Chapter 63

Jian Xiyan rarely lost control of her emotions like this. Even if she did, she never would have vented so thoroughly to another person as she had just now. When was the last time she had cried hysterically? It was a very distant memory.

Thinking of her past self, she couldn’t help but purse her lips.

Lin Feiruo stuffed a few more tissues into her hand and then got up and left.

Jian Xiyan didn’t know where she was going, but she didn’t want to ask. Now that she had calmed down, she felt that she had been a bit crazy—it had somewhat ruined her image.

Although they had collaborated for two years, she had always been elegant and rational during that time. This was the first time Lin Feiruo had seen her so disheveled and even unreasonable.

Jian Xiyan felt awkward and a bit unfamiliar with the situation; she wasn’t sure how to interact with her for a moment. It was just as well that Lin Feiruo had left on her own; a bit of distance would allow her to fully adjust and regain her composure.

Jian Xiyan breathed a sigh of relief, but the pain soon counterattacked. Her brow furrowed, and she instinctively tightened her grip on the tissues.

When her emotions were high, she only cared about venting; now, her red and swollen knees finally had their chance to assert themselves. Her breakthrough in standing earlier was matched only by the ridiculous level of pain she felt now.

Painkillers!

This was what Jian Xiyan wanted [read the original at bailiantales.com]most immediately. She moved her wheelchair toward the nightstand, where her backup medication was kept.

Lin Feiruo came out with a warm towel, and seeing her looking for medicine, a wave of irritation rose in her again.

“Now you know it hurts? If you act up a few more times, you might have to become inseparable from these pills forever.”

Lin Feiruo quickly poured her a glass of water, not forgetting to “threaten” her as she brought it to her lips.

Jian Xiyan’s forehead was beaded with sweat, and her eyes were a bit red again. Seeing her in such pain, Lin Feiruo couldn’t bring herself to say more intimidating words and looked away.

Once Jian Xiyan finished the medicine, the glass was taken away and replaced with a warm towel.

“Cover your eyes.”

Lin Feiruo was holding another one, and Jian Xiyan assumed it was a replacement for later. She took the towel but didn’t forget to emphasize: “I didn’t cry that much.”

Lin Feiruo gently pulled the wheelchair back a bit to make room for herself. She crouched down and began to roll up Jian Xiyan’s pant legs again.

When she had walked away earlier, Jian Xiyan had already put the fabric back down.

The person with the towel over her [bailiantales.com]eyes suddenly uncovered them, looking alert and a bit flustered: “What are you doing?”

Lin Feiruo’s hand stayed where it was, a faint smile on her face. “Helping you apply a compress to your knees.”

Jian Xiyan froze. After a moment, she said, “I’ll do it myself.”

“You just take care of your eyes; it’s more convenient for me to do this.”

Jian Xiyan pursed her lips, wanting to refuse. But the sensation of a warm compress was hard to resist, and she had just experienced its benefits. Her aching knees desperately needed that warmth, as she knew well in her heart.

Seeing that she didn’t object, Lin Feiruo slowly rolled the pant legs up again. This time, she was gentler, lacking the frantic urgency to investigate she’d had before. She lightly touched the warm towel to the skin and pulled it away, repeating the motion three times.

“How is it? Can you handle the sensation?”

Jian Xiyan looked away and gave a soft “Mm.”

Lin Feiruo laid the towel fully over the area, pressing it down with her palm.

“You really can’t act up anymore. If it had been Aunt Shu who came in, you would have scared her to death.”

Jian Xiyan continued to cover her eyes, her head tilted back slightly. Even with the towel covering half the bridge of her nose, her beauty was unaffected.

“If it had been Aunt Shu knocking, do you think… I would have let her in?”

“Oho, so I have that much face? Should I thank you for the special treatment, President Jian?”

Aside from when they were putting on a show for outsiders, Lin Feiruo rarely called her that. Having grown accustomed to others calling her “President Jian,” hearing it from Lin Feiruo’s mouth felt a bit strange. And the teasing tone was so obvious!

