Chapter 115 The Wooden Carving Left by Gu Nanxiao
On the night Gu Nanxiao left, Yunxi developed a high fever. Qi Jinxiu invited the renowned doctor from Tianyu Pavilion to diagnose and prescribe medicine for her.
He personally took care of her until dawn, when her high fever finally subsided. Yunxi also woke up from her stupor.
In her dazed state, Yunxi only saw a man sitting by the bed, and subconsciously called out, "Xiao Lang."
Qi Jinxiu's initial joy at seeing the person awakened froze for a moment. But he quickly regained his composure and asked, "Is there anything else that feels uncomfortable?"
Hearing Qi Jinxiu's voice, Yunxi gradually came to her senses. She replied with a slightly embarrassed expression, "I'm much better, but I feel a bit sore all over and can't muster any strength."
Upon hearing this, Qi Jinxiu immediately ordered the attending physician to examine Yunxi again. After carefully taking Yunxi's pulse, the physician breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"The young lady's health is no longer a major concern. She only needs to eat some warm, nourishing, and easily digestible foods to gradually recover."
Upon hearing the result, Qi Jinxiu's expression visibly relaxed. He personally got up to see the divine doctor out, but quickly returned to continue taking care of Yunxi.
Yunxi looked at the warm water being offered to her lips and wanted to take it and drink it herself. She felt that such a gesture was too intimate.
In the past, when Gu Nanxiao saw her exhausted and weak, he would not only feed her water by hand, but also by mouth.
But after all, the two of them had a romantic relationship, which was different from her relationship with Qi Jinxiu. Yunxi fully understood Qi Jinxiu's feelings, but he had never mentioned it, and she had no reason to stop him from having such thoughts.
Yunxi struggled to raise his hand to take the water glass, but Qi Jinxiu saw through his intention and spoke in a deep, gentle voice: "Wait until you feel better before you drink it yourself. Don't push yourself while you're sick."
After Qi Jinxiu's persuasion, if Ruo Yunxi insisted, it would seem like she was deliberately distancing herself. In the end, she had no choice but to comply and drink a cup of tea from his hand.
Qi Jinxiu stared blankly at Yunxi's lips, which were slightly rosy from drinking water. In fact, while Yunxi was unconscious, Qi Jinxiu had fed her the medicine mouth-to-mouth.
But Qi Jinxiu dared not let Yunxi know, fearing she would despise him because of it. The situation was indeed urgent at the time, and it was not that he intended to take liberties with Yunxi.
Now that Yunxi is alright, he often finds himself thinking about the soft touch of those cherry lips. It was their most intimate moment, a scene he only dared to dream about.
However, after that encounter, Qi Jinxiu's thoughts were completely changed. Before, he wanted to wait for her silently because he saw that Yunxi was living a happy life.
But ever since Gu Nanxiao wronged and hurt Yunxi, all he saw every day was Yunxi's depressed and unhappy appearance.
Therefore, Qi Jinxiu decided that he would express his feelings subtly, and then reveal his true feelings completely once the two of them had developed feelings for each other.
He wanted to stand openly beside Yunxi, to be the one who would shelter him from the storms of life.
Yunxi was unaware of Qi Jinxiu's thoughts; she only noticed that since she had fallen ill, Qi Jinxiu had been having much more physical contact with her.
With Qi Jinxiu's meticulous care, Yunxi was finally able to leave the house and take a stroll.
Qi Jinxiu first draped a thick cloak over Yunxi. Then, with one arm around her shoulder and the other supporting her arm, he led her to the hibiscus tree.
The close care they received over the past seven or eight days truly broke down the barriers between them, making these physical contacts feel more natural.
Yunxi no longer showed any embarrassment or rejection. She felt that if she deliberately kept her distance, it would make Qi Jinxiu feel awkward and make her seem pretentious.
But Yunxi knew in her heart that such contact had nothing to do with romantic love.
Qi Jinxiu didn't think that way at all. Although he had worked very hard taking care of people these past few days, he was actually very happy.
Qi Jinxiu often recalled the moment when he had to watch his birth mother die because of a few taels of silver, and he was at his wit's end. Then he met Yunxi, who was like a fairy from the heavens.
The girl stood at the entrance of the orphanage, setting up a soup kitchen to serve porridge to the poor. Qi Jinxiu went to collect the porridge simply to get one last meal for his mother before she passed away.
