Was it because of the real touches from last night? Because of the “Wan Wan” that Lu Zhanye kept murmuring even under the influence of the drug? Or deep down, did she also long to be remembered by someone like him?
“I should go out now.” Su Wantang took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
She had stayed in the space for a long time.
Although only a few minutes had passed in the real world, the time inside flowed ten times faster, which was more than enough for her to compose herself and steady her emotions.
The most important thing now was to explain why she had been away all night.
It would be easy enough to deal with her mother—she could say she went to the back mountain to gather herbs and got lost. But there was still Su Wanrou to consider.
Su Wantang remembered the cold look in her sister’s eyes when she picked up the pieces of coarse cloth, and a chill ran down her spine.
Su Wanrou knew she had been there last night.
She would definitely question her about it.
The village clinic was filled with a mixed smell of medicinal herbs and disinfectant.
Lu Zhanye had been placed on the earthen bed in the inner room, covered with a clean, thin quilt.
Dr. Li was re-dressing his wound. As he wrapped the bandage, he kept shaking his head in amazement. “It’s truly strange… I’ve been practicing medicine for thirty years, and I’ve never seen a wound heal this fast.”
Su Wanrou stood by the bed, holding a bowl of freshly cooked millet porridge. She said softly, “Maybe it’s because Comrade Lu has such a strong constitution, plus the fact that his wound was treated promptly…”
“Promptly treated?” Dr. Li looked up at her. “Wanrou, what exactly was in that folk remedy you used last night? If it really works that well, we should write it down. It could be used to treat anyone in the village who gets an injury in the future.”
Su Wanrou’s smile stiffened slightly.
How could she possibly know anything about a folk remedy? Everything she had said earlier had been made up on the spot.
But now that Dr. Li was pressing her for details right to her face, she had no choice but to keep making it up as she went along. “It was just common plantain, honeysuckle, plus a little mugwort. I crushed them all up and mixed them into a paste with well water…”
“Well water?” A hoarse voice suddenly came from the bed.
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
Lu Zhanye had opened his eyes at some point. Those deep brown irises were still hazy from the lingering effects of the high fever, yet his gaze was sharp as a knife, fixed straight on Su Wanrou.
“Comrade Lu, you’re awake!” Su Wanrou hurried forward, feigning delight. “How are you feeling? Does your wound still hurt?”
Lu Zhanye did not answer. His eyes rested on her face for a moment, then slowly moved down to the bandage around his waist, his brows gradually drawing together in a frown.
He remembered last night.
He remembered the sudden, unbearable heat that had surged through him. He remembered rushing out of the clinic. He remembered being in the haystack on the threshing ground… and that figure.
The pale face in the moonlight, the tears brimming in almond-shaped eyes, the slender neck trembling beneath his hands. And that scent—soap pod mixed with a faint herbal aroma, exactly the same as what had appeared in his dreams over and over again.
“Last night…” Lu Zhanye spoke, his voice rough and husky. “Who took care of me?”
Su Wanrou’s heart pounded wildly, yet she remained perfectly composed. “It was me, Comrade Lu. You had such a high fever last night, I stayed right by your side the whole time.”
“The whole time?” Lu Zhanye repeated the words, his gaze fixed on her face. “You never left?”
“Of course not.” Su Wanrou spoke with absolute certainty, her eyes reddening at just the right moment. “Comrade Lu got hurt while saving others. How could I possibly leave you to fend for yourself? Your wound got worse during the night, so I went to draw well water and wiped your body to bring down the fever…”
She spoke with such sincerity and emotion that even Dr. Li standing beside her was moved. “You really have a kind and compassionate heart, Wanrou.”
But Lu Zhanye remained silent.
He stared at Su Wanrou, at her gentle, tearful eyes, while fragments of last night kept flashing through his mind—the sharp sting of straw pricking his skin, the soft, broken sobs of a woman, and those last words spoken through tears: “I’m sorry.”
That woman was not Su Wanrou.
Su Wanrou’s voice was softer, finer, like willow catkins drifting in the spring breeze. But the voice from last night… it had been more timid, more fragile, like fallen flowers battered by autumn rain.
“What did you use to clean my wound?” Lu Zhanye asked suddenly.
Su Wanrou froze.
She had never expected him to ask for such specific details. Everything she had said so far had been made up on the spur of the moment, and none of it could stand up to close scrutiny.
“Just… well water…” She spoke vaguely. “Mixed with herbal juice…”
“What kind of herbs?” Lu Zhanye pressed further, his gaze intense and piercing.
“Pl… plantain… honeysuckle…” Su Wanrou’s palms began to sweat. “And… and mugwort…”
“In what proportions?”
……
Su Wanrou opened her mouth, but not a single word came out. How could she possibly understand the proportions for mixing medicinal herbs? In her previous life, she had indeed climbed her way up by claiming to be his savior, but that had only happened long after he had fully recovered from his injuries. She had absolutely no idea about the details of his treatment.
Dr. Li also began to sense that something was wrong. “Wanrou, you can’t use formulas recklessly like that. Plantain and honeysuckle both clear heat and promote diuresis, while mugwort warms the channels and stops bleeding. Their properties are completely opposite. Mixing them together could cause…”
“I… I just heard about it from the elders in the village, it’s an old folk cure.” Su Wanrou forced a smile. “The situation was so urgent last night, I just thought I’d try anything, even if it was a long shot…”
Her explanation sounded reasonable, yet the suspicion in Lu Zhanye’s eyes grew deeper.
He couldn’t remember exactly what had happened last night, but his body remembered. That warm, cool sensation against his wound… it was definitely not ordinary well water or herbal juice. It had been something clearer, purer, like… like spring water flowing from the deepest part of a mountain stream.
And that scent.
Lu Zhanye closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The smell of herbs in the clinic was very strong, yet he could still faintly catch a trace of a very faint, familiar aroma—soap pod mixed with herbs, bitter yet carrying a hint of sweetness.
Where had that scent come from?
His fingers unconsciously brushed against the mat beneath him, and suddenly touched something foreign.
Lu Zhanye froze.
He moved his fingers slowly, and from the narrow gaps in the woven mat, he pulled out a long strand of hair.
It was long, soft, and shone with a raven-black luster in the morning light. The ends were slightly split, a sign that its owner had long suffered from poor nutrition.
Lu Zhanye held the hair between his fingers, then turned his gaze toward Su Wanrou. To make it easier to take care of patients, she had tied her shoulder-length hair into a low ponytail; the ends barely reached her shoulders.
But this strand of hair was at least long enough to reach the waist.
Su Wanrou had also seen the hair. Her pupils contracted sharply, and almost instantly she realized—this was Su Wantang’s hair! Su Wantang had been frail and sickly since childhood, and their mother had never had the heart to cut her hair, saying that long hair would hold in good fortune. So she had always worn her hair down to her waist!
“This must be…” Su Wanrou struggled to maintain her composure. “Probably left behind by one of the patients from before. Women come here to see the doctor all the time…”
Before she could finish speaking, a soft knock came at the door.
“Is Dr. Li here?” A timid female voice called out. “I… I’ve come to get some medicine for an injury.”
It was Su Wantang.
All three people in the room turned their heads at the same time.
The door was pushed open just enough to reveal a narrow crack, and Su Wantang’s pale face appeared. She had changed into clean coarse clothes, and her hair was combed neatly. But the rims of her eyes were bright red, and dark circles were clearly visible under her eyes—proof that she had not slept a wink all night.