Ruan Qiao stopped struggling.
She placed her hand on the boy’s hair, softly comforting him again and again.
She didn’t even realize when she had finally fallen asleep.
When she woke up in the morning, she found herself lying alone on the mat, covered with a towel blanket.
The boy had left at some point during the night.
She stretched and got up, walking out of the room.
As soon as she stepped outside, the distant sounds of commotion caught her attention.
Squinting, she saw the boy and the little ones all busy down by the small building, though she couldn’t tell what exactly they were doing.
She casually walked over.
As she got closer, she realized they were working on the flat ground.
The boy held the iron hoe she had ordered yesterday and walked ahead, digging up the wild grass growing from the ground and leveling any uneven spots.
The little ones trailed behind enthusiastically, picking up the stones he tossed aside.
When they saw Ruan Qiao approaching, the little ones bounced and jumped excitedly, showing just how much fun they were having.
The boy also paused in his work.
“Why are you digging the ground so early in the morning?” Ruan Qiao asked, puzzled.
“You said yesterday that you wanted to open a vegetable plot here,” the boy replied.
Ruan Qiao froze for a moment.
Did she say that?
After thinking for a while, she remembered that the night before, while sprinkling vegetable seeds into the seedling trays in the warehouse, she had indeed said something about it.
She had been thinking about transplanting seedlings and casually mentioned that once it got cooler, she wanted to clear this empty patch in front of the small building and eventually set up a big greenhouse for winter.
But it had just been an offhand remark, Ruan Qiao hadn’t taken it seriously herself.
After all, it was still summer, the hottest time of the year.
She glanced up at the blazing sun and complained with a little amusement: “I said we’d do this after it got cooler. Why do it now? It’s so hot, aren’t you afraid of getting heatstroke?”
Hearing this, the boy clearly misunderstood.
He looked over at the little ones still running around the open patch, paused, and explained, “They don’t get much exercise, so this amount of activity won’t give them heatstroke.”
Only then did Ruan Qiao realize he had taken her words the wrong way, he thought she was worried about the little ones.
But actually, she was worried about him.
Ruan Qiao hadn’t forgotten the way he had held her last night, crying and saying it hurt. Compared to the injuries he had suffered, the little ones were far healthier.
Not wanting to embarrass him, she didn’t clarify further and instead changed the subject.
“Stop for now. This isn’t urgent, you can do it later in autumn. Go wash your hands, then come to my room and I’ll help you change the dressing.”
She glanced again at the heaviest wound on his shoulder blade and asked, “Does it still hurt?”
The question immediately made him uncomfortable; his expression tensed slightly.
He didn’t dare meet her eyes and instead lowered his gaze to the iron hoe in his hands, quietly saying, “I can do it myself.”
As he spoke, the rims of his ears turned a soft pink.
“How can you reach it yourself?”
Seeing that he was embarrassed, Ruan Qiao didn’t linger on it. She gave him a couple more instructions and returned to her room.
She pulled out the first aid kit and got the disinfectant powder and gauze ready. Just as she finished preparing, the boy knocked and walked in.
He had probably taken the brief moment earlier to run back and take a shower.
Now his hair was still damp, and his body carried a fresh, clean moisture.
Ruan Qiao motioned for him to sit on the small stool in the outer room. “Take off your top. I’ll help you treat the wound on your back again.”
The boy said nothing, obediently removed his short-sleeved shirt, sat with his back to her, his face expressionless.
But Ruan Qiao couldn’t help noticing his ears slowly darken, from light pink to a deeper red.
She couldn’t help but find it a little amusing.
How could someone so grown up be this shy?
Just because of a bad dream, was he planning on not talking to her ever again?
To prevent their days ahead from being awkward like that, Ruan Qiao decided to [1]“Fight fire with fire” means responding to a problem by using the same kind of method or intensity that caused it. Instead of avoiding or softening the situation, you confront it directly with an … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1816233_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1816233_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });fight fire with fire.
She deliberately brought up what had happened the night before.
“When you were dreaming last night, I heard you muttering something like ‘Ah Qi.’ Is that your name? Were you remembering something from before?”
The boy was silent for a few seconds, seemingly lost in thought.
Then, looking a bit dejected, he shook his head. “I still can’t remember. I don’t recall what you said.”
Hearing this, Ruan Qiao felt a little regretful.
Fortunately, she had already mentally prepared herself to accept him last night, so she wasn’t too disappointed.
While changing the dressing, she continued, “But you need a name. Otherwise, it’s too inconvenient. How about I just call you Ah Qi for now?”
Even though he couldn’t remember, Ruan Qiao had clearly heard him.
This child’s name should be “Aqi,” or maybe “Ah Qi” pronounced slightly differently, anyway, it was that sound.
Since that was the case, she might as well call him that. Maybe it would even stimulate his memory to come back sooner.
As for what to call himself, the boy didn’t care either way.
Hearing her suggestion, he immediately replied, “Fine, whatever you want to call me is okay.”
After the dressing was finished, Ah Qi didn’t rush to leave. He hesitated for a moment before speaking: “Um, has Jin Ge’s wings been checked? I see he’s close to a second transformation, and with his current condition, I’m worried he might not be able to hold up.”
