After a night’s rest, Jiang Zhibai’s mood, which had been smoothed out the previous evening, soured again the next morning as soon as she woke up.
She huffed and puffed through brushing her teeth and washing her face, huffed and puffed through drinking her milk and eating breakfast, and huffed and puffed as she carried her gear and climbed onto the school bus.
Sitting in his wheelchair, Jiang Yanyi reminded her, “Zhibai, you can’t bring your bedding and water bottle and stuff back again today, okay?”
Chi Xiaoxue waved cheerfully at her. “Bye-bye, Bai Bai. See you after school this afternoon.”
The child sat by the window, sulking with her head down and lips pursed into a little pout. But hearing Chi Xiaoxue speak to her, she coolly waved back, eyes lowered, and responded, “Bye-bye.”
Jiang Yanyi wasn’t in great shape today either, looking even more worn out than yesterday. The doctor came over in the morning to give him an IV drip.
Probably due to the pain keeping him up last night, he soon dozed off in his wheelchair, lulled by the medication.
Chi Xiaoxue sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, elbow propped on the round coffee table, chin in her hand, her glass-like irises bright as she observed Jiang Yanyi intently.
She couldn’t articulate something like “humanistic elegance,” but she felt Jiang Yanyi wasn’t just handsome—he also looked very cultured.
Sitting there, he was as pleasing to the eye as a painting.
After admiring the man’s good looks for a while, Chi Xiaoxue shook her head, stood up, and walked into the kitchen.
Last night, the two humans in the house had ordered takeout. This morning, Chi Xiaoxue had wanted Jiang Yanyi to teach her how to make milk, but he had maneuvered his wheelchair into the kitchen himself. When he reached the counter, the wheelchair’s legs automatically adjusted to match the counter’s height.
Sitting right there in his wheelchair, he prepared milk for the child and made a simple sandwich.
But Jiang Yanyi hadn’t eaten anything himself that morning.
Chi Xiaoxue felt that in times like these, she couldn’t afford to be lazy anymore. At the very least, she should make some food for Jiang Yanyi. Homemade might not taste great, but at least it’s clean.
There were still some lettuce, tomatoes, and bacon left in the fridge from making sandwiches earlier. Chi Xiaoxue took all these ingredients out, thought for a moment, and added an egg.
Originally, she planned to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes, but when she picked up the kitchen knife, she suddenly remembered slicing her finger off last time. It hadn’t hurt, but the memory still made her uneasy.
She was also a bit afraid of fire. Once, while playing with candles, she had singed off her eyebrows and eyelashes, coming dangerously close to burning her eyes.
Having learned her lesson, Chi Xiaoxue had since kept a respectful distance from fire.
Thankfully, this world didn’t have open flames. She stood in front of the stove, studying it for a long time.
Recently, Chi Xiaoxue had learned a few simple Chinese characters, but the labels on this stove were, of all things, entirely in English.
No clue.
She peeked outside—Jiang Yanyi was still asleep.
Not wanting to disturb him, she decided to press each button one by one.
When she pressed one of the buttons, the induction stove emitted a soft hum, and the originally black LCD panel glowed red.
Quickly grabbing a small pot, Chi Xiaoxue filled it with water, placed it on the stove, and put an egg in to boil.
Jiang Yanyi was tall; one egg probably wouldn’t fill him up. Chi Xiaoxue remembered her dad used to eat three eggs for breakfast.
So she took two more eggs from the fridge and carefully slid them into the water along the edge of the pot.
After a little while, the water began to heat up, and tiny bubbles started forming around the eggshells and the pot’s edge.
Turning around and seeing the uncut tomatoes, Chi Xiaoxue thought, Might as well not waste the tomatoes—they can provide some vitamins. So she tossed the tomatoes into the water as well.
Just as she dropped the tomatoes in, a phone rang from the living room.
Chi Xiaoxue tiptoed over, sneakily like a dog, and gently patted Jiang Yanyi’s shoulder. He didn’t wake up, so she picked up the phone herself to check.
The caller’s name consisted of two characters. Chi Xiaoxue only recognized the character for “mother.” Could it be Jiang Yanyi’s mom calling?
