Chapter 43 Applying medicated oil here and there
The ginger soup noodles at noon were delicious, and Jingyuan unexpectedly gave them a very high rating.
Overjoyed, Shen Mi asked Jing Yuan if he wanted more food.
Jingyuan shook his head and gave his reason: "I'm afraid I'll get a bloated if I eat too much."
"Oh, okay." Shen Mi nodded. "Indeed, we need to be careful."
After he finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence.
The two sat facing each other. Chen Mi kept his head down, repeatedly using his chopsticks to scoop up the remaining small pieces of noodles in his bowl...
It's so quiet, so quiet, I don't know what to say.
Just as she was hesitating about whether to say something, Jingyuan suddenly got up, poured a glass of water from the island platform, and placed it in front of her.
The water in the cup swayed with his movements, and there were a few pink petals of some unknown flower.
Shen Mi looked up and met his downcast eyes.
"Thanks."
"I'll wash the dishes at noon."
The two spoke at the same time, then suddenly stopped, and the atmosphere fell into an eerie silence.
Shen Mi took the water he brought and gulped it all down in one go, as if she didn't want to disappoint him and wanted to prove herself.
Jing Yuan looked at her, his brows furrowing briefly before smoothing out. He thought to himself, "Does she really not want to talk to me? She's even resorting to drinking water to shut herself up."
After finishing his drink, Shen Mi smiled and raised his head, just in time to catch a fleeting expression on Jing Yuan's face.
You look a little unwell? Is your stomach upset?
"I'll do the dishes at lunchtime!"
She couldn't do the dishes if she was a patient.
Jingyuan persisted, but seeing that he wouldn't leave, Shenmi went around behind him and pushed him away from the kitchen.
"I'll do it, you get some rest. There's something I might need your help with tonight."
Thinking about the task issued by the system, Shen Mi gave Jing Yuan a heads-up in advance.
Hopefully, both sides will be mentally prepared by then.
"What kind of help?"
Jing Yuan had his back to her, so he couldn't see her expression.
Shen Mi touched his nose sheepishly, stammering for a long time before finally managing to say something.
"Um... let's talk about it tonight! Let's talk about it tonight!"
Seeing that she wouldn't say anything, Jingyuan wondered if she was still bothered by his behavior during the day, and made a decision in his heart.
Shen Mi was pushing him towards the room when he suddenly turned around. Losing her balance, she stumbled and fell forward uncontrollably.
"About what happened in the restroom..."
Jing Yuan had just turned around before he finished speaking when he saw Shen Mi losing his balance and falling forward, his face full of astonishment.
He reacted quickly, firmly supporting Shen Mi's arm with one hand and holding her waist with the other, pulling her back from mid-air.
Shen Mi's heart was pounding. She threw herself into his arms and exclaimed with lingering fear, "You scared me to death, you scared me to death!"
After regaining her balance, Chen Mi remembered what Jing Yuan hadn't finished saying. She met his gaze and asked, "What were you trying to say? Something about the toilet?"
Jing Yuan's gaze shifted from her collar to her face, his hands unconsciously behind his back. He shook his head and said softly, "It's nothing, nothing."
Shen Mi blinked, sensing something was off about him, but didn't press further. Everyone has moments when they suddenly don't want to talk, she understood, and she seemed to have a vague idea of what Jing Yuan wanted to say…
She opened her mouth, wanting to express that she didn't mind what happened that morning; it was just an accident, and she hoped he wouldn't take it to heart either. But Jing Yuan had already looked away, his eyes looking elsewhere, as if deliberately avoiding her.
Shen Mi paused, swallowing back the words that were about to come out of his throat.
"Remember to take your medicine."
After saying that, Shen Mi turned and left, as if trying to escape the awkward situation.
Jing Yuan watched her retreating figure, feeling another wave of annoyance. He closed the door in one swift motion, returned to the bedside, sat down, and let out a long sigh.
He sighed as he thought to himself—
Jingyuan, oh Jingyuan, how did you manage to see something you shouldn't have again?
Helplessly, he raised his hand to cover his face, pressing his fingertips hard against his brow, trying to banish those chaotic images from his mind.
But the more you try to forget, the clearer it becomes.
