Chapter 12: Zhou Wan'er (2)

Ye Qinghe lay on the bed, watching the two of them chat.

As for Zhou Wan'er, although his memories told him that the two of them had always been close — the kind of true childhood friends who had grown up together from a young age — the fact that she still insisted on coming over to help whenever she had free time, even doing the cleaning, made him feel that his predecessor had actually been quite fortunate.

"Oh, I got so caught up chatting that I forgot to feed Qinghe!"

Perhaps sensing Ye Qinghe's gaze, Zhou Wan'er suddenly remembered that she had said she would feed him — and hadn't given him a single bite yet.

She scooped a spoonful of tofu pudding from the lunch box, blew on it gently, and brought it to Ye Qinghe's lips.

"How is it? Tasty?"

"Mm!"

Ye Qinghe nodded. The flavor was exactly what he liked most — a faint hint of garlic mingled with the silky smoothness of the tofu pudding, the savory braising sauce, and the fragrance of cilantro. It was rich and delicious.

Seeing his approval, Zhou Wan'er smiled, two dimples appearing on her cheeks.

After waiting for Ye Qinghe to chew a couple of times and swallow, she broke off a small piece of fried dough stick and held it up to his mouth.

"Qinghe, do you remember Zhao Mingyu? His family seems to have come to Jingcheng to make their mark. He actually came to my school a couple of days ago, going on about how his family was going to take Jingcheng by storm. I really can't stand it — how can someone be so shameless..."

What Zhou Wan'er didn't notice was that behind her, Ye Dali, sitting on the sofa, had gone very pale at the mention of Zhao Mingyu.

"Back then, if it weren't for your illness forcing Uncle to sell the company, how could their family possibly be where they are now? Have they really forgotten how they could never get ahead, always being kept down by Uncle? And now they come to Jingcheng to make their mark — I give it no time at all before they lose everything and slink back home with their tails between their legs!"

"He even asked about you. I didn't tell him anything!"

"Oh right, I remember you beat him up once before? If you ask me, you went too easy on him!"

Zhou Wan'er didn't mind whether Ye Qinghe responded or not. She kept feeding him while talking to herself.

Ye Qinghe ate slowly, and before he had finished, Ye Dali had already finished his own meal. He had come home mainly to look after Ye Qinghe, but now that Zhou Wan'er was here, there was no need for him to stay.

"Wan'er, you stay with Qinghe. I'm heading out to work. Wait for me at noon — I'll pick up a few dishes on the way back and we'll have a proper meal."

"Okay, Uncle Dali!"

A few minutes after Ye Dali left, Ye Qinghe had also finished eating. Zhou Wan'er tidied everything up and began giving Ye Qinghe a massage.

The reason Ye Qinghe had maintained his current condition so well — with little to no muscle atrophy — was because Ye Dali gave him massages several times every day. Zhou Wan'er had long since learned the techniques from Ye Dali.

"Wan'er, I'm already like this, so you really don't have to..."

Before Ye Qinghe could finish, Zhou Wan'er's brows arched sharply and she glared at him. "Ye Qinghe, are you about to say that same thing again — trying to get me to stop coming?"

"Let me tell you something, Ye Qinghe. I come because I feel sorry for you and because Uncle Dali works too hard. If you really want to prove yourself, then hurry up and get better — got it?"

"Your right index finger has already recovered its function, which means other parts of your body can recover too. Have a little faith in yourself. You made it through the darkest three years — now that you can see the light, you absolutely cannot give up. Understand?"

Well, Ye Qinghe hadn't even finished one sentence before Zhou Wan'er launched into a full lecture. In the end, he could only close his mouth and say nothing.

If words could have convinced her, this childhood sweetheart of his would have stopped coming long ago. So be it.

Besides, he truly did have a chance at recovery now. Once he recovered, he would repay her properly.

"Let's go out for a walk. I want to go outside."

The moment he said it, Ye Qinghe regretted it. Although he had been bedridden for a long time, he still weighed around a hundred and ten pounds. For a girl like Zhou Wan'er to carry him out seemed nearly impossible.

"Yes! You should definitely go out more — see more people, breathe some fresh air! I've been telling you to go out for ages and you never would. I'm so glad you've finally come around!"

With that, Zhou Wan'er scooped Ye Qinghe up in a princess carry.

This girl was that strong?

Who would have thought?

Ye Qinghe turned his head to look at Zhou Wan'er.

Being this close, he could clearly make out the fine, soft down on her face.

Such smooth, rosy skin!

Such long lashes!

Such big eyes — eyes that sparkled with life!

Ye Qinghe felt his heart suddenly beating a little faster.

"What are you looking at?"

Zhou Wan'er glanced down at him.

"Nothing!"

Ye Qinghe quickly looked away, but the image from a moment ago seemed to be etched into his heart, lingering for a long time before his heartbeat slowly returned to normal.

"Wan'er, taking Qinghe out?"

"That's right, Auntie Liu. Day off today?"

"Yes!"

Zhou Wan'er was clearly on familiar terms with some of the neighbors in the compound. As she pushed Ye Qinghe out, people greeted her warmly.

"Try this flavor of milk tea!"

"That bakery's puffs look pretty good — want to try one?"

"Why is there such a long line over there? Let's go check it out!"

"Someone's doing a live singing stream over there — let's go watch!"

Unlike when Ye Dali took Ye Qinghe out, Zhou Wan'er's outings were a whole different affair — one moment buying something for him to taste, the next rushing over to wherever there was excitement. She didn't treat Ye Qinghe like a patient at all; it was completely like two best friends out on a shopping trip.

Five kilometres passed without Ye Qinghe even having to remind her — achieved without either of them noticing.

And even then, Zhou Wan'er wasn't ready to head home. She pushed Ye Qinghe into a shopping mall to look at clothes.

"I think this outfit would really suit you. You already have fair skin — wearing this would make you look even fairer!"

"Wan'er, really, there's no need. I don't need any of this — I have clothes to wear!"

Seeing Zhou Wan'er holding up clothes and measuring them against him, Ye Qinghe immediately refused.

"Those clothes of yours are ancient, and the styles are way too outdated. Don't worry about it — it's not your money anyway. You came out with me, so you follow my lead!"

Zhou Wan'er gave Ye Qinghe no chance to refuse, and only stopped after buying several items.

"Rest for a bit. I'll rinse these new clothes in water."

Back home, Zhou Wan'er carried Ye Qinghe onto the bed and went outside to wash his new clothes. Ye Qinghe, meanwhile, stared at the Lottery Draw wheel before him, silently praying that he would land on one of the physical recovery options.

"Lottery Draw!!!"

The pointer spun, then gradually slowed, finally coming to rest on one option.

[English Proficiency!]

...

Ye Qinghe stared at the result. Right next to "English Proficiency," just a hair's breadth away, was the one and only physical recovery option on the entire wheel. The disappointment hit him hard.

So close!

Just a tiny bit more, and he would have won "Restore 1% of Physical Function!"