The allergy made her feel her cheeks and ears burning, and her heart was pounding like a drum, battering her reason.
Breathing was also difficult; it felt like there was a blockage in my throat, making it hard to exert any force, as if someone was choking me.
She vaguely recalled the last moments of her past life. In her hazy consciousness, she felt as if she were drowning, forced to stay awake and watch herself being swallowed up by darkness bit by bit amidst excruciating pain.
No one came looking for her, and no one came to rescue her.
Suddenly, her wrist, which was holding the teacup, was grasped. She looked up and, through her blurry vision, heard the person anxiously reassuring her, "Don't cry, don't be afraid. You've taken the medicine, and you'll feel better soon."
"Yes, I'm not afraid." She quickly shook her head, but then realized her voice was trembling.
Old Hu, the driver of the old house, quickly arrived with the family doctor. After Wen Yun told him about Ruan Yu's situation, the doctor asked them to get in the car to check for allergens.
Watching her mother's figure gradually disappear into the distance from the car, Wen Yun took out two napkins, hugged the girl next to her, and gently patted her back. "If you're really scared, just cry. I'll catch your tears so they won't wash away the medicine on your face."
In that instant, Ruan Yu suddenly felt something inside her shatter.
She wondered, why wasn't she there to save her when she attempted suicide in her past life?
Why didn't she meet him at the beginning of her past life?
She knew her thoughts were utterly unreasonable, but when she turned her head and met that person's concerned and worried gaze, and saw the tissue held in front of her eyes, she couldn't help but want to cry. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and she clenched her clothes tightly with both hands.
If this person was able to come, why... did they arrive so late?
The private hospital was located halfway up the mountain, not far from the Wen family's old residence. Before getting out of the car, the doctor had called the laboratory department. As soon as they arrived, he took Ruan Yu to get tested for allergens.
The allergy blood test was done on the arm. Wen Yun was afraid that Ruan Yu would be nervous, so as soon as she saw the nurse take out the blood collection device, she quickly covered Ruan Yu's eyes.
Even though it was still dark, Ruan Yu felt unusually at ease. After having her blood drawn, she sat quietly on a bench for a while. When she was told to get an IV drip, she had already regained her usual calm.
But the person seemed to disagree with her getting an IV drip. With a serious expression, he repeatedly asked the doctor to confirm that it was really necessary and verified the composition of the saline solution before allowing her to sit on the stool at the injection site.
"Saline solution should not be administered indiscriminately, especially when allergies occur. Some saline solutions contain hormones, which can be addictive, and can easily lead to recurrence and side effects after administration."
After hanging up the saline bag, Wen Yun sat down and looked at the regulator, "Does your hand hurt? If it does, I'll slow it down."
“It doesn’t hurt.” Ruan Yu shook her head, staring intently at her.
Wen Yun asked her again how she felt, and when she said "I'm fine" each time, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes: "You're not lying to me, are you?"
"I'm not lying to you." Ruan Yu chuckled, then said in a very soft voice, "I wouldn't lie to you, no matter who I'm lying to."
Wen Yun only caught the first half of the sentence and asked in surprise, "Who are you trying to fool?"
Ruan Yu thought about it seriously, "I'm just fooling myself."
"Don't do that, your health should always come first!" Wen Yun hurriedly said. "The older generation even said that 'health is the foundation of everything'! In short, if you're not feeling well, just say so. Don't hide it and torture yourself! I won't think you're sensible because of that."
Ruan Yu hummed in agreement, a faint smile on her face.
"I asked the nurse, and the IV drip will probably take more than an hour," Wen Yun said. "Do you want to look at your phone to pass the time, or take a nap?"
"Take a nap," Ruan Yu said, leaning back in her chair. "Actually, I didn't sleep well last night."
"Is it because you're too nervous?"
"Hmm." Ruan Yu closed her eyes and lied, "I'm afraid that if I tell Grandpa the truth, we won't get the result we want."
"Don't think too much about it." Wen Yun reached out and ruffled her hair. "Just think of it as an opportunity that's within reach. If it's gone, there will be other opportunities."
"Mmm," Ruan Yu replied obediently.
Actually, last night she dreamed about what happened when she went to celebrate a birthday in her past life.
At that time, she listened to Wen Yun's words and obediently stayed in the living room, waiting for the other two families to arrive, and naturally greeted them with a smile.
