"Ah, I'm sorry, hiss..."
In the hallway, Klein stumbled right into Fu Li's arms. Just after her subconscious apology, she let out a sharp intake of breath.
Fu Li looked down and saw, on the girl's usually expressionless face, a hint of paleness. She looked as if she were sick.
Since she was one of his own, Fu Li naturally wasn't bothered by the trivial matter of having milk tea spilled on him. Instead, he grew concerned for Klein.
"Um, are you okay? You don't look too well."
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."
Klein's small face was pale. Realizing she was lying in Fu Li's arms, she looked flustered and tried to get up. After taking a step back, she let out another cute yelp.
Then, her body swayed unsteadily again, and she nearly fell.
Only then did Fu Li see it clearly. When Klein's right foot touched the ground, there was a distinctly unnatural movement. It looked like she had twisted her ankle.
This girl, how can she be so careless? She was always so steady when she worked before.
Fu Li frowned and quickly wrapped an arm around Klein to support her. "Did you sprain your ankle?"
"Yes, I did. I wasn't paying attention while walking."
Klein nodded, a faint blush appearing on her delicate, expressionless face.
This time, however, seemingly realizing that she couldn't move properly on her own, Klein didn't push Fu Li away again.
And in her mind, a little version of herself curled its lips into a smile.
Just as planned!
"Is that so?" Fu Li felt helpless and could only ask, "Then who did you come with? Your parents? Classmates? Or someone else? I can take you to them."
After all, they didn't know each other yet, so Fu Li couldn't act overly familiar.
However, as if by coincidence, Klein said softly:
"Um... actually, I came alone. My parents don't like me watching this kind of performance, so..."
At this point, Klein's words trailed off, but Fu Li had no trouble filling in the blanks.
It's the classic trope of a child sneaking out to have fun against their strict parents' wishes.
This kind of situation wasn't uncommon in his hometown of Shenzhou, but he hadn't expected to see it on the Mu Continent, which supposedly championed 'happy education'.
Oh, right. Klein's family seems to be quite wealthy. They probably practice 'elite education'. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been recommended to be Mobius's assistant.
That explains it, then.
Fu Li looked at the girl in his arms and felt a headache coming on.
What was he supposed to do now? Since he had run into her, he couldn't just ignore her.
Maybe I should try the bone-setting technique that Hua taught me.
"Is that so? Alright then."
Fu Li looked at Klein and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Um, about your current situation, I actually have a way to help you, but we might need to find a corner."
"Hm? Find a corner?" Klein's eyes lit up, but her voice was timid. "What are you going to do, sir?"
"Er... don't misunderstand."
Seeing Klein's timid gaze, Fu Li hurriedly explained, "You can call me Li. I'm from Shenzhou, and I learned some bone-setting techniques from my family."
"If you don't mind, I can massage your ankle for you. That should help with the pain."
"Oh, is that so." Klein looked a little disappointed, but still said, "Then I'll have to trouble you. Let me introduce myself, my name is Klein."
"Mm, Klein, is it? That's a nice name."
Fu Li offered a compliment, then asked for her consent. "Then, may I carry you to my private box? It wouldn't look good out here, after all."
Klein hesitated for a second, then nodded eagerly.
"That... okay, I'll trouble you then."
After getting Klein's permission, Fu Li breathed a sigh of relief. He slid his arms under her and lifted her up in a princess carry, heading towards his group's box.
As he lifted her, Fu Li shifted her weight slightly and noticed that she was, as he remembered, still overly slender.
And this child is way too trusting of others.
Noticing the surprised stares from passersby, Fu Li gave an awkward smile and could only offer a brief explanation here and there, finally making his way through unobstructed.
If he didn't look so young himself, someone probably would have called the police.
---o---
After the somewhat awkward journey through the corridor, Fu Li returned to the room, only to be met with more surprised stares from his companions.
"Li... what are you...?"
"You were gone for a minute and you already managed to bring back a little girl?"
"No, let me explain!"
Facing the gazes of Charlotte and the others, Fu Li quickly explained the situation, finally earning their understanding.
"Still, I'm surprised you'd be so concerned about a little girl."
Charlotte looked surprised. According to her profile, Fu Li shouldn't be such a warm-hearted person. Could it be that he had a particular fondness for little girls?
Fu Li couldn't really explain, so he could only offer a perfunctory reply.
"Ah, well, I ran into her... I couldn't just leave her. Anyway, let me help her with this first."
As he spoke, Fu Li placed Klein on the sofa and said to her, "This might hurt a little. You'll have to bear with it, okay?"
"Mm." Klein nodded, looking obedient.
Seeing this, Fu Li didn't hesitate. He half-knelt and gently unlaced Klein's small leather boots.
Then, he removed her cotton sock, and a fair, slender foot was exposed to the air.
Perhaps unused to the air and the touch, Klein's face flushed red. For some reason, she suddenly felt a pang of regret. Just as she was about to speak up and stop him, a pair of hands touched her.
"Ngh~"
Klein let out a kitten-like whimper, her whole body instantly stiffening. She was filled with regret.
There were many ways to get close to Fu Li, so why on earth did she choose this one?
Hua, what in the world did you teach your brother?! Why does it feel so good?!
Fu Li's hands gently cupped Klein's fair ankle. After a few light squeezes that made Klein's entire body tremble slightly, he spoke softly:
"Okay, relax. Bone-setting doesn't hurt at all. It's just like a mosquito bite. Don't be nervous."
"Mm... I know."
Klein's mind was in a complete jumble, having totally forgotten that this was one of the most common lies told by doctors.
"Okay, repeat after me. One, two, three. I'll do it when we get to three."
"Mm, okay. One... Ahhh!!!"
The sudden pain made Klein's body jolt, and she subconsciously cried out.
Before she could ask where 'two and three' had gone, a set of cheerful footsteps suddenly sounded from the doorway.
Then, the door was thrown open.
"Hi! Li, I'm done over there. What are you do—"
Vill-V's words came to an abrupt halt.
She looked at the girl who was even smaller than herself. The smile on her face slowly turned downwards, and the light in her eyes gradually faded away.
Could someone please tell her what was going on?
Author's PS:
Rehabilitation begins!!