Chapter 25: It’s Not Too Much to Have Some Physical Needs, Right?
In the past few years, it wasn’t that Huai Xing hadn’t witnessed Chu Wantang getting sick, but this was the first time she had woken up to find her like this.
It was also the first time she had heard Chu Wantang so helplessly reveal some details about her past.
She knelt by the bed, her heart clenched. She didn’t know who the “her” Chu Wantang was talking about, nor did she know who “her child” was.
But she just felt sad for Chu Wantang.
When she was in elementary school, the family situations of many of her classmates were not very clear. From then on, she realized what a happy family she was in.
It didn’t matter that she didn’t know who her father was. Anyway, she and her mother could live very well.
Huai Zhao would give her the best of everything, patiently teach her to do her homework, and reason with her. Her spiritual world was not barren.
She had never doubted her mother’s love for her, but she knew that there were always some people in the world who were lacking in this area. Just like what her friends had said at Zhuo Xin’s wedding, an awkward family relationship could lead to misunderstandings in expression, and her friends also felt that their parents’ love for them was much less.
But that Chu Wantang was also deeply troubled by this was beyond her expectations.
What kind of past had she experienced to make the usually emotionally stable Chu Wantang “question” her late mother at such a moment?
“Chu Wantang…”
Huai Xing gently wiped the tear from the corner of Chu Wantang’s eye.
Chu Wantang’s body temperature was already very high, and the tear was like boiling water, burning her fingertips. But after calling out her name, she didn’t know what else to say.
Say “it’s okay”? But who in this world could say “it’s okay” on behalf of Chu Wantang? Even someone as intimate as her didn’t have that right.
Say “I’m here”? But her presence couldn’t solve any problems.
Huai Xing felt a little helpless and at a loss for a moment. She could only continue to wipe the sweat from Chu Wantang’s forehead, scoop a little water with a spoon and slowly drip it into Chu Wantang’s mouth, and continuously call out Chu Wantang’s name in a gentle voice.
Finally, her efforts paid off. Chu Wantang raised her arm and placed it on her heavy forehead. She opened her eyes halfway, looking at the person by the bed in a daze.
She subconsciously asked, “What time is it now?”
But her throat was so sore it was as if she hadn’t drunk water in ten thousand years, and her voice was at its worst.
“Five past eight in the morning. Have some water, Jiejie.”
Huai Xing said, holding the water glass, slowly getting up, and helping her to sit up a little. She then gently pressed the rim of the glass against her lips and gave her warm water bit by bit.
Her brows were tightly furrowed, and she said with concern, “I just took your temperature. It’s almost 40℃. Auntie Chen will be here with white congee soon. Jiejie, have some congee and then take the fever medicine.”
Chu Wantang drank half a glass of water and lay back down.
She had no strength in her body. She looked at Huai Xing and replied, “Okay.” She then glanced at the electronic clock beside her. “It’s Friday. Go to work.”
“…” Huai Xing pressed her lips together. “I want to take a leave of absence.”
Chu Wantang raised an eyebrow, seeing through her intention. “You want to take care of me at home?”
“Mm.”
“I’m not that fragile. Besides, I’m afraid of infecting you.” Chu Wantang revealed a smile, but her words held an undeniable meaning. “Be good. Go to work. It’s almost the weekend. There’s plenty of time to take care of me. It won’t make a difference.”
Huai Xing wanted to insist, but looking at Chu Wantang’s gentle eyes, she forcefully suppressed the thought.
She could only nod.
A few minutes later, Auntie Chen brought the white congee. She had raised her daughter by herself and had a lot of experience in taking care of sick people. While Chu Wantang was eating the congee, she also changed the sweat-soaked four-piece bedding.
Huai Xing also packed up everything. But before she left, she went into her bedroom, took out the gift she had prepared for Chu Wantang with her salary a while ago, and placed it in front of her.
She cleared her throat and said a little unnaturally, “Jiejie, I feel like your room is missing a speaker. I hope it can accompany you through some boring moments.”
Chu Wantang nodded and replied hoarsely, “Thanks.”
