Sissy (Niang Niang Qiang) - Chap 66
Chapter 66
In the afternoon, Li Chengxiu insisted on being discharged from the hospital.He felt that his fever was down a little, and that he could now at least walk. He would rather go to the hospital every day to get the IV treatment than pay daily fees for the hospital bed and stare at Shao Qun.
Shao Qun had no choice but to take him home.
When Li Chengxiu came through the door, Teacup happily jumped up and down around him. The dog didn’t have company for an entire day and was really bored.
After Shao Qun helped Li Chengxiu get into the bed, he quickly boiled some water for him and asked what he wanted to eat at night.
Li Chengxiu’s face was pale and bloodless. He weakly glanced at Shao Qun, “I… can… take care of myself. You…”
Before he could finish, Shao Qun interrupted him, “You can barely walk without wobbling right now. How can you take care of yourself? Your fever hasn’t subsided yet. Lie down and have a good rest. Not to mention taking care of yourself, how are you planning to take care of the dog? Don’t be a hero. Let me hang around you for a few more days. When you get better, I will go back to my own apartment, okay?”
Li Chengxiu couldn’t refute anything, and he really didn’t have the strength to argue with Shao Qun. It was true that he was very weak. So weak in fact that he was scared he might not be able to lift a pot. It wasn’t such a big deal to skip a meal or two for him but what about Teacup?
Li Chengxiu lay down on the bed uncomfortably, closed his eyes and frowned. Shao Qun couldn’t help but stretch out his hand to smooth out his forehead. He leaned down and said softly: “Don’t worry about anything.Just get better.”
Li Chengxiu pursed his lips and turned around.
Shao Qun covered him up with a quilt, went to get dinner.
Li Chengxiu slept, feeling that he was surrounded by darkness. And indeed, when he was shaken awake by Shao Qun, the sky was already dark.
Shao Qun lifted him up and leaned him at the head of the bed. He then brought a warm spoon up to his mouth, before Li Chengxiu could even open his eyes. He heard Shao Qun whispering, “Open your mouth and eat something.”
Li Chengxiu automatically opened his mouth, and received a spoonful of hot porridge. Shao Qun said: “The doctor will come to give you a shot after you eat. You need to eat more to get better soon. Come on, eat some more.”
Li Chengxiu had no appetite, but he was forced to finish at least half a bowl. After eating, his body felt better, and Shao Qun wanted to change his clothes.
It was hot in the house, but because Li Chengxiu was sick, he couldn’t have the fan on, so he was sweating a lot. Since he was still awake and didn’t want to let Shao Qun change his clothes, Li Chengxiu insisted on doing it himself.
Shao Qun had no choice but to hand him his stuff. Li Chengxiu covered himself up with the quilt, slowly undressed and then put the fresh clothes on. The whole process took twenty minutes, and it made Shao Qun anxious to watch him.
Afterwards the doctor came by, took Li Chengxiu’s temperature, prepped the IV drip and left after telling Shao Qun when to remove the needle.
Li Chengxiu had been sleeping too much and couldn’t sleep anymore. Shao Qun sat beside the bed to accompany him. The two of them were completely silent.
At that moment, Li Chengxiu felt that it wasn’t that uncomfortable to stay in the same space with Shao Qun. As far as he could remember, he had only received such care and attention when his father was still around.
For more than ten years, he had weathered every single illness by himself. He had no friends or relatives, so he had to do everything by himself even with a 39 degree fever, otherwise he would just starve to death.
When you are sick, if there is a person who takes care of you, their kindness will seem to be magnified by a lot. Even if Li Chengxiu was reluctant to face Shao Qun, he couldn’t help but feel that at this time, when he needed someone to care for himself and Teacup, it was better to have Shao Qun around than not to have anybody at all.
Because Shao Qun couldn’t cook, he looked up a bunch of recipes for nutritious porridges on the Internet and ordered the hotel to prepare and deliver those.
Shao Qun didn’t go anywhere during the May holidays and just stayed around Li Chengxiu feeding him and making him take his medicine. Shao Qun had never taken care of anybody before. But now he was very helpful and also looked very happy.
