Starting With SSS-rank: I Get A New Skill Every Livestream

Chapter 216: Unnecessary trouble

A patient was always advised to get proper rest and avoid lifting anything heavy during and immediately after discharge.

Unfortunately, Kyle couldn’t exactly follow those instructions when his princess was in a bad mood.

To cheer her up, he simply scooped her into his arms and carried her toward his room.

Amanda immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, her chin settling on his shoulder as she clung to him possessively.

"Aren’t you getting a little too close to her a little too quickly?" Amanda complained, deliberately choosing the least harsh way to express her displeasure. "I mean, you only met her a few days ago..."

"Well, you know me." Kyle let out a quiet sigh. "I don’t usually make friends, but when I do, I get close to them pretty fast. And Layena is someone I can relate to. Her family situation is similar to mine, if not worse."

Amanda pulled back just enough to look at him, her pout deepening.

"That’s so unfair!"

She huffed dramatically before continuing.

"Ah, my mother used to scold me all the time too. Doesn’t that make me relatable as well? She even slapped me once!"

The last part came out with exaggerated grievance, as though she had just presented an irrefutable argument.

Kyle didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Sitting down on the bed, he looked at her and said, "Yes, my Amanda is very relatable. I can barely imagine how terrible it must have felt to be slapped."

He gently brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek before adding,

"These delicate cheeks deserve nothing but love and kisses. I can’t imagine anyone ever wanting to slap them."

Amanda’s face warmed beneath his touch.

Lowering her gaze, she whispered softly, "Then heal me... she slapped this cheek."

Kyle’s grin widened.

Leaning forward, he pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.

"Good now?" he asked.

Amanda shook her head.

"It still stings..."

The corners of Kyle’s lips curled higher. At this point, he couldn’t stop smiling even if he wanted to.

Humoring her, he leaned in again and planted a much longer kiss on the same spot, deliberately exaggerating it so she would know just how dedicated he was to curing her terrible injury.

Amanda’s lips finally curved into a smile as a pleased hum escaped her.

Only then did Kyle pull away.

Using his thumb, he lightly wiped her cheek before asking,

"Better now?"

Amanda nodded twice without hesitation.

"Yes. Very good."

Kyle could only shake his head at her childishness.

Though judging by the triumphant smile on her face, she wasn’t the least bit ashamed of it.

But Kyle loved this side of her.

"My adorable Amy."

He pulled her into a tighter hug and was immediately rewarded with a series of happy little noises.

Unfortunately for both of them, Kyle’s phone chose that exact moment to ring.

"Mmm...don’t go." She complained.

Kyle told her, "It could be from Blake. Let me check it at least."

Amanda groaned but then nodded.

Letting out a sigh, he carefully lifted Amanda and set her down on the bed before walking over to the table and picking up his phone.

"Who is it?" Amanda asked, tilting her head curiously.

"My cousin, Adam." Kyle glanced at the screen. "Mind if I take it?"

Amanda shook her head.

"I’ll call Mother too. I need to let her know I won’t be returning today."

Kyle gave her a wry smile.

"So you faked that call in front of Blake earlier, huh?"

Amanda laughed awkwardly and hurried toward the window, her phone already in hand.

Kyle shook his head in amusement and answered the call just before it stopped ringing.

"Adam?"

[Ah! I was about to start informing everyone to prepare for a funeral.]

Kyle blinked.

Then he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Somehow, the conversation had managed to become exhausting from the very first sentence.

Shaking his head he said .

"Not gonna die anytime soon, mate. How have you been?"

He asked as he sat down on the sofa.

Guh.

The thing was far too small for someone his size to sit comfortably with his legs folded.

[I’m doing good. But you apparently aren’t. What is happening with you, brother? One disaster after another keeps finding you.]

Kyle had already learned from Blake that his uncle, aunt, and cousin were Nightwalkers, so he didn’t hesitate to speak casually with Adam.

"I’m in my character development arc," Kyle replied. "Need some challenges if I’m ever going to surpass you."

[Sadly, this isn’t fiction, and that face of yours would never fit a protagonist anyway. So stop pushing your luck and be more mindful of where you go.]

"Yeah, yeah. No need to sound like my mother."

A snort came from the other side of the call.

[Pfft. Like hell she would bother warning you. Ever since we arrived, I’ve heard your name from her maybe twice.]

Kyle’s smile faded slightly.

Leaning back against the sofa, he let out a quiet sigh.

"What do you expect? You’ve known her long enough to understand what she thinks of me."

He shook his head.

"She probably finds situations like these completely normal."

[You bet. I intentionally brought up how you aced all those piano competitions this morning, and it was hilarious watching her desperately try to change the subject. At this point, bud, I think you should get a DNA test.]

Kyle let out a long sigh.

"Well, forget about that. Tell me, what’s the occasion? You guys suddenly came all the way here."

His uncle worked in a different city, quite far from Guhang. Blake had told him they were coming to visit, but Kyle refused to believe he was the sole reason behind the trip.

[Eheh~ It was actually me who forced them to come. You see, I wanted to see my brother so much that...]

"Cut the crap and tell me the truth, Adam."

Kyle grinned, dismissing the excuse entirely.

Yes, he and Adam were close, but they were more like best friends than brothers.

They roasted each other, exchanged memes, mocked one another’s life choices, and spent hours chatting online.

But that was it.

For Adam to take a seven-hour flight just to see him?

No.

Kyle wasn’t buying it.

[You know me a little too well, huh?]

After a brief pause, Adam finally gave up.

[Well, you’re right. I’m not entirely here because of you. Though you are a big part of the reason.]

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. You were worried about me. Now what’s the actual reason?"

[Well... my girlfriend is in Montclair for a competition.]

Kyle blinked.

[We’ve never actually met in person before because she’s from another city. But when she told me she’d be staying in Montclair for a while, I immediately rushed over.]

Adam’s voice grew increasingly smug.

[And I had a pretty good excuse to drag my parents along too.]

Kyle fell silent.

Damn.

Was his cousin really this desperate?

[And... umm...]

For the first time since the call started, Adam sounded slightly nervous.

[I’m bringing her over so you two can meet. She seemed pretty eager about it, you see.]

Kyle stared at the phone.

The silence stretched for several seconds.

Somehow, he had a feeling this conversation was about to become far more troublesome than anything Adam had said so far.

"Are you for real?"

Kyle nearly doubted if he heard him right.

"Why are you bringing her to meet me when you’re meeting her in person for the first time yourself?"

[Ah, didn’t I tell you? She’s here for a competition. And guess what the competition is about?]

"How would I know?"

[Archery, of course!]

Kyle immediately had a bad feeling about where this was going.

[And when I told her how good you used to be back in the day, she suddenly became really interested in meeting you. So be ready to meet her tomorrow, okay?]

"..."

Kyle fell silent.

A few seconds passed.

Then he leaned back into the sofa and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Suddenly, he was regretting answering the call.

Not because Adam had a girlfriend.

Not because she was an archer.

But because Adam had apparently spent his free time advertising Kyle to a complete stranger.

And now that stranger was apparently eager to meet him.

[Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?]

"Because I’m trying to figure out why my first meeting with your girlfriend involves me being interviewed."

Adam burst out laughing.

[Come on, it’ll be fun.]

"That’s exactly what people say right before something becomes a disaster."

[You worry too much.]

"I’ve been hospitalized twice in a short span of time, Adam. My worries have a pretty solid track record lately."

That only made Adam laugh harder.

Kyle rubbed his forehead.

Tomorrow suddenly felt a lot less peaceful than he had hoped.

°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Please drop a comment if you have been enjoying the story so far. And do leave a review too.