Uncle Tang was still standing at Lan Yu's door, about to follow her.
Aunt Tang called out to him, "Old man, don't go. Let Lan Yu take care of him. Don't mind her tough talk, she still cares deeply for her man."
Uncle Tang understood and stayed in Lan Yu's room to help look after Xiao Ning Yu.
As Lan Yu entered Uncle Tang's room, she saw An Jing lying on the inner side of the bed, tightly wrapped in the quilt.
She touched his forehead and recoiled in shock, his skin as hot as an ember.
She picked up the medicine box beside him and saw it only contained simple cold medicine, with no fever-reducing properties.
Letting him continue to burn with fever was too frightening. She quickly grabbed the washbasin and towel from the room, filled the basin with cold water outside, and decided to use the physical cooling method of a cold compress until a car to the county was available the next morning.
As she changed the towel on his forehead, she heard him muttering incoherently in his sleep, suddenly calling her name loudly, "Lan Yu! Don't go, don't go!"
Her heart felt as if it had been poked in its softest spot, and her eyes welled up with tears.
She took a deep breath and quickly replaced the towel with a wet one.
An Jing had initially intended to feign illness to stay longer, but after lying down, his throat felt like it was on fire, and his entire body felt like it was being roasted.
He wanted to open his eyes but couldn't. However, he felt someone constantly taking care of him by his side, occasionally holding his hand.
When he finally woke up and looked around, he realized he was still lying in Uncle Tang's room, but no one else was there.
He wondered if Uncle Tang had stayed up all night looking after him, but in his semi-conscious state, he remembered the hand holding his was slender and soft. Could it have been Lan Yu?
Just then, the door opened from the outside, and Lan Yu walked in, holding a bowl, with Aunt Tang following behind her.
Lan Yu glanced at him and asked, "Are you feeling any better? Do you want to go to the hospital?"
An Jing touched his forehead and said, "I'm fine, no need to go to the hospital. Um, what's in your bowl?"
Lan Yu put down the bowl, "It's plain congee that Aunt Tang made for you. Eat it while it's hot." She then turned to leave.
Aunt Tang felt a little surprised, as the congee was clearly made by Lan Yu herself.
An Jing called out to her, asking for confirmation, "Were you the one taking care of me last night?"
Lan Yu immediately denied it, "It wasn't me, it was Aunt Tang." She then pushed Aunt Tang forward and quickly left.
An Jing couldn't help but lift one of his hands, look at it, then at Aunt Tang, and say, "Thank you."
Aunt Tang was bewildered by Lan Yu's actions and awkwardly said, "You're welcome. Drink the congee quickly to warm your stomach. Your uncle and I are going to the county to buy you some medicine."
After saying that, she also quickly left the room, leaving An Jing alone in bed again.
An Jing gazed at the ceiling and sighed helplessly. However, he was relieved that this fierce-looking Aunt Tang wasn't chasing him away anymore. Being able to stay for now was a victory.
He lay in bed all morning, feeling bored. He finally got up and started to wander around.
The brick and tile house was very simple, with few furnishings.
As he was about to walk from the main hall into the courtyard, he saw Lan Yu washing clothes with the child.
There was no washing machine here; clothes had to be washed by hand.
Lan Yu sat on a small stool, with a large basin full of water in front of her, bending over to scrub the clothes.
An Jing quietly walked behind her. Seeing his wet clothes from the previous day in the basin, he stepped forward and crouched down, reaching his hands into the water to help her wash.
But as soon as his hands touched the water in the basin, he felt an icy chill.
Lan Yu also noticed him and immediately called out, "Why are you out here instead of resting in your room? This water is from the well, it's very cold."
An Jing was determined to help her with the chores and wasn't afraid of the cold water. He tried to pull the basin over, saying, "You go watch Ning Yu, I'll wash these clothes."
Lan Yu impatiently pushed his hand away and said, "Xiao An Jing! Have you had enough of this? I have to look after the child and help Uncle and Aunt with their chores. I don't have that much time to take care of you. If you get sick again, I won't help you!"
An Jing, having just shaken the water off his hand, froze at her words and asked, "You were the one taking care of me last night, it wasn't Aunt Tang, was it?"
"It wasn't me, it was Aunt Tang." Lan Yu realized she had let slip, and lowered her head to continue washing clothes.
An Jing was now certain that Lan Yu still cared about him and felt an indescribable joy.
"Can you just listen to me properly? I was so angry that I slapped you because I thought Xiao Xiao was just a child and didn't understand why you were arguing with her..."
Lan Yu immediately wiped her hands dry and covered her ears, "Stop talking, I don't want to hear any more! I forced you to send Xiao Xiao away, I'm the one who separated you and your daughter. I admit I'm a bad woman! If that's the case, you shouldn't have come looking for me!"
"That's not what I meant, let me finish..."
"I don't want to listen, I don't want to listen!" Lan Yu didn't even want to wash clothes anymore and prepared to quickly take Ning Yu back to her room.
An Jing knew he couldn't reason with her further, so he decided to feign illness. He trembled all over and said, "Why do I suddenly feel so cold, my whole body is shaking... I feel so unwell, so unwell!"
To make it more convincing, he clutched his chest.
Lan Yu quickly helped him up, complaining, "I told you to rest in your room, but you insisted on coming out to catch a chill. Let's go back inside."
After helping him back to Uncle Tang's room, she made him lie down on the bed, found him thicker clothes, and said, "Put on a thick jacket. I'm taking you to the county hospital now. It seems we really need to get you checked out at the hospital."
An Jing lay on the bed, his eyes closed, continuing to pretend to be in great discomfort.
Lan Yu found a thicker jacket and tried to help the lying An Jing up, "Hurry and put this on. Can you walk yourself?"
An Jing opened one eye and weakly said, "I can't walk."
Lan Yu said anxiously, "Then you lie here for a moment, I'll go to the village to get someone to help..."
"Don't go, I'm so cold." An Jing seized the opportunity and grabbed her hand.
His grip was strong, catching Lan Yu off guard. She lost her balance and fell forward onto him.
They were suddenly very close, looking directly into each other's eyes. Lan Yu could clearly feel his hot breath on her neck, and her composure was shattered.
"Xiao An Jing, let go of me, what are you doing!"
"I said I'm cold, can't you let me get some warmth?" An Jing said righteously, trying to feel the warmth of her body.
He hadn't smelled this familiar scent on her so clearly in a long time.
"Let go. If you're cold, I'll get you another blanket." Lan Yu struggled a few more times, but it only made her seem like she was playfully resisting in his arms.
An Jing smiled and suddenly flipped over, gaining the upper hand and pinning her down, "That won't be necessary. You're warmer than any blanket."
"This is Uncle Tang's room, don't mess around." Lan Yu glared at him angrily.
An Jing stared into her eyes and asked earnestly, "You still care about me, you still love me, right?"