Chapter 13 Protective Instinct
He Jin and Ding Mingjun were already used to Wen Zhi suddenly turning on the microphone to coax the child halfway through the game.
Surprisingly, this time there was a response from the game.
Both of them were stunned, staring blankly at the hero who had been so imposing just moments before, but was now walking unsteadily.
What's wrong with this person?
He doesn't seem to have any mental issues.
Ding Mingjun scratched his head and bluntly reminded him, "He's not talking to you."
He Jin, fearing that Song Juelan would feel embarrassed, also explained, half-jokingly saying, "Yeah, you probably don't know yet, but he's raising the child alone now, and he often has to go and comfort the baby halfway through a fight."
While explaining to Song Juelan, they sped up their attack on the enemy's high ground so that Wen Zhi could go and put the baby to bed earlier.
After a few seconds of silence in the team voice chat, the deep voice sounded again, sounding relatively calm: "...I know."
Song Juelan had already figured everything out the moment that word "good" slipped out, but it was too late to take it back.
Tonight in the game, Wen Zhi would softly praise him, and he would respond with a soft reply, almost like a conditioned reflex. This led him to subconsciously think just now that the compliment was directed at him as well.
So before I could figure out why Wen Zhi said those words, I instinctively responded.
Wen Zhi's comforting words were still echoing in his mind.
"I'll come over and sleep with you later, okay?"
Song Juelan's lips were tightly pursed, and a heat surged from the top of her head to the soles of her feet.
Why did he say "okay"?
In the game, Wen Zhi's character stood still, looking like she was AFK trying to comfort a child.
Wen Zhi's microphone lit up again only when the word "Victory" appeared on the computer screen.
"I'm not playing anymore, I'm going to sleep."
He Jin asked, "Has Xiao Tang woken up again?"
"Yes, I had a nightmare." Mentioning Xiao Tang, Wen Zhi, worried they might say something they shouldn't, changed the subject, "Are you still fighting?"
Ding Mingjun yawned: "Let's not play anymore, we can play together tomorrow."
The next second, He Jin decisively disbanded the team.
Wen Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, exited the game, and turned off her computer.
In the room, Xiao Tang was still sitting by his bed, her little head nodding sleepily, but she still obediently waited for him to finish playing games so they could go to the children's room to sleep together.
Wen Zhi walked over and picked Xiao Tang up, teasing him on purpose: "Xiao Tang, are you afraid to sleep alone?"
Xiao Tang's eyes were still a little red. She didn't want to admit that she was scared, but she couldn't defeat the giant spider in her dream. She nodded with tears in her eyes.
Wen Zhi carried Xiao Tang out of the room and into the adjacent children's room, comforting her, "What's so scary about a big spider? It'll die if you step on it."
Xiao Tang looked at him with adoration in her eyes: "Isn't Zhizhi scared?"
"Of course," Wen Zhi boasted without blinking.
Of course he was afraid.
What he hates most in this life are insects and rats; he can jump three feet away at the sight of them.
But he still wanted to establish a superior image in front of Xiaotang.
Back in bed, Xiao Tang clutched Wen Zhi's clothes tightly, buried her face in his chest, and smelled the familiar fragrance before finally falling asleep peacefully.
Wen Zhi closed her eyes, thinking of Xiao Tang's words, and quietly tucked her feet into the blanket, wrapping them up tightly.
Hopefully, that giant spider won't wander into his dream.
*
The next day, Wen Zhi woke up feeling refreshed.
He slept soundly through the night without any dreams, though Xiaotang's bed was a bit cramped.
When Xiao Tang woke up, she admired him even more, her eyes sparkling: "Zhi Zhi, Da Zhi Ju didn't come looking for me."
Wen Zhi patted his little head: "With me here, of course it wouldn't dare to come."
Xiao Tang praised without a doubt, "Zhi Zhi is amazing!"