After two or three days, Li Chengxiu got better, but Shao Qun forced him to rest some more, so he could stay around a bit longer. Li Chengxiu counted out the cash and gave Shao Qun what he had approximated for medical and food expenses. When Shao Qun saw the money, his face immediately sank.
Li Chengxiu handed him the money, thought for a moment and said, “Thank you…for taking care of me.”
Shao Qun pretended not to hear the obvious subtext that he needed to leave. Since he was afraid of upsetting Li Chengxiu, he took the money and looked at him with a flattering expression, “Chengxiu, the doctor said you need to go out to get some fresh air. Should I take you for a walk? The weather outside is good today. It’s neither too cold nor too hot.”
Li Chengxiu shook his head, wanting Shao Qun to leave. As soon as he opened his mouth to say something, there was a knock on the door.
Li Chengxiu didn’t know that Ji Yuanqi was kidnapped back to his home earlier, so he thought that the youngster had come around. Shao Qun also thought it was him and felt unhappy for a while, but he still reluctantly went to open the door.
As soon as he did, he was stunned, said “fuck!” and asked:”How the hell are you here?”
From Li Chengxiu’s perspective, he could barely tell that the mysterious person was a woman, since the door was more or less blocked by Shao Qun’s body. He saw a slender hand with bright red nail polish which slapped Shao Qun over the head and scolded: “Son of a bitch, how are you talking to your sister?”
Li Chengxiu shook his head and blinked when he saw the woman. He recognized her at a glance – it was Shao Qun’s third sister whom he had met before.
Shao Qun’s face darkened, and he blocked the door to prevent her from entering. “What are you doing here, third sis?”
Shao Nuo insisted on coming in, “I’m here to take care of you in the name of the Emperor.”
Shao Qun still wouldn’t let her in, “You have no business being here. Stay away from me and don’t get involved in my affairs, okay?”
Shao Nuo stared at him with round eyes, “Bullshit! You and I are from the same womb. How could your affairs have nothing to do with me?”
Shao Qun was a little annoyed, “What the hell are you doing? If you hadn’t listened to the eldest sister and messed around with me last time, would I be so miserable now?”
Shao Nuo was stunned. There was a bit of discomfort on her face, “Big sister asked me to go… I didn’t know…” Shao Nuo’s face suddenly changed, showing a very beautiful smile, “Qunqun, let your sister in! Your sister is on your side!”
Shao Qun pushed her out, “No, he’s sick! No need to annoy him.”
Shao Nuo got a little angry and kicked Shao Qun on the calf, “Are you looking for a fight? How am I going to annoy him? I just came to see you.” She bit Shao Qun’s arm, then pushed him away, while he was still in pain, and got into the room by ducking under his armpit.
Li Chengxiu froze, staring blankly at the excited face of the Third Young Miss. Shao Nuo put her hands behind her back, stepped in front of Li Chengxiu with her slender legs in high heels and pouted, “It seems you are really sick, huh?”
Shao Qun angrily turned around, grabbed her arm and tried to pull her outside, “Sis, I told you not to irritate him! Go to Shenzhen. I’ll give you the keys to my house and I’ll come see you tomorrow.”
Shao Nuo shook off his hand and sat down in front of Li Chengxiu, “We’ve met before. Now, have I actually introduced myself? My name is Shao Nuo.”
Li Chengxiu nodded.
How could he forget? It was her who told him that Shao Qun was getting married soon. He still remembered how she called Shao Qun in front of him. On the other end of the phone, Shao Qun and his fiancee were having fun on their happy vacation, and there was unmistakable joy in their voices. At that time, Shao Qun lied to him that he was on a business trip and that he was not getting married…
Li Chengxiu’s face turned pale instantly.
Shao Qun was so anxious that he was about to vomit blood. He had been very careful to avoid his family, fearing that they would provoke Li Chengxiu again. In fact, him even staying in the same room as Li Chengxiu was a result of very long and hard work. How could he let everything be destroyed now?
Shao Qun got really angry, went up to Shao Nuo and nonchalantly pulled her up, coldly saying: “Sis, I am serious. You go now.”
