Chapter 14
Early the next morning, Zhai You started knocking on the door.
Jiang Bailu opened it looking sickly. She was listless and exhausted as she looked at Zhai You, forming a stark contrast with Zhai You’s energetic appearance.
“Uh…” Zhai You’s hand, still raised to knock, awkwardly froze in place.
She had almost forgotten that Jiang Bailu was sick.
As an Alpha, Zhai You’s recovery ability was incredible. Even if she got injured, it only took a few hours for her to recover.
Jiang Bailu, on the other hand, needed much more time to nurse herself back to health.
“Have you taken your medicine?” Zhai You looked at her sincerely. “I came to remind you to take it.”
She definitely hadn’t come to disturb her rest!
Jiang Bailu frowned and tried to speak, but her throat was so dry that no sound came out.
Going an entire night without drinking water had left her like this. Jiang Bailu lowered her head, no longer having much energy to talk to Zhai You. Even Zhai You’s voice gradually became indistinct.
“Why don’t you go back to sleep for a while?”
“I promise I won’t bother you anymore.”
“…Bailu?”
Jiang Bailu collapsed to the floor…
When she woke again, she was already lying in bed, and the Zhai family’s private doctor had just finished putting her on an IV drip.
Jiang Bailu’s eyes shifted toward Zhai You beside the bed. Zhai You hadn’t realized she was awake yet and was talking to the family doctor. “She’s okay, right?”
The family doctor sighed. “Her body is too weak. It would be best for her to rest quietly and recuperate.”
The doctor at the hospital had said something similar.
It was just that Jiang Bailu was far too accustomed to forcing herself to endure. She had grown up this way, so when Zhai You herself was full of energy, she naturally assumed Jiang Bailu probably wasn’t in too much trouble either.
That moment of carelessness had resulted in Jiang Bailu collapsing weakly to the floor and only waking several hours later.
The family doctor looked toward Jiang Bailu. Jiang Bailu quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep while listening carefully.
“She’s this sick, yet there wasn’t even anyone to pour her a glass of water?” The family doctor had mixed feelings.
He had seen far too many pampered Omegas who had someone frantically calling a doctor the moment they scraped so much as a finger.
Omegas were particularly delicate, like porcelain dolls, practically held in the palms of people’s hands and treasured.
Jiang Bailu, on the other hand, was clearly someone who had done hard work before. Her body was weak, so she must have suffered quite a lot in the past. Especially now that she was sick, her face was deathly pale, enough to make anyone’s heart ache.
Zhai You’s heart was clearly aching the most. She almost wished she could be the one lying in bed instead.
Her eyes remained fixed on Jiang Bailu. She was so thin and frail, lying quietly on the bed without moving at all.
Only her chest rose and fell slowly with each breath.
“I’ll make sure to instruct the servants…” Zhai You’s brows knitted together.
She had been too careless and forgotten Jiang Bailu’s personality. She would never主动 ask anyone for help.
If her mother hadn’t fallen seriously ill, Jiang Bailu would never have gone to the original owner for help, nor would she have agreed to Zhai You’s contract.
Zhai You actually wanted to take care of her personally, but after thinking about it, perhaps Jiang Bailu found the sight of her irritating right now.
Better not to appear.
She might interfere with her recovery.
The family doctor watched Zhai You lower her head pitifully, looking like an innocent canine.
The words he had been about to say lodged in his throat.
“Even if there’s something urgent, it would be best to wait until she recovers.” The family doctor remembered that Zhai You had been the one who discovered Jiang Bailu unconscious and had frantically called for him, so he couldn’t really bring himself to blame her.
At the very least, Zhai You genuinely seemed worried.
Perhaps all the hardship Jiang Bailu had endured before would finally start getting better from now on.
“Okay.” Zhai You had no objections. She had only been thinking about the fact that Jiang Bailu hadn’t brought any clothes with her and wanted to take her out to buy some.
That wasn’t urgent anyway. Waiting a few days was fine.
After giving his instructions, the family doctor packed up his things and left.
The room became quiet again. Jiang Bailu’s breathing remained even. Her eyelids moved slightly, but she didn’t open them.
Zhai You was still in the room.
Even with her eyes closed, Jiang Bailu could feel Zhai You watching her.
Zhai You’s gaze was far too intense. Jiang Bailu could almost clearly feel exactly where that gaze was falling on her body.
Her hand tightened beneath the blanket, and her heartbeat sped up.
