After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Marked by the Beautiful Mad Villain - Chapter 23

The clubhouse and Su Mi’s home were not far apart. Just as she finished telling a fairy tale, Shen Han pulled the car steadily to a stop in front of the villa entrance.

Wen Zisu had received word in advance and was waiting outside the courtyard gate.

As the driver’s side window rolled down, Wen Zisu assumed Su Mi was the one driving. Leaning down, he began to say, “Yaya, I’m sorry, Dad couldn’t today—”

He was caught off guard, locking eyes with Shen Han in the driver’s seat.

For a rare moment, Wen Zisu was stunned. He turned his head toward the back seat and saw his daughter holding his young son, both of them looking back at him.

Wen Zisu couldn’t help but laugh. “Su Mi, why did you have President Shen drive for you?”

Su Mi looked innocent, thinking to herself that she hadn’t asked for this. She pointed to Su Yi in her arms.

“Xiao Yi kept crying for me to hold him,” she explained.

Wen Zisu chuckled, saying, “Oh, you little rascal,” before looking at Shen Han with an apologetic expression. “She’s clearly passed her differentiation period, yet she still acts like she hasn’t grown up. I’ve troubled you today. It was so sudden—Ci Yu and I both couldn’t get away, but we didn’t want to break the appointment.”

Shen Han was very polite. “You’re too kind, Uncle. I happened to be free, and I wanted to visit my alma mater anyway.”

Wen Zisu exchanged a few more polite pleasantries with Shen Han before taking Su Yi from the car.

Su Mi also got out and explained to Wen Zisu that she was going to the hospital with Shen Han to visit a classmate.

Naturally, Wen Zisu agreed without hesitation.

Seeing Su Mi about to pull open the back door again, Wen Zisu reached out and gave her a gentle tug.

“Sit in the front,” he whispered.

Su Mi: “Oh, oh!”

She had almost forgotten.

“I’ll definitely remember next time.”

Su Mi gave Wen Zisu a little wave, quickly opened the passenger door, and sat down.

Shen Han’s cool, elegant face turned toward her. “Which hospital?”

Su Mi projected the navigation onto the vehicle’s smart system.

The car started smoothly, and Shen Han lazily turned the steering wheel with one hand.

Subconsciously, Su Mi stared at her hand for a long time.

Her thoughts began to wander.

The villain’s hands were indeed beautiful. Perhaps because she was an Alpha, her fingers were long and slender, the joints well-defined, and her nails were trimmed clean and neat.

The ring at the base of her finger felt like the finishing touch. Did it have some kind of meaning?

Su Mi recalled some useless trivia she had read before.

Single? A celibate?

Which one was Shen Han? She liked Xu Nanqiao, and an AO union was certainly possible for marriage, so was she just announcing she was single?

Or perhaps it was just an accessory with no attached meaning.

Su Mi didn’t even realize she had been staring for a long time.

It wasn’t until they reached a red light and the car stopped that the index finger in her field of vision tapped on the steering wheel.

Suddenly, the hand left the wheel.

Su Mi followed the movement as the other hand covered it, slightly twisting the pinky ring and pulling it off—

Then, she held it out in front of Su Mi.

Su Mi: “…???”

She looked up in shock. Shen Han’s dark eyes were devoid of emotion, her voice calm: “Take it.”

It took a moment for Su Mi to realize the villain had misunderstood.

Did she think Su Mi was staring because she wanted the ring?

The ring sat squarely in Shen Han’s palm, set with an ice-blue gemstone. The color was crystalline, and one could tell it was worth a fortune just by looking at the clarity.

Su Mi felt a hitch in her chest, unable to understand the villain’s train of thought.

No wonder the original host’s greed had grown step by step; wasn’t this treatment a bit too good?

Regardless, Su Mi felt that she couldn’t take the ring.

Other gifts were fine, but a ring… perhaps her thinking was old-fashioned, but she felt such things shouldn’t be given away casually.

