Chapter 38: Things will get better and better for Tian in the future, and Xue will grow up well...
The night was as dark as ink, and the courtyard was silent. Iron Hand hesitated for a moment, then gently knocked on the door.
The door opened quickly from the inside, and a strong sandalwood scent rushed out, almost making Iron Hand choke.
Just one sniff and my lungs felt a dull, oppressive pain, as if they were being invaded and squeezed.
He hurriedly said, "Why are you burning such strong incense? Too much incense is bad for your health."
He carried the food box in one hand and hurriedly pushed the door open wider with the other so that all the incense smoke could escape.
Xuexin stood silently to the side, watching him, noticing the worry and anxiety in his eyes and brows.
Iron Travel Summer...
I was already a person who was about to die.
Why are you the only one who can't understand?
Her gaze never left the young man who always treated her with utmost care.
She thought it was just indifferent observation.
Tie Shou turned around and saw that she was wearing a thin dress. He said worriedly, "Ah Xue, go inside quickly. It's too cold at night."
He stood in the wind and handed over the food box. "I heard from Shuishan that you didn't eat anything last night. You only had some porridge this morning. Is the food not to your liking, or are you feeling unwell and have a poor appetite? Even if you can't eat, you should still eat something. Xue's body is already weak. What will happen if you don't eat properly?"
He rambled on and on, acting more like a loving parent or older brother than a lover.
Just like him, he is down-to-earth and reliable in every aspect.
Xuexin looked at him and said softly, "It's so late, I'm fine."
Iron Hand disagreed, saying, "Even Buddha statues need incense offerings, how can you not?"
Xuexin was taken aback; he wasn't actually eating incense, but instead, he had scattered it all.
A slight smile unconsciously appeared on her lips as she nodded and said, "I do want to eat some. Brother Tie, why don't you eat some with me?"
As she spoke, she reached out and pulled Iron Hand's sleeve, leading him inside.
Iron Hand had intended to give a few words of advice and then leave, since it was already late at night and it was not appropriate for a man and a woman to be alone in a room together.
Although he and Xuexin had confessed their feelings to each other, they hadn't officially started dating. For the sake of her reputation, he had to be careful.
But……
Let's take a second look.
He had already made his plans; he would send Xuexin away first thing tomorrow morning. After this case was settled, he would take her to seek medical treatment, no matter how many places and mountains they had to travel to, as long as she could be cured.
Yes, it's possible. It definitely is.
She was standing perfectly fine in front of him.
Iron Hands, lost in thought, lingered on her excessively pale face. His heart was tightening with each knot of sorrow, layer upon layer, constricting him.
Xuexin was unaware of the worry and reluctance in his eyes, because at any moment, Tieshou only wanted her to be a carefree daylily.
He always hid these emotions very well, only revealing his calm and peaceful side to others, like a mountain standing in front of every difficulty, letting everyone know that he would be there even if the sky fell.
Xuexin looked at the food box in front of her. Its color was very dark, and it looked gray and dull, like the kind that are found everywhere in the streets and alleys.
If I had to describe it in one word, it would probably be "simple and unpretentious".
But her heart was like a spark igniting in the cold night.
It's not hot, and it certainly won't burn your hands.
How many years has she waited for this piece of Mars?
I can't remember.
Upon opening the food box, there was only a small bowl of porridge and a small pot of soup inside.
Iron Hand's large hands gripped the edge of the table slightly helplessly. "There's not enough food in the kitchen. I noticed you only had some porridge for lunch, so I made a bowl of pear and hawthorn porridge. The soup is Buddha's Hand and ginger soup, which is considered medicinal. It can dispel cold and relieve bloating. Try it and see if you like it?"
Xuexin looked at the two bowls of soup and porridge, which appeared thick and bright under the candlelight, and felt a soreness in her wrist as she held the lid of the box.
She said, almost inaudibly, "You did this."
Tie Shou nodded and smiled at her, "My cooking skills are passable, try it and see if you like it."
This smile was as gentle as a spring breeze, yet extremely frank.
Perhaps she was misled by the candlelight.