There was a painting class this morning, so Wenzhi sat down at the table with Xiaotang to eat breakfast, reminding him to eat his fill before going to class.
The phone on the table rang. Wen Zhi picked it up and saw that it was a message from Song Juelan.
Song Juelan: [Are you feeling better?]
Wen Zhi stared at the nonsensical greeting, took a bite of bread thoughtfully, and then remembered that she had slept in Song Juelan's lounge all afternoon yesterday.
They played games together for so long last night, and they seemed fine. Why are you only asking now?
Wen Zhi picked up the glass beside her, took a sip of milk, and lowered her eyes to type.
Wen Zhi: [Much better, thank you]
Wen Zhi: [Thank you so much for your help yesterday]
My phone vibrated quickly.
Song Juelan: [It's nothing]
Just as Wen Zhi was about to put down her phone, she suddenly noticed the words "The other party is typing" appearing at the top of the chat interface.
He thought Song Juelan had something else to do, so he waited with his phone for a while, but didn't receive any messages for a long time.
Is there a bug in WeChat?
Wen Zhi didn't take it to heart. After finishing the last sip of milk, she wiped her mouth and took Xiao Tang out.
A day later, it was time for swimming lesson again.
After trying a few times, Wen Zhi gave up on arriving at the swimming pool ten minutes early and instead started arriving one minute before class as usual.
For some reason, after Song Juelan greeted him today, she lowered her eyelids slightly and barely made eye contact with him.
Without thinking much, Wen Zhi handed Xiao Tang to him, her eyes crinkling into a smile: "Thank you for your hard work."
Song Juelan's back stiffened almost imperceptibly as she reflexively recalled that night when Wen Zhi had been praising her again and again.
And then there was that last sentence that he misunderstood, and that she responded to almost without thinking...
Wen Zhi was completely unaware of his unease. After handing Xiao Tang over to him, she turned around and sat down on the bench.
Today, Xiaotang's lesson was still swimming on a float.
Wen Zhi watched as Song Juelan patiently taught Xiao Tang each movement in the pool, demonstrating and correcting her posture. His serious attitude was completely at odds with his cold and aloof appearance.
Then I remembered the game the night before last, where Song Juelan played calmly and collectedly, and I made several mistakes without being blamed at all.
Wen Zhi unconsciously touched her fair chin.
Is this person's personality naturally so friendly?
Halfway through class, Wen Zhi got up and went to the water station to pour herself a glass of water.
The drinking area is close to the shallow water area, and the sounds of children laughing and screaming can be heard constantly. Occasionally, a child will run past quickly with a water gun in hand.
Wen Zhi tried to stay away from the noisy children, and walked back almost hugging the wall.
Suddenly, several little boys came running towards us, chasing and playing, looking back as they ran and defiantly waving water guns at the people behind them.
Wen Zhi's eyes widened, and she subconsciously tried to dodge to the side, but she still couldn't avoid being hit head-on.
The ground was slippery, and he stumbled a few steps after being bumped, only managing to regain his balance by holding onto the wall.
A piercing pain shot through his ankle, and his vision went black for a moment before he finally regained his senses.
The children who had caused the trouble stopped, their faces filled with panic, and anxiously asked him if he was alright.
After that sharp pain subsided, I lost all feeling in my ankle.
Wen Zhi tried moving her foot and felt that she could still walk, so she figured there was no bone injury. She shook her head and said, "It's nothing."
The children apologized a few more times before carefully walking past him, no longer daring to run around.
Back on the bench, Wen Zhi felt her ankle begin to ache again.
He bent down to look at the foot; the ankle was red, but it didn't seem to be a big problem, so he decided to wait until Xiaotang finished her class before going back to deal with it.
However, as time passed, the pain in her ankle became increasingly pronounced, until a lump the size of a steamed bun swelled up there, and Wen Zhi began to wonder uncertainly—
It seems like I sprained my ankle a little.
"...Wen Zhi?"
