Light filtered through the crisscrossing branches of the trees as Fu Yi sat brewing medicine.
Last night, Ye Xunshu’s fever flared up again. In her daze, she kept repeating Fu Yi’s name. Zhou Zhou, unable to sleep, eventually had to knock on the Alpha’s door.
Being an Alpha, Fu Yi found it inappropriate to enter an Omega’s room. Moreover, Ye Xunshu’s heat had not fully passed, and there was a fear she wouldn’t be able to control her pheromones during the night.
Out of necessity, Fu Yi had carried her to an empty room. Since the room wasn’t originally prepared for guests, it was just a hard bed frame with some soft cushions laid on top.
It was certainly worse than the original accommodations.
Fu Yi laid Ye Xunshu down. To be safe, she rummaged for several suppression patches to provide “heavy reinforcement” and used a handkerchief to cover her own nose and mouth.
When she returned, the person on the bed had sat up at some point. Her eyes were half-lidded, and she looked disoriented.
Startled, Fu Yi trotted over and asked gently, “Why are you awake? Is it uncomfortable sleeping here?”
Ye Xunshu only gave her a pitiful look, pouted, and leaned her weight directly against her.
The scent of osmanthus drifted faintly through the handkerchief. Fu Yi held her breath and gently patted Ye Xunshu’s back as if coaxing a child.
“Mm,” Ye Xunshu murmured in her stupor. “Sister, don’t go.”
Her fingers were clearly weak, yet she used all her strength to try and grab hold of the person.
“I won’t go.” Fu Yi sighed, softening her voice. “I won’t go. Sister will stay with you the whole time, okay?”
Perhaps she smelled the faint sea breeze pheromones Fu Yi had unconsciously released, or perhaps she heard the comforting words. Leaning against Fu Yi, Ye Xunshu’s breathing gradually leveled out, and she finally fell into a deep sleep.
The night was the hardest to get through. Ye Xunshu’s constitution was weak; with a fever like this, who knew how many days it would take for her to recover.
The water in the medicine pot began to boil, sending up clouds of steam. Just smelling the air, Fu Yi couldn’t help but want to cover her nose.
Could Ye Xunshu really drink this medicine?
If she remembered correctly, didn’t people in the Lower Realm usually eat some preserved fruits to take away the bitterness after drinking such medicine?
I should prepare some for the little rabbit later.
It had rained all night, as if announcing the departure of summer. The temperature this morning was much cooler than yesterday.
Fu Yi finished preparing the medicine, even patiently filtering out the residue that had accidentally poured into the bowl.
[Fu Yi-jie is so attentive!]
[When they found Ye Xunshu and Fu Yi yesterday, they were both soaked. Did they stay out in the rain all night?! What is the production team doing? They searched for a night and couldn’t find two people.]
[Please give me a dozen Fu Yi-jies with that serious expression and gentle gaze. Thank you.]
[This show shouldn’t be called “Gravity” anymore; call it “The Married Journey of Fu and Ye.”]
[That medicine looks so bitter. I can already imagine the taste through the screen.]
[The great Miss Fu, who never did a day’s work, actually knows how to brew medicine?!]
[What do you mean “actually”? Just because she’s at home doesn’t mean she does nothing. Would she really not know how to brew medicine?]
[Hahaha, the person talking about her home, what’s wrong? Are you one of the servants in her house?]
[Stop fighting, look! Why is Zhou Zhou up so early?]
[I saw his eyes looking weird yesterday. Could he have a secret crush on my sister?]
After picking out the dregs, Fu Yi instinctively turned her head and saw Zhou Zhou standing at the door, watching her.
Why was he up so early?
Fu Yi didn’t think much of it. She put down the medicine and greeted him while covering her nose: “Morning.”
Zhou Zhou responded: “Morning.”
A silence fell between them.
Fu Yi let out an “ah” to break the awkwardness. She pointed to the medicine pot and smiled: “I’m brewing medicine for Xunshu. It doesn’t smell great; maybe you should…”
“How is she?” Zhou Zhou interrupted her.
Fu Yi froze, her smile fading slightly. “Still has a bit of a fever. She’s sleeping.”
“Oh,” Zhou Zhou replied flatly.
Fu Yi paused suspiciously. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go deliver the medicine to her first.”
She picked up the bowl from the table. She had only taken a step or two past Zhou Zhou when he spoke again.
“Sister, wait.”
Fu Yi stiffened.
Sister?
Why did everyone like calling her that?
She turned back: “Is there anything else?”
The word “else” was still caught in her throat when a light blue sachet was handed to her.
Fu Yi froze in place. What on earth?
Zhou Zhou’s eyes were half-cast down, looking too embarrassed to face her. Even the indifference in his voice had faded, becoming soft and gentle: “Sister, please accept this.”
Fu Yi stared at the sachet. The orchid embroidered on it wasn’t done very well, but it was completed with winding, careful stitches.
She was stunned. She was speechless.
Was this… every person of the opposite sex on this dating show likes me?
Even a script wouldn’t be written like this!
Zhou Zhou’s hand holding out the sachet remained in mid-air. Fu Yi didn’t reach out to take it.
The standoff between the two was transmitted to the other side of the Water Mirror. There weren’t many people in the live stream this early, but the scene provoked a flurry of comments.
[How exciting!]
[Zhou Zhou has some nerve, actually trying to steal the little fox’s wife.]
[Fu Yi-jie, don’t take it!!!]
