You shouldn't get wet in the rain when you're sick.
The moment she asked the question, Jiang Jingshu already knew the answer. She hoped that the person who had just reached out to check her forehead was her father, whom she had never seen before, and that her deceased mother could also exist in this world.
Perhaps because she always fantasizes about being loved, she can't help but doubt when real love comes her way.
Is this tender-hearted man her father?
But she knew the answer perfectly well: her father in that world wouldn't show that kind of look in his eyes. That ruthless and decisive father would never have such a tender and loving gaze.
Therefore, she was not very surprised to receive the system's answer, but she was slightly disappointed.
As expected, that person wasn't my father.
"This man is not Your Highness's father from that world. But he is your father's counterpart. You can think of him as your father's reincarnation." The system patiently explained to Jiang Jingshu.
"Isotopes? Reincarnation?" In modern terms, Jiang Jingshu is an out-and-out materialist. She does not believe in reincarnation or karma.
But now, after experiencing time travel herself, her beliefs are slowly wavering. She even wonders what terrible things she did to deserve this result.
Since it is a reincarnation, could she treat him as her father, just to make up for the missing part of family affection in her long life?
Let her experience what it feels like to be loved by her family.
These days, Jiang Jingshu has been recuperating at home, and the system has been teaching her some modern customs.
Tell her about modern people's speaking habits, etiquette in dealing with others, and the current state of humanity.
She then realized what kind of world she lived in: an era without emperors, where all beings were equal.
Jiang Jingshu is also very clever; she no longer speaks with the same tone as in ancient times.
Aside from the fact that she still reflexively wanted to kneel upon seeing that face that resembled her father's, Jiang Jingshu thought, this must be the majesty of an emperor. After all, her father, whom she rarely saw, now appeared before her every day.
She picked up her phone from beside her pillow. Over the past few days, she had roughly figured out how the phone worked. Following her memory, she opened WeChat and found many unread messages.
Jiang Jingshu opened the first chat box and saw that the message was from a friend, asking how she was feeling and when she would go back to school.
She replied briefly and scrolled down.
Teacher Zhou: Jing Shu, I had Xie Zhijin bring your recent test papers back to you.
Xie Zhijin?
Who is this? Was she Jiang Jingshu's good friend?
Before I could think about it, a friend request suddenly came through on my phone.
Xie: I am Xie Zhijin.
Upon seeing the friend request, she thought, "They probably aren't good friends."
Otherwise, why wouldn't they even have contact information?
Jiang Jingshu quickly clicked "agree." The next second, a message came from the other end.
"Your teacher asked me to bring you the test paper. I'm at the entrance of your neighborhood. Could you come down here?"
It was drizzling outside. Jiang Jingshu was in a hurry and didn't turn back to get an umbrella so as not to keep the other person waiting too long.
The first thing that struck her when she saw Xie Zhijin was his hand carrying a pink backpack.
It feels somewhat out of place.
Jiang Jingshu quickly took the schoolbag and politely thanked him.
"Why didn't you bring an umbrella?" The boy asked, noticing Jiang Jingshu's hair was wet from the rain and remembering her illness.
"This little rain is nothing. Thank you for making the trip." Jiang Jingshu slung her backpack over her shoulder, glanced at the weather, and prepared to say goodbye to Xie Zhijin. "You should head back while the rain is still light."
Xie Zhijin did not hesitate for a moment and held the umbrella over Jiang Jingshu's head.
Noticing that the rain was being kept out by the umbrella, Jiang Jingshu looked up and met Xie Zhijin's gaze.
Jiang Jingshu subconsciously took a step back. After all, for Jiang Jingshu, it was a very inappropriate thing to do for a man and a woman to share an umbrella.
"Really, there's no need to trouble yourself. Thank you for coming all this way. I'll head back now," Jiang Jingshu said, turning to leave.
“Take the umbrella. You’re not fully recovered yet, getting wet in the rain will only make things worse.” Seeing that Jiang Jingshu was about to leave, Xie Zhijin quickly called out to her.
Jiang Jingshu turned around in surprise upon hearing the voice, "Give it to me? Then how will you get back?"
The rain was showing signs of intensifying, so Xie Zhijin shoved the umbrella into Jiang Jingshu's hands. "I live here too, it's very close, I can just run back. You're still sick, you can't get wet in the rain when you're sick, it will make you even worse."
Xie Zhijin left after speaking. Jiang Jingshu, holding an umbrella, hadn't even had time to say "thank you" when a heavy feeling came from her head.