A familiar, deep voice reached her ears, and Wen Zhi slowly raised her head, only to see Song Juelan emerging from the water.
Water droplets rolled down his black hair and sharply defined jawline. His handsome face was filled with worry, and his dark eyes were fixed on his face: "Are you alright?"
When get out of class ended, Song Juelan and Xiao Tang were waiting for Wen Zhi to come over, but they saw that Wen Zhi was still sitting on the bench, her long eyelashes drooping and not moving.
Song Juelan was a little worried, so he came over to see what was going on. When he saw Wen Zhi's expression, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Her beautiful face had lost all color, her soft lips were pale, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly, revealing an astonishing fragility.
His throat tightened, unaware of the sudden surge of protectiveness within him, and he asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
Wen Zhi seemed to be startled awake. She looked up at him blankly for a moment before pointing to her foot, her voice a little soft: "I twisted my ankle."
Song Juelan's gaze shifted slightly downwards, looking at those jade-like feet.
Her once slender ankle was swollen, with a red and purple discoloration spreading outwards, which was quite jarring against the backdrop of her surrounding fair skin.
His brow twitched heavily, and without thinking, he squatted down to carefully examine the situation.
Fortunately, the injury wasn't too serious.
Song Juelan frowned and looked at her, somewhat worried: "I'll take you back."
As soon as he finished speaking, not only Wen Zhi, but Song Juelan himself was also stunned.
He was somewhat annoyed by what he had blurted out.
Wen Zhi is currently raising Xiao Tang alone, so it would be rather abrupt for a strange man to suddenly suggest going to Wen Zhi's house.
"Is it okay?" Wen Zhi asked softly, somewhat surprised.
Song Juelan looked up again and met those beautiful eyes that were slightly bright.
His knuckles clenched stiffly, and he nodded silently.
"Thank you." Wen Zhi's eyes curved slightly.
On their way home, Xiao Tang held Song Jue Lan's hand and kept looking up at Wen Zhi on his back, her little face full of worry.
"Zhizhi, does it hurt?"
Wen Zhi, for what felt like the umpteenth time, reassured him, "...It doesn't hurt."
He lay on Song Juelan's broad back, clutching Song Juelan's clothes tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white.
I asked for directions all the way, and before I knew it, I was at my doorstep.
Wen Zhi took the key out of her pocket and handed it to Song Juelan in front of her.
The key was inserted into the lock, and with a gentle twist, the door opened with a "click".
Upon entering the house, Song Juelan carefully placed Wen Zhi on the sofa before heading to the kitchen to prepare ice packs.
Wen Zhi tried to stand up by holding onto the sofa armrest, but before she could even take her first step, she had barely regained her balance.
A large, bony hand pressed down on his shoulder, using little force, yet rendering him immobile.
“You can’t walk yet.” Song Juelan’s tone was unusually forceful.
Wen Zhi pursed her lips awkwardly, her earlobes turning red. She raised her long eyelashes and stared at him for a while before explaining softly, "I want to go to the restroom."
"..." Song Juelan's eyes flickered, and he let go of her hand.
Wen Zhi quickly walked around him, slowly moved into the bathroom, and closed the door.
When I came out of the bathroom, I saw that Song Juelan was not by the sofa, but standing in front of the glass cabinet next to the TV, looking at something intently.
Wen Zhi walked over and followed Song Juelan's focused gaze to look at the things in the glass cabinet.
My heart skipped a beat.
Song Juelan was looking at the family photo placed in the middle.
A note from the author:
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Thank you to the CP I ship for not sleeping early!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution!
Worldpeace 10 bottles; °.：＊*·..°·。 ·、Heyu、Yiloutingyu 5 bottles; Xielan、Wenweiyan、Lilijiexinkua、Xiaoyu、Da、Mingyuebaochaolianglaolao、Haofeiya、Buyaokuchi、Author, when will you update 1 bottle
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