After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Marked by the Beautiful Mad Villain - Chapter 24

Shen Han gave a simple three-word response: “An old friend.”

Thanks, anyone with eyes could have seen that.

Li Zhao had told her to wait outside, and Shen Han truly did not enter the hospital room.

The corridor was empty except for the two of them. Shen Han leaned against the wall on the side of the room, while Su Mi stood in the center of the hallway, hands behind her back, boredly counting the number of light tubes on the ceiling.

After a while, Su Mi couldn’t hold back anymore.

Aren’t they staying in there a bit too long?

She cast a secretive glance at Shen Han and asked, “Sister? Should we go in and take a look?”

Shen Han said flatly, “Listen to the doctor.”

Su Mi: “…”

Wasn’t that just a casual remark? It’s not like it was a medical prescription.

Besides, inside is your future mother-in-law! Are you really not going to go in, introduce yourself, and solidify the relationship?

Su Mi shot Shen Han a look of “hating that iron cannot become steel.”

Even if you are very rich, powerful, good-looking, and one in ten thousand… you still have to…

Thinking of this, Su Mi paused.

Fine, with those conditions, she really doesn’t need to worry about pleasing a mother-in-law.

She was the only “cannon fodder” worrying about it.

Su Mi let out a faint sigh and leaned toward the door, attempting to eavesdrop.

The soundproofing of the hospital door was decent; it was quiet inside, and no sound could be made out.

Behind her, Shen Han withdrew her gaze from the promotional posters on the wall and turned to look at the girl by the door, whose rear was stuck out and waist slumped in an obvious attempt at eavesdropping.

“…”

Shen Han’s gaze swept up and down before she calmly looked away.

At that exact moment, Su Mi happened to turn around.

She mulled it over again.

Xu Nanqiao’s mother, Xu Rou, was different from other mothers-in-law; this one was very repulsed by Alphas. If the groundwork wasn’t laid early, it would surely become a major obstacle later.

Moreover, now that she was sick, wasn’t it the perfect time to express some concern, gain some favor, and show a bit of humanity in front of Xu Nanqiao?

Su Mi had it all planned out: once they went in, Shen Han’s identity would first be “the elder sister of Xu Nanqiao’s friend,” establishing a preliminary introduction.

She cleared her throat.

Tentatively, she asked, “Sister, have you met Xu’s mother before?”

Shen Han lifted her eyelids. “No.”

Su Mi immediately put on a worried expression and said, “I heard Classmate Xu comes from a single-parent home. Her mother raised her all alone, and she’s so good at her studies and so beautiful—it really hasn’t been easy. I think, since you care about her so much and spend time together every week, maybe you’d want to go visit?”

Shen Han watched her micro-expressions with interest and said, “Every week? Spending time together? Your homeroom teacher specifically said today that you’ve been working hard and making great progress in your studies.”

Su Mi: “…That’s not important.”

Shen Han followed up naturally: “What you said isn’t important to me either.”

Hearing this, Su Mi froze. She stared at Shen Han’s indifferent face for a moment and realized she was being serious.

How… how can she be like this?

To Su Mi’s ears, these words were practically synonymous with being cold-blooded.

If you like someone, wouldn’t you naturally care about their family too?

After all, family—whether good or bad—is a critically important part of any individual.

Su Mi found it hard to explain her concern, so she could only bite the soft flesh inside her cheek and look at Shen Han, holding back her frustration.

She knew that the antagonist simply didn’t know how to love someone. And with such a high blackening value, it was normal for her to be a bit psychologically twisted.

But even so—

Su Mi was still a little ticked off.

In the heat of the moment, she forgot her fear of Shen Han. She stomped over, stood in front of Shen Han, and tilted her head up.

Looking as “fierce” as possible, she said, “You’ll regret this!”

After throwing out that nonsensical threat, she turned around indignantly and headed for the hospital room.

Shen Han: “?”

She raised an eyebrow in confusion, watching the girl’s huffy silhouette walk away, taking a moment to process it.

She didn’t understand.

But that didn’t stop Shen Han from raising her voice and calling out coldly, “Su Mi.”

Su Mi’s movement to open the door stiffened for half a second. It felt as though the temperature in the corridor dropped several degrees at the sound of Shen Han’s voice.