Shao Nuo was also very angry and shouted at him: “Let go of me!”
Shao Qun let out a “tsk”, picked his sister up and wanted to throw her out directly.
Shao Nuo screamed, “Shao Qun, you have no conscience! I’m here for your own good. The eldest sister and the second sister are coming soon, and I’m here to tip you off about it. I came to actually share some of my ideas with you and you dare to kick me out!”
Shao Qun was stunned for a moment and put her down, “What did you say?”
Shao Nuo punched him hard to vent her anger, glared at him and said: “Dad is furious, and he wants the eldest sister to take you home. But they can’t find you now. Last time they forced Xiao Zhou to take your father to that place where you lived. This time, his lips are sealed no matter what. Unless, of course, somebody, like me, has a way to make him open his mouth.” Shao Nuo glanced at Shao Qun proudly, “Qunqun, you really got into trouble this time. I can’t help you with that. But I have a good idea.”
Shao Qun got a headache, “Then let’s return to my house to talk.” No matter what the good idea was, he didn’t want Li Chengxiu to hear it.
Shao Nuo sat down carelessly, “No need to hide it from him. The success of this thing depends very much on this guy.”
Shao Qun wanted to stop her, but Shao Nuo continued, “It’s actually very simple. You don’t want to get married, but at the very least you have to have a child to secure your lineage. You can always use a surrogate until you get a son.”
Li Chengxiu shuddered, his face was as white as paper, and it seemed that he was about to collapse at any time.
Shao Qun observed all the changes on his face and immediately shouted: “Stop talking!”
Shao Nuo said proudly: “You have to thank me for this! I even finally managed to convince dad all thanks to my gift of gab that you liking men is not such a big deal. But instead I focused his attention on succession as the main issue. Once that is solved, everything else can be negotiated.”
This time, Shao Qun didn’t give Shao Nuo any chance to fight back. He picked her up and threw her out the door. After saying “wait for me!” to her, he slammed the door shut.
He hurried back to Li Chengxiu, squatted in front of him and looked at him nervously.
“Chengxiu …don’t listen to my sister’s nonsense. I… I will not get married, nor will I have children with any woman.”
Li Chengxiu’s eyelashes trembled slightly and he said hoarsely, “It has nothing to do with me…”
Shao Qun’s heart twitched, “Chengxiu, it’s enough for me to have you. I don’t need any children. Don’t think about it…”
Li Chengxiu turned his head and said in a trembling voice, “It has nothing to do with me. You can just go. ”
With pain in his heart, Shao Qun gently wrapped his arms around Li Chengxiu’s waist and said solemnly: “Chengxiu, I am me.The same me who has tried for so long to convince you that I can really take care of you. I will not let you suffer again. Please believe me, okay?”
Li Chengxiu closed his eyes, “…Leave.”
Shao Qun’s eyes were full of disappointment, “Have a good rest. If you feel tired, then go to bed and lie down.”
The footsteps faded away, followed by the sound of opening and closing door, and finally there was only silence in the room.
Li Chengxiu was close to tears.
The appearance of Third Young Miss only strengthened his resolve. It was impossible for him and Shao Qun to be together, whether Shao Qun was sincere to him or not.
Li Chengxiu was a man and couldn’t have children. Only a woman could take a Shao family name. Even if he didn’t find out that Shao Qun was going to get married at the time, even if they didn’t separate at that moment, Li Chengxiu could only have been a kept lover for the rest of his life. And how long could Shao Qun’s love even last under the pressure from his family and the outside world throughout the years? If Li Chengxiu was stupid enough to hope that this ethereal feeling could last for a lifetime, he would probably fall even harder than he did before.
Li Chengxiu felt that the decision to separate from Shao Qun was correct. If he became soft-hearted even for a bit, it would definitely bring about a disaster that was several times more terrifying than the one he had experienced before. Going through that kind of heart-piercing pain made Li Chengxiu shudder. He would rather spend his whole life by himself, sealed inside his shell, and not dare take any more risks.
