Meng Yan barely slept that night.
He tossed and turned in bed, feeling sleepy but unable to fall asleep. His mind was filled with images of Huo Jiayuan... He tried to stop thinking about her, but then the scene shifted, and he saw those days of gunfire and explosions.
It is the cruelty of the battlefield, the ruins after artillery bombardment, and the ditches where blood flows like rivers.
He curled up, his eyes tightly shut, a sharp pain spreading from somewhere deep inside his heart, making him tremble all over and almost unable to breathe.
Finally, he forced himself to sit up, went into the bathroom, and poured cold water over his wounds again and again... He looked up at himself in the mirror, at the old wounds beneath the new ones—perhaps he chose such a dirty place as the underground boxing ring because he wanted these fresh wounds to cover up his past scars.
These vivid wounds also remind him that he is still alive, that his life has not turned to ashes with the war, and that he survived for them.
It wasn't until dawn that Meng Yan drifted off to sleep for a while. When she woke up, she saw that the clock on the wall was pointing to seven o'clock.
He went out onto the balcony, took a deep breath, and the cool morning air made him feel slightly more awake. He glanced at the bedroom door, guessing that Huo Jiayuan hadn't gotten up yet, so he quickly went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
In the past, his breakfasts were very simple.
Today, as he was about to serve the ready-made beef sandwiches, he suddenly remembered the little princess's expression of difficulty swallowing.
His mind went blank for a moment.
What did she eat at home before? It couldn't have been anything she just took out of the refrigerator...
Meng Yan breathed a sigh of relief, leaving the cold sandwich for herself, and then, unusually, went to the morning market to buy hot pancakes and soy milk.
With everything prepared, he knocked on the door, but there was no response for a while. Meng Yan hesitated, but fearing something might go wrong, he tentatively turned the doorknob and found that she hadn't locked it from the inside, so he gently pushed it open a crack.
The scene inside the room surprised him somewhat.
The little princess wasn't sleeping in bed; instead, she was lying on the desk. He went closer and saw that she was fast asleep, her little mouth making a couple of smacking noises, as if she were mumbling something.
“Yuan Yuan…” He touched her shoulder, “Yuan Yuan?”
"Um……"
Huo Jiayuan was having a sweet dream, in which her parents and younger brother were present. Before she could even exchange two words with them, she heard someone calling her name. Then, she lost her footing and plummeted downwards...
"Ah!" she exclaimed, jerking her head up.
Perhaps she was still half asleep, because she stared blankly at the face in front of her for a long time.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Meng Yan waved his hand in front of her eyes.
Huo Jiayuan's thoughts returned to reality, pulling her soul back into the present.
"Oh, it's nothing," the little girl said softly. "You, how did you get in?"
“I knocked but you didn’t answer,” Meng Yan said calmly. “Come out, it’s time for breakfast.”
Huo Jiayuan agreed and lazily got up. Meng Yan noticed the few pieces of paper under her arm.
"This is……"
"Oh right, this is for you!" Huo Jiayuan suddenly remembered and handed him the papers with a smile.
Her handwriting is so elegant and flowing; they say handwriting reflects the person, but her handwriting and her face... really don't match very well.
Meng Yan glanced at it briefly, then his expression changed slightly.
This is written on and underlined with the names of Chinese medicines, along with their proportions and dosages.
"you……"
"I thought about this all night and finally came up with it!" Huo Jiayuan chuckled. "They're all Chinese medicinal herbs... Meng Yan, look!"
She pointed, "These two herbs together promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. Soaking them together in bathwater and using it to wipe the body can reduce swelling and relieve pain..."
Meng Yan stared at her intently.
Huo Jiayuan interpreted that complex look in his eyes as a sign of his deep surprise.
She waved her hand, laughed, and continued, "No need to thank me, it's nothing to me! And you don't need to worry about the proportions, they'll be absolutely perfect!"
Meng Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. These medicinal herbs were quite ordinary, but they were not ordinary in Biandu, and were even uncommon.
However, in Southeast Asia...
His heart tightened, and his gaze toward Huo Jiayuan deepened.
"Hey, this is all the knowledge I've ever gained in my life!" Huo Jiayuan looked at him. "Why don't you go to the pharmacy and get the medicine when you have some free time?"
Meng Yan remained silent for a while, then asked in a low voice, "How did you know about this prescription?"
Huo Jiayuan was somewhat smug. What was so difficult about this? Her grandmother was a descendant of the Yin family of Nanyang! The Yin family was renowned in Nanyang and served as the royal physicians of the Nanyang royal family.
However, when she met Meng Yan's gaze, her heart skipped a beat for no reason. In the end, she kept her guard up and made up an excuse, saying, "I... my family has been practicing medicine for generations. My family members collect all sorts of strange and unusual prescriptions, so I've been exposed to medicine since I was a child and I know a little about it."
"Is this a prescription your family collected?"
She nodded without hesitation.
But I always felt that Meng Yan's expression was strange.
The man stared at the prescription for a long time; the little girl probably didn't know what the pharmacies here were like.
Just as he didn't know the girl's background.
He carefully put away the paper, still somewhat doubtful, and forced a smile. "Thank you for your trouble. Come out and have breakfast."
Huo Jiayuan smiled mischievously and followed behind him.
The pancakes and soy milk were still warm, at just the right temperature. She was a little excited; this was the first time she had eaten something warm for breakfast since coming to his house.
She couldn't even understand why men were so fond of cold drinks and leftovers, living like cavemen, eating beef straight from the refrigerator.
Today, he finally showed some warmth and humanity.
Huo Jiayuan glanced at him furtively, a large mouthful of warm, sweet soy milk bursting through her taste buds, like the morning sunshine soaking into her heart.
Her face flushed slightly, and she quickly lowered her head.
"I need to take a break for a while," Meng Yan's cool voice rang out. "These days... we'll probably have to see each other from morning till night every day."
Huo Jiayuan paused, still keeping her head down.
In the past few days, he had been leaving early and returning late, and apart from meals, the two of them barely saw each other. But from now on, he will be staying home every day.
Yes, he was injured like that, so he needs to be taken good care of.
“If you feel uncomfortable, just stay in the room during the day and keep the door closed,” he continued. “Anyway, the room is already yours, you can do whatever you want in there.”
"And...the issue of meals." He glanced at her. "I'm not very good at cooking, but I'm probably better than you. I'll cook for you these next few days. Just tell me what you'd like to eat, and I'll try my best..."
"No!" Huo Jiayuan interrupted him, "You're injured, it's better if I take care of you!"
Meng Yan's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but laugh.
She'd take care of him? She could make him lose control just by applying some medicine. How could he dare let her take care of him!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
