Lu Zhe carried the safflower oil he had just bought back to President Xia's office.

At this moment, Xia Xiaobing was half-lying on the sofa. Her back was against one side of the sofa, her upper body was propped up, and her legs were flat on the sofa.

The stockings and sofa cushions were both black, but their sheen and texture were different. The office overhead light shone down, making the stockings gleam with a faint light, which, under the outline of the mature woman's long, slender legs, truly had a sculptural beauty.

Lu Zhe also noticed a detail. Because of her posture, her skirt had rolled up slightly, revealing more of her stockings. Above her knees, in the middle of her thighs, a dark ring was visible.

The color above and below the circle is the same, except that the circle itself is darker and appears to be thicker.

Lu Zhe had seen this circle on stockings in various two-dimensional and three-dimensional works, but as a boy who had only seen it but never touched or worn it, he really didn't understand what the purpose of this circle was.

Of course, he couldn't ask at a time like this.

"You're back?" Xia Xiaobing looked at him, but her beautiful eyes seemed a little listless. "Could you please help me apply this medicine?"

Lu Zhe looked at the safflower oil in his hand and hesitated for a moment.

Xia Xiaobing: "What are you thinking about?"

Lu Zhe: "President Xia, actually I've been thinking about something... After spraining your ankle, using safflower oil might not be the best way to treat it."

Xia Xiaobing: "Then what do you think we should do?"

Lu Zhe: "It's not that you can't use safflower oil, but I think it might be better to apply ice first. Because I play football often and have sprained my ankle a few times, I've found that ice is the most effective treatment."

"Ice pack..." Xia Xiaobing narrowed her eyes, "Then it might take a little longer."

Lu Zhe: "Do you have anything else to do tonight? If there's nothing urgent, then just focus on treating your ankle."

Xia Xiaobing thought for a moment and then asked, "But how do you want to apply ice? I don't have any ice packs here."

Lu Zhe: "That's easy. I just happened to have some bottled water in the fridge today. We can put the ice water in a plastic bag and use it as an ice pack."

Xia Xiaobing: "After applying ice, can I still use safflower oil?"

"Please wait a moment while I check."

As he spoke, Lu Zhe took out his phone and began looking up information.

Regarding medical matters, the information online is quite conflicting and shouldn't be blindly trusted. However, by looking at information from different sources, you can get a general understanding, especially for simpler questions like this.

After a while, Lu Zhe put down his phone and said, "We should apply ice first, and after a day or two, when the swelling has gone down, then we can use safflower oil. Using safflower oil right away might actually worsen the injury."

Looking at the serious-looking boy, Xia Xiaobing felt an urge to sigh.

Of course, she couldn't say that her ankle wasn't actually injured, so it didn't matter whether she used safflower oil or applied ice. And compared to applying ice, the process of applying safflower oil was clearly more anticipated…

Xia Xiaobing then retorted, "But I used to use safflower oil directly, and it worked just as well."

Lu Zhe shook his head: "No, what's most important for you right now is to constrict your blood vessels and reduce bleeding in your joints. Safflower oil is for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis; that's the next step after applying ice."

Xia Xiaobing looked at her ankle.

She knew perfectly well that there was no pain whatsoever, let alone internal bleeding. But she also knew that since she had already started acting, she had no choice but to continue.

"Alright then, I'll do as you say," Xia Xiaobing said with a wry smile. "I'll leave it to you to handle."

“No problem.” Lu Zhe nodded responsibly, turned around and walked out.

Xia Xiaobing covered her face with one hand and sighed silently.

————

The ice pack that Lu Zhe prepared for General Xia had two layers of plastic bags.

The inner layer was filled directly with ice water and tied tightly with a knot to prevent spillage. The outer layer was slightly looser, allowing some air in, to prevent frostbite caused by excessively low temperatures.

He returned to the CEO's office and walked to the sofa, only to notice that CEO Xia's attire had changed. She had taken off her stockings, but not completely.

The 'injured' right leg was removed, but the left leg was still covered by stockings.

Seeing this, Lu Zhe couldn't help but recall a series of films he had watched before. It seemed that having pantyhose only half-undone made it easier for the subsequent plot to unfold?

But there's no follow-up plot now, it's just about treating the injuries—Lu Zhe secretly reminded himself, discarding any unrealistic fantasies he had, and focusing on treating the injury.

He sat on the sofa, turned halfway around, and gently placed the ice pack on Mr. Xia's right ankle.

Although there was no visible redness or swelling on Xia's right ankle, Lu Zhe knew that this kind of sprain should not be taken lightly and could not be left untreated until it became red and swollen. In his experience, if it really swelled up, it meant that he wouldn't be able to play on the court for several months.

Of course, you can't leave an ice water bag in the same spot all the time; you need to pick it up from time to time or change its angle. Otherwise, it will definitely become unbearably cold.

Lu Zhe glanced at the mature woman's beautiful face and asked in a soft but calm voice, "President Xia, how are you feeling now?"

Xia Xiaobing: "It feels... um, could you massage it for me?"

Lu Zhe said seriously, "You can't just rub your ankle after it's sprained. Besides, I'm not a massage therapist. If I'm not careful, I might worsen your injury."

Xia Xiaobing: "..."

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing that she had ultimately miscalculated tonight.

It was a miscalculation, but not a complete failure. At least for this moment, the relationship between the two had grown considerably closer.

After a long while, Lu Zhe suddenly asked, "President Xia, does it still hurt?"

Xia Xiaobing slowly moved her right foot and said, "I feel much better."

Lu Zhe: "It still hurts a little bit, but the pain is not obvious anymore, right?"

Xia Xiaobing nodded.

Lu Zhe then said, "Let's go now. I'll call a car to take you home first."

Xia Xiaobing: "Are you going to take me home?"

Lu Zhe replied matter-of-factly, "Of course! I'll definitely help you out of the car, upstairs, and to the door..."

Xia Xiaobing: "Then go inside and sit for a while?"

Lu Zhe shook his head: "Then forget it, I have something to do tonight."

He hadn't forgotten that he and Xue Xiaodie had made plans to go home together after working overtime.

Xia Xiaobing thought about it for a moment and felt that given Lu Zhe's performance tonight, it didn't seem appropriate to pursue him relentlessly. Besides, she didn't like that kind of shameless approach.

So she raised her hand to smooth her long hair by her ear and smiled, "Okay, thank you for tonight."

————