Chapter 25 : Kiss

The heavy rain pounded down on the tall locust tree, bending its branches. Water droplets rolled down the leaves and left streaks on the glass window. At that moment, the window was pushed open a crack from inside, revealing a freshly washed face.

The strikingly beautiful features now looked as fragile and weary as a frostbitten eggplant, with drooping brows and eyes that betrayed exhaustion from an unknown amount of time without proper rest. Faint dark circles had formed beneath her pale skin, which looked particularly abrupt against her fair skin.

She also wiped her slender neck with a towel, but because there was no mirror, the skin behind the ear was still dirty. In fact, except for her face, her whole body was not clean, and could even be described as disheveled.

The dried mud and her long hair, combined with the fabric and skin, made her look like a refugee fleeing disaster.

Looking at her reflection in the glass, Liang Qingqing reached up to pull off a piece of dried mud from a strand of hair, clicking her tongue in disdain. Then, she turned to glance at the man lying in the hospital bed and muttered, “Once you’re better, just wait and see what I’ll do…”

She had intended to say something stern, but the words faltered and were swallowed back.

“Forget it, what’s the point of arguing with a patient?”

Liang Qingqing sighed inwardly at her own kindness and then took a seat beside the bed, her bright eyes starting to examine the man lying there with a soft gaze.

Fan Yanxing was tall and the hospital gown seemed short on him. His eyes were tightly closed, revealing only his long, thick eyelashes. His lips were colorless, and his face was as pale as paper. Unlike his usual demeanor of being approachable but keeping others at a distance, he now seemed completely defenseless, almost vulnerable to anyone.

Strangely, Liang Qingqing found him looking quite endearing in this state.

After the treatment, Fan Yanxing was no longer in danger but he had not yet regained consciousness. The doctors couldn’t predict when he would wake up and advised waiting. Hearing this nearly frightened Liang Qingqing to death was he going to remain a vegetable because he was buried too long? That’s how it’s always portrayed in dramas!

With these thoughts, she asked the doctor about it.

It was the first time the doctor had heard a family member so worried about the patient’s recovery, and his mouth twitched. He assured her it wasn’t that severe and told her to just wait for her partner to wake up.

With this reassurance, Liang Qingqing finally felt relieved and smiled as she watched the doctor leave. It was only then that she realized, fuming in frustration, that she looked so “wife-like” to the doctor?

Although she would eventually marry Fan Yanxing and live a good life, she was still an unmarried young woman! How could the doctor be so clueless?

Just thinking about this made Liang Qingqing grind her teeth in irritation. She bared her teeth at Fan Yanxing in annoyance and then got up to check why Liang Junqiang hadn’t returned yet with food.

Just as she stood up, her peripheral vision caught Fan Yanxing’s fingers moving reflexively. Surprised and thrilled, she leaned in and said, “Fan Yanxing, are you awake?”

There was no response. After waiting for a while and still hearing nothing, she wondered if it was just an illusion and not something that had actually happened.

“Fan Yanxing? Fan Yanxing? Fan Yanxing?”

She called out his name three times without any response. Liang Qingqing sighed in disappointment and suddenly thought that maybe using reverse psychology would work. She pretended to be angry and said, “Wake up already! Are you a pig? Why are you sleeping so long?”

As soon as the words were spoken, Liang Qingqing saw Fan Yanxing’s eyelashes flutter, and then he opened his eyes. His gaze met hers directly, filled with a mixture of helplessness, grievance, and irritation.

“You’re really awake?” Liang Qingqing, who had just scolded a patient, gave a somewhat guilty smile.

But the next moment, those eyes that had just opened closed again, which made Liang Qingqing anxious. She quickly said, “You’re a pig, you’re a pig, you’re a pig!”

Just then, Liang Junqiang entered with the food and saw his younger sister standing by the bedside, delivering what seemed like a ruthless personal attack on his good friend. The scene was so intimidating that even he felt scared.

“Little sister…” After a long pause, he dared to speak up and interrupt Liang Qingqing.

Hearing the call, Liang Qingqing stiffened, stopped talking, and turned around with a dry laugh. Seeing Liang Junqiang’s shocked expression, she hurriedly said, “I can explain!”

After hearing the full story, Liang Junqiang was momentarily flustered and also scolded Fan Yanxing, “You’re a pig, you’re a pig.”

As expected, there was no change the person on the bed remained motionless with no sign of waking up.

“He’s probably still weak. He’ll likely wake up again soon,” Liang Qingqing thought. Knowing that Fan Yanxing was out of immediate danger, she was more concerned about her own hunger. She hadn’t eaten all day and had been digging in the mud for so long that she felt dizzy from hunger. The aroma of food was irresistible and her priority was to fill her stomach!

Liang Junqiang nodded, handing the food to Liang Qingqing with some embarrassment. “The lunch box was borrowed from the canteen. The good dishes need food stamps, so I could only buy these.”

Their meal consisted of a few boiled sweet potatoes and a box of stir-fried potatoes with vegetables.

