Bravo, first time in my life being slapped by someone.
Fu Jichen's face was as dark as water, he grasped the wrist of the culprit and held it tightly, his cold voice echoed in the room: "Look closely at who I am."
With her head burning and dazed, Shen Jianian could barely take in what he said.
"Get out. Scum, go die..." Her hand was restrained, but her legs were free, she kicked desperately and refused to give in, "Even if I die, I won't let you succeed!"
Fu Jichen got kicked several times, one hit right between his legs, his lower abdomen tightened, he gasped, his face turning as black as the bottom of a pot.
He was kind enough to rescue someone, but instead of gratitude, he faced a beating. Even a saint would get angry, let alone someone who wasn't particularly good-tempered.
Kicking off his slippers and onto the bed, Fu Jichen's long legs straddled the girl's body, suppressing her chaotic movements, his threatening words were filled with pressure: "Move again and I'll throw you out, believe it?"
His voice was merciless, devoid of any warmth, yet Shen Jianian miraculously calmed down.
Because this voice had nothing to do with the lewd laughter of the demon in her memory.
The restless air settled back into silence, as the door was opened from outside, Zhou Rongzhen was stunned by the scene before entering, nearly unable to stop her steps.
The gentleman's legs were spread apart, with an absolutely overwhelming posture, he was straddling either side of the injured girl's body, his hand holding her slender, white wrists, his face close to hers, noses almost touching.
The disparity in their physiques was clear, like a mighty lion pinning down a small cat.
Zhou Rongzhen was unsure whether to advance or retreat, she hesitantly broke the silence: "Sir…"
Fu Jichen awakened as if from a dream, the darkness on his face receding like a tide, he released the person under him, got off the bed, adjusted his loose robe, and spoke with his back to the door: "Please have Xiao Jingshan come over."
"Aye."
Zhou Rongzhen withdrew her gaze and left in a hurry.
Fortunately, she came up every hour to check, thinking if anything happened to the girl, she could quickly respond.
Xiao Jingshan crawled out from under the covers, arrived at the third floor sleepy-eyed, at the spiral staircase, Fu Jichen had a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers, a frown on his brow.
The fair skin had a suspicious tint of red, as if someone had hit him.
Xiao Jingshan secretly denied, who would dare to hit Fu Jichen?
"Go check, seems like she's got a fever." Fu Jichen noticed him coming up, his expression not much relaxed, he gestured to the room on the left.
Xiao Jingshan's drowsiness vanished completely, he took a professional stance to diagnose.
Fu Jichen finished a cigarette, then entered, Xiao Jingshan raised the thermometer to show him: "High fever, over thirty-nine degrees, her brain's muddled, needs an infusion, but I didn't bring any supplies."
Fu Jichen frowned, no wonder calls went unanswered.
Seeing his change of expression, Xiao Jingshan immediately said: "I'll call my assistant, he'll come soon."
Fu Jichen replied indifferently with a hum.
Xiao Jingshan: "You didn't sleep, keeping watch over her this whole time?"
Fu Jichen gazed at him silently, as if his eyes were saying, what nonsense are you spouting.
Xiao Jingshan rubbed his eyebrows sullenly, the owner of this house was reticent, the servants wouldn't speak, he still hadn't figured out the identity of the person on the bed.
*
Outside the window, the rain continued endlessly, the pattering on the banana leaves never ceased, occasionally accompanied by a few dull claps of thunder from distant skies.
Xiao Jingshan's assistant stepped into Rose Manor forty minutes later, rain accumulated on his shoulders, hastily he handed a large silver medical kit to him.
Fu Jichen hadn't rested, in order to chase away sleepiness, he smoked several cigarettes, leaned on the sofa watching Xiao Jingshan giving the unconscious person on the bed an injection.
The sharp needle prickled a piece of skin, repeated jabs, even just watching hurt.
"Do you even know what you're doing?" Fu Jichen's brow furrowed into a 'chuan' character.
Xiao Jingshan's brow furrowed deeper than his.
Fu Jichen propped himself on the sofa's arm, stood up, came to the bed's side, watching another needle go down, through the thin skin several needle marks were left, turning blue and purple, seemingly with some red rashes appearing.
