Can-Can’s voice was barely audible. “Why isn’t Third Brother sleeping at home? Can-Can doesn’t like it here.”

Qi Sen held her in his arms and gently coaxed her for a while, while Tao-Tao stood nearby holding her soy milk, looking like she’d been struck dumb.

Actually, no—more like struck peachless.

Back in the Ninth Heaven, the High God always wore a face as cold as frost and snow. His eyes seemed to carry blizzards, making people afraid to even speak to him.

But now, he was holding the little princess in his arms, soothing her gently. That once-icy voice, cold like snow-dusted pine, had somehow melted—tinged with the warmth of spring.

And it sounded… really, really nice.

Tao-Tao couldn’t help but get a little lost in the moment.

Meanwhile, the little Can-Can who had been busy all morning had finally dozed off in Qi Sen’s arms, clutching her beloved candy.

Qi Sen draped his school jacket over her and looked across the hallway to the room opposite, eyes calm.

Tao-Tao finally broke the silence. “High God, how is the Third Prince doing?”

Qi Sen didn’t bother correcting her title this time. His voice was low. “It’s nothing serious.”

But even as he said that, the doctor’s words echoed in his mind.

“Based on his previous records, his health has always been poor. Where are your parents?”

“No parents? Sigh, then you really shouldn’t be letting him eat random takeout. His body needs nourishing—black chicken soup, herbal tonics, that sort of thing. He has a weak immune system. Luckily, it’s just a fever this time. If it happens again, who knows what could go wrong.”

Qi Sen clenched the bank card in his pocket through the fabric, recalling how awkward he’d felt when paying just now. He lowered his head and said nothing.

**

Pei Shen finally woke up that afternoon.

It just so happened that the nurse came in to give him his injection and medicine.

Can-Can quickly handed over her treasure—the rainbow candy she’d been holding all day.

“Third Brother, for you!”

Pei Shen froze, a faint blush rising on his cheeks. “Why would I want your candy? Take it back.”

Can-Can stood firm at the bedside, her little voice clear and sweet. “Third Brother hates bitter medicine the most. Every time the medicine fairy brought you pills, you had to eat a whole box of candied fruit first.”

She held out the candy insistently.

Only then did Pei Shen realize she was talking about their past lives, back when they were immortals.

His ears flushed red.

He hadn’t expected that in his last life… he’d also been so afraid of bitter stuff.

The nurse was holding a syringe full of glowing medicine. Pei Shen’s heart trembled.

He hated injections. He’d been getting them for over a decade, and though things had improved recently, why was it happening again?!

But in front of Can-Can, he… couldn’t show weakness! He had to be the brave and dependable Third Brother in her eyes.

As for the rainbow candy in her hand? He didn’t dare look at it—afraid that just one glance would make him snatch away her beloved treasure.

It was just a shot and some medicine. Nothing to be afraid of!

Except… when the needle pierced the back of his hand, his fingers under the blanket twitched like he’d been electrocuted.

Can-Can stared, wide-eyed. Third Brother was taking his medicine and getting his shot obediently?

Wait… was Third Brother… not afraid of medicine anymore?

“I’ve finished. You can go now. I want to rest.” Pei Shen said, trying to sound calm.

Can-Can nodded obediently and walked out with Qi Sen, turning around three times with every step.

Pei Shen’s expression turned a bit… odd.

The moment the door shut behind them, he could no longer hold it in and collapsed over the side of the bed, retching.

Aaaahhh what is this awful medicine?!

Before he could throw up twice, the door suddenly creaked open.

Pei Shen froze mid-retch, his finger still halfway down his throat.

Can-Can and Qi Sen stared at him in stunned silence.

Pei Shen forced out a crooked smile and waved awkwardly. “Hi~”

Qi Sen: …You still have the nerve to say hi?

“What are you doing back here?” Pei Shen asked, recovering.

Can-Can ran in carrying a little hospital stool, plopped it down beside the bed, and sat properly. “Second Brother’s treasure hoarding—Daddy and Mommy came over, so he told me to keep Third Brother company.”

Pei Shen was still mortified and tried to act annoyed. “What can a little brat like you talk to me about?”

Princess Can-Can, who’d spent hundreds of years basking in praise and flattery, had never been so looked down on. She huffed and stood up, straightening her back like a righteous noble.

“I’m the number one talker in the whole palace!”

“Number one, huh? Better than me?”

Can-Can’s cheeks puffed slightly. She pouted and declared, “If Third Brother keeps saying I can’t talk, then I won’t talk to you anymore. Hmph!”

With that, she turned her head and refused to look at him.

Pei Shen actually found it funny. “Okay then. Off you go.”

Can-Can’s little face turned confused.

Wait a second…

Did she just kick herself out?

Pei Shen couldn’t help it—he finally burst into laughter.

…

As the two exchanged quips, Qi Sen silently closed the door.

“You go in too,” he told Tao-Tao, who had been waiting awkwardly in the hallway. Without giving her time to respond, he turned and walked toward the end of the hospital corridor.

There, Jiang Ying stood with sunglasses and a mask, while Qi Xiuming glanced impatiently at his watch.

Ten minutes had already passed. Still no sign of him.

Just as they were growing frustrated, the door creaked open.

“What do you want?” Qi Sen asked.

He was still in his school uniform, clearly a high schooler. Yet there was a steadiness in his gaze far beyond his years.

Jiang Ying smiled. “We waited all day and didn’t hear from you. Then we heard Pei Shen was hospitalized, so your father and I came to check.”

Qi Sen’s brows rose slightly at the word father.

Jiang Ying kept smiling.

“You left a few strands of hair on your chair the other day. We had them tested.”

Qi Xiuming’s expression softened slightly at that.

“As long as you come home, we’ll cover Pei Shen’s hospital bills. We’ll also help your little sister get her household registration. You wouldn’t want that adorable girl to be undocumented, would you?”

That last word—undocumented—stabbed into Qi Sen like a blade.

His shoulders twitched ever so slightly.

Jiang Ying saw it. And like a snake slithering through a crack, she seized the moment. “If you come home, we’ll give them some money to live well. Your little sister looks about three years old, doesn’t she? She should be in preschool by now. You can’t keep stalling forever, can you?”