So It Turns Out You’re a Fox Spirit (GL) - Chapter 25
Fu Jin slightly raised her head and asked helplessly, “What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing… nothing, your pronunciation is so funny… so cute…” Le Xiaoyao obviously wanted to say “hilarious” but stopped herself. But the word “cute” wasn’t much better, was it?!
After much effort, Le Xiaoyao finally figured it out, “It’s all swollen like this. Are there any other discomforts?” Tonsillitis is most likely to cause a high fever…
“No.”
Le Xiaoyao ignored Fu Jin’s answer, reached out and touched her forehead, then placed her other hand on her own forehead. Fu Jin’s forehead was slightly hot. She clearly had a fever, yet she claimed to have no discomfort! “Are you sure you’re not dizzy? You have a fever!”
“A little, but it’s fine.”
Le Xiaoyao was truly defeated by her answer. Fu Jin was like: Head may break, bl00d may flow, but the aloof demeanor must not go… “Come on! Change your clothes, I’m taking you to the hospital.”
But Fu Jin absolutely refused to go. Le Xiaoyao seemed to have guessed something and asked tentatively, “Are you afraid of injections?”
Fu Jin paused, then uttered three words, “A little.”
“…”
Le Xiaoyao couldn’t win against Fu Jin because Fu Jin simply didn’t argue with her! She just stood there calmly, refusing to go, and not saying much more. Le Xiaoyao had seen a pharmacy nearby when she came over. Fu Jin’s condition was not as serious as she had imagined. Buying some anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing medicine should be enough. “Alright… I’ll go buy you some medicine.”
“Mhm.”
When Le Xiaoyao left, the sky was completely dark. As she walked, she pondered, Is intelligence inversely proportional to the ability to take care of oneself? But don’t even highly intelligent people get sick? Looking at Fu Jin, she seemed to have absolutely no common sense…
Raindrops fell. No wonder the sky had been so gloomy earlier; it was going to rain. Fu Jin stood by the window but didn’t see Le Xiaoyao’s figure for a long time. Instead, raindrops hit the glass one by one, blooming into small splashes.
When Le Xiaoyao first left the pharmacy, the rain wasn’t heavy, so she sped up her steps back. Unexpectedly, halfway back, the rain suddenly intensified, forcing her to find a place to take shelter.
“Xiaoyao, where are you?” Fu Jin’s voice came from the phone.
In the vast crowd, Le Xiaoyao spotted Fu Jin immediately. Across the road, she held a black umbrella in one hand and her phone to her ear with the other, looking around, seemingly anxious.
“Where are you?”
Ignoring the heavy rain, Le Xiaoyao walked straight toward her in the rain, unknowingly standing behind her until she asked the third time, “Where are you?”
“I’m behind you.”
To be honest, walking in the rain is not something a normal person would do. Of course, others do it in a drizzle. Le Xiaoyao walking calmly in a moderate to heavy rain could be considered a talent, but this had nothing to do with being artistic and more likely with catching a fever or cold.
Le Xiaoyao finished her shower and sat on the sofa, still wearing the clothes she wore last time she visited. She had a dry towel on her head and was holding a cup of hot tea to warm herself.
“Who walks stupidly in the heavy rain like you do? Couldn’t you have taken shelter?” Fu Jin wanted to say, Don’t tell me my illness hasn’t healed yet, and you’re sick too…
“I have a strong body. Besides, I bought a lot of medicine.”
Fu Jin had never seen anyone curse themselves like this. Seeing her hair was still wet, she said, “Go blow-dry your hair, or you’ll catch a cold.”
By the time she finished blow-drying her hair, Le Xiaoyao’s stomach also started rumbling. It was almost 7 p.m. already. “Fu Jin, are you…” Le Xiaoyao originally wanted to ask if she was hungry, but she saw her sitting bolt upright. A pile of newly bought medicine was scattered on the dining table. She was meticulously reading the instructions, preparing to take the medicine.
“Fu Jin… what are you doing?”
“Taking medicine.”
“Do you know how to take it?”
Fu Jin was a little confused. She was too embarrassed to say something as foolish as “take it with my mouth,” so she held up the glass of water in her hand, then remembered that Le Xiaoyao probably meant the dosage, “The instructions are on the leaflet.”
“I’ll go cook. You can only take medicine after eating.”
The kitchen had never seen a busy figure before. Fu Jin sat quietly by the dining table, watching. The small apartment suddenly felt warmer with an extra person, and there was no need to deliberately keep the TV on to create noise.
It was Le Xiaoyao’s first time making a sick meal, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. Fearing Fu Jin wouldn’t digest well, she didn’t cook rice but only made congee. She had heard her mom say that ginger dispels cold, so Le Xiaoyao specifically added minced ginger to the mushroom chicken congee while cooking, even though she couldn’t stand the taste of ginger herself. Then she made turnip soup with white turnips. She heard it was especially good for coughs…
The congee simmered in the clay pot for half an hour. Le Xiaoyao stirred it with a spoon; the consistency was just right. “Fu Jin, come here for a moment.”
Fu Jin walked into the kitchen. This was the first time it smelled of food. Le Xiaoyao scooped a small spoonful of congee from the clay pot and brought it to her mouth, “Taste the flavor.” As she leaned closer, Le Xiaoyao unexpectedly pulled her hand back and exclaimed, “You didn’t even blow on it, it’s hot!” After saying that, she pursed her lips and blew several times before offering it to her again.
Fu Jin watched Le Xiaoyao’s serious expression, and her heart felt warm again.
“Why are you staring? Open your mouth~”
It was warm, not scalding at all. The congee was cooked perfectly, only… Fu Jin frowned but swallowed it anyway. She also couldn’t get used to the taste of ginger.
“What’s wrong? Is it bad?”
“It’s okay.”
What do you mean, “it’s okay”? Fu Jin couldn’t lie. The words “bad taste” were written all over her face. Le Xiaoyao felt a bit defeated. She scooped a small spoonful for herself and brought it to her mouth… Fu Jin quickly grabbed her hand, “Wait… use a different spoon…” Fu Jin was worried that using the same spoon would transmit her cough to Le Xiaoyao…
Le Xiaoyao glanced at her, lowered her head, and put the spoon in her mouth. Aside from the strong ginger flