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Chapter 11: She Woke Up

“Oh my, how can this girl be so pretty?!”

“Her whole body is cold. Is she running a fever?”

“Doesn’t a fever make you hot all over?”

“Our son still says not to take her to the hospital. If she is sick, she needs treatment.”

“I never even knew our son knew such a pretty girl. She fainted—did he kidnap her?”

“Your son tags after that girlfriend of his every day; how could this be?”

“Enough, Mom, Dad, don’t disturb her rest. Out you go, out you go.”

“Look at this child…”

“You brat, don’t you dare take advantage of her!”

Chen Yuan: “…”

Dimly, Clovie heard people talking beside her.

Chen Yuan carried a bowl of freshly cooked rice porridge, set it on the desk, and lowered the air-conditioner another notch.

Logically, her power restored faster in colder air. He kept the room at the lowest setting all night, so she should have woken by now.

Maybe he should place a fan beside her?

Would that give her a cold?

After all, in this new world no one escaped sickness or death.

Clovie was the Snow Queen, so cold helped her recover, just as the Earth Tiger Hero drew endless strength from the ground.

That did not mean she lacked body heat or never needed warmth.

When she felt chilled through, a fire actually soothed her and never slowed her recovery.

In other words, she absorbed the force of frost and snow, not simple temperature.

The two facts never contradicted each other.

Therefore Chen Yuan’s worry looked quite foolish.

Luckily, he still remembered she feared the cold. After every spell practice she trembled and warmed herself by the stove, so he tucked a quilt over her.

An ice queen who disliked cold—Chen Yuan stroked her forehead and felt his heart ache.

“You worked hard, Clovie.”

“Wake up soon; Teacher will show you this world.”

“You will never feel cold or hungry again, and you won’t bother with those messy affairs of the kingdom.”

“Carefree and happy—that is all you need.”

For some reason, those words sounded strangely old-fashioned. Whenever he faced Clovie, some elder instinct awakened in him.

“Cough, cough.”

Clovie coughed twice.

“Clovie?!” Chen Yuan exclaimed.

She slowly opened eyes that glittered like starlight, pale blue and deep.

“You’re awake? Eat something.” Chen Yuan sat on the bed, lifted the bowl, and spoke gently.

The moment she saw him, Clovie threw her arms around him.

She sobbed in a thin voice, “Teacher… I missed you so much… Don’t leave me…”

Fresh from sleep, she cried again without pause.

Chen Yuan froze, then smiled slightly, patted her arm, and coaxed as if she were a child, “All right, Teacher won’t leave. Be good and eat first.”

Perhaps because of his young body, or because decades apart felt like another lifetime, her embrace made him nervous.

Her soft, snow-white, icy body overwhelmed his teenage senses.

In the other world he never felt this; she was his student, a girl he watched grow from sixteen into the youngest queen of Nix Kingdom.

Though still sobbing, the obedient Clovie loosened her jade-white arms from his neck and looked at the porridge.

She had gone days without food, and her stomach growled at the sight.

Grrr…

She blushed and lowered her head.

Chen Yuan frowned slightly, not amused but distressed.

Back in the kingdom her single meal contained hundreds of dishes, a table meters long served only her; now she actually starved.

He scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and held it to her lips.

Clovie merely pressed her red face, then opened her weak, pale cherry mouth.

She took one sip, glanced up at him; another sip, another glance—again and again.

Chen Yuan just kept cooling the porridge, never noticing her little actions.

Soon the warm bowl was empty, yet she still looked hungry.

“Want some more?” Chen Yuan asked softly.

Clovie lowered her head and nodded twice, embarrassed. Her royal pride disdained dependence, yet before her teacher she was a child asking for candy—and her belly still growled.

Chen Yuan read her mind, rubbed her hair, and said kindly, “What? Still shy before Teacher? Relax, I can spare all the food you need.”

In this age, starving to death took real effort.

He rose to fetch more porridge.

As soon as he stood, Clovie grew tense, ready to follow.

“I’m only getting porridge outside and coming right back.” Chen Yuan could not tell whether to laugh or hurt at her anxiety.

His leaving influenced her this much…

Some abandon me as weeds; some treasure me like gold…

Yet Clovie kept the quilt ready to fling aside; if he left the room she would get up for sure.

He surrendered—let her follow, since he really was not leaving.

Chen Yuan stepped out, filled the bowl in the kitchen, and looked back to see her crouching at the doorway, half her head showing, eyes fixed on him like a little white cat.

Honestly…

He filled the bowl, grabbed some snacks, and returned.

Father Chen and Mother Chen in the living room asked at once, “She’s awake? How is she? Do we need a hospital?”

“No. She says it’s just hypoglycemia,” Chen Yuan answered vaguely.

“Hypoglycemia kept her out all night? And such a pretty girl—tell Mom the truth, why didn’t you mention her before?”

When he carried Clovie in last night it was already late, and his parents slept.

He told them the story this morning, which led to the earlier racket.

He only said she was a friend, nothing else.

“Online… we met online, a long time ago,” Chen Yuan invented.

Then he hurried into the room with the bowl.

“Hey, look at that child…” Mother Chen still had questions when he fled.

Even as a mother, curiosity never aged; gossiping about her own son was fun.

“Enough,” Father Chen said. “Our son finally cares for another girl. Good sign. Apart from that girlfriend, he never talked to women. At least he’s not tied to that crooked tree any more.”

Chen Jianye felt relieved.

He never liked Yu Enqi. After seeing countless people, he saw she did not truly love his son.

But his son insisted on her and even changed universities for her.

Back when he himself was young and dashing, girls chasing him lined from one end of the village to the other…

Yet he produced such a useless boy!

Mother Chen sighed in agreement, “True enough…”

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