Yu Chunmiao said with effort, “Mother, Qi Chong has a fever. He’s sweating a lot. Help hold him for me—I’ll give him some water first, then the medicine.”
Chen Ruolan took her place, pulling her son into her arms so he could lean against her.
Yu Chunmiao tried feeding Qi Chong water with a spoon, but it all flowed from his lips down his neck. He couldn’t swallow a single drop.
Seeing this, Chen Ruolan grew frantic, calling Qi Chong’s name through tears.
Qi Yuan rushed in after hearing the noise, pacing anxiously. “Mother, I’ll go to Butcher Wang’s place and get the ox cart. We should take Big Brother to town.”
Yu Chunmiao shook her head. “No. It’s too late at night—moving him might damage his leg. Doctor Yu prescribed medicine. I’ll find a way to get it into him.”
Qi Yuan thought it over and agreed. His brother’s injured leg was far too fragile right now.
Yu Chunmiao tried the method she’d seen in TV dramas—holding water in her mouth, prying Qi Chong’s lips open, and transferring it to him. But most of it still spilled out; very little went down.
TV dramas really did mislead people.
She smacked her forehead, thinking hard. Suddenly, an idea struck. “Second Brother! Go cut a section of reed stalk—thick and hollow!”
Qi Yuan dashed outside. Reeds grew everywhere near the gate. He soon returned with several stalks. Yu Chunmiao picked the thickest one, cut it to length, and used the thinner end to clear out the hollow.
She took a sip of water and rinsed the reed tube a couple of times.
Then, holding water in her mouth, she slowly fed it into Qi Chong through the reed, little by little. His throat moved as he swallowed, bit by bit.
She fed the medicine the same way.
After all that effort, Qi Chong’s eyelids fluttered open briefly, and he looked at Yu Chunmiao.
Her face darkened. Why didn’t you wake up earlier?
But his awareness vanished almost instantly. His eyes barely opened before closing again.
Yu Chunmiao relaxed. It seemed he hadn’t truly woken up.
Chen Ruolan laid Qi Chong back down, clutching her chest as she spoke through tears. “You frightened me to death… his father was like this back then—couldn’t even swallow medicine…”
“Mother!” Qi Yuan interrupted firmly. “That’s not the same. Big Brother’s fever is from the injury. Once the medicine works, he’ll be fine.”
Seeing her mother-in-law’s worry, Yu Chunmiao knew staying there wouldn’t help. “Mother, go back and rest. I’ll stay with Qi Chong.”
Chen Ruolan refused. “I’m worried about him. You should rest—I’ll stay.”
Yu Chunmiao gently pushed her toward the door. “You’re sick yourself—what can you do? Tomorrow morning I’ll need you to cook and prepare medicine. I won’t even be able to get up. If you don’t help me, I’ll collapse from exhaustion.”
Only then did Chen Ruolan reluctantly leave. Whether she could actually sleep was another matter—but it was better than watching her son lie unconscious.
Qi Yuan needed to return to town early the next morning, so he also went back to rest.
Yu Chunmiao was utterly exhausted. Since the man on the bed was still unconscious, she lay down beside him. Before long, she drifted off into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, Chen Ruolan brought in the medicine. What she saw made her pause—Yu Chunmiao was sleeping soundly, arms wrapped around Qi Chong’s, holding it tightly.
Silently, Chen Ruolan backed out and closed the door. She told Qi Yuan to take the pinellia to sell and come back in the evening.
Qi Chong actually woke before Yu Chunmiao. When he tried to move, he realized his arm was trapped. Opening his eyes, he saw Yu Chunmiao curled beside him, fast asleep, hugging his arm.
The bitter taste from the night before still lingered in his mouth. The moment he opened his eyes, she was right there in front of him.
He hadn’t expected her to still be there the next morning—nestled against him like a little kitten. Between her slightly parted lips, a hint of white showed. Her long lashes fluttered faintly, brushing straight across Qi Chong’s heart.
