Chapter 239: Saving a Life
Chapter 239: Saving a Life
If it had just been one or two dishes by chance, she could have chalked it up to coincidence. But every single item on the table was something she liked—that wasn’t luck. That was intentional.
As that thought rose, Bian Suwen couldn’t help but drift back to the past. During those days when she had stayed at the Wang household, Wang Haoran had been the one by her side. Her eating habits, preferences, the little details of her day-to-day life—he had known them all.
She simply hadn’t expected that after all these years, he would still remember.
Her eyes softened ever so slightly as they lingered on Wang Haoran.
【Ding. Female Lead Bian Suwen’s Favorability toward Host increased by 10. Current total Favorability: -45 (Resentment).】
But that trace of warmth vanished in an instant.
So what if he remembered?
What had happened between them had already happened.
No matter how much you try to make up for it, some wounds can never truly heal. Even if the skin closed over, the scar remained—a mark that time can’t erase. She looked away, her expression once again turning cold and distant.
Wang Haoran couldn’t read her inner thoughts, but he did know one thing—he had made another small step forward in his quest to win her back.
“Let’s eat,” he said with a relaxed smile.
The meal began.
Bian Suwen hadn’t had much of an appetite at first. The long journey had left her fatigued, but when every dish on the table was something she loved, her resolve quickly faltered. After a moment of hesitation, she picked up her chopsticks—and once she started, she couldn’t stop.
By the time she finally put down her chopsticks, she was full to bursting.
“So much for having no appetite,” Qiu Qianwei commented curiously.
She herself ate very little in order to maintain her figure. Yet Bian Suwen, who’d just claimed she wasn’t hungry, had eaten nearly three times as much as her.
Bian Suwen felt a trace of embarrassment but kept her composure. “You invited me to a welcome meal, didn’t you? How could I not eat a little more? Otherwise, I’d be letting down your kindness.”
The logic was impeccable.
Neither Qiu Qianwei nor Lin Chen thought anything of it. After all, Bian Suwen had spent most of her time in the Imperial Capital. Their interactions had always been brief and scattered, with no deep familiarity.
Naturally, they didn’t know her food preferences. That was why they never guessed that the dishes had been chosen specifically for her.
Once they finished eating, Qiu Qianwei called the server to settle the bill.
But before the check could arrive, a sudden shout echoed from a nearby private room.
“Doctor! Someone get a doctor! Please, save my daughter!”
The voice was full of desperation, followed by the sound of a child’s sobbing. It was clear something terrible had happened.
Without hesitation, Bian Suwen rose to her feet and strode toward the commotion, with the others following behind.
Inside the neighboring private room, they saw the scene clearly: a little girl, no older than four or five, had choked on something. Her face was flushed deep red, tinged with a worrying shade of purple. Her mother clutched her tightly, panicked and crying, calling for help again and again.
“I’m a doctor,” Bian Suwen stepped forward swiftly. “Let me take a look.”
But before she could act, Lin Chen hurried up beside her, blocking her path.
“Let me do it, Third Sister.”
“You?” Bian Suwen blinked, momentarily caught off guard.
“I’ve been studying medicine lately. Don’t worry—I’ve got this,” Lin Chen said with confidence, patting his small chest proudly.
Bian Suwen hesitated. “It’s better if I—”
“Don’t you trust me?” Lin Chen pressed, full of determination. “This is just a small problem. I’ll handle it.”
Watching from behind, Wang Haoran could barely restrain a sneer.
This protagonist really had no shame. The moment a chance to show off appeared, he was the first to leap into the spotlight.
Your Third Sister is a legendary divine doctor. If she acted, the child would already be fine by now. But because you insisted on inserting yourself, the little girl continues to suffer—her face is turning darker by the second.
While her life wasn’t in immediate danger, every extra second of pain was a cruelty.
And it was all because Lin Chen couldn’t resist the urge to grandstand.
Still, Bian Suwen began to waver. Lin Chen was her younger brother—a prodigious one at that—and he’d surprised everyone more than once. Maybe he really could handle it.
“Well then—”
Before she could finish the sentence, a shadow darted forward.
Wang Haoran moved without a word.
In one clean motion, he scooped the little girl into his arms, sat down, positioned her chest and abdomen over his thigh, braced one hand beneath her collarbone, and firmly struck her back with the other, moving upward in swift, practiced strokes.
Moments later, the child gagged—and a small bone flew from her mouth.
As soon as the obstruction cleared, her face regained color, and the sobbing ceased.
【Ding. Host has intercepted protagonist Lin Chen and rescued a choking child. Gained 900 Villain Points. Lin Chen’s Protagonist Halo -45. Host’s Villain Halo +45.】
The system notification rang out just as Wang Haoran glanced toward Lin Chen.
The boy stood frozen, his face stiff with frustration, teeth grinding in frustration.
Wang Haoran chuckled to himself.
A true villain doesn’t waste time with empty words. When it matters, you act. Simple as that.
“Baby, you scared me half to death!” the girl’s mother sobbed in relief, clutching her daughter tightly. After calming down a bit, she turned to Wang Haoran, her eyes brimming with gratitude. “Young man, thank you so much!”
“No need to thank me,” Wang Haoran said with a faint smile, his gaze drifting to Bian Suwen. “If you want to thank someone, thank her.”
The rescue technique he’d used wasn’t complicated. In fact, it was something Bian Suwen had casually mentioned to him years ago, back when they were still together. In the urgency of the moment, it had surfaced in his mind—and without thinking, he acted.
Bian Suwen blinked.
She had nearly forgotten ever sharing that method with him.
But he remembered.
Even after all this time, even after he had supposedly “let her go,” he remembered the tiniest fragments of their past.
【Ding. Female Lead Bian Suwen’s Favorability toward Host increased by 10. Current total Favorability: -35 (Resentment).】