Chapter 13: Actually, I Know Massage Too. How About... Let Me Try?
"Uh... (⊙o⊙)...."
"Miss, this is our first meeting! Why such a grand gesture? Let me clarify..."
"I'm Lin Xuan, soon to marry Qingge. I'm not a pervert!"
"....."
Looking at the furious, anime-styled girl kneeling at his feet and glaring at him.
Lin Xuan felt a headache coming on.
He had a hunch that she would be the biggest obstacle to him earning points.
Chen Kexin, 18 years old.
The youngest daughter of the Chen family, a terminal case of "chūnibyō."
A top-tier internet celebrity with tens of millions of fans in the anime community.
The Chen family was among the better-developed second-tier families in recent years.
Their creation, the D-Station platform, had become the largest anime community in the country after years of growth.
Although its user base skewed young.
It had very high user engagement.
It was highly popular among the younger generation...
"You're the one Grandpa Su brought in for good luck? I don't agree."
"Marriage for good fortune is feudal superstition and outdated nonsense. I won't let you sully my Sister Su."
"Especially you, Lin Xuan. If the rumors about you in the city are true, you'd definitely be an abusive husband."
"..."
Chen Kexin made an "X" with her hands over her chest, signaling her disapproval of the marriage.
But Lin Xuan ignored her, simply holding Su Qingge's hand tighter and casually said:
"This was Grandpa Su's decision. If you're unhappy, you can take it up with him."
"You, you, you..."
Seeing Lin Xuan remain indifferent.
And even "playing" with her sister in front of her.
Chen Kexin's eye twitched furiously, and the ahoge on her head swayed wildly, angrily slapping the air.
But she didn't dare protest to Su Shengtian.
Otherwise, with his personality, he would definitely scold her harshly.
Fortunately, she had come prepared today...
"Hmph! I will definitely stop this marriage. What era are we in, still arranging marriages?"
"I'm sure Sister Su wouldn't agree to this if she woke up. Just like me..."
"My family somehow arranged for me to marry someone named 'Su Fan,' and they're forcing me to meet and marry him soon."
"Hmph! No way. I'm only interested in anime and my wifey Sister Su. Just wait and see how I deal with this Su Fan..."
"....."
Chen Kexin crossed her arms over her chest, looking like she'd rather die than comply.
Su Fan?
Hearing this name.
Lin Xuan's lips curled into a smirk as he glanced at Chen Kexin.
In the early part of the novel.
The protagonist, Su Yang, used the alias Su Fan early on to avoid implicating the Su family due to his many enemies.
When Chen Kexin first met "Su Fan," she rejected him in every way.
Later, she was gradually won over and eventually became one of his closest confidants...
Noticing Lin Xuan's strange gaze on her, Chen Kexin felt a shiver run down her spine.
"Hmph! What kind of look is that? Let me tell you."
"I've already found a way to heal Sister Su. Once she wakes up, don't even think about having any connection with her."
"...."
After saying this.
Chen Kexin finally turned her attention to the elderly man who had just arrived.
The elder was dressed in luxurious attire, with a youthful face and white hair.
It was clear that he had taken excellent care of his health.
"Grandpa Deng, you're way too slow."
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Teach me that massage method. I need to save Sister Su right away."
Hearing this.
The panting elder, his face dark with frustration, found himself helpless against his mischievous old friend's granddaughter.
He could only smile wryly and say:
"I told you, this method was something I read in an ancient text."
"Moreover, the ancient text was damaged. This massage method is incomplete, so the results likely won't be significant..."
"...."
Following the elder's explanation.
Everyone learned that he had discovered a massage method specifically for vegetative patients from an ancient text.
However, since the ancient text was incomplete, Elder Deng hadn't taken it too seriously.
But Chen Kexin happened to find out about it and insisted on bringing him to try it.
"I don't care! As long as there's a sliver of hope, we have to try, don't we?"
"If we do nothing, are we going to let Sister Su lie here like this forever?"
Chen Kexin gnashed her small canine teeth, looking utterly defiant.
