Chapter 27: Inch by inch, the itch burrows into the bones.

Ling Yunfan thought he would have trouble sleeping, but he slept soundly without any dreams all night.

Ling Yunfan didn’t want to admit that he was so accepting, so he attributed it to the soft and warm bed.

In the cold morning, Ling Yunfan woke up not by natural means, but by pain.

Although the sharp pain in his ankle was hard to ignore, he could bear it, but the other pain was really fierce. In just a moment, it not only violently pulled Ling Yunfan out of his peaceful sleep, but also made his temples and back covered in cold sweat.

That pain was Ling Yunfan’s stomach ache.

After his parents had an accident, Ling Yunfan went through a period of considerable decadence, and it was during this time that he ruined his stomach, which has not been healed to this day.

Although the stomach ache does not torture Ling Yunfan every moment, it suddenly flips him over at some point, catching him off guard.

And now, it’s one of those moments.

At this moment, Ling Yunfan felt as if there was a blunt knife stirring inside his stomach, causing him intense pain. He pressed his stomach tightly, curled up, shivering all over, groaning softly, and taking deep breaths.

At this moment, he needed a cup of warm water and some stomach medicine, but with the bad luck he had, he had injured his foot and couldn’t get out of bed.

Ling Yunfan reached out to grab his phone, but hesitated and withdrew his hand, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain.

He endured like this for who knows how long, until it was bright outside and a gentle knocking sound came from the door.

Ji Canghai’s voice came from outside the door, “Yunfan, are you awake?”

“Um.” Ling Yunfan responded, his voice trembling slightly due to the pain.

He quickly coughed and tried to maintain a normal voice, “I’m awake.”

Ji Canghai keenly sensed something and asked worriedly, “What’s wrong with you? Can I come in?”

“Come in,” Ling Yunfan said.

Ji Canghai pushed the door open and walked to the bed, asking with concern, “Is your foot hurting a lot?”

Ling Yunfan shook his head.

Ji Canghai frowned, “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“No, it’s okay,” Ling Yunfan quickly said.

Ji Canghai said, “Do you know what you look like right now? You’re pale and bloodless. Let me help you change your clothes, and we’ll go to the hospital.”

Seeing Ji Canghai’s firm attitude, Ling Yunfan had to tell the truth, “I…I’m really fine, just a little stomach ache.”

“Stomach ache?” Ji Canghai was surprised.

“Yeah,” Ling Yunfan nodded, “just give me a cup of warm water.”

Ji Canghai quickly got up, went to the living room to pour a cup of warm water, and came back to sit by the bed. He helped Ling Yunfan sit up, hugged him with one hand, and let him lean on his shoulder. With the other hand, he fed him water.

Ling Yunfan was in so much pain that he was barely conscious, and he didn’t care about their posture or being fed water.

After drinking a cup of warm water, Ling Yunfan’s stomach ache eased slightly.

Ji Canghai put Ling Yunfan back on the bed, tucked him in, and left the room with the empty cup.

As the pain eased, drowsiness came over Ling Yunfan, and he slowly drifted into a half-awake, half-asleep state.

In a daze, he felt his stomach slightly warm and the pain gradually dissipating.

Ling Yunfan opened his eyes and saw Ji Canghai half-kneeling by the bed, holding a hot towel and patiently massaging his stomach through his clothes.

“I read online that this can relieve stomach pain,” Ji Canghai said softly, meeting Ling Yunfan’s slightly puzzled gaze.

“Yeah,” Ling Yunfan nodded, “it really works. I don’t feel any pain anymore.”

“That’s good,” Ji Canghai breathed a sigh of relief, but didn’t retract his hand, continuing to massage Ling Yunfan’s stomach.

The warmth of the towel spread from Ling Yunfan’s stomach to his limbs, and finally wrapped around his heart like a vine. Ling Yunfan said, “Ji Canghai, thank you.”

Ji Canghai reached out his free hand and gently rubbed Ling Yunfan’s head.

Just then, the doorbell rang outside.

Ji Canghai withdrew his hand, stood up, made sure Ling Yunfan’s blanket was properly tucked in to prevent any drafts, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

He walked quickly to the entrance and opened the door.

Rong Zhan was standing outside.

Rong Zhan looked just like he did at the company, dressed in a neat light-colored suit vest, with his bangs combed up to reveal delicate and pretty eyebrows and eyes.

“This is what you asked me to bring, painkillers and medicine for stomach problems, as well as millet porridge.” Rong Zhan handed the bag to Ji Canghai.

“Thank you.” Ji Canghai took the medicine and porridge and handed the documents on the side cabinet to Rong Zhan. “I’m not going to the company today. If there’s anything, I’ll contact you by phone.”

“Okay.” Rong Zhan took the documents and asked with concern, “Are you having stomach pain? Do you need me to help you contact a hospital?”

“No need.” Ji Canghai shook his head and closed the door.

Rong Zhan stood at the door and didn’t leave immediately. He looked at the closed door with a thoughtful expression.

Ji Canghai opened the bag, took out the stomach medicine box from the opened package, quickly skimmed through the instructions, and then poured a cup of warm water and brought it into the room.

In just a moment, Ling Yunfan had fallen back into a drowsy state.

“Yunfan, wake up and take your medicine before you go back to sleep.” He leaned over and called Ling Yunfan softly.

“Hmm? Medicine?” Ling Yunfan muttered, looking at Ji Canghai with sleepy eyes. “What medicine?”

Ji Canghai smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. “Estrus-inducing medicine.”

Ling Yunfan instantly woke up and widened his eyes. “What? What is that?”

“Stomach medicine.” Ji Canghai replied.

Ling Yunfan, “…Your previous reply obviously had three words”

“Medicine for Stomachache.” Ji Canghai stretched out his slender fingers and pointed each words to Ling Yunfan, “three words.”

Ling Yunfan, “…”

Was he being treated like a fool just because he doesn’t get angry?

Ji Canghai innocently smiled, his hand passing under Ling Yunfan’s neck, stopping at his shoulder and helping him up. He had the medicine ready in his right hand, which he held out to Ling Yunfan’s lips.

Ling Yunfan was no stranger to being sick for a long time. Looking at the shape of the medicine and the color of the coating, he knew it was indeed stomach medicine. He lowered his head and opened his mouth, sticking out his tongue to roll the medicine.

The soft, wet tongue inevitably touched the palm of Ji Canghai’s hand, causing a slight itch.

The unbearable itch spread inch by inch until it reached Ji Canghai’s spine and lower abdomen.

Ji Canghai, “…”

“Water,” Ling Yunfan said vaguely, holding the medicine in his mouth.

Ji Canghai calmly picked up the water cup placed on the bedside table and handed it to Ling Yunfan’s lips.

Ling Yunfan took a sip of water and tilted his head slightly to swallow the medicine. He drank too quickly, causing some water to spill out of the corner of his mouth.

Ji Canghai stood up and took out a tissue from the box on the bedside table, handing it to Ling Yunfan.

Ling Yunfan took the tissue and wiped his mouth and chin. “Thank you.”

Ji Canghai didn’t respond, just nodded his head. He took out another tissue and walked out of the room while wiping his palms with the paper. He rubbed his palms hard for a long time until they turned red, finally getting rid of that slight itch.

He crumpled the tissue into a ball and threw it into the trash can. Then he went to the kitchen and opened the takeout box containing the millet porridge.

He poured the porridge into a clean porcelain bowl and heated it in the microwave for a few minutes. He then carried it to the room and placed it on a small table next to Ling Yunfan’s bed. After doing all that he gently said, “Have some porridge. Your stomach will feel better.”