She had been running a low-grade fever for almost half a month and was now feeling weak all over. She touched her forehead and said weakly, "Help, I think I have a fever again."
"Your Highness, you should hurry home, the rain will get heavier soon."
"How did you know the rain would get heavier?" Jiang Jingshu walked back slowly with her umbrella, each step extremely difficult, and she was about to give up. "But I feel a little weak."
"Your Highness is not fully recovered, so it is normal to feel weak."
The sentence might not have sounded too mechanical, but Jiang Jingshu actually sensed a certain familiarity about it.
Finally, Jiang Jingshu arrived home.
As expected, Jiang Jingshu had a fever again, her temperature reaching 38 degrees Celsius. Lying in bed, she used her last bit of strength to speak, "Is 38 degrees Celsius very hot?" She took the thermometer out from under her arm. "This thing is amazing; it can actually measure body temperature." After saying that, she unconsciously pursed her lips, her voice muffled, as if she were complaining about something.
"This thing is really hard to use."
"It's so uncomfortable to keep it tucked under my armpit all the time."
"Is there no imperial physician here?"
Jiang Jingshu felt that she had been defeated by a fever before she could even successfully grow agave.
"Your Highness, please stop talking. Relax, I'll help you cool down."
As soon as the system finished speaking, Jiang Jingshu indeed felt her forehead cool down, and the cold feeling she had initially experienced gradually subsided.
“My helper, I never imagined you were a physician. If you were in our land, my father would surely have bestowed upon you a high-ranking official position, and your future would be limitless,” Jiang Jingshu said slowly.
"Noisy".
Jiang Jingshu didn't know how long she had slept. When she woke up, the rain had clearly stopped. She opened the window, and the fresh air lifted her spirits. Her gaze shifted to the left, and she saw an umbrella standing in the corner.
She picked up her phone, opened Xie Zhijin's chat window, and recalled the scene of Xie Zhijin handing her the umbrella. A feeling of gratitude welled up inside her. "Help, in this world, what should one do to express gratitude to someone?"
Not receiving a response from the system, Jiang Jingshu decided to rely on her own experience.
She sat at her desk, staring at the paintbrushes on it, lost in thought. "Help, help me, please pay attention to me."
"Your Highness, would you like to paint?"
The system voice came through, and Jiang Jingshu quickly nodded, "You didn't tell me the modern ways to express gratitude, so I can only use my own way."
Why did you decide to donate the painting?
Jiang Jingshu lowered her head. As if lost in thought, she spoke after a long while, "I once had a friend who really liked this way of expressing gratitude."
“Not many people have helped me, so this is the only way I could think of,” Jiang Jingshu said, her thoughts drifting back to what she had been thinking.
Within the inner palace, everywhere you look, there are people who are opportunistic and quick to change their allegiance. Once in power, flatterers abound. Once out of power, those who flattered you become treacherous opportunists.
Jiang Jingshu, though she never gained favor in the palace, had no shortage of people who took advantage of her misfortune.
However, only that person was willing to lend her a hand when she was out of favor with the emperor and suffered endless scorn.
He brought her ancient books and military treatises, telling her never to give up on herself and that only by living well could she show her worth. Zhou Mingyuan, who was the Crown Prince's study companion, seemed to see right through her thoughts.
She wanted her father's approval; she didn't want to be a dispensable, ill-fated princess in the palace; she wanted to prove herself and contribute to the country.
However, Jiang Jingshu couldn't understand why Zhou Mingyuan, the son of the Grand Tutor, would help her so readily when she was clearly of no use to him. She couldn't help but wonder, "Young Master, I only have the title of princess, but not the reality. I can't speak well of you to the Emperor, and I don't receive much monthly stipend. What are you after for being so kind to me..."
Before Jiang Jingshu could finish speaking, Zhou Mingyuan interrupted her, saying, "Your Highness has an extraordinary bearing and is destined for great things. I do not wish for your brilliance to be wasted, and as for my plans..." Zhou Mingyuan bowed slightly, "I have heard that Your Highness is a master of painting and calligraphy. I wonder if I may have the honor of observing your work?"
From then on, whenever Jiang Jingshu met Zhou Mingyuan, she would bring her paintings. She even asked Zhou Mingyuan, "Are you helping me like this just for the paintings?"
Zhou Mingyuan simply accepted her painting after painting, saying to her word by word, "Your Highness's brushwork is exquisite, and I admire it greatly."