Without waiting for him to argue, Xiao Jingshan said: "Doing a skin test. Really rare, she's allergic to penicillin, azithromycin, and cephalosporins, only capable of receiving levofloxacin."
Fu Jichen, as an outsider, didn't understand, only heard the person on the bed softly groan from pain, looked up, her bloodless lips tightly pursed, fingers unconsciously gripping the bedsheets, tears flowed down the corners of her eyes.
In an instant, Fu Jichen wasn't sure if she was in pain, or dreaming of sad things.
After finishing the injection, Xiao Jingshan put on medical tape to fix the needle, slightly relaxed, turned his head, and saw Fu Jichen holding the hand of the girl that wasn't injected, rescuing the wrinkled bedsheet from her grasp.
In her sleep, Shen Jianian felt a warmth, clutching tightly, her lips forming a line relaxed, murmuring: "Mama..."
"Ahem." Xiao Jingshan cleared his throat, "She has to receive two bottles, I'll take a nap, when it's time to change the medicine, have someone call me."
Not expecting a response from Fu Jichen, he finished speaking and left the room on his own accord.
Fu Jichen looked down at the hand gripping his, the slender fingers tightened with force, knuckles slightly protruding, the bluish veins on the back of her hand were clearly visible.
His gaze landed on her face, tears fell like broken beads, incessantly soaked the cloth covering the pillow.
Fu Jichen wasn't sure where his patience came from, he gently wiped away her tears, one by one.
*
Shen Jianian slept deeply for a full day and night, during which she woke up briefly, Zhou Rongzhen helped her sit up and fed her some ginseng soup to replenish her strength, and she fell asleep again.
By the third day, her strength gradually returned, enabling her to get out of bed on her own.
She was wearing a large men's shirt, soft flannel, which didn't irritate the skin used as sleepwear. She slowly moved to the bathroom door, Zhou Rongzhen happened to come in carrying food, noticing this, she hurriedly said: "You're not well yet, let me help you."
Zhou Rongzhen placed the tray on the sideboard near the entrance, stepped forward quickly and held her arms: "Take it easy, you're wounded all over, be careful not to bump into anything."
Shen Jianian remembered this woman's voice, when she was too weak to open her eyes, it was her who fed her soup, wiped the sticky sweat from her body, helped her to the bathroom, always gentle and patient.
"Thank you." Shen Jianian hadn't spoken for a long time, when she opened her mouth her voice was hoarse, as if polished on sandpaper.
Zhou Rongzhen smiled: "I dare not take credit, the gentleman asked me to care for you, so thank him then."
Shen Jianian found the "doctor" she mentioned unfamiliar, in her tangled memories, her last recollection was escaping Qin Zhongtian's house, curling up in the bushes, waiting for someone to pass by and rescue her.
Rain poured continuously on her, amidst the long wait, almost extinguishing her hope.
In that moment of despair, she was saved.
A man stepped through the rain with a black umbrella, the night too dark to see his face, only knowing he was her last chance, if missed, she would fall into an abyss.
Therefore, she gathered all her strength to hold onto that suit pant leg and implored him to rescue her.
Shen Jianian observed the surroundings, everything unfamiliar, bringing a sense of insecurity, yet everything in front of her confirmed she made the right gamble, she was saved.
Zhou Rongzhen helped her lean against the bed, returned to the door, carried the tray from the sideboard: "Eat something, later take the medicine, the cold will pass quickly."
Shen Jianian absently pinched the collar, she was not wearing any undergarments...
"The clothes were changed by Xiaoqin and me." Zhou Rongzhen guessed her thoughts, proactively clarified for her, "The original skirt couldn't be worn again, with the gentleman's permission, we took one of his shirts."
Shen Jianian's lips pursed slightly, she shook her head indicating she didn't mind.
Having walked through the gates of hell, these trivial things didn't matter.
She slowly finished a bowl of porridge, ate a few bites of side dishes, feeling somewhat revitalized, when wiping her mouth with a napkin, the door was pushed open, a person walked in, in the corner of her eye, the familiar tall shadow seemed familiar.