Chapter 15 The Man’s Back Was So Broad and Strong

Zhou Yubai frowned slightly.  How could there be such a spoiled woman?

She wasn’t a child; she even complained about the medicine being bitter.

But at the same time, his heart softened.  Although his tone was harsh, he patiently said to Shen Chuning, “Good medicine tastes bitter. You have heatstroke, you need to drink the medicine.”

Shen Chuning sniffed, pouting and frowning, she drank the Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid in one gulp.

After drinking it, her head felt much clearer.

But her body was still weak, and the blisters on her feet still hurt terribly.

“Is there anything else that hurts?” Zhou Yubai frowned slightly, his tone somewhat stern.

Shen Chuning blinked her watery eyes, pointing to her feet with some grievance, “My feet hurt.”

Zhou Yubai looked down at her feet.

She was wearing the most fashionable and high-end white canvas shoes of the era, with honeysuckle flowers painted on them with colored pencils, very pretty.

But Zhou Yubai, a rough man, couldn’t appreciate such things.

One hand held her ankle, and the other removed her shoes.

He hadn’t noticed before, but once he removed her shoes, he was startled.

Shen Chuning’s socks were stained with blood, and the dried blood had stuck the socks to her skin.

This woman had walked only halfway to town before stopping, and her feet were injured this badly.

In the army, during missions, even with forced marches of hundreds of kilometers a day, they hadn’t been this severe.

He tried to remove her socks.

But as soon as he gently tugged, Shen Chuning winced and pulled her foot back, pitifully calling out, “It hurts.”

Zhou Yubai: …

This woman was terribly unfit.

After marriage, he had to train her.  Not to the level of a soldier, but at least she should be able to run five kilometers at once, and he had to teach her military boxing and grappling.

Otherwise, with her delicate and seemingly easy-to-bully appearance, she would definitely be bullied if she went out alone.

Zhou Yubai thought as he borrowed scissors from the clinic doctor and bought hydrogen peroxide, iodine, and gauze.

“Comrade, the woman’s feet look serious, do you need help?” The doctor asked after looking at Shen Chuning’s feet.

“No, I can do it myself.”

Zhou Yubai refused without hesitation.

Shen Chuning was so delicate, if the doctor treated her and hurt her, she would cry!

Zhou Yubai carefully used scissors to cut the unstuck parts of the socks, then slowly poured hydrogen peroxide onto the areas where the socks were stuck to her skin, soaking the dried blood before carefully using tweezers to remove the stuck sock fragments.

After repeatedly doing this until all the sock fragments stuck to her skin were removed, an hour had passed.

He cleaned it with iodine, applied a wound-healing powder, and carefully bandaged her.

Shen Chuning had been afraid of pain since childhood; even a little pain was unbearable for her.

Even though Zhou Yubai’s movements were as gentle as possible, she still winced, biting her lip tightly to avoid crying.

After bandaging her, Zhou Yubai looked up and saw her biting her lip, tears welling up in her big eyes, looking as if she had been severely bullied.

Seeing her delicate appearance, Zhou Yubai, although somewhat helpless, unconsciously softened his voice, “It’s alright.”

Shen Chuning sniffed, saying in a muffled voice, “Brother Yubai, thank you.”

When Shen Chuning was unconscious, he could carry her to the clinic without hesitation.

But now that she was awake, carrying her back would be inappropriate.

Even though they were engaged, in the countryside, even married couples holding hands would be gossiped about.

But Shen Chuning’s feet…

Zhou Yubai hesitated for a moment before squatting down in front of Shen Chuning, “Get on, I’ll carry you back.”

Shen Chuning: …

Her face instantly flushed red, “Brother Yubai, this isn’t appropriate…”

“Can you walk with your feet like that?”

Before she could finish, Zhou Yubai’s unyielding voice came.

Shen Chuning looked at her bandaged feet.  She really couldn’t walk.

She pursed her lips and resolutely climbed onto Zhou Yubai’s back.

The moment she got on, Zhou Yubai paused, feeling two soft mounds pressing against his strong back.

His heartbeat, which hadn’t faltered even facing enemy fire, sped up.

Shen Chuning’s arms wrapped around the man’s neck, feeling a sense of security.

The man’s back was so broad and strong, his shoulders wide, leaning on his back was reassuring.

When they returned from the clinic, it was lunchtime.

Li Xiaolan was chatting and laughing with a group of girls and young women, heading home.

From afar, someone saw Zhou Yubai carrying Shen Chuning.

“Hey, isn’t that Shen Chuning?”

“Shameless, letting a man carry her in broad daylight.”

“Zhou Yubai is really something. He always had a cold face, fierce as if he wanted to eat people. To avoid being urged to marry by Auntie Shulan, he even built a house to live outside. I thought he would remain a bachelor, never getting married!  But look…”

The speaker was Sun Jiazhen, a young woman who had married into Ci Hang Village from the neighboring village.

It was said that she had also liked Zhou Yubai before, but her proposal was rejected.

Hearing Sun Jiazhen’s sour words, someone chuckled, “He’s not against marriage, he just has high standards. If you looked like Shen Chuning, maybe Zhou Yubai would have married you.  A five hundred yuan dowry and the ‘three turns and one ring’ coupons!”

For Sun Jiazhen, proposing to the Zhou family was now a black history.

She pretended to be angry and punched the speaker, Wu Aihua, “Go away! Who would like him, always with a deadpan face!”

Wu Aihua giggled, “He doesn’t have a deadpan face with Shen Chuning. He’s carrying her in broad daylight! Has your husband ever carried you?”

Wu Aihua ran away, and Sun Jiazhen chased after her.

Everyone laughed, and no one took it seriously.

Only Li Xiaolan stared at Zhou Yubai and Shen Chuning’s backs, gritting her teeth and spitting, “Slutty fox!”