"Xiao Ning, Auntie has brought you some milk."
“…”
No one answered.
Normally, Ji Yuning would open the door after three breaths.
Fang Bai listened intently, but there was no sound from inside the room.
They went out?
Fang Bai knocked twice more, and when there was still no response, she said, "Auntie will open the door when she counts to three."
"one…"
"two…"
"Click".
Fang Bai turned the doorknob, and a bright white light shone through the crack in the door.
Upon opening the door, Fang Bai's first glance fell upon the desk.
Nobody's here.
After his gaze shifted further inside, Fang Bai hurriedly went into the room.
Ji Yuning lay on her side with her legs dangling over the edge of the bed, curled up, with a slipper still hanging on one foot, as if she had fallen over while putting on her shoes.
Fang Bai kept his eyes straight ahead, quickened his pace towards Ji Yuning, put down what he was carrying on the desk as he passed it, ran a few steps and squatted down by the bed, took Ji Yuning's arm and asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
Fang Bai placed his hand on Ji Yuning's forehead first, murmuring, "Do you have a fever?"
Body temperature is normal.
No fever.
However, cold sweat was breaking out on both sides of my forehead.
Ji Yuning, whose face was being cupped by Fang Bai, opened her eyes, her brows furrowed, her thin lips moving slightly, and a soft voice squeezed out: "...It's nothing."
"You're still saying you're fine?! You have to be careful what you say, okay?" Fang Bai thought Ji Yuning didn't want to show her weakness in front of her, so she scolded her sternly and then asked with concern, "Is it a stomachache or something? Appendix?"
Ji Yuning was too weak to speak.
Seeing this, Fang Bai said, "Wait a moment, I'll call Uncle Li, and we'll go to the hospital."
Fang Bai didn't have his phone with him, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Ji Yuning's phone on the bedside table. As he reached for it, he suddenly noticed another item on the table.
Fang Bai's anxiety subsided. He stopped reaching for his phone and looked at Ji Yuning, asking in a low voice, "You... came too?"
Ji Yuning: "...Hmm."
Fang Bai subconsciously asked, "Stomach ache?"
Seeing Ji Yuning clutching her stomach with both hands, Fang Bai stood up, took off Ji Yuning's slippers, moved her legs, which were dangling by the bedside, onto the bed, and covered her with the blanket.
Fang Bai patted the blanket and whispered, "You lie in bed, I'll go get you some painkillers."
Ji Yuning was in so much pain that she couldn't even open her eyes.
All she could hear was the "clack-clack-clack" of slippers running on the ground, the sound gradually fading into the distance.
After an unknown amount of time, the "tap tap tap" sound rang in my ears again, but this time, the sound was not as urgent.
Fang Bai carried the water, afraid that he would spill it if he ran too fast.
Fang Bai sat down on the edge of the bed, put his hand on Ji Yuning's shoulder, and gently shook her. "Xiao Ning, I've brought the medicine."
Ji Yuning had recovered somewhat and was not in as much pain as before.
Ji Yuning slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Fang Bai's anxious and concerned face.
Fang Bai placed the water glass and medicine on the table, helped Ji Yuning sit up, and then brought the water and medicine to Ji Yuning, saying softly, "Take your medicine first."
As Fang Bai spoke, he handed the medicine to Ji Yuning's lips.
Ji Yuning's lips felt the hardness of the pill and the softness of Fang Bai's fingers.
Her lips parted unconsciously, and the pill was stuffed into her mouth.
A slightly bitter taste lingered in my mouth.
Ji Yuning took the water glass and swallowed the medicine with the water.
Fang Bai watched as Ji Yuning drank her medicine, then got up and propped up the pillow behind her so she could lean on it comfortably.
"I'll go make you another cup of brown sugar water."
Before Ji Yuning could even utter her refusal, Fang Bai had already turned and left.
This time, the rubbing of slippers against the floor no longer produced a worrying clattering sound.
Five minutes later, Fang Bai watched as Ji Yuning finished drinking the brown sugar water.
Taking the cup from Ji Yuning's hand, Fang Bai asked in a low voice, "Are you feeling better?"
The medicine has started to take effect, but it still hurts a bit.
Ji Yuning pursed her pale lips. "Alright."
Still being stubborn.
Fang Bai put the cup on the table and held out his hand to Ji Yuning: "Give me your hand."
