Chapter 65 Indulging Your Pampered Little Poet
After returning to Jingzhao from Hong Kong Island, the school officially entered exam month, with several important exams in both professional and general subjects. Xie Qingci didn't have time to go to Fushun Hutong anymore.
Aunt Wen sends her updates on Little Orange and the three kittens every day. Since winter began, all four little ones have gained weight. The cat tree that they used to be able to climb to the top floor with ease now requires some effort to climb up.
During a break from studying at the library that day, Aunt Wen sent her a new video. Little Orange tried to leap up onto the cat tree like before, but suffered a Waterloo and tumbled down halfway down.
She chuckled softly and forwarded the video to Liang Jingzhuo.
He's not busy lately, but she's ordered him not to come see her for the time being. She doesn't have time to see him, and he'll be on winter break after his exams, so they'll be able to see each other again in about a month.
He initially tried to negotiate with her, saying, "If I come over, you can study too, and I won't bother you."
Xie Qingci had already been fooled before, so she wasn't that stupid anymore. She said she was going to Hong Kong Island for New Year's Day to make time to study, and he initially said he wouldn't bother her.
Then, even with his injured hand, he wouldn't stay idle. He would be in the study, and she would be in the living room. He would always come out to get a drink of water or answer a phone call, and he would always come over to pinch and kiss her, easily causing some things that were not originally intended to happen.
After a while, no one could settle down and focus on their own business.
When Xie Qingci left, the review materials were still in the same place he had reviewed in his office the day before.
So he made a deal with her: he was not allowed to go to Jingzhao to see her before the end of the final exams, otherwise she wouldn't come during the winter break.
Liang Jingzhuo was a man of his word; he promised not to bother her, and he really didn't bother her much, only calling her once a night after she finished studying.
Over the course of a month, Xie Qingci went from initially not having time to answer his calls to starting to lose focus ten minutes before each call.
Even Ke Meng and Duan Siyu could see that they were putting on a charade, one singing and the other acting.
"It's been so sweet every time I walk into the dorm lately!"
Who wore perfume?
"What perfume? It's the sweet scent of love! Someone's fallen in love!"
Xie Qingci was a little embarrassed by the teasing, but she pretended not to understand and replied, "Really? I don't think I felt anything."
This made Ke Meng and Duan Siyu laugh and say she was cute.
The message was sent, and Liang Jingzhuo quickly replied: 【You've gotten so fat? You look like four small trucks.】
The last time he came over, he was a few hours older than before, but not this fat. He's almost as big as a small gas cylinder.
The library was silent. Xie Qingci chuckled at the last sentence, but couldn't laugh out loud. She replied, "Yes, they look so chubby, I want to pet them, and I want to hug them."
After sending the message, there was a moment of silence in the chat box, then a reply came: "[Just want the cat?]"
She paused for a moment, pursed her lips, and typed out the reply, word by word: "I still miss Boss Liang."
After the last exam, Ke Meng will go to another province with her parents to visit her elders and will return after the Spring Festival. Duan Siyu will go on a family trip with her relatives and friends and will most likely not return until after the winter vacation.
The two packed their bags before the exam and left the school in a hurry after leaving the exam hall.
Xie Qingci planned to go back in a few days. A few days ago, she was studying at the library. The heating in the library was too strong, so she took off her coat and didn't put it back on in time when she went out. Unfortunately, she caught a cold again.
But it wasn't as serious as the high fever before. She only had a low-grade fever a few times in the first three days, which was relieved a lot after taking medicine. She plans to go to the hospital to see a doctor after the exam. If it gets too bad, she'll get an IV drip. Otherwise, she'll definitely make her grandmother worry again when she goes back.
Of course, she didn't tell Liang Jingzhuo about this, but he still noticed something unusual in her slightly nasal voice when they talked on the phone, and asked her if she had a cold.
She laughed it off, saying she had just gone out without a coat and was a little cold and had a stuffy nose, but would feel better once it warmed up.
He remained silent for a while on the other end of the phone, then didn't press her further, asking her how many more days until the exams ended.
At that time, there was only one exam left, but she lied to him that there were still three days of exams left, and that she would have dinner with her classmates on the last day, so that if he wanted to come, he could come the next day.
She felt that three days of IV fluids should be enough to make her feel better.
He replied, "Okay."
Unfortunately, she developed a fever again on the day the exam was over.
Ke Meng and Duan Siyu had already left, leaving her alone in the dormitory. In the middle of the night, she felt dizzy and her throat felt like it was being roasted over a fire.
I stumbled out of bed, pulled out a thermometer, and took my temperature. It soared to 39.3 degrees Celsius, almost 40.
I took the fever reducer from the medicine cabinet, took it, and lay back in bed, but my temperature didn't go down. An hour later, I took my temperature again, and it was even 0.5 degrees higher than before, almost reaching 40 degrees.