In that instant, his heart melted into a puddle. A sour, swelling warmth surged up in his chest.
Qi Chong simply lay there, staring at her with a faint smile, watching until she finally woke.
A young girl’s waking process was anything but straightforward.
First came a soft nasal sound, almost like a whimper. She buried her face into Qi Chong’s strong arm and rubbed against it a few times in a spoiled, unconscious way. Her curled legs suddenly stretched out straight, and she arched her body with a lazy twist.
Yu Chunmiao licked her dry lips, smacked her mouth twice, let out a huge yawn—and only then opened her eyes.
Qi Chong saw every bit of it.
She was just like a lazy cat, waking up reluctantly, unwilling to leave her warm nest.
Adorable. And real.
Yu Chunmiao sat up, though her eyes were still half-closed. She rubbed her messy, fluffy hair and reached out, instinctively pressing a hand to Qi Chong’s forehead.
Seeing how dazed she was, Qi Chong wasn’t even sure she felt anything.
She muttered to herself, “Seems… not hot anymore.”
Her just-woken voice sounded like bubbles rising in water. Watching her hover between sleep and wakefulness, Qi Chong suddenly had the urge to pull her back down and make her keep sleeping.
Yu Chunmiao sat there limply. She was the type who struggled mightily every morning—every wake-up was a battle between heaven and humanity.
Get up, or keep sleeping—an eternal dilemma.
Normally, she felt proud whenever she managed to get out of bed. But today was different. She had barely slept at all, waking repeatedly through the night to check Qi Chong’s temperature.
Her brain was completely offline. She hadn’t even realized it was already daylight, thinking this was just another nighttime check. Her eyelids felt as heavy as lead, and her head drooped involuntarily.
Moments later, her body tilted—and she collapsed backward.
There wasn’t much space left on the bed. She was about to roll right onto the floor when Qi Chong reached out with a long arm and caught her steadily.
She didn’t wake.
Yu Chunmiao fell back naturally, using Qi Chong’s arm as a pillow. One hand rested on his chest as she found a comfortable position—and fell straight back asleep.
Qi Chong’s Adam’s apple bobbed repeatedly.
Her body was pressed tightly against his. He could feel her outline, the rise and fall of every breath.
A tingling sensation he’d never experienced before spread through his entire body with the flow of his blood. His breathing grew heavier, uneven—only barely restrained by his self-control.
As Yu Chunmiao stayed curled in his arms longer and longer, that sensation intensified, even overwhelming the pain in his injured leg.
Qi Rong rubbed his eyes as he wandered into the kitchen. His mother had already prepared the meal.
“Mother, I’ll go call Sister-in-law to eat.”
Chen Ruolan quickly grabbed him and whispered, “Your sister-in-law was exhausted from caring for your brother last night. She’s still asleep. I’ve kept the food warm in the pot—she’ll eat when she wakes. Today, you’re coming up the mountain with me. Keep your voice down.”
Qi Rong obediently finished his meal. Just like his eldest brother used to do, he wrapped his mother’s injured hand and pant leg, then the two of them shouldered their baskets and headed into the mountains.
The little kitten in Qi Chong’s arms was anything but well-behaved.
Her hips hung slightly off the edge of the bed. That sense of insecurity—sleeping with part of her body exposed—made her instinctively burrow deeper into Qi Chong’s arms. She hugged him even tighter.
Qi Chong’s state was… complicated. In mind and especially in body.
He didn’t dare look at Yu Chunmiao anymore, inching his body inward little by little from the waist.
But Yu Chunmiao seemed unwilling to let him go. Each time he moved, she pressed closer. In her dreams, Qi Chong’s embrace was like a stove in winter—warm and irresistible. This little kitten couldn’t help but snuggle closer and closer…
Until Qi Chong was pushed all the way to the very edge of the bed.