The Kindhearted Girl Gets a Wife 24

Chapter 24

The smell of disinfectant came before the tearing of consciousness. The first thing Pei Yunle saw was the peeling ceiling and walls, soaked with water.

“I…” The moment she opened her mouth, her throat was as hoarse as if it had been sawed. She had swallowed a desert, dry and hot.

Even coughing was painful for Pei Yunle, as if she would spit out a few grains of sand in the next second.

“You’re awake?” Ji Mingzhu’s clear white eyes were bloodshot, and her clothes were still loose and wrinkled.

Pei Yunle frowned. Her head was groggy and painful, and her limbs were weak.

The moment she opened her mouth, Ji Mingzhu knew what she was going to say.

“You had a high fever last night. Chen Qingtang carried you here.”

So she was really in Pingshun, not Anyang.

Pei Yunle pointed at Ji Mingzhu from under the quilt.

“I couldn’t sleep with all the noise last night. I didn’t dare to sleep after you two left, so I just came with you.”

Pei Yunle pointed her index finger down, her fingertip pointing at the floor.

“This is the health center.”

Pei Yunle pointed to the door.

Ji Mingzhu rolled her eyes. “She went back to cook you some white congee and left me here.”

After getting the information, Pei Yunle finally couldn’t hold on any longer and fell back onto the pillow.

Ji Mingzhu slapped the back of her left hand into her right palm. “Haiya, I thought your red face yesterday was from shyness. I was even saying, how could a shameless person like you be shy? It turns out you were flushed with fever.”

Hearing this, Pei Yunle opened her mouth and pointed at her tonsils.

“39 degrees. A little more and I’ll be a big fool.”

Pei Yunle’s expression was listless. She took the warm water Ji Mingzhu handed her and drank it all in one go. Her throat felt a little better after being moistened. At least she could make a faint sound, so she didn’t have to keep guessing.

“I had hundreds of dreams last night.”

Ji Mingzhu glanced at her. “Wet dreams?”

Pei Yunle rolled her eyes at her. “I dreamed that Chen Qingtang didn’t open the door for me, and I just stood there in the rain. But there was a big sun above my head, and it was so hot that I was sweating all over. Wherever I went, the sun followed me.”

“In ancient times, there was Kuafu chasing the sun. Now, there is the sun chasing Yunle. Not bad, not bad.” Ji Mingzhu yawned, her eyes filling with tears, making them sparkle.

“I can’t even tell which parts of yesterday were a dream and which were real. When I open my eyes, it’s a dream. When I close my eyes, it’s still a dream.”

When Pei Yunle turned over, she felt her brain sloshing around in her head, and it hurt so much.

“The butt-patting was real.”

“What?” Pei Yunle’s facial features contorted in a way they had never before.

Ji Mingzhu collapsed on the bed next to her like an invertebrate. “I said, you wore her clothes, slept in her bed. I don’t know whose butt you were patting.”

“Did we do it?”

“We didn’t. I don’t know if you two did.”

Pei Yunle’s hands trembled. She incredulously examined each of her fingers. The pink nails had grown long, revealing a white crescent. Probably not, I haven’t cut my nails yet.

“So you don’t remember what you did yesterday?” Ji Mingzhu sprang up from the bed.

“I was delirious with fever. I only remember you taking me to the door, and then I think I climbed into Chen Qingtang’s bed. I was in a daze, I don’t know when I fell asleep.”

“Do you remember what you said to me?”

“I remember my ass. I was so sick, what nonsense was I spouting? Can’t you not argue with a sick person?”

“Clang—” A loud noise came from the door, as if something had been heavily slammed against a metal cabinet.

Pei Yunle tried to prop herself up, but her arms had no strength, and her abdomen had no power. After trying for a long time, she fell back down.

She only heard Ji Mingzhu stand up, a hesitant look on her face. She glanced back at the sick person on the bed, then slowly walked over. When she came back, she was holding a thermal container.

“Did you order takeout?” Pei Yunle coughed twice.

Ji Mingzhu twisted open the lid. “No, Chen Qingtang sent it.”

