Just like when she took ibuprofen after having her wisdom teeth removed in her past life, the pain gradually subsided, and she eventually regained her normal sense of touch. This wonderful feeling made her relax completely, fall into a peaceful sleep, and drift off into a deep dream.
But what she didn't know was that Ruan Yu got up five times that night to change her fever-reducing patches and wipe her face with warm water to lower her temperature.
The girl's movements were very gentle as she wiped her cheeks, murmuring softly:
"Get well soon, don't leave."
"Please, I'm begging you..."
—In the time-travel novels she's been reading lately, many protagonists have their souls enter new bodies and take over when the original owner has a high fever.
At this time, the girl was unaware that living together day and night was the easiest way to develop feelings, especially since there was another person showing interest and taking care of her.
From the end of August to mid-December, the man's nearly four months of attentive companionship was enough to make her fall for him. She would often become clingy without realizing it, and he would often be annoyed or saddened by her.
She knew only one thing: she increasingly didn't want the other person to leave.
Even when she dreams of that person leaving, she wakes up crying and only feels relieved when she sneaks into his room and sees his familiar yet unrestrained sleeping posture.
If there is a god in this world, she will keep that person by her side no matter what price she has to pay.
-
The system's special medicine took effect quickly, bringing the temperature back to the normal 36.5 degrees Celsius.
However, Ruan Yu and the housekeeper forbade her to go to school, saying that they were afraid her condition would relapse and that she needed to consolidate her recovery. For this reason, Ruan Yu even asked the homeroom teacher for another week off and, in front of Wen Yun, gave her a relaxed seven-day review plan.
Wen Yun was very grateful for their kindness, but she also knew that she was unworthy of such a relaxed holiday, and always thought of persevering a little longer when she was studying.
Unexpectedly, when the allotted time arrived, Ruan Yu sent her to rest, making it impossible for her to continue studying. After much thought, she decided to take the opportunity to accumulate more "tea flavor points" through the script, so that she could at least make use of the free time.
On the night she was allowed to return to school to review for the exam, her brother Wen Lu, who had been bedridden for almost a year, suddenly sent her a message:
I have a day off on the 23rd and plan to go home.
The moment she read the message, the almost forgotten Christmas storyline suddenly came crashing down on Wen Yun like a tidal wave, catching her completely off guard.
Recalling the scene in the original text where Wen Lu went crazy after arriving home, Wen Yun's hands trembled slightly as she typed.
Brother, why did you suddenly decide to come back? Weren't you supposed to be very busy with your studies this year?
"I've heard some false rumors and plan to verify them myself," Wen replied. "I've already contacted a driver, so you can focus on your studies and don't need to pick me up from the airport."
After replying to the message, Wen Yun put down her phone and slumped into her swivel chair, feeling utterly hopeless.
The good news is that the plot that had been bothering her in the original story has been solved. Wen Lu did indeed return because he heard about the real and fake heiresses, not because the school was on winter break for Christmas and he was visiting his family. According to the original author's foreshadowing and the meaning of Grandpa Wen, Wen Lu didn't actually have much affection for this family.
This seems to confirm Wen Lu's "sister complex" persona; the only person he truly cares about in this family is his younger sister, Wen Yun, who grew up with him. Although Wen Yun still doesn't understand how a sister complex could remain silent for a whole year before sending her a single message.
The bad news is that Wen Yun has been overwhelmed by her studies these past few months and has almost forgotten about this plot, so she hasn't made adequate preparations in advance.
In addition, the studio has entered the final stage of ventilation and airing out. At the earliest, Ruan Yu will be able to move in by the end of this month, which means moving to the second floor.
Recalling the original plot, Wen Yun started to get a headache. She imagined the tense scene when Wen Lu and Ruan Yu met, and finally sighed, picked up her phone and went downstairs to discuss it with Ruan Yu.
A note from the author:
The first update is here!
Chapter 44
With Christmas approaching, Ruan Yu didn't consciously try to recall the past, but there was still a knot in her heart.
