Chapter 14

Only a week after arriving in this world, Shen Qingqing felt she had already suffered the most embarrassing moments of her life.

She had once warned Zhou Jiayan that eating too much ice cream would cause a stomachache, only to end up with gastroenteritis. Now, she had collapsed in the hallway and was mistaken for a home intruder!

The sheer embarrassment outweighed the pain in her body.

If she could, she would have dug a hole and buried herself.

Given Shen Qingqing’s status, no one dared laugh at her.

The Zhou family’s security guards were highly disciplined. They maintained serious expressions and left once they realized it was a false alarm. Even Aunt Chen simply smiled helplessly and called a family doctor for her.

However, Shen Qingqing still felt their silent gazes mocking her.

Look, there really are fools in this world!

Who gets sick, can’t find their medicine, and ends up collapsed on the floor, almost mistaken for a criminal?

At least Aunt Chen and the security guards probably hadn’t seen today’s live stream, right?

But then, Zhou Jiayan, still sleepy with messy hair, looked at her with wide eyes and said, “So you weren’t lying to me last night. Eating too much ice cream really does give you a stomachache!”

Shen Qingqing felt her head pounding even more. Was he doing this on purpose?

Sometimes, silence is golden!

Completely drained, Shen Qingqing considered just rolling her eyes and pretending to faint.

Fortunately, Aunt Chen was reliable and quickly had the servants help Shen Qingqing back to bed in her bedroom.

The doctor arrived quickly, within just over ten minutes. He was a middle-aged man in his early forties and had been the Zhou family’s doctor for nearly ten years, making him very familiar with their health conditions.

After examining Shen Qingqing, he smiled and said, “It’s nothing serious. You’ve just been eating too much lately—lots of spicy and salty food—then had ice cream at night. I’ll prescribe some medicine for you, and you’ll be fine soon.”

His words, however, didn’t make Shen Qingqing feel any better. Instead, she felt even more embarrassed.

She had been in this world for a week now and was excited that she no longer had to watch her diet, so she indulged herself. But reality hit her hard!

Forcing a polite smile, she replied, “Thank you, doctor. I understand.”

The doctor left the medicine before leaving. Under Aunt Chen’s supervision, Shen Qingqing took it.

The medicine was strong and had a sedative effect, so within ten minutes, she felt drowsy. She thought it was better to just sleep—at least she wouldn’t have to deal with any more embarrassment in her dreams.

However, just as she was about to drift off, she heard quick “thump, thump” footsteps. She forced her eyes open and saw a child in black silk pajamas standing nearby, staring at her with big round eyes.

Half-asleep, Shen Qingqing thought, Is this kid here to make fun of me again?

She weakly said, “Yanyan, I know I’m not the most reliable adult, but I’m already like this. You don’t have to laugh at me.”

Surprisingly, Zhou Jiayan reached out his chubby hand and touched her stomach, his little face filled with concern. “Does it hurt? When I was sick before, it hurt a lot, and I had to take bitter medicine.”

He actually came to check on me?

Shen Qingqing suddenly felt guilty for assuming the worst about a little kid.

She wasn’t someone who easily relied on others. In her past life, she was used to dealing with sickness on her own.

But having someone show concern, even if it was just a clueless child, felt nice.

She shook her head and said softly, “It doesn’t hurt much after taking the medicine. I’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep. You should go to bed—it’s getting late.”

Zhou Jiayan nodded but still looked worried. “If you feel bad, tell me. Don’t lie to me just because I’m a kid. I hate it when adults lie to me and say they’re fine just to stop me from worrying.”

His reaction was unusually intense. Shen Qingqing was confused but still reassured him, “I won’t lie to you.”

But Zhou Jiayan still seemed uneasy. He held out his little finger and said, “Let’s make a pinky promise. Adults are the best at lying.”

Should I be offended that even a child thinks I’m unreliable?

Still, the boy meant well, so she linked her little finger with his and recited, “Pinky promise, pinky promise, don’t break it for a hundred years. If you do, you’ll turn into a puppy.”

However, Zhou Jiayan didn’t follow along. He just wrinkled his nose and said, “You don’t need to turn into a puppy. Just live well.”

Huh? Shen Qingqing was puzzled. It’s just a minor illness. Why does he make it sound so serious?

At that moment, she saw a hint of sadness flash through Zhou Jiayan’s usually bright eyes. She had been about to joke, but she stopped herself.

She gently patted his head and said patiently, “Didn’t the doctor just say? It’s just a small illness. I’ll be fine after taking the medicine. If you don’t believe me, you should at least believe the doctor, right?”

Zhou Jiayan hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah.”

Then, as if embarrassed by his own words, he quickly turned around and ran out of the room, saying, “Then rest well. I’m going to bed.”

