Shu Er held her phone, feeling a bit anxious as she waited for a reply.
If Huo Chao really was the person she saved when they were children, there was no way he wouldn’t respond.
A life-saving favor—he’d have to repay that somehow. So, no need to worry. Just be patient and wait.
Shu Er reminded herself again and again to stay calm and wait quietly.
But the phone in her hand remained stubbornly silent.
Did he not receive the message?
Or was it inconvenient for him to reply?
Or, maybe she had actually mistaken him for someone else? If it were the first reason, that would be fine. But if it were one of the other two…
Shu Er bit her lower lip.
Li Mo couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with Shu Er. She seemed too focused on Huo Chao. But why would Shu Er care so much about someone else’s guy? There are so many guys around her. Gu Mingqian, for example, except for being too emotionally reserved, wasn’t that different from Huo Chao.
Suddenly, an unbelievable thought popped into Li Mo’s head.
Could Shu Er be…jealous of Shu Er?
Was it because Shu Er had been getting all the attention lately?
The more Li Mo thought about it, the more it seemed possible. She half-jokingly, half-seriously said, “Shu Shu, you’re not jealous of Shu Er, are you?”
That sentence hit right at Shu Er’s sore spot.
Jealous of Shu Er? Is that even possible?
Shu Er sneered, “You’re mistaken. I’m not jealous. I’m just taking back what’s rightfully mine.”
Li Mo looked puzzled. “What?”
Shu Er didn’t say much more, only hinting, “All you need to know is that Shu Er is a thief.”
In Shu Er’s eyes, Shu Er had stolen what belonged to her—the spotlight, her rightful place.
Now, she is just simply taking back what’s hers.
Li Mo was baffled. What was Shu Er talking about?
Shu Er is a thief?
What did she steal?
—
Meanwhile, Shu Er was lying in bed, sending WeChat messages to Huo Chao.
[Xiao Er: Brother, brother, are you free all day on Sunday?]
[Brother: ?]
Shu Er wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction. Huo Chao would just reply with a question mark every single time. Couldn’t he ask her gently, “What’s wrong, little princess?”
But Shu Er knew not to expect too much from Huo Chao. Besides, whenever she imagined Huo Chao speaking gently, she couldn’t help but laugh—thinking how awkward and cringy it would be. The current situation suited her just fine.
[Xiao Er: Can you accompany me for a day tomorrow?]
[Brother: Why?]
[Xiao Er: I have to discuss tomorrow! Let’s meet at 8 o’clock in the morning, at the door of my house. See you there!]
After sending the WeChat message, Shu Er carefully tucked the DNA test results into her bag.
She had a busy day planned for tomorrow, so she took a shower and went to bed early.
—
The next morning at 8 AM, when Shu Er arrived at the front gate, Huo Chao was already waiting for her.
She gave him an address, then hopped onto the back seat of his bicycle with a peace of mind.
Huo Chao frowned, “What are you going there for?”
Shu Er tilted her head and replied, “Of course it’s for something important!”
The address she had given him rang a bell for Huo Chao, but only slightly. He had heard people mention it before, but didn’t know much about what was there.
Feeling uneasy, he instinctively pulled out his mobile phone to check. After a quick search, he discovered that the address led to a tattoo street.
He parked the bike and asked, “Are you going to get a tattoo?”
Shu Er nodded and admitted frankly, “Yes.”
Huo Chao frowned. “Why would a kid get a tattoo?”
Shu Er pouted. She didn’t want to get a tattoo. Tattoos are painful. She’s a princess who only enjoys sweet things. Naturally, she doesn’t want to suffer such hardship in vain.
But that scar on her back? The more she looked at it, the more it bothered her.
Her skin was soft and fair, perfectly alluring—yet that scar ruined the entire aesthetic.
How can she wear backless outfits with it? How can she wear a bikini in the summer? How can she enjoy herself at the beach?
So she thought maybe she could have the tattoo artist help her design something, like a butterfly or something, to cover up the scar. Perhaps having a tattoo would make the scar less noticeable and even more attractive.
Huo Chao pressed on, “So, why do you want a tattoo?”
Shu Er saw no reason to hide the truth. “Because I have a scar on my back.”
“A scar?” Huo Chao asked, intrigued. “Is it very noticeable?”
When the topic came up, Shu Er felt a wave of frustration welling up. “Yes, it is!”
She had no idea how she got the scar. It looked like it was caused by something hitting her, and the area was fairly large. She had considered getting scar removal surgery, but the scar seemed too old for that to be effective. She didn’t expect to get it back to its original state, so she thought it might be better to just tattoo something beautiful over it.
Shu Er also wondered whether this scar was a result of abuse from her parents when she was young. However, after closely examining the scar on her back multiple times, she didn’t believe it bore the marks of mistreatment.
She had also subtly questioned Shu Ya about their childhood. From Shu Ya, she learned that their parents had been indifferent towards her, advising Shu Ya to keep her distance from her. But as far as physical abuse went, there had never been any.
If their parents had abused her when she was young, they would have likely lost control and done so again as she grew up. Yet, from what she observed, their parents may not have treated her well, but they certainly did not abuse her.
