Lu Boyan’s request was to have Su Jianan press on his needle wound as they walked out of the hospital together. But in truth, it was Lu Boyan doing the walking while dragging her along.

Due to his long strides, Su Jianan had to hurry her steps just to keep up. “I think it’s better that you stay here tonight for observation,” Su Jianan said, a little out of breath. “It’s not like the house would run away.”

“Lu Boyan, gastric problems shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

“Lu Boyan…”

Frowning, Lu Boyan stopped in his tracks. “Su Jianan, why are you still as talkative as when you’re young?”

She was like this too when she was ten. She would huddle beside him, wearing the branded princess dress that Su Yicheng had brought back from England, batting those bright eyes at him. “Brother Boyan, why aren’t you talking?” she had said. “Brother, won’t you get bored?. Let’s play a game together, okay? Brother Boyan, are you in a bad mood? How about I treat you to some ice cream? I always feel better after some ice cream…”

“I was not talkative when I was young.” Su Jianan snorted. “A lot of aunties at the time had even praised me for being quiet and obedient.”

Yeah, right. Whoever would say that she was quiet? Back then, she would keep talking until he snapped at her in annoyance and told her to shut up. She would clam up right away. She would stare back at him with pursed lips and innocent eyes as if she had just been wronged for no reason at all.

A smile swept past Lu Boyan’s lips. “But it’s true that you were obedient.”

Although her younger self would start chattering again shortly after being scolded, at least she had been more obedient back then, unlike her present self.

Su Jianan had expected a debate and was already prepared for it. But when Lu Boyan had suddenly acknowledged her, she was completely taken aback. In her daze, Su Jianan was dragged into the elevator by Lu Boyan.

Su Jianan had been too shaken when she was about to leave for the hospital. Out of concern for her safety, Uncle Xu had asked the driver to send Su Jianan to the hospital. Now, both of them were being driven home by the same driver.

The car had travelled for quite some distance since they both got on. Lu Boyan did not let go of Su Jianan’s hand. The thought of pulling away never crossed Su Jianan’s mind either. Instead, holding on to his hand made her feel… reassured.

Because by holding his hand, she could be 100 percent sure that Lu Boyan was beside her.

“Uncle Xu, he’s… very worried about you.”

Su Jianan had no clue why she would say something like that out of the blue. But just now, when Uncle Xu was rushing up the stairs anxiously, she was sure that she had seen deep concern in the man’s eyes. It was the reason why she had been so terrified.

Lu Boyan levelled a deep stare at Su Jianan. “What about you?”

For a long while, Su Jianan was silent.

“Uncle Xu came knocking on my door suddenly and told me that you’d been hospitalized. I thought that it was unlikely, since you don’t seem like the type who would just collapse like that. But I also knew that Uncle Xu wouldn’t joke around with me like that. I didn’t know what to do. In the end, Uncle Xu had to drag me downstairs and push me into the car so the driver could send me to the hospital. The driver also told me that you don’t get ill very often, so it shouldn’t be anything too serious. Well, I thought since I’m a doctor, so it should be fine even if it’s something serious. I mean, at most I’ll help work something out. But just now, when I saw you, you just looked so different from your usual self that I…”

The car’s back seat was a little dark due to the partition screen which blocked any light coming from the front seat. Su Jianan sat with her head slightly lowered. Half of her face was bathed in the meagre light while the other half sank into darkness. Light flickered against the tip of her brows as if to convey her uneasiness. Su Jianan had spoken in a soft voice. She had no idea just how much she had said.

She grip on his hand had tightened as she spoke.

She was experiencing post-traumatic fear.

Yes. The very moment she pushed open the door and saw a pale-faced Lu Boyan lying on the bed, she was terrified. She was terrified that he would fall just like that.

Lu Boyan hugged Su Jianan and bent his body slightly towards her. His slightly chilly lips covered her soft ones gently, like a dragonfly skimming across the surface of water.

All sounds vanished.

In an instant, Su Jianan went as still as a puppet.

It was as if the world had stopped in that precise moment. The temperature of his lips, the warmth of his breath, the way he was holding on to her two hands…

Everything was real.

