Chapter 20

In the beautifully decorated garden that had been swept clean, a girl dashed through the rain at high speed, finally rushing into the villa in the middle.

“Huff, huff… We’re here!”

Xie Shuyun pushed open the door and panted lightly at the shoe-changing area.

At this moment, her hair was dripping water, sticking to her face and arms. Her clothes and pants were already soaked through, all clinging to her body. Fortunately, although the uniform fabric was breathable, it was thick enough that it did not make the girl expose anything. As for her sneakers… they had probably evolved into rain boots.

She placed the umbrella on the ground. Xie Shuyun did not care much about her own sorry state. Instead, she carefully put down the girl on her back. Only after one of Cheng Lingxue’s feet had stepped steadily onto the ground did she let go.

“Are you okay? Did you get rained on? Hurry and take off your shoes and socks. They’re all wet. Remember to go back to your room and take a hot bath later to drive out the chill.”

Looking at Cheng Lingxue’s leather shoes, which were covered in raindrops, Xie Shuyun hurriedly spoke.

Just then, Qin Yu’s voice came over.

She was holding her phone, seemingly contacting someone. When she saw the two people standing in the entryway in such a miserable state, especially Xie Shuyun, who was completely soaked, her brows immediately furrowed tightly.

“My goodness, Eldest Miss, Miss Cheng, what happened to you two?”

As she spoke, she turned her head and called to the maids not far away.

“You all, go get towels.”

“We saw that it wasn’t too far, so we just ran back.”

Xie Shuyun brushed aside the hair stuck to her face, then swept it back with her hand. Although it became a complete mess, strangely enough, paired with her drenched state and her heroic features, it gave her a different kind of handsomeness.

Cheng Lingxue, who was sitting on a low stool taking off her shoes and socks, naturally took all of this in.

Of course, she also noticed the young maids who had gone to fetch ​read the original at bailiantales.com​towels. When they saw Xie Shuyun, their eyes were practically unable to move away. The heat in them was almost completely undisguised. Only an idiot like Xie Shuyun could fail to sense it.

“Eldest Miss, you’ll catch a cold like this. I’ll have someone boil ginger tea for the two of you later. Honestly, you could have just called home. Why run through the rain?”

Qin Yu nagged like an old mother.

When Xie Shuyun heard that she had to drink ginger tea, her entire head drooped. Although that spicy, choking thing warmed the body, it was truly hard to like. She was just about to open her mouth and plead for mercy.

Suddenly, something white fell from above. Xie Shuyun subconsciously reached out and caught it. It was a snow-white towel.

Looking at the person on the other side who was holding a towel, she saw that it was actually Cheng Lingxue!

Seeing that it was her, Xie Shuyun immediately wanted to stuff the towel back.

“Lingxue, why aren’t you using it first? I’m fine. Alphas have very strong bodies. It was only one rainstorm. You should dry yourself off first.”

Unfortunately, Qin Yu quickly shot down her words.

“Eldest Miss, don’t forget how poor your health was when you were little. As soon as you were hit by cold water, you would catch a cold.”

Xie Shuyun stared at Qin Yu. After all her calculations, she had never expected Qin Yu to be the one to expose her weakness. But she seemed to see more than worry in Qin Yu’s eyes.

Was it fear?

“Eldest Miss, you should hurry and dry yourself.”

As she spoke, Qin Yu lowered her eyes.

She remembered that the time Eldest Miss’s personality changed slightly was after a serious fever. After that, Eldest Miss’s health had become worse, and even her personality had also…

Whether it was because Qin Yu’s words were accurate or because of her body’s reaction, Xie Shuyun really did feel a little chilly. She could not help lowering her head and sneezing.

The next second, her hand became heavier.

Cheng Lingxue stuffed the entire towel into Xie Shuyun’s hand. When Xie Shuyun raised her head, she saw Cheng Lingxue frowning slightly.

“Hurry and dry yourself…”

As she spoke, her tone became a little colder.

“Be obedient.”

“Oh, oh…!”

With Cheng Lingxue’s words, Xie Shuyun no longer dared act recklessly. She obediently pressed the towel onto her head and started drying her hair.

“Eldest Miss, I’ll help you too.”