A layer of goosebumps seemed to rise on her neck, and her eyelid twitched.

Turning back now would seem too cowardly. Su Mi emboldened herself and braced herself as she pushed the door open and walked in.

Inside the room, lying on the center bed, was a frail and beautiful woman. She looked eighty percent like Xu Nanqiao, just older—this must be Xu Rou.

She had been resting with her eyes closed, but drawn by the sound at the door, she opened them with some confusion: “Whose voice was that?”

Su Mi quickly stood straight as the door closed automatically behind her.

She flashed a smile and greeted, “Hello, Auntie. I’m Nanqiao’s classmate, my name is Su Mi.”

Xu Nanqiao wasn’t by the bedside; she was standing by the window with Li Zhao.

When Su Mi looked over, their figures overlapped for a second before Li Zhao walked over briskly.

Li Zhao first glanced toward the door before saying to Xu Rou, “Auntie, it’s nothing. It’s just your daughter’s classmate.”

Xu Rou’s willow-like brows furrowed slightly, and she didn’t speak.

She seemed indifferent toward Xu Nanqiao’s school friends. She sized Su Mi up coldly for a few moments before looking toward the window: “Qiaoqiao, your classmate is here.”

There was a corner between the window and the bed, so Xu Rou couldn’t see the specific situation there, but Su Mi, standing by the door, saw clearly.

Xu Nanqiao seemed to wipe her eyes before walking over slowly.

Her eyes were red. Not daring to look at Xu Rou, she smiled at Su Mi: “Thank you, Su Mi.”

The atmosphere was a bit strange.

Su Mi was not good at small talk, and clearly, Xu Nanqiao didn’t want to discuss the illness in front of Xu Rou. She only said an old ailment had flared up and that she fainted due to low blood sugar.

Xu Rou then suspiciously demanded to be discharged. Xu Nanqiao sniffled and went over to reason with her mother in a low voice.

It seemed there was no real need for a visit.

When Su Mi was a student in her past life, she had met several parents when visiting friends, and they had all been kind and considerate.

So Su Mi had taken it for granted that all parents would be welcoming to their children’s friends.

Encountering this cold reception for the first time, Su Mi was at a loss and stood there staring blankly.

Because of this, she didn’t notice Li Zhao observing her from beside her.

It wasn’t until she heard a light cough next to her that Su Mi snapped out of it. She turned her head to see Li Zhao—who had seemed quite serious a moment ago—giving her a wink.

Su Mi: “?”

She looked at Li Zhao in confusion, who scanned her face for a moment before curling her lips into a smile.

Li Zhao had beautiful peach-blossom eyes; her pupils were dark and translucent, like high-quality obsidian.

Her voice was slightly raspy. “Little sister, it seems we aren’t quite suited to keep staying here.”

Su Mi had just let out a “mhm” of agreement when she saw Li Zhao grandly lean down, bringing her face close to Su Mi’s.

It startled Su Mi into taking a large step back, eyeing Li Zhao’s flamboyant expression warily.

Judging by this aggressiveness, Li Zhao was likely an Alpha.

Su Mi tried her best not to let her gaze drift to the rose tattoo on the other woman’s collarbone, keeping a stiff face and an inquisitive expression.

Seeing that she hadn’t scared Su Mi, Li Zhao tilted her head and said, “Excuse me?”

Su Mi stepped aside to give her space at the doorway. As they crossed paths, the hem of Li Zhao’s open white lab coat lightly brushed against her arm.

Looking up, Su Mi unexpectedly noticed a blurry, damp patch on the chest area of the white coat.

Su Mi froze and instinctively chased after her.

Outside in the corridor, Shen Han was no longer there.

Li Zhao looked left and right, sighing with disappointment: “She really doesn’t follow doctor’s orders, not waiting outside.”

Su Mi followed her for a couple of steps. Seeing that she seemed to be heading downstairs, she hurried to keep up as they reached the elevator bank.

“Dr… Dr. Li.”

Meeting the woman’s gaze, Su Mi asked, “I wanted to ask, is Nanqiao’s mother’s condition serious?”

Li Zhao said calmly, “It’s not serious. It really is an old ailment.”