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know. She just left it and went.”

Pei Yunle felt a sense of panic welling up in her heart. She threw off the quilt and tried to get out of bed, but her legs had no strength and she fell back down. She propped herself up on the cabinet next to her, her whole body trembling. But then she suddenly stood there, her eyes closed, not moving.

Ji Mingzhu felt like she was watching a grand rehabilitation show for the disabled. If she had two coins in her hand, she would definitely have thrown them to Pei Yunle.

“What… what are you doing?”

“What did I say when Chen Qingtang came in?” Pei Yunle saw a swarm of small bees buzzing in front of her eyes. “Oh my god, I stood up too fast, my brain didn’t get enough blood. I’m dizzy and a little nauseous.”

Ji Mingzhu quickly helped her back to bed. “You’re really something. You’re still on an IV.”

Pei Yunle looked down. Her movements had been so violent just now that the needle on the back of her hand had come loose from the white tape and popped out. Transparent liquid was still seeping from the end of the needle.

“If you trust me, I can put it back in for you?”

Seeing her pinching the thin needle, Pei Yunle was startled. She covered the back of her hand and quickly retreated. “I’ll pass.”

“Hurry up and see what’s going on. I still haven’t figured out why this person’s temper is up again. And what did I say last night?”

“If I had slept between you two last night, I would definitely have been able to find out.”

“Three’s a crowd in a love affair.” Pei Yunle closed her eyes. “Where are my shoes? I have to get out of here and see.”

She looked down and scanned the area around the bed. Other than dust, there was not even a single slipper on the patterned floor.

“She carried you here. How would she remember to put on your slippers?” Ji Mingzhu said lazily from the side.

The floor was warm in the summer. Pei Yunle didn’t feel any discomfort walking barefoot, it was just a little hard.

She shook her head, took two deep breaths, and only after her muscles had responded a little did she go out.

When she reached the first floor, a few aunties with curly hair were chatting with teacups in their hands. Seeing the sick person with a flushed face and dry lips run out barefoot, they immediately put down their teacups.

“Hey, hey, which bed are you from?”

Pei Yunle licked her lips. The soft flesh, moistened by saliva, was nourished for a moment, so that when she spoke, there was no longer a strong tearing sensation.

She didn’t know which bed she was from either. “I came in with a fever last night. I’m done with my IV and I want to leave.”

The curly-haired aunty’s tattooed dark green eyebrows furrowed. “Are you better? You don’t look very well.”

Ji Mingzhu came up from behind and supported Pei Yunle. “She’s already finished her IV, the last bottle is done. She can really leave. I’ve already told that sister.”

Pei Yunle’s nose was still stuffy. When she spoke, her voice was thick with a nasal tone. “Sister, really, I’m leaving after the needle is removed.”

The curly-haired aunty waved her hand, picked up her teacup, and walked back.

Pei Yunle pulled her to leave. She took a few small steps to the door and then turned back. She squeezed into the group of aunties.

A smile stretched across her lips, as creepy as if she were about to eat someone.

“Sisters, I have a question. Is the health center here still recruiting? I haven’t seen any recruitment information, so I wanted to ask.”

“Not at the moment. Maybe when we’re short-staffed and have enough funding?”

Pei Yunle nodded, feeling her brain sloshing around, able to hear the sound of water.

“So when will you be short-staffed?”

“Never.”

Pei Yunle: …

Another short-haired aunty came up. “The key is that people with serious illnesses go to the county hospital or the city hospital. Who comes to the health center? Just for colds and fevers, minor illnesses, and vaccinations.”

“What about the other Longtan Health Center? Do you know if they’re recruiting?”

“Dearie, it’s all the same. The principle is the same.”

Pei Yunle mumbled, “Okay, thank you, sisters.”

Walking out of the health center, the thick clouds temporarily covered the scorching sun. Even without the direct strong light, the heat waves came one after another. Even the scenery in the distance was melting and swaying in the heat.

Pei Yunle’s face was to the yellow earth and her back to the sky. She raised her hand to shield her eyes.

