Chapter 14 It’s ok, just treat him as a dead person

But when he entered the room, a problem immediately hit him: who was supposed to help Ye Wuyou bathe? Her hands were still wrapped in gauze; forget bathing, she couldn’t even hold a bowl to drink water by herself.

Ling Yu had no idea what to do. After being drenched for so long, her body must be freezing and miserable. If she didn’t soak in hot water to drive out the chill, he genuinely feared she’d fall ill.

After pouring all the hot water into the big basin, he looked at Ye Wuyou, who was still standing stiffly by the side, and suddenly made up his mind.
“Come here, I’ll help you take off your clothes.”

Ye Wuyou’s eyes went wide. Her look seemed to say, Do you even know what you just said?

Faced with her big, glaring eyes, Ling Yu didn’t know what to say either, but he had no choice. He explained hurriedly:
“You’ve been soaked in the rain all day. If you don’t soak in hot water to dispel the cold, I’m afraid you’ll catch a cold. Come on, don’t just stand there. After all, we’re husband and wife now.”

“Wait—don’t you have a sister or mother in the house? Or even your father?” Ye Wuyou suddenly realized—she’d been here this long and had never seen Ling Yu’s mother.

At the mention of his mother, Ling Yu instantly fell silent.

What Ye Wuyou didn’t know—since she’d always been kept busy with chores at home—was that Ling Yu’s parents had suffered the same fate as hers. During last year’s massive flood, they sacrificed themselves while saving his younger brother and were swept away by the current. That was why he had been forced to leave the army and return home to care for his little brother.

Sensing the shift in his mood, Ye Wuyou realized she had asked the wrong question. But the situation was still extremely awkward. Her clothes were soaking wet, a tub of hot water was waiting, and her hands were uselessly bound up like dumplings. She couldn’t undress herself to bathe. She couldn’t just climb in fully clothed, and afterward she’d still need someone to help her get dressed again.

“How about this—you close your eyes, help me undress, and then leave?” Ye Wuyou tried to negotiate, her cheeks burning. For all her shamelessness in daily matters, she still felt incredibly embarrassed at the thought of letting someone she wasn’t familiar with undress her.

Ling Yu understood her shyness. He knew better than to make light of it. He nodded seriously.
“Alright. Come to the basin. I’ll undress you, you soak for a while, then climb straight into bed. After that, I’ll come back and help you dress.”

Hearing this, Ye Wuyou finally sighed in relief. She had worried he wouldn’t agree. If he peeked, well, she couldn’t do much about it. Her clothes had to come off tonight, no matter what.

And so, with his face beet-red, Ling Yu shut his eyes tight and helped strip her wet clothes away before guiding her into the water. Then he grabbed her discarded clothes and hurried out of the room.

Submerging herself fully into the steaming basin, Ye Wuyou took a deep breath. She had never been this humiliated in her life.

Forget it. Once I regain my strength, I’ll just get rid of Ling Yu. Then he’ll be as good as dead to me. Even if a dead man has seen my body, it won’t matter.

Yes, despite everything, Ye Wuyou still wanted Ling Yu dead. Who told him to always have such a foul mouth and look down on her? So what if he had helped her? She was a heartless person anyway.

Outside, as Ling Yu washed her soaked clothes, he sneezed suddenly. He could never have imagined that the girl he cared for so earnestly wished him dead. Truly, good intentions were being treated like donkey liver and lungs.

After soaking, Ye Wuyou quickly stood up, slipped into her personal space to take care of business, and relieved herself. She was grateful she hadn’t eaten much these days—at least she didn’t need to do a number two. With her useless hands, she couldn’t imagine how she would manage that. Even if there had been women in Ling Yu’s household, it would have been humiliating.

When she came back from her space, she dove straight under the quilt. Thankfully, Ling Yu had tidied it beforehand, so it covered her snugly. Otherwise, when he came in to dress her later, she might have been completely exposed.

After finishing with the laundry, Ling Yu came back and knocked on the door when he heard no sound inside.
“Are you done bathing?”

“I’m done. Come in,” Ye Wuyou answered.

Ling Yu entered and saw her lying under the covers. He placed the dry clothes on the bed and said, “Give me your hands. I’ll help you get dressed.” He turned his head aside after speaking.

Ye Wuyou sighed again. Clothes were a must—she would be sharing a quilt with Ling Yu tonight. Though his eyes were shut, in the process of dressing her, his hands inevitably brushed places they shouldn’t. It was mortifying, but she told herself silently, It doesn’t matter. He’s already a dead man in my eyes. Sooner or later, I’ll kill him.

Once she was dressed, Ling Yu brought her a bowl of ginger soup, sweetened with the brown sugar he had bought earlier. The spicy aroma made Ye Wuyou wrinkle her nose in disgust.
“Do I really have to drink this stuff?” she complained miserably.

“No choice. You must drink it all. Otherwise, if you catch a cold or fever, what then? You getting sick isn’t the problem—I just don’t want you infecting me. You know we’re poor. If I get sick, we can’t even afford medicine, and I’ll be the one suffering,” Ling Yu said mockingly, as if his words were completely serious.

Left with no choice, Ye Wuyou glared at him, then reluctantly drank the soup he held out. As the spicy warmth filled her mouth, she noticed a faint sweetness—it was the brown sugar. The sweetness balanced the pungent ginger, making it surprisingly palatable.

When she finished, Ling Yu pressed her down into bed, covered her with the quilt, and said she needed to sweat it out to ward off the cold.