Chapter 52

Lin Langyi sat in the car, covered with a thin shirt jacket that he had taken off, which was better than nothing.

Yuan Chuyu knew that she had menstrual cramps but hadn't taken any medicine, kept warm, or rested early. He looked at her seriously for a while, turned off the air conditioning early, and used the seatbelt to secure her, who was covered with a shirt and coat. Then, without saying a word, he started the car and drove to the convenience store.

As he got out of the car and closed the door, he saw her pale face. His Adam's apple bobbed, but his expression remained as blank as ever. He slammed the door shut with a heavy sigh.

He was clearly angry.

The car was parked in the parking space in front of the convenience store. Through the windshield and glass door, she saw him walk past each shelf, adding things to his shopping basket as he went. When he got to the shelf of colorful sanitary napkins, his basket was already full.

He asked her for the specific brand, and with her pointing it out, he found a picture of the same product online. He then compared the pictures on his phone and quickly completed the purchase.

There were quite a few people queuing up at the checkout. He carried his basket, his gaze constantly drifting towards her through the glass. When he saw her slumped listlessly in her seat, his handsome face tightened even more, as if he were looking at a terrible financial report.

Lin Langyi was extremely sleepy during her period, and in the short time she was waiting, she was already leaning back in her chair and dozing off.

Only when she heard the door open did she laboriously lift her eyelids a little and look at him sleepily.

He handed her a bottle of warmed milk, his voice still hoarse and tinged with temper, but he softened his tone and asked softly, "Would you like something warm?"

She nodded and reached out to take it, but he shoved two or three bottles of hot milk into her hand. Then he wrapped his hand around the back of her hand to test the temperature, and without waiting for a second, he stuffed her hand and the bottles of milk that served as makeshift hot water bottles under his shirt.

"Cover your stomach." He carefully and neatly placed her hand on her lower abdomen, and then patted her hand gently through her shirt as if to comfort her.

Then he removed the straw from the remaining bottle of milk in his hand, inserted it, and held it to her lips: "Drink slowly."

Lin Langyi could drink it with a slight tilt of her head. He patiently held it up until she drank half of it and then turned her head away, not wanting it anymore, before putting it down and starting the car again.

"This isn't too hot, so I asked the staff to heat it up in the microwave for me. When we get home, I'll make you some brown sugar water."

He turned the steering wheel, and the car glided onto the main road. He drove smoothly and comfortably. Lin Langyi dozed off with her eyes half-closed. Because of her stomach pain, she hadn't been sleeping very peacefully.

After arriving at the residential area, he parked the car, first went to the back seat to carry a large bag of daily necessities to the passenger door, and then opened the door to help her.

Lin Langyi unbuckled her seatbelt, her mind blank, and dazedly stepped out with one leg. The milk hidden under her shirt immediately fell out like sunflower seeds hidden in a hamster's mouth.

Yuan Chuyu caught two bottles with lightning speed, while the rest fell to the ground with a "clatter." He used one hand to hold down her outstretched leg, saying succinctly, "Don't rush."

Lin Langyi sat there with one leg dangling as he picked up the milk that had rolled on the ground and put it into a plastic bag. Then he took the shirt that was covering her and helped her put it on by pinching her arm.

His movements were gentle and patient, as if he were dressing a child.

After the oversized shirt was put on her, Lin Langyi glanced at its length, which had reached her thighs, and looked up to find him already squatting in front of her with his back to her.

"Come up."

"I can do it myself—"

"Come up."

When he speaks briefly, he inevitably adopts a somewhat autocratic and commanding tone, just like the person he is. At banquets, at his desk, on stage, even with a gentle and gentlemanly smile, the arrogance and aloofness in his bones can never be shaken off.

It's hard to imagine that such a person would one day squat down in front of her and become entangled with her like a ball of yarn that can't be untangled.

Lin Langyi put his arm around her, wrapped his arms around her legs and lifted her up, so that he could still use one hand to pick up the shopping bags.

After walking a dozen meters, the car door was locked, the headlights were turned off, he pressed the elevator button and waited to the side, glancing at her sideways.

She buried her head in his shoulder, only one eye showing, and looked at his turned face. He seemed to be thinking something, and smiled slightly.

A neighbor from the same building slowly approached from a distance. Lin Langyi hid the remaining eye as well, covering her face with his shoulder, and urged in a low voice, "No, there are people here. Put me down. It's too conspicuous to carry me like this."

