That night, Shen Qi dreamt.
She dreamt about the night from more than a month ago. The man fiercely held onto her waist tightly while kissing her violently. His breaths were hot and passionate, and low and husky moans filled the air.
Shen Qi tossed and turned, kicking off the blanket because it was too hot before opening her eyes.
The sun was already up; the room was filled with rays of sunlight that shone in through the window while a gentle morning breeze rustled the air.
In a daze, Shen Qi sat up and stayed there as her brain began to process her dream.
Such a long period of time had already passed; why was she dreaming about that man again?
In her dream, that man was as domineering as ever.
However, his voice had already begun to fade somewhat.
Beads of sweat dotted Shen Qi’s forehead and her throat felt itchy. Covering her mouth with her hand, she coughed a couple of times to clear her throat. It was at that moment that she suddenly recalled something, and she turned to look at the bed that was located not too far from where she sat.
Ye Moxuan was still sleeping. Shen Qi was afraid of waking him up so she suppressed her coughs, but the discomfort in her throat was just too hard to bear. The only thing she could do was get up and take refuge in the bathroom.
After she hid in the bathroom and coughed her lungs out for a long while, she finally squeezed out some toothpaste to brush her teeth.
As a light-sleeper, Ye Moxuan had already woken up when Shen Qi turned over, yet he did not open his eyes.
A short while later, Ye Moxuan heard the faint sound of a cough before it was suppressed hastily. Then, he heard the shuffling of feet as she made her way to the bathroom.
Immediately afterward, he heard muffled coughing sounds coming from the bathroom, as though she didn’t want to let him hear her cough.
However, the room was fairly large and spacious; it didn’t matter how hard she tried to suppress it for the sound would definitely reverberate throughout the room. Besides, the room was rather quiet and there wasn’t any background white noise, so her coughing sounds easily found their way into Ye Moxuan’s ears.
This made Ye Moxuan recall what Xiao Su had said to him last night. Now that Miss Shen Qi is pregnant, would it be bad if she were to continue sleeping on the floor?
Even though it was not yet winter, it was gradually transitioning into autumn and only a thin futon was laid out on the floor. Moreover, she was a woman, so it certainly would be bad for her health in the long run if she were to continue sleeping on the floor.
Ye Moxuan opened his eyes, and a gleam twinkled in his eyes before he shut them once more.
However, he kept picturing the image of Shen Qi holed up in the bathroom as she tried to suppress her coughs.
In an instant, Ye Moxuan flipped open his covers agitatedly and swept a glance toward the clock on his bedside table; he had woken up an hour early.
After Shen Qi was done washing up and exited the bathroom, she noticed that Ye Moxuan had woken up. As such, a wave of awkwardness washed over her. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”
When he heard that, Ye Moxuan frowned.
So it seemed that that woman still had a measure of self-awareness, and she knew that she had woken him up.
Shen Qi did not have the habit of wearing undergarments to sleep at night. However, she would put them on as part of her morning routine in the bathroom. But because of her bout of coughing, she had forgotten about it.
As she stood in front of Ye Moxuan, Shen Qi abruptly became aware of her predicament, and her movements became rigid and unnatural.
“If you knew that you would wake me up, why did you not tread lightly?”
Faced with Ye Moxuan’s accusation, Shen Qi did not have any good reason to defend herself. It was indeed true that she had woken him up with her noisy antics, so she could only lower her head and clutch the corners of her clothes before mumbling, “I’m sorry…”
Sorry? Her fragile and helpless appearance made Ye Moxuan rather displeased.
Did she not know how to stand up for herself? Her coughs were a matter that was beyond her control! Did she really have to submit to whatever he said just because he was the one who said it?
“What use is there in apologizing?”
Shen Qi lowered her head and did not know what to say in reply. That cold and heartless gaze Ye Moxuan fixed on her made her feel rather uncomfortable, and she really wanted to retreat to the safety of the bathroom.
Ye Moxuan too did not know what came over himself. The only thing that he was certain of right then was that Shen Qi wasn’t exactly like how he had pictured her to be.
He had assumed that she would retaliate when in the face of those who bullied her. But, not only did she not retaliate, she just responded with a weak and wronged expression on her face.