Su Mi waved her hands in refusal, but seeing that Shen Han’s hand didn’t move, she reached out and pinched the ring.

Her fingertips brushed against Shen Han’s palm. The lines on her palm were shallow, yet there seemed to be many of them, giving a slight sense of texture that didn’t quite match the mutton-fat jade appearance of her hands.

Su Mi felt a slight itch on her fingertips.

But now wasn’t the time for such thoughts. She decisively slid the ring back onto Shen Han’s finger.

Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

She tried to cover for herself, saying, “It’s not that I don’t want it… but I wouldn’t dare wear this out. If my parents saw it, they’d scold me again. How about you just give me the cash value instead!”

The light turned green. Shen Han started the car, her right hand curling back as she glanced at the ring returned to her pinky.

“It’s priceless. How am I supposed to give you the cash value?”

Su Mi: “…” Then why were you giving it away if it’s priceless!

She was speechless.

The corners of Shen Han’s mouth curled up, seemingly finding Su Mi’s silence to be a sign of regret.

She said, “How about I convert it into a mobility scooter for Nanyuan?”

“…” Why do you still remember that?

The villain was not only temperamental but her way of thinking was truly eccentric.

Su Mi pursed her lips and gave a random “mhm” in agreement.

She heard a soft chuckle from Shen Han beside her.

Su Mi: ! How annoying.

They drove in silence. Xu Nanqiao had likely settled her mother in and chatted with Su Mi for a bit on the optical computer, telling her their exact location.

They were at a public hospital. Taking the elevator to the eighth floor of the inpatient department, the doors opened to reveal Xu Nanqiao waiting at the entrance.

Xu Nanqiao’s eyes were still red. Upon seeing Su Mi, she let out a sob, looking as if she wanted to embrace her.

Her voice was filled with grievance: “Su Mi…”

Su Mi’s hair practically stood on end.

Please don’t! The villain is right next to me!

Before she could dodge, Xu Nanqiao sadly grabbed her arm.

It was only then that Xu Nanqiao seemed to notice Shen Han. She gave a polite greeting and then pulled Su Mi along toward the ward.

The corridor of the inpatient department was nearly empty. Su Mi was pulled along stumbling for the first few steps, but this time she remembered Shen Han and quickly looked back to make sure the villain was following.

On the way, Su Mi asked, “Nanqiao, is your mother alright?”

At this, Xu Nanqiao looked distressed. She mumbled and shook her head, saying, “I can’t explain it clearly. The doctor is in the ward; you should hear it from her.”

As they reached the door and prepared to enter, it opened from the inside.

A tall, thin woman in a white lab coat stepped out.

She had messy black short hair and a blank expression that gave her a strong sense of aggression. There was a noticeable brow piercing at the end of her broken eyebrow.

There was a distinct smell of alcohol on her. She looked like she had just woken up after a wild night at a club—especially since, under the white coat, she was wearing a tight black halter top that exposed her midriff. Looking up along her curves, a string of black roses was tattooed on her collarbone.

She didn’t look like a “proper” person at all.

There was a name tag on the left chest of her white coat.

Li Zhao.

The small text below indicated her position: Deputy Chief Physician, Department of Secondary Gender.

Secondary gender referred to the classification of Alpha, Beta, and Omega.

Blocked at the door, Li Zhao ran a hand through her wolf-cut hair, looked up, and first laid eyes on Xu Nanqiao.

Her voice was low and raspy as she said, “Your mother just woke up. You can go in and talk to her. I’m going to get the test results for you; we’ll talk in detail later.”

Xu Nanqiao gasped, glanced into the ward, and hurriedly said, “Thank you, Dr. Li.”

Su Mi: …She’s actually a doctor?

Was the criteria for doctors in this world really this broad?

She peeked at Li Zhao and noticed that after Li Zhao’s gaze lingered on Xu Nanqiao for a few seconds, she looked up—and saw Shen Han leaning against the wall.

