Chapter 33 Spicy Strips
Fortunately, the community was finally unsealed before Lin Shengmiao's holiday ended.
Lin Shengmiao returned home after grocery shopping and looked at her small living room, which had been transformed into a walk-in closet in just half a day. Miss Xu had recently become particularly fond of beauty. She already had beautiful features, and with her daily meticulous dressing up, she was truly captivating. One could only wish to do nothing all day but quietly admire her.
"You're back!" Xu Xingyan smiled sweetly at her and walked over in a few steps. "Perfect timing, I packed some luggage for you. See if you need anything?"
Xu Xingyan wore a light yellow wide-sleeved sweater and a handmade long skirt embroidered with red plum blossoms. Her loosely braided pigtails hung down in front of her chest. Her makeup was light, and she smiled gently, looking very gentle and domestic.
Standing in the entryway, she resembled a young girl who had stepped out of an oil painting. She neither spoke nor moved away, but simply watched Lin Shengmiao quietly, as if waiting for something.
Lin Shengmiao knew what she was waiting for. After they officially started dating, she felt a sudden surge of intelligence when facing Xu Xingyan. She calmly changed into her slippers, smiled, walked over, gave her a hug, tilted her head, kissed her ear, and whispered, "You've worked hard."
Miss Xu smiled, her eyes crinkling, like a pampered kitten that had been stroked. She snuggled affectionately against her and then happily went to pack her luggage.
Because of a phone call from Huang Zheng, Lin Shengmiao's vacation ended three days early. She had to go to Kyoto for a very important job. It was an international event with many countries participating, and it required a lot of high-quality translators.
For this reason, Xu Xingyan made a special trip back to the old house and brought back four large boxes of clothes, accessories and handbags, changing all the clothes in the two suitcases that Lin Shengmiao had brought.
So... not only do animals have the habit of marking their territory, but our Miss Xu does too.
Lin Shengmiao glanced down at the outfit she was wearing that someone had personally put together that morning, and at the delicate "Yan" character embroidered on the cuff of her coat, no bigger than a green bean. She gained a new understanding of Miss Xu's possessiveness.
...
Although she showed strong support for Lin Shengmiao's work, it was still obvious that as they were about to part, Xu Xingyan became somewhat depressed and more clingy.
In the kitchen, Lin Shengmiao was chopping vegetables when Xu Xingyan quietly wrapped her arms around her waist from behind and asked gently, "What are we having for dinner today?"
Lin Shengmiao kissed her forehead: "Blueberry yam, mixed vegetables, and millet porridge."
Xu Xingyan sighed, "It's so bland."
She caught a chill these past couple of days, and her rhinitis and stomach problems flared up at the same time. It's not serious, but it's been bothering her a bit.
Lin Shengmiao was truly a novice when it came to taking care of Xu Xingyan. Helpless, she called Luo Jing for advice for a long time. She didn't know what kind of magic potion Luo Jing had given her, but these past few days she had been even more cautious than when taking care of a pregnant woman in her early stages.
Sure enough, Lin Shengmiao gave her a comforting hug and said earnestly, "You should eat lighter, less oily and salty foods lately. Yam and millet porridge are good for your stomach..."
Seeing that she was about to launch into another long speech, Xu Xingyan quickly interrupted her, swearing to heaven and earth that she would definitely eat properly.
...
At night, Lin Shengmiao groggily opened her eyes and reached out to touch the side. Not only did she not touch anyone, but the blankets were also still cool. She instantly became fully awake.
She turned on the bedside lamp, put on her coat, and walked out of the bedroom. The bathroom door was ajar, and the light was dim. Xu Xingyan had changed into a dark set of pajamas and was washing clothes. There was a faint smell of blood in the air.
"You've started your period?" She understood immediately.
Hearing the noise, Xu Xingyan gave a soft "hmm," her face a little pale. "Did I disturb you?"
Lin Shengmiao touched her cold forearm and frowned, "Why didn't you call me?"
As he spoke, he pushed her into the bedroom, saying, "You go back to bed and lie down first. I'll take care of things here."
Xu Xingyan covered her lower abdomen, feeling quite unwell, and said weakly, "Don't bother yourself, let's go back to sleep. We have to get up early to catch our flight tomorrow."
"Does it hurt a lot?" Seeing this, Lin Shengmiao quickly wrapped her in his coat, half-pushed her back into the bedroom, tucked her into the blanket, and asked anxiously, "Where are the painkillers at home?"
Xu Xingyan shook her head, feeling even lifting her hand was difficult: "...I forgot to buy more after we finished eating last time."
Lin Shengmiao quickly opened the medicine delivery app, then went to the kitchen to boil a kettle of water, turned up the air conditioner temperature, found a heat pack, rubbed it to warm it up, and stuck it on Xu Xingyan's stomach, gently rubbing it with her own hands.