Zhai You couldn’t possibly be so perverted that she wanted to do something to her while she was still sick in bed, right?
Should she resist?
Maybe she shouldn’t.
She had no strength, and her medical treatment had already cost Zhai You quite a bit of money. Even if it was only a family doctor, she still didn’t want to owe her this favor.
Jiang Bailu’s body gradually relaxed.
Zhai You was staring at Jiang Bailu’s cheeks, which had hardly any flesh on them.
She thought: Sure enough, I can’t keep feeding her vegetarian food. No matter what, I have to make her eat meat. She’s way too thin.
As she kept staring, she noticed Jiang Bailu’s face turning a little red.
Zhai You moved closer to the bed and, for once, carefully noticed that Jiang Bailu had even stopped breathing.
No way!
Zhai You’s eyes widened in horror. The hand she had originally intended to use to check the temperature of Jiang Bailu’s forehead moved downward instead and hovered beneath her nose to check her breathing.
She panicked completely, her mind repeatedly screaming, Jiang Bailu, you’re the female lead! Hang in there!
Fortunately, she was fine.
Still shaken, Zhai You patted her chest. She really couldn’t stay calm anymore and hurried out to call for reinforcements.
With her level of ability, she would only end up taking worse and worse care of Jiang Bailu!
The door closed.
Only then did Jiang Bailu open her eyes and blink in confusion.
Why had Zhai You just checked whether she was breathing?
*
The illness dragged on for a full three days.
Whatever Mother Zhai had wanted to do to Jiang Bailu, she restrained herself because Jiang Bailu was sick.
After all, she did look rather pitiful.
By the time Jiang Bailu recovered, Father Zhai had also just finished her work. The two of them decided to abandon their daughter and go abroad for a vacation.
The Zhai residence became quiet. Aside from Zhai You occasionally making a fuss, it was peaceful.
And Zhai You mostly made a fuss around Jiang Bailu.
“Eat it!” Zhai You slammed down her chopsticks. The two of them stared silently at each other beneath the lights.
Looking at Zhai You’s slightly mussed-up hair, Jiang Bailu could tell that she had just woken up and rushed straight over to find her.
She had happened to arrive at mealtime, so Zhai You told the butler that she would eat with Jiang Bailu, then had the kitchen prepare a table full of fish and meat.
Jiang Bailu had only just recovered from a serious illness. Looking at all that greasy food completely killed her appetite.
For some reason, Zhai You kept forcing her to eat.
Was she deliberately making things difficult for her?
Zhai You watched Jiang Bailu’s lips move slightly while she still refused to eat and became terribly anxious.
She wanted to imitate Father Zhai’s technique for coaxing someone to eat, but the moment she tried to speak, her voice died in her throat.
Father Zhai and Mother Zhai had been deeply in love for more than twenty years. Of course she could naturally coax her wife into eating.
But what were Zhai You and Jiang Bailu right now?
A contractual marriage that could fall apart at the slightest mistake.
The soft words that had reached the tip of Zhai You’s tongue were forcibly swallowed back down. She looked anxiously at Jiang Bailu’s body, which seemed thin enough to be blown away by a gust of wind.
Were the braised ribs not fragrant enough?
Were the stewed pig trotters not tender enough?
Even eating a little stir-fried pork would be fine.
Could she please stop eating plain congee all the time? Just looking at it made it seem completely lacking in nutrition.
Zhai You had only just finished pretending to speak angrily when she saw Jiang Bailu’s body tremble.
It frightened Zhai You so badly that she immediately stopped talking.
Cowardly. Completely cowardly.
It was time for Young Miss Zhai to display her brilliance again.
“You’ve been sick for so long. Do you still want to act or not? Opportunities don’t wait for people. While you’ve been sick, countless people have been working hard to climb upward, and what about you?”
“You got sick at such a crucial time. Lazy. Far too lazy!”
Jiang Bailu pursed her lips in dissatisfaction.
What did that have to do with eating?
Zhai You clicked her tongue repeatedly. “Don’t look at those actresses who practically wish they could become bamboo poles. How many roles can they actually play? Their range is far too narrow. A person still needs to put on a little flesh before they can play more kinds of roles.”
Jiang Bailu’s eyes flickered.
“You think I was joking when I said I wanted you to earn money for me? You think my money just blows in on the wind?” It actually did.
Zhai You raised the tip of one eyebrow.
“So, even if it’s only for the sake of taking care of your mother, at least eat a little… okay?”
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