A Little Trick, the Scumbag Dad Can’t Hold the Knife After Understanding Love Chapter 448

"Not only his physical condition, but his ntal state is also very poor."

"I advise you not to get too close to him. His defensiveness and aggression are both severe."

After learning about He Xiang's condition from the doctor, Ji Nian handed over the dication she had brought. After so thought, she still decided to go see him.

A sudden change of environnt, and soone inexplicably offering him treatnt—most people would have been moved to tears with gratitude. But not He Xiang.

He simply believed the person behind this had a greater ulterior motive.

Even if it wasn’t obvious now, it would eventually reveal itself.

What was it this ti?

What use could a cripple like him have? Were they after his organs?

The mont the door opened, He Xiang jolted awake. He grabbed the fruit knife he had stolen from a caretaker, holding it between his teeth, and glared fiercely at the intruder.

When their eyes t, both were stunned.

Even though she had ntally prepared herself, seeing He Xiang in this state made Ji Nian feel she hadn’t done enough.

The stumps of his missing hands were wrapped in bandages, and his bare torso was covered in dense scars, his ribs starkly visible.

The calm, deep eyes Ji Nian had once adored were now filled with hostility.

The He Xiang here bore no resemblance to the healthy man she rembered. His skin was deathly pale, his cheeks sunken, his lips tinged with purple. The doctor had even ntioned he had a heart condition.

In short, if not for Ji Tingzhou’s certainty that they hadn’t mistaken the person, Ji Nian might not have recognized him even if they passed each other on the street.

Gu Xiuyuan frowned uncomfortably at the sight of He Xiang’s suffering—a peer his own age.

He turned to Ji Nian, wanting to ask if she was sure they hadn’t found the wrong person.

After all, the man before them looked nothing like the He Xiang she had described.

Ji Nian had said He Xiang was 195 cm tall, but even lying in bed, Gu Xiuyuan could tell he wasn’t even as tall as himself.

"He Xiang."

Ji Nian glanced at Gu Xiuyuan, seemingly reading his doubts, and nodded at him before turning back to call He Xiang’s na.

At the sound of his na, He Xiang’s expression flickered with montary confusion.

Because…

It had been so, so long since anyone had called him by his na.

So long that even he had grown unfamiliar with the sound of it.

Though he didn’t know how she knew his na—or why she said it so naturally—He Xiang was certain he had never t her before.

He studied her striking erald-green eyes.

If they had t before, he would never have forgotten.

So why… did she feel so familiar?

Beyond that, his gaze shifted to Gu Xiuyuan beside her.

Unlike the unfamiliar-yet-familiar Ji Nian, he recognized Gu Xiuyuan.

In a distant mory, back when he was still in school, he had seen him once.

On the day he left campus.

Having gone days without food and weakened by the scorching sun, he had been walking slowly with his belongings when dizziness forced him to stop and rest.

It was this person who had given him a bottle of water and a piece of bread.

Not personally, though—he had sent soone else to deliver it.

When He Xiang looked up, he saw Gu Xiuyuan standing under a tree, watching from a distance. The person who had handed him the food ran back to Gu Xiuyuan and said sothing, and only then did he look away.

Even soone as isolated as He Xiang had heard of the student council president’s reputation.

He knew this person ca from a wealthy, powerful family—brilliant, handso, and outstanding in every way. The kind of figure people gossiped about, soone from a world entirely separate from He Xiang’s own.

But he never imagined soone like that would ever cross paths with him.

"You know him."

After observing He Xiang for a mont, Ji Nian ca to that conclusion.

Gu Xiuyuan frowned, his expression silently questioning: How did you figure that out?

He Xiang didn’t hide the hostility in his eyes.

But he lowered the knife from his mouth.

"You might not rember , but I was also your classmate."

"Hello, my na is Ji Nian."

She didn’t approach recklessly, maintaining a distance that kept He Xiang at ease.

The na ant nothing to him.

"You might wonder why I saved you. Once you’re stronger, I’ll explain everything."

Ji Nian set down the items she had brought—aside from the dication, there were books.

All the textbooks from every grade level, from the ti He Xiang had dropped out until now.

"Focus on recovering. If you get bored, read these."

"No one here will harm you. If you want revenge, the most important thing now is to heal. Our reasons for saving you don’t matter—what matters is that you use every resource available to take care of yourself."

"Only when you’ve recovered can we talk about the future."

As she spoke, He Xiang showed no reaction.

But Ji Nian knew he had heard her.

A man who had survived hell was far more perceptive than anyone realized.

...

"I had no idea."

"Our school once had a student like this."

After they left, Gu Xiuyuan’s eyes were clouded with unease.

Ji Nian said nothing about his mood. Instead, she had him wait for her sowhere while she went out and bought two ice creams, handing one to him.

Mint sea salt—Gu Xiuyuan’s favorite flavor.

His family rarely let him eat outside food, and he had developed a habit of instinctively refusing such things.

So he didn’t take it.

But Ji Nian sared it straight onto his mouth.

Gu Xiuyuan, now with ice cream all over his lips: "……"

He pulled out a handkerchief, wiped his mouth clean, and then skeptically took a bite.

To his surprise, it wasn’t bad. Though not as refined as what was made at ho, it had its own charm.

"Good, right?"

"This is the power of artificial flavors," Ji Nian declared.

"What was the other version of like?"

Though Ji Nian had told him many stories about their alternate selves, Gu Xiuyuan still didn’t fully understand that version of himself.

Ji Nian licked her own ice cream and said, "Cold and aloof on the outside, but incredibly thoughtful. Never took advantage of the weak—instead, he used his influence to advocate for protecting vulnerable groups."

"He rembered every student’s na. People went to him with their problems, and the student council office door had to be repaired at least twice a year. In the school’s 'Most Beautiful Spot' rankings, the student council office always ca in first."

"He was always busy. Sotis, when he couldn’t get away, everyone would bring food and eat together with him."

"During breaks, he liked feeding the campus animals—mostly stray cats and dogs that students had brought in."

"At first, he objected, but he couldn’t resist their persistence and eventually gave in. Who would’ve thought he’d end up being the one who fed them the most? He even gave each one a na."

"Everyone at school adored him. He was the most outstanding student council president in history."

Gu Xiuyuan listened, his expression sowhat dazed, as if Ji Nian's words had conjured up the image of soone who shared his face and family background yet was entirely different from him.

That version of him was also the student council president, but he couldn’t rember every student’s na. Though equally popular, his appeal stemd solely from his looks and family status. He had never kept a pet, and there were no stray cats or dogs on campus.

Most importantly…

He had no friends.

“He’s outstanding, but you’re no less remarkable,” Ji Nian said, patting his shoulder as if reading his thoughts.

Gu Xiuyuan brushed her hand away, his expression turning haughty. “Of course I’m not inferior to him.”

They were both Gu Xiuyuan—whatever that other version could do, he could do just as well.

Watching him snap back to his usual self so quickly, Ji Nian couldn’t help but grin.

See? This was the real Gu Xiuyuan.

After visiting He Xiang, Ji Nian threw herself back into her work.

This ti, she didn’t ask Bruce for help—unlike how things had been in that other world.

Instead, she spent about a week alone in the lab.

A ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‍week later, she erged with a small box in hand.

Squinting up at the long-missed sunlight, Ji Nian thought to herself:

Soon. She could go back.