When Ye Zhenshu woke, she was still lying face down. Weary, she lifted her eyelids and saw the deaf man from last night.
He Zhinian sat on the sofa, one elbow propped beside him as his fingertip rubbed the spot between his brows, which still refused to smooth.
A flicker crossed Ye Zhenshu’s eyes, but her expression stayed composed.
She couldn’t make out what was in his eyes. His rimless glasses concealed his thoughts perfectly.
When he saw she was awake, He Zhinian’s expression settled. He rose and slowly poured her a glass of water.
Ye Zhenshu dragged her heavy body upright, still clutching the quilt tightly around herself with both hands.
The room was utterly silent. The only sound was her drinking.
The wedding night that had come three months late had, in the end, been consummated in the strangest way.
He Zhinian set her clothes nearby and asked softly, “Can you manage on your own?”
“Mm.”
She nodded. Her voice was hoarse, thick with congestion.
After she’d come to her senses last night, he had carried her to the bathroom and washed her off. That had already been humiliating enough.
Now that she’d recovered a little of her strength, she couldn’t bring herself to ask him to help her get dressed.
He Zhinian went out and gently closed the door.
Ye Zhenshu changed into clean clothes, then took her time coming out of the room.
In the living room, she saw He Zhinian cooking congee[1]A rice porridge commonly eaten in China, especially as a simple meal or when someone is unwell. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733024_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733024_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); in the kitchen.
The meat congee bubbled and steamed in the pot. He held the wooden spoon suspended in midair, his hand still.
His thoughts were caught on the scenes from last night.
The bite mark on his shoulder still hurt faintly as he stirred the congee.
Only when he heard footsteps behind him did he turn off the heat and ladle out the congee.
Then he set two steaming bowls on the table.
Ye Zhenshu walked over, understanding what was expected of her.
They ate in silence, as though nothing had happened the night before.
When he was nearly finished, he hesitated for a moment, then took a small pill from his pocket. Slowly, he pushed it toward her with his long fingers.
Ye Zhenshu knew what it was.
She didn’t give it much thought. After finishing her congee, she picked up the pill, peeled back the foil, and swallowed it without hesitation.
He Zhinian watched her take it, then got up and carried their bowls to the kitchen.
When he turned back, Ye Zhenshu was already walking toward the bedroom.
She returned to her room and, perhaps because she was so tired, fell asleep again.
He Zhinian went back to his room too. As he passed the guest room, he caught sight of her through the crack in the door, curled up on the bed.
She never remembered to close the door.
He Zhinian meant to close it for her, but his hand paused just before reaching out, then dropped back to his side.
Back in his own room, he spotted her little red hair clip beside the bed.
He picked it up and examined it closely, then closed his hand around it and headed for her room.
Ye Zhenshu was fast asleep and didn’t notice anyone entering.
He gently set the hair clip on the bedside table. His gaze tightened, and his brows drew together slightly.
Sweat beaded unusually thickly across her forehead.
Her brows were faintly furrowed too, as if she were trapped in some predicament in her dream with no way out.
“Ye Zhenshu,” He Zhinian called.
Ye Zhenshu’s brows knitted more tightly. Her red lips parted as if she wanted to speak, and her lashes fluttered twice, but she couldn’t open her eyes.
She could hear He Zhinian calling her.
But no matter how desperately she tried to answer, not a sound came out.
Then something cool was laid against her forehead.
He Zhinian felt her forehead.
She had a fever.
He immediately picked up his phone and called.
“Han, she has a fever.”
Han Jichuan let out a curse over the phone. “You did that to her?”
“…” He Zhinian’s face remained expressionless.
When He Zhinian didn’t answer, Han Jichuan asked, “What happened?”
“She had a cold yesterday, and she just took that pill.” His heartbeat suddenly quickened.
Han Jichuan couldn’t help teasing him. “Hey, I thought you liked Qi Wenwan. Why did you run off on your own last night? If you hadn’t gone back, none of this would’ve happened, right?”
He Zhinian paused, then hung up.
Han Jichuan was baffled. Lately, He Zhinian seemed unable to stand hearing Qi Wenwan’s name.
Whenever it came up, his expression turned cold.
