Wan Ying froze, her dark eyes unmoving, saying in disbelief, “How could that be? Those are the herbs, Uncle Lu Qi specially prepared; they’re very, effective…” Her expression was serious and sincere, with no trace of guilt at all.
Could it be that she genuinely knew nothing about yesterday’s black insects and truly wanted to help me? I didn’t dare to jump to conclusions.
“Are you thinking, I was trying to, harm you?” Wan Ying bit her lower lip, explaining, “The medicine, was prepared by, Uncle Lu Qi, I can guarantee, it’s not bad. If you don’t believe me, you can ask, Shen Jianqing.”
I listened quietly as Wan Ying finished. Although her expression was flustered, it wasn’t the kind of panic someone shows when a lie is exposed. And she was right, I could clarify this whole thing just by asking Shen Jianqing. Perhaps the insects that night simply weren’t deterred by Lu Qi’s herbs. After all, even insecticides can’t kill every insect in the world.
“Thank you, Wan Ying,” I said. “It was my narrow-mindedness; please don’t mind it. I’m very grateful to you.”
Wan Ying waved her hands repeatedly, her silver bracelets jingling crisply on her wrist. “I’m going home now. My maternal grandfather, is protecting us and is, very tired. I need to take care of him.” With that, Wan Ying gave me a strained smile, then lowered her head and quickly ran back into the forest, her blue figure soon disappearing.
The stilt house fell silent once more.
Suddenly, an inexplicable itch spread across the back of my hand. I raised my right hand to see Honghong steadily perched on it, waving its two slender forelegs, clumsily gesturing something. Its black eyes dotted its crimson body like tiny black beans. The more I looked, the more I found it somewhat endearing.
“Are you worried about Shen Jianqing?” I murmured softly, unsure if it understood. It simply tilted its tiny head.
I went into Shen Jianqing’s room. He lay there oblivious, his breathing steady, his expression peaceful.
The last time Shen Jianqing lay before me like this, I had thought about strangling him, ending it all. This time, as he lay so weakly, I couldn’t bring myself to do it again. The thought that he ended up like this because of me filled me with an uncontrollable sadness.
His wounds were carefully bandaged, and the injury on his right cheek had been cleaned and medicated. However, the scar across the corner of his eye was too deep, with a scab congealed there, making him look pitiful.
Honghong leaped from the back of my hand, eagerly jumping onto Shen Jianqing’s cheek. It crawled to his wound, pacing helplessly back and forth once, then settled motionless on his nose bridge. Shen Jianqing seemed to sense it, his brow twitching slightly, and his eyeballs shifting faintly under his eyelids, a sign he was about to wake. I quickly went to the kitchen to fetch the medicine I had brewed according to Lu Qi’s instructions.
When I re-entered, Shen Jianqing had slightly opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on the doorway. Honghong was no longer on his nose bridge, perhaps having hidden somewhere I didn’t know. Seeing me, Shen Jianqing let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.
“Where are the herbs I brought back?” Shen Jianqing’s voice was very low and breathy, but I heard him clearly.
His first question was still about me.
“Uncle Lu Qi soaked them in wine for us; they’ll be good for both internal and external use, and you’ll get better quickly,” I said. “You should also get well soon.”
Shen Jianqing tried to sit up, pulling at the corners of his mouth as if to smile, but the movement tugged at the wound on his face, and his expression immediately stiffened: “Hiss—”
“Don’t move around too much,” I said, stepping forward to press down on his shoulder. “It wouldn’t be good if you tear open the bandaged wound again.”
“Am I disfigured?” Shen Jianqing looked intently at my face, his hand shifting to clasp mine on his shoulder. “Will you no longer like me because I’m not as handsome as I used to be?”
When he said that, I couldn’t help but examine Shen Jianqing’s face closely. His looks were indeed striking enough to warrant the phrase “as vibrant as a spring morning flower.” But now, a deep scar cut across the side of his face, jarring and conspicuous.
“When I smashed your forehead, weren’t you indifferent then?” I asked. “Why do you care now?”
“That’s different…” Shen Jianqing said. “If I even lose this appearance, you’ll like me even less.” He finished, pouting with a deliberately sorrowful expression, yet his eyes were full of anticipation.
I knew what he wanted me to say. At this moment, couldn’t I just go along with it and say something nice to deceive him? But I hesitated, unable to speak. I couldn’t bring myself to lie to him with words like “I like you.”
The anticipation in Shen Jianqing’s eyes gradually cooled. After a long moment, his voice turned distant. “Li Yuze, do you know? I just like that about you, how you’d rather suffer inside than say some pretty, submissive words to deceive me.”
Our gazes met in the air, and we remained silent.
“Drink your medicine.” I said, shifting my gaze and changing the subject.
Shen Jianqing reverted to that aggrieved, vulnerable expression. “My hand hurts; I can’t drink it.” The tense air suddenly relaxed. I tacitly pretended that the brief standoff hadn’t happened. With a helpless sigh, I helped him slowly sit up, scooped a spoonful of the dark medicine, and brought it to his lips.
Shen Jianqing parted his lips and drank it, then his brows immediately furrowed, and his eyes painfully narrowed. His contorted expression pulled at his wound, and he sharply inhaled again.
“It’s so bitter!”
I could tell from the smell that this medicine was bitter, but what herbal medicine isn’t? Lu Qi had specifically instructed that this medicine was very effective and had to be taken three times a day.
“You still have to drink it whether it’s bitter or not,” I said, putting down the spoon and bringing the rim of the bowl to his lips. “Drink it all in one go, and you’ll only suffer the bitterness once.”
Shen Jianqing moved his lips away. “If I drink it, I want honeyed fruit.”
He really was still just a child.
I patiently said, “Alright, you’ll get honeyed fruit after you drink it.”
Only then was Shen Jianqing satisfied, and he gulped down the foul, bitter medicine in one breath.
“So bitter!” Shen Jianqing swallowed the last drop of medicine and said agonizingly, “Honeyed fruit! The honeyed fruit is in…” His voice dropped, and I instinctively leaned closer, trying to hear what he was saying: “Where is it…”
Before I could finish, my lips suddenly felt warm, and a warm breath brushed against my face. The light before my eyes was abruptly blocked, and all I could see was Shen Jianqing’s face. His eyes still held the cunning and amusement of a successful trickster, and he reached out with his teeth to gently bite my lower lip. It didn’t hurt, but it made my heart feel odd.
I immediately pulled back, breaking away from this deliberate, sudden kiss. Shen Jianqing leaned back against the headboard, smacking his lips, this time laughing without fear of pulling his wound.
“Sweeter than honeyed fruit.”
But all I tasted was the bitter medicine from his mouth.