She was about to see her brother again, the brother who, based solely on Wen Yun's few "sincere" tearful words, stood by Wen Yun without hesitation, pushing her into the abyss and driving her out of the house.
Now that she has that person, she doesn't have much interest or hope that her brother will treat her well. She's just curious about how he will treat her.
Will the brother still break down and lose his mind just like in his previous life because he has no blood relation with the sister he grew up with?
It was something Ruan Yu had anticipated that the person would take the initiative to approach her to discuss countermeasures.
"You mean, my brother only decided to come back to see for himself after hearing about the real and fake heiress?" Ruan Yu asked.
“That’s not exactly what he said.” Wen Yun opened WeChat and showed her the message. “My brother didn’t say what the message was, but I guess it’s probably related to us.”
Her chat history with Wen Lu was very short, and Ruan Yu naturally saw the time of their last chat. She frowned slightly and suddenly changed the subject: "Does my brother really care about her that much?"
Wen Yun was taken aback, and after a few seconds realized that she was referring to Wen Yun. She nodded hesitantly, "I guess so. The two siblings have always had a very good relationship..."
“Everything has been fine. Could it be that we haven’t been in touch for a whole year?” Ruan Yu specifically pointed out.
"Well... I don't know either." Wen Yun shook her head. "Anyway, the information I have is that my brother dotes on me very much. In the eyes of his friends, he is a textbook example of a 'sister-complex'... Do you know what a 'sister-complex' means?"
“I know.” Ruan Yu replied while editing a message for Wen Lu on her phone. After typing it, she showed it to her. “Let’s turn an unknown into a known first.”
Wen Yun took the phone and saw that it was Ruan Yu confessing the truth about the real and fake heiress to Wen Lu in her own voice!
...And you know what, the protagonist's imitation of the tea talk was quite accurate, and between the lines she emphasized that their relationship was very good, unlike some TV dramas and novels where there was backstabbing and conflicts that made the whole family unhappy.
After carefully reviewing the text, Wen Yun said with difficulty, "There's a rather serious problem. People who know me well might misinterpret my words as 'green tea' statements. I first tried it with Qi Qi and found that the more polite I was, the more she thought you were bullying me."
initial?
Ruan Yu keenly grasped this word.
It turns out that for this person, that was also the initial stage.
She thought for a moment, "Then how about explaining it in a less polite tone?"
“I haven’t tried it on my brother, but it worked wonders on Qiqi,” Wen Yun said.
"Let's give it a try first," Ruan Yu decisively concluded.
The message that was sent took a sudden turn: "Brother, I have a surprise for you! Mom and Dad have reunited with their biological daughter, so I have a new best friend I can chat with, do homework with, and even sleep in the same bed with! But let's be clear, you're not allowed to hate her! If you dare hate her, I'll break off all ties with you! We'll be complete siblings!"
The two stared at the message, and after a few seconds, Wen Yun couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"It looks like Qiqi stole my phone and posted this!" She finally managed to find a suitable description.
"You don't like it?" Ruan Yu asked with a smile.
"I really like it," Wen Yun said earnestly. "Then let's do some practice problems first and wait for your brother's reply?"
Due to time differences between domestic and international times, the wait lasted until the next morning.
The car had only driven halfway when Wen Yun was browsing current events when she saw a message pop-up from WeChat.
L: [?]
Wen Yun waited for a while, but five minutes passed without any response. She couldn't help but lean close to Ruan Yu's ear and say, "He just replied with a question mark."
Ruan Yu inevitably had another nightmare about her past life yesterday and didn't sleep well. She was a little groggy right now, and when she felt a warm breath on her ear, she was still a bit confused: "Who?"
"Our brother." Wen Yun had just handed the phone to her when she heard a notification sound and instinctively looked down.
L: [I've been here for almost half a year, why didn't you tell me sooner?!]