Lu Boyan was really kissing her. In the silence, she could even hear his heartbeats.

“Don’t be scared. I’ll be okay.”

His voice pierced through the silence. His voice was deep and magnetizing like it had always been, though this time it held the power to ease her mind.

“Mm,” Su Jianan said. Her voice was soft and barely audible, like the droning of a mosquito. But miraculously, she really did not feel frightened anymore.

Lu Boyan did not loosen his grip on Su Jianan. Instead, he went with the flow and leaned himself against her shoulder.

Like most women, her shoulders were smooth and slender. It was uncomfortable to lean on. However, once he got close enough, he was once again hit by a mild scent of camelias, which brought inexplicable pleasure to his heart.

At that point, Su Jianan had gone a little blank. “Isn’t this some kind of role-reversal?” she thought.

Feeling uncomfortable, she tried to move. “Lu Boyan…”

Not only had Lu Boyan refused to pull away, but he had also shifted his body into a more comfortable posture. “Don’t move. Didn’t you hear what Shen Yuechuan said? I’ve had no rest for two days straight.”

The exhaustion in his voice was plain. “Fine,” Su Jianan thought. “I’ll allow it, considering he’s a sick patient and all.”

She angled her head sideways to stare at Lu Boyan and found that he was nearly asleep.

This was the first time she had seen Lu Boyan with his eyes closed. Even though he looked utterly exhausted, his face seemed at peace. With him looking like that, nobody would have the heart to disturb him from his rest. Well, nobody would be able to look away from his face either, because…

He was just too darn good-looking!

Once again, Su Jianan lamented God’s unfairness for allowing Lu Boyan to look this good even when he was ill.

For a while, Su Jianan kept gawking until she noticed a woolen blanket beside her hand. There was ample heating in the car, but the weather had always been slightly chilly during the end of spring, so she draped the blanket over Lu Boyan’s body.

Lu Boyan slept lightly, so he was aware of Su Jianan’s actions. Lu Boyan smiled as he silently enjoyed Su Jianan’s ministrations. However, the smile on his lips went completely unnoticed by Su Jianan. Even so, Su Jianan felt a kind of satisfaction deep down.

The kind of satisfaction resulting from performing little acts of kindness towards someone important.

An hour later, the car pulled up in front of the villa. The driver’s voice came through the partition. “Young Madam, we’re home.”

Su Jianan looked at Lu Boyan, who was sound asleep on her shoulder. After a moment of hesitation, she nudged his shoulder. “Lu Boyan, we’re home.”

Frowning, Lu Boyan opened his eyes. Su Jianan thought that she had disturbed his rest. “I didn’t want to wake you, but we’re home.”

The guilt was written all over her face. Lu Boyan lifted his hand slightly. He wanted to stroke her hair and tell her that everything was fine. Before he could follow through, Su Jianan frowned. “Also… you’re too heavy. My shoulder’s kinda sore…” she said seriously.

“… let’s get out of the car.”

Su Jianan got off the car and began massaging her shoulder. Only then did she find out that she could no longer feel her right hand.

“Argh, have I gone too far just for the sake of ogling a beautiful man?” she thought.

Lu Boyan had noticed Su Jianan’s uncomfortable movements. “Your hand,” he said. “Has it gone numb?”

“I can’t feel my hand…”

Sighing, Lu Boyan took her hand and massaged her from arm to palm. His strokes were not light, but they were not heavy either.

Su Jianan was stunned by the intimacy of Lu Boyan’s actions. Was it even appropriate for them to participate in such intimate acts?

But just now, on the car, they had… kissed.

She looked at Lu Boyan surreptitiously, trying to guess the meaning behind that kiss. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that it was likely that Lu Boyan had been trying to comfort her. He had wanted to put her mind at ease. It was just his way of letting her know that he was fine.

So she most definitely should not read too much into it.

Meanwhile, Lu Boyan’s attention was focused on massaging her hand. His head was slightly lowered as he worked. The ambience of the night had brought out the tenderness in his countenance. Su Jianan was beginning to think she was imagining things.

