When I took the first bite, I frowned, looking quite disgusted. But after a while, I chewed it up and swallowed it, and my brow relaxed.
Seeing his expression, Shen Qing knew he had tasted the sweetness of it and asked with a smile, "How was it? Delicious, wasn't it?"
"It's fragrant and crispy."
Shen Qing warned, "You can only eat one piece per meal, no more, or you'll burst if you drink water!"
Cheng Zhiwen choked on her words and coughed heavily. The cough aggravated the wound on her back, causing her to sweat profusely from the pain.
Shen Qing quickly poured him some water and fed it to him.
"Just kidding, don't be nervous!"
Cheng Zhiwen gave her a resentful look, said nothing, and once she calmed down, she immediately opened her mouth and took another bite.
He Fei whispered a reminder from the side: "Mr. Cheng actually doesn't dare to eat pork, and he can't stand the smell of lard."
"Huh?" Shen Qing turned to look at He Fei. "Then the soy sauce pork last night had pork in it! I saw him eating it just fine."
He Fei laughed: "That's because you did..."
Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Zhiwen silenced him with a look that forbade him.
After helping Cheng Zhiwen finish his breakfast, Shen Qing sat down and read a book with him.
The window is right behind the bed, and the sunlight shines on me, as if it washes away all my bad moods.
Although he knew there were undercurrents on the ship, Shen Qing was not so worried.
She cleaned Cheng Zhiwen's wound every two hours. Because of insufficient nutrition, the wound healed very slowly. The stitches, which should have been removed in five days, were not removed until the eighth day.
At this time, the ship also passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and was about to reach the English Channel.
The day after the stitches were removed, Cheng Zhiwen was able to get out of bed and walk around, so Shen Qing accompanied him to the deck for a walk to get some fresh air.
But less than ten minutes after we started walking on the deck, a strong wind picked up.
Shen Qing put on the cloak and didn't feel anything, but seeing that Cheng Zhiwen seemed to be in great pain, she quickly helped him into the house.
Jiang Shen had just returned from his business and noticed that Cheng Zhiwen was sweating profusely again. He immediately asked Shen Qing, "Did Mr. Cheng go to the deck just now?"
Shen Qing nodded blankly: "Yes, I saw that he could walk in, so I thought I would take him out to get some fresh air."
Jiang Shen immediately roared, "He Fei!"
He Fei rushed in.
"Don't you know Mr. Cheng can't be exposed to drafts?"
He Fei wiped the sweat from his brow: "I forgot for a moment..."
Knowing that Jiang Shen's attack was directed at her, Shen Qing didn't want to implicate the innocent He Fei, so she said to Jiang Shen, "It was I who insisted on taking Cheng Zhiwen out. It has nothing to do with He Fei. Stop cursing."
Jiang Shen gave her a fierce look, said nothing, walked to Cheng Zhiwen's bedside, and handed him an envelope with both hands.
Cheng Zhiwen opened the package with a pale face, glanced at it a few times, and then angrily threw it aside.
He crossed his arms over his forehead, closed his eyes, and remained silent.
Jiang Shen and He Fei tactfully withdrew.
Shen Qing didn't know whether to leave or stay, so she asked softly, "Are you alright?"
"My head hurts, it hurts terribly."
Shen Qing knew it was from being exposed to the wind on the deck earlier. Feeling guilty, she walked to the bedside and leaned over to look at him.
"How about I give you a massage? I used to get headaches from lack of sleep when I was busy with work, and I would always go to a physiotherapy clinic downstairs from my house to get a massage. It would relieve most of the headaches."
Cheng Zhiwen weakly and painfully uttered a single word, "Okay."
Shen Qing carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and first turned to massage him. As she massaged, she felt her waist tilt to one side, which was very uncomfortable, so she simply sat cross-legged and let him rest his head on her lap.
Press your index fingers on his forehead and work your way down to the ends of his eyebrows, applying more pressure. Then repeat the process.
Next came the forehead, scalp, and behind the ears. She pressed all the massage techniques that the technicians had used on her and that she found comfortable onto Cheng Zhiwen's head.
As the massage continued, the person, who had been in great pain, gradually fell asleep.
Shen Qing moved his head onto the pillow, tucked him in, and then prepared to get out of bed.
But he found that his legs, which had been crossed, were numb and he couldn't move them at all.
She could only manually straighten her legs and lean against the headboard while waiting for her legs to regain feeling.
He propped his elbow on the pillow and turned to look at Cheng Zhiwen.
He was asleep, but his brow was still tightly furrowed, forming a shallow, pseudo-wrinkle.
Shen Qing raised her hand and pressed down on his eyebrows, pulling them apart to smooth out the faint lines.
"Why do you do all that? You can't even get a good night's sleep. What's the point of all that?"
Cheng Zhiwen was truly asleep and did not respond. She said to herself, "Actually, all of this you have done is in vain, because many years later, a great party will be born, and it will lead this country to a republic."
"All the powers that want to carve up this country are delusional and will end up with nothing... They will be driven out by the great Chinese people!"
Shen woke up to find the room dimly lit.
His eyes darted around a few times, then he sat up abruptly and looked around.
"woke up?"
The man beside him spoke softly.
Shen Qing turned around and saw Cheng Zhiwen leaning against the other side of the bed, reading a book under a small lamp.
She quickly slipped out of bed: "Sorry, I was pressing your head down and ended up falling asleep myself. How are you? Does your head still hurt?"
He looked up and smiled at her: "Much better, thank you."
Shen Qing glanced around uncomfortably, then asked, "What time is it now?"
It's evening.
"Oh, I've been sleeping all day. I'll go make you dinner."
She opened the door and went out, only to see He Fei smiling at her.
She patted him on the shoulder: "What are you laughing at? Hurry up and come cook with me!"
He Fei quickly ran to the next room and opened a box full of ice.
Inside were fresh ingredients that they bought when the ship docked, all specially prepared for Cheng Zhiwen.
Shen Qing picked out a slaughtered chicken, and also took some ginseng and ginger slices to make ginseng chicken for Cheng Zhiwen's dinner.
Worried that he wouldn't be able to sleep at night, she made two more pancakes.
Add some simple fruit, and a meal is ready.
Shen Qing carried the tray back to her room.
She watched Cheng Zhiwen eat, and had to wait until he finished before she could collect the dishes and wash them.
Fearing someone might poison Cheng Zhiwen, they are now preparing their own pots, pans, and utensils, only borrowing the fire from the kitchen.
Shen Qing served Cheng Zhiwen like a nanny every day, and found that her time on the ship was much more fulfilling.
With only three days left before disembarking and the end of her journey, she asked Cheng Zhiwen, "Are you also disembarking in England?"
Cheng Zhiwen took a sip of chicken soup and nodded: "Yes. Weren't we supposed to go with you to find the British clothing traders?"
Shen Qing thought for a moment and said, "I think it's unnecessary. Let's go our separate ways after we get off the ship. We have different goals, so we can't work together."
Cheng Zhiwen smiled slightly, said nothing, and drank the last bit of chicken soup at the bottom of the bowl.
Seeing his gradually improving complexion, Shen Qing said seriously, "You saved my life on the ship, so I won't kill you for now, but I hope you won't do anything that harms the country again. If you're still doing these things when I return from England, I will definitely find a way to kill you! I'm not joking."
Cheng Zhiwen nodded with a faint smile: "I understand."
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