Vernon Hospital.
Since the phone call with Karina, Xavier and Serena haven't spoken to each other.
She turned her head to face the window, pretending to look at the view outside.
He, on the other hand, pressed his lips together and stared at her, not saying a word, seemingly lost in thought.
More than twenty minutes passed. Serena endured and endured, but eventually couldn't hold it in any longer. She turned around and glanced at the IV bag hanging beside the bed.
The liquid in the bag was almost gone. She roughly estimated the remaining time it would take for the infusion to finish, then turned back, ready to continue watching the sparrows on the tree outside the window.
"Serena!" A hoarse voice came from behind.
Serena didn't turn around immediately. After a few seconds, she replied, "Hmm?!"
"Hey!" Xavier sighed, his voice low, "I was wrong!"
"Huh..." Serena finally turned around to look at the man lying in the bed, "Why are you suddenly apologizing?!"
"I don't know!" Xavier spread his hands helplessly, "Anyway, since you're ignoring me, I must have upset you. Whatever the reason, I should apologize. I'm wrong. Please don't ignore me, okay?!"
"..." Serena suddenly laughed, her smile filled with helplessness.
It wasn't helplessness toward Xavier, but toward herself.
She admitted that she was a little angry earlier, just because of Karina's sweet voice and the reciprocal 'Rest well' that he had said to her.
Now, his absurd apology suddenly struck her like a blunt object, waking her up.
Right, why was she even angry?! What grounds did she have, or need, to be upset?!
Shaking her head, Serena smiled self-deprecatingly. "No, I'm not angry. I..."
"Not angry, but why didn't you say a word and turned your back on me?!"
"I... I was looking at the scenery!" She said, raising her hand and pointing to the tree outside the window, "There are two sparrows building a nest over there!"
Xavier tilted his head in the direction she pointed, "Where? All I see is a bare tree trunk. There are no sparrows. You're just making up an excuse to lie to me!"
Serena blinked her eyes, feeling flustered as if her secret had been exposed.
She brushed her hair back, raised her head, and said, "Why are you always blaming me? You haven't spoken to me either!"
"I..."
Just now, when Karina's call came in, she had so sincerely wanted him to pick up... Thinking about this, Xavier felt his chest tighten and a fire stir inside him.
However, when it came to Serena, he couldn't bear to be angry at all, so he could only quietly talk himself down for a while.
"I didn't not talk. I..." He quickly came up with an excuse, "I'm weak and resting!"
"Resting?!" Without thinking, Serena blurted out, "Resting with your sweet Karina , right?!"
"What sweet Karina?!" Xavier looked innocent, "Just now, I answered the call on speakerphone in front of you. You heard it. I've never called her that."
"Heh... then, it was you who took the initiative to let her rest more, right?!"
"That was just basic politeness! The Carters is a prestigious family. Mr. Carter has no sons, only one daughter, and he has only Karina as his granddaughter. If I don't show her respect, I have to show some respect to the Carters, right?!"
"Oh, the fearless Young Master Blaze also cares about people and things, huh!" Serena teased, "How come I never noticed that you care so much about etiquette?!"
"I'm not afraid of him!" Xavier grimaced, "If my dad knows I neglected the person he introduced to me, he'll..."
Suddenly feeling a bit tight in his chest, Serena impatiently interrupted, "You don't need to explain to me! Whatever happened with her has nothing to do with me, and I'm not interested! If you're afraid that your dad will make things difficult for you, then go ahead and start dating Miss Carter!"
The light in Xavier's eyes instantly dimmed, his thin lips tightly pressed together. After a while, he asked in a deep voice, "Why would you think that?! You think I'm only doing this because I'm afraid of my dad..."
"Isn't it?! You said it yourself!"
"Yes!" Xavier smiled bitterly and nodded, "I admit, sometimes I'm afraid of my dad. But you need to know, I'm not afraid of him punishing me or anything. I'm afraid he'll sabotage my chances of seeing you. You're right, I, Xavier Blaze, am fearless in this world. But even the strongest have a soft spot, and my soft spot is you, Serena Knowles!"
Serena's chest tightened violently, and she felt as though her heart might leap out of her mouth.
She quickly turned her head, not daring to meet his gaze.
After a moment of silence, she said, "I... I suggest you find a new soft spot! I... I'm not suitable!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she suddenly felt a wave of emotion. Her heart felt empty, like something was missing.
The man didn't reply.
The two fell into a heavy silence again.
The overly quiet atmosphere only made the awkwardness in the room grow exponentially.
Serena quietly considered whether she should use buying water as an excuse to leave and escape for a while.
Just then, there was a sudden exclamation from the door, "Oh no, the medication is all used up. Why didn't you call me?!"
Her heart skipped a beat. Serena instinctively looked at the back of Xavier's hand.
The section of the IV tube connected to his hand was already stained bright red.
The medication was all used up, and under the pressure, his blood had been drained to a considerable extent.
"I'm so sorry..." Serena stammered, her voice tight with anxiety as her gaze locked onto the tube.
A nurse hurriedly rushed over, swiftly taking the medication bag hanging above Xavier's head, "Luckily, I guessed the time was about right, so I came to check. If I hadn't come, all the blood would have been drained. Just a few days ago, there was a patient in another department who experienced this..."
"Enough!" The nurse continued to chatter, but Xavier suddenly coldly interrupted her.
The nurse looked down at him, startled by his sharp gaze. She immediately shut her mouth and didn't dare to speak.
She quickly removed the needle, placing a band-aid on the back of his hand, then turned to Serena and said, "Miss, I'm leaving now. When your boyfriend feels better, take him to the ward."
Serena nodded apologetically, "Okay, I understand. Thank you!"
The nurse waved her hand and glanced nervously at Xavier before quickly walking out of the room.
After she left, Serena lowered her head and slowly moved to the bed, muttering in a low voice, "I didn't keep an eye on your IV. If you're mad, you can take it out on me, but why take it out on the nurse..."
"Who told her to talk nonsense!" Xavier grinned again, "You were already apologizing, and she still said those unnecessary things. What was her intention?"
***