Chapter 125: Ming Dai, My Heart Hurts So Much! A Strange Friendship.

Ming Dai was startled. “Pee?! Then go to the bathroom!”

Why was he suddenly so obedient now?!

At that moment, Zhou Sinian poked his head out from under the blanket, his eyes red as he complained, “You told me to stay in bed these past two days!”

Ming Dai was so exasperated that she almost fainted. “Go now! Are you seriously planning to pee in bed?!”

Only then did Zhou Sinian struggle out from under the covers and drift toward the bathroom.

Ming Dai stood by the door holding the tray, waiting. But after a while, she didn’t hear any sound of running water.

Was the room’s soundproofing really that good?

Just as she was starting to wonder, Zhou Sinian’s tearful voice came from inside. “Ming Dai! I can’t pee!”

Ming Dai: I could definitely pee right now!!!

Hearing the rising panic in his voice, Ming Dai became worried that he might suddenly open the door and come out. So she took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and began whistling softly outside the door.

The cheerful whistle echoed through the bedroom and slipped in through the bathroom door crack.

Soon enough, the sound of trickling water could be heard. Ming Dai’s face turned redder and redder as she listened.

Oh heavens!

She had learned to whistle back then because her senior told her it was a good way to flirt with girls. She copied him, planning to use it to charm handsome boys.

Who would’ve thought — not only did she fail to attract any handsome guys, but she ended up using it on her big “son,” Zhou Sinian.

She was exhausted in her heart.

Being a mom really wasn’t easy!

After a long while, the sound of water finally stopped.

Seemed like he had been holding it in for quite some time.

Ming Dai gave instructions through the door, telling him to wash up before coming out to eat.

Zhou Sinian responded loudly. Soon, the scent of roses drifted out from the bathroom. It was the rose-scented soap Zhou Sinian had gone to find in the storage room himself.

Ming Dai placed the food on the small table by the bedside and waited for him to come out.

She glanced at the wrinkled bedsheets and found them more and more unpleasant to look at. Finally, she couldn’t resist standing up and changing the sheets.

“Such a grown man! How can he twist the sheets into this mess? Honestly! This house would fall apart without me!”

She muttered while stuffing the bedsheets into the washing machine on the balcony.

As she was stuffing them in, she suddenly felt something was off.

Why did these words sound so familiar? In her past life, she had heard them repeatedly in videos of mothers complaining!

Zhou Sinian was truly poisonous!

He had successfully tricked her into acting like a mother!

When Zhou Sinian came out, he was greeted by the sight of Ming Dai looking utterly defeated, her face full of despair.

He glanced at the food on the table — two bowls of plain congee, two salted duck eggs, and a plate of soft, milky steamed buns. Zhou Sinian thought it looked pretty good. He picked up a bun, took a bite, sat down, and didn’t forget to call out to her. “Ming Dai, come eat!”

Ming Dai looked at the carefree Zhou Sinian and shook her head before sitting down to eat breakfast with him.

After breakfast, Zhou Sinian’s condition improved significantly. At least, when he went to the bathroom now, he no longer floated around like a ghost.

Over the next few days, Ming Dai still didn’t let him go out. She continued making him rest in bed.

After drinking so much medicine that he started to feel frustrated, Zhou Sinian frowned and asked Ming Dai for some yarn. He wanted to knit himself another sweater as a reward for enduring all this.

Without a word, Ming Dai quietly found some red yarn for him. This time, Zhou Sinian planned to knit a solid-color sweater.

In the past two days, he had stopped having nightmares, and his condition had stabilized a lot.

Ming Dai watched him skillfully cast on stitches, his fingers hooking and winding the yarn so quickly that a neat row began to take shape.

Taking advantage of his good mood, Ming Dai casually asked, “Zhou Sinian, why did you sneak into the storage room in the middle of the night? Were you hungry?”

Zhou Sinian’s hands paused, his movements slowing down.

Ming Dai immediately sensed something was wrong and quickly changed the subject. “Were you hungry and went to look for something to eat?”

Zhou Sinian still didn’t respond, but his hands grew clumsy. He misplaced his stitches, and soon, the neat row of yarn unraveled.

