Chapter 17: I Slept Beside Her

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Chi Mu pushed Ji Yu back into the field. "Stop daydreaming and finish hoeing the field before going home."

"My hands are sore; I can't hoe anymore."

"One little yellow pill."

"My legs are sore too."

"Two little yellow pills."

"Alright then!"

Ji Yu accepted the two little yellow pills and watched Chi Mu leave. She ate one and saved the other for Ji Yuanjing. Ji Yuanjing was a workaholic with a high risk of sudden death. She had to keep her brother alive.

...

When Chi Mu arrived at Xihua Garden, Fu Ningli was already waiting at the community entrance.

She was surprised. "What are you doing here?"

On his long eyelashes, delicate frost had formed.

He looked up, seemingly trying to read something from Chi Mu’s face. "Came down to buy something, and happened to wait for you."

Chi Mu saw his empty hands and asked, "Where’s what you bought?"

A faint blush flickered across Fu Ningli’s face. "I already ate it."

"Oh."

Without suspicion, Chi Mu stuffed the paper bag in her hand into Fu Ningli’s arms. "Here’s a make-up birthday gift for you, no need to thank me."

Fu Ningli was momentarily stunned. Looking at the paper bag in his arms, he asked, "What is it?"

"Shoes."

"You know my shoe size?"

"Of course I do."

Chi Mu smiled confidently. "Not just your feet—I’ve measured every inch of you. How could I not know your size?"

The body’s meridians are interconnected.

During acupuncture, he was bare-chested and bare-legged.

She had touched every muscle and bone on him.

Fu Ningli chose to remain silent.

Chi Mu pushed him into the community.

Once inside the elevator, Fu Ningli secretly observed Chi Mu’s subtle expression in the mirror, then carefully spoke, "I saw the news about you. Are you alright?"

"Pretty good."

"I have a lawyer friend who’s an expert in cases involving domestic violence and child abuse. If you need, I can connect you."

"No need. I can handle it myself."

Chi Mu declined.

Fu Ningli didn’t insist.

Exiting the elevator, they entered the apartment where Uncle Zhang had prepared duck necks, duck tongues, and duck clavicles from Chen’s shop. "Miss Chi, sir bought some cooked food on his way home. Let's try it together."

Chi Mu’s eyes lit up when she saw the duck necks. "Chen’s duck necks! That shop is super popular. Last time I waited two hours to get a queue! How long did you wait?"

"About ten minutes."

"That fast?"

"They let me go first because they saw I’m disabled."

"…"

Chi Mu thanked these kind-hearted people and began to feast.

Fu Ningli opened the box and took out the shoes.

The design was elegant, the workmanship exquisite.

Looking up from the pile of duck necks, Chi Mu smiled faintly at Fu Ningli, who was unaware of his own expression. "You like them, right?"

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"Not bad," Fu Ningli replied.

Chi Mu chuckled softly. "I saw you smile. You look satisfied."

"Really?"

Fu Ningli was noncommittal.

Uncle Zhang stood by the kitchen island cutting fruit, listening to their conversation with a broad smile.

After Chi Mu ate her fill, she began acupuncture on Fu Ningli.

Near the end, a sharp pain struck her head, almost making her drop the silver needles.

Countless mosquitoes seemed to buzz in her ears.

A strong dizziness blurred Fu Ningli’s figure into three overlapping images before her eyes.

Chi Mu bit her tongue to steady herself.

Only three needles left. Almost done.

Seeing her sway and sweat on her brow, Fu Ningli’s heart tightened. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Her voice was light and faint.

He recalled and pressed her back down. "Lie still. Don’t move."

Chi Mu held her breath, steadied her mind, braced one hand on the bed edge, and plunged the last three needles in one go.

When the final needle was placed, she could no longer hold on and collapsed sideways.

In an instant, Fu Ningli reached out to catch her.

Her head hit his shoulder heavily.

Her black mask slipped off one ear, revealing half of her burnt face.

Chi Mu was hazy and drowsy.

Her consciousness was half submerged, half drifting.

She heard Fu Ningli speaking.

Like a trigger, she murmured, as if answering him, yet also talking to herself.

"It must hurt, being burned like this."

"You're the second person to say that."

"Who was the first?"

"Zhang Ma."

"Actually, you look good like this."

"Mmm, not good. I’ll heal it."

"Oh? How?"

"Just need another Qixialian."

"Qixialian?"

"Yes, it costs seven hundred million. I have to earn money to buy it."

"The miracle doctor at the black market clinic—is that you?"

"That’s me… it’s me…"

Chi Mu slowly closed her eyes, her consciousness fading completely.

Fu Ningli called 911 after finishing and held her in his arms.

His chin rested gently on her forehead.

He smelled a faint herbal scent on her.

That scent was very similar to the little yellow pill Song Yuan had bought.

And she was very protective of that pill.

When he asked, it turned out to be Qixialian.

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She needed Qixialian.

Fortunately, he had some.

Ten minutes later, the ambulance arrived.

Uncle Zhang accompanied them to the hospital.

At Haishi First People’s Hospital, after examination, the emergency doctor told Fu Ningli, "It’s nothing serious. She had a pain-induced fainting spell. She should wake up in an hour or two."

"Pain-induced fainting? What’s the root cause?"

"I checked her electronic medical record. Seven years ago, she suffered a mild concussion from a blow to the head, which affected hearing in her left ear. That’s probably the root cause."

"A blow? What hit her?"

"The records say it was an ashtray."

"…"

An ashtray.

So.

Was it her father who hit her?

Everything she said in front of the media was true.

Fu Ningli stayed by Chi Mu’s bedside.

Uncle Zhang waited nearby. "Sir, it’s cold. I’ll stay and keep Miss Chi company."

"Uncle Zhang, do you know what it feels like to be hit in the head with an ashtray?"

He shook his head.

Fu Ningli’s dark eyes narrowed, filled with the image of Chi Mu’s quiet, fragile sleeping face.

He spoke in a low, intense voice.

"I know."

He, too, had once been hit in the head with an ashtray, bleeding profusely.

So it turned out.

She had, just like him, lived a difficult past.

...

Chi Mu woke in the dead of night.

The light was dim and warm.

Fu Ningli sat quietly by the window, focused on work at his computer.

The blue glow from the screen lit his face, casting layers of soft shadows.

He looked warm.

Sensing her gaze, Fu Ningli turned and their eyes met.

Startled, both were momentarily taken aback.

Fu Ningli closed the computer and wheeled forward in his chair. "Awake?"

"Mm."

"How do you feel?"

"No pain anymore."

Chi Mu sat up and pressed her temples. "Old problem. Did I scare you?"

Fu Ningli looked at her. "Yes. That’s why I called the ambulance. You’ll stay here tonight and be discharged tomorrow."

"What about you?"

"I’ll sleep beside you."

Chi Mu glanced at her bedside companion and forced a smile. "Actually, I’m fine now. I don’t need a nurse. You really don’t have to."