Soon, her hand regained its feeling. She realized that Lu Boyan had controlled his strength well during the massage. The pressure from his fingers felt neither too forceful nor too light. His touches had just the right amount of strength for them to feel comfortable. Also, his hands were not rough, all of which made his strokes the perfect combination of strength and texture.

At this rate, it was not just her hand that had regained its feeling, but her entire body had gained a few sensations too. “What’s with the burning sensation on my cheeks? Argh!!!” she thought.

Lu Boyan had no plans to release Su Jianan’s hand.

Su Jianan was born with a soft and fair complexion. Her hands were as small and delicate as catkins. Once they were touched, nobody would want to let them go.

One thing about her skin was that it flushed easily. Seeing that he might soon break skin if he kept on rubbing, Lu Boyan stilled his hands. “Better?”

Su Jianan snapped back to reality and slowly drew her hand back. “Yes, better. Thank you.”

Lu Boyan glanced at his watch. It was already past midnight. “It’s late. Let’s go to bed.”

Su Jianan stood stock still, staring at Lu Boyan. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry.”

“What would like? I’ll ask the cook to whip something up for you.” Lu Boyan paused for a moment before he went on, “I’m a little hungry too.”

“I’m not picky,” Su Jianan said. “But right now you can only have liquid meals, right? Let’s not bother the cook. I’ll make some congee. How about seafood congee?”

Lu Boyan hummed his agreement. Su Jianan turned around and ran indoors.

There was a bag of high quality Jasmine rice in the fridge. Su Jianan took out a portion of rice, which she then poured into a claypot. She added water to the claypot and left it to stew on the stove top while she dealt with the seafood.

She began cutting shrimps into two halves, deveining them and removing their heads. Next she worked on the squids, cutting them into moderate slices. By the time she was done, the contents in the pot had begun boiling. She added dried shrimps into the pot for flavor. Some ginger shreds were added next to remove the pungent taste of seafood. After that, she poured in the shrimps and allowed them to cook until they turn red before adding in some clams. The squid went in last.

By the time the clams opened, the rice had turned soft and pulpy. A shiny layer of oil lined the claypot’s surface. Beneath the oil, the congee’s contents were crystal clear. Under the heat, the claypot’s contents rumbled, releasing the aroma of rice and seafood into the air. Soon, the entire kitchen was filled with the aroma.

She seasoned the congee and garnished it with some parsley before turning off the heat. She skimmed the layer of oil on the surface and then transferred the oil into a bowl. She added congee into the same bowl. “This bowl is for Lu Boyan. Smells great and can be easily digested,” she thought. As for her… well, of course, her job would be to finish up all the seafood which could not be easily digested!

She had placed two bowls on a tray and was just about to bring the tray out when someone else beat her to it and picked up the tray before her.

“Let me.” Lu Boyan had taken the tray and begun heading to the dining room.

Su Jianan gave Lu Boyan the bowl containing the oil. “Your stomach can only handle this for now.”

Lu Boyan took a bite and concluded that Su Jianan was also an expert when it came to making congees. She had completely removed the pungent smell from the dish and had brought out the flavor of seafood and rice to perfection. In the mouth, the congee tasted heavenly and when swallowed, its aftertaste had him craving for more. It was the most delicious congee he had ever tasted.

He gave Su Jianan a probing look.

It was already late, so Uncle Xu and the rest of the staff had retired to the servant’s quarters behind the garden. In the spacious villa, only the lights in the dining room were lit. Warm lighting came down from over their heads. Although the light lacked brightness, it felt warmer than ever. Under Lu Boyan’s stare, doubt began to form in Su Jianan’s heart. “The congee doesn’t taste good? But how can that be?”

She scooped a spoonful and shove it into her mouth. Lu Boyan wanted to stop her, but it was already too late. She screamed in pain as heat scalded her tongue.

“Stupid idiot.”

Lu Boyan poured her a glass of ice water, half of which she gulped down in haste. Finally, she was relieved from the stinging pain in her tongue.

“Hold out your tongue. Let me see,” Lu Boyan ordered, frowning. His voice was laced with the ache he felt in his heart, an ache he was heedless of.