Feeling a little guilty that Chi's mother had gone through so much trouble, Shen Tangning told her to go back and rest, assuring her that she would take care of things here.
Chi's mother didn't try to take it from her; she smiled and covered her lips as she left.
When she arrived at the bedside, Chi Yan was still fast asleep. His forehead temperature had dropped a little. She instructed Xue Qing to bring a basin of cold water, wrung out a damp cloth, folded it, and laid it flat on his forehead.
She frowned slightly as she gazed at his face.
Because he had been so busy lately, he had visibly lost a lot of weight. A light blue tinge appeared under his eyelids, his nose was high and straight, and his cheeks were slightly sunken, making his features even more defined.
Everyone gets tired, but she never heard Chi Yan complain once. He always seemed to be in complete control and never mentioned the setbacks he had encountered.
Unconsciously, her fingertips traced his eyebrows and eyes, and a hint of heartache, which she herself did not realize, was revealed in her eyes.
With her fingertips curling slightly, Shen Tangning composed herself and continued to wipe other parts of his body with a cold cloth. The doctor had told her before leaving that she needed to be careful and not let his high fever recur.
She didn't delegate the task of taking care of Chi Yan to anyone else; she did it herself. Xue Qing presented the medicine she had prepared:
"Miss, be careful, it's hot. Let it cool down a bit before feeding."
After letting the medicine cool for a while, Shen Tangning scooped it up spoonful by spoonful, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to Chi Yan. He was unconscious at the moment, so feeding him the medicine was a bit difficult.
But she was very patient and her movements were gentle and meticulous. Although it took some effort, she managed to feed him the whole bowl of medicine.
Noticing her tired expression, Xueqing pursed her lips and softly suggested, "Miss, why don't you go and get some sleep? There are servants here to look after you. We'll call you if there's any disturbance."
She had been helping to distribute porridge during the day and was exhausted. She also had to take care of her son-in-law at night. How could her body possibly keep up?
Shen Tangning smiled slightly and turned her head: "You've been busy all day, so you should rest early. I'll rest when I'm tired."
Xueqing couldn't refuse her, so she trimmed the wick, quietly closed the door, and went out.
Shen Tangning originally intended to take a short nap by the bedside and check on him again in the middle of the night to see if his fever continued, but she inadvertently fell asleep.
The candlelight flickered and crackled. Chi Yan slowly opened his eyes, feeling a warm breath on his neck. Turning his head, he saw this scene—
Shen Tangning nestled beside him, her lips slightly pursed. Her thick, curled eyelashes cast a shadow on her eyelids, and her fair skin was delicate and radiant, with even the fine downy hairs on her face clearly visible.
As he looked at it, the corners of his lips unconsciously curled up.
Her body still felt weak and heavy from illness. Chi Yan propped himself up, moved gently to the floor, and picked her up.
Perhaps exhausted, Shen Tangning, who is usually a light sleeper, did not wake up. Instead, she turned over and rested her head against his chest, sleeping even more soundly.
Chi Yan's gaze softened further as he placed her on the couch, covered her with a light blanket, and lay down beside her.
He couldn't sleep, so he turned to his side, rested his head on his arm, and looked at Shen Tangning. The more he looked at her, the more he felt that everything about her suited his taste. He wanted to steal a kiss from her, but halfway through pouting, he remembered that he was still sick and was afraid of passing on his illness to her, so he could only regretfully give up.
Chi Yan rolled her eyes. If she couldn't kiss him, holding hands would be fine, right?
He grasped her soft hand, which calmed him down until drowsiness returned and he closed his eyes again.
——
The next morning, Shen Tangning woke up with a start. Before she could even realize how she was in bed, she instinctively touched Chi Yan's forehead and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he no longer had a fever.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