But the way those people looked at her was undisguised mockery and contempt. One boy, even younger than her, asked directly, "Are you the sister who came from the countryside and wanted to marry into a wealthy family?"
She was stunned by the question, staring blankly at the other person, while the adults' chatter echoed in her ears.
"Hao Hao, how could you say that about someone?"
"Haohao is right. My brother's family values etiquette. If she hadn't had problems, why wouldn't they have brought their own daughter with them to celebrate her birthday?"
"I heard that their village has a very serious problem with favoring boys over girls. Girls are considered old maids by the time they turn eighteen. If she doesn't take this opportunity to break free, she'll definitely be sold to an old man in the village after graduating from high school!"
"Exactly! How can an elderly person in the countryside who doesn't even have social security afford to send her to university?"
"This poor girl is really pitiful. She was taken out of the village but doesn't even know how to be grateful. She's just causing trouble for the older brother's family!"
Each word pierced her heart, leaving her lingering fear and unable to fall back asleep when she woke up in the middle of the night.
But in this life, all the sarcastic remarks and sarcasm were met with a swift and merciless rebuke from the very beginning—
"Little friend, didn't your parents teach you that there are consequences for slandering others?"
A note from the author:
The first update is here!
Chapter 30
As for the price of smearing, the boy was so frightened by the person's vivid description of the entire process of Zheng Jiafei's expulsion from school that he turned pale and couldn't say a word.
The adults stood by awkwardly, unable to get a word in edgewise. The boy's mother initially said, "Children don't mean what they say," but the man retorted, "I know, that's why I was asking about the adults' upbringing. After all, how could an innocent child understand anything about 'marrying into a wealthy family'?"
Some people, feigning good intentions, reminded her: "Yunyun, it's not your place, a junior, to criticize how other people raise their children."
“How can it be ‘someone else’s family’?” Ruan Yu exclaimed in shock when she saw the man blink and make an exaggerated expression. “I’m not saying this to be mean, but if I were an outsider and heard what this child said, I would definitely think he’s ill-mannered! If we don’t correct him while he’s still young, are we going to wait until he grows up and embarrasses the Wen family in front of outsiders?”
After saying that, the man exclaimed, "I'm sorry, Second Uncle, I didn't mean to say that Hao Hao is ill-mannered! I was just worried that you wouldn't take it seriously, so I exaggerated it. You adults are magnanimous, you shouldn't hold a grudge against a junior like me, right?"
Although she had heard the same embarrassing words, Ruan Yu inexplicably felt relieved and vented at that moment.
During this time, while chatting with He Sheng, she came into contact with a lot of internet slang, including the term "double standard".
Recalling what happened that morning, Ruan Yu thought to herself that she was probably a "double standard person" back then.
After Ruan Yu finished her IV drip, the allergy test results were almost ready. It turned out to be a shellfish allergy, with other allergens including eggs and almonds, but none of them were serious. The rash on her body gradually subsided after the IV drip, and she would be fine after taking anti-allergy medication for two more days.
Even so, when asked by driver Lao Hu, Wen Yun still asked him to drive her and Ruan Yu home directly, and to pass on a message to Grandpa Wen, saying that she would definitely make time to apologize next time.
They called it an apology, but they knew perfectly well that it was just a pretext for their next meeting.
Since they left midway to go to the hospital, they only took their own bags and didn't take the calligraphy that Grandpa Wen gave them. Presumably, Grandpa Wen would have hoped that they would come and take it away.
Back home, Wen Yun repeatedly instructed the housekeeper: "Xiaoyu can't eat any foods that might trigger allergies these days. Try to make her favorite foods as bland as possible. Don't put onions, garlic, or chili peppers in them, and don't let her eat eggs for now."
The butler, presumably having received prior notice from the Wen family elders, nodded in agreement without even asking why the diet was light, saying, "Miss Yunyun, please rest assured, I will definitely pay attention to your diet."
The weather wasn't too hot in early October, but since they had just returned from the hospital, the housekeeper suggested that they take a shower and change their clothes.
This time, Wen Yun sided with the housekeeper, instructing her to prepare clothes for herself and Ruan Yu, and then pushed Ruan Yu to the bathroom on the second floor.
“Today is a special occasion, let’s shower together,” she said as they walked. “I’m afraid you’ll faint from the heat in the bathroom.”
