Perhaps it was due to the scorching heat, but by the time the weekend was over, Jiang Ting had come down with a case of “internal heat.”
When she woke up on Monday afternoon, she felt dizzy, her throat was dry and painful, the corners of her eyes were red, and there was a lingering bitter taste in her mouth.
Jiang Ting sent a list of her symptoms to Cong Yixing and received his diagnosis: “It’s internal heat. I’ll buy some medicine on my way home from work this afternoon.”
He followed up with a reminder: “Drink plenty of water. Don’t order greasy or heavily seasoned takeout for lunch. If you don’t have an appetite, you can cook some mung bean porridge. It’s very simple—just rinse the mung beans, add plenty of water to the pot, and add some rock sugar if you want it sweet. Just set it to the porridge mode.”
Jiang Ting replied with an “OK,” but immediately turned around to search for ways to clear internal heat without taking medicine. She found a list of herbal teas and cooling fruits.
“Watermelon has the effect of clearing heat and reducing fire. Eating watermelon in summer can also prevent heatstroke and alleviate irritability and dry mouth caused by the hot weather.”
Jiang Ting’s eyes lit up. She liked the sound of that!
The temperature today had already reached 40°C, so going out to buy a watermelon was clearly unrealistic.
Fortunately, she had her Space!
Jiang Ting took a stroll into her Space. Among the extremely chaotic jumble of items floating in mid-air, she found half a watermelon that she had put in there years ago.
The watermelon was still chilled when she took it out, weighing about four or five pounds.
Jiang Ting had long since forgotten when or why she had put half a cold watermelon in there. She grabbed a stainless steel spoon from the kitchen and began devouring the fruit, deciding she wasn’t going to eat a proper meal after all.
As she wolfed it down, she thought to herself: It’s time to organize the things in the Space.
The Space had expanded so much, and although her belongings only occupied a small portion of it, the layout was far too messy. It had reached a point where she didn’t even know exactly what she had. Every time she wanted to take something out, she had to send her consciousness in to search for a long time, which was a huge hassle.
If only there were rows of shelves, like in a supermarket.
She could divide it into different areas: the first row for snacks, the second for takeout, the third for fruit. If it were arranged like that, finding things would be much easier.
The problem was, she didn’t have any shelves!
Being somewhat lacking in life experience, Jiang Ting pondered for a while about where she could get shelves and how she could install them and put them into the Space without Cong Yixing noticing.
After a moment, she thought, Never mind, it’s too much trouble!
After some hard thinking and finishing the last of the watermelon, she finally came up with a “dumb” method.
Since the Space was so large, she could just spread everything out and lay it all on the ground!
No sooner said than done. Jiang Ting put the empty watermelon rind into the Space, washed her hands, and cleaned the spoon, returning it to its original place.
She placed a pillow under her head and another under her calves, then snuggled comfortably into the spacious sofa in the living room.
The tablet on the coffee table played a playlist Cong Yixing had organized for her. Closing her eyes to the music, she decided to spend the entire afternoon on this one task.
Her consciousness was drawn into the Space by a white light. Jiang Ting floated in mid-air, her “gaze” fixed on a takeout bag of boiled pork slices. With a thought, the bag broke free from its state of stillness and, following her will, instantly moved to the ground in a corner of the Space.
Inside the Space, her control over objects extended beyond the one-meter range of her physical body; she could command them to move at will.
However, after a short while, Jiang Ting encountered another problem.
Not everything she put into the Space had packaging. For example, the ten steamed buns she had put in yesterday were bare.
There were also fruits and vegetables lacking packaging, especially some fruits that she had washed and put in directly so she could eat them whenever she wanted. She couldn’t just place those directly on the ground, could she?
Even if the Space was a clean-looking white, this was food that would go directly into her mouth!
Eventually, she found a solution.
Since everything inside the Space was static and gravity didn’t exist, she could simply hover the food one centimeter above the ground. It would look like it was sitting on the floor, but it would actually still be floating in the air. Problem solved!
She was just too clever!
After spending the afternoon at it, Jiang Ting finally had the Space organized by category.