“If you want to thank me, I won’t object.”

Lin Feiruo looked at her with amusement. The woman remained calm under her warm compress. She didn’t take the towel off her eyes, nor did she stop leaning her head back. This relaxed, casual posture made Lin Feiruo quite happy; it was much better than Jian Xiyan silently almost setting off a “bomb.”

She flipped the towel over to use the remaining warmth and reapplied it.

The pain medication began to take effect, and the sensation in her knees was no longer as agonizing. But the comfort brought by the warm towel was addictive, and Jian Xiyan unconsciously sank into it.

When the compress was finished, Lin Feiruo looked at her, still a bit worried.

“I said I wouldn’t take risks anymore.”

“I’m not worried about that.”

Jian Xiyan looked at her in confusion, as if to say, Then what are you worrying about?

Lin Feiruo pointed to her eyes. “Maybe we should have lunch in the room today?”

Jian Xiyan picked up her phone and opened the front camera. She took one look and didn’t look again. It was indeed unsuitable to go downstairs; it would be too much trouble if so many people saw her like that.

Shu Wanxia had also gotten a bit wet in the backyard that morning. After changing her clothes, she prepared to find Lin Feiruo to discuss the details of the glass room installation, only to find Xiao Ning pacing at the foot of the stairs.

“Xiao Ning, why are you here?”

Normally at this time, Jian Xiyan would have already gone to the study to work, and Xiao Ning would be tidying up the bedroom or making other preparations.

Xiao Ning looked distressed. After a quick look around, she pulled Shu Wanxia aside and whispered, “Miss Jian and Miss Lin are in the room.”

Shu Wanxia didn’t find it strange. She simply said, “Talking business, so they’re taking longer?”

“No.” Xiao Ning was conflicted, unsure of how to say it.

Shu Wanxia was puzzled. “What is it that has you so troubled?”

Xiao Ning didn’t usually like to gossip, but today was indeed unusual. Unable to let it go, she sought help from Aunt Shu.

“Miss Lin said earlier she was going to get a change of clothes, then she entered the room.”

“And then?”

“Then not long after, I heard them… they seemed to be arguing.”

Shu Wanxia was shocked. “What?!”

“I didn’t dare get too close to eavesdrop, but Miss Lin’s voice was quite loud,” Xiao Ning recalled. “I heard her call Miss Jian by her full name and question what she was trying to do.”

Loud voice, full name, questioning?

Separately, these weren’t huge issues, but combined, they were a bit problematic. They used to have problems, but they had reconciled because of the accident. Had a new issue cropped up?

Shu Wanxia looked somber. “What else did you hear?”

Xiao Ning looked uneasy. “I was far away, and…”

“It’s okay. Just say whatever you heard. You weren’t intentionally eavesdropping; I understand.”

“It seemed Miss Lin said Miss Jian was being reckless and was dissatisfied. She also said… she was going to go crazy.”

“That serious?”

Shu Wanxia was stunned, then sighed. During this time, Lin Feiruo had indeed given her all, focusing entirely on taking care of Jian Xiyan; everyone could see it. But her pressure was indeed immense; her face had noticeably thinned. A few days ago, the Young Mistress had suddenly ordered a bunch of food she never used to eat for Lin Feiruo to make, and wanted a flower-viewing room built—it was a bit taxing on people.

Shu Wanxia thought it was understandable that Miss Feiruo couldn’t take it. However, saying it to her face like that could easily hurt feelings. She knew Jian Xiyan; the Young Mistress had never been good at saying “soft” things since she was a child; she did everything silently and didn’t like to talk.

Shu Wanxia comforted Xiao Ning. “It’s normal for a couple to have friction; it’ll be fine once they talk it out. Just pretend you don’t know anything about today. Go on with your work.”

“But…” Xiao Ning looked back at the closed bedroom door.

“Leave it to me. I’ll explain if the Young Mistress asks.”