This was the second time, after Doctor Aisen, that someone had reminded her about Xiao Jin Ge’s situation. Ruan Qiao was a little shocked.
Had the little one’s body really gotten this weak?!
Then she suddenly remembered that this person in front of her was an A class human, and even a successfully second-transformed A class!
Did this mean that, regarding transformations, he might actually have more experience than Doctor Aisen?
Thinking of this, Ruan Qiao suddenly got excited.
“They’ve been checked. Wait a moment, I’ll show you Jin Ge’s test results,” she said, immediately grabbing Ah Qi and not letting him leave.
She then dashed over to the nearby table, grabbed the computer that 001 had brought from Ella before, and pulled up Jin Ge’s medical records for him.
Ah Qi looked over them very carefully, and very quickly. In no time, he had gone through all the materials that were far too advanced for Ruan Qiao to fully understand.
After finishing, he said, “These tests are from before. They don’t have much reference value for his current condition.”
“Ah? Then should we take him into the city to see a doctor again?” Ruan Qiao asked anxiously.
Ah Qi shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll take a look at him myself.”
“You?” Ruan Qiao couldn’t help but doubt.
She hesitated, glanced at the boy, and finally blurted out, “You… can do that?”
Although he seemed to have plenty of experience with transformations—
Could she really trust someone with amnesia to treat Xiao Jin Ge?
Ah Qi fell silent for a moment after hearing her words.
Then he touched his neck and answered a little uncertainly, “I guess I can? I think I can.”
Ruan Qiao: “……”
Now she trusted him even less.
Ruan Qiao had already decided to take Jin Ge to see Doctor Aisen in the next couple of days, but she didn’t want to miss Ah Qi’s advice.
After all, someone with firsthand experience might give more valuable suggestions.
After thinking it over, she comforted herself—
It wouldn’t hurt just to take a look.
Besides, even with amnesia, he’s also an A class human. Maybe there’s some bloodline compatibility or something, what if it actually works?
So she didn’t stop him.
Instead, she repeatedly instructed, “Just take a look first. Discuss your thoughts with Doctor Aisen before making any decisions. Don’t start treating him directly, take it easy!”
Seeing how extremely tense she looked, Ah Qi suddenly smiled.
His smile was contagious, with curved, expressive eyes that made him look especially handsome.
Ruan Qiao, who had been anxious out of her mind, couldn’t help but stop her rambling and asked, “What are you smiling at?”
Ah Qi suddenly reached out and placed his hand on top of her head, gently massaging her hair with his warm, dry hand, and said softly, “Don’t worry, I know my limits.”
The boy was very tall, and as he spoke while looking down, a rush of heat brushed past Ruan Qiao’s ear, warm and ticklish.
She couldn’t help but rub her ear.
He said it so casually, yet Ruan Qiao really couldn’t feel at ease.
In the end, she followed him to bring Xiao Jin Ge into the room.
Ah Qi had Jin Ge lie down on the soft mat, lifted his wings, pinched and pulled them, checking carefully. Every now and then he would ask how the little one felt, appearing quite professional.
After the inspection, Ah Qi moved the wing that Jin Ge rarely used and then gave him a massage along the direction of the muscles with his fingers.
Had Xiao Jin Ge ever experienced this before?
He screamed in panic!
It was impossible to tell whether it really hurt or not, but Ruan Qiao noticed that Ah Qi clearly wasn’t using much force, yet the little one cried as if his life depended on it.
Which parent could bear to see their child suffer like that?
Her heart immediately broke.
Seeing that she wanted to intervene, Ah Qi quickly said, “If you can’t watch, go take a walk…”
The implication was clear: don’t interfere here.
His tone was still gentle, but under that gentleness, Ruan Qiao sensed authority.
She couldn’t explain why, but she just felt that if she tried to stop him now, he would probably toss her out!
She took a deep breath and controlled the urge to step forward.
Seeing that she obeyed, Ah Qi’s tone softened even more.
He patiently explained, “He rarely uses this wing, and the muscles have already started to atrophy. If we don’t start rehabilitation early, he may never be able to fly again.”
What he said was exactly the same as what Doctor Aisen had told her.
Ruan Qiao also knew there was one thing Ah Qi couldn’t say in front of Xiao Jin Ge: if things continued like this, the little one might not survive the challenges of the second transformation.
He could even die.
Ruan Qiao completely gave up on the idea of intervening.
Compared with life itself, a little pain didn’t matter.
She kept watching Ah Qi and now could see that he hadn’t been bluffing, he really knew what he was doing.
The massage techniques he was using now were very similar to what Doctor Aisen had taught her, only more complex and professional.
Ruan Qiao figured that Doctor Aisen had deliberately simplified the movements when teaching her, probably worried she wouldn’t be able to do it properly.
If that was the case, it was best to leave professional work to the professional.
Her own half-baked skills were better left out of it.
With Ruan Qiao’s approval, Ah Qi didn’t refuse and took full responsibility for both strengthening the children and helping Xiao Jin Ge with rehabilitation.
He even carefully drew up a plan to discuss with Ruan Qiao.
The plan was very detailed, listing different exercise routines for each child, which made Ruan Qiao feel even more confident that she had made the right decision and more willing to let Ah Qi handle it.
From the next day onward, the “easy days” the children had enjoyed before were completely over.
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