Ji Yuning: "?"
Ji Yuning did not make a move.
Fang Bai had no choice but to reach out and grab Ji Yuning's left hand, which was resting on her lap.
She held Ji Yuning's wrist with one hand and pressed down on the back of Ji Yuning's hand with the other.
Fang Bai's palms were warm, the kind of warmth one would expect on a hot summer day, but Ji Yuning's were as cold as a stream in early winter. Fang Bai guessed that Ji Yuning had been in pain for some time, otherwise she wouldn't be so weak that she couldn't get out of bed.
The warmth from Fang Bai's palm slowly transferred to Ji Yuning's skin.
Fang Bai's grip on her wrist began to burn.
Ji Yuning tried to pull her hand away, but when she moved, she found that Fang Bai was holding her tightly, as if he had expected her to try to escape.
After pressing for about ten seconds, Fang Bai looked up at Ji Yuning, then lowered his head to continue pressing while asking, "I heard that pressing here can help with menstrual cramps. Can you feel it now?"
Ji Yuning lowered her eyes.
Fang Bai's fair hands contrasted with her slightly sallow complexion. The pad of her thumb pressed slightly on the area between her thumb and index finger. Her knuckles were rounded, and due to the pressure, crescent-shaped marks appeared at the tips of her nails.
As far as she knows, there are no acupoints on her hands that can relieve menstrual cramps. The acupoint seems to be located between her calf and ankle, but she doesn't know exactly where.
For some reason, Ji Yuning suddenly had an image of Fang Bai grabbing her ankle and pressing acupoints flash before her eyes...
Ji Yuning felt a nerve twitch somewhere in her calf.
Expelling the images from her mind, Ji Yuning said calmly, "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Fang Bai calmly took a breath. Although she hadn't been pressing for long, her hand was indeed sore. She coughed softly and said cautiously, "Then I'll stop pressing?"
“Mmm,” Ji Yuning’s eyelashes fluttered, “Thank you…”
Fang Bai smiled faintly: "It's what I should do."
Ji Yuning nodded without saying a word.
Fang Bai looked at Ji Yuning and blinked, "I heard that if two close friends come here, it can be contagious..."
Fang Bai raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Do you think you might have caught it from me?"
Are they on good terms?
Ji Yuning denied it: "I was only two days late."
Fang Bai smiled gently after hearing this: "Pretty much, I arrived three days early."
Forcing a good relationship.
“…”
The room fell silent.
Fang Bai glanced at the milk glass on the table out of the corner of his eye. "Would you like more milk? I'll go heat it up for you."
Ji Yuning followed Fang Bai's gaze and saw the milk. She was about to say no when she noticed a dark, lumpy thing sitting next to the milk cup.
Fang Bai saw it too.
Suddenly, she remembered why she had come to see Ji Yuning today.
Fang Bai walked to the desk, picked up the leather whip, and headed towards Ji Yuning.
Fang Bai wasn't sure if she had seen it wrong, but when she turned around, she saw a knowing look flash across Ji Yuning's eyes, as if she had just known.
Finally, under Ji Yuning's gloomy gaze, Fang Bai took the whip and walked to the bedside.
Just when Ji Yuning thought Fang Bai was going to make her take off her shirt and whip her again, she saw Fang Bai place the whip on her leg.
Fang Bai: "Here, take this."
Ji Yuning: "?"
Let her pull herself out?
“Of course, I’m giving this to you so you can hit me,” Fang Bai said, tucking the blanket around Ji Yuning’s neck. “I’m quite afraid of pain.”
Fang Bai withdrew his hand, lowered his eyes and said, "This is yours to handle. You can throw it away or burn it if you want."
This is Fang Bai's solution: destruction.
Ji Yuning frowned, her voice hoarse: "Why?"
Fang Bai raised his head and said earnestly, "Because I've decided to say goodbye to the past and be a good person."
Ji Yuning and Fang Bai stared at each other. Upon hearing this, Ji Yuning's eyes involuntarily moved, her gaze sweeping over Fang Bai's face as she considered the truthfulness of his words.
One minute.
Ji Yuning scrutinized him for almost a minute, but Fang Bai didn't seem as restless or flustered as she had expected.
For a moment, Ji Yuning couldn't tell whether Fang Bai was being genuine or just putting on an act with her masterful acting skills.