As she spoke, she curled up her arms and legs, trying to shrink herself into a compressed package. Finally, she pulled up her shirt collar, wishing she could hide her head under her clothes as well.

Yuan Chuyu glanced at the person coming and going: "On the same floor?"

"no."

"Have I seen you before?"

"He helped me carry the package when I went to pick it up."

The elevator doors opened, and Yuan Chuyu entered first. Sure enough, the neighbor jogged over and shouted, "Wait a minute, wait a minute!"

Yuan Chuyu put the person down, and Lin Langyi went directly behind him, turning up her shirt collar to cover half of her face.

After thinking about it, she still felt guilty, so she turned around and stood with her back to the elevator door.

Yuan Chuyu had one hand on the door open button, and only nodded in response when his neighbor, panting, ran to the door and said "thank you."

The neighbor's eyes widened the moment he saw him, probably due to the competitive spirit among men. He looked Yuan Chuyu up and down, noting his height and long legs, and then glanced at his own slender calves before turning away and pressing the button for the eighth floor, pretending not to care.

Yuan Chuyu took a few steps back, turned around, and pressed Lin Langyi's shoulder, who was reflecting on her mistakes against the outside wall of the elevator, and turned her back.

Her steps were stiff, and she was reluctant when he turned her around. He lowered his head and whispered in her ear in a very wicked tone, "The elevator is transparent, and there are even more people outside."

She immediately turned around and looked up to see his broad chest.

He seemed to chuckle softly, a faint tremor emanating from his chest.

He pressed the back of her head against his chest, and stroked her long hair through his shirt as a gesture of comfort.

The neighbor glanced over again, seemingly casually looking at Yuan Chuyu, then twisted his body as if scratching an itch behind his back to peek at Lin Langyi, whose view was blocked.

Although he couldn't see her face clearly when they were outside the elevator, her exposed calves were straight and fair, and he felt that her figure resembled that of the pretty girl on the 16th floor.

Yuan Chuyu embraced Lin Langyi openly and calmly, saying, "Mom said I'll take you to the hospital tomorrow. Are you still able to stand steadily?"

Lin Langyi was buried in front of him, not knowing what kind of weird script this was, and couldn't say anything for a moment.

He sighed, his tone harsh, angry at her for her lack of self-control: "You're so sick you can't even speak. I told you long ago that the person you married was unreliable, but you insisted on marrying him. Now you even have to go to the hospital with your own brother when you're sick."

Lin Langyi: ...

The neighbor looked away.

Oh, so it's his older brother.

She was already married? ...What a pity.

The neighbor gave the servant one last look. When the elevator arrived, he reluctantly stepped out, while the older man behind him continued to lecture him: "What's the use of him? Listen to me, you should just get a divorce sooner rather than later."

The door closed, and Lin Langyi's hand emerged from under her shirt, pinching him expressionlessly.

Just how much do you want to be Lin Xiangshuo?

“I really want to,” Yuan Chuyu said with genuine longing, “At least I can see you every day, eat together, work together. If you fall in love too early, I can use my status to teach those ignorant fools a lesson. If you are sick, I can carry you on my back, and no one will think it's strange if I hug you in the elevator.”

“That’s so strange,” Lin Langyi said, immediately feeling like ants were crawling all over her body as she imagined Lin Xiangshuo’s face. Her face scrunched up. “I’ve disliked my brother and me ever since I was seven or eight years old. He can’t even win an argument with me.”

Yuan Chuyu did not let go of her shoulder. When the elevator was empty, he moved his hand down even more brazenly and put his arm around her waist: "That's his problem. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't have argued with you."

When Lin Langyi arrived at 1602, she had been distracted by chatting with him, but when she opened the door, she felt like she was dying from the pain again.

Yuan Chuyu picked up the medicine bag at the door and followed her inside.

"Excuse me." As he stepped into the entryway, he said this indifferently, then slammed the door shut with a "click."

Lin Langyi finally remembered where this scene had happened before.

In Shajiang Residential Area, the time Cheng Yanjin got drunk and blacked out, Yuan Chuyu followed her in the same way, brazenly entering her home and even saying "Excuse me."

I didn't realize it then, but now that I think about it, he probably didn't even feel bothered at all!

Lin Langyi tossed the key onto the cabinet in the entryway, changed her shoes, and made no attempt to entertain him. She took the medicine from his hand and headed for the bedroom, acting as if she were the guest instead of the host: "Pour me a glass of water."

