"If Mute Su hadn't asked me to come with her today, I would've never caught you in the act. How long were you planning to hide this from me?"

"I knew something was off! I was wondering why the place Mute Su asked me to come to felt so familiar. It turns out it was to see you!"

Sun Li pointed at Luo Xiu, her cheeks puffed out. "You're so dishonest! Hitting on my bestie behind my back!"

But when this little fairy got angry, she wasn't scary at all; in fact, she was quite adorable. Of course, she wasn't truly angry—it was just friendly teasing.

Luo Xiu felt wronged. "How was I supposed to know you two knew each other? Besides, this doesn't count as hitting on her, does it?"

Sun Li stared at him skeptically. "You've already added each other on WeChat and arranged to meet. You still don't think that counts as hitting on her?"

Luo Xiu rubbed his nose and said with a straight face, "I'm conducting business. Not everyone is like you, a rich young miss who has food on the table without lifting a finger. I have to earn a living."

"That's true." After a moment's thought, Sun Li had to agree. She then pulled Su Shanyue over to Luo Xiu.

"Luo Xiu, let me introduce you two properly. This is Yueyue, Su Shanyue. I usually call her Mute Su, but sometimes I call her Yueyue."

"Mute Su and I have been best friends since kindergarten, all the way through college."

Luo Xiu politely extended his hand to Su Shanyue. "Miss Su, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Luo Xiu."

He felt a bit helpless. He was already so close with Sun Li, and Su Shanyue was her best friend, so it felt wrong to try and profit off her. He had been planning to make a small fortune from Su Shanyue, enough to buy himself a nice burial plot... but now it looked like he could only offer her a friends-and-family discount.

Su Shanyue smiled gently, extending her delicate hand and nodding at Luo Xiu.

Sun Li then asked, "Luo Xiu, you know why Mute Su came to see you, right?"

Luo Xiu nodded, then turned and walked toward the living room. "Let's talk inside."

「In the spacious yet empty living room.」

Luo Xiu looked at Su Shanyue awkwardly. "Sorry, I just moved in and haven't bought any furniture. There isn't even a place to sit. You'll have to make do with this for now." He then dragged a suitcase over, laid it flat, and offered it to her as a seat.

Su Shanyue sat down on the suitcase, her posture graceful and gentle. However, she kept her head lowered, not daring to meet Luo Xiu's gaze, appearing very shy. Being unable to speak had made her feel somewhat inferior since she was young, and over time she had become introverted. Other than Sun Li, she had almost no one she could call a close friend.

Luo Xiu handed her a bottle of mineral water and asked with a smile, "How come that fierce young lady who was with you last time isn't here today?"

Su Shanyue smiled apologetically, accepted the water, and began to use sign language. Although Luo Xiu didn't understand it, he could roughly guess that she was saying the fierce young lady was busy with other things.

Just then, Sun Li came over and asked, "Where do I sit?"

Luo Xiu glanced at her. "You can stand."

"Oh…" Sun Li pouted and obediently stepped to the side, but then she suddenly leaned close to Luo Xiu again. "What about my water?"

Luo Xiu planted a hand on her head and pushed her away. "If you want water, get it from the kitchen tap yourself."

Sun Li flailed her arms, trying to swat him, but he simply held her back by her forehead, her short arms unable to reach him.

Seeing the two of them fool around, Su Shanyue couldn't help but cover her mouth and stifle a laugh.

Suddenly, she felt as if Sun Li had become a different person. In her memory, Sun Li wasn't exactly demure and dignified, but she had always behaved like a lady from a good family—poised and proper. Why did she act like a little girl in front of Luo Xiu?

"Alright, alright, I'll stop messing with you," Sun Li said, pushing his hand away. Her tone became serious. "Luo Xiu, can you please examine her first?"

Luo Xiu observed Su Shanyue for a moment before speaking. "Miss Su, what I'm about to do might be a little forward. If you feel uncomfortable, you can refuse." After speaking, he stepped forward, reached out, and placed his right hand on her pale neck.

The touch of a man's hand on her neck made Su Shanyue's body go stiff with resistance. But an instant later, she felt a marvelous warmth penetrate her skin, both incredibly comforting and reassuring. She met Luo Xiu's earnest gaze, and her face flushed beet-red. She quickly closed her eyes, relaxing her body and mind to let him proceed with the examination.

Luo Xiu then began to press and rub various spots on her head, almost as if he were handling a delicate figurine.

Sun Li muttered from the side, "You better not take advantage of my bestie. Mute Su has never even held a boy's hand her whole life."

