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Yan Xiao ladled out the decoction from the ceramic jar into a small bowl.
She hadn’t even started drinking yet, but the pungent smell of the medicine and the dark brown liquid in the bowl already made Wen Qinghe frown.
Still, thinking of the benefit to her health, she held her breath and reluctantly took a sip.
The moment it touched her tongue, the acrid bitterness choked her throat.
“Cough, cough, cough… cough… cough…”
Yan Xiao quickly reached out to pat her back, but the girl’s thin shoulders and fragile frame seemed too easily breakable—he didn’t dare use any strength.
Watching her face flush from choking, the tip of her nose turning red, and tears sliding down her cheeks, Yan Xiao’s brows furrowed deeply, his heart aching unbearably.
He wanted nothing more than to stop her from drinking it, but since it concerned her health, he could only press his lips together tightly, saying nothing.
Her mouth was filled with overwhelming bitterness. It had been a long time since she’d coughed this violently…
This medicine was too foul. It felt like it was killing her!
Once she managed to suppress the coughing fit, she looked up at Yan Xiao with teary eyes and furrowed brows.
“Big Brother Yan… can I not drink it?”
Her voice, aggrieved and tinged with sobs, nearly undid him.
He had the impulse to pull her into his arms, but instead he clenched his fists tightly, forcing the thought down.
When he spoke, his voice was low and hoarse: “Alright, don’t drink it. Be good, don’t cry.”
His long, calloused fingers brushed her cheek, his thumb gently wiping away the tears under her lashes.
Even though he used the lightest touch, her tender skin still reddened where he had grazed it. His eyes flashed with self-reproach.
Her skin was too delicate, unbearably so.
If even this much left a mark, then the darker, unspoken desires in his heart made him feel like a beast.
He pulled out a White Rabbit milk candy from his pocket and offered it to her.
“Be good… eat this, and it won’t be bitter anymore.”
Earlier she had been too overwhelmed by coughing to notice his tone. But now, hearing the indulgence in his voice, her cheeks flushed again.
“Thank you…”
She took the candy from his hand, her slender fingers unwrapping the paper. Her pale, jade-like fingertips were even whiter than the milk candy itself.
When she popped it into her pink lips, the faint sight of her tongue curling around the sweet sent waves of milk fragrance and her own soft scent into the air.
For a moment, Yan Xiao couldn’t tell which sweetness was stronger.
His dark eyes grew more and more intense. After last night, it seemed no matter what she did, she made his throat dry and his mind restless with desire.
But thinking of her aversion to the medicine, he worried whether skipping it would harm her body. He decided he would go consult Old Li again.
Suppressing all his stray thoughts, he said:
“Let’s leave the medicine for now. I’ll ask Old Li if there’s another way. I’ll be back soon—can you be good and wait here by yourself?”
That gentle voice sounded so out of place from his tall, rugged figure that even Wen Qinghe’s reply unconsciously softened, carrying a faint hint of sweetness:
“Mm…”
After the man left, Wen Qinghe patted her cheeks, trying to cool the heat in them.
She wasn’t foolish. Yan Xiao’s behavior clearly showed he had feelings for her beyond the ordinary.
At first, his tall and sturdy frame had intimidated her.
But after several interactions, she realized he was cold outside yet warm within, attentive and considerate.
She had once thought her type was someone like Mu Anche—the sunny, slender campus prince.
But now, thinking of a man’s broad chest, strong shoulders, firm arms, and that unexpected tenderness reserved only for her, she found herself drawn in. He was more manly, more compelling.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she seemed to crave his embrace…
She just wasn’t sure if her frail little body could handle it.
…
“That girl’s been ill for years and constantly on medicine, so she has some deficiency of kidney yin.
Acupuncture works best when paired with herbs. If she can’t stomach the decoction, then food therapy will do. With the right diet plan, after a few months, the effects will be about the same as the medicine.
I’ll write down a few yin-nourishing ingredients for you later.”
“Thank you very much! This is a fifty-year-old ginseng.”
Yan Xiao placed another ginseng root he had dug up last time on the table.
Li Huaqing: Since when did this stuff become so easy to find?
He had searched the black market for ages and never even seen a thirty-year-old one. Yet here was a root that could easily pass for eighty years!
“No need. I still have the one you gave me last time. The girl might need it. Give her a slice in water now and then—it’s good for her. But remember, never eat it together with radish.”
At that, Yan Xiao quickly packed the ginseng back into his cloth bag, afraid he’d lose it if he delayed.
Li Huaqing: Just how did he end up knowing this guy?!
…
Today it was Fang Ming and Yao Min’s turn to fetch water and chop firewood.
The two left work early. Yao Min went to gather firewood, while Fang Ming returned first to fetch water, thinking it would help the female educated youths cook.
When he reached the educated youth courtyard, this was the scene before him:
A beauty like Xi Shi sat under the eaves, reading a book.
She wore a white blouse with a doll collar, a milk-yellow cardigan over it, and slim black trousers below.
Her long, glossy black hair cascaded down her back, with a small daisy hairpin tucked by her ear.
After so long in the countryside, everyone else had tanned dark.
But Wen Qinghe, always left behind at the educated youth spot to rest due to her illness, remained porcelain-pale.
Her naturally fair complexion, now with the sickly paleness of her condition, looked almost translucent under the sunlight. The outfit only made her seem even more soft and delicate.
She gave off the sense of fragility, as though she might shatter with a touch—arousing anyone’s protective instincts.
One glance, and it was clear she’d been raised in wealth and care.
So, she had come from the capital after all. That plain, coarse outfit she’d worn the first day must have been to keep a low profile.
The thought made his heart stir, and her face in his eyes grew even more alluring.
Straightening his posture and smoothing his clothes, he called out:
“Comrade Wen?”
The black-framed glasses hid the greed and desire lurking in his gaze.
Wen Qinghe had been absorbed in her book. Hearing the voice, she lifted her head.
Having sat in the sun too long, her vision didn’t focus at first. With the man standing against the light, she only vaguely saw a tall figure not far away.
She didn’t see his face clearly. Mistaking him for Yan Xiao, her lips curved in joy as she tilted her small face up.
“You’re back!”