Huai Xing then pointed to the camera in the living room. “Also, if you’re bored after you’ve had enough sleep, you can come to the living room to find me.”
“…” Chu Wantang’s eyes curved, and she teased, “Is the video call function on WeChat broken?”
Huai Xing was embarrassed. “…I’m leaving.”
“I will.” Chu Wantang’s smile was radiant, a hint of indulgence on her sickly face. “I’ll message you when I’m in the living room, okay?”
“Okay.”
Only then was Huai Xing satisfied. She once again reminded her to rest well and then said a few words to Auntie Chen.
Her handsome figure gradually disappeared from the doorway.
Auntie Chen put the bedsheets in the washing machine and couldn’t help but sigh, “Miss Chu, you and your sister have such a good relationship. If my daughter had a sister like that, I wouldn’t be afraid of her being lonely in the future.”
Hearing this, Chu Wantang’s lips curled up. Her gaze lingered on the speaker for a few seconds, and then she slowly took the fever medicine with water.
…
Huai Xing was restless at the company. Fortunately, there wasn’t much work today, so she had time to frequently look at her phone screen. But every time the phone lit up and she quickly picked it up, it wasn’t a message from Chu Wantang.
Her concern was not answered, which was a torment for her. But when she thought that Chu Wantang was sleeping, she would feel relieved.
Last night, she had connected to the camera at home just like Chu Wantang, so she could also see the scene in the living room when she was out.
After she left today, she had opened the camera app in the car and saw that Chu Wantang had returned to her room with the speaker after taking her medicine. Auntie Chen had also cleaned up the table and left. The living room was quiet afterwards.
After processing another batch of data, she picked up her phone and opened the app again.
There were still no changes in the playback. At this moment, she deeply understood how Chu Wantang had felt these past few days.
Ren Jiao, at the side, couldn’t stand it anymore. She leaned over and asked, “Do you have a date today?”
“Why are you so concerned about a colleague’s private life?” Huai Xing replied with a smile. “Didn’t you say that colleagues shouldn’t contact each other after work, Jiaojiao?”
Ren Jiao sighed. “I’m not concerned. I’m just gossiping.”
Huai Xing answered very frankly, “I don’t have a date. My sister is sick, and I want to see if she’s feeling better.”
“You and your sister have a really good relationship.”
Huai Xing’s smile couldn’t help but freeze for a moment. She felt very guilty.
Mm, our relationship is very good.
So good that they had sex, so good that they had kissed like crazy before going to sleep last night.
But… kissing…
Huai Xing lowered her eyes, her lips pressed together tightly. She propped her cheek with one hand to cover half of her face, then lowered the brightness of her phone screen, opened the camera’s playback, and pulled the progress bar to last night. The place where it jumped to was exactly when she had gone to hug Chu Wantang.
A few minutes later, she saw them kissing on the screen—
In the surveillance, half of her face was blocked, and Chu Wantang was only in profile. Everything was not so real, but it didn’t affect the viewing pleasure of the scene.
Huai Xing watched quietly, her face as if it had been roasted over a charcoal fire, quickly turning a crimson color. The frequency of her eyelashes trembling also changed.
And, how could it be so long? She frantically pulled the progress bar, wanting to see when it ended. In the end, she found that they had been kissing back and forth on the sofa for a full half an hour.
“…” Huai Xing exited, not looking anymore.
She turned her head, and Ren Jiao glanced at her suspiciously and asked, “Why are you covering your face? Are you not feeling well?”
Huai Xing just felt that her action of covering half of her face in advance was very wise. She asked, trying to cover up, “Don’t you think it’s very stuffy today even though it’s not raining?”
The dark clouds hung low, and the whole world was covered in a gray filter.
“It’s really stuffy,” Ren Jiao’s attention was diverted. “I still think I should be in bed, not in this prison.”
Today, Huai Xing deeply agreed.
It wasn’t until one-thirty in the afternoon that she received a reply from Chu Wantang.
She had been sleeping soundly, and her fever had temporarily subsided. Now she had a stuffy nose, a sore throat, and a headache.
She also told Huai Xing that she was in the living room.
It was lunch break anyway. Huai Xing was sitting in a coffee shop near the company. When she saw what Chu Wantang said, she immediately put on her headphones and opened the surveillance.