A young maid also wanted to come forward. She even looked a little smugly at [read the original at bailiantales.com]another maid whose towel had been taken by Cheng Lingxue. But unexpectedly, in the next second, the towel in her hand was also taken away by Cheng Lingxue.

Ignoring the young maids behind her who dared to be angry but not speak, Cheng Lingxue took the towel and helped Xie Shuyun wipe the water from her back.

The soaked clothes clung tightly to Xie Shuyun’s body. Although they were not transparent, they revealed her firm figure.

This made Cheng Lingxue involuntarily recall what she had seen in the changing room during the day: those faint abdominal muscles and deep vest lines…

Wait…

What was she thinking?

Realizing what she had recalled, a faint blush could not help rising on Cheng Lingxue’s cheeks. Against her fair skin, it was extremely obvious. It was coincidentally caught by Xie Shuyun, who kept turning her head from time to time to observe her.

“Lingxue, you should go back to your room and rest first. I can do it myself. I’ll be done very soon… Ha… ha-choo…”

“Enough. Don’t talk. Stand properly.”

Cheng Lingxue raised her eyes and glanced at a certain someone who was clearly sneezing nonstop yet still wanted to keep talking. She said this in annoyance, then simply took the towel in her other hand and pressed it directly onto Xie Shuyun’s face, blocking that noisy mouth.

Only after finally getting Xie Shuyun’s wet clothes almost dry did the two of them, wrapped tightly in towels by Qin Yu, sit down on the sofa.

Not long after, a maid brought over a tray. On it were two small bowls emitting white steam.

“Eldest Miss, Miss Cheng, the ginger soup is ready. Drink it while it’s hot.”

Staring at the yellow, murky ginger soup in front of her, which released a pungent smell as soon as it came close, Xie Shuyun’s whole face wrinkled up. It was full of rejection.

At the same time, she admired how Cheng Lingxue could pick up the ginger soup without changing expression and calmly spoon it into her mouth little by little.

“Eldest Miss, hurry and drink. This bowl is yours.”

Qin Yu brought the small bowl in stolen content front of Xie Shuyun. Her tone and expression were serious, allowing no refusal.

But this time, Xie Shuyun decided to be a turtle hiding in its shell. She kept turning her face away, refusing to let Qin Yu come closer and silently protesting.

“I’m really fine, cough, cough… I don’t need to drink it… I…”

Clack.

A crisp collision sounded.

Xie Shuyun tilted her head slightly and saw Cheng Lingxue’s hand leaving the small bowl on the table that had originally belonged to her. The ginger tea inside was already empty.

Then Cheng Lingxue glanced in Xie Shuyun’s direction.

She clearly did not say anything, but Xie Shuyun felt a chill shoot up from her tailbone.

It was not the chill brought by the rain, but one that came from the aura of [stolen content]the girl beside her, making Xie Shuyun shiver.

“I’ll drink!”

As she spoke, she immediately picked up the bowl. She did not even use the spoon anymore and poured it into her mouth in small gulps. The pungent spiciness made her eyes burn and fill with moisture. Her entire face twisted into a ball.

After finishing the ginger tea, the girl who had originally been full of heroic spirit collapsed onto the sofa like a defeated drowned dog, looking as if she had lost all will to live.

That dying appearance looked both pitiful and silly, making Cheng Lingxue feel helpless.

It was only a bowl of ginger tea. Was there a need to be like this?

“Hurry and take a shower. Change out of your wet clothes.”

After speaking, Cheng Lingxue picked up her schoolbag and walked upstairs without looking back.

Xie Shuyun blinked. Her smile was almost about to split Read on BaiLianTales open at the corners of her mouth. She happily followed behind Cheng Lingxue.

Was she being cared for?

Sure enough, giving effort still brought returns!

Unfortunately, that night, Xie Shuyun developed a high fever.

Her temperature rose close to forty degrees. If not for Qin Yu being uneasy because of the vivid memories from Xie Shuyun’s childhood and occasionally coming over to check on her, Xie Shuyun might already have burned herself silly.

Because of the little master’s illness, the entire Xie family residence could be said to have fallen into chaos.

