Chapter 49 This Feeling, So Comfortable

“An ill omen?” Tan Xiaoxiao was a little surprised, not understanding why Lin Siyu would ask such a question.

Nevertheless, she answered seriously, “According to the dictionary, an ill omen refers to an inauspicious sign. If you sensed something was wrong before you fell, that could be considered an ill omen. But now that the bad thing has already happened, it can no longer be called an omen.”

Although Tan Xiaoxiao’s science grades weren’t particularly impressive, she was quite accomplished in the humanities.

“So, I misunderstood him? He wasn’t wrong, I really did have an ill omen…” Lin Siyu muttered softly.

“Him? Who is he?” Tan Xiaoxiao’s sharp intuition picked up on the most important detail.

Lin Siyu hadn’t yet answered when a voice spoke up from behind Tan Xiaoxiao, “See? I told you there was an ill omen hanging over you, but you refused to believe me. This injury could have been avoided. But you wouldn’t listen, you wouldn’t let me dispel the omen for you. Now you’ve suffered for it, haven’t you? Regret it now?”

It was Li Sicheng.

Seeing Lin Siyu fall, he’d hurried over without delay.

Tan Xiaoxiao assumed Li Sicheng had come to stir up trouble. She glared at him and scolded, “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you see Siyu is already hurt? And you come over here to mock her!” Only after the words were out did she suddenly realize something and exclaimed, “Wait—what did you say? You knew Siyu was going to have bad luck? How is that possible!”

Lin Siyu, on the other hand, felt deeply embarrassed.

Only now did she realize she’d misunderstood Li Sicheng—not just once, but several times. She wanted to apologize, but couldn’t bring herself to say the words, so she muttered, trying to justify herself, “How was I supposed to know you meant that kind of omen…”

“Then what kind of omen did you think I meant?” Li Sicheng pressed.

“I thought…” Lin Siyu’s cheeks burned with embarrassment; she simply couldn’t say it aloud.

She couldn’t possibly tell Li Sicheng that she had confused ‘omen’ with ‘brassiere,’ could she?

Such a thing was far too mortifying to admit!

Fortunately, Li Sicheng didn’t force her to answer. Instead, he turned to Tan Xiaoxiao, who was squatting in front of Lin Siyu. “Tan, could you please move aside?”

His words were simple, his tone ordinary, yet there seemed to be a peculiar magic to them; Tan Xiaoxiao obediently stood up and shifted away.

“Thank you.” Li Sicheng nodded to her, then squatted down, reaching for Lin Siyu’s ankle, intent on rolling up her trouser leg and removing her shoe.

“What…what are you doing?” Lin Siyu was startled by his sudden action and quickly tried to pull her foot away.

Seeing this, Tan Xiaoxiao became angry as well. She reached out to push Li Sicheng. “What do you think you’re doing? In broad daylight, you dare act like a scoundrel?”

“Don’t move!” Li Sicheng said quietly, tightening his grip just enough that Lin Siyu couldn’t withdraw her foot.

At the same time, without turning his head, he said to Tan Xiaoxiao, “Tan, could you try to keep your thoughts a bit more positive? I’m taking off Lin Siyu’s shoe to check her injury. If her ankle’s sprained, how are you supposed to know how bad it is through a shoe and pant leg?”

“Uh…sorry, I misunderstood you.” Tan Xiaoxiao was straightforward by nature; once she realized her mistake, she apologized without the slightest hesitation.

Li Sicheng’s movements were gentle, and while removing the shoe, he didn’t cause Lin Siyu the least discomfort.

After the shoe was off, he started to take off her sock as well.

Lin Siyu’s face flushed scarlet.

For many girls, feet were a rather private part of the body. Though she’d worn sandals in summer, Lin Siyu had never let any boy cradle her foot so closely before.

She instinctively tried to pull her foot away, but Li Sicheng’s grip was like an iron clamp, leaving her no chance of escape.

Unable to help herself, she pleaded, “Could you not take off my sock?”

Li Sicheng replied impatiently, “If I don’t take it off, how am I supposed to see how badly you’re hurt? It’s just your ankle, it’s not like I haven’t seen one before.”

“You…you scoundrel!” Now, Lin Siyu’s cheeks were red and her eyes were rimmed with tears, sparkling and ready to fall.

She felt wronged—not because Li Sicheng insisted on removing her sock, but because she was reminded of their encounter the previous night. That made her feel as if his words just now held a hidden meaning, as if he were saying, “I’ve already seen all of you, so why be shy about your ankle?”

Wasn’t that teasing? Wasn’t that the behavior of a scoundrel?

Furious and aggrieved, Lin Siyu glared at him, but Li Sicheng was genuinely bewildered. “What is wrong with you? Do you have no conscience? I’m helping you out of kindness, but instead of being grateful, you insult me?”

“How dare you deny it! Tell me, what did you mean by what you just said?” Lin Siyu demanded, gritting her teeth.

Li Sicheng retorted, “What was wrong with what I said? I’ve treated plenty of sprains and strains before—seen more ankles than I can count, alright?”

“Oh…” Lin Siyu froze, her mouth hanging open. “So…that’s what you meant?”

“What else could I have meant?” Li Sicheng replied, exasperated.

Lin Siyu fell silent.

Her face was crimson to the very tips of her ears, and there was no way she could confess the misunderstanding she’d just had.

Standing to the side, Tan Xiaoxiao had witnessed the entire exchange, every word and reaction.

“There’s definitely something going on between those two!”

Tan Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes.

“Siyu, that girl, must be hiding something from me! No way—I have to find a chance to question her later! The relationship between her and that fraud can’t be just ordinary enemies!”

As the sock came off, Lin Siyu’s ankle was revealed for all to see.

Her foot was usually delicate and beautiful, but now it was so swollen from congestion that it looked frightful.

Tan Xiaoxiao gasped at the sight. “Oh my god, it’s really swollen! The whole ankle’s purple—there must be internal bleeding! We’d better get her to the school clinic right away!”

Li Sicheng didn’t reply. He simply ran his fingers gently over Lin Siyu’s swollen ankle, probing carefully.

“What…what are you doing?” After much hesitation, Lin Siyu finally asked.

She had meant to accuse him of taking advantage, but remembering how she’d already misunderstood him several times, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Thankfully, she didn’t—otherwise, she’d just have embarrassed herself again.

“Checking to see if you’ve broken any bones,” Li Sicheng replied, not even looking up.

“Oh.” Lin Siyu answered softly.

Inside, she thought to herself, This feels…surprisingly nice…