She froze for a moment and frowned.

She spoke directly: “Shen Han.”

Shen Han crossed her arms and nodded. “Dr. Li.”

Su Mi looked back and forth between the two in a daze, asking curiously, “You two know each other?”

Xu Nanqiao introduced her: “Dr. Li was the one who sent my mother to the hospital. She isn’t even on duty today, but she specifically brought my mother here for a round of checkups.”

So, she was the “kind person” who had called Xu Nanqiao.

She didn’t look like a good person, but she was actually quite kind.

Su Mi severely condemned her own prejudice from a few seconds ago.

Because of this, Li Zhao glanced at Su Mi. With just one look, she quickly turned back to Shen Han. “That god-sister of yours?”

Shen Han gave an “mhm.”

The atmosphere between the two suggested they were very familiar with one another.

Li Zhao didn’t stand on ceremony either, handing Su Mi a card. “Sister, be a dear and go to the first-floor front desk to have the nurse give you the test results for room 809. I need to catch up with your sister.”

Su Mi blinked, her curiosity growing.

In the original plot, the character Li Zhao had never appeared, nor had there been a peer who seemed so close to Shen Han.

She looked at Shen Han, who said, “Go ahead.”

Su Mi took the card and ran off.

By the time she returned as fast as she could with the test reports, Xu Nanqiao had already gone into the ward to see her mother.

Shen Han and Li Zhao were standing at the door of the ward, chatting.

Su Mi arrived just in time to catch a sentence or two.

They seemed to be talking about traveling.

It was mostly Li Zhao talking. The information Su Mi managed to capture was roughly about which snowy mountain she had gone skiing on before returning to the country last winter.

Shen Han listened with her arms crossed, occasionally adding a brief comment, as if she had been to those places before as well.

Su Mi walked over quietly, not interrupting their conversation, and handed the results—filled with data and diagrams—to Li Zhao.

The conversation stopped. Li Zhao looked down and flipped through the documents. After a few pages, she frowned.

Shen Han, watching from the side, spoke up: “What, is there a case that even Dr. Li can’t solve?”

Li Zhao snorted. “What do you think?”

Shen Han’s tone was natural: “I’m feeling quite alright lately.”

Li Zhao: “If that were truly the case, I’d thank the heavens.”

She snapped the file folder shut and was about to enter the ward when she paused.

“What are you doing here today? Accompanying your sister to visit the sick?”

Li Zhao asked with sudden concern.

Shen Han stood still and looked toward the ward. “The one you just asked about… is exactly her.”

Perhaps out of consideration for Su Mi’s presence, Shen Han didn’t speak very clearly.

But clearly, Li Zhao understood.

Li Zhao: “…”

After an eerie pause, Li Zhao pursed her lips and said, “Wait here for a moment.”

With that, she went straight into the ward.

Su Mi and Shen Han were left outside.

Su Mi blinked, then blinked again, and then blinked once more.

She was so curious.

If she hadn’t misunderstood, Li Zhao likely knew the truth behind Shen Han’s “mental illness.”

While in the elevator earlier, she had urgently looked up the responsibilities of the Secondary Gender department.

The information on the network was quite broad, but it was all related to ABO genders, including glands, spiritual power, rut periods, and various other complex matters.

Shen Han’s illness seemed to be related to her spiritual power; the logic held up.

Analyzing it with this line of thought:

When Li Zhao countered with “What do you think?”, it could be interpreted as: the unsolvable case is right in front of me—meaning Shen Han.

Otherwise, Shen Han wouldn’t have said she was feeling “alright.”

…Alright, my foot. Her blackening value was jumping up and down every single day.

She just didn’t know what Li Zhao meant by that last question.

Did she also know about Xu Nanqiao reading books to Shen Han to treat her illness?

Su Mi’s curiosity was gnawing at her. She shifted her feet back and forth for a while before finally summoning the courage to speak.

“Sister, this Dr. Li is…?”