A Little Trick, the Scumbag Dad Can't Hold the Knife After Understanding Love-Chapter 260

Hearing that he had done it himself, Ji Nian gave him a thumbs-up.

Impressive.

Lu Jinghuai smiled, finally seeming to recover from the discomfort of having his earlobe pinched earlier.

"But I’ve never worn earrings."

"Why not?"

Ji Nian tilted her head.

Lu Jinghuai blinked at her, mimicking her tone: "Because my mom would scold me."

Ji Nian was taken aback by the answer, clicking her tongue in surprise.

Then it dawned on her: "So you grew your hair long to hide the ear piercings too?"

Lu Jinghuai nodded. "Yeah."

"And the public likes it." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

As the only son of Princess Feia, he attracted considerable attention in their country, even having a fan club. Despite rarely appearing in public since he was five, his popularity never waned.

Lu Jinghuai had kept this hairstyle since childhood, never changing it.

Except, of course, during the time when his hair fell out completely due to being used in experiments.

Ji Nian thought about his status and understood.

Though he had refused her offer, Ji Nian still accompanied Lu Jinghuai to the hospital after he took leave.

They went to a private hospital under the Ji Family’s name, so things moved quickly.

Fortunately, the check-up results showed no major issues—just rest and recovery.

As they were leaving, Ji Nian was telling him to go straight home after school and skip the group shopping trip to rest.

But then Lu Jinghuai suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Ji Nian paused, instinctively following his gaze.

On a bench nearby, a child was crying in his mother’s arms. The nurse held a thick, large syringe with a long needle—so long that Ji Nian could see its cold glint even from a distance.

"Let’s go…"

Noticing Ji Nian’s stare, Lu Jinghuai tugged at her.

His grip was unusually tight, almost painfully clamping down on her wrist.

But he didn’t seem to realize it, pulling her forward so hastily that he missed the elevator entirely.

"Sorry… I need to use the restroom."

"Okay."

Ji Nian nodded, watching as he rushed into the bathroom without looking back. She then glanced again in the direction they’d come from, deep in thought.

[Afraid of needles?]

Her guess wasn’t baseless—after all, Ji Nian knew about Lu Jinghuai’s childhood experiences.

In the bathroom stall, Lu Jinghuai crouched in front of the toilet, arms rigidly shielding his face, fingers trembling uncontrollably.

His jaw was clenched so tightly that veins bulged on his forehead from the strain.

He knew Ji Nian’s sharpness would pick up on his behavior, and he was aware of how out of character he seemed.

But he couldn’t help it.

The memory of faceless figures in white coats, their hollow eyes the only visible feature, pinning him to an examination table while thick needles pierced his skin—liquid searing through his flesh like molten agony—flooded his mind.

Only when the metallic tang of blood filled his mouth did he snap back to reality.

Why hadn’t he refused more firmly? He’d known this might happen, yet he’d still hoped to avoid it.

This was why he hated hospitals.

The last time he’d visited one was only because someone who could procure otherwise unavailable medication—and keep it confidential—worked there.

After a few deep breaths, Lu Jinghuai forced himself to compose his reflection in the mirror.

"Sorry, did I keep you waiting too long?"

When he stepped out, Ji Nian was leaning against a vending machine, scrolling through her phone. She looked up casually.

"Not at all. Phones make waiting easy."

She waved her phone, the little golden retriever charm swaying with the motion.

"By the way, before we head back to school, can you come with me somewhere?"

Before Lu Jinghuai could answer, Ji Nian spoke up.

Truthfully, Lu Jinghuai didn’t want to return to school in this state.

"Sure."

But he agreed anyway.

Even though he knew he should hurry home to shake off the bone-deep fear of needles, he still said yes to Ji Nian.

He was a moth—how could he resist the pull of her flame?

He’d assumed it’d be another craft store or a place where Ji Nian might buy something for Gu Xiuyuan.

But when they arrived, Lu Jinghuai looked up—

A public restroom.

And not just any restroom—a remote gas station toilet with an open pit.

The stench hit him the moment they stepped inside, potent enough to make his eyes water.

Lu Jinghuai’s lips parted, but no words came out as he turned to Ji Nian.

Her expression was one of solemn determination, as if she were about to charge into battle.

And her actions matched it.

She dragged Lu Jinghuai inside—

The smell inside was a hundred times worse. The reek of urine and feces assaulted his senses, so overpowering that his brain short-circuited, as if someone had smeared excrement directly under his nose.

With a contorted expression, Ji Nian pulled him to a relatively clean corner and squatted down.

Her nose was scrunched so tightly her voice came out strained: "Well?"

Lu Jinghuai, temples throbbing from the assault on his nostrils, stared at her in utter bewilderment.

Well what?

Ji Nian continued, voice tight with suppressed disgust: "The smell of crap makes you forget things. The more you inhale, the less you remember."

Lu Jinghuai: "…………………………"

She wasn’t wrong.

His mind was now a singular loop of:

Stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink stink so foul so foul so foul so foul so foul so foul so foul so foul so foul so foul so foul so foul

Beyond that, nothing else existed.

Two ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‍fourteen-year-olds, in the height of summer when all odors are magnified, crouched in a desolate public toilet, letting the stench of human waste wash away their troubles.

By the time they emerged, the lingering reek clung to them like a curse, their brains too fried to function properly.

The scorching sun only intensified the smell, making it feel even more suffocating.

They stood under a tree for half an hour before their noses began to recover.

Too afraid to hail a cab (lest the stench traumatize the driver), the two wordlessly unlocked shared bikes and pedaled all the way back to the city.

In their current state, school was out of the question. Lu Jinghuai took Ji Nian to his home. Standing in the courtyard, surrounded by the faint scent of flowers, they exchanged a glance.

The memory of their furtive journey—dodging crowds, desperate to avoid subjecting others to their odor—flashed between them.

And they burst out laughing.

Lu Jinghuai had been lost, kidnapped, injured—but he’d never stunk before.

The absurdity of actually squatting in a public toilet, inhaling fecal fumes for half an hour on Ji Nian’s suggestion, struck him as hilarious.

How could Ji Nian be…

This ridiculously entertaining?

"Kinda extreme, but admit it—it worked."

Ji Nian belatedly felt a twinge of embarrassment. She’d just made the Young Imperial Grandson, fresh from a head injury, huff toilet stench. Even if it wasn’t hers, the shame was real.

"It did. Thank you."

Lu Jinghuai's smile hadn't faded yet. Tilting his head toward her, his silver-gray eyes sparkled under the sunlight, showing not a trace of irritation.

The two of them had biked back, looking—and smelling—utterly disheveled. The security guard didn’t even recognize Lu Jinghuai and stopped them, which said everything about their sorry state.

But when Lu Jinghuai stood by the flowerbed, turning to grin at her like that, Ji Nian found herself staring, spellbound.

A sudden realization struck her.

No matter what she did to him, he never seemed to get mad.

Given that her mental age was even older than Ji Tingzhou's, a wild thought crossed Ji Nian’s mind.

She reached out, pinched one of Lu Jinghuai’s cheeks, and gave it a firm tug.

With his face squished, Lu Jinghuai mumbled, "Wha... what’s up?"