This can indeed happen when allergies are severe. Wen Yun had a roommate who was allergic to hot air. One winter, she was taking a shower in the dorm, and the steamy air made her faint from the heat. Luckily, someone was there and heard the commotion, rushing into the bathroom to save her; otherwise, it could have been fatal.
Ruan Yu's expression changed instantly, and she stammered, "I... I shouldn't be that weak, right?"
"It's just in case," Wen Yun explained. "Just this once today. If there are no problems, you'll still have to shower by yourself afterwards."
Ruan Yu knew that this person rarely made such a serious request of her, and besides, it really wasn't a big deal for two girls to bathe together. But she understood the reasoning behind it, and for some reason, she felt very resistant, and only after hesitating for a long time did she finally agree.
She had no idea that Wen Yun was almost giving up and had been wondering why she didn't want to bathe with her. Was it simply because she was shy about bathing with someone for the first time, or was it because something unpleasant had happened in her past life that had left her with psychological trauma?
Before long, the housekeeper brought over their loungewear and underwear and put them in the wardrobe in the bathroom.
Wen Yun thanked her, closed the bathroom door, and tied her long hair into a bun on top of her head to prevent it from getting wet.
"Why don't you tie your hair up a bit too?" She opened a drawer, found a hair tie, handed it to Ruan Yu, and said with a smile, "It looks great. In just over a month, you've gotten fairer and your hair has grown quite a bit."
Ruan Yu had only heard similar comments from her close friend Su Manying in her previous life.
She had completely forgotten how she felt at the time, but hearing the same comment now, she felt her cheeks inexplicably warm up. She hurriedly said thank you, took the hair tie, and tied her hair into a small tuft at the back of her head.
To my surprise, when I looked up, I saw that the person had already revealed her smooth back, holding up her skirt in her hand, and from a distance, she threw it into the laundry basket.
Ruan Yu: "..."
When Wen Yun turned around, she saw the girl frantically pulling at her clothes, her face, ears, and neck all covered in red. Startled, she quickly went over and asked, "Did you bump into something? Why are you all red?!"
"I didn't touch anything..." Ruan Yu quickly shook her head, her voice noticeably weaker.
But she really didn't know what was wrong with her; she didn't even dare to look at this person, and her heart started racing.
Wen Yun was also confused. She was about to suggest that they not wash it and wait for the redness to fade before checking, but the girl in front of her quickly finished washing herself, put her clothes in the laundry basket, and came back and said softly, "You can wash it now. I'm not feeling unwell."
She emphasized it, so Wen Yun gave up the idea and turned on the tap to adjust the temperature.
"It's best not to use the bathtub as soon as your allergy symptoms have subsided, and you shouldn't use soap or shower gel either, as they will irritate your skin," she said. "Just rinse yourself off with water."
To take care of Ruan Yu's condition, Wen Yun didn't use soap or shower gel when she washed herself.
She wasn't sure if Ruan Yu was also allergic to these two scents, since the body is usually weak for a while after an allergic reaction.
The warm water flowed down, and the showerhead in the bathroom was quite large; there was plenty of room for two girls to stand together.
Ruan Yu felt a little dizzy, especially after that person turned around. She was dazzled by the generous and abundant scene he presented, and a feeling of inferiority or envy quietly crept into her heart.
She wanted it too...
The girl was completely unaware that Wen Yun had seen through all the emotions in her eyes.
In fact, Wen Yun could usually guess what girls of this era wanted, after all, she had come from that period herself. However, she really didn't expect that the protagonist would be insecure in this aspect.
That's clearly a burden. In her past life, she even told her roommate that when she had money in the future, she would definitely get liposuction. She'd be perfectly ordinary and amazing!
Wen Yun sighed inwardly, not wanting to say it out loud, knowing her words wouldn't comfort Ruan Yu anyway. So she simply pretended not to see it, quickly finished her bath, went to the side to dry herself off, and changed into a nightgown.
The sound of water beside her ears stopped at that moment. She turned her head and saw Ruan Yu hurriedly take off a dry towel and quickly wrap it around her body.
Wen Yun:?
There's no need to rush.
-
The dizziness lasted until Ruan Yu returned to her bedroom and closed the door, at which point it subsided.
She lay on her back in bed, comparing the feeling just now with the allergic reaction she had at noon, and finally concluded that it was not an allergic reaction.
But what exactly is it?