If this continued, she might become delirious from the fever overnight. She took out her phone, checked the time, and decided to get up and go to the hospital.
After winter arrived in Jingzhao, one heavy snowfall after another occurred. When I walked out of the dormitory building with a dizzy head, it was the time when the snow was falling heavily.
The night was deep and desolate. As I walked out of the dormitory area, I ran into the dormitory supervisor who was getting up in the middle of the night. Upon seeing her, she quickly came over with her keys to ask what was wrong.
Knowing she was going to the hospital, he hurriedly turned around and went back to the duty room to change his clothes and go with her.
She smiled and shook her head, saying it was okay, she had already hailed a taxi, it was just a cold and fever, nothing serious.
The aunt asked her repeatedly with concern, and only stopped insisting after confirming that she was alright. However, she still took out her phone and left her contact information, saying that she would call her in half an hour to check on the situation.
She replied with an "okay".
After arriving at the hospital and undergoing examinations, it was discovered that it was not a common cold, but pneumonia, and quite serious. The doctor sternly asked her why she hadn't come sooner, explaining that in this condition, intravenous fluids wouldn't be effective and she would have to be hospitalized.
In the end, they prescribed some IV fluids for her, saying that if it didn't work after three days, she would have to be hospitalized.
After a flurry of activity, just as I sat down in the infusion hall, the dormitory supervisor called to confirm that I had arrived at the hospital safely before hanging up.
Before the IV drip, the nurse came to take her temperature again and was shocked by the soaring number. After the injection, she also put a cooling patch on her.
It was nearly midnight, and there weren't many people in the infusion hall. Seeing that she looked dizzy and had come alone, the nurse gently and considerately put a hand warmer on her hand receiving the IV, so she could take a nap. She added that she wasn't busy at the moment and could keep an eye on the IV bottle for her.
She mumbled a thank you in a daze, then slumped back in her chair and fell asleep.
With a fever and a stuffy nose, plus wearing a mask, her breathing was all difficult, and she couldn't sleep very soundly, fluctuating between being woken up by the urge to breathe and being drowsy.
The nurse came to change the fever-reducing patch on her head once more. The cool touch made her wake up for a moment. She mumbled a thank you and then closed her eyes again.
I don't know how much time passed, until a cool, snowy touch gently pressed against my cheek.
She thought it was a nurse checking on her again, and she felt a little apologetic for troubling others. Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy, and she struggled to open them a crack, saying, "I'm much better now, thank you for your help."
A helpless yet heartbroken voice reached my ears before the clearing of my vision, "Where is it much better?"
My head, burning with fever and on the verge of losing my ability to think independently, slowly cleared up, and I struggled to open my eyes.
Liang Jingzhuo half-squatted in front of the IV drip sofa, staring at her intently, his black coat still carrying a hint of the chill of the winter night.
He took off his glove and placed his hand on her face. His hand was actually warm, but it felt a little cool compared to her burning body temperature.
His eyes held a hint of anger, mixed with a helpless resignation. "Would you like some water?"
With a splitting headache and a swollen throat that made it impossible to speak, Xie Qingci felt terrible both physically and emotionally. She couldn't help but purse her lips, her eyes welling up with tears, and nodded, replying, "Yes."
Seeing her cry made Liang Jingzhuo feel bad, and the anger he had felt towards her for only reporting good news and not bad news vanished without a trace.
He wiped away the hot tears from the corners of her eyes with his fingertips, glanced at the water glass on the armrest, unscrewed it and saw that it contained warm water.
He held it to her lips and fed her water.
After the phone call tonight, he felt something was off. She hadn't answered his calls several times in the past few days, citing exam week as the reason.
He did answer the phone today, but it was a voice message. He asked her if she was feeling better after catching a cold, and she said she was, but she still had a slight cold.
He asked her, "You still have a cold, how are you cured?"
She smiled and said she had already taken cold medicine and felt much better.
Before hanging up, he was still worried and asked if her roommate was with her. She said yes.
So he hung up the phone, thinking that if he really felt unwell, someone would be there for him.
But after much deliberation, she still couldn't rest easy, so on her way home from the company, she had Lu Li change direction and go directly to the airport.
However, due to heavy snow in Jingzhao today, all direct flights were delayed or canceled. In the end, I had to fly to a neighboring city and take a high-speed train to get there.
It was already past midnight when I arrived at her school, so it wasn't appropriate to call her then. I stood under the dormitory building for a while with an umbrella, deciding to rest at a nearby hotel for the night and contact her again the next morning.
But just then, the dormitory supervisor came out of the duty room with her phone, looked at the snow outside, and made a call.
After much hesitation, he decided to take the initiative to ask.
