After being thoroughly scared by Shen An, Xu Yijing finally settled down a lot.
Though her face was still etched with defiance, and her occasional glances carried a chill,
she had quieted at last, letting Shen An carry her without any resistance.
Her outwardly tough facade couldn’t hide the fact that she’d effectively surrendered.
In this round of their clash, Shen An had gained the upper hand for now.
And Shen An had a feeling these confrontations would repeat over the coming days, until one side was completely beaten down.
He gently set her on the sofa and asked in a low voice, “Stomach hurting?”
He naturally knew it was a stomach pain flare-up, but he had to stick to his principle of never admitting it. No matter what Xu Yijing said, without evidence, he couldn’t be proven as the “doctor.”
He knew nothing about her condition.
Xu Yijing pressed her lips together and shot him a cold, knowing look—as if to say, what else could it be?
She’d been clutching her stomach since she got back. What else but stomach pain?
“See, I told you this afternoon to watch it, and you still scarfed down all that ice cream.”
Shen An’s lips curved smugly as he gloated, “Stuffing yourself with that much ice cream—who else would end up with the runs but you?”
Xu Yijing licked her dry lips. She was too drained to bother with him anymore.
Exhausted, she closed her eyes, meeting all his taunts with silence.
“Hm, do you have any medicine in your room?”
Shen An asked softly. “If it’s just the runs, it shouldn’t be too serious.”
Yes, he’d pegged it as diarrhea from acute gastroenteritis caused by too much ice cream.
He planned to use this to coax her into revealing her real condition herself.
Xu Yijing remained silent, not saying a word.
Shen An arched a brow, pinched her chin, and said coolly, “If you really want to die, I can help you on your way.”
“There’s… medicine in the room.”
Xu Yijing was forced to open her eyes. Anger flared in her at having her chin gripped, but her weakness left her no way to fight back.
She could only silently remind herself to endure.
A gentleman takes revenge, even if it takes ten years.
“Heh~” Shen An sneered disdainfully. Looks like this girl was just a paper tiger after all—tough on the outside, but scared of death deep down.
He turned to head to her room for the medicine.
But halfway there, Xu Yijing’s voice came from behind. “I forgot—there’s no medicine in my room.”
“Go down to the pharmacy in the neighborhood right now and buy me some painkillers and sedatives.”
“Sure.”
Shen An stopped and headed for the door.
He knew full well her condition was far from simple. Ordinary painkillers and sedatives wouldn’t touch it.
But he understood her mindset right now.
She probably wanted to dull the pain first, then handle it herself.
Shen An was a bit worried, but since she didn’t care about her own body, he saw no point in wasting effort on an ungrateful cause.
With someone this stubbornly tough, you had to wait until she saw the coffin before she’d shed tears—only then could you show care or sympathy.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t appreciate it and might even turn it around to blame you.
He descended from the complex to the nearby pharmacy and quickly bought the painkillers and sedatives.
Both were restricted drugs, but the ones available over the counter without a prescription were the mildest—least harmful, with minimal side effects.
Mild effects meant they might not be strong enough, so he also grabbed some stomach pain meds and took the bag.
The whole trip took less than ten minutes—highly efficient.
But even in that short time, when he returned and pushed open the door, Xu Yijing was no longer on the sofa. She had collapsed limply to the floor.
She was gasping for breath, her silky black hair drenched and disheveled, clinging to her cheeks. Cold sweat poured from her forehead in sheets.
In stark contrast to her pallid face were the faint red marks on her knees and elbows, with spots of blood trickling out—utterly wretched.
Clearly, the moment Shen An left, she hadn’t stayed put. Out of sheer stubbornness, she’d tried to handle the flare-up herself.
But she was too weak. Without his help, she couldn’t even stay upright after leaving the sofa. She’d fallen and scraped herself in the process.
Old wounds not yet healed, and now new ones added.
Shen An narrowed his eyes and set the medicine aside. He was genuinely angry now. “How about I call your mother right now and let her see you like this?”
“Let’s see if you’d still act so fearless in front of her!”
“Don’t…”
Xu Yijing gritted her teeth, panic flashing across her face. “Don’t call her.”
Shen An paused.
Just moments ago, when he’d threatened her with death, she hadn’t seemed all that cowed.
But now, merely mentioning her mother had her panic plain as day.
Could it be…
He’d initially thought Xu Yijing’s relationship with Zhao Li was utterly toxic, with Xu Yijing outright hostile toward her.
But from her reaction now…
It didn’t seem that bad.
At least Xu Yijing… she seemed deathly afraid of Zhao Li.
A rebellious teen starved for maternal love—hating her mother on one hand, desperately craving her care on the other?
The conclusion flashed into Shen An’s mind in an instant.
Or maybe her stubborn pride wouldn’t let her embarrass herself in front of her own mother?
Whichever it was, a quick test would tell.
Shen An pulled out his phone, pretending to dial.
Xu Yijing’s panic intensified. She said tremulously, “What are you doing? I said, don’t… don’t call her!”
Shen An ignored her, eyes fixed on the screen, fingers swiping around.
“Shen An!”
Xu Yijing roared like a cornered beast finally unleashed, hysterical. “Put down your phone…”
“What if I don’t?”
Shen An narrowed his eyes. “I’ve already pissed you off this much. Nothing I do can fix it, right?”
“No… you…”
Xu Yijing lifted her head. “Don’t tell her, and I… I won’t hold your earlier offense against you.”
“Offense?” Shen An sneered. “You see my good intentions to help as an offense?”
