Chapter 12: Favoring Daughters Over Sons

After coaxing Feng Zhixiao for a long time and finally getting her to fall asleep, Sheng Xia dragged her aching body into the living room to look for medicine.

Feverish and dazed, she popped a pill into her mouth, picked up a glass cup to get water, and accidentally scalded her thumb with the boiling water. With a sharp intake of breath, the cup slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor, splashing her foot with hot droplets.

She crouched down in pain and then just slumped down onto the floor. The bitterness of the fever medicine lingered in her mouth, worsening her already uncomfortable state. She opened her mouth and spat the pill out onto the ground.

Sheng Jun, bleary-eyed in a white tank top and black shorts, opened the bedroom door and froze at the sight of Sheng Xia sitting among broken glass. He instantly sobered up and rushed to help her. “Sheng Xia, what happened?”

“Don’t come closer, the floor’s covered in broken glass,” she said through gritted teeth, clutching her hand. “I scalded myself with hot water.”

Sheng Jun turned on the living room lights, carefully avoided the shards, squatted beside her, and inspected her hand. He poked at the reddened area with his finger. “Seriously? It’s just a tiny burn and you’re sitting here all dramatic. I thought you scalded your whole hand or something.”

When he poked it, Sheng Xia yelped in pain and shot him a glare that told him to try it himself and see how it felt.

“Move, move. Go sleep.”

“Sleep what? I’ll clean this up. You rinse your hand under cool water.”

Obediently, Sheng Xia went to rinse it. Sheng Jun swept and mopped the floor spotless, dumped the shards into the trash, and noticed a white pill stuck inside the dustpan.

He returned from the kitchen just in time to see Sheng Xia, still moving sluggishly, heading back to her room after rinsing her hand.

“You’re sick?” he asked, stopping her. “There was a pill in the glass shards. You didn’t take your medicine?”

Her face was flushed, lips pale. “It’s fine. Just a little fever. I’ll take medicine and sleep it off.”

Sheng Jun touched her forehead and was shocked. “You’re burning up! Get dressed, we’re going to the hospital.”

“Is it that bad? I can’t really feel it…”

“If you wait until you can feel it, you’ll be roasted by then.”

She rolled her eyes. “…”

Sheng Jun flicked her forehead. “Stop looking at me and go get changed.” He pushed her into the room.

Their noise woke up their parents. Sheng Jun reassured them and told them to go back to bed.

Mrs. Sheng peeked out, concerned. “Can you handle it alone? Maybe I should go with you. Don’t make her worse.”

“Mum, don’t you trust me at all? I’m almost thirty!”

“Almost being the keyword. You’re just as unreliable as when you were a kid.”

Mr. Sheng chuckled, pulled his wife back inside. “Let him go. He’s just taking her to the hospital. What could go wrong?”

Sheng Xia couldn’t be bothered to change. She just threw on a coat over her pajamas and waited at the entrance.

It started drizzling again. The wind chilled her, and she hugged herself, sneezing as a gust blew by.

Sheng Jun soon pulled up and honked. Sheng Xia got in.

“You didn’t even wear a hat or mask?”

“I’ll be fine. The car’s warm.”

“Yeah, until you step out and the wind hits you.” He rummaged in the back seat and found a blue wool hat and a disposable mask.

“Put these on.”

He rarely used such a stern tone—it actually made him seem like a proper big brother.

Sheng Xia obediently put them on but soon noticed something. She leaned back, eyes sparkling.

“Hey… why do you have a girl’s hat in your car?”

The hat was clearly feminine—a royal blue knit hat.

Sheng Jun started the car, flipped on the headlights, and turned toward the hospital. “Grown-up stuff. Mind your own business.”

She only called him “brother” when she wanted something or was fishing for gossip.

“Pfft. You? Grown-up?”

“I used to change your diapers, you know.”

Sheng Xia massaged her temples, too feverish to argue. She snorted and leaned back with her eyes closed.

Her head ached, her neck hurt, her whole body felt like it was burning. She quickly lost the energy to banter.

She didn’t even know when she fell asleep again. When she woke, Sheng Jun was carrying her on his back, arms supporting her legs.

When she moved, he tightened his grip. “Don’t move. We’re almost there.”

He pushed open the hospital room door. The air reeked of disinfectant. He laid her on the bed, then ran out to find a nurse to start an IV drip.