Had he finally moved on?
Meanwhile, He Zhinian carefully lifted the quilt, intending to pick her up. He saw that her skirt had somehow ridden up to her thighs.
Her legs, marked with faint red traces, came into view.
His eyes widened in surprise. He turned his face away and swallowed dryly.
Then, carefully, he pulled her skirt back down, covering her knees.
Han Jichuan, whose call had been cut off, immediately called him again.
This time, he didn’t bring up that person.
“The pill itself shouldn’t cause any problems. There wasn’t much of the other substance in what you accidentally took last night, so even if she does get pregnant, it shouldn’t have much effect. But she wasn’t feeling well and took some other cold medicine; there could be an interaction. I’d still recommend bringing her to the hospital for a checkup.”
He didn’t hesitate. In the end, he chose to take Han Jichuan’s advice and bring her to the hospital.
He Zhinian took one of her coats from the walk-in closet, draped it over her, and carried her out of the room.
On the way to the hospital, Ye Zhenshu’s phone kept ringing.
While waiting at a red light, He Zhinian glanced at the screen. It was Liang Hao calling.
He Zhinian knew Liang Hao was her best friend.
Seeing that she had called seven or eight times, He Zhinian set the phone on the dashboard and answered.
“Hello?”
“Hmm? Zhinian?”
He Zhinian started the car and glanced sideways at Ye Zhenshu, who was still dozing in the passenger seat.
Her head had lolled to one side, and she was about to tip over.
He Zhinian reached out and gently cupped her plump cheek, steadying her.
Ye Zhenshu murmured sleepily, “He Zhinian, it hurts so much. Don’t touch me…”
“…” He didn’t look at her. His brows knitted tightly as his eyes darted toward the road ahead.
Liang Hao suddenly exploded over the phone. “He Zhinian! Are you even human? She’s sick, and you’re still making her go through this…”
He Zhinian hung up on her.
She was just too loud.
Liang Hao froze on the other end.
He Zhinian had hung up on her—and she’d heard Ye Zhenshu’s soft, breathy voice over the phone!
Were they driving right now?
Ye Zhenshu was already in such a weakened state. No matter how inhuman He Zhinian was, he couldn’t keep putting her through this!
She felt too awkward to call again.
Not long afterward, He Zhinian’s private number sent her the hospital’s location.
She hurriedly set down her chopsticks and left the restaurant.
“Miss Liang! Don’t go! You still need to settle the bill…”
“Conceited loser! You mooch off people…” she muttered, shooting him a glare.
*
At the hospital.
Ye Zhenshu was already lying in a hospital bed, an IV drip attached to her hand.
“What kind of constitution does Sister-in-law[2]Chinese forms of address can extend family terms to close friends. Here Han Jichuan is addressing the wife of a man he treats like an older brother, not necessarily his own relative. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733024_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733024_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); have? How could she withstand you crashing into her like that?” Han Jichuan said with a smirk, lips pressed together.
He Zhinian gave him a dark look, then gently tucked the blanket around her.
Han Jichuan nudged his elbow. “I told you to get checked too. Did you go?”
He Zhinian gave a quiet “Mm.”
The two of them left the ward in unspoken agreement.
Seeing that He Zhinian had no desire to chat, Han Jichuan got serious and said, “Sister-in-law probably had a cold last night, and then you put her through a whole night of this. No matter how good her constitution is, she couldn’t take that much.
“She’ll be fine after a few days’ rest.
“But what I really want to know is, how many times did you do it? You didn’t message me back until four.”
He Zhinian couldn’t be bothered to answer.
Just as Han Jichuan was about to leave, bored, a tall woman with long, voluminous waves strode toward them, looking furious.
She raised her hand and slapped at He Zhinian.
“He Zhinian! You bastard!”
He Zhinian’s expression didn’t change. He stepped back slightly, and her hand swept past him, landing squarely on Han Jichuan’s face!
Slap!
Han Jichuan staggered, nearly falling.
Liang Hao jumped back in fright.
Han Jichuan clutched his cheek and slowly straightened.
He stared at Liang Hao in disbelief, then turned his gaze to He Zhinian.
References[+]