She nudged Jiang Yanyi’s arm again. Whether due to the medication or not, he was deeply asleep and didn’t stir.
The phone kept ringing persistently.
“Jiang Yanyi, I’m gonna answer it then.”
After announcing this to the sleeping man, Chi Xiaoxue pressed the green answer button:
“Hello.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by a middle-aged woman’s voice: “Is this Jiang Yanyi’s phone?”
“Yes, he’s sick and is sleeping right now.”
“Are you Moji?” the other party asked.
This person actually knew her.
Chi Xiaoxue remembered the voice—it was the elegant lady she had met at the villa before. Her voice had a slightly grainy, weathered quality.
“That’s me,” Chi Xiaoxue replied.
The voice asked again, “What’s wrong with Yanyi? What illness?”
Chi Xiaoxue opened her mouth to say he had rhabdomyolysis, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember the words for “rhabdomyolysis.” She only remembered “lysis.”
She remained silent for a while, and the other side urged, “Moji, are you there? What’s wrong with Yanyi?”
“He’s… lysed,” Chi Xiaoxue mumbled vaguely.
“…What happened to him?”
Chi Xiaoxue had no choice but to rephrase: “It’s from climbing a mountain. He’s in pain all over, and his legs can’t support him anymore.”
Then, Chi Xiaoxue heard the voice on the phone become softer and more distant.
“What’s up with this Moji? She talks so weirdly.”
Probably, this “mother” was complaining about her to someone nearby.
Chi Xiaoxue wanted to hang up directly, but soon she heard the other side say, “Moji, are you at home or in the hospital?”
“Home.”
“Alright, Moji. Minister Bai and I are both out of town right now. I’ll send Max over first to check on the situation.”
“Oh.” Chi Xiaoxue reluctantly hung up.
She couldn’t quite explain why, but she instinctively didn’t want outsiders coming to intrude. She felt she could take good care of Jiang Yanyi herself.
Unsure how long the eggs needed to boil, Chi Xiaoxue returned to the kitchen first. She found a plate, placed some bread and small crackers on it, and tore lettuce leaves into pieces by hand, arranging them alongside.
She added two slices of bacon on top.
Once everything was ready, she used a slotted spoon to scoop out the eggs. Mimicking how her mom used to do it, she ran the hot eggs under cold water. When the eggs were cool enough to handle, she tapped them on the table to crack the shells all over, making them easy to peel.
Three plain boiled eggs and boiled tomatoes were placed on the plate as well.
Chi Xiaoxue thought it still looked a bit plain, so she opened two of Xiao Bai’s little bear gummies and placed them on the bread.
It looked quite presentable—reds and greens, giving the appearance of nutritious abundance.
Chi Xiaoxue carried her Xiao Xiao Brand Nutritious Meal into the living room, set the plate on the coffee table, and patted Jiang Yanyi’s shoulder again. Still, he didn’t wake up.
Who knows if the doctor gave him sleeping pills—he was sleeping as if he had passed out.
Chi Xiaoxue extended a finger under his nose to check for breath but felt nothing.
“Could he be dead?!”
Chi Xiaoxue panicked instantly, letting out a cry and jumping back a step.
Only then did she remember—it wasn’t that Jiang Yanyi had died; it was that her robot fingers had no sensation, so she couldn’t feel his breath.
Jiang Yanyi, however, was startled awake by her shout.
He opened his eyes, which looked exceptionally clear and bright after a good sleep.
“Moji, what’s wrong?” Jiang Yanyi’s voice was hoarse, almost a whisper.
“Nothing.”
Chi Xiaoxue blinked. “Jiang Yanyi, do you want something to eat? I prepared a nutritious meal for you.”
Jiang Yanyi glanced at the food on the plate and closed his eyes again. “Not hungry.”
“You won’t get better quickly if you don’t eat. Have at least a little.” Chi Xiaoxue squatted in front of the wheelchair, poked Jiang Yanyi’s knee with her finger, and kindly urged.
When he opened his eyes, she gestured toward the nutritious meal with upturned palms, tilting her head and smiling. “Sir, your meal is served.”
Jiang Yanyi lowered his eyes and didn’t move, so Chi Xiaoxue poked him firmly again.
