Chapter 40 Su Ruan, do you think I'm a beast?

Yan Tingnan's rough fingertips touched her cheek, which felt hot and wet to the touch.

Then, his fingertips reached towards her forehead.

The temperature was so high it burned your hands.

His deep, cold voice echoed in the darkness.

"Su Ruan, you have a fever."

Su Ruan was pressed back onto the carpet by him, but she still stubbornly retorted.

"No, it's just a little cold..."

Su Ruan wanted to cling to him, but then her stomach clenched violently.

A muffled groan got stuck in his throat, turning into short, shallow gasps.

He couldn't see her face clearly, but her burning heat and weak breathing were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, extinguishing all the romance.

"Nonsense!"

He abruptly pulled away, and the rustling sound of fabric rubbing against each other echoed in the darkness.

A long arm reached over her head and tapped the touch panel to turn on the overhead light switch.

The lights suddenly blazed on, making Su Ruan squint.

Yan Tingnan looked down at her on the carpet, his brows furrowed.

Her cheeks were unusually flushed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"He's delirious from the fever."

His voice was deep and cold as he bent down and scooped her up in his arms.

The cramps in Su Ruan's stomach returned during the bumpy ride, and her feverish head buzzed.

She struggled weakly, futilely pushing against his firm chest.

"Put me down, we haven't taken care of the important business yet."

Damn stomach!

It won't hurt earlier or later!

Her strategy!

"I'll feel better after sleeping with you."

Oh no, my brain has short-circuited!

How could you say something like that so directly?!

"Shut up."

He interrupted her, his voice low.

"You're so sick, how can you still want to get things done?"

"Su Ruan, do you take me for a beast?"

Su Ruan: "..."

The duck that was almost in our mouths just flew away.

Yan Tingnan strode towards the master bedroom and placed her on the large bed.

He returned to the bedside and was about to bend over.

Su Ruan's haphazardly waving elbow knocked over her soft lambskin bag that was on the bedside table.

Small items scattered all over the floor.

A small, dark purple box, mixed in with the clutter, suddenly popped out and landed right at Yan Tingnan's feet.

His gaze sharpened slightly, and he picked up the small square box between two fingers, straightening up.

"Assistant Su, you've prepared very well."

"They really came prepared."

Su Ruan was delirious with fever. She squinted and looked over to see what was in his hand.

She instinctively tried to grab it, but a wave of dizziness grabbed her, and she slumped back onto the pillow.

"It's a pity it's too small."

He ran his fingertips along the thin packaging box for a moment, his gaze sweeping over her meaningfully.

"A visual assessment is ultimately just a visual assessment."

"Next time, remember to be well prepared."

Su Ruan's breath hitched, and she felt as if her soul had already ascended to heaven ahead of time.

My chaotic mind was cleaved open by this straightforward and aggressive approach.

Embarrassment mixed with a burning desire to win suddenly ignited within him.

The heat in his cheeks instantly spiked, whether from the fever or from the shame of being publicly executed, he couldn't tell.

"Yan Tingnan, you..."

Su Ruan was both angry and anxious, and managed to squeeze out a few words through her feverish, hoarse voice.

Is it too late to play dead now?

Is it feasible to escape Earth overnight?

Then, he turned and walked to the first-aid kit in the suite, and took out an electronic thermometer.

He returned to the bedside, bent down, pried open her chin, and, with far from gentle movements, placed the electronic thermometer into her mouth.

"Holding it in your mouth."

The command is concise and leaves no room for discussion.

The thermometer beeps.

Yan Tingnan pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

39.2℃.

"Your bones are so soft from being burned, and you still want to gnaw on a hard bone?"

He twitched the corner of his mouth, the mockery deepening.

This tough nut to crack is clearly a double entendre.

Su Ruan closed her eyes, feeling a mix of shame, anger, and helplessness, her burning red lips moving unwillingly.

"Yan Tingnan, you bastard..."

Her voice was not offensive at all; instead, it carried a pitiful and aggrieved tone.

Now look what happened! We didn't even get to eat, but we've already received the "social death gift package"!

Yan Tingnan stood up straight, the hint of mischievous interest in his eyes replaced by a serious expression.

He stopped teasing her and quickly dialed Jing Huai's number, his voice returning to its usual cold and stern tone.