The ground in one corner was divided into several distinct areas: the snack zone, the fruit and vegetable zone, the meat product zone, the takeout zone, the unpackaged cooked food zone, and the beverage zone.
As for the trash she had absentmindedly tossed into the Space and forgotten to deal with, she piled it in a far-off corner, intending to dispose of it all at once later.
Time flew by while she was busy. Jiang Ting opened her eyes with the satisfaction of having accomplished a major task, only to find that three hours had already passed.
Cong Yixing sent a message asking how she was feeling and if she felt any better.
Jiang Ting checked her condition and felt that her head was still a bit dizzy.
She wasn’t sure if it was from the internal heat or from the exhaustion of organizing the Space. But she never tried to act tough in front of Cong Yixing, so she replied: A bit dizzy.
Cong Yixing: If you haven’t improved by the time I get off work, I’ll take you to the hospital.
Jiang Ting: It’s just internal heat; there’s no need for the hospital! The internet says drinking chrysanthemum tea or honeysuckle tea helps. Buy some for me on your way home so I can brew some water.
Cong Yixing: Okay.
As it turned out, Cong Yixing came home that day carrying a massive bag of things.
He was covered in sweat, his shirt was nearly soaked through, and his hair had grown a bit long. A stray lock of hair was stuck to his forehead, and a bead of sweat rolled down, looking like it was about to drip into his eye. Jiang Ting, who had opened the door, reached out quickly to wipe it away for him.
“Why are you sweating so much? Go wash your face, quick.”
Cong Yixing handed her the purchases and headed to the bathroom to change his shoes.
The scorching air from outside scrambled to squeeze through the open door. Standing at the entrance for just a moment, Jiang Ting felt like she could hardly breathe.
“It’s too hot, isn’t it? It feels like more than forty degrees,” Jiang Ting muttered, quickly closing the door and turning the deadbolt.
Then, like a woman from ancient times welcoming a man home from a hunt, she crouched in front of the coffee table to organize the “prey.”
Forsythia, honeysuckle, dandelion, chrysanthemum—these were in bags or boxes, meant for brewing tea.
Compound Banlangun granules, Compound Honeysuckle granules, Lianhua Qingwen granules… these were all instant medicines.
There were also various capsules and tablets, all aimed at clearing heat, detoxifying, and treating wind-heat colds.
Jiang Ting: “…” Was this something the usually stingy Cong Yixing would actually do?
Cong Yixing came out after changing his clothes. Seeing Jiang Ting staring at him as if he were an alien, he explained, “I went to the pharmacy and saw a lot of people buying these.”
Jiang Ting: “Wow.”
Cong Yixing was amused by her silly expression and said, “What’s with that face? You’re acting like I did something monumental.”
“It’s just the first time I’ve seen you buy so many things at once. You don’t even buy this many varieties when you go grocery shopping!”
Cong Yixing walked over to help her organize, explaining, “The heat is abnormal. A lot of people are getting heat-related illnesses. The large pharmacy outside the neighborhood put out a ‘Heat-Clearing and Blood-Cooling Value Pack.’ There were discounts for reaching certain amounts, and a promotion where you get free rice and cooking oil if you spend over 300 yuan. A bunch of aunties from our neighborhood were in there grabbing everything. I had to wait in line for ages just to pay.”
Jiang Ting gasped, “They even gave out rice!”
Cong Yixing said regretfully, “I was afraid you couldn’t wait, so I just bought this value pack and didn’t make it to the discount threshold.”
Jiang Ting looked at him suspiciously. “Since when are you so willing to spend money?”
“Why wouldn’t I be willing to spend it on you? Besides, I could use my medical insurance card.”
That made sense. Cong Yixing was stingy, but in daily life, it mostly manifested in saving water and electricity, not wasting food, and always looking for coupons before buying things.
Moreover, he was only stingy toward himself. For instance, he hardly bought himself any clothes all year; a cheap T-shirt could last him several years, and he’d only throw away shoes when they were too worn to wear.
Furthermore, he only used the most basic daily necessities. When he was alone, he never ordered takeout, and during his school days, he even bought tools to cut his own hair.
