Ever since Lu Jinghuai had become paralyzed, the Lu household hadn’t been this lively for a long time.
Listening to the voices outside, Lu Jinghuai suddenly felt the urge to go out and take a look. But the moment he thought of his legs, he sighed and clenched his fists again.
“Yanqiu, I can’t leave right now. Go inside and see if your elder brother needs to use the toilet,” Liu Ruyun called out. She had been so busy that she had almost forgotten about her eldest son in the room.
Lu Yanqiu had been helping carry water. When he heard his mother say this, and saw Lin Xiyue standing nearby watching Lu Genwang and the others butcher the pig, he suddenly had the urge to tease her.
He wanted to see whether Lin Xiyue could truly accept his elder brother.
If she could genuinely take care of him and not look down on him, then from now on he would treat her with the respect and loyalty of a true sister-in-law.
But if she dared to despise his brother, he wouldn’t show her any mercy.
“Xiaoyue, I’m busy right now. Go inside and check if my brother needs anything. My brother is thin-skinned—sometimes he might feel embarrassed to trouble you, so you need to be patient.”
After saying that, Lu Yanqiu didn’t even give her a chance to refuse before going back to work.
Lin Xiyue opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing. She could only obediently go meet the “big husband” she hadn’t met yet.
The second and third brothers were already so handsome—surely the eldest wouldn’t look bad either, right?
Thinking this, Lin Xiyue strode into the room.
Lu Jinghuai’s room was connected to the main hall, so there was no door—only a half curtain hanging there.
Lin Xiyue lifted the curtain and stepped inside.
The strong smell of medicinal soup could already be smelled from the hall. And since everything—eating, drinking, and relieving himself—happened in this room, while the windows were kept closed, the odor inside was exactly what one would expect.
Before even looking at Lu Jinghuai, Lin Xiyue walked over and opened the windows.
“This room needs ventilation so the sick air can disperse. Otherwise, even a healthy person would get sick from staying here too long. And this blanket—it’s too thick. In this kind of heat, you’ll end up covered in heat rash.”
Perhaps out of a doctor’s instinct, Lin Xiyue couldn’t help pointing out all the problems the moment she entered.
Lu Jinghuai looked at the girl who had suddenly barged in.
Her body was slender and fragile-looking, yet she gave off a strangely powerful presence. It wasn’t physical strength, but something spiritual.
Seeing that he didn’t say anything, Lin Xiyue walked over to the cabinet, took out a thinner blanket, and prepared to replace the one covering him.
“Stop.”
Seeing that she was about to change his blanket, Lu Jinghuai immediately grabbed the one covering him.
When Lin Xiyue saw he didn’t want to change it, she explained:
“It’s too hot for such a thick blanket. You’ll get sick from the heat. You don’t want Mother to worry, do you?”
Only then did Lin Xiyue properly look at him.
She had originally assumed that after being bedridden for so long, Lu Jinghuai would look weak and frail. Since Lu Yanqiu and Lu Wenyuan were both rather slender, she had subconsciously thought he would have a similar build.
But when she actually saw him, she was surprised.
Lu Jinghuai had sharp, well-defined facial features. His eyes were long and deep-set, his eye sockets slightly hollow, his nose bridge tall and straight, and his jawline crisp and clean. His entire face had a striking three-dimensional structure, giving him a naturally cold and resolute aura.
He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. The muscular lines of his body couldn’t be hidden at all.
There was a powerful, almost overwhelming masculine energy about him.
The blanket covered only his waist and lower body, while he wore a thin inner shirt on his upper body.
Clearly, it must have been hot under that blanket.
So why didn’t he want to change to a thinner one?
“You go out. Let Yanqiu come in and help me change it.”
Lu Jinghuai gripped the blanket tightly, a trace of embarrassment barely visible on his face.
“Yanqiu is busy right now. I’ll help you change it,” Lin Xiyue said. “Don’t worry—I’ve taken care of patients before. Besides, we’re family now. Are you planning to hide forever?”
Lin Xiyue swore she wasn’t motivated by his good looks—she genuinely just wanted to help him.
But seeing her insistence, anger flickered across Lu Jinghuai’s face.
“I don’t need it. Go out.”
He truly didn’t want Lin Xiyue to see the unsightly condition beneath the blanket.
Lin Xiyue could roughly guess that he didn’t want an outsider to see him in such a miserable state.
She had seen this kind of sensitive emotion many times in patients in her previous life.
If she had no intention of caring for him, she might have simply turned around and left.
But she couldn’t bear to see such a handsome face trapped in this room every day.
“Since you don’t want to change it, then fine—we won’t change it for now. Give me your hand. I’ll check your pulse.”
Lu Jinghuai looked at her in surprise.
“You know medicine?”
Lin Xiyue nodded silently.
When he still didn’t cooperate, she simply grabbed his hand herself. Fortunately, this time he didn’t pull away.
“Not bad—your body itself doesn’t have major problems. The main issue should be your waist,” she said.
Then she looked at him seriously.
“Lu Jinghuai… do you want to stand up again?”
Instead of immediately examining the injury on his waist, she asked him this question.
“You really know medicine?”
Lu Jinghuai still doubted her ability and didn’t answer directly.
“That depends on whether you believe me,” Lin Xiyue replied. “To other people, it’s already unbelievable that I could hunt a wild boar. So if I say I can cure you… would you believe it?”
Her voice was gentle, yet carried a surprising firmness.
Lu Jinghuai stared at her bright, shining eyes and fell silent.
Her words were like a straw to a drowning man.
Even knowing there was little hope, he still instinctively wanted to grab onto it.
“There’s no need to rush this decision,” Lin Xiyue said. “You can think about it. But stop drinking the herbal medicine Mother prepares—it’s not doing much anyway.”
After saying that, she turned and walked out.
A moment later, she came back with a water pouch and poured a bowl of spiritual spring water.
She hoped it might at least ease his pain temporarily.
When Lin Xiyue had entered earlier, she had noticed the dense scratches on the wooden bed board.
They must have been made when Lu Jinghuai couldn’t endure the pain and clawed at the bed.
Lu Jinghuai looked at the bowl of water she handed him and didn’t refuse.
Normally he rarely drank water, because drinking too much meant frequent trips to the toilet—and he had already begun suffering from incontinence.
He didn’t know when such a life would end.
He didn’t want to burden his mother and younger brothers, but he also wasn’t willing to die like this. Nor could he bear leaving them behind.
So he could only continue living in pain.
He took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp, thinking he would quickly send Lin Xiyue away afterward.
But the moment the water went down his throat, he suddenly felt warmth spreading through every limb and bone.
Even his legs—already nearly numb—seemed to feel as if the meridians were being nourished.