Mia Grant fainted from the pain.
If she could go back two hours, she swore she would never have listened to this insane system's coaxing and accepted that so-called neural compensation!
When she woke up again, it seemed she was in a different room. Before she could get a good look, she was forced to undergo a series of examinations.
The final report showed—absolutely nothing was wrong.
Seeing this result, the doctors all breathed a long sigh of relief.
If anything had been wrong with Miss Grant, Mr. Keller had said they would all be paying with their lives!
But they weren't the only ones who were relieved; Mia Grant was, too.
Hearing the results, she settled back into bed, reassured.
[Host, I told you this function wouldn't kill you! Once you use it a few more times, your body will get used to it and you won't faint anymore!]
"..."
'Is that the point?!'
'What I'm afraid of is the pain!'
"Mr. Keller, please rest assured, Miss Grant is in perfect health. The blood she coughed up was likely due to her recent fall into the sea..."
Lying in bed, Mia Grant perked up her ears to eavesdrop. The doctor spouted a bunch of professional jargon that she didn't quite understand, but the summary of why she'd coughed up blood could be summed up in one word: detox.
She was speechless.
'Wait, isn't my body a little too healthy right now?'
'Doesn't this blow my whole cover?!'
'Even a minor cold would have been fine. Heck, I would've settled for an ingrown toenail!'
'At least that would explain why I came to the hospital today.'
'I can't possibly say it was really for Hayes Hughes, can I?'
Remembering Kian Keller's corruption value soaring to 99 right before she fainted, Mia Grant squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could just pass out for good.
Suddenly, an idea struck her. She opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings, her gaze landing on the vintage-style Chinese ceramic lamp on the bedside table.
"Hiss... System, tell me something. If I give myself a little tap on the head with this thing, do you think I could knock myself out instantly?"
[Host, don't do anything rash!]
"Would the forehead hurt less, or the back of the head? Or maybe the temple?"
Mia Grant ignored it, holding the lamp and positioning it around her head—front, back, left, right—while clenching her jaw tighter and tighter. After a few minutes, she still couldn't bring herself to do it.
She sighed under her breath. "Maybe I should just smack Kian Keller in the back of the head instead."
[...]
The conversation at the door suddenly stopped. Mia Grant quickly lay back down and pretended to be asleep.
There was no time to put the lamp back, so she just tossed it under the covers.
'I've got a plan,' she thought. 'If Kian Keller goes crazy, I'll whip out my little treasure and give him a good whack!'
'Hit and run. Problem solved.'
A maid drew the sheer bed curtains to one side and tied them back. A tall figure stopped by the bedside.
Mia Grant's breath caught. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel an intense gaze lingering on her face.
Then, a shadow flickered, the bed dipped, and Kian Keller leaned in, one hand caressing her face.
His hand was trembling as he repeatedly confirmed that his lost-and-found treasure was real.
Mia Grant's cheek itched, but she didn't dare move.
The pad of his finger lingered on her lips, his touch very light this time.
Before she passed out, she had seen Kian Keller's eyes practically bursting from their sockets as he pressed down hard on her lips, as if trying to stanch the bleeding.
Droplets of blood had stained the pad of his finger and sullied the Buddha Beads in his hand.
The string of Buddha Beads, which he hadn't had time to put away, brushed intentionally or not against her lower lip, carrying the familiar scent of Agarwood, just as she remembered.
Previously, her parents from the Grant Family had slapped her for no apparent reason, and she had run away from home in a fit of anger.
It was raining outside.
The Keller and Grant Families were old family friends and lived close to each other. She hadn't run far before she encountered Kian Keller's car.
And so, on that stormy night, she sat soaking wet on his bed while he stood beside it, using that same hand, the one wrapped with Buddha Beads, to wipe away her tears.
And as she inhaled the scent of Agarwood, as if intoxicated, her clear eyes glistening with tears, she reached out and hugged his waist. "Mr. Keller, can you give Mia a hug?"
"Mia really hurts..."
* * *
"Hiss."
A sudden, sharp pain on her lips made Mia Grant's eyes fly open.
"Mmph!"
Kian Keller cupped the back of her neck with one hand, kneading it firmly to make her lower her guard as the pressure of his kiss gradually intensified.
Mia Grant instinctively reached for the lamp under the covers, but she quickly let go.
'Forget it, forget it. A kiss won't kill me!'
'But killing someone and going to jail means paying with my life!'
Kian Keller's kiss was suffocating. Mia Grant was forced to tilt her head back and endure it.
After a long while, feeling as though she were about to drown, she instinctively pushed against his shoulder.
Kian Keller propped himself up, staring at her lips, which were now a deep red from being kissed. "Didn't Hayes Hughes teach you how to breathe?"
"Huh?" Mia Grant, dazed and a little breathless from the kiss, asked, "...Who?"
'Hayes... who? Hughes... what? Who was that again?'
Her chest heaved, and her eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at him, her gaze as clear and innocent as that of a bewildered fawn.