Xu Xingyan breathed a slight sigh of relief, nudged her, and said with a soft smile, "I'm fine, it's just an old ailment. I'll take a pill later and I'll be fine. You should go to sleep first."
"I'm going to sleep, and you're stuck here in pain?" Lin Shengmiao said irritably, pulling her tightly into his arms. "How can I sleep if you keep me up like this?"
Miss Xu was really vulnerable right now. Although I wanted to say a few more words of advice, I really craved a warm embrace, so I just hummed twice and then obediently snuggled into my girlfriend's arms, making my previous words seem insincere.
However, Ms. Lin was very satisfied with this. Not only did she personally feed Ms. Xu water after the deliveryman brought the medicine, but she also patiently massaged Ms. Xu's stomach for half the night until she fell asleep.
...
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.
Xu Xingyan stood at the door, reluctantly bidding farewell to her girlfriend who was all dressed and ready to leave.
She had only done a quick wash in the morning, and her hair was still damp on her forehead. She looked listless, and from a distance, she resembled a sickly beauty whose ink was not yet dry.
"I've made some soup for you in the kitchen. You can drink it in another hour. I called Xiao Tang. You can just stay home and rest today. The painkillers are on your bedside table, but don't take too many..."
Lin Shengmiao gave her a lot of instructions, and the list of things to pay attention to kept growing. Xu Xingyan repeatedly assured him that she would take good care of herself. Lin Shengmiao coaxed and tricked her into the elevator with her luggage. They couldn't dawdle any longer; the driver downstairs had been waiting for a long time.
As the numbers on the elevator doors slowly descended to the first floor, Xu Xingyan stood there for a long time, until an unbearable abdominal pain pulled her back to reality. Remembering Lin Shengmiao's earlier words, she moved her feet to the kitchen to take a look.
She laughed as soon as she opened the pot lid.
Cuttlefish and angelica soup is a very familiar dish.
Back when I was at home, my mom would make this for me every time I had my period.
Take cuttlefish, mutton, angelica, ginger, Chinese yam and red dates, add water and bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat until tender. This can nourish blood and liver, and regulate menstruation.
Carefully putting the pot lid back on, Xu Xingyan stood by the window, watching Lin Shengmiao put the suitcase into the trunk, then open the car door, start the car, and drive towards the gate of the residential area, gradually disappearing from sight...
She waited a while longer before slumping back onto the sofa, utterly dejected. She dialed Luo Jing's number with practiced ease, her voice weak and strained: "Sister, have Aunt Luo come over for a few days… Yes, menstrual cramps and gastroenteritis… I think I need to be hospitalized. I'll have Dr. Wang come over later…"
...
Xu Xingyan leaned against the hospital bed, holding the apple tea brewed by Aunt Luo, and sighed helplessly, "Don't keep such a long face, just say what you want to say."
Luo Jing let out an exaggerated "Ouch!" and her face stretched longer than a donkey's. "How could I dare to say that to you? Aren't you just making fun of me? What kind of ability do you have? You could endure acute gastroenteritis until that guy surnamed Lin boarded the plane. Are you feeling particularly self-satisfied, thinking you're some kind of modern-day Casanova? Should I send you a banner of appreciation?"
"Oh dear, I didn't expect it to be this serious," Xu Xingyan said, glancing at her hand receiving an IV drip. "I'm a patient now, so watch your words and don't upset me..."
"You never thought of that!" Luo Jing said angrily, grabbing an apple from the fruit plate and taking a big bite.
"Don't you have any self-awareness about your health after all these years? Don't tell me I don't know you're prone to gastroenteritis during your period! If you had just called your family doctor or me last night, would you be lying in the hospital today? And you call that a mood! Don't you think about how I feel? You almost scared me to death today!"
Xu Xingyan already had a weak immune system, and the combination of her menstrual period and gastroenteritis made her even weaker. She managed to get through it all by sheer willpower. After seeing Lin Shengmiao off, before Aunt Luo could even come to take over, she suddenly developed a high fever and collapsed on the sofa at home, and had to be hospitalized for intravenous treatment.
Luo Jing was talking non-stop, her little mouth chattering away. Xu Xingyan lowered her eyes and didn't dare to reply, but she really wanted to say that there wasn't much difference between being brought in upright and being brought in lying down, since it was all the same as being hospitalized.
Judging from Luo Jing's words, she probably thought that Xu Xingyan was deliberately holding back because she was afraid that Lin Shengmiao would worry, but that's not really the case. Xu Xingyan felt very wronged.
Last night, she was simply too intoxicated by the gentle embrace of her body to notice the warnings it was giving her. She did realize them this morning, but seeing that Lin Shengmiao was about to leave, she decided to wait until after Lin Shengmiao left before calling the doctor, rather than telling her now and making her worry unnecessarily.