Her thoughts drifted back, and Jiang Jingshu, having received no reply from the system, asked again, "There aren't any pens I know how to use here. Do you know where I can buy one nearby?"
Jiang Jingshu didn't know what was wrong with the system. Since she couldn't get a response, she had no choice but to give up. She took out her own pen and tried to draw.
Jiang Jingshu began to copy the umbrella in the corner of the wall. The unfamiliar drawing tools made the process less than pleasant. After finishing, although it was clear that it was an umbrella in the corner, it always lacked a certain charm.
Jiang Jingshu sighed. Such a terrible painting was completely unsuitable as a thank-you gift.
—
Having finally recovered, Jiang Jingshu shouldered her schoolbag and prepared for her high school life.
During her few days off, Jiang Jingshu had learned to draw with a pencil. She carried her finished artwork to school.
When I got to the classroom, I was suddenly surrounded by a hug.
Jiang Jingshu subconsciously staggered back a few steps, lost her balance and fell straight backward.
The pain she was expecting didn't come. She turned her head and found that Xie Zhijin had caught her steadily.
"Are you alright?" Xie Zhijin asked, seeing her dizzy and disoriented state.
"Thank you." Jiang Jingshu felt a little embarrassed, and the next second someone put their hand on her left shoulder.
"Jiang Jiang, are you alright? Do you still have a fever?" A warm touch came from her forehead, and she saw the girl's concerned expression.
"I'm fine..." Jiang Jingshu replied. The girl had big eyes and a charming smile. After hearing Jiang Jingshu's words, she took her arm and said in a coquettish tone, "Jiang Jiang, I'm so bored when you're not around. I send you WeChat messages and you only reply with a few words. Are you feeling better? I heard from my uncle that you always have a fever. My mom brought me some eggs, and they're still warm. She said you're weak and need to eat more to avoid getting sick again."
Jiang Jingshu took the egg; it was warm and comforting. Before she could say anything, the homeroom teacher came in. "Su Xiaoyue, I could hear your voice from far away."
Jiang Jingshu noticed that her arm was suddenly empty; the girl had already quickly sat back down in her seat.
Jiang Jingshu couldn't remember her seat; class hadn't started yet, and not everyone had arrived in the classroom.
Just as she was wondering, she saw Su Xiaoyue immediately get up and put three more packets of fever reducers on Jiang Jingshu's seat. "Oh right, I was afraid you forgot to bring your medicine, so I put it on the table for you. Jiang Jiang, come and sit down."
Jiang Jingshu breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in her seat.
After waiting for the teacher to leave the classroom, Su Xiaoyue sat down in front of Jiang Jingshu again.
"Jiang Jiang, Jiang Jiang, why are you so quiet today? Are you still not feeling well?" Su Xiaoyue asked worriedly when she saw that Jiang Jingshu still seemed listless.
"I'm much better now, don't worry." Seemingly unaccustomed to Su Xiaoyue's enthusiasm, Jiang Jingshu responded somewhat politely.
Seeing that Jiang Jingshu was still listless, Su Xiaoyue didn't say anything more and silently returned to her seat.
Jiang Jingshu watched her retreating figure with a hint of loneliness. She got up and sat down next to Su Xiaoyue.
Su Xiaoyue's eyes lit up as she watched Jiang Jingshu approach. Jiang Jingshu was a little amused and exasperated. She took Su Xiaoyue's hand and solemnly said, "Thank you."
—
The school bell rang. The Chinese teacher was a very young woman, erudite and refined.
She stood on the podium, her eyes sweeping over Jiang Jingshu. "I finally saw my class representative today. It feels like I've missed her for ages."
Jiang Jingshu, who hadn't yet realized the system was talking about her, was tilting her head and pondering how to grow agave when the system's voice pulled her back to reality, "Your teacher is calling you."
After regaining her senses, Jiang Jingshu smiled at her Chinese teacher.
System: Are you just going to smile?
Jiang Jingshu: Shouldn't you be laughing?
The day passed quickly. Jiang Jingshu packed her schoolbag, picked up the umbrella next to her, and planned to walk towards Xie Zhijin's seat.
As soon as she stood up, Su Xiaoyue took her arm. "Jiang Jiang, how about I take you home today?"
"No need, you go first, I'll go return Xie Zhijin's umbrella."
The gaze shifted from Su Xiaoyue to the boy behind her, who was silently calculating something. Sunlight shone on Xie Zhijin's back.
Jiang Jingshu thought that the sunlight shining on her back must be extremely warm.
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