Ming Dai fell silent, quietly watching him.

Just when she thought Zhou Sinian wouldn’t answer, he finally looked up.

His reddened eyes were vacant and hollow. He wasn’t crying, yet Ming Dai felt as if his heart had shattered into pieces.

“Ming Dai, I saw a tiger tear someone apart and eat them. There was so much blood. They screamed in pain.

That person saved me. They told me to run. But I forgot about them. I can’t even remember their face. I only remember their voice… and all that blood… so hot, so scalding.

Ming Dai, whenever I think of them, my heart hurts so much.”

Ming Dai watched as the light in his eyes gradually dimmed, unsure of how to comfort him.

So this was the real fear — not the tiger itself, but the memory of watching it tear someone apart. Someone who had saved him. That person was likely his family, his comrade, or a close friend.

That was the true source of his fear.

In the end, she simply sat quietly beside Zhou Sinian, took the tangled yarn from his hands, patiently straightened out the knots and mistakes, and handed it back to him.

Zhou Sinian accepted it and continued knitting. But as his fingers moved, the yarn gradually became wet.

…

Because of Zhou Sinian’s illness, Ming Dai missed the last chance to deliver vegetables to the county. In the end, Liu Dazhu went with Liu Laosan to make the delivery in her place.

And the plan she’d had — to sell gift baskets — also fell through.

She gave some food to Liu Dazheng and asked him to continue weaving. She would still need those baskets after the New Year.

Liu Dazheng happily agreed and even asked why his brother Sinian hadn’t come along.

Ming Dai told him that Zhou Sinian had caught a cold and was resting at home.

Liu Dazheng expressed his sympathy for his brother’s illness and handed Ming Dai a basket with a strange and unique design, telling her it was to help Zhou Sinian pass the time and cheer him up.

Ming Dai brought it back and gave it to Zhou Sinian.

When Zhou Sinian saw the basket, he was delighted. He immediately cut off a small piece of the red yarn he had been knitting and handed it to Ming Dai, explaining that this was his return gift. He told her to make sure Liu Dazheng received it.

Ming Dai held up the piece of yarn — not even a meter long — and looked at Zhou Sinian. After confirming that he was completely serious, she went to Liu Dazheng’s house in a daze.

What kind of person gives someone a piece of yarn as a gift?!

Unless the person receiving it wasn’t exactly normal either!

Liu Dazheng looked at the piece of yarn and smiled with great joy.

He carefully stroked the yarn with his fingertips, treating it as though it were a treasure.

After cherishing it for a while, he wrapped the yarn in a piece of old cloth, then solemnly instructed Ming Dai to thank Zhou Sinian for him, saying he had received his heartfelt gesture.

Ming Dai: ???

Received it?!!

He didn’t say anything — how could Liu Dazheng possibly know what his “heartfelt gesture” was?!

Ming Dai returned home full of confusion and reported Liu Dazheng’s thanks to Zhou Sinian exactly as it was.

Zhou Sinian smiled with satisfaction after hearing it.

Ming Dai: ?????

What on earth did it all mean?!!!

Ignoring her confusion and frustration, the two men continued to exchange gifts and messages, even though they hadn’t met in person. During these exchanges, Ming Dai, the little messenger, played an essential role.

Every time Ming Dai returned home carrying another basket, she couldn’t help but sigh. She felt like she was back in university, delivering love letters on someone else’s behalf.

But having something to focus on seemed to help Zhou Sinian. His condition steadily improved — aside from the occasional nightmare at night, his body and emotions gradually returned to their previous state. Ming Dai slowly began to allow him to move around and leave his room.

However, from that point on, Zhou Sinian never took the initiative to go into the storage room again. Even when he accompanied Ming Dai there, he would only stand at the doorway, refusing to step inside.

Even though Ming Dai had already hidden the box containing the tiger bones, his rejection remained strong.

Ming Dai began to consider how she might help him overcome this deep-rooted fear. Only by removing his aversion to tigers could he truly wake up. Perhaps this incident was the key to unlocking his chaotic, tangled memories.

Before she could figure out a solution, the New Year quietly arrived.