His behavior was completely contrary to his own moral principles, and he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him lately, repeatedly offending the other party.
It's one thing that she didn't know, but it's quite another that she saw it.
When he was sick, Shen Mi stayed by his side all night, cooked chicken porridge for him, and prepared a stomach-soothing meal. Before leaving, she carefully reminded him to "remember to take your medicine." Those words pierced his heart like needles, making him feel both guilty and grateful.
Jing Yuan lay on the bed, restless, with his eyes closed, but he couldn't calm down.
Meanwhile, Shen Mi returned to the kitchen, put the used bowls in the sink, washed them, and disposed of the kitchen waste. She then put the remaining ginger juice in the refrigerator so she could make ginger milk curd the next morning.
After mechanically tidying everything up, Chen Mi returned to her room and leaned against the door, taking several deep breaths.
Jingyuan's expression at the end, as if he wanted to say something but didn't, kept replaying in her mind.
The more I think about it, the more upset I become.
It's really incomprehensible. She's the one who was exposed, so how come she's the one who's anxious about whether she's bothering others?
...
Night quietly fell.
The sky gradually deepened from crimson to dark ink, and everything seemed to be veiled by a light gauze, making even the sound of breathing seem exceptionally quiet.
A gentle breeze rustled through the window, causing the leaves to sway softly. Occasionally, a faint light pierced through the shadows of the trees, casting hazy, fragmented patches of light on the courtyard wall outside the house.
A wall lamp was lit in the room, its dim yellow light spreading out in a small, warm circle around Chen Mi's feet.
[Host, you have three hours remaining. Please complete the task as soon as possible.]
Shen Mi walked to the wardrobe, hesitated for a while, and finally chose a light-colored vest. This way, the bruises on her shoulders and back could be shown, but it wouldn't be too revealing.
After changing her clothes, she stood sideways in front of the mirror and looked at herself. Her slender, white shoulders reflected the light slightly, and the irregular bruises, crisscrossing with purple and blue, looked like a canvas smeared with paint, shocking to the eye and making her body appear even thinner.
Shen Mi tugged at the straps of her vest, thought for a moment, and then put on a thin jacket before feeling a little more at ease.
The bottle of medicated oil lay quietly on the bedside table. She picked it up, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the bottle, her heart tightening with each passing moment.
Just imagining that scene made her ears burn.
[System, should we not go?]
Chen Mi began to back down.
System: […Host, please be careful with your words. Deserting in the face of battle is not the act of a strong woman, and there will be punishment for it.]
Okay...okay.
Shen Mi took a deep breath and silently encouraged himself.
It's no big deal.
It's just applying medicine, nothing strange. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Once you get past that initial hurdle, everything else will be fine.
She silently repeated it to herself several times before tiptoeing and gently pushing open the door.
The corridor was quiet, with soft light and shadow cast by the wall lamps, and the air was filled with the coolness unique to the night.
Shen Mi, carrying the medicinal oil, carefully walked to Jing Yuan's door.
She stopped and raised her hand to knock on the door.
"Thump, thump—"
After knocking, Chen Mi took half a step back, leaving enough space for someone to pass.
Jingyuan was wearing black pajamas at home, and her hair was a little messy, making her look like she had just gotten out of bed.
Upon seeing that it was Shen Mi, he was taken aback. His gaze swept over her quickly before shifting away, and his voice was low and hoarse: "What's wrong?"
For a moment, Shen Mi felt as if his tongue had tied itself in knots.
She had planned everything out before leaving the house, but when she actually stood in front of him, all the words got stuck in her throat.
She gritted her teeth, held out the bottle of medicated oil, and whispered, "Could you... help me apply this medicine? I can't reach that area on my shoulder."
Jing Yuan's eyes darkened slightly, as expected, and then he nodded.
He closed the door and came out.
The two of them coincidentally chose the living room as their meeting place, as if carefully avoiding stepping into each other's territory, trying to use this restraint to cover up their unspeakable emotions. But the more deliberate they were, the more it seemed like they were silently exposing themselves, as if they were trying to hide something obvious, and their attempt to conceal their shortcomings only made them more obvious.