Her words instantly silenced everyone in the room.
Especially Su Qingge, lying on the bed, who was shouting desperately in her heart.
'Kexin is right!'
'If I have to remain a vegetative patient forever, I'd rather die.'
'As long as there's even a glimmer of hope! No matter how slim, I'm willing to seize it.'
'Please, don't stop! I've truly had enough of this living hell.'
.....
Perhaps they heard Su Qingge's silent prayers.
Elder Deng frowned as he glanced at the "sleeping beauty" on the bed, finally sighing and nodding.
He instructed Chen Kexin to place the patient in a supine position and guided her on acupoints and massage techniques.
Since this concerned the key to waking Su Qingge, Chen Kexin didn't dare be careless.
Following Elder Deng's instructions.
She began to perform the medical massage seriously and professionally.
Since her grandfather was an old friend of Elder Deng.
Elder Deng would occasionally teach her some basic health massage techniques during his leisure time.
Faced with the complex acupoints described by Elder Deng, she handled them with ease.
Five minutes later.
While everyone was focused, no one noticed Lin Xuan's strange expression.
"How come this massage technique looks so similar to the skill I redeemed from the system?"
"Or rather, this is the simplified version of the 'Divine Touch Massage Technique,' and an incomplete one at that..."
Perhaps because of the incomplete ancient text.
Lin Xuan noticed many flaws in the technique and quickly spoke up to stop it.
"Stop! You're doing this wrong."
"Massage techniques require 'stability, precision, dexterity, and speed.' Your movements should be steady and natural, but you're applying pressure for too long and on the wrong acupoints."
"This won't unblock the meridians; it will cause chaos in the body's vital energy and blood flow..."
Hearing this, Chen Kexin instinctively paused.
After coming to her senses, she turned to glare angrily at Lin Xuan and snapped:
"If you don't know what you're talking about, don't interrupt, okay? Do you think you understand massage better than me?"
"Grandpa Deng didn't stop me. Are you saying you know more about medicine than him?"
"Grandpa Deng, let's continue. Ignore him."
Just as Chen Kexin finished speaking, she saw Elder Deng frowning and shaking his head to stop her:
"No! This young man is correct! There is indeed a problem with this method."
"I had a vague feeling about it from the start but wanted to try it anyway."
"If you don't believe me, look at the Su girl's complexion. If we continue, she might even be in danger."
Hearing this, Chen Kexin instinctively looked at Su Qingge and was instantly dumbfounded.
At that moment, the girl's face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, and her forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
No matter how you looked at it...
It was clear that something had gone wrong with the massage technique.
"Grandpa Deng, what should we do now?"
Chen Kexin was so heartbroken that she was on the verge of tears, and the ahoge on her head trembled violently with her emotions.
"The massage method just now disrupted the Su girl's internal qi and blood flow."
"I'll perform acupuncture on her first and prescribe some herbal medicine to nourish her for a few days. But this massage method can't be continued..."
Hearing this.
Chen Kexin's face was full of disappointment.
But she was helpless—she couldn't risk Su Qingge's safety.
She could only pray that next time, they would find another method to treat Su Qingge.
'Another failure...'
'How many times has it been? Am I really destined to remain a vegetative patient for the rest of my life?'
'If that's the case, I'd rather die. At least I wouldn't have to endure this suffering anymore.'
'I'm so tired… I wish I could die and go to heaven to see my brothers...'
.....
Seeing hope shatter again, Su Qingge fell into complete despair.
When Chen Kexin was massaging her earlier, she had already felt uncomfortable, alternating between cold and hot sensations.
As time went on, her entire body was in constant pain every moment.
But in the face of the hope of waking up, Su Qingge could endure even ten times the pain with a smile.
But now...
All hope was gone...
Perhaps this was her fate...
Just as Su Qingge was in unbearable pain and resigned herself to despair...
Lin Xuan's voice rang out, reigniting her hope.
"Um, actually, this massage technique isn't wrong. It's just incomplete..."
"It just so happens that I once learned the complete version of this massage technique by chance."
"How about... you let me try?!"