Hearing this, Su Shanyue's face turned redder, and she nervously signed for Sun Li to stop talking nonsense.

But Luo Xiu remained completely focused, seemingly oblivious to Sun Li's words.

「A few minutes later.」

Luo Xiu withdrew his hand. Su Shanyue looked at him, her eyes filled with hope.

"To be honest, this is my first time encountering a condition like this," Luo Xiu said. "But of one thing I'm certain… this isn't an illness. It's man-made."

"Man-made?" Sun Li asked, shocked. "So you're saying someone intentionally made her mute?"

Luo Xiu replied, "That's one way to put it."

Having been in such close contact with her, he could now feel the peculiar energy inside Su Shanyue's body even more clearly. His curiosity was growing by the second.

Sun Li clenched her small fists, gritting her teeth in anger. "Just let me find out who harmed our Yueyue! If I do... then... then Luo Xiu, you have to help me beat them up!"

She then asked, "Are you confident you can cure her?"

He nodded. "I can."

His simple answer made Sun Li and Su Shanyue ecstatic.

"That's great, Mute Su! You can be cured!" Sun Li exclaimed. "I told you! There's no illness Luo Xiu can't cure!"

Because Luo Xiu had cured the Sun Family's hereditary disease, Sun Li now regarded him with almost blind faith and admiration.

Luo Xiu turned to Su Shanyue. "Miss Su, I'll be treating you with a combination of medicine and acupuncture. The process will be long and potentially painful, so you'll need to be patient.

"Once the treatment starts, it cannot be stopped, or all our efforts will be wasted. That means you'll probably have to stay near me. To put it simply, you'll have to live here."

Hearing this, Su Shanyue was quiet for a moment before she began signing.

Sun Li immediately translated, "She says that's fine. Her parents are away on a business trip, and she's bored at home by herself anyway."

"Then we'll start the treatment tomorrow," Luo Xiu said. "You should move your things over today. I also need to go to Wan Yao Hall this afternoon to prepare some medicine for you."

Su Shanyue took out a bank card and offered it to him, gesturing for him to take it.

Luo Xiu shook his head, however. "That's not necessary. You know I don't have to pay for medicine at Wan Yao Hall."

Su Shanyue grew anxious at his refusal, insisting he take the card.

At that moment, Sun Li interrupted them, her expression serious. "Luo Xiu, Yueyue is a girl. She just met you, and now she has to live with you. I don't feel good about that."

Luo Xiu gave her a strange look. "So?"

Sun Li coughed twice for emphasis. "So, to prevent you from doing anything untoward to my bestie, I've decided… I'm moving in too! To supervise you!"

Luo Xiu was speechless.

With a huff, Sun Li didn't even wait for his reply, grabbing Su Shanyue's hand and pulling her toward the stairs.

"Come on, Mute Su! Let's go pick our rooms!"

"The one with the bathtub is ours!"

Luo Xiu watched their retreating figures and shook his head helplessly.

He'd been thinking this big house was too quiet for one person. Well, problem solved. Now he had two stunning beauties moving in.

"Alright, you two can move in," he called out, "but you have to pay rent."

Sun Li stopped on the stairs and leaned over the railing. "And how much rent does our dear Landlord Luo plan on charging?"

Luo Xiu chuckled. "With our relationship? Talking about money would just strain our friendship."

"Then how do you want us to pay the rent?"

"First, you two are responsible for keeping this place clean. That means mopping, cleaning the windows, taking out the trash... and you're in charge of the kitchen, too.

"In short, all future housework is on you.

"Oh, and you'll be in charge of buying the furniture and everything else we need."

Sun Li was instantly furious, pointing a finger at him. "You're a monster in human skin!"

Luo Xiu shrugged. "You could always just move out."

Knowing Luo Xiu was a sucker for a soft approach, Sun Li put on a pitiful expression. "But you're going to make little fairies like us do such rough work? Don't you feel bad at all?"

Luo Xiu's face was a mask. "What's with the sweet-and-innocent act? That trick doesn't work on me."

"You're ruthless, Luo Xiu!"

Sun Li stormed off indignantly.

Upstairs, Su Shanyue used sign language to ask Sun Li what they should do. She didn't know how to do any housework and was worried she'd mess things up. Would Doctor Luo get angry?

Sun Li let out a sly chuckle. "Don't worry, Mute Su. I have plenty of ways to deal with him when the time comes. He thinks he can make us do housework? Not a chance!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.