The dormitory manager was initially startled, but relaxed his guard after the man identified himself, as unauthorized individuals from outside the school were not allowed to enter the campus in the middle of the night.
That's when he realized that the final exams had already ended today and some students had already gone home.
He paused for a moment, took out his phone, found Xie Qingci's photo, and asked if this classmate was still at school.
The photo was a solo shot of her taken on the day they registered their marriage, which he used as his phone wallpaper.
The dormitory manager exclaimed in surprise, "Oh!" "This girl just went to the hospital. She said she had a cold and fever and went to get an IV. I just called her and she said she arrived at the hospital safely."
He was startled and quickly asked which hospital they had gone to.
The dormitory manager was in a bit of a predicament. She said she hadn't asked and was about to call again to ask, but Xie Qingci didn't answer the phone this time.
He thanked her and called her several times after leaving the school, but she didn't answer.
So they had no choice but to search from the school to the hospital, and finally found the little fool who was delirious with fever in the infusion hall of the last hospital.
Xie Qingci wasn't thirsty; she just answered his question by saying she wanted some water, but after taking two sips, she shook her head and said she didn't want any more.
Liang Jingzhuo screwed the bottle cap on, put it aside, squatted down in front of her for a while, looked at her, and sighed: "Does your head hurt?"
The person whose face was half covered by a scarf revealed a pair of eyes, looked at him, and nodded slightly.
He stood up, took off his cold coat and gloves, sat down next to her, glanced at the IV drip, and helped her head lean against him.
"Go to sleep, I'm here."
Xie Qingci sniffed, her nose still stuffy, and replied in a muffled voice, "Why are you here?"
“A little idiot is sick, and I’m worried about him.”
Although she said it was just a mild cold, based on his understanding of her, he was pretty sure it was more than just a mild cold. He just didn't expect it to be this serious, otherwise he would have come over long ago.
I realized I couldn't just keep my promise to her anymore.
She was already feeling unwell, and when she heard these seemingly accusatory but actually worried words, Xie Qingci felt inexplicably wronged.
The tears she had been holding back fell again, soaking his shoulder. "I'm not a little fool."
Her voice was so swollen and hoarse that it was unrecognizable. Liang Jingzhuo turned his head to look at her, took out a tissue to wipe her tears, and his heart tightened along with the falling tears. "Only a little fool would only report good news and not bad news. What else are you but a little fool? If I hadn't come over, when were you planning to tell me?"
Although I already knew that was her personality, I was still a little angry.
He has said many times that there are no such roundabout considerations between them. If you are unhappy, you should speak up; if you are uncomfortable, you should speak up. There is no need to have so many concerns.
But she just couldn't remember it or learn it.
Xie Qingci sniffed and whispered, "I'll tell you when I'm better."
She didn't think it was anything serious, just a minor cold, but she felt bad that it had caused so many people to make such a fuss.
After he finished speaking, no one around him said anything.
Although he didn't say it, she could tell he was angry.
She glanced at his hand resting on his lap, then reached out and hooked his little finger in a conciliatory gesture. "Why are you angry with a patient? You have no compassion."
At this point, you still try to sympathize with him; he was worried sick as he went from hospital to hospital looking for her.
But he couldn't bear to be cold to her, so he sighed, took her hand that was hooking his finger, and patiently reiterated, "I understand that you don't want your elders to worry, but you don't have to keep me from telling them either."
When will I learn to not pretend that everything is fine in front of him?
Xie Qingci understood what he meant and replied with a smile, "I'm sorry, I'll know next time. I didn't expect it to be this serious, otherwise I would have definitely told you."
Even after all that, he still has the energy to laugh.
Just as Liang Jingzhuo was about to speak again, the person leaning on his shoulder suddenly raised his head and said, "You're not allowed to speak anymore. I already know I was wrong."
That look was somewhat unreasonable.
He laughed in exasperation, "You'd have to be burned to the point of stupidity before you learn your lesson."
She wrinkled her nose, leaned back against his shoulder, and rubbed her cheek against him. "You'd love for me to burn myself into an idiot so you can get a new wife."
He gently tidied her hair behind her ear, looked at her flushed face, and kissed her forehead. "Even a fool like me will do, so I won't have to worry. I can keep her at home forever."
Xie Qingci snorted, "Fools only know how to eat, drink, and have fun; they can't do anything else."
The person next to her suddenly laughed upon hearing this, and then whispered something inappropriate in her ear.
Her face flushed instantly. She looked up and whispered at him, "Liang Jingzhuo! Are you even being proper?"
He deliberately lowered his voice, only making a soft whisper, but the infusion hall was too quiet. A girl sitting on the infusion chair on the opposite side looked up and glanced over. Xie Qingci blushed completely, buried her head in his clothes, and muttered, "You bastard."