“It’s already great to have something to eat when we’re out. Big Brother, you should sit down and eat too,” Liang Qingqing said, showing her understanding. The two of them had rushed into the city and had no money with them. If not for borrowing some from Uncle Mao, who drove the village tractor, they wouldn’t even have had any vegetables to eat, let alone warm food.

Seeing that Liang Qingqing wasn’t dissatisfied, Liang Junqiang breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t dare sit on the clean hospital bed sheets in his dirty clothes, so he ate while standing. As he ate, he glanced at Fan Yanxing and remarked, “It’s a good thing that Yanxing’s medical expenses can be charged to the village’s account otherwise, we would be in real trouble.”

Liang Qingqing nodded. Since Fan Yanxing had been injured while working for the village, it was considered a work-related injury and the village should naturally take responsibility.

Liang Junqiang looked at Liang Qingqing several times, hesitated for a moment and then couldn’t help but speak up, “Little sister, you…”

“Hmm?” Liang Qingqing looked at Liang Junqiang in confusion, not understanding what he wanted to say. It wasn’t until he hesitated several times that she began to slowly realize.

“But… mouth-to-mouth.” Liang Junqiang fumbled with his words, his rural upbringing making him stammer at the mention of this. Seeing Liang Qingqing so open about it made him feel even more embarrassed to bring it up.

Seeing Liang Junqiang’s awkwardness, Liang Qingqing couldn’t help but chuckle. “When saving someone, there’s no time to worry about those details. It wasn’t really a kiss.”

A kiss? She had never thought of it that way.

However, in this era any form of physical contact between men and women was considered conservative. Performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in public could easily be interpreted as a kiss by those who didn’t know the full story. They might think what they want, even Liang Junqiang seems to think so.

And if others think like that, her already tarnished reputation in the village might hit rock bottom after this.

Moreover, if this was the case, didn’t it mean she was somewhat bound to Fan Yanxing? From now on, whenever the villagers saw Fan Yanxing, they might think of her, and vice versa.

She wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. What if Fan Yanxing thought she was doing it on purpose, trying to take advantage of him while he was unconscious?

With that thought, Liang Qingqing took a big bite of sweet potato in frustration. But then she reconsidered. After all, she had saved his life and he didn’t seem like the type to repay kindness with resentment, treating her good intentions as something sinister.

Never mind. The immediate priority was to wait for Fan Yanxing to wake up. Everything else could wait!

“Yes, saving someone! It was to save someone!” Liang Junqiang nodded firmly. His sister was only performing that life-saving procedure and he shouldn’t think of it in such a sordid way. As her brother, he had to protect her. If anyone in the village dared to gossip about this, they’d better not blame him for getting rough.

With that, the atmosphere in the hospital room became unusually quiet.

After eating and drinking enough, Liang Qingqing felt a bit sleepy. She sat down in a chair, leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Seeing her fall asleep, Liang Junqiang didn’t disturb her and silently kept watch over Fan Yanxing. Before long, he couldn’t help but yawn repeatedly but still forced himself to stay awake.

As night approached, Liang Qingqing was jolted awake by the cold. She suddenly felt as if her neck, arms, and waist weren’t her own, and her whole body felt uncomfortable. She sniffled, furrowed her brows, and slowly lifted her numb hand to her forehead, wondering if she might have caught a cold.

After all, she had been drenched in the heavy rain for so long, and her clothes were soaked. She hadn’t changed, so she had been wearing half-dry, half-wet clothes while sleeping indoors for quite a while.

Liang Qingqing checked her forehead it wasn’t hot, so she sighed in relief. Being sick was the last thing she needed right now.

Looking up, she saw Liang Junqiang standing by the wall, struggling to keep his eyes open, his legs shifting from one position to another. Amused and a bit heartbroken, she walked over to him. “Go sit and get some rest. I’ll keep an eye on Fan Yanxing.”

Liang Junqiang shook his head. “I’ll stay here. You keep sleeping.”

“Still being stubborn? Go get some rest. I’m uncomfortable lying down anyway. Standing up will help stretch my legs,” Liang Qingqing said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Seeing this, Liang Junqiang hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. He was really having a hard time keeping awake.

However, not long after he fell asleep, a sudden exclamation broke the quiet: Fan Yanxing was awake!

“Doctor, doctor, the patient is awake.”

After a period of chaos, the room settled back into calm. Liang Qingqing and Liang Junqiang stood on either side of the hospital bed, their eyes fixed on Fan Yanxing afraid he might faint again.

“I want to drink some water,” Fan Yanxing said, swallowing hard and carefully making his request. After waiting for a few seconds with no response from either side, his brows furrowed slightly. His mouth was extremely dry and he tried to move but felt too weak to do so. He could only speak again, “I want to drink some water. Is that okay?”

This time, Liang Qingqing finally reacted. “Second Brother, go get a glass of water.”

“Oh, oh, okay,” Liang Junqiang responded and quickly took a cup to get some water.

The room was left with just Fan Yanxing and Liang Qingqing. As she looked at him, disheveled and weak, he pursed his lips. His memories were particularly hazy and he couldn’t remember much, only vaguely recalling the moment.

“You…”

“You…”

They both spoke at the same time, breaking the silence.