Yuan Chuyu took out a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet, glanced at the slippers on her feet, and then casually put the new slippers back, before changing into the matching men's slippers.

If I remember correctly, Cheng Yanjin has never been to this house before, nor has he had the chance to put on these matching slippers.

Yuan Chuyu recalled the various pieces of furniture posted in the "Love Nest" WeChat group, and was finally able to clearly and directly inspect them after stepping into the site.

When Lin Langyi looked up, she saw his picky, arrogant expression, as if he couldn't stand anything.

He circled around twice, and the more he looked, the calmer his expression became, until finally there was an eerie, deathly silence.

"Which water cup are you?" He looked away and focused his attention back on her. "Go lie down on the bed first, I'll get it for you."

Lin Langyi pointed to the live stream room, then, without saying a word, dragged his half-dead body to bed.

He quickly followed her into the room, carrying a glass of warm water. After watching her take the medicine, he tucked her in and asked, "Did you order takeout for dinner?"

Lin Langyi shook her head in bed, her hair rustling against the pillow: "I ate at the cafeteria."

"How about you drink some more brown sugar water?" He tucked a small hot water bottle into the blanket and reminded her, "Warm yourself up for a while, and I'll put it behind your feet after you fall asleep."

"Is the brown sugar water boiling?" she asked.

"Okay, almost done." He replied as he gently slipped his hand under the covers and took her hand in his. His hand was slightly warm, as he had deliberately warmed it over the cup before touching her hand.

A moment later, the milk pot boiling brown sugar water outside sounded its horn, and Yuan Chuyu returned with a cup of slightly hot brown sugar water, urging her to drink it slowly in small sips.

A light layer of sweat appeared on her forehead. He went to the bathroom, wrung out a towel, filled it with water, and brought in a bunch of bottles and jars.

Yuan Chuyu placed the items one by one on the bedside table and asked, "Are you going to remove your makeup?"

"Oh right! I forgot." Lin Langyi remembered that she hadn't removed her makeup after the live stream and tried hard to sit up.

“Tell me, and I’ll do it.” He sat on the edge of the bed, held up and down the face tie, and then put it over her head.

Lin Langyi tied her hair up herself, quickly squeezed out some makeup remover and rubbed it in, then washed her face in the basin he was holding. She dried her face with a washcloth and then changed the water to a basin of warm water.

Lin Langyi sat on the bed waiting for him, and heard the sound of running water in the bathroom and then footsteps.

He carefully wiped the water off the edge of the basin to prevent it from dripping onto the bed. Upon entering, he saw her slumped on the bed, anxiously waiting for someone. Finding the scene both dreamlike and heartwarming, his expression softened, and he called out, "Lin Langyi."

"Um?"

"Zhuzhu".

"Um?"

“It’s nothing,” he said, holding the basin steadily in front of her. “I just wanted to call out to you.”

As Lin Langyi finished removing her makeup and was about to apply some skincare products, he put the basin on the ground and stopped her, saying, "Don't move."

She stopped what she was doing, still holding the lotion in her hand, and stared at him blankly.

He leaned closer, his left hand gently cupping her cheek, his gaze fixed intently on her face, and he lightly brushed her cheek with his fingertip.

"what?"

"A single eyelash is stuck to your face." He spoke, his breath lightly brushing against her cheek. "Doesn't it itch?"

Lin Langyi felt a slight itch appear where he had rubbed with his fingertips, so she rubbed it again with the back of her hand.

He smiled, picked it off with his fingers, and showed it to her: "This one."

Lin Langyi felt an lingering itch where he had touched her, as if the eyelash had not been removed.

She rubbed that patch of skin again with her hand.

"Lin Langyi," he called her again.

"Hmm?" She had just raised her eyes when a shadow fell over her. He wrapped his arms around her hand, cupped her cheeks, and kissed her.

A very gentle and tender kiss, like stroking the softest and most delicate tuft of down on a small animal's ear.

The two kissed quietly for a while.

After that, Lin Langyi did some simple skincare and turned off the light so she could go to sleep early.

She didn't ask him what would happen next, and he didn't mention it either. He just sat on the edge of the bed with her, reached under the blanket to hold her hand, and gently kneaded her palm, rubbing along the meridians of her fingers.

His technique was actually quite good; before long, she was dozing off under the massage, but still managed to perk up and comment, "Comfortable."

"I won't say anything more." He gently stroked her slightly open eyes with his palm, closing them, and said softly, "Go to sleep."