She lowered her head, scooped up a spoonful of pear and hawthorn porridge, and it melted in her mouth, the texture...
She couldn't taste it.
Humans experience bitterness through their sense of taste, but ghosts have no sense of taste.
This bowl of carefully cooked porridge had no taste, just like the porridge she had eaten that morning, but she seemed to detect a slight sweetness in it.
That alone is enough.
She looked up and gave a relieved smile, "...So sweet."
A warm, radiant yellow tinge spread across her pale cheeks, making her smile appear both lush and hazy under the lamplight.
The large hand that had been gripping the edge of the table finally loosened its grip. Iron Hand felt a great sense of relief and satisfaction, and said with undisguised joy, "Then eat more, okay?"
The candlelight climbed up his bronze face, tinging it with a honey-like hue.
It must be sweet too.
Xuexin subconsciously stirred the porridge in her hand, and said after a beat, "Okay."
At that moment, Tie Shou suddenly felt very close to Xue Xin.
It was a closeness between souls, and he seemed to have been waiting for this moment for a long time.
The closer he got, the more unbearable the heartache became.
What should I do?
What should I do with my snow letter...?
Tie Shou paused, taking a few breaths before calmly saying, "I've thought about it. There's always a way to treat Xue's illness; she's doing fine for now. With the help of a skilled healer and rare remedies, we're far from at our wits' end. Even if you keep thinking about it, you should still eat properly."
“…Right?” He asked her again, seemingly uncertain, for a promise—a promise that she would live well as he had said.
This was the first time Xuexin had heard his voice so weak; there was even a slight tremor in those two words.
She gripped the spoon tightly and ate the porridge spoonful by spoonful. The pear was chewed into powder, and her heart softened as well.
never mind.
Tie Youxia... is different.
She let out a breath, nodded, and said, "Yes, actually, when you think about it, the doctors my parents found were just ordinary clinic doctors."
Her watery eyes met his, and she said softly, "We haven't reached the end of the road yet."
These few words were like a sturdy rope, powerfully pulling the iron hand back from the edge of the cliff.
His eyes welled up with tears as he landed on the ground.
He quickly smiled, squinting his eyes to keep his tears from falling, "Things will get better and better from now on, and Xue will grow up well."
Such gentle words, which she had longed for day and night, had never been uttered to her by her parents.
Xuexin's eyes stung with tears, and she lowered her gaze quietly, saying, "I've grown up a long time ago."
Looking at her tear-streaked eyelashes, Tie Shou felt a pang of sadness and didn't know what to do. A deep sense of guilt welled up inside him, and he hurriedly tried to make amends. "I'm so much older than Xue, but in my heart, Xue will always be a child who never grows up. I... I will always take care of you and protect you."
When he finished speaking, he looked as if he were about to stammer an oath.
Xuexin's hand trembled slightly as she scooped the soup, but she said calmly, "Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"
Iron Hand chuckled, and his large hands came over to gently wipe away the sticky sweet soup from the corners of her mouth.
"Ah Xue is as cute as a seven or eight-year-old child."
That's nonsense.
I am just a long, damp rainy season, unloved and nowhere to be loved.
As Xuexin thought this to herself, it felt as if a crack had opened in her heart, and the sweet broth of the congee was flowing in through the crack.
The temperature is so warm, even ghosts would love it.
Looking at Xue Xin, who was obediently eating soup and porridge under the lamplight, Tie Shou couldn't help but secretly rejoice that his cooking skills were still quite excellent.
Seeing that she had finished eating, Tie Shou stood up to clear the dishes and said with a smile, "I'm so glad that Xue has finished eating."
Xuexin glanced at him, then suddenly lowered her eyes and said, "I haven't finished eating yet."
...
After an incense stick's time, Tie Shou walked out of Xue Xin's house, his face flushed and his head spinning.
He seemed to be thinking of something, and his neck started to feel hot.
What's so sweet, even sweeter...
Hearing that things had finally quieted down in the next room, Tequila let out a heavy sigh of relief. She had thought Xue Xin was a bad person, but she never expected Tie Youxia to be an even bigger beast in human clothing!
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