“That’s not what I mean…”
Xu Yijing blurted desperately, “Right, good intentions to help. I’ll be grateful.”
“Then can you cooperate properly?”
Shen An gazed at her coolly. “I don’t want more trouble either.”
“Fine.”
Xu Yijing closed her eyes like she’d accepted her fate. “What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing at all.”
Shen An snorted coldly, pocketed his phone, bent down, and gently lifted the fallen Xu Yijing, settling her back on the sofa.
“Move again, and I’ll send you straight to your mom.”
Shen An’s eyes flashed menacingly, and this time Xu Yijing truly didn’t budge.
What a pain.
He sighed, got up to head to the kitchen, and poured her a glass of warm water.
Then he returned to the living room and opened the newly bought medicines.
“Open your mouth.”
He said coolly.
“I’ll eat it myself.” Xu Yijing shook her head weakly.
“Open your mouth.” Shen An narrowed his eyes.
Xu Yijing gritted her teeth and hesitated for a moment before reluctantly opening her small mouth.
Shen An first fed her a painkiller, followed by a sedative and a stomach medicine.
Every time she opened her mouth to swallow a pill, he would pour water for her to drink it down. The whole process was rough but incredibly quick.
Xu Yijing silently endured the bitterness on her tongue. She hated bitter tastes.
She usually bought milder-tasting medicines or extra sugar to offset the flavor.
But Shen An clearly wasn’t that considerate, and she didn’t dare say anything about it. She could only force herself to bear the bitterness.
Her mouth was bitter, but her heart was even more so.
After about half a minute, the medicine began to take effect. The pain on her face gradually eased, no longer as twisted as before.
The churning in her stomach had also temporarily subsided, allowing her to close her eyes for a moment and catch her breath.
The stomach pain triggered by an anorexia episode was, at its core, still just stomach pain.
The medicine could still provide some relief.
But this was merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause. As drug tolerance built up over time, sooner or later, Xu Yijing would reach a point where no medicine could ease her stomach pain.
Anorexia could be fatal, and most deaths came from comprehensive chain reactions caused by intestinal and nutritional deficiencies. The remaining rare cases were suicides driven by severe mental depression.
Seeing her complexion improve a little, Shen An let out a sigh of relief.
He had truly been afraid the medicine wouldn’t work on her, afraid her body couldn’t hold out.
Shen An pulled a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and held it to Xu Yijing’s lips. “Open your mouth.”
With her eyes closed, Xu Yijing instinctively parted her lips. A faint sweetness spread across her tongue, neutralizing the medicine’s bitterness.
She froze in surprise.
Candy?
She slowly opened her eyes and saw Shen An gently wiping the cold sweat from her face with a tissue.
“Feeling better?”
His gentleness came through in both his tone and his gaze, reaching deep into Xu Yijing’s heart.
“Mm…”
She answered with a soft hum through her nose—not coquettishness, but because she didn’t want to open her mouth to speak.
“How did you develop this stubborn streak of yours?”
As Shen An wiped away her cold sweat, he teased her lightly.
Xu Yijing pursed her lips and dodged the question.
“What? Too embarrassed to say? Or too proud to admit it?”
Shen An chuckled. “When it hurts, shout. When you’re uncomfortable, cry. Even little kids know to ask for help. You’re not even as good as a child.”
Xu Yijing narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze sharpening.
Shen An didn’t flinch and pressed on. “Or do you think asking for help is humiliating? That handling everything on your own proves how strong you are?”
Xu Yijing turned her head away. She didn’t want to hear it.
“You’re pretty strong, alright.”
Shen An murmured, “I actually wish I could be like that too.”
“But that kind of strength is just too boring. Carrying everything on your own shoulders, making even crying a luxury.”
He shrugged. “So, it’s okay to be weak sometimes. At least it proves you’re still human.”
Xu Yijing frowned and rasped, “You’re so noisy. Can you let me rest quietly?”
“No.”
Shen An grinned. “I’m afraid if you’re too quiet, you’ll fall asleep and never wake up.”
“Heh, didn’t you just say you wanted me to die right in front of you? Turns out you’re scared of that too?”
Xu Yijing’s eyes regained a bit of spark. The medicine was working well.
“Of course I’m scared. I’m not some cold-blooded killer—that was just said in anger.”
Shen An softened his voice. “You’ve never cooperated with me, always resisting. Anyone would get frustrated.”
“And honestly, I’ve never felt like I’ve done anything to wrong you.”
“But now I get it. It’s not me you hate—it’s everyone who tries to get close to you like this.”
Xu Yijing grew impatient. “No, I hate you.”
“Why?”
Shen An propped his chin on his hand.
“There’s no why. I just hate you.”
“Do you hate me as a person, or hate me because I’m the one your mother arranged to come here?”
Shen An’s lips curved slightly. “Or should I rephrase? You actually hate your mother, right?”
Xu Yijing looked at him and suddenly asked, “Aren’t you a doctor?”
“I’m not.”
Shen An shook his head sincerely. “If I were that skilled, I’d have become a doctor by twenty-two. Why would I come here to be your nanny and wait on you?”
“Then what deal did you make with my mother?”
Xu Yijing pushed herself up slightly, trying to look less frail and pathetic.
“Aren’t you not interested?”
Shen An smiled.
“I’m interested now.” Xu Yijing said flatly. “Tell me, and I’ll tell you something you want to know.”
“There’s nothing I want to know.” Shen An waved it off.
“There is.”
Despite her pale face, Xu Yijing’s lips slowly curved into a smug smile. “You want to know about Zhao Qingyu—especially about things between her and me.”
