Chapter 124: Ten Hours

It took an entire hour to finally get Long Yuezhi to sleep.

Not only did this master insist on having sugar with his medicine, but he also refused to use blankets of bright colors like red, yellow, pink, or blue—everything had to be pure white.

In the middle of the night, she had to dig through her wardrobe to find the only white duvet cover she had and change it for him.

So many demands!

Jing Xi felt like earning 200 yuan a day wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

The whole night had been troublesome for her; he even placed an order for breakfast in advance.

Long Si had mentioned that, as an authentic Shaanxi native, Long Yuezhi had to have a Shaanxi-style breakfast in the morning.

What exactly was a Shaanxi breakfast?

Jing Xi wasn’t sure, but she knew one thing—Shaanxi people loved noodle-based dishes.

Heh, she had an idea!

There were plenty of frozen wontons in her space’s refrigerator. She’d let this young master of the Long family experience the magic of pre-prepared meals!

Thinking about this, she stepped out to freshen up.

As she walked into the courtyard, she had a fleeting impression of a figure on the wall.

She approached to take a closer look, but there was nothing there.

Opening the courtyard gate, she glanced outside into the alley—no one.

Was she hallucinating?

She returned to the yard and securely locked the main gate again.

Then, she heard rustling noises.

Standing still beneath the courtyard wall, she carefully listened to the sounds outside.

After a few minutes, she heard multiple footsteps retreating quickly.

So, there really was someone!

Could it be Long Yuezhi’s bodyguards?

There was no way Long Yuezhi would come to her place alone. Besides, it was obvious—just from basic reasoning—that if he showed up at her house, it had to be for something important.

She was determined to find out what that was.

After tidying up, she lay down on her small kang bed.

Her mind buzzed like an electric current as she reviewed everything that had happened recently.

She still hadn’t set up her steamed bun shop—this wasn’t acceptable.

She carefully calculated her current monthly income:

• The Long family was paying her 120 yuan per month until winter deliveries were complete.
• The seasoning she bought for the steamed bun business—50 kilograms—was sold for 50 yuan.
• She still had the money from working as a temporary accountant for the village—about 90 yuan.
• After finishing her house construction, she had 200 yuan left.

Altogether, she had 460 yuan.

This wasn’t a small sum, but it was far from enough to reach her goal.

If she wanted to make big money, she couldn’t rely on a fixed salary.

This autumn, she was determined to open the steamed bun shop! She was going to start her business!

After thinking about making money, her mind wandered to Long Yuezhi.

Eventually, sleepiness took over.

She was exhausted and didn’t even dream.

When she woke up, it was already 7 a.m.

Jing Xi checked the time, stretched, and pulled open the curtains.

After struggling internally for a while, she got up.

She went into her space to take out some frozen wontons, then headed to the kitchen.

After washing up, she sat in the courtyard, waiting for Long Yuezhi to wake up so she could cook the wontons.

But even after an hour, the guy was still asleep.

Jing Xi thought about it and decided to knock on his door.

He had been sleeping for nearly ten hours now.

She listened outside the door and, after hearing him turn over in bed, sighed in relief.

Alright, still alive—not dead.

Knock, knock…

“Long Yuezhi, stop sleeping! Get up and eat your medicine!”

Hearing Jing Xi’s voice, Long Yuezhi thought he was dreaming.

He changed his sleeping position and continued dozing off.

Jing Xi waited for a while, but seeing no response, she knocked again and raised her voice:

“Long Yuezhi, wake up! Get up and eat your medicine!”

“The sun’s already up! You can’t keep lazing around! I have things to do!”

The man on the kang bed stretched lazily. Seeing that she wouldn’t give up, he finally groaned in a raspy morning voice, “Alright, alright, I got it. Stop yelling.”

Then, he sat up.

Jing Xi headed to the kitchen to prepare his medicine and cook the wontons.

By the time the food was ready, Long Yuezhi had already freshened up.

Just as she sat down, the man across from her yawned.

“Did you put sleeping pills in my medicine? How did I sleep so long?”

Jing Xi smirked. “If I had, that would’ve cost extra.”

Long Yuezhi continued talking to himself, “This is the first time I’ve slept for ten hours straight. Even Dr. Li’s medicine only helps me get about six hours of sleep at most.”

Jing Xi was genuinely curious. She really wanted to know what illness he had.

And also, why did he have that terrifying black snake tattoo on his abdomen?

But when the words were about to leave her mouth, she swallowed them back.

She stirred her wontons in silence.

She had a feeling that Long Yuezhi wasn’t just any ordinary person.

He wasn’t just some spoiled rich boy.

Even his relationship with Xu Jin seemed unusual.

And he definitely had a lot of secrets.

Maybe knowing too much wouldn’t be good for her.

But the more she thought about it, the more curious she became.

She wanted to know.

“What are you thinking about? You’ve been stirring your wontons into mush.”

“…Nothing.”

Long Yuezhi took a bite of his wontons and found them quite tasty.

“You’re wondering why I take medicine every day, aren’t you?”

Jing Xi was caught off guard, but she nodded.

Long Yuezhi chuckled helplessly. “I’ve been like this for as long as I can remember. If you ask me what illness I have, I don’t even know.

“The western doctors couldn’t figure it out either. Some say it’s a congenital condition, some say it’s an autoimmune disease, and others even claim I was poisoned or cursed.”

“There are all kinds of theories, and I’ve taken countless medications, but none worked. It wasn’t until Dr. Li and Juzi developed this medicine for me that I could eat and sleep better, but even that isn’t a cure.”

Jing Xi was surprised that Long Yuezhi was willing to share this with her. She listened carefully.

“What about your tattoo? What’s the story behind that?”

“The one on my stomach?”

“Yes.”

Long Yuezhi put down his spoon.

“My parents found an old folk remedy when they were young.”

“A folk remedy?”

She had never heard of a tattoo being used to cure an illness.

“This tattoo has been there for over ten years. It was supposed to help cure my condition, but it actually comes with serious side effects.”

Jing Xi was even more shocked. “Side effects?”

“Yes. It causes pain.”

“What kind of pain?”

Long Yuezhi struggled to describe it. “It feels like my internal organs are being twisted. It’s the worst at dawn, so I used to take sleeping pills and painkillers before bed.”

Jing Xi suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.

“So… did it hurt last night? Around dawn?”

Long Yuezhi shook his head. “Not as intensely as before. The mild pain is manageable. But last night, I didn’t feel any discomfort at all.”

“Was it because of the medicine you took?”

Long Yuezhi nodded. “Yes, Dr. Li and Juzi’s medicine helps. But what’s strange is that the medicine you brewed last night seemed to be even more effective. I slept for almost ten hours! If I told Yu Er and the others, they probably wouldn’t believe it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Come to think of it, the last time I ate your steamed buns, I slept really well and even took a nap in the afternoon.”

Could it be because of the spring water?

If that was the case, she could try using it to brew his medicine again.

Looking at his pale complexion, Jing Xi suddenly didn’t know what to say.

No wonder he was so thin and sickly pale.

He had been battling illness since childhood.

That night at the coal mine, his face had turned ghostly white—it must have been the pain.