Shen Qingqing watched him leave and couldn’t help but think, What a strange child.

But then she realized something seemed off.

A five-year-old talking about life and death… Did he experience a loss before?

In the original novel, Shen Qingqing’s family was just a side mention, and there wasn’t much written about them. Zhou Jiayan, being a minor character, was even less detailed. It was only mentioned that Zhou Yexuan brought him home when he was two years old, but there was no mention of his mother.

As far as she knew, no one from the Zhou family had died in recent years. Could it be that Zhou Jiayan’s biological mother had passed away? It made sense—he was a genius, after all, so it wasn’t surprising if he could remember things from when he was two.

If her guess was right, then Zhou Jiayan must have witnessed his mother’s death at a young age. Before she passed, she must have reassured him that she was fine, only for him to later realize she was gone forever. That would explain why he hated being lied to about health matters.

Shen Qingqing sighed. She couldn’t ask Zhou Jiayan directly. She would have to wait for her cheap husband to return and find a way to ask him instead.

Maybe it was the medicine taking effect again, but the more she thought about it, the more her thoughts blurred. In the end, the only thing she concluded was that she should tease Zhou Jiayan less in the future.

Also, I need to wake up on time tomorrow, or the program crew and viewers will notice something’s wrong.

However, when Shen Qingqing woke up, it was already noon.

The show’s live broadcast started at nine every morning. Though she never woke up early, she had always made sure to be on time for the stream.

To avoid misunderstandings, Aunt Chen explained that Shen Qingqing had suffered from gastroenteritis and had been up most of the night, so she was sleeping in.

The program staff acted understanding on the surface, but secretly, they were amused.

They had all seen Shen Qingqing teasing Zhou Jiayan yesterday, but none of them expected karma to hit so fast.

So when Shen Qingqing finished getting ready and came downstairs, she found everyone looking at her with knowing smiles.

At that moment, the system fulfilled its role by recounting what had just happened and also reporting how netizens were “mocking” her.

Shen Qingqing looked devastated. The thing she dreaded the most had still happened!

If she had known earlier, she would have just pretended to be sick and stayed in bed all day. She even applied lipstick to hide her pale lips before going downstairs, trying to look energetic.

The audience in the live broadcast room had no sympathy and continued to “laugh.”

[Hahaha, Shen Qingqing is really my source of joy. This is the first time I’ve seen karma strike so fast!]

[Last night, she secretly ate Yanyan’s ice cream and told him he’d get a stomachache if he ate too much. But she ended up with gastroenteritis herself!]

[Even fate couldn’t bear to watch this injustice!]

[I suggest Shen Qingqing be a better person in the future! At least don’t steal food from kids.]

[Hahaha, I’m going to edit this scene together with Shen Qingqing threatening Yanyan last night and post it on Weibo. It’s too funny.]

[Thanks, Shen Qingqing, for making the workers laugh at their desks early in the morning.]

Since the program had tasks to continue today, Zhou Jiayan’s classes were canceled. At that moment, he was holding a picture book, seriously drawing and writing in it.

Shen Qingqing recalled Zhou Jiayan’s warm-hearted behavior from last night and decided to seek comfort from him.

However, just as she approached, Zhou Jiayan looked up and made a sarcastic remark, “Mom, you finally woke up. You’re amazing! You really did protect Yanyan from a stomachache by eating his ice cream instead! Yanyan is so touched! Otherwise, I would have been sick last night!”

Shen Qingqing stopped in her tracks. That was seriously sarcastic!

In just one night, Zhou Jiayan had transformed from a little angel into a little devil again! She must have been half-asleep last night to think that Zhou Jiayan was actually warm-hearted!

After finishing his statement, Zhou Jiayan smirked mischievously. The look on his little face completely shattered Shen Qingqing’s newfound “motherly love.”

Hah, she originally planned to let him off the hook today, but now he could just wait to be a “child laborer.”

With that thought, Shen Qingqing reached out and vigorously pinched Zhou Jiayan’s soft, fair cheeks until they turned red before letting go.

She said menacingly, “Since Mom is so good to you and is still weak from being sick, you’ll be responsible for packing today. You promised yesterday, remember?”

Zhou Jiayan’s smirk instantly disappeared, and his face turned stiff.

Oh no, he completely forgot about that task!

[Hahaha, as expected, the mother and son duo are back to teasing each other!]

[Wow, I envy Shen Qingqing so much. I want to pinch Yanyan’s cheeks too!]

[Yanyan is being treated as child labor, hahaha! Serves him right for being mischievous.]

[Actually, I think they have a great mother-son relationship. Maybe they don’t realize it yet, but Zhou Jiayan is quiet when he’s alone, and only becomes lively when he’s with Shen Qingqing.]

[He has to be lively! Shen Qingqing is way too mischievous!]