“It’s me.”
Jiang Congli spoke.
The person under the quilt paused.
Pei Shuyi slowly pulled the quilt down a little, blinking in the dim light. After two seconds of recognition, she confirmed the identity of the person before her.
It wasn’t a dream—it really was him.
The next second, Pei Shuyi closed her eyes again.
“Get out.”
“Probably not possible right now.”
“Jiang Congli.”
“Hmm.”
“I said, get out.”
Her tone was heavier than before, carrying the unreasonable irritability unique to morning grumpiness.
But the next moment, the mattress sank slightly.
Jiang Congli remained entirely unfazed by her tone. He simply sat down by the bed, leaning his back against the bedpost, his long legs crossed, exuding an air of calm composure.
Pei Shuyi waited for a moment, hearing no sign of him leaving, and abruptly threw off the quilt to sit up.
Her cheeks were flushed an unnatural red from being buried under the covers, and she glared at Jiang Congli.
Morning light seeped through the crack in the door, slanting across her body.
Her pajamas were already loose, and after a night of tossing and turning, the collar had slipped down to the hollow of her shoulder.
With that sudden movement, the silk slid further down the curve of her shoulder—
Below her collarbone, a stretch of creamy white skin abruptly entered his line of sight.
It wasn’t thin or frail, but full and substantial…
The fabric of her pajamas barely clung to the curve of that rise, teetering on the edge of slipping further.
Pei Shuyi remained completely unaware, simply glaring at him angrily, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, all her fur bristling.
Jiang Congli’s gaze lingered on that creamy expanse for a moment.
So brief it was almost negligible.
But as he lowered his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbed twice.
He reached out and pulled the quilt she had thrown off back up, covering her shoulders and concealing the sight that shouldn’t have been seen.
“Your fever just broke. You shouldn’t catch a chill.”
Pei Shuyi opened her mouth, half of her morning grumpiness stifled by his action.
Looking at his expressionless face, and hearing him say “shouldn’t catch a chill” with such seriousness, she suddenly felt her irritation had hit a wall of cotton.
Pei Shuyi took a deep breath, flopped back onto the bed, and wrapped herself in the quilt again.
“Shuyi, don’t laze in bed.”
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy.”
Pei Shuyi didn’t respond. She stayed buried under the quilt for a few minutes, growing more awake and more annoyed with each passing second.
Annoyed that his mere presence had completely chased away her sleepiness.
“Jiang Congli.”
“Hmm.”
The man replied with unruffled calm.
Pei Shuyi gritted her teeth and pulled the quilt back over her head.
A muffled voice came from under the covers: “I’m not getting up. Sit there if you want.”
But in reality, after all this commotion, she was now fully awake, and instead of wanting to sleep, she couldn’t.
All because of Jiang Congli.
A moment of silence passed.
Then, a voice came from outside the quilt, neither loud nor soft, as if stating something very ordinary:
“I bought osmanthus cakes when I went down the mountain today.”
The quilt didn’t move.
“The same kind you ate in the courtyard yesterday.”
The quilt shifted slightly.
“The shopkeeper said the last portion was bought by me. The person behind me didn’t get any.”
A few seconds later, the quilt slowly lowered, revealing Pei Shuyi’s bright eyes.
“…Really?”
“Really.”
Pei Shuyi squinted at him for a few seconds, as if trying to determine whether he was lying.
A little while later, she finally sat up in bed.
The dazzling white light once again caught Jiang Congli off guard. He felt that if Pei Shuyi didn’t get up soon, he probably wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.
As for why Pei Shuyi was tempted by the osmanthus cake, it was because of Pei Yanxiao’s usual instructions. Aunt He was very strict about controlling Pei Shuyi’s snacks, and the osmanthus cake Jiang Congli had just mentioned was something she could only have once a week.
“So… are you planning to get up now?”
His voice was a little lower than usual.
Pei Shuyi glanced at him, threw off the covers, and stepped barefoot onto the floor.
“Getting up.”
Jiang Congli sat on the edge of the bed, watching her back as she walked to the washstand.
The power of the osmanthus cake was greater than he had imagined.
What Pei Shuyi, who was washing up on the other side, didn’t notice was that Jiang Congli was still sitting on the edge of the bed. The man closed his eyes for a long moment before finally leaving the room.
…
Fifteen minutes later, Pei Shuyi finally finished washing up.
At the table in the outer room, Jiang Congli had his back to her, arranging items from the food box.
Aunt He was also there. Hearing the noise, she turned around and was quite shocked to see Pei Shuyi already washed and dressed.
What kind of person was this Mr. Jiang? His methods were truly remarkable.
The young lady, who usually slept until the sun was high in the sky, had actually stepped out of her room at eight o’clock.
Jiang Congli also looked at Pei Shuyi, but his gaze deepened slightly.
In the morning light, the hem of her pale yellow dress swayed gently around her feet. Her long hair was neatly tied up with a wooden hairpin, revealing her slender neck and delicate ears.
Her face still held the moisture from washing, her skin fair and tender, like apricot blossoms blooming for the first time on a branch in March.
Jiang Congli’s gaze lingered on her for less than a second before he lowered his eyes, continuing to place the medicinal soup and the plate of osmanthus cake in his hand on the table.
“Come over and drink the medicinal soup first.”
Hearing the words “medicinal soup,” Pei Shuyi immediately frowned.
Wasn’t it osmanthus cake? Why was there medicinal soup involved?
“Jiang Congli, you lied to me again.”
“I didn’t lie. You can have the osmanthus cake after you finish the medicinal soup.”
Pei Shuyi stood by the table, looking down at the bowl of steaming medicinal soup.
Although it was called medicinal soup, Jiang Congli’s version clearly contained more medicine than nourishment. The light brown liquid gave off a faint herbal scent—not unpleasant, but Pei Shuyi still didn’t want to drink it.
She turned to look at Aunt He, hoping to get some support from her.
Aunt He immediately averted her gaze, pretending to tidy the tea set on the table, her movements so swift it was as if she hadn’t seen anything.
Aunt He, you’ve switched sides.
Pei Shuyi felt like crying but had no tears. She took a deep breath, sat down in the chair, and resignedly picked up the bowl of medicinal soup, taking a sip.
To her surprise, it wasn’t unpleasantly bitter—it even had a slight hint of sweetness.
It didn’t seem too bad.
Seeing her drink the medicine without any bargaining, Aunt He was once again shocked.
Every time she gave the young lady medicine, she had to coax her sip by sip.
How had everything changed with Mr. Jiang?
Pei Shuyi gulped down the last mouthful of medicinal soup, then looked up at the man across from her with eager eyes.
“I finished it.”
Jiang Congli kept his promise and placed the osmanthus cake in front of her. Pei Shuyi took the cake, took a bite, and crumbs fell at the corner of her mouth.
She straightened up and was about to wipe it with her hand when Jiang Congli’s hand reached over.
The man’s thumb brushed past the corner of her mouth, the rough texture of his calloused fingertip grazing her soft skin, wiping away the crumbs.
“Eat slowly, Shu Yi.”