“Hey, hurry up and eat before it gets cold.”
“Is there anything hot in this?”
“Of course.” Chi Xiaoxue pointed at the plate. “The eggs and tomatoes are hot.”
“The tomatoes are hot?” Jiang Yanyi was stunned. This was the first time he had seen a whole boiled tomato.
Under Chi Xiaoxue’s expectant gaze, Jiang Yanyi placed the plate on his lap and cautiously picked up a lettuce leaf to chew.
He had only taken two bites when knocking sounded at the door.
“Must be Max,” Chi Xiaoxue said, standing up and hopping over to open the door.
“Who’s Max?” Jiang Yanyi asked, but no one answered him. He turned his wheelchair around and rolled it toward the hallway.
The tall Max stood outside the door, bowing slightly in greeting. “Good day, Mr. Jiang, Moji. The Madam heard you were unwell, Mr. Jiang, and asked me to check on you.”
“Who told the Madam I was sick?” Jiang Yanyi asked in a weak, strained voice.
Max slowly and seriously shook his head.
Chi Xiaoxue immediately raised her hand. “It was me! Your ‘mother’ called you, but you were asleep, so I answered.”
Jiang Yanyi: “Mother?”
Then he remembered the contact name for Shi Lan on his phone was “Mother-in-Law.” He guessed Moji didn’t recognize the character for “in-law,” only “mother.”
Suddenly, Jiang Yanyi gave her a weak, amused smile, which left Chi Xiaoxue utterly confused.
Next, Max first carefully inquired about Jiang Yanyi’s condition, then promptly called Shi Lan to report his illness.
After hanging up with Shi Lan, he bowed his head respectfully to Jiang Yanyi:
“Mr. Jiang, the Madam has instructed me to stay here and care for you until you recover.”
“No need, no need.” Chi Xiaoxue hurriedly waved her hands. “Max, you’ve checked on him, so you can head back now. I can take good care of Jiang Yanyi.”
Max, however, only followed Shi Lan’s instructions, politely ignoring Chi Xiaoxue’s refusal.
He opened a cloth bag he had brought along, took out a pair of enormous slippers to change into, then entered the house and neatly placed his leather shoes under the shoe rack.
Chi Xiaoxue stared at his huge leather shoes for a long time—they were as big as two little boats.
Once inside, Max’s first glance fell on the plate on Jiang Yanyi’s lap. He politely inquired:
“Mr. Jiang, is this a meal prepared for the dog? May I ask where the dog is? Since you have limited mobility at the moment, I can take it to feed him.”
“Hey!”
Chi Xiaoxue planted her hands on her hips and shouted:
“You, Max! You’re so rude!”
Jiang Yanyi thought she was angry because Max mistook her cooking for dog food, but then Chi Xiaoxue turned and pointed at Jiang Yanyi:
“How could you call him a dog?!”
Jiang Yanyi: “……”
But thanks to Max’s arrival, Jiang Yanyi was spared from eating that bizarre nutritious meal.
After puttering around in the kitchen for a while, Max emerged with steaming beef and spinach noodles and even prepared a refreshing side dish on the spot.
After preparing the meal, Max began tidying up the house.
Chi Xiaoxue squatted in front of the sofa, looking from Jiang Yanyi elegantly eating his noodles to Max bustling about, and began to feel a sense of crisis.
Without comparison before, it was fine. But now, with such a stark contrast, would Jiang Yanyi realize she was actually useless?
To make herself appear less incompetent, Chi Xiaoxue started following Max around.
When Max scrubbed the bathroom, she squatted outside the door and said, “Yes, scrub the bathtub. That’s the right cleaner for the toilet. The mirror—wipe the mirror too.”
When Max carried a laundry basket toward the laundry room, Chi Xiaoxue jogged ahead to lead the way. “Come, this way. The laundry room is over here.”
When Max needed to water the vegetable garden in the yard and dragged out the hose, Chi Xiaoxue rushed to the scene to help him turn on the faucet.
As Max waved the hose to water the garden, Chi Xiaoxue sat in the shade of the steps, thinking contentedly, Good thing I helped turn on the hose, or else all the vegetables in this garden would’ve dried up today.