Jingyuan glanced at her and gently suggested, "Take off your coat first, let me see where it is."
Shen Mi's ears burned, and he gave a soft "hmm," slowly taking off his coat and draping it over his arm.
Beneath the vest, her slender, white shoulders and back were exposed to the air, and a thin bandage was still wrapped around her left arm, with traces of powder left after applying the wound medicine faintly visible.
Jing Yuan walked behind her, squatted down, took the bottle of medicated oil, poured some into his palm, and began to rub his hands together with practiced ease.
The medicated oil in my palm felt slightly cool and had a faint herbal scent.
Shen Mi tensed up, his fingers gripping the hem of his clothes tightly, afraid to move.
Seeing this, Jing Yuan said in a low voice, "Relax a little, or you'll strain your muscles."
His voice was deep and gentle, like a warm glow in the night.
"Okay." Shen Mi responded softly, closed her eyes, and imagined herself receiving a blind massage in a massage parlor.
The medicated oil was warm when it was applied.
Jingyuan's movements were very standard; he carefully applied the ointment from the bruise around its edges towards the center with his fingertips.
His hand lingered between her shoulders and shoulder blades, finding several obvious bruises.
Start applying pressure with your palm.
Massaging away bruises is not as simple as just stroking; it requires sufficient force to disperse the stagnant blood and prevent hardening or hidden injuries from forming later.
Shen Mi let out a muffled groan of pain and couldn't help but shrank his shoulders slightly.
Jingyuan noticed this and gently comforted him, "It will hurt a little at first, but it will be fine after a while as the medicated oil is rubbed in."
As he spoke, he increased the pressure with his fingertips, carefully rubbing and massaging along the purplish-blue marks, inch by inch.
The force was steady and orderly, neither too fast nor too slow.
Shen Mi could tell that Jing Yuan was definitely an expert. He skillfully pressed and rubbed several acupoints with his fingertips, each one precise, even taking care of her stiff shoulders.
At first, it felt like a heavy stone was pressing on my shoulder, but as he massaged it, the pain slowly dissipated deep within the muscles.
"Jingyuan, you did a great job! You're even better than the professional masseuses outside," Shen Mi couldn't help but praise.
Jing Yuan chuckled softly upon hearing this, but his movements didn't stop; his fingertips continued to rhythmically massage.
“When I first started practicing martial arts, my body was often covered in bruises. My master taught me how to recognize the acupoints on the body, which would help to relax the meridians and disperse blood stasis.”
Jing Yuan paused, then gently pushed the stiff tendons and muscles on Chen Mi's shoulder with his fingertips, his tone casual yet gentle, "After massaging him more often, my hands gradually became more skilled."
He spoke of it casually, as if recalling a distant but happy memory.
"I see."
Shen Mi naturally knew who Jing Yuan's master was. She didn't know what to say to comfort him, but she felt regret and sorrow in her heart, realizing that everything had changed.
Shen Mi closed his eyes, his shoulders slightly warm from the massage.
The room was quiet, with only the soft rustling of fingertips against skin and the occasional sound of the night wind blowing in from the window.
Shen Mi gradually felt sleepy, and her breathing became longer and more even. Her brows and eyes relaxed, and the smell of food from the day's meals still lingered on her body. Carrying the fatigue of the day, she finally got a short rest at this moment.
Jing Yuan looked down at her quiet profile, his fingertips gently circling her shoulder, a subtle tenderness rising in his heart that he himself was unaware of.
"Thank you... Shen Mi." Thank you for staying up all night with me, carefully cooking porridge, and even thinking of preparing stomach-soothing meals for me.
"I'm sorry..." His voice was even softer, as if he was afraid the wind could hear him, "I barged in without knocking..."
The last few words almost disappeared into the air, and even he himself could not hear them clearly.
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Author's Note: Shen Mi: If you want to express your gratitude, please raise my affection level a bit more! [shy][shy][shy]
I'm late! Everyone, I've been grinding away at the PUBG Mobile server lately, practically forgetting to eat and sleep! [crying emoji][crying emoji][crying emoji] Thank you Nanqiao for the nutrient solution! Hehe [starry-eyed emoji][starry-eyed emoji][starry-eyed emoji] Love you!!!
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