As evening fell, I glanced through the villa's French windows, rolled up a corner of the sheer curtain, and cast the shadows of the newly sprouted camphor leaves in the courtyard outside onto the floor.

As Yu Jiuyuan took off her shoes and walked into the living room, she heard a slight noise coming from the open kitchen—the sound of metal cutlery clinking together.

"You're back?" Rong Shenghan's voice came from inside, carrying a warm, soothing quality, as if he had just been pulled from lukewarm water.

Yu Jiuyuan changed into slippers and walked over, leaning against the door frame to look at him.

He was wearing a light gray loungewear set with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his clean-lined forearms. The scars had faded to a light white color and were almost invisible unless you looked closely.

He was serving the last dish onto a plate—the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish she had mentioned wanting to eat that morning. The sauce was thick and coated the golden fish, and the steam carried a sweet and sour aroma.

"Where are Xie Zhecheng and the others?" Yu Jiuyuan asked, her gaze sweeping across the dining room, where only two sets of bowls and chopsticks were placed on the long table.

"Xie Zhecheng is in the study handling club documents, Yuan Xu has locked herself in the lab, and Lin Yanran..."

Rong Shenghan turned around, placed the plate on the table, and said in a flat tone, "She was probably making a phone call in the garden. It sounded like she was arguing with her family."

Yu Jiuyuan hummed in agreement and didn't ask any more questions. She walked to the dining table and sat down, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the ring on her ring finger.

"Want to try some?" Rong Shenghan handed her the chopsticks, sat down opposite her, and looked at her face with a hint of probing.

Yu Jiuyuan picked up a piece of fish and put it in her mouth. The sweet and sour taste was just right, and the fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was a familiar taste to her. She looked up at him and smiled, "Delicious."

Rong Shenghan's eyes seemed to soften a bit, and he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat slowly.

The two didn't say anything more. The only sounds in the restaurant were the light clinking of bowls and chopsticks and the occasional tinkling of wind chimes from outside the window.

Yu Jiuyuan ate half a bowl of rice when she suddenly felt a dull, aching pain in her lower abdomen, as if a hand was slowly clenching inside.

She frowned slightly without making a sound, and her movement of picking up food slowed down a beat.

This pain is not unfamiliar; it's an "old friend" that visits every month, but this time it seems to have come more suddenly than usual.

I guess I was tired after running to the student union office several times at school today and standing for two hours in a meeting.

"What's wrong?" Rong Shenghan suddenly asked, his gaze falling on her pale face. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"fine."

Yu Jiuyuan shook her head, wanting to continue picking up food, but the pain in her lower abdomen suddenly intensified, as if a thin needle had been stabbed into it, causing her fingertips to tremble and her chopsticks to almost fall onto the table.

She instinctively pressed her lower abdomen, her waist arched slightly, and a layer of cold sweat instantly appeared on her forehead.

Rong Shenghan stood up almost immediately, walked quickly to her side, and reached out to support her shoulder: "Does it hurt a lot?"

His fingertips touched her skin and he could feel her trembling slightly.

Yu Jiuyuan bit her lower lip, too painful to speak, and could only nod.

"Menstrual cramps?" Rong Shenghan's voice deepened, his tone carrying a hint of urgency she rarely heard.

He bent down and picked her up horizontally, his movements very steady.

Yu Jiuyuan instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. The pain in her lower abdomen left her too weak to struggle, so she could only bury her face in the crook of his neck, her breath filled with the cool ebony scent emanating from him.

"Put me down, I can walk by myself..." Her voice was breathless, and she was in so much pain that she felt faint.

"Don't move." Rong Shenghan's voice left no room for doubt as he carried her upstairs to the bedroom.

As Xie Zhecheng passed by the study, the door opened, and he came out. Upon seeing this scene, his brows immediately furrowed: "What's wrong?"

"Menstrual cramps, it hurts a lot." Rong Shenghan said succinctly, without stopping.

Xie Zhecheng took two steps after her, his gaze falling on Yu Jiuyuan's pale face. His tone was cold but couldn't hide his concern: "Do you need any medicine? I'll go get it."

"No need, let's go back to the room first." Rong Shenghan said, already carrying Yu Jiuyuan up the stairs.

Xie Zhecheng stood there, watching their figures disappear around the corner of the stairs, then turned and walked towards the medicine box in the living room. He remembered that it always contained medicine to relieve menstrual cramps and heat packs.

In the bedroom, Rong Shenghan placed Yu Jiuyuan on the bed and turned to go to the bathroom to wring out a hot towel.

When I returned, I saw her curled up, her face as pale as paper, and cold sweat soaking her temples.

He sat on the edge of the bed and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead with a hot towel, his movements as tender as if he were handling a fragile treasure.

"Does it hurt a lot?" he asked again, his voice very low.

Yu Jiuyuan closed her eyes, nodded, and felt her whole body tense with pain.

It felt like countless needles were pricking my lower abdomen, or like something was churning inside, which made my lower back ache terribly.

Rong Shenghan was silent for a few seconds, then got up and went to the dressing room to find a thick blanket, which he covered her with, and then turned up the air conditioning in the room a few degrees.

He had just returned to the bedside when there was a knock on the door. Xie Zhecheng walked in with medicine and a glass of warm water, followed by Yuan Xu and Lin Yanran, both with worried expressions on their faces.

"Medicine." Xie Zhecheng handed over the medicine, his gaze falling on Yu Jiuyuan, his cold, hard features softening slightly. "Taking this will help relieve the symptoms."

Rong Shenghan took the medicine and water, helped Yu Jiuyuan sit up, fed her the medicine, and then gave her a sip of water.

Lin Yanran stood at the door, her brows furrowed, her tone somewhat impatient yet concealing concern: "Did you call the doctor?"

"No need." Yu Jiuyuan caught her breath, her voice still trembling slightly. "It's an old problem, I'll just bear with it."

Yuan Xu pushed up her glasses and said softly, "I have a kind of herbal essential oil in my lab. Applying heat can relieve pain. I'll go get it."

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