[Zhou Zhou is being too bold. If Fu Yi rejects him, he won’t even be able to hide the embarrassment.]
[Did you guys forget what kind of person Fu Yi is? She’ll definitely accept it.]
[The Fu-Ye CP cannot be broken!! Don’t take it, don’t take it, don’t take it!!]
Fu Yi frowned.
Zhou Zhou paused. Realizing the person opposite him wasn’t taking it, he started to withdraw his hand sheepishly.
Suddenly, Fu Yi reached out.
“Thanks.”
Her voice was light, and her emotions were hard to read.
Zhou Zhou looked up in surprise, only to see her turn around and walk away without looking back. He looked at his hand in disbelief.
It was empty. She had actually taken the sachet.
He let out a soft laugh, though its meaning was unclear.
[Zhou Zhou’s laugh… is so eerie.]
[A male Omega’s laugh isn’t as sweet as a girl’s, but why does it still feel a bit soft?]
[Help, Zhou Zhou can laugh? I thought he only knew how to act cold.]
[Does Zhou Zhou really like Fu Yi?!]
[Don’t take it! Don’t take it! A master of the field like Fu Yi should understand what a sachet means!!!]
[Believe in Fu Yi!]
[Crying, is the CP I just started shipping about to collapse?]
Fu Yi returned to her room, tossed the sachet into a drawer, and brought the medicine to Ye Xunshu.
Having been delayed by Zhou Zhou, the medicine in her hand had cooled slightly. Seeing her arrive, Ye Xunshu called out: “Sister.”
Fu Yi gave her the medicine and said, “It’s still a bit hot. Let it cool a bit more. I’ll go get some preserved fruits.”
Ye Xunshu nodded obediently. After Fu Yi left, she was alone in the room again.
The windows and doors were tightly shut to prevent the pheromones inside from drifting out.
Ye Xunshu raised the bowl with both hands, staring blankly at her reflection. Her gaze dropped gloomily.
It looked bitter, but she could actually endure bitterness.
“I’ll go get some preserved fruits.” That sentence circled in Ye Xunshu’s mind.
Why be so good to her?
Fu Yi had been so good to her these past few days.
It felt as if a thick fog had descended before her eyes. Perhaps because of the fever, she felt she was gradually losing sight of Fu Yi’s true face.
Was she the “Scum Alpha” everyone talked about, or was she truly as she said—that she would only ever marry her?
To this day, Ye Xunshu still didn’t dare to fully trust this person. She was afraid that if she believed, she would find out it was all a lie. The helpless despair of that moment would be far more painful than never fully trusting in the first place.
It would be much more bitter than the medicine in front of her.
When Fu Yi returned with the preserved fruits, she saw Ye Xunshu holding the empty bowl and wiping her mouth.
She was stunned. “You, you finished it all?”
Ye Xunshu nodded.
Fu Yi gave her the fruits anyway. “Is it bitter? Xunshu is so brave. Quickly, have a preserved fruit as a reward.”
Ye Xunshu stared at the fruit in Fu Yi’s hand and bit it directly.
Her soft lips accidentally touched Fu Yi’s fingertips. Fu Yi jerked her hand back, seeing the entire fruit being carried away by the little rabbit.
On her own hand, a faint trace of moisture remained.
Did her tongue just touch me?
Fu Yi quietly rubbed her fingers.
Ye Xunshu said, “Is Sister coaxing Xunshu like a child?”
Fu Yi stiffened. “Eh? Am I?”
It seemed like she was.
Ye Xunshu ate a few fruits and felt bored. “Sister, can we go out for a walk?”
Fu Yi: “It’s cool outside today. You should lie down for a while after taking your medicine.”
Ye Xunshu’s eyes instantly filled with tears. She clutched the blanket and sat huddled up, looking at her piteously.
The comments were surprisingly unanimous: [Let her go! Let her go!!]
“…” Fu Yi swallowed and avoided her gaze. “Fine.”
Ye Xunshu dropped the blanket and smiled radiantly: “Thank you, Sister!”
With that, she lunged toward Fu Yi.
By the time Fu Yi realized what was happening, she had already been pinned down by Ye Xunshu.
[Is… is this something I’m allowed to watch?!]
[The little rabbit is acting like an Alpha!!]
[Kiss her, kiss her! So shy.]
[Fu Yi-jie’s face is red, hahahaha.]
[If this is the little rabbit’s true face, please let her get sick more often.]
Fu Yi’s heart was beating so fast it didn’t feel like her own. Looking at the close-up of Ye Xunshu, she asked: “What, what are you doing?”
Ye Xunshu struggled to climb up from her body, and such movements inevitably led to physical contact.
Fu Yi’s eyes were slightly red. Her phoenix-like eyes stared at the person before her. Her body trembled slightly, and she raised her hand.
Ye Xunshu, thinking of something, suddenly squeezed her eyes shut.
Fu Yi covered her own nose. “Xunshu, get up.”
“Your pheromones.”
Ye Xunshu opened her eyes, still looking dazed. Once she realized, she tried her best to control and withdraw her pheromones.
When she saw Fu Yi raise her hand just now, she had panicked, thinking…
Fu Yi tilted her head and looked at Ye Xunshu, puzzled as to why she had made that expression.
Was she afraid? Afraid Fu Yi would hit her?
How could that be?
Ye Xunshu’s gaze fell. She saw Fu Yi’s slightly trembling body as her long hair fell forward from her shoulders.
Revealing her neck.
It was covered with many suppression patches.