What do you mean by "just stay at home and keep having little idiots, he can afford to raise them anyway"?
Is this something a decent person would say?
After several bottles of IV fluid were finished, it was past midnight. Xie Qingci woke up when the nurse came to remove the needles. She reminded them of the time to come back for the IV infusion the next day and then let them leave.
Liang Jingzhuo checked the medicine in the medicine bag, packed up the things, and dressed the disobedient person. Despite her dissatisfied protests, he insisted on zipping the zipper all the way up and made sure she was properly dressed with a scarf, gloves, mask, and earmuffs.
When I drove back, the snow was too heavy at night, and the entrance to the alley was covered with a thick blanket of snow. The sanitation workers were working overtime non-stop and had not yet had time to clear this area, so the car could not drive in for the time being.
Liang Jingzhuo parked the car in a nearby underground parking lot, took his things, opened the passenger door, squatted down in front of the door, and said, "Get in."
Xie Qingci looked at the broad shoulders in front of her and laughed. Without any hesitation, she jumped up onto them.
He pushed the car door shut behind him, twirled the medicine bag in his palm a few times, then lifted the person on his back and carried her out of the parking lot.
The snow was still falling, and the snow was deep. Liang Jingzhuo walked carefully, his steps slow and uneven.
Xie Qingci watched his leather shoes step into the snow, a surge of warmth welling up in her heart. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rested her chin on his shoulder, and whispered his name: "Liang Jingzhuo".
As his breath rose into the air, he replied, "Mmm."
The person on his back remained silent for a long time. He thought she was delirious from the fever and was talking nonsense while asleep. He was about to wake her up, but it was so cold outside that she would catch a cold if she was asleep.
Just as she moved her lips, she heard a voice behind her say, "Why are you so good to me? Don't be so good to me."
He tilted his head slightly, lifted her up a little higher, and asked, "Why?"
Xie Qingci rubbed against his back, "What if one day you're not this nice to me anymore? I'll feel disappointed."
It's better to have never had something than to have it and then lose it.
As soon as he finished speaking, the person in front of him laughed. "Can't you say something to cheer me up? I've come all this way just to hear you say something hurtful?"
Hearing this hurt him even more: "Am I really that untrustworthy in your heart?"
"No." The person on his back buried their face in the crook of his neck and blew a mischievous breath. "Besides my mom and dad, grandpa and grandma, maternal grandpa and grandma, no one has ever been this good to me."
She could feel the unconditional love of her family, and so could her love for him.
“Then I’ll try harder,” he said firmly, “to strive to be ahead of them one day.”
After spending so much time together, he had figured out her temperament: she was a little sensitive, a bit prone to overthinking, and always considerate of others.
His little girl was still a sentimental little poet, longing to be violently drenched by a downpour.
It's indeed difficult to quickly open up to her sensitive and fragile emotions. He said to take it slow, so let's take it slow. He's not in a hurry for her to completely accept him right away; it's enough to see some progress.
The person behind him suddenly chuckled softly, which made him smile slightly as well. "What are you laughing at? Why are you so happy?"
Xie Qingci stopped laughing. "I'm laughing at how silly you are."
"If one day I don't want you anymore, you'll really be penniless."
The property transfer agreement he showed her that day was different from what he had told her after she looked at it in detail.
He told her that if their separation was due to his fault, all his property would belong to her, and he would waive any right to reclaim it.
However, the agreement clearly states that he waives his right to recover the funds under any circumstances.
A difference of just a few words can mean two completely different things.
Liang Jingzhuo laughed, "So smart? You even know to read the agreement carefully."
He told the lawyer this when he was drafting the agreement, but thinking that she might overthink things and be unwilling to sign, he added a prefix when he spoke to her.
She tightened her grip on his arm and said with dissatisfaction, "I'm not stupid."
He laughed: "Then I won't give you that chance."
She looked up at him defiantly, "That's not up to you. The world is vast, and there are countless possibilities."
After she finished speaking, the person in front of her suddenly fell silent. She thought he was angry, so she tilted her head to look at his profile, laughed, and prepared to say that she was just teasing him.
He suddenly said slowly, "That's okay. Liking and loving are selfless. I don't regret my decision. As long as you don't regret it and feel happy, that's enough."
Xie Qingci felt a sudden pang of sadness and snorted softly, "Don't even think about it, you'll never get rid of me in this lifetime."
"Of course, that's just what I say, I might not actually do it." He paused for a moment, thought for a second, and then continued, "Most likely I'll do the same thing I told you about at the hospital."
"..." The bittersweet emotion that had just begun to rise was suddenly abruptly stopped. Xie Qingci's face turned red again, and she tightened her grip on his neck, "Liang Jingzhuo!"
Can we have a serious conversation now?
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