"Shallow Island Bay, Guiqi Homestay".

"Su Ruan has a high fever, suspected of having acute gastroenteritis. Contact the nearest private hospital's VIP channel and arrange for a gastroenterologist to be on standby immediately."

"active?"

He asked, his hands already reaching behind her neck and the back of her knees, as if to hug her.

"I don't need you to carry me!"

Su Ruan struggled to get up on her own, trying to prove that she wasn't completely useless.

She had barely managed to stand up a little when a violent spasm in her stomach made her vision go black, and she groaned as she fell back down.

Yan Tingnan's last bit of patience ran out.

Without another word, he reached his arms through her back and the back of her legs, and with a little effort, lifted her up steadily.

Su Ruan struggled in his arms in vain, but was suppressed by his arms.

"Save your energy."

He carried her and strode toward the door, his voice brushing against her burning earlobe.

"Keep it; there will be plenty of places for you to use it next time."

The 39.2℃ heat turned Su Ruan's brain into mush, but she still remembered to retort.

"Yan Tingnan, one day I will..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yan Tingnan interrupted her.

"I can wait."

...

The VIP ward of the hospital was completely silent in the early hours of the morning.

Su Ruan's fever had subsided a bit, and she lay listlessly on the hospital bed with an IV drip in the back of her hand.

"Acute gastroenteritis, triggered by seafood poisoning."

The chief physician flipped through the report and reported to Yan Tingnan with a respectful tone.

"He has a high fever and his electrolytes are also a bit disordered. He must stay in the hospital for observation tonight."

Yan Tingnan stood in the shadows at the foot of the bed. After listening to the doctor's instructions, he nodded slightly.

"Hard."

The ward returned to silence.

Memories of social death also surged back.

Su Ruan closed her eyes and pretended to be dead, but her eyelashes trembled uncontrollably.

Footsteps approached, and the mattress sank slightly.

Yan Tingnan sat down by the bed.

"Open your eyes when you wake up."

His voice was not loud and was slightly hoarse.

Su Ruan resignedly opened her eyes.

There was a hint of weariness in his eyes, and his gold-rimmed glasses sat on the bedside table, making him less cold and distant than usual.

"Mr. Yan, I'm sorry to have kept you in suspense."

Her throat was so dry it hurt.

Yan Tingnan didn't respond, but handed her a glass of warm water.

The rim of the cup was brought to her lips; the water temperature was just right.

She took small sips from his hand, the warm liquid sliding down her burning throat, making her want to sigh with pleasure.

"that……"

Su Ruan licked her chapped lips, trying to break the eerie silence.

"You don't need to stay here."

He took the cup back and placed it aside.

"Does Assistant Su think that I can just walk away after getting someone into the hospital?"

At this moment, the nurse brought over warm oral rehydration solution.

Su Ruan frowned; the smell made her nauseous.

Yan Tingnan took it, stirred it, and suddenly asked.

What was the most annoying thing about being sick as a child?

Su Ruan was taken aback: "Bitter medicine soup."

"no."

He held the oral rehydration solution to her lips.

"I hate it when my mom feeds me with a spoon, it's like force-feeding a duck."

Su Ruan burst out laughing, which made her stomach clench.

Drinking it from his hand, the salty liquid didn't seem so unbearable anymore.

It turns out that even the cold-faced Buddha hated being stuffed like a duck during his childhood.

The drip rate was set very slowly.

As night deepened, Su Ruan's eyelids drooped, but she forced herself to stay awake.

Yan Tingnan suddenly stood up.

A moment later, he returned with a wrung-out, cool towel.

Folded into narrow strips, but instead of applying them to her forehead as usual, they were gently placed on her slightly hot eyelids.

"Close your eyes."

The tone was imperative, but the actions were gentle.

The cool touch instantly relieved the soreness and swelling.

Su Ruan was slightly taken aback; this method was too private.

"Where did President Yan learn this trick from?"

Her voice was muffled under the towel.

"My mother."

His voice was muffled in the darkness of the night, revealing no emotion.

"She said her eyes would hurt if they burned for too long."

Su Ruan's heart skipped a beat.

This Buddha statue, untouched by dust, also harbors a small, warm memory of bygone days.