Unexpectedly, the person ahead of him in line suddenly said that he had a seriously ill daughter and wanted Yunxi to give him some money.
Listening to the words of the people in front of him, Qi Jinxiu could only sigh inwardly. The specific purpose of these nobles distributing porridge was unknown. But expecting them to spend money on medical treatment for the poor was absolutely out of the question.
No sooner had the man finished speaking than Yunxi ordered someone to bring twenty taels of silver and personally handed it to him. Qi Jinxiong stared in disbelief at this scene, his eyes unable to look away from the twenty taels of silver.
His mother's medicine also happened to require twenty taels of silver, so the twenty taels of silver that the nobleman casually bestowed upon him could buy his mother's life.
Qi Jinxiu hesitated, wondering if he should also ask for twenty taels of silver as a form of charity. Just as he was too ashamed to speak, Yunxi took the initiative to ask:
"Sir, are you facing any difficulties? If so, please feel free to speak up."
Qi Jinxiu felt so ashamed that he wanted to disappear, but in order to save his mother's life, he still shamelessly spoke up.
To convince Yunxi, he offered to take her to see his sick mother to prove he wasn't lying. Yunxi, however, smiled and shook her head, saying it wasn't necessary.
He immediately ordered someone to bring twenty taels of silver, and after handing it to him, he asked him if it was enough.
Qi Jinxiu repeatedly said that it was enough, and then vowed that he would definitely repay her in the future. He then took the money and went to get medicine for his mother.
Those few doses of medicine saved his mother's life. Later, he also received medicine to treat his mother's illness during the monthly free clinic and medicine distribution events at the traditional Chinese medicine shop he ran in Yunxi.
His mother's condition gradually improved, and after hearing that the prescriptions were all from Yunxi, Qi Jinxiu, for the first time in his life, felt the urge to acknowledge someone as his master.
Having been well-versed in classical Chinese literature, he possessed a strong sense of pride, but he also understood the importance of gratitude. However, at that time, he had nothing of value except his talent and his humble life, which he could use to repay Yunxi.
I remember the day I approached Yunxi, she thought I was desperate and wanted to find a job, so she said she wanted to sell herself into slavery for her.
But Yunxi refused to let her sign a contract of servitude and become a slave, because she saw that he was a scholar. She said that if he became a slave, he would be unable to take the imperial examinations, which would be a great pity.
So she took out one hundred taels of silver, saying it was to support her in passing the imperial examinations, and also gave her some medicine that her mother could use.
Qi Jinxiu never expected to receive such pure kindness from a complete stranger. From then on, Yunxi became the only warmth he felt in his incredibly difficult life.
From that moment on, Qi Jinxiu secretly vowed that he would protect Yunxi with his life. So no matter what she did, Qi Jinxiu would do his best to help her.
Even though Qi Jinxiu was unwilling to get his hands dirty with money, he still ran the shop for her. Although he despised underhanded methods, he was still willing to shed blood for her and build Tianyu Pavilion.
Whether it's helping Yunxi now or in the future, Qi Jinxiu is willing to spare no effort to plan for her.
When Yunxi turned her head, she was met with Qi Jinxiu's loving eyes. She turned her head away as if to avoid him, pretending that she couldn't see anything.
Since moving to the forest, Yunxi has often seen the undisguised emotions in Qi Jinxiu's eyes when she wakes up or when she turns around by chance.
Yunxi knew she couldn't respond to him or change his mind, so she could only choose to ignore him. After all, once she left, the two of them wouldn't have any further contact.
Yunxi stood for a while, then felt her legs begin to weaken and wanted to go back to rest. But as she turned around, she saw that outside the barrier, on the window frame of Gu Nanxiao's wooden house, there seemed to be a row of wooden carvings.
She knew those wood carvings were carved for her by Gu Nanxiao every day. Did he mean to keep them for himself by not taking them with him?
Yunxi released her arm from Qi Jinxiu's and walked out of the barrier, her body swaying slightly.
Qi Jinxiu watched as Yunxi stood in front of a row of wooden carvings, carefully examined them for a while, then selected one and held it in her hand before turning back to the barrier.
Although Qi Jinxiu's eyes darkened for a moment, he quickly regained his composure, put on a warm expression, and stepped forward to help the person up.
But neither of them saw that as they turned around, a black figure flashed and disappeared from a large tree next to the cabin.
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