Chu Wantang was wearing loungewear and bent down in front of the camera. Her beauty was not affected at all.
Huai Xing used the camera’s voice function a little awkwardly and said with concern, “Jiejie, take your medicine after you finish eating. Take a good nap in the afternoon. I should be back by the time you wake up.”
“Mm,” Chu Wantang nodded, blinked, her voice still a little hoarse. “Where are you?”
“In a coffee shop.”
“Have you been waiting for me all this time?”
“I was very worried about you,” Huai Xing admitted. “When I’m sick, you’re also very worried about me.”
Chu Wantang chuckled lightly. “That’s true.”
She said nonchalantly, “Auntie Chen was saying this morning that we have a good relationship. I agree.”
“…” It was a good thing they weren’t on a video call, otherwise, Huai Xing’s panic would have been exposed. But she couldn’t help but feel a little torn.
In public, they were just sisters with a good relationship.
In private, they could exchange saliva and make waves in bed.
This form didn’t last long. Huai Xing returned to her post, and Auntie Chen came to cook for Chu Wantang.
Chu Wantang had no appetite when she was sick, so Auntie Chen made very light dishes.
She sat at the table, chewing slowly, and scrolled through the well-wishes Huai Xing had sent her this morning. One moment, she was reminding her to drink water, the next, she was telling her to remember to wear thicker clothes, as the temperature was a bit low and she couldn’t get cold again.
She would send such content every once in a while.
She thought for a moment, took a screenshot of these messages, and sent them to Wan Yi, who was already abroad.
Hehe.
So you’re the only one with a clingy little sister?
…
After work, Huai Xing rushed out, leaving the company one step faster than the proactive Ren Jiao, her heart filled with urgency.
The disadvantage of working was once again demonstrated at this moment. Otherwise, she could have been by Chu Wantang’s side all along.
In less than half an hour, she jogged back home.
To her surprise, Su Cheng was here. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Su Cheng sitting in a chair and chatting with Chu Wantang, laughing and talking.
Seeing Huai Xing, Su Cheng, who was eating blueberries, almost choked.
Previously, when Chu Wantang had come to her studio in a frenzy, she had tried to get to the bottom of it but couldn’t figure out what Chu Wantang was talking about. Who was coming home? Xingxing? Who wasn’t losing out by sleeping with someone? Was it also Xingxing?
The next day, Chu Wantang had brought Wan Yi to the scene and then talked about her and Huai Xing.
Wan Yi had laughed so hard that she had lost all her fairy-like image, and Chu Wantang was also extremely calm.
She was so shocked that she didn’t know what to say.
Chu Wantang actually had such thoughts about Xingxing. Where was the morality? Where was the bottom line? And where could she find a little sister like Xingxing?
Now, seeing Huai Xing again, Su Cheng just felt that she still hadn’t digested this information.
She tried her best to make her expression look natural and spoke first, “Xingxing, you’re home from work?”
“Sister Su Cheng.”
Huai Xing nodded. She had already washed her hands. Now she came to the bedside, bent down to feel Chu Wantang’s forehead, and asked with concern in her eyes, “What’s your temperature now, Jiejie?”
“A low-grade fever. It’s nothing,” Chu Wantang’s face was a little pale, but her eyes were gentle.
Su Cheng looked at their “sisterly” affection, silently swallowed the blueberry, but the blueberry, which had been sweet just now, was now so sour.
Huai Xing was not very relieved by the reply. Seeing that the water glass was a little empty, she went to the living room to get water.
Su Cheng stood up and came to the bedside.
She couldn’t help but confirm again, “Are you and Xingxing really dating?”
Chu Wantang, thinking of the painful dream she had had last night, didn’t respond. She just turned her head to the side, looked towards the door, her voice hoarse but with a hint of coldness. “We’re all adults. It’s not too much to have some physical needs, right?”
Huai Xing was holding a water glass outside the door.
The water surface only rippled slightly, but her heart was in turmoil.
Even though she had long known this fact, even though she had already brainwashed herself—
But could the degree of pain actually be deepened?
