Chapter 22

Huo Beiqing paused. “Are you hungry?”

Xia Ruanruan shook her head and opened the package she had brought. “Mom asked me to bring you some tonic herbs and told me to brew them for you,” she said, while eyeing him up and down.

Huo Beiqing ignored her suspicious gaze and simply said, “Throw them away.”

Xia Ruanruan immediately protested with a smile. “How could I? This is Mom’s kindness. She specially got these herbs to help you recover. You can’t let her down.”

Huo Beiqing smirked. “You’re sure?”

Xia Ruanruan felt something was off but replied, “Mom specifically told me to bring them. She even reminded me to make sure I brewed them for you since you’ve been working overtime.”

Huo Beiqing’s smirk deepened. “Do you know what these herbs are for?”

Xia Ruanruan shook her head. She really didn’t.

Huo Beiqing leaned in slightly, his voice low by her ear. “They’re for fertility.”

Xia Ruanruan: “…”

Huo Beiqing patted her shoulder. “Xia, listen to advice and eat well.”

Xia Ruanruan: “…”

While Huo Beiqing went to shower, Xia Ruanruan completely gave up on the idea of brewing the tonic. She took out the herbal packets, wrapped them in old newspapers she found in the room, and left them by the door.

She had no idea where the garbage room was, and it was too dark outside. She was scared, so she left them there for now.

Just as she finished handling the herbs, Huo Beiqing came out of the bathroom.

Xia Ruanruan asked, “Where’s the blanket?”

“In the closet in that room,” he pointed to the left-hand bedroom.

Xia Ruanruan got up to get it.

Huo Beiqing wasn’t lying. There was indeed only one thick blanket.

Xia Ruanruan thought, Sleeping under this thick blanket for a night will definitely make me sweat a lot.

But right now, there were no better options—she’d just have to make do!

Tomorrow, she would find a way to get a new blanket and a new bed.

Yes, everything was off to a good start.

Carrying the thick blanket with some difficulty, Xia Ruanruan placed it on the sofa and then grabbed her clothes. “I’m going to take a shower!”

Humming a tune, she ran off to the bathroom.

Huo Beiqing wiped his hair and shook his head with a smile.

By the time Xia Ruanruan returned, the thick blanket on the sofa was gone, replaced by a thin one—the one that had been on the bed earlier.

Seeing the thin blanket, Xia Ruanruan hurried to Huo Beiqing’s room and knocked.

“Dr. Huo.”

“Dr. Huo, are you asleep?”

“Asleep,” Huo Beiqing replied, lying on his back in bed.

“Dr. Huo, about the blanket outside…”

“I switched them. Letting you sleep on the sofa while I use the thick blanket—if word got out, people would say I have no conscience.”

“You use the thin one, I sleep in the bed—just right, fair and square.”

“Alright, it’s late. Go to sleep.”

“Then… good night.”

Standing at the door, Xia Ruanruan even foolishly waved her hand, but realizing that Huo Beiqing couldn’t see her, she quickly stopped.

After saying good night, Huo Beiqing didn’t respond immediately. Xia Ruanruan paused for a moment and was about to head back to the sofa when a voice suddenly came from the room.

“Good night.”

Xia Ruanruan: “…Ah, good night, good night. Dr. Huo, rest well.”

Her mood instantly brightened.

She was polite to others, so they should be polite to her too!

Turning off the light, she curled up on the sofa. It wasn’t as comfortable as her floor mat at home, but… things were improving step by step!

If she had stayed at the Huo family home sleeping on the floor, who knew how long she’d have to endure that?

But now, sleeping on the sofa—though small—meant that tomorrow she could buy a bed and finally have her own.

With hopeful thoughts, Xia Ruanruan quickly fell asleep.

Inside his room, Huo Beiqing lay under the thick blanket, quickly getting overheated and unable to sleep. He got up, opened the door, and walked around for a bit.

Seeing Xia Ruanruan sleeping soundly on the sofa, Huo Beiqing once again looked on with envy.

Such good sleep—she could doze off immediately, even on a sofa in a new place.

After watching for a moment, he returned to his room, opened the window, stuck out his arms and legs, and tossed and turned for half the night before finally managing to fall asleep