Chapter 58, "Evening".
Chapter 58
Before going to bed, Shen Yanzhou changed Yu Pan's clothes. Yu Pan only brought two sets of clothes to change into. In addition to the thermal underwear, Yu Pan brought jeans to save space. The fabric was not particularly soft and was not suitable for his current knee injury.
Shen Yanzhou looked at it and simply rummaged through his luggage to find a pair of soft casual pants for him to put on.
Shen Yanzhou was bigger and taller than Yu Pan. When the two of them were together, Yu Pan had to roll up the pant legs several times to fit into Shen Yanzhou's pants.
Yu Pan had been focused on talking to Shen Yanzhou, so she didn't feel anything at the time. But now that she was lying down to sleep, she truly felt uncomfortable.
Bending her legs would aggravate the injury on her knee, while lying flat felt awkward. Yu Pan could only slightly bend her legs and find a less painful position to stay in.
Seeing that Yu Pan was frowning and constantly adjusting his posture, Shen Yanzhou knew that he was uncomfortable, so he got up, took a few of his own clothes, folded them, and placed them under Yu Pan's knees to make his legs feel a little better.
"Is this better?" Shen Yanzhou asked him, to see if he wanted to add some more.
"Yes, it's a little better," Yu Pan replied.
But that's how people are; the more they know they can't move around, the more uncomfortable they feel.
Yu Panping had been lying there for a while when he felt something poking his back and groaned, asking Shen Yanzhou to help him turn over.
Shen Yanzhou had no choice but to move the clothes aside again, support him, and carefully help him turn over.
Just as they settled in, and before two minutes had passed since Shen Yanzhou lay down, Yu Pan whispered again, "Brother, my feet are cold."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yanzhou was about to get up and find another blanket to cover his feet when Yu Pan tugged at his clothes.
"I want you to warm me with your legs, just like before."
Yu Pan was referring to their usual sleeping position in winter: Shen Yanzhou's legs were wrapped around Yu Pan's legs, and Yu Pan's soles were pressed against Shen Yanzhou's calves.
"No way." Shen Yanzhou refused decisively. "You have an injury on your leg. What if I accidentally bump into it while I'm asleep?"
"Just put your leg over here, I'll slowly inch my way over, I promise I'll be very careful," Yu Pan said pitifully, "I definitely won't touch the wound."
Shen Yanzhou had no choice but to sigh inwardly and move her leg, which had been resting against the edge of the bed, closer to Yu Pan. "Don't call me if you hurt yourself."
Yu Pan chuckled twice, slowly moved her feet, and pressed her cold insteps against Chen Yanzhou's warm calves, sighing contentedly, "Alright, now you're not cold anymore."
In the darkness, after hearing his satisfied sigh, Shen Yanzhou couldn't help but raise his hand and pinch his cheek.
A real pain in the neck.
But he likes it.
That night, Yu Pan nestled next to Shen Yanzhou, his nostrils filled with a reassuring scent. Despite his injuries, he slept soundly.
In contrast, Shen Yanzhou hardly slept at all. When turning over, he had to be careful not to roll over onto the person next to him, and he also had to control himself from unconsciously pulling the person into his arms.
Sometimes, if Yu Pan unconsciously moves his leg in his sleep, or groans a few times when he touches his injury, he will immediately wake up to check on the situation, and this happens several times throughout the night.
The next day, Yu Pan was awakened by the sounds of construction work outside. The spot next to her was empty, and the bed was cold. Shen Yanzhou had obviously gotten up and gone to work long ago.
Yu Pan tried to sit up by supporting herself on the bed board, but as soon as she exerted herself, she felt sore all over, especially near her back and shoulders, which were sore and swollen, even more uncomfortable than after harvesting rice all day.
Before he could even struggle to sit up on his own, the door was pushed open from the outside, and Shen Yanzhou walked in carrying steaming hot soy milk and buns. "Awake?"
"Hmm," Yu Pan said, immediately losing her strength when she saw it was Shen Yanzhou. She lay back down and said in a drawn-out, coquettish voice, "Brother, please help me up. My back hurts so much, I can't get any strength in it."
Shen Yanzhou chuckled, walked over, and supported his back with his hand, helping him sit up with a little effort. "Have you learned your lesson yet?"
"It's grown, it's really grown." Yu Pan nodded hurriedly, afraid that he would bring up what happened last night again.
Shen Yanzhou lifted the back of his autumn shirt to take a look. There was no obvious redness or swelling on his skin, so he guessed that he had strained his muscles when he was dragged yesterday. So he said, "I'll put some medicated oil on it and rub it in for you later."
"Huh? Medicated oil..." Yu Pan frowned, her face full of disgust. "It smells awful, can we not use it?"
“No, you have to wipe it off even if it smells bad, or you’ll be in pain,” Shen Yanzhou said.
"..." Yu Pan snorted and fell silent.
However, when Shen Yanzhou actually rubbed the medicated oil in his palm to warm it up and massaged the sore muscles, Yu Pan felt that the tightness and soreness were indeed relieved a lot. He squinted his eyes comfortably and was no longer so averse to the smell of the medicated oil.
After tidying Yu Pan up, Shen Yanzhou brought in a basin of warm water and an empty bucket, and told him to sit on the edge of the bed and brush his teeth.
After Yu Pan finished brushing his teeth, Shen Yanzhou squatted down and carefully examined the injury on his knee. It was cleaned up, and the wound was only slightly red and swollen, with no signs of infection.
Yu Pan's left knee was more injured than his right. While Shen Yanzhou was carrying the water he had used to wash up outside, he tried to get down on his feet. He could barely move a few steps by standing on his right foot and holding onto the wall, but his left leg hurt whenever he put any force on it.