The family doctor directly moved into a guest room, coming over every hour to examine Xie Shuyun. The kitchen also prepared all kinds of nourishing soups and medicinal soups.

Naturally, this also alarmed Xie Yun. Unfortunately, she was abroad discussing an important cooperation and temporarily could not leave. She could only have Qin Yu act on her behalf and connect through video, allowing her to confirm Xie Shuyun’s condition.

Cheng Lingxue originally felt that the Xie family was making too big a fuss.

Even if an alpha caught a cold and developed a fever, they usually recovered after taking medicine. By the next day, they would be lively and energetic again. Why did their attitude look so serious, as if they were taking care of a critically ill patient?

Although nothing showed on her face, Cheng Lingxue still opened her door by a nearly invisible crack, wanting to listen to the movement outside.

When she heard a maid worriedly say that Xie Shuyun had already taken fever medicine twice and the fever still had not gone down, she finally could not sit still anymore. With a somewhat cold expression, she pulled open the door.

She was just about to enter Xie Shuyun’s room when she came face to face with a maid carrying a basin of water.

When the maid saw her, she immediately spoke in a sarcastic tone.

“Aiya, isn’t this Miss Cheng? Eldest Miss worked so hard to carry you back through the rain, and now she’s burned up like that, yet you haven’t even shown your face. How impressive.”

“Move.”

Cheng Lingxue coldly snapped.

These people always took advantage of the fact that Xie Shuyun or Qin Yu were not around to show her unpleasant faces. In the past, she could ignore them, but now she had no time to tangle with her.

The maid opened her mouth and seemed to want to say something else, but she was frightened by the ruthlessness in Cheng Lingxue’s eyes and took a step back. Subconsciously, she moved aside for Cheng Lingxue, revealing Xie Shuyun, who had been blocked by her.

Cheng Lingxue quickly walked in.

At this moment, Xie Shuyun’s entire body was tightly wrapped in blankets. Her cheeks were bright red, and there was a cooling patch stuck to her forehead. Her mouth was slightly open as she breathed out scorching air. Her brows were tightly furrowed, making it easy to imagine how uncomfortable she was.

Her gaze landed on the basin of water beside her.

She gently dipped her fingertips in and could feel the cold temperature of the water. It seemed the maid had brought it to wipe Xie Shuyun’s body.

Gently lifting one corner of the blanket, Cheng Lingxue’s brows furrowed even more tightly.

Because it was not only Xie Shuyun’s face. Her entire body was flushed red.

Although the family doctors of large families were all very skilled, if the fever still could not be brought down, sending her to the hospital would be more practical.

She finally understood why Qin Yu’s expression had looked so ugly when they first returned.

At the same time, Cheng Lingxue also felt a trace of regret toward her decision to insist on walking back.

She gently picked up the towel from the basin, wrung it dry, and carefully wiped Xie Shuyun’s face. When her fingertips brushed slightly against the other girl’s skin, she could feel the scorching heat radiating from it.

“Wu… hot…”

Xie Shuyun let out a muffled groan from her mouth. Her cheeks moved constantly. Cheng Lingxue did not know whether it was because she was uncomfortable or because she was saying something. She could not help leaning forward tentatively.

“Xie Shuyun… Xie Shuyun? …Are you talking?”

Whether or not she had heard Cheng Lingxue’s call, Xie Shuyun’s tightly closed stolen contenteyes opened slightly. They were filled with confusion, just in time to meet Cheng Lingxue’s eyes.

Only then did Cheng Lingxue realize that the two of them were extremely close right now. Their faces were practically within reach.

Like lovers.

Scorching breaths and cool breaths intertwined with each other. It was clearly a worrying scene, yet it had forcefully transformed into something awkwardly intimate.

At this moment, Xie Shuyun moved.

Cheng Lingxue’s attention was instantly drawn back.

She saw that bright-red arm slowly emerge from the blanket, leisurely reaching toward Cheng Lingxue. Under Cheng Lingxue’s stunned gaze, it wrapped around her neck and pulled her entire body down.

In an instant, the slight distance between the two of them disappeared, turning into a tight press. Scorching breath fell against the back of Cheng Lingxue’s neck, making her pupils shrink as her body stiffened slightly.