“I did not mean to wake you up.” At last, Shen Qi raised her head and stared directly into Ye Moxuan’s eyes as she replied.
Ye Moxuan pursed his lips, forming a thin line on his face.
“Come over here.”
Go over to him? The color on Shen Qi’s face drained and she subconsciously shrank backward.
She… wasn’t wearing any undergarment!
Shen Qi bit her lower lip and remained where she was at without moving.
Suppressing his rage, Ye Moxuan raised his eyebrow and asked, “Are you deaf?”
Resigned, Shen Qi could only walk in his direction, but each step she took felt like she was stepping on the sharp edges of knives. She felt so awkward that she couldn’t look Ye Moxuan in the eye.
When she finally arrived before Ye Moxuan, Shen Qi could not stand straight and had almost squatted down in embarrassment.
Ye Moxuan narrowed his eyes, then raised his hand to pull her close to him, but that action scared Shen Qi so much that she hunched over in surprise.
As Ye Moxuan’s hands hung in mid-air, the temperature around them dropped to sub zero degrees.
Ye Moxuan frowned and asked, “Just what are you doing?”
Shen Qi continued to squat there without moving.
“Well?”
“M-My stomach hurts.” Finally, Shen Qi managed to form a crappy excuse, and she was determined not to stand up again no matter what.
Ye Moxuan’s frown deepened. “Your stomach hurts?”
He again recalled what Xiao Su had told him yesterday, and he thought about the possibility that the reason why her stomach hurt was because she had caught a cold.
When he thought of that possibility, Ye Moxuan began to worry.
He did not say anything in reply, and Shen Qi continued to squat down.
Time passed, but both of them continued to maintain their positions.
Ye Moxuan was suffering from a disability, so without Xiao Su to help him up, he could only remain seated on his bed. As for Shen Qi, she didn’t dare to move an inch, hence the both of them continued to stay there unmoving.
They didn’t know how much time had passed and Shen Qi’s legs were starting to cramp, yet she continued to stare at Ye Moxuan blankly.
But he was not moving, so she didn’t dare to move.
“What are you looking at me for? Don’t expect me to help you up.”
When she heard what he said, Shen Qi abruptly came back to her senses.
That was right. Ye Moxuan was disabled, so he had no means of getting up by himself. Then, Shen Qi’s lips quivered in response. “W-What did you call me over for?”
Ye Moxuan didn’t say anything.
“Won’t you say something?”
“Wasn’t your stomach hurting?”
Shen Qi’s face grew pale and she nodded. “Yeah… But it doesn’t hurt so much anymore. Do you need any help?”
“Help me bring my wheelchair over.”
His gaze fell on the wheelchair that was located not too far away. At that, Shen Qi finally realized that he wanted his wheelchair. Picking herself up slowly, she said, “Just a second.”
After that, she went and wheeled his wheelchair over to him.
“Help me up.” Ye Moxuan then raised his eyes to look at her face and asked, “Will you be able to do it?”
When she looked at the distance between the bed and the wheelchair, Shen Qi nodded and stammered out, “I think… I should be able to?”
She had no choice; the only thing that she could do was to help him.
“I have no strength in my legs, so squat down and lend me your shoulder.”
“Okay.” Shen Qi did not have anything against the method Ye Moxuan suggested and immediately bent over and squatted down.
Ye Moxuan placed his hand on her shoulder for support. He was 185 centimeters tall, while Shen Qi’s frame was petite and she was just shy of 165 centimeters tall. Therefore, when Ye Moxuan’s additional weight was added onto her shoulders, she could not summon any strength to stand up again.
Beads of sweat dotted Ye Moxuan’s forehead as he retrieved his arm. “It’s fine if you aren’t strong enough.”
When she heard what he said, Shen Qi bit her lip. “No, don’t worry, I can do it. It’s just that I didn’t plant my feet securely enough on the ground. Let’s try again.”
After she said that, Shen Qi adjusted her posture and patted her shoulder. “I can do it. Come and place your arm on me again.”
However, Ye Moxuan did not move. Rather, he kept staring at her.
At that, Shen Qi followed his gaze and realized what he was staring at.