Li Chengxiu looked around the empty room and couldn’t help thinking about where Xiao Ji could have disappeared to. It would have felt nice to have somebody around. Li Chengxiu felt a bit…lonely.
After a long rest, Li Chengxiu planned to get up and move his muscles and bones around. He cleaned up the house first and then gave Teacup a bath. Bathing was more tiring than anything else. The dog was reluctant to be washed and protested as soon as it got wet. After washing it, Li Chengxiu’s clothes were all wet, and he was covered in sweat. However after sweating so much, his body felt much more relaxed.
In the evening, Li Chengxiu was considering what to cook for dinner, when there was a knock on the door. Shao Nuo shouted from outside, “Xiao Li, Xiao Li![7]”
Li Chengxiu got a headache. He could drive Shao Qun out, but he couldn’t be so disrespectful to a woman after all. He felt helpless and finally had to open the door.
Shao Nuo smiled, “Shao Qun said that your cooking is delicious. Can I get a meal?”
Shao Qun pulled his face behind her, “He’s not feeling well. If you want to eat something, just order it yourself.”
Shao Nuo nonchalantly squeezed into the room, “Not feeling well? It’s fine, then I’ll cook for you, and when you’re feeling better you can cook for me. So we’ll be even.”
Li Chengxiu was dumbfounded. He could count the amount of times he had dealt with women on one hand, so he didn’t know how to react. Shao Nuo blinked at both Li Chengxiu and Shao Qun, “Sit down, I’ll cook for you.”
Shao Qun pulled Li Chengxiu down on the sofa, “My sister’s cooking is delicious. Since you’re still tired, let her cook for you.”
Li Chengxiu looked at him abashedly, “This is not good, this ……”
Shao Qun placated him, “It’s fine. Let her do it.”
Li Chengxiu still wanted to say something, but then somebody knocked on the door again.
Li Chengxiu felt that at this time it should definitely be Xiao Ji. He felt uncomfortable in this current inexplicable situation, so before Shao Qun got up, Li Chengxiu had already opened the door.
There was a man in a black suit standing outside. He politely asked, “Mr. Li Chengxiu?”
Shao Qun walked up from behind Li Chengxiu and asked the man, “Is something wrong?”
The man glanced at Shao Qun and then looked at Li Chengxiu again, saying, “Mr. Li, my Young Master has gone home. He asked me to thank you for taking care of him during all this time. Please accept it.” He handed Li Chengxiu a thick envelope.
Li Chengxiu didn’t react for a while.
The man added: “My Young Master’s last name is Ji.”
Li Chengxiu was taken aback, “Xiao Ji, came back home?”
The man nodded, “Mr. Li, please accept this. I have another thing to ask you. My Young Master’s identity is a pretty sensitive matter. I hope you will not tell anybody about what happened to my Young Master here. We are all very grateful for your help and discretion.”
Li Chengxiu still didn’t take the envelope. He was a little stunned. It was a good thing that Xiao Ji finally went home, although Li Chengxiu couldn’t help feeling confused.
The man seemed to be in a hurry to leave, and continued pushing the envelope to Li Chengxiu, “Mr. Li, please accept it.”
Li Chengxiu shook his head, “No need. He already… gave me money for the food.”
The man still insisted.
Shao Qun got annoyed and pushed the envelope aside, “Chengxiu said no. So it means no. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with your Young Master in the future. What are you nagging him for?”
The man was stunned for a moment, frowning slightly. Then he nodded his head and asked tentatively, “Excuse me, are you Young Master Shao?”
Shao Qun’s expression changed suddenly, “You know me?”
The man bowed, “Last year I attended Mrs. Qin’s birthday together with my master. I’ve seen you there.”
Shao Qun thought about it carefully, but he couldn’t remember anybody with the last name Ji in his circle, so he asked the man, “Who is your master?”
“I won’t disturb Mr. Li and Young Master Shao anymore.” The man hurried away without an answer.
Li Chengxiu returned to the small room, his mood was very complicated for a while.
When Shao Qun thought of that kid, he had a premonition that Ji Yuanqi wouldn’t give up easily.