After pouring the water, Shen Yanzhou came in and frowned as he looked at him. "You'll stay in the room these next two days."
“But I want to take my homework.” Yu Pan pointed to her backpack.
For some reason, Shen Yanzhou was amused by his words and helped him to sit down at the desk. He watched as Yu Pan took out a math test paper, draft paper, and two pens from his bag.
"You're quite something, you even remember to bring your homework when you go out," Shen Yanzhou said.
"That's right!" Yu Pan flattened the test paper, and was even a little happy: "Luckily my bag wasn't stolen, otherwise I wouldn't have any homework to hand in when school starts, and that would be terrible."
Hearing this, Shen Yanzhou was both amused and annoyed. She reached out and cupped his face, rubbing it several times. "You, I'm going to check on the construction site. You stay here and behave yourself. Don't run around, understand?"
"Okay, I promise I won't run around." Yu Pan sat at her desk and waved her hand in a serious manner. "Go on, go on, Mr. Shen, go ahead and get busy. I'll take care of things here."
-
Although the Lunar New Year is approaching, it's not yet time for the official holiday, and Shen Yanzhou still has plenty of work to do.
But things are different now. Besides being busy with things at the construction site, he also has to keep the little one in the house in mind all the time, and go back to check on him from time to time, afraid that he might be bored and keep him company for a while.
On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the eve of the Lunar New Year, three days had passed since Yu Pan was injured.
Young people recover quickly. The shallower abrasions on Yu Pan's legs have already scabbed over with brown blood, and she can walk slowly without holding onto the wall, although her posture is not very graceful, and she limps.
The construction site closed two hours early that day, and Tan Ming treated his fellow workers to a meal at a restaurant.
The construction site is full of grown men, and they don't hold their tongues. After a meal and a few drinks, what they say becomes less pleasant to hear.
Shen Yanzhou didn't want Yu Pan to join in the fun, so today he took him to stroll around the relatively bustling streets of Qingyu.
Because he was planning to take Yu Pan out today, Shen Yanzhou was worried that Yu Pan's leg injury would make him tired from walking, so he somehow found a wheelchair for him to sit in, but Yu Pan absolutely refused to get in it.
“My leg is just injured, not crippled,” Yu Pan protested. “I don’t want to sit here.”
"Alright, alright, brother was wrong, we won't sit here." Shen Yanzhou pushed the wheelchair aside. "Then, Panpan, shall we go?"
Yu Pan then gave up.
After arriving at their destination by car, Shen Yanzhou helped Yu Pan, and the two walked slowly along the street.
Yu Pan looked around curiously. The winter climate of Qingyu was actually similar to that of Xishan Village, where they grew up. Both were damp and cold. The difference was that Qingyu was by the sea, so the wind was stronger.
The area they are currently exploring is much more bustling and well-developed than the Qinghu Development Zone where Shen Yanzhou and his group are located.
Perhaps because there are many workers here, there are also many stalls selling snacks and vegetables, creating a lively, down-to-earth atmosphere.
Shen Yanzhou bought Yu Pan several pairs of soft, loose-fitting pants so he wouldn't have to fold the pant legs all the time. He also took Yu Pan to buy a big bag of dried squid that he had been longing for.
That evening, when he got back, Yu Pan couldn't wait to have Shen Yanzhou grill a piece of meat for him over charcoal, so he could enjoy the Little New Year.
After the Lunar New Year, the construction site worked for three more days until the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, when the Spring Festival holiday officially began.
On the 29th, Yu Pan, Shen Yanzhou, and Tan Ming boarded a plane back to Lanzhou.
During the days that Yu Pan had been in Qingyu, Shen Yanzhou did not have the hourly cleaner come to clean the house again.
The house had been uninhabited for over ten days, and even with the doors and windows tightly closed, a thin layer of dust inevitably accumulated. The whole house exuded a desolate atmosphere, and the first thing Shen Yanzhou did upon returning was to call a housekeeper to come and clean it.
At the same time, Yu Pan's leg injuries had mostly healed. The scabs on the shallow wounds on her right knee had fallen off on their own, revealing tender new flesh. Only a few deep wounds on her left knee still had hard, dark brown scabs.
The wound has passed the stage of intense itching as new flesh grows. As long as she doesn't deliberately press or rub the scar, Yu Pan can't feel any pain when stretching or bending her body.
Yu Pan's physical injuries were almost healed, but there was still one thing on his mind: the "settling of accounts" that Shen Yanzhou had mentioned. He knew that Shen Yanzhou hadn't forgotten either, but just hadn't found the time yet, or... was waiting for him to take the initiative?
This felt a bit like being on the guillotine with a knife hanging over one's neck, making Yu Pan feel extremely uneasy.
He and Shen Yanzhou had rarely had any real conflicts since they were young. Even if they had a minor disagreement, they would usually make up on the same day. This was the first time they had ever settled scores like this.
Yu Pan spent the whole night at home feeling uneasy. She watched as Shen Yanzhou busied himself with cleaning and preparing for the New Year, but never mentioned the matter of "settling accounts."
The next day was Lunar New Year's Eve. After the two finished putting up the Spring Festival couplets together, Yu Pan looked at Shen Yanzhou's busy back and finally couldn't help but sneak over and ask in a very casual and low voice, "Brother, you said you'd settle accounts with me when we got home, when are you planning to do that?"
Shen Yanzhou was patting the couplets to make them paste more evenly when he heard this. He paused, turned around, and looked at Yu Pan's worried yet eager expression. A smile appeared in his eyes. "There's no rush now."
"When exactly?" Yu Pan thought to himself, "I hope it's after the New Year. I want to rest for a few days. I don't want to work or do my homework."
"night."
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Author's Note: Panpan: [Cat emoji][Cat emoji][Cat emoji]
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