After swallowing the specially made medicine, Xu Yijing’s stomach pain was quickly suppressed, the effect strikingly obvious.
A faint sweetness lingered on her tongue, and she couldn’t help pursing her lips, trying to hold onto that fleeting taste for just a little longer.
Xu Yijing had a deep love for sweets—one of her few indulgences.
That sugary sensation brought the most direct rush of pleasure, perfect for lifting a low mood.
For her, the joy from sweet flavors was one way she soothed her emotions, and over time, it had turned into a dependency.
Perhaps it was a gift from the heavens: despite her sweet tooth, her tall, slender figure showed no signs of it.
She had that enviable body type that other girls dreamed of— one that didn’t pack on pounds no matter what.
But because of her stomach issues, she actually couldn’t eat too many sweets, and ice cream was off-limits too.
Just like how diabetics crave sugar, anything she was supposed to avoid was exactly what Xu Yijing wanted.
After watching for a bit and seeing her pale cheeks gradually flush with color, Shen An finally relaxed completely.
He couldn’t help asking, “Don’t you have medicine for this? Don’t you usually carry a few pills with you?”
In a sudden flare-up like this, if she’d had those special pills on her, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a sorry state.
Xu Yijing said softly, “This medicine works great, but if I can avoid taking it, I try not to.”
This time, the pain had hit especially hard and fast, catching her completely off guard.
It had been nearly half a year since she’d last had stomach pain this bad.
Usually, if she felt a little off, she didn’t need meds—just tough it out, and it’d pass.
Shen An nodded in realization. “Bad side effects, huh?”
“You could say that.”
As the ache in her stomach faded away, Xu Yijing let out a long breath of relief.
“You feeling better now?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” Shen An nodded, then stood up. “Finally, I can breathe. The noodles are getting cold.”
Noodles?
Xu Yijing narrowed her eyes. “You were cooking noodles?”
“Yep.” Shen An chuckled lightly. “Want some?”
“No need.”
Xu Yijing rejected him with her usual cool indifference.
“Fine, suit yourself.”
Shen An shrugged and headed back into the kitchen.
This guy…
Xu Yijing felt a mix of exasperation and irritation.
She glanced at her scraped elbow and knee. The blood had dried, but the stinging pain from the abrasions had replaced the stomachache, leaving her uncomfortable.
What irked her even more: this guy was just going to leave her like that?
Ugh, no!
Xu Yijing closed her eyes, chiding herself inwardly. Why would she need him to take care of her anyway?
She’d rest a bit more, recover some strength, then head back to her room and lie down.
These scrapes probably wouldn’t matter if she left them alone.
Right now, she needed proper rest—somewhere quiet.
But how could Shen An let her have her way?
A few minutes later, the sofa dipped as he plopped down right next to her, a big bowl in hand.
Xu Yijing kept her eyes closed, ignoring him.
Slurp~
Slurp~
She frowned slightly.
Slurp~
Slurp~
She opened her eyes in embarrassed annoyance and glared at him. “Can’t you eat somewhere else?”
“And can’t you eat your noodles quietly?”
Shen An paused his enthusiastic devouring and shot her a sideways glance. “Can’t you lie down somewhere else?”
“I…”
Xu Yijing wanted to curse him out!
Sadly, she barely knew any profanity, and years of ingrained propriety left her helpless against this shameless jerk.
Sigh~
Xu Yijing felt like she’d tied her own hands. If only she’d brought the medicine with her…
Then she wouldn’t have lost control during the attack.
This whole mess was the bitter fruit of her own making.
She felt helpless. Utterly speechless.
Shen An, meanwhile, was having a great time.
He’d discovered that once he ripped away that facade of polite pretense, Xu Yijing had no real comeback against him.
Her trump cards and confidence were, in some ways, even flimsier than Zhao Qingyu’s.
But Shen An didn’t dare treat her like a paper tiger just yet.
She might seem helpless on the surface now, but who knew what she was plotting deep down?