Su Mi scratched her cheek. “Did Nanqiao… cry?”

Li Zhao paused and looked at Su Mi with feigned surprise: “You even noticed that? Your observation skills are decent.”

Facing her directly, the damp patch on Li Zhao’s white coat was even more obvious.

Only a blind person wouldn’t see it.

Xu Nanqiao was about the same height as her; Su Mi secretly compared them—it must have been where Xu Nanqiao leaned to cry… but why?

Xu Nanqiao was someone with strong boundaries; she wouldn’t just lean on a stranger and cry for no reason.

Her gaze wasn’t subtle, and Li Zhao looked down and chuckled.

“So that’s how you saw it.”

Su Mi gave an “un-huh.”

“Hey, speaking of which, let me ask you something.”

Li Zhao suddenly leaned in and draped her arm directly over Su Mi’s shoulder.

The white coat was open, and one could vaguely see the arm not covered by the camisole, revealing thin but beautiful muscle lines.

The arm enveloped Su Mi lightly but firmly, carrying a lingering scent of strong liquor.

Li Zhao’s voice was low as she said, “Answer one question for me, and I’ll tell you why Nanqiao cried. How about it?”

Suddenly being hugged, Su Mi froze in place, to the point she didn’t even notice Li Zhao had switched to calling her “Nanqiao.”

“Y-you go ahead.”

Li Zhao’s tone was clearly teasing: “You’re even using ‘sir/ma’am’ now. Don’t be afraid, just call me Sister Li Zhao.”

Su Mi endured the awkwardness. “…Sister Li Zhao.”

Li Zhao asked, “What do you think the relationship between your sister and Nanqiao is like?”

Su Mi was confused but answered from the heart: “It’s very good.”

Li Zhao: “Specifically? How does your sister treat Nanqiao?”

Su Mi regained some of her senses. Recalling that Li Zhao might know about Xu Nanqiao treating Shen Han’s illness, she paused and said decisively, “She can’t live without her. They’re a perfect match.”

Li Zhao burst out laughing.

After a long while, she wiped away a non-existent tear from the corner of her eye and nodded.

“That’s right. A perfect match.”

Su Mi: “…”

Bizarre.

She hadn’t expected her impression of Li Zhao to be refreshed three times in just half an hour.

The first impression was an unreliable socialite; the second was a cold but kind professional doctor…

Now, her perception was that this person was “sick in the head.”

However, since the questions were answered, Su Mi felt uncomfortable being held by a stranger and secretly struggled to get free.

Following the force of her struggle, Li Zhao’s grip seemed to loosen.

Just as Su Mi sighed in relief at being able to break away, Li Zhao’s hand moved to gently press Su Mi’s head toward the front of her clothes.

The woman said with a laugh, “Actually, I just ‘suggested’ it like this—to keep her mother from seeing her tears, I let her lean against my clothes and cry.”

Su Mi: “…”

You call that a “suggestion”?!

You… you call that “clothes”?!

If she hadn’t turned her face away in time, she would have been buried… buried right in!

Her ear inevitably brushed against a large, soft mound. Su Mi’s face instantly burned up, and she hurriedly scrambled several steps back.

Wh… why are you also crazy!

Is it ‘crazy people play together’?!

She opened her mouth, her ears red as she squeezed out: “Dr. Li, show some self-respect.”

Li Zhao didn’t care at all. Shrugging, she said, “Weren’t you just calling me Sister Li Zhao? You even said I was much better than your sister and that you wanted me to be your real sister.”

Su Mi was flabbergasted: “When did I ever—”

Wait.

She suddenly realized Li Zhao wouldn’t say such things for no reason. She turned her head and saw, exactly as expected, the elevator doors behind her wide open.

Shen Han was standing at the entrance.

Shen Han’s expression was very calm as she looked at the two of them blankly.

At the same time, Li Zhao wasn’t finished. She stepped forward two paces and lightly flicked Su Mi’s earlobe with her finger.

Her voice was hooked with a smile: “Forgot to mention, little sister’s earring is very pretty.”

The white coat whipped through the air as she walked past, fluttering in a beautiful arc.

Leaving behind a Su Mi whose heart was as cold as ashes.