Xiao Ning left uneasily. Shu Wanxia also looked at the closed door before turning to the kitchen. “Xiao Xuan, prepare something to ‘reduce internal heat’ (soothe the mood).”

Jian Xiyan didn’t leave the room, and neither did Lin Feiruo. Since it was raining outside, she didn’t ​read the original at bailiantales.com​have to go to the backyard anyway.

There was still some time before lunch. Jian Xiyan opened her laptop to handle work, while Lin Feiruo’s clothes were now dry. She was too lazy to change again, so she wiped herself down casually and started scrolling through her phone.

She had no interest in the news, so she habitually visited the forum. Browsing through Dr. Yu’s previous replies about soothing a patient’s emotions, she grew a bit distracted.

Did that count as a successful “soothing”?

[Dr. Yu, I just had a fight with her, and then she cried—she cried really hard. Because she wouldn’t listen to the doctor’s orders and tried a dangerous move, which could easily lead to re-injury, I said some harsh words in the heat of the moment.]

Having sent a short paragraph unconsciously, Lin Feiruo decided to finish it. It was a private message and anonymous anyway; Yu Qingci couldn’t possibly know she was talking about Jian Xiyan.

[I didn’t expect her to cry so much. At the time, I really wanted to comfort her and apologize, but I remembered you said it’s good for a patient to vent completely, so I didn’t stop her. I watched her cry until her eyes were swollen. I helped her with a warm compress, but I still felt bad. Was I right to do that?]

After sending it, Lin Feiruo let out an unconscious sigh. Jian Xiyan heard the sigh and glanced over. Seeing Lin Feiruo holding her phone with a look of being lost in thought, she wanted to ask what was wrong, but pursed her lips and gave up.

[How is her emotional state now?]

Lin Feiruo was startled, almost dropping her phone. She didn’t expect Dr. Yu to be online—was she invisible?

[Dr. Yu, you’re here?] [Just a casual scroll.]

A casual scroll… Lin Feiruo thought she better speak quickly, or she’d have to wait another week.

[After she finished crying, she promised me she wouldn’t act up again or do those dangerous moves. She seems quite stable now and can work normally.]

She peeked at Jian Xiyan as she replied; Xiyan looked no different from usual, deeply engrossed in her work.

[That’s very good. Continue to observe closely. If there are no other abnormal signs, it means the pent-up frustration has been cleared after her venting, which is very helpful for the recovery of her condition.]

Lin Feiruo was delighted: [Great.]

[It will be hard work for you; you’ll need to pay more attention to the small details.]

[It’s okay. I’ve been working hard for so long anyway. As long as she can get better as soon as possible, I don’t mind these things.]

Yu Qingci paused. She had seen many family members of patients like this. Actually, many weren’t heartless, but the recovery process was so long, and with the condition relapsing and the patient being uncooperative, years of wear and tear had cooled their sincere hearts. She didn’t want this family member to be the same, so she offered affirmation and encouragement.

[You are doing a great job. Your wife will surely recover very soon.]

Ah? How [read the original at bailiantales.com]does Dr. Yu know? Lin Feiruo felt a pulse of nervousness, but she hadn’t revealed her real identity! To be safe, she denied it: [Not my wife.]

Yu Qingci replied quickly: [My apologies, I misunderstood. Based on the descriptions in previous posts, you have been providing constant personal care and haven’t used other titles, so I just assumed.]

Having dealt with so many patient families, Yu Qingci’s intuition had immediately categorized her as a spouse. It seemed professional habits could lead to mistakes; perhaps the person just didn’t want to reveal too much privacy. Yu Qingci sent another apologetic explanation, hoping the other wouldn’t mind.

Lin Feiruo saw that she didn’t know her identity and thus wouldn’t know she was asking about Jian Xiyan, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

[It’s no problem; it was my lack of clear expression. Don’t take it to heart. Dr. Yu, you are very good; don’t doubt yourself.]