After leaving the newspaper office, Li Tangyan made a phone call to Xu Miaomiao and then went to the supermarket.
By the time she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen, she had already scooped out almost all the ice cream in the box.
Li Tangyan shrank back, her ten fingers curled up.
Just as the chili oil in the spicy snack packet was about to spill out with her tilting motion, a gust of wind brushed past her ear.
Then, the familiar scent filled my nostrils.
The moment she looked up, Wen Zhaonian was already standing in front of her, holding the bag of spicy strips he had "snatched" from her.
Wen Zhaonian squatted down, and his initial slight dissatisfaction turned into a soft sigh when he saw the man's pale face.
Does it hurt a lot?
The softened tone of her voice made Li Tangyan's nose sting with tears.
"Hmm." She looked at Wen Zhaonian, and the frustration that had been swirling in her heart seemed to have found an outlet.
Accompanied by a needle-like pain, Li Tangyan sniffed.
His muffled voice was tinged with a slight sob: "It hurts so much."
*
Wen Zhaonian was carrying Li Tangyan on his back when he felt her grab his clothes from his shoulder before he could take two steps.
Her knuckles were fair and delicate.
So when a nail digs into the flesh, it feels more like being gently scratched by a kitten's paw than painful.
As she turned her head, warm breath brushed against her neck as she spoke: "You haven't taken your snack bag yet."
Li Tangyan pointed to the bag of food that had been left on the stone bench, her fingertips white and still bearing faint nail marks.
Her voice was soft, but the last few words trembled slightly as the pain returned.
Although Li Tangyan's chin was resting on the back of her hand, the hair on the side of her face, carrying a faint scent of shampoo, fell onto the skin exposed outside his collar as she moved.
A slight itch crept up my neck to my earlobe, bringing out a faint pink tinge at the tip of my ear.
Wen Zhaonian looked in the direction she pointed, his Adam's apple bobbing slowly.
His voice was deep and resonant, as if it came from an ancient well, rippling across the water's surface: "I'll make you drool."
*
Although Li Tangyan's acute gastroenteritis wasn't severe enough to require an IV drip, it still took some time to resolve.
It was two hours later when the two of them finally came out of the hospital.
While waiting for Wen Zhaonian to bring the car over, although her stomach pain had subsided, Li Tangyan still habitually squatted to the side with her knees drawn up.
When the sunlight was about to move towards her, she would hide like a crab, having a great time.
"Hey, aren't you Xiao Li? Are you not feeling well?"
Suddenly, a familiar female voice came from behind.
Li Tangyan turned around and saw Dr. Guo, who was wearing a name tag for the Department of Psychiatry, and a girl dressed as a nurse standing a few steps away, looking at her.
After the person got closer, Li Tangyan chuckled awkwardly and touched her nose, saying, "Yeah, I ate something that upset my stomach."
"Then you'd better watch what you eat these next few days. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."
Li Tangyan nodded, but before she could say anything more, she was interrupted by a car horn.
Looking through the half-open car window, Wen Zhaonian turned his head and looked this way.
Seeing this, fearing that he would get out of the car and come over, Li Tangyan didn't say anything more. After saying goodbye to Dr. Guo, she ran over there.
Even after the black Audi had completely disappeared from sight, Dr. Guo, who should have left by then, remained standing there.
A moment of confusion appeared on his face.
A young nurse approached her curiously and asked, "What are you looking at, Dr. Guo?"
As Dr. Guo withdrew his gaze and headed into the building, a soft murmur that drifted into the wind at the end left everyone somewhat puzzled.
—Nothing, it just looks a bit familiar.
*
After getting into the car, Li Tangyan thought back to what Dr. Guo had said and realized that she had forgotten to take her medicine these past few days because she had been so busy.
However, when she rummaged through her bag to see how much was left, she couldn't find the medicine box anywhere.
Just as he was wondering if he had forgotten where he had left it, he heard Wen Zhaonian's phone ring.
Wen Zhaonian glanced at the name on the screen, then looked up and met Li Tangyan's gaze through the rearview mirror: "Help me answer it."
Wen Zhaonian's gaze was quite frank, which made Li Tangyan hesitate: "Wouldn't this be inappropriate..."
Do I look like I have hands to answer the phone right now?
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Tangyan's body instinctively veered towards him as the car turned.
A gentle breeze slipped in through the cracks in the car window, bringing a refreshing coolness of early autumn.
Li Tangyan gripped the seatbelt, turning her body to the side while her gaze fell on the hand resting on the steering wheel.
The knuckles were clearly defined, and the veins on the back of the hand were slightly visible, which reminded me of the last time my ankle was pressed and iced.
Subconsciously, Li Tangyan pulled her feet back.
The sudden heat on her cheeks made her think for a moment that the cool breeze she had just felt was just an illusion.
Li Tangyan's sudden silence made him turn around and glance at her again, just in time to witness the man's subtle actions.
Wen Zhaonian seemed to have guessed the reason for Li Tangyan's unusual behavior.
With a raised eyebrow and a clear, teasing voice that carried a hint of knowing the answer, she asked, "What's wrong? Your knees hurt again?"
As he spoke, Wen Zhaonian's gaze fell on her knees through her jeans, following his soft and gentle words.
The burning sensation made her feel a slight tingling sensation in her knees.
Finally, when the phone stopped ringing and then rang again, Li Tangyan didn't hesitate any longer and grabbed the phone.
A faint scent of lime brushed against the person's nose as they moved.
Wen Zhaonian withdrew his gaze, and a faint smile subtly curved his lips the moment Li Tangyan sat up straight.
Li Tangyan answered the phone and pressed the speakerphone button at the same time.
Soon, Zheng Chuanyi's voice came from the other end.
[You old Zhao, it's almost dark! If you don't come soon, the grass on my grave will be taller than you!]
Zheng Chuanyi's voice, amidst the slightly noisy background, became an undeniable presence in this small space.
Li Tangyan secretly glanced at Wen Zhaonian's reaction.
A crack appeared in his calm expression the moment Zheng Chuan opened his mouth.
Li Tangyan covered the microphone with her hand.
As if assuming he was too busy to deal with her right now, she lowered her voice, but couldn't hide her laughter: "Sixth Brother Zhao?"
"I--"
The words that were not yet finished came to an abrupt halt with Wen Zhaonian's next action.
Her almond-shaped eyes opened slightly, still looking a little dazed.
He had parked the black Audi on the side of the road at some point, and his hand, which had been on the steering wheel, suddenly gently pinched her face.
His eyes were pitch black, like whirlpools rising from a calm lake, capable of engulfing her completely in an instant.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