Anyway, Xu Xingyan was already used to being sick and hospitalized, and she didn't lack people to take care of her. Telling Lin Shengmiao would only make her worry more when she was working in another city, so why bother?
However, Luo Jing did not believe her explanation at all, stubbornly believing that her younger sister was a severely love-struck patient who urgently needed brainwashing treatment, so she did not hesitate to personally launch a powerful verbal offensive.
Miss Xu was tormented by her and realized for the first time that Sister Jing had the potential to be a Tang Monk.
After all the IV fluids were finished, Xu Xingyan quickly expressed her desire to be discharged. Hospital beds were in short supply at the time, and her condition wasn't too serious, so it was better to leave them for someone who needed them more.
Luo Jing: "No, let's stay another day for observation, and also get this year's physical examination done..."
Xu Xingyan said indignantly, "Is this what you call an annual inspection? I just had one last month!"
Luo Jing argued vehemently, "The last one wasn't comprehensive! They only did a routine check-up..."
Xu Xingyan slid down into the covers, revealing an extremely painful expression, then crawled out and conceded, "Then peel an apple for me!"
"You might as well just go to heaven!" Luo Jing complained as she looked around for a fruit knife.
"The fruit knife is in my bag, take it yourself."
Luo Jing opened her bag, pulled out a knife from a hidden compartment, then exclaimed "Huh?" and turned around, clutching a small bag of snacks. Her face fell again. "...You're eating spicy snacks even though your stomach hurts?!"
Xu Xingyan: "..."
She felt that if she looked up the almanac today, it would definitely say that nothing was suitable for her.
She paused, then asked meaningfully, "Don't you think this packaging and brand look familiar?"
Luo Jing was taken aback. Hearing her say that, she did feel a sense of familiarity. "This is..."
"These are the spicy snacks that I used to buy for Miaomiao with your allowance back in high school..." Xu Xingyan's tone was full of mutual hurt.
Luo Jing: "..."
She remembered that when her daughter was in high school, Ms. Fang Yi was very worried that she would eat unhealthy food, so she was very strict about her allowance. So... until Luo Jing graduated, the money Xu Xingyan used to buy snacks basically came from Luo Jing's pocket.
But actually, Xu Xingyan didn't really like eating snacks. She just really liked buying snacks for Lin Shengmiao. Spicy strips were the most popular snack she bought because they were the most popular among her high school classmates at the time.
In other words, back then, Xu Xingyan was actually spending Luo Jing's money to buy snacks for Lin Shengmiao.
Years later, Luo Jing experienced the feeling of being so angry that her liver hurt again because of the same thing.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Luo Jing: Can you blame me for disliking Lin Shengmiao? Can you?
Chapter 34 Witness of Love
Ms. Tang is currently experiencing relationship troubles.
He was a young man who came to buy flowers for his mother. He was a police officer who had just graduated last year. He had a sunny personality and two small tiger teeth when he smiled. As soon as he got off work, he squatted down in front of the flower shop and awkwardly tried to strike up a conversation.
"Tell me, what exactly does he like about me?"
Tang rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the bustling street outside, his eyes filled with confusion.
What's hidden beneath those bulky winter down jackets? A plain, unadorned appearance? Or a wallet so empty it barely supports oneself, occasionally requiring financial assistance from parents?
Love came so suddenly that the girl, who had always considered herself ordinary, was almost filled with anxiety.
Like a child who has received candy for no reason, feeling both apprehensive and deeply grateful, a gentle girl often feels this way when faced with someone expressing affection, feeling helplessly grateful for the other person's liking and appreciation.
Xu Xingyan was slowly pruning the flower branches. Her long, silky black hair was tied up with a white jade hairpin. She wore a moon-white knitted dress and a fluffy shawl, looking extremely elegant. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle.
"The impact of the internet has made it easy for people to have a misunderstanding: only beauty that is widely recognized by the public is true beauty. However, beauty itself is abstract, and everyone's understanding of beauty is different. We usually call this personalized aesthetic 'first impression'."
She patiently comforted the girl who had become sentimental because of love, her tone calm and peaceful: "Perhaps, you two just happened to be 'matched'."
The word "缘" (yuan, meaning fate or destiny) was introduced to the Central Plains by Buddhism during the Han and Jin dynasties. Since then, it has been deeply integrated with Chinese culture and is inseparable from it. It represents beautiful yet elusive aspirations and encounters, which are mysterious and incomparable.
Ms. Tang accepted the explanation, but soon found herself in a new dilemma: should she change into a nice outfit when she went to the movies after get off work today?
If you're in a relationship and your heart is as still as water, as calm as a still well, what fun is there in it?
After finally settling on her makeup for the evening's date, Xiao Tang looked up and saw her boss with his eyes lowered, chatting on the phone with a gentle smile.