Chapter 17: He Mistook Xia Mo for Being Injured

Xia Mo went to a secluded spot and entered a convenience store, quickly grabbing a pack of sanitary pads from the shelf.

It felt amazing to have an entire convenience store at her disposal, taking whatever she wanted without worrying about cost-effectiveness or searching for discount tags. She simply picked the most expensive brand.

Next, she grabbed two heating pads from another shelf.

As she passed the medicine section, she noticed that there was now a box of menstrual pain relief patches and a box of womb-warming patches.

With the womb-warming patches available, she figured she didn’t need the heating pads anymore. She put the heating pads back and took the womb-warming patches instead.

Since drinking warm water was essential during her period, she also grabbed a bottle of mineral water and placed it inside the hot drinks cabinet. That way, when she came back later, it would be at the perfect temperature.

After finishing up, she returned to the real world and took care of her personal matters in the secluded spot.

She applied the pain relief patch, then placed the womb-warming patch on top. The warmth spreading across her abdomen felt incredibly comforting.

Just as she finished, she turned around and was startled to see Xiao Jingyuan standing there.

“What are you sneaking around here for?”

Before Xia Mo could respond, Xiao Jingyuan spoke first.

“I’m solving a physiological problem. Of course, I’d be sneaky about it. But what about you? Why are you following me so secretively?”

She fired back immediately, not letting him take the lead in the conversation.

Xiao Jingyuan remained indifferent and said coolly, “I followed you because you were acting sneaky.”

Xia Mo was speechless.

“If you needed to use the latrine, why didn’t you just call me?”

Xia Mo: “…” Do I need to call you when I go to the latrine?

“You ran so far away alone. It’s not safe. Next time, take me with you.”

Uh… So he was worried about her safety? She had thought he had some strange fetish.

“Pass me the paper. I need to go too.”

Cough, cough… She needed to take back that previous thought.

Xia Mo handed him the leftover paper.

He was getting spoiled. The people here usually used tree branches or leaves, yet even an ancient-era guy like him was now accustomed to using paper.

By the time Xia Mo returned, the villagers had already reached a decision.

They knew they couldn’t fight against those in power. Since the highly respected Auntie Zhou insisted on leaving, even those who disagreed had no choice but to compromise in the end.

“Doctor Xia, you’re back just in time. We’re about to leave,” Aunt Zhou said, her family already packed and waiting. They had been waiting for Xia Mo and Xiao Jingyuan before setting off.

“Eh? Where’s your boy?”

Xia Mo replied, “He’s still in the haystack over there. He’ll be back soon. We should go ahead, he can catch up.”

Aunt Zhou could guess what he was doing in the haystack and said no more. She helped her pregnant daughter-in-law keep up with the group.

Her two sons were busy carrying the family’s belongings, while the eldest son’s wife carried their child, Zhou Wang, on her back. The mountain path was rugged, and she struggled to walk.

Normally, Xia Mo would help take care of Zhou Wang, but tonight, her stomach hurt too much. Just keeping up with the group was already difficult, let alone taking care of a child.

Enduring her discomfort, Xia Mo grabbed a stick to use as a hiking staff and carefully followed the group from behind.

Before long, the beam of a flashlight lit up her path from behind.

Xia Mo turned her head and saw that it was Xiao Jingyuan catching up.

“You don’t need to light my way. I can just follow the people ahead. Take the flashlight and lead at the front instead.”

“There’s already Brother Yang and Brother Zhou leading up front with torches. They don’t need me.”

As he spoke, he suddenly shone the flashlight directly at Xia Mo’s face.

She was momentarily blinded and swatted his hand away.

“What are you shining that on me for?”

“Are you injured?”

Uh… “No…?”

“You’re lying. Your face looks pale. I also smelled blood where you were earlier, and there was even blood on the ground.”

Xia Mo’s face instantly turned red.

This damn brat…!

She could only respond vaguely, “Yeah, I got injured. But it’s nothing serious, just a small wound. Don’t tell the others.”

The person behind her fell silent. After a moment, he suddenly stepped forward to support her.

Xia Mo looked at him in surprise.

The boy’s face remained cold as he asked indifferently, “How did you get hurt?”

Xia Mo was at a loss for words. She glanced at him and realized that if she didn’t explain properly, he wouldn’t let it go. So she made something up.

“I accidentally got scratched by a tree branch when you guys were searching for the cave.”

“Where?”

Although he was asking, his gaze had already drifted to her stomach.

Because earlier, he had seen her clutching her stomach when she came out.

Xia Mo instinctively placed a hand over the womb-warming patch on her stomach.

“My stomach.”

“Oh? What kind of tree branch is so powerful that it scratched your stomach but didn’t even tear your coat?”

Xia Mo: “…”

They were already falling behind the group.

Lowering her voice, she snapped in frustration, “I had my coat unzipped.”

Xiao Jingyuan sneered. “Unzipped your coat and got scratched by a tree branch? Tsk, Xia Mo, you’re lying. Why are you trying to fool me?”

Damn it, Xia Mo thought. It’s not like I want to lie, but how am I supposed to explain this to a kid like you?

“A kid should act like a kid. Stop asking about things you shouldn’t, and stop saying things you shouldn’t. Shut your mouth before someone mistakes you for a mute.”

Tsk. She really needed to scold him properly to set him straight.

Xia Mo shoved Xiao Jingyuan away and hurried to catch up with the group, using her hiking staff for support.

Xiao Jingyuan ground his teeth in frustration. He had only wanted to show some concern, but Xia Mo lied to him and even yelled at him.

With all the challenges of traveling with an entire group, they finally reached the cave Xiao Jingyuan had found—well past midnight.

Calling it a “cave” was an exaggeration. It was actually just a narrow gap between two mountains, with the eastern rock face extending out to form a natural shelter.

Xia Mo’s guess had been right. Snow had started falling. It began as light flurries while they were still on the road but gradually grew heavier. If they had left any later, they would have been in serious trouble.

As everyone entered the cave, lingering fear hung in the air. They were fortunate to have listened to Auntie Zhou.

Even those who had originally resisted leaving now kept their mouths shut as if someone had strangled them.

“Find a good spot to rest, protect the food, and keep the livestock outside. Light a fire, but be wary of wild animals in the mountains.”

Aunt Zhou helped her pregnant daughter-in-law sit down. Seeing her discomfort, she quickly called out to her sons, “Eldest, Second, forget about the donkey for now! Hurry and find a flat spot to lay out the bedding!”

Once the bedding was ready, she helped her daughter-in-law lie down.

“Are you alright? Should I ask Doctor Xia to check on you?”

Madam Sun, pale-faced, shook her head. “Mother, I’m fine. I saw that Doctor Xia doesn’t look well either. It’s so late now, let’s not trouble her. After such a long journey, it’s normal to feel unwell. I just need to rest.”

Aunt Zhou turned and saw Xia Mo curled up in a corner, clearly not feeling well herself.

“Alright, rest for now. But if anything happens, make sure to tell me.”

“Got it.”