Dressed in a yellow suspender skirt layered over a white shirt, Shu Er removed her coat, pulled her ponytail, and turned her back to Huo Chao, exposing her back boldly. “Brother, take a look for yourself.”
Before Huo Chao could protest, his gaze was drawn to her delicate, fair back, which held a touch of fragile beauty.
Her butterfly bones were stunningly beautiful, but her fair skin only highlighted the ugly scar on her back, making it stand out even more against the bright colors of her outfit.
From the size and shape of the scar, it was clear that she had endured a significant impact when she got hurt.
Huo Chao’s brows furrowed tighter. “Does it still hurt?”
Shu Er shook her head. “It doesn’t hurt, but it just doesn’t look good.”
Being such a beauty-conscious person, she couldn’t tolerate having that scar on her back.
Huo Chao instinctively reached out to touch the scar, but as his hand moved closer, he realized how inappropriate that would be. He quickly withdrew his hand. “Put your clothes back on first.”
“Oh,” Shu Er replied. The temperature had dropped recently, and wearing just the suspender was indeed a bit chilly.
“How did you get hurt?”
“I can’t remember.”
But truth be told, it wasn’t that she had forgotten; she truly had no idea where the scar came from.
Shu Er didn’t feel inclined to dig into the origin of the scar, either. So much time had passed; likely, only the original body would know how it got there.
She just wanted to cover it up properly.
“Brother, let’s hurry and ask the tattoo artist about it,” she urged.
Huo Chao glanced at her but didn’t say much, only telling her to get on the bicycle.
Shu Er thought they were headed to the tattoo shop, so she hopped on without hesitation.
However, after a while, she realized they weren’t going in the direction of the tattoo street at all.
“Brother, where are you taking me?” she asked.
Huo Chao cracked a rare joke. “To sell you.”
Shu Er knew he was joking and laughed back. “Make sure to sell me for a good price!”
Huo Chao clicked his tongue. “Who could afford to keep such a spoiled little princess?”
As Shu Er swung her legs casually, it wasn’t long before Huo Chao stopped the bike.
When she looked around, she realized they weren’t headed for the tattoo street at all but had arrived at a specialized dermatology hospital.
!!!
Shu Er was taken aback. He wanted to take her to see a doctor?
Pouting her lips, she reluctantly said, “Brother, this scar has been here for a long time. The removal effect is probably quite limited now.”
“Still, the doctor should take a look,” Huo Chao insisted.
“Okay,” she replied.
After consulting with the doctor, the verdict was as she had feared. The doctor agreed that it was a shame such a beautiful back had an unsightly scar. However, the scar had existed for so long that the improvement potential was uncertain. Current medical technology could not completely erase scars.
This was not a reflection of her personal circumstances, but rather the limitations of existing medical advancements.
The doctor explained that scar treatment still had a long way to go. While they could improve the appearance, they couldn’t make it disappear entirely.
Shu Er turned to Huo Chao with a pleading look that seemed to say, “See? I knew it would be like this.”
Huo Chao pressed his lips together and said nothing.
As the doctor wrote a prescription, she mentioned, “I’ll prescribe you some ointment. Apply it three times a day. If you stick with it, you might improve the scar’s appearance. Young lady, this scar seems like it was caused by a heavy object falling from a height onto your back. You must have endured quite a bit of pain back then. Be careful in the future, and I wish you peace and safety.”
Shu Er felt a pang of sympathy for the original owner of the body. Although the scar no longer hurt, the impact must have been excruciating at the time.
She smiled softly, “Thank you, doctor.”
As Huo Chao walked ahead with the medicine, Shu Er followed, her hands clasped behind her back, bouncing along with an expression of carefree joy.
What else could she do? The doctor had said that current medical techniques couldn’t completely eliminate the scar. Since she hadn’t received any system upgrades or magical abilities after entering this story, she had no other options.
However, since the doctor mentioned there was a possibility to improve the scar’s condition, she would give the ointment a try.
While following Huo Chao, she noticed his mobile phone was buzzing constantly.
Curiously, she asked, “Brother, are you busy?”
“Not really,” he replied nonchalantly, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
Shu Er, still curious, bounced up to him and said, “Brother, there’s one more thing.”
“Hm?” Huo Chao scanned her from head to toe, worried she might have gotten hurt again.
“I’m not my parents’ biological child. I was swapped at birth,” she revealed casually.
Huo Chao instinctively halted in his tracks.
Just the other day, he had been puzzled as to why Shu Er had only invited Shu Ya to her birthday party.
Now, it clicked into place.
“Is that confirmed?” he asked, his tone serious.
Shu Er nodded, pulling the DNA test results from her bag.
“My sister mentioned it. She overheard our parents talking about it. They always told her and the eldest sister not to get too close to me, probably worried about forming an attachment.”
As she shared this, there was no trace of sadness in her voice.
But the next moment, she felt a hand on her head, ruffling her hair playfully.
“Brother, you’re messing up my hairstyle!” she protested, glaring at him.
Huo Chao only ruffled her hair more vigorously in response.
Shu Er decided to ignore him. With her hands clasped together, she asked, “Brother, could you help me look into my biological parents?”
Huo Chao lowered his gaze and murmured, “Sure.”
Besides investigating Shu Er’s biological parents, he also needed to delve into the events that occurred a decade ago in County B, when he had encountered danger.
