Chapter 119 - 118: Jiang Xueli Reveals Her True Feelings

Chapter 119: Chapter 118: Jiang Xueli Reveals Her True Feelings

Seeing him act both harsh and concerned, Jiang Xueli cautiously pulled at the blanket. "I haven’t eaten... My stomach hurts, so I wasn’t in the mood to eat... And why did you hit me?"

Lin Zhengran sighed in exasperation. "Did you take your medicine? Did you take any painkillers?"

"Mhm, I did..."

Lin Zhengran found this absurd. "So you took medicine without eating?! Don’t you know that not eating just makes cramps worse? And taking medicine on an empty stomach... you’re really something else. Just lie down!"

Seeing how fierce he was, Jiang Xueli didn’t dare to talk back. She just lay in bed, still clutching her stomach.

Lin Zhengran said, "I’m going to buy you some hot food. Wait for me in bed."

"Oh..."

As Lin Zhengran turned to leave, Jiang Xueli watched him fearfully. "Zhengran... you’re not going to abandon me and just leave, are you?"

Lin Zhengran looked back. "What do you think? When have I ever abandoned you? If I really wanted to leave, I wouldn’t make up an excuse. I’d just tell you directly. So just be good and wait here."

With that, he closed the bedroom door. He checked the fridge in the living room and, just as he’d expected, didn’t find what he was looking for, so he left the apartment.

Jiang Xueli lay in bed, staring blankly at the bedroom door, listening to the sound of the front door closing as he left.

She blankly mulled over his words. The pain in her stomach made her curl up instinctively as she muttered to herself:

’But this morning, I clearly saw you being so intimate with He Qing... I believe you wouldn’t abandon me, but... what was that all about...?’

Lin Zhengran went to the supermarket and bought some brown sugar, red dates, and a lemon. He then stopped at a food stall to buy a bowl of millet congee and some steamed buns.

He then returned to Jiang Xueli’s home and first went to check on her in the bedroom.

"Still in pain?"

Jiang Xueli was happy to see him back. She nodded slowly. "It still hurts a little. What did you buy?"

"You’ll see in a bit."

Closing the bedroom door again, Lin Zhengran went to the kitchen, found the necessary tools, and got to work.

Although Lin Zhengran had never been in a relationship in his past life, he had read all sorts of books.

And even though in this life he wasn’t popular with other guys because of these girls, he actually had quite a few good friends back in school during his previous life.

He particularly remembered a major sweetheart in his college dorm who was always telling everyone about all the nice things he did for his girlfriend.

Things like brewing her brown sugar water, giving her massages, and rubbing her hands and feet to warm her stomach—he could do it all.

Even though no one really cared, he would bring it up so often that Lin Zhengran and his other roommates had unconsciously committed it all to memory.

So now, drawing on those old memories and supplementing them with a quick online search for more detailed instructions...

...after puttering around in the kitchen for a while, a small pot of brown sugar water was freshly brewed.

Lin Zhengran took a sip himself and decided it was decent. He poured a cup and carried it, along with the breakfast, into Jiang Xueli’s bedroom.

When Jiang Xueli looked up and saw the brown sugar water in Lin Zhengran’s hand, she was stunned. Although she’d heard him making noise outside, she hadn’t imagined this at all. "Brown sugar water? You bought this?"

"Where would they even sell this? They sell brown sugar, sure, but I remember just mixing it with water isn’t very effective, right? So I made this for you in the kitchen."

"Huh? You made it... for me?" Jiang Xueli stared at Lin Zhengran, completely flattered, her face flushing bright red. He, of course, had no idea just how devastating a gesture like this could be to a girl in this situation.

"You know how to make this? It must have been a lot of trouble."

"It was pretty simple." He sat on the bed and asked, "Can you sit up?"

"I can..." Jiang Xueli slowly sat up, remembering this time to pull the blanket up to cover herself, since she was bare underneath.

She watched him blow on the cup to cool it and stammered, "Where did you learn to do this? Don’t tell me... for He..."

"I just learned how online. I’d never actually made it myself before, but it’s pretty easy. You pick it up right away."

Jiang Xueli’s eyes widened slightly. ’He learned it just now?’

’Could I have been wrong...?’

Lin Zhengran blew on it again. "Take a sip and see how it tastes."

He saw she was just staring into space. "What’s wrong?"

Jiang Xueli snapped out of it and said shyly, "N-Nothing, nothing! I was just wondering... does He Qing get cramps...?"

"Huh?" Lin Zhengran understood. ’She thinks I learned how to do this because I’d made it for He Qing before, doesn’t she?’

He used his other hand to rap her on the head, making her yelp.

Lin Zhengran sighed in exasperation. "I told you, I learned it just now! Are you deaf? Besides, He Qing doesn’t get cramps. If I wasn’t watching you suffer, do you really think I’d have nothing better to do than learn how to make this for you?"

Jiang Xueli’s eyes wavered, and she had no idea how to respond.

Her face beet red, she lowered her head. ’So... you learned it just for me...?’

Lin Zhengran sighed and held the cup out to her. "I can’t be bothered to argue. Here, I’ll hold it for you. Just try it."

Jiang Xueli looked up and reached out. "I can hold it myself!"

But as she reached out, the blanket slipped down again.

She scrambled to pull the blanket back up, her face red and flustered. Lin Zhengran was at his wit’s end. "Just hurry up and drink. I’ll hold it for you. Stop dilly-dallying."

"Wh-Who’s dilly-dallying? It’s just... you’re being so gentle today, it’s making me shy... Should I drink it now?" she asked.

"Mhm, try it."

Jiang Xueli slowly brought her lips to the rim of the cup and took a small sip. She savored it for a moment. "It’s so sweet... and I can taste the red dates and lemon... You were so thorough."

Lin Zhengran explained, "Well, since I was going to make it, I figured I might as well do it right. Take another sip, then eat your breakfast."