Because his skills were limited, he could only do buzz cuts. Combined with his sharp features, it had once made Jiang Ting feel like he looked like he had done time when they first met.
Yet, he had always been very generous to her. In the early stages of their relationship, he proactively took on the costs of their dates and never let her feel slighted over money.
It wasn’t until Jiang Ting moved in with him that she discovered his stingy nature through the details of daily life.
She found it quite fascinating at the time. Perhaps she hadn’t had much contact with many men, but she had certainly never met one who knew how to manage a household so well.
They say a person’s upbringing determines their character. Jiang Ting was quite curious about Cong Yixing’s childhood.
What kind of experience could produce a boy like this?
Cong Yixing was the second of three brothers. Sometimes, watching his careful and considerate manner, Jiang Ting couldn’t help but think that middle children are often neglected. Could it be that Cong Yixing wasn’t loved by his parents and had to cook and do laundry for the whole family since he was a child? Is that why he was so good at cooking and housework?
Children raised in peaceful times haven’t seen much malice; Jiang Ting’s speculations about “bad people” at this time were almost comically naive.
Occasionally, when Cong Yixing overheard her muttering these guesses, he would laugh loudly and gently flick her forehead, teasing her: “Then why don’t you come home with me and see? If they really bullied me like that, you’ll have to protect me.”
Perhaps because she had imagined it so many times, Jiang Ting gradually developed a sense of pity for Cong Yixing. She felt that such a gentle and good-tempered person would surely be taken advantage of in the outside world.
How could that be allowed? Cong Yixing was her man!
He could only be taken advantage of by her, not by anyone else!
Consequently, Jiang Ting often gave him earnest advice: “You have to be more assertive! If you aren’t strong yourself, no one can help you!”
She also frequently shared articles with him, such as Workplace Survival Skills, The Three Biggest Taboos in Social Interaction, and Learn These to Say Goodbye to Your Awkward Self.
To this, Cong Yixing would simply say: “As long as you’re happy.”
After putting away the medicine, Cong Yixing prepared to cook.
He took a turn around the kitchen, then another around the living room, even checking the study and the bedroom.
Jiang Ting asked, “What are you doing?”
Finally, Cong Yixing opened the refrigerator to take a look, then closed it and looked at his girlfriend seriously. “What did you eat for lunch?”
“…”
Jiang Ting felt a surge of guilt. He didn’t find out I ate the watermelon, did he?
Seeing her silence and her dodging eyes, Cong Yixing huffed. “I told you to cook porridge, but you didn’t. There’s no takeout packaging in the house, and there are no new leftovers in the fridge. Did you not eat at all today?”
Jiang Ting quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Her guilt vanished, replaced by self-righteousness. “I didn’t have an appetite!”
She even turned the tables on him: “Why are you observing so closely? It’s like you’re monitoring me!”
Cong Yixing countered, “You’re sick and you’re still not eating. You don’t know how to take care of yourself, and you think you’re in the right?”
Jiang Ting argued, “Internal heat isn’t even a real illness! And why do I need to know how to take care of myself when I have you to do it for me?”
Cong Yixing said, “Of course I’ll take care of you, but when I’m not home, you have to learn to take care of yourself so I don’t worry!”
Jiang Ting shot back, “Then what about my worrying? You still have to go out to work in this heat; I’m worried you’ll get heatstroke somewhere I can’t see!”
Cong Yixing replied, “I’m strong and healthy; I won’t get heatstroke that easily. Don’t worry about me!”
Jiang Ting insisted, “I will worry!”
“…Fine, then you worry about me, and I’ll worry about you. We’ll both just worry about each other.” Cong Yixing admitted defeat, saying helplessly, “In any case, you can’t go a whole day without eating again, okay?”
As soon as he softened, Jiang Ting immediately lost her fighting spirit. She leaned back and flopped onto the sofa, her voice soft and pampered. “I’m hungry.”
Cong Yixing asked her with an air of resignation, “What do you want to eat?”
“Rice and meat!”
“Coming right up. Please wait a moment, your humble servant is on it!”