The dogs that bite the hardest usually don’t bark.
Okay, maybe that analogy was a bit much, but Xu Yijing was never quite like Zhao Qingyu.
Zhao Qingyu’s so-called revenge mostly stayed at the level of words, while Xu Yijing might actually follow through.
Or maybe it was just that things had progressed so fast with Zhao Qingyu that she’d gone soft, turning what might have been real payback into playful pouts.
He slurped his noodles extra loudly on purpose, filling the air with noise.
Xu Yijing tried desperately to sink into a meditative trance, but his crude slurping kept yanking her back.
She didn’t even have time to snap at him verbally before an awkward new situation hit.
Her stomach didn’t hurt anymore.
But damn it… she was… kind of hungry.
With Shen An sitting so close, the aroma of the noodles wafted through the air, sneaking right up to her nose.
Her stomach attacks often stemmed from irregular eating and chronic anorexia—her appetite was terrible.
She’d skipped breakfast and lunch today, only downing a bunch of ice cream in the afternoon.
So even when she’d been vomiting, her stomach had been empty, forcing dry heaves.
It had been a long time since she’d felt… this hungry. This desperate for food.
Xu Yijing cracked her eyes open, unable to resist stealing a glance at the big bowl of noodles.
But she squeezed them shut again right away.
Her pride forced her to fight down the hunger.
She absolutely could not embarrass herself in front of him again! She couldn’t give him any chance to gloat.
That restraint held until a soft “gurgle” sounded from her belly.
Shen An’s ears were sharp. He stopped and turned to look at Xu Yijing.
Her eyes still closed, she burned with shame.
Because that gurgle… had come from her stomach.
But there was nothing she could do—it was pure instinct. No matter how strong her willpower, she couldn’t override her body’s reactions.
Gurgle~
Another one slipped out quietly.
Even with her eyes shut, Xu Yijing could feel Shen An’s teasing gaze on her.
She snapped her eyes open and shot him an annoyed glare. “What are you looking at!”
Shen An raised a brow. “You sound hungry.”
“I’m not.”
Xu Yijing turned her head away. “It’s a side effect.”
Right on cue, another gurgle rumbled out.
Mortified, she clutched her stomach. Please, stop!
“If you’re hungry, just admit it. What’s with the side effect excuse?”
Shen An said casually, “Good thing I made extra. Want a bowl?”
Xu Yijing desperately wanted to shake her head and refuse, but her stomach betrayed her.
Truth be told, from the evening’s intense stomach pain until now—when she’d finally taken the medicine—she’d been gritting her teeth through it. Resisting the agony and its emotional toll had drained her body’s reserves.
And anorexia often went hand-in-hand with binge eating disorder.
They weren’t the same thing exactly, but binge eating was a common side effect of anorexia, and vice versa.
The two fed into each other, shifting with the patient’s emotions and physical needs.
For instance, after a stretch of anorexia, the body—starved for nutrients—would instinctively drive a person to overeat, triggering a binge.
Then, after the binge, the overload of food and nutrients would provoke rejection, worsening the anorexia mentality.
A vicious cycle of mutual torment.
That afternoon, Xu Yijing’s ice cream marathon had veered into binge territory—she’d eaten without restraint, whatever she craved.
And now, this hunger pang was triggering her binge eating side, something she couldn’t control on her own.
Shen An waited a moment on purpose, and when she didn’t speak, he got up and went to the kitchen.
He returned with a steaming bowl of noodles and a bowl of egg drop soup.
The noodles had bits of finely chopped meat and some vegetables—like carrot slices.
Xu Yijing eyed the carrots and instinctively frowned.
She picked up her chopsticks and pushed them aside.
Shen An narrowed his eyes and said softly, “Don’t be picky. Veggies and meat are both essential—they’re what your body needs.”
“Your stomach problems are probably from years of being choosy.”
Xu Yijing pursed her lips. “I eat vegetables. I just don’t like carrots.”
“Carrots are great—packed with vitamin C, good for digestion, especially for you.” Shen An chuckled.
