Chapter 52: Hugging Him
It was still faintly dark when Jin Shi Yue got up.
He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, taking in the lush expanse of Central Park, the brilliant lights of the Midtown and Downtown skylines, and the tranquil waterways of Manhattan.
A maid came to clean the kitchen and prepared two Western-style breakfasts.
Jin Shi Yue glanced at his wrist to check the time; it was eight-thirty, and Lian Li still hadn’t come down.
God of Wealth had already completed his morning exercise of running five laps around the apartment.
Jin Shi Yue led God of Wealth to Lian Li’s bedroom door and knocked twice, but there was no response.
He twisted the doorknob and let God of Wealth go in first to check.
Although this was a male Tibetan Mastiff.
But the situation was urgent, so gender didn’t matter. If necessary, it could be dealt with later.
God of Wealth walked in gracefully, and after a moment, hurried barking could be heard from inside.
Jin Shi Yue strode in. The plaster chandelier in the bedroom was still lit, and artworks hung on the walls. The person on the double bed frowned, turned over, and murmured something while crying.
“Mother…”
Jin Shi Yue knelt on one knee on the bed, leaned closer, brushed aside Lian Li’s damp hair clinging to her forehead, and felt her temperature with his palm; it was burning hot.
She had a fever.
He scooped up Lian Li’s legs and, with ease, lifted her into his arms.
Lian Li, drowsy in her sleep, felt waves of cold and heat, like being in a world of ice and fire. The quilt was pulled back, intensifying the cold, forcing her to open her eyes with difficulty.
Jin Shi Yue lowered his eyelids and his gaze fell on Lian Li’s face. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were vacant, and she didn’t seem to recognize him.
“You’re sick, I’m taking you to the hospital.” His voice was very low.
“I don’t want to go to the hospital…” Lian Li tried to break free from his embrace, but it was in vain. Only a continuous stream of tears overflowed from her eyes, soaking Jin Shi Yue’s clothes.
Her brows were tightly furrowed; she was very resistant to the hospital.
Jin Shi Yue had no choice but to give up. He placed her back on the bed and called for a family doctor.
Lian Li wept silently, large tears falling onto the pillow.
She kept calling for her mother, saying her mother had abandoned her.
Jin Shi Yue helped Lian Li sit up and held her to his chest. He raised his hand and gently stroked her face.
Lian Li’s hot tears rolled across Jin Shi Yue’s palm, like sharp little knives, cutting a bloody gash on his skin.
Jin Shi Yue looked down at her, his voice deep, “Where do you feel unwell?”
“My head hurts…” Lian Li’s voice was intermittent and choked with sobs, “A sun has grown on my head…”
She felt like a squid on a cutting board, being roasted and flipped over a fire, every part of her body burning with pain.
Jin Shi Yue had encountered all sorts of difficult situations and even life-or-death moments in the military region, but he had never felt so troubled. He cupped her face in his hands, gently wiping away her tears, but her eyes were like a vigorous spring, tears flowing endlessly.
She hadn’t cried this much on the street last night.
Lian Li felt warmth and wrapped her arms around Jin Shi Yue’s neck, clinging to him like vines.
The girl’s soft body pressed against him, and Jin Shi Yue’s body instantly stiffened.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” He gently pinched her cheek.
Lian Li only felt the slight pressure on her cheek and the gentle touch, like her mother teasing a child.
She was like an infant in swaddling clothes craving her mother’s warmth. Sitting on Jin Shi Yue’s lap, she hugged his neck with both hands, burying her face in his neck. Tears pattered onto his neck, silently seeping into his skin.
She kept calling for her mother, her body burning hot, raising his temperature.
Jin Shi Yue lowered his gaze, examining Lian Li’s condition. She was disoriented and unaware, as if lost in a dream, clinging to the mother who only appeared in her dreams.
The large room was silent, save for the girl’s spoiled cries of “Mother” and the man’s helpless sighs.
Lian Li had a faint scent about her, like oranges in the sun, bright and lively, wafting into Jin Shi Yue’s nostrils and spreading through his body.
He couldn’t afford to pay attention to the heat, softness, restlessness, and scent she brought him at that moment. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, gently patting her back, coaxing her like a child.
“Good girl. Don’t cry anymore.”
“A sun has grown on my head… it hurts…” she choked out.
He coaxed her in a low voice, “I’ll get Hou Yi to come and shoot the sun for you, as many as you want.”
Let alone the sun, he’d shoot the stars and moon for her.
She seemed to have reached a warm harbor and gradually quieted down.
The family doctor arrived soon after, a foreign woman in her forties. She took Lian Li’s temperature, administered an IV drip, prescribed fever-reducing medication, and stayed at the apartment to look after her.
Only after Lian Li’s fever subsided did the family doctor leave.
Lian Li’s head felt heavy. She vaguely remembered her flight back to the country today. She struggled to open her eyes; the bedroom was dim, with only the faint glow of the plaster chandelier, making it impossible to tell if it was dawn or dusk.
Lian Li took a breath and pushed herself up with her elbows, intending to turn on the light, when she suddenly heard footsteps.
“Who?” she asked instinctively, her voice alarmingly hoarse.
Jin Shi Yue strode in with his long legs, his gait casual. Seeing the startled Lian Li, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
“You’re awake.” Jin Shi Yue walked to the bedside and reached out to touch her forehead.
Lian Li instinctively flinched back, looking at him strangely, “What are you doing?”
“You don’t recognize people when you’re not fully recovered.” Jin Shi Yue directly cupped her chin and squeezed slightly. Lian Li’s mouth parted slightly, and he popped two pills inside.
Lian Li, caught off guard, swallowed them. Her taste buds were met with bitterness.
Jin Shi Yue picked up the glass cup from the bedside table, “Drink it yourself, or should I feed you?”
Lian Li could roughly guess what had happened.
She had caught a cold, coupled with lack of sleep, her body’s resistance had weakened, and she had developed a fever.
“I’ll drink it myself.” Lian Li took the glass cup from his hand. As they exchanged it, their fingertips brushed, and she almost dropped it.
Jin Shi Yue acted as if he hadn’t noticed and reached out to touch her forehead again to check her temperature. This time, Lian Li didn’t dodge, as some blurry images flashed through her mind.
Those scorching hot scenes instantly froze Lian Li.
Did she hug Jin Shi Yue?
!!!
Lian Li was terrified, as if a tornado had swept through her mind, stirring up a tempest of memories.
An illusion, it must be an illusion.
Jin Shi Yue stood by the bed, his sleeves neatly rolled up to his forearms. His broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs made his presence undeniable. He looked down at her, assessing her condition.
Lian Li felt uncomfortable under his gaze. Her thick, curled eyelashes fluttered, and she pretended nothing was wrong, slowly drinking water from the glass.
Jin Shi Yue didn’t let her off the hook. “Still hugging?”
“Cough!”
Lian Li immediately choked on the water. After a few coughs, she looked up at Jin Shi Yue.
The man’s brow bones were high, his eye sockets deep, and his raven-like eyelashes drooped, obscuring his sharp phoenix eyes, making him seem less distant.
Jin Shi Yue pulled over a chair, spread his long legs slightly, and sat down casually opposite Lian Li, like an old master.
He casually raised his eyelids, a roguish smile playing on his lips, and leisurely interrogated her, “Where did you touch me?”