L: [I can understand Mom and Dad, but why are you keeping quiet about it too?! What do you take me for, your older brother?!]
Ruan Yu tilted her head to read the new message, her morning grumpiness prompting her to type: [Dad said she needs a one-year probationary period. If she doesn't pass, she'll be kicked out. Only if she passes can she be considered a member of the Wen family, which is why I didn't tell you. After all, without hope, there will be no disappointment.]
After typing, she rubbed her sleepy eyes, handed the phone back to Wen Yun, and leaned against her shoulder. "If you think it's okay, then send it."
Wen Yun didn't think these words needed to be changed, and after reading them, she pressed the send button directly.
This time, Wen Lu remained silent for a long time, so long that they had already finished two classes and a long break for morning exercises before receiving a new reply.
L: [Yunyun, you're close to her, please tell her for me that she'd better start preparing to leave now.]
L: [Since she's my blood-related sister, I should still cover the expenses for her when she runs away.]
L: [Of course, if you don't want to stay in that house anymore, you can leave with her. Your brother has money now; it's more than enough to support you through four years of university.]
"..." Wen Yun suddenly thought of an emoji.
A person stood in the room, leaning halfway out, and held up a sign to all the newlyweds downstairs: Run!
Even her own brother was urging her to run away; Wen Yun truly never expected this.
To put it bluntly, the Wen family, a wealthy family, is a joke; they can't even keep any of their children.
She wrote and deleted, deleted and wrote again, and in the end, she only replied with one sentence: "Let's talk about it when you get back."
-
The 23rd arrived quickly. Wen Lu took a flight that morning, but arrived at the Wen family home at 4 a.m. local time on the 23rd.
When he got home, Ruan Yu had just been woken up by the cat stepping on her. Still half asleep, she put down the Shiba Inu pillow and got up to feed the cat water and food.
Faintly, she heard a familiar male voice coming from outside the door:
"Why are you letting her sleep in the guest room?"
"Young Master, the original master bedroom is already full." Then came the butler's voice, "However, Miss Yunyun has given up her art studio to be converted into the master bedroom for Miss Xiaoyu. Miss Xiaoyu can move in at the end of this month."
"It's full? My bedroom is clearly empty, why not make room for her?"
"this……"
...Was it a dream?
Ruan Yu blinked in disbelief, staring blankly at the bedroom door. It wasn't until the black and white cat meowed and rubbed against the back of her hand that she came back to her senses, stroking the soft fur of the cat again and again, still somewhat dazed.
It must be a dream.
But she didn't even dare to have such a dream.
After feeding the cat, she went straight to bed and fell asleep.
The next day, she changed into her sportswear as usual, put her hair, which was already big enough to be tied up, into a bun, tied it with a dark blue headband, and clipped her bangs with a silver butterfly hair clip.
She picked up the cat and went out. Passing by the restaurant, she saw the man from her memory wearing gold-rimmed glasses, sitting politely opposite the other man. The brother and sister were chatting and laughing. Her heart sank, and for some reason, she walked over.
Wen Yun got up early on purpose, hoping to run into Wen Lu, who was used to getting up early for breakfast, so that she could discuss with him about running away with Ruan Yu, and also find out his attitude towards Ruan Yu.
To her utter surprise, Wen Lu, whom she found utterly repulsive in the original text, said something that resonated with her: "Having more sisters isn't so bad. Being switched at birth is just a cruel twist of fate. Apart from the backward living conditions, the Ruan family hasn't hindered her development in terms of mindset. They've not only actively pushed her into a new environment, but they haven't sought any of our family's money."
He paused, "Unless Xiaoyu is a selfish, self-serving scoundrel who only knows how to bully you, why would I hate her?"
After hearing these words, Wen Yun understood that this teammate was a sure thing, and her joy was evident on her face.
When Ruan Yu came out, she only saw this scene.
Although the fish tank was in the way, Wen Yun had sharp eyes and spotted her immediately, raising her voice to call out, "Is that Xiaoyu?"