Xu Yijing opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. “And this egg drop soup—drink it first to warm your stomach. Tastes good too.”
“Here, try my cooking.”
He slid the noodle bowl aside and placed the soup right in front of her. The gentle light in his clear eyes made her forget all her earlier grudges against him.
“Thanks.”
The soup was still a bit hot, so she blew on it gently with small sips, trying to cool it down some.
Egg soup?
Eggs could make soup?
Harboring a trace of doubt, she took a careful sip.
Mm!
Xu Yijing’s expression shifted. This soup was… actually pretty good.
Shen An arched an eyebrow, looking somewhat pleased with himself. “How about it? My cooking’s not bad, right? If I ever hit rock bottom one day, I could probably land a gig as a chef at a five-star hotel.”
Xu Yijing listened to his self-praise and couldn’t help furrowing her brow a little.
Well, she actually wanted to compliment him.
The soup really was pretty good, but she didn’t know how to go about praising him—especially not when he was being so full of himself right now.
It was just an egg soup. Was it really that big a deal?
“What’s wrong? You don’t believe me? Then try some of the noodles I made.”
Shen An naturally picked up his chopsticks and scooped up some noodles, dropping them into her soup bowl.
Xu Yijing stared in surprise.
It wasn’t that she minded him using her chopsticks; it was the gentleness he was showing now, so at odds with his earlier nitpicking, exasperating attitude. It was like he was a completely different person.
Pushing aside her faint astonishment, what she felt more was an awkwardness and disorientation born of unfamiliarity.
As far as she could remember, she’d never had an experience like this.
Her family had hired full-time servants who took care of all her meals and daily needs.
And most of her elders were too busy to spend time with her, including her mother.
In that environment, Xu Yijing had grown up willful and unrestrained from a young age. Sure, there were servants, but they never dared say much beyond doing their jobs.
As a result, she’d developed habits like skipping meals entirely some days or eating at irregular times—often instant noodles or snacks grabbed on the go.
She’d never really had… someone sitting beside her, fussing over her like this.
Was this fussing over her?
Not really.
He was just bragging about his cooking skills.
But… this feeling was strangely wonderful and special all the same.
Though unfamiliar, odd, and unique, it was like the bowl she held in her hands—the soup’s heat seeping through the porcelain, warming her fingertips and penetrating deep into her heart.
A cozy warmth welled up inside her, sweeping away the lingering ache in her stomach.
“Want to try a bite first?”
Shen An was confident in his cooking—or perhaps deliberately ignoring Xu Yijing’s daze. He set down the noodles and picked up a slice of meat.
But this time, instead of putting it in her bowl, he brought it right to her lips.
Xu Yijing stared at him in a daze, meeting his expectant and gentle gaze. Before she knew it, she parted her lips slightly without thinking.
Mm~
Her eyes widened.
The meat’s savory aroma filled her mouth—soft, glutinous, and sweet.
So sweet. Really so sweet!
She only liked sweet foods, so she was naturally picky about what she ate, which made her palate quite finicky.
But unexpectedly, this slice of meat was sweet—both in the mental satisfaction it brought and on her taste buds.
Sweet without being cloying, it instantly opened up her appetite.
Normally, though, no one put that much sugar in their cooking. At least, not in the school cafeteria, local restaurants, or among the people she knew—only she had that particular quirk.
Shen An watched her with a smiling gaze and said softly, “How is it? Tasty?”
Xu Yijing swallowed the meat slice, the lingering sweetness still in her mouth. She nodded involuntarily.
“It might be a bit on the sweet side, but I happen to like sweet foods. You don’t mind, do you?”
Shen An asked again.
Cough, it’s fine~
Xu Yijing’s eyes darted away, flickering a little. “Do you always put that much sugar in your cooking?”
“Mm-hmm.” Shen An nodded slightly, smug as ever. “The food I make is like me—full of sweetness.”
Uh…
Xu Yijing looked away, pursing her lips in faint distaste.
