too blunt. She thumped her own head with her fist, then sat down casually on the edge of the bed, legs spread.
"First, in reality, it's impossible to accurately quantify affection as a number. Because, many times, we don't even truly know our own hearts."
Bai Chuanxia's eyes lit up. He seemed to have grasped something and quickly urged, "Keep going."
Mizukui pulled a lighter out of her pocket, intending to light the cigarette, but remembering they were in a hospital, she simply played with the lighter in her hand. "Even if someone likes you very much, there are many other factors, such as different life philosophies, different genders, a blood relationship, the other person being married, and so on."
"I see!" Bai Chuanxia felt a sudden enlightenment, like a week-long constipation finally cleared by a laxative. His mind was unblocked.
Yes, reality wasn't a game. In games, once the Affection Level reached a certain point, you could ask the target anything, and the heroine wouldn't refuse. But reality was different. Even with affection, other factors had to be considered. Since getting the app, he had made the mistake of thinking like a gamer, marveling at the system's magic while ignoring real-world complexities.
Bai Chuanxia began to list the potential issues between them:
The six-year age gap.
The doctor-patient relationship, which could be seen as immoral.
Medically, he was a patient who could die at any moment.
Hashimoto Arina had a rumored boyfriend.
After listing these, Bai Chuanxia felt deflated. His body slumped back onto the bed. When he first got the app, not knowing its function, he chose Hashimoto Arina based on affection, which resulted in a Hell Mode scenario. The app gave him hope for survival, and reality had just delivered a painful blow.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Mizukui asked, seeing his expression change abruptly from bright-eyed to utterly lifeless.
"I can't give up." Bai Chuanxia wasn't one to easily surrender. Having lived a second life, what else did he have to fear? He now had to change what he could and then find a way for Hashimoto Arina to accept what he couldn't change.
And information would be the key to victory. He had to know everything about her rumored boyfriend.
Bai Chuanxia looked down at his legs. Collecting information himself was impossible. His gaze fell on Mizukui. With her handsome appearance and being female, even if caught tailing someone, she could easily brush it off with an excuse.
Bai Chuanxia looked at Mizukui and suddenly said seriously, "Mizukui, there's something I need your help with. It's difficult to ask, but I can only rely on you." He did his best to look sincere, holding Mizukui's gaze.
Mizukui was startled. Seeing his sincere eyes, the lighter slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor. Being stared at by Bai Chuanxia's sincere gaze made her uneasy. She crossed her arms, meeting his eyes without flinching. She said slowly, word by word, "We grew up together, and I've always treated you as my best brother."
"Exactly," Bai Chuanxia nodded earnestly. "That's why I can only ask you. Can you understand? I don't trust anyone else."
Mizukui leaned back slightly, realizing she couldn't argue. He made too much sense. He had been bedridden, never dated anyone. Even if he found a call girl, his physical condition would make him feel inferior. And since he had no other friends, she really was the only one who could help him.
His life could end at any time. At 18, he was stuck in a hospital bed. The calling card she gave him yesterday probably triggered this reaction. She herself was partially to blame.
Mizukui's expression shifted back and forth. Just as she had said, she had always viewed Bai Chuanxia as her best brother, without any romantic feelings. But if she didn't help her best brother fulfill his one request, it would be a truly miserable end for him.
Mizukui took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and met Bai Chuanxia's gaze. She said seriously, "Fine. But you know I only like women. That won't change." She didn't want their relationship to become complicated because of this.
Bai Chuanxia was confused. He didn't understand why Mizukui felt the need to emphasize her sexual orientation, but hearing that she was willing to help, his face instantly lit up with surprise and he nodded. "Of course, I know that."