Sheng Xia watched him run around—calling nurses, paying fees—and her heart softened. He might be a mess most of the time, but in moments like this, he really did act like an older brother.

When she woke again, it was morning.

She felt much better. Her forehead was still warm, but it wasn’t serious. The IV was done, and the drip bags hung empty beside the bed.

She reached into her coat pocket for her phone to call Sheng Jun, but then heard his voice outside the door, on a call:

“She’s fine now, Mom. Don’t worry, I’m taking good care of your precious daughter… What? You’re already here? Geez, you two don’t trust me at all, huh? I’m not gonna lose her or anything… Fine, fine. Wait at the hospital entrance. Yes, the doctor said she needs three days of IVs…”

A few minutes later, he walked in carrying breakfast. He tossed a sandwich onto her lap, and she caught it mid-air.

“Whoa, the mighty Sheng family princess is awake?”

Only then did Sheng Xia notice the dark circles under his eyes.

“Xiao Junzi, thanks for your royal service. Go home and sleep.”

“Your humble servant dares not. I haven’t even reported your condition to the Emperor and Empress yet. If you’re awake, get up quick—before they barge in worrying about a single strand of your hair.”

Sheng Xia burst out laughing. “You’re too much!”

“Hey, I’m the lowest ranking person in this house.”

As they left the room, Sheng Xia took a bite of her sandwich and asked, “You couldn’t get me some milk? Trying to choke me or what?”

Sheng Jun twirled his car keys. “Wow, you saw through my subtle assassination plot? Impressive.”

Sheng Xia took a big bite. “Screw you!”

He wasn’t wrong—right outside the hospital, their parents came rushing over, asking about her health.

Mrs. Sheng even suggested she take time off work.

“You’ve been working overtime every day—taking a break is totally reasonable. Or is your boss not allowing it?”

“Mum, it’s not that. I really have things to do. I can’t take time off.”

From the driver’s seat, Sheng Jun cut in with a sour tone: “Wow, Mum, your favoritism is showing. When I stayed home, you nagged nonstop. Now Sheng Xia says she can’t rest, and you’re forcing her to take time off?”

Mrs. Sheng said, “That’s different! She was working like crazy last month, coming home at 11 every night!”

“My work is hard too! She works for capitalists who exploit the working class. I serve the people—I contribute to society. My work is more meaningful!”

Bad move. The moment he brought that up, Mrs. Sheng nearly laughed out loud.

“Serve the people? You catch stray cats and mess with beehives. What have you done for society, exactly? You only contributed to that old man’s vet bill—he scammed you out of 10,000!”

“Muuuum…” Sheng Jun groaned. “You still remember that?”

“Relax. Just mess up a few more times and I’ll stop bringing it up.”

Mr. Sheng chimed in. “Yeah, we’re keeping track.”

Sheng Jun groaned, “Dad, seriously? Even you’re against me now? Am I even your biological son? You’re all gonna nag me to death!”

Sheng Xia couldn’t stop laughing. Her smile had been plastered on since she got in the car.

Summer weather was unpredictable. After the rain, the sun came out, and soon the streets were dry. The city of A turned back into a sauna.

Feng Zhixiao invited Sheng Xia to party at a bar. Sheng Xia negotiated it down to a girls’ night at Feng’s place instead.

After her IV, she brought over spicy crayfish and cake. Feng opened the door and blinked. “Why’d you bring these? Weren’t we supposed to get drunk tonight?”

Sheng Xia saw her swollen, red eyes and smiled. “To celebrate, of course! Happy Singlehood! Free from that scumbag!”

“Boohoo… You’re so mean! I’m still heartbroken and you’re celebrating?!” Feng cried and lunged for the food.

“Hey, hey, don’t!” Sheng Xia nimbly dodged, squeezed through the door, and slipped inside. “I’ve been craving this stuff for days! My mom wouldn’t let me eat spicy food, so I came here for a proper meal.”

Feng shut the door and blew her nose loudly. “Is that even human talk? I’m sobbing my heart out while you’re stuffing your face. Are you really my friend or just a toxic roommate?”

Sheng Xia placed the food on the table, raised a dainty hand, swayed her hips dramatically, and said in a cutesy voice, “Of course~ All beautiful women are poisonous. So tell me… have you fallen under my spell?”

She blew her a playful kiss.