"Hello?"

"Hi?"

"Lin Yu?"

Tang Manman cycled through several addresses, her voice soft as she called out to Lin Yu, hoping he might show some sign of response.

But her calls seemed to disappear without effect, failing even to draw a glance from Lin Yu.

Observing Lin Yu's vacant and silent demeanor, Tang Manman recalled the nurse's advice.

The patient has suffered significant blood loss and needs ample rest and hydration.

Remembering this, Tang Manman quickly cooled some boiling water from the electric kettle and measured out some medication dispensed by the pharmacy.

Approaching Lin Yu with water and medicine, surveying Lin Yu's absent stare, she found herself at a loss.

What to do now?

His condition clearly didn't allow him to take his medication by himself.

Should she try to feed it to him?

Tang Manman halted, grappling with her next move.

Deep down, she harbored a certain fear of Lin Yu, reluctant to get too close, afraid he would snap back to the aggressive demeanor he showed earlier in the day.

Yet...

Tang Manman felt there was something odd, something incongruent about Lin Yu's midday transformation.

If he truly was a dangerous person,

Then what about yesterday afternoon, especially when her clothes were torn...

Remembering the humiliation of being nearly naked the night before heated Tang Manman's cheeks. She shook her head, dismissing the embarrassing thoughts to ponder whether Lin Yu was a good or bad individual.

Had he wished, the outcome yesterday evening wouldn’t have been surprising.

Yet, he did nothing and even thoughtfully purchased new clothes for her, leaving without asking anything in return - not even the cost of the clothing.

Like a Good Samaritan from the textbooks.

Except he always looked so grim, as if everyone owed him money.

With these thoughts, Tang Manman instinctively looked towards Lin Yu.

His face, now cleaned by the nurse and his usual face-obscuring yellow hair secured away with bandages,

Appeared somewhat more respectable...

Well, no, still not exactly respectable.

He had a certain mischievous look about him.

But...

"Not unattractive..."

Under the lens of having been rescued thrice, Tang Manman murmured with a slight blush.

But why had he adopted that thug demeanor at noon?

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Faced with this question, Tang Manman was perplexed.

In fact, she had felt something was off even before the school ended.

Lin Yu's change was too sudden, and his actions at noon felt all too calculated.

Recalling the noontime scenario, Tang Manman felt indignation.

Was he playing her for a fool?

Pretending to chase like villains only seen in child's play?

Who does that to a grown person?

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she thought of her panicked flight and even tripping over nothing, wishing she could hide away from added shame.

After much thought, Tang Manman's inner discomfort eased considerably. She eventually sat down beside the oblivious Lin Yu, determined to administer his medicine.

Testing the water, still quite hot, she scooped some with a spoon, cooled it slightly, and cautiously approached Lin Yu's lips with it.

The oblivious Lin Yu, finally sensing something of interest, struggled to part his lips, instinctively seeking the water in the spoon to soothe his parched throat.

After swallowing a small spoonful, his desire for water only grew.

Seeing his gesture for more, Tang Manman fetched another spoonful of water. Before feeding him, she paused, suddenly recalling that the water was too hot. Might it scald him?

Such considerations made Tang Manman halt feeding, understanding she couldn't just give him the water in its current state.

But seeing Lin Yu's dire thirst made her anxious.

She couldn't just wait for the water to cool - when would that be?

Looking at the hot water, then back at the finally alert Lin Yu, she hesitated briefly before shifting, moving out of Lin Yu's line of sight.

She then raised the spoon to her lips, gently blowing cool air over it.

After cooling the water, she tenderly fed Lin Yu. This repeated action, spoonful after spoonful, progressively colored Tang Manman’s cheeks a deep shade of red.

Having sated Lin Yu with half a bowl of water, he resembled a body whose last wishes had been fulfilled - finally closing his eyes to rest.

This respite allowed Tang Manman to breath out in relief, ending her flurry of actions before her mind overheated from the baffling high temperature.

As she eventually chuckled at Lin Yu’s dual-toned face, she covered her mouth, fearing her laughter might disturb his rest, yet her gleeful eyes gave her away.