“Let’s take a three-wheeler. I don’t know the way, and you can’t walk.” Ji Mingzhu pulled her to the side of the road.

The road here was wide, and there were many three-wheelers. The two of them huddled in the back, swaying 360 degrees with the frequency of the vehicle.

The car drove slowly, and there was a smell of gasoline inside. By the time Pei Yunle reached the convenience store, she felt sick to her stomach.

“When are you going back?” She looked back at Ji Mingzhu.

“Grandma, I haven’t slept all night. I have to at least take a nap before I go back. I’ll be done for if I drive tired.”

Pei Yunle nodded, then suddenly looked back at her. “Where did you sleep last night?”

“On the bed in the health center.”

“No, I mean before we went to the health center.”

“Your room.”

“We slept in the same bed?”

Ji Mingzhu was speechless. When did this person start to get a fever? She was delirious.

“Didn’t you just remember that you climbed into her bed?”

Pei Yunle stood there, dazed. “Oh right, I think so. I thought I was dreaming just now.”

Ji Mingzhu didn’t want to be a part of their play. She very tactfully sent her into the convenience store and stood outside playing on her phone.

The convenience store was as cool as ever. When the cool wind blew on Pei Yunle’s flushed face, she closed her eyes and felt a tingling sensation on the top of her head.

When she turned around, Chen Qingtang was staring at her, as if she were a thief about to rob the store.

Pei Yunle’s legs went weak again. Her upper body collapsed on the counter, her face pressed against the glass to cool down.

“Why did you leave?” she asked, her mouth full of bitterness.

She saw Chen Qingtang reach out to her face. Pei Yunle closed her eyes, waiting for a gentle caress.

Suddenly, she felt something being pulled out from under her face. Without support, Pei Yunle’s cheekbone hit the glass surface with a light thud.

When she looked up, she saw that her face had been resting on the ledger. Chen Qingtang needed to use it and had pulled it out.

Pei Yunle squeezed in behind the counter and rested her heavy head on Chen Qingtang’s lap. The soft flesh rubbed against the cool, silky fabric, and she let out a comfortable sigh.

The next second, the soft, warm thigh moved away, and Pei Yunle’s head almost fell to the ground and got a big bump.

Even though the high fever had dulled her sharp reactions, Pei Yunle finally sensed something.

But she hadn’t eaten anything and was starving. Her voice was as faint as a thread. She looked like a sickly beauty.

“Boss Chen, why don’t you even look at me?”

The busy Boss Chen was not even willing to lift an eye.

Pei Yunle sidled up to her, the legs of the stool scraping against the concrete floor with a jarring sound.

She took Chen Qingtang’s hand and placed it on her stomach. “I didn’t get to eat what you made just now, I’m a little hungry—”

“Flustered—” Pei Yunle deliberately drew out the last two words. Her mouth, already unable to open wide due to her illness, made her words even more sticky.

The moment the last word fell, Pei Yunle guided Chen Qingtang’s hand to her chest.

The hard, thin knuckles were forced onto a soft spot. Chen Qingtang’s eyes, like pebbles washed by the rain, trembled slightly.

Her fingertips trembled involuntarily, and Chen Qingtang subconsciously curled her knuckles.

The next moment, a weight pressed down on the crook of her neck. The soft, flying hair brushed against her collarbone, and Chen Qingtang felt an unbearable itch.

Pei Yunle hummed twice. “Are you flustered?”

Chen Qingtang forcibly pulled back her hand. The dense numbers on the ledger were now like obscure and difficult-to-understand characters, which she couldn’t understand or see clearly.

She held on to the last bit of her sanity and pushed Pei Yunle’s head away.

Pei Yunle thought she was dreaming. Or rather, she really couldn’t tell what was a dream and what was reality.

She hesitated for a moment, then decided to be direct. She didn’t like beating around the bush.

“Chen Qingtang, last night, no, what did we say and do last night?”

At her words, she saw Chen Qingtang close the ledger, and a large amount of dust rose into the air.

Pei Yunle unconsciously touched her carotid artery. The blood flowing there carried her heartbeat. She felt a little flustered at this moment.

It’s over.