“Ah Xiao! Ah Xiao!”
Tian Yu searched everywhere in the rain for his nephew, worried something might have happened.
At this moment, Fu Xiao and Shen Wei had already nearly reached the house she was renting.
The two of them were very close so close that Fu Xiao could occasionally feel the warmth from her arm, and there even seemed to be a faint, subtle fragrance lingering in the air.
“You don’t need to hold the umbrella over me so much,” Shen Wei said, pushing the umbrella handle slightly toward him. “I’m not getting wet on my side.”
She couldn’t help but think of her past life whenever she shared an umbrella with Lu Cheng, he would always tilt it toward himself, and the one who got drenched was always her.
“My clothes are already wet anyway,” Fu Xiao quietly tilted the umbrella slightly back toward her again. He was a grown man, thick-skinned so what if he got a little wet?
But Shen Wei was just a young girl, and she had come out in the rain just to keep their appointment.
“What’s wrong with your foot?” Fu Xiao suddenly noticed her walking was a little off and stopped to ask.
Shen Wei moved her right foot slightly. “It’s fine. I accidentally stepped on a rock just now. I probably just twisted it a little.”
“Hold this for a moment,” Fu Xiao handed her the umbrella handle, then crouched down in front of her. “Let me take a look.”
The girl’s calves were fair and well-proportioned, with a healthy kind of beauty. But because they were covered in the misty rain, holding them in his hands gave them an inexplicable sense of allure.
Fu Xiao’s throat moved silently.
“Does this hurt?”
His large hand gently held her foot and pressed lightly.
“It hurts ” Shen Wei let out a soft cry.
She was the type of person who was very afraid of pain so much so that even something like an ant bite would feel painful to her.
“I’ll take you to the hospital,” Fu Xiao immediately crouched lower, preparing to change direction.
The man’s back was broad and solid. Shen Wei’s foot did hurt a little, and she had indeed gotten injured because she came out for their appointment. Thinking this, she slowly climbed onto his back, while keeping a hand between them to maintain a bit of distance.
Fu Xiao held her legs carefully, doing his best not to touch any inappropriate areas.
Although he liked Shen Wei and had decided to protect her for a lifetime, he had no confidence that she would necessarily choose to be with him.
After all, liking and love were his own feelings alone he couldn’t force her to respond.
After walking a distance, Fu Xiao suddenly remembered that his uncle might still be outside the cinema. But it should be fine his uncle was young and healthy; a bit of rain wouldn’t hurt him. Shen Wei’s injury was more important.
……
“Dad, hang in there. We’ll reach the hospital soon.”
Lu Cheng carried his father on his back, while his mother held an umbrella beside them as the family of three rushed through the heavy rain toward the hospital.
Ever since eating that “boy urine boiled egg” in the morning, Lu’s father had felt nauseous. He forced himself to endure it so as not to cause trouble for the family. He kept holding on until Lu Cheng discovered he had started vomiting blood, and only then did the family panic and rush him to the hospital.
“I’m fine…” Lu’s father struggled on his son’s back. “ACheng… don’t take me to the hospital… take me home… I’m fine…”
The family was already poor. If he really died, it might reduce the burden on them.
“Husband, stop talking. You still need treatment,” Lu’s mother said urgently. “Tomorrow I’ll go find that damn fat woman! It must be her eggs that caused this! That’s why you started vomiting blood. It’s my fault… it’s all my fault for making you eat them…”
The family of three finally arrived at the People’s Hospital.
At the entrance corner, Lu Cheng saw Fu Xiao and it looked like he was carrying a girl on his back.
Strange. He remembered Fu Xiao didn’t have any sisters. Could that stoic guy actually have a girlfriend?
Lu Cheng shook his head. With Fu Xiao’s cold and distant personality, what girl would be blind enough to date him? It was probably just him helping someone out.
Not thinking further, Lu Cheng carried his father into the clinic.
Gastric bleeding was a serious issue, and the doctor immediately began a series of examinations.
……
“The bones are fine,” the doctor examined Shen Wei’s ankle. “It’s probably just a ligament injury. I’ll prescribe you a bottle of red flower oil. Apply it for two days when you get home and make sure to rest.”
Fu Xiao looked at the girl’s slightly swollen ankle. “She can’t get it wet, right?”
The doctor glanced at the heavy rain outside. “If it’s unavoidable and it gets a little wet, it’s not a big problem.”
She smiled teasingly. “Young lady, your boyfriend must be a soldier, right? Strong enough to carry you.”
A faint smile appeared on Fu Xiao’s lips.
“Thank you, doctor.”
Looking at the tall young man crouching in front of her, Shen Wei, almost unconsciously, didn’t clarify their relationship.
The rain seemed to lighten a little. Fu Xiao carried Shen Wei all the way from the hospital back to her home.
Shuanghua saw them at the door and smiled. “Xiao Wei, your boyfriend came?”
“Auntie, he’s just an older brother,” Shen Wei explained.
From Fu Xiao’s seniority, she could indeed call him “older brother.”
Shuanghua smiled meaningfully, clearly unconvinced.
Shen Wei didn’t explain further. After getting down from Fu Xiao’s back, she hopped into the house on one foot.
Uh… the room was a bit messy.
She had taken a nap earlier, and the blanket and sleepwear were still loosely piled on the bed. Under Fu Xiao’s gaze, it somehow felt a little… suggestive.
“Do you want some water? I’ll pour you some,” Shen Wei quickly changed the topic.
Fu Xiao firmly helped her sit down on a chair. “Sit. I’ll do it.”
“Uh… okay.”
“Don’t go set up your stall tomorrow. Your foot needs to rest for two days.” Fu Xiao took out the red flower oil from his pocket. “Don’t forget to apply this later.”
He didn’t dare look at her fair ankle any longer and quickly averted his gaze.
“Alright.”
“I’ll bring dinner over tonight.” Fu Xiao knew his presence might make her uncomfortable. “What do you want to eat?”
“It’s okay, no need to trouble yourself, Brother Fu,” Shen Wei thought for a moment and used the same way she had addressed him in her past life. “I usually don’t eat much at night, and I have some pastries at home. You don’t need to make another trip.”
“Shen Wei,” Fu Xiao said, “your father and my father are good friends. Taking care of you is only right. You don’t need to feel any burden. Bringing you food and me pursuing you are two completely different things.”
After saying that, he left with his umbrella.
Shen Wei: …
Now she felt even more uncomfortable.
When Fu Xiao got home, his uncle in his twenties was already in the living room, crying while clinging to his mother’s arm.
“Waaah, sis, you know I’ve been weak since I was a kid. I ran through the rain for a long time just to buy him an umbrella. Can my body even handle that?”
Fu Xiao expressionlessly put away the umbrella. “When you used to get caught in the rain while fighting, I never saw you say you were weak.”
Tian Yu: …
“Sis! Look at him!”
Since Tian Fang had always been close with her younger brother, she subconsciously said, “Ah Xiao, be nicer to your uncle!”
Fu Xiao ignored them and went back to his room to change clothes.
When he came out, Tian Yu was still pretending to cry, sneakily glancing at him. “Standing there like a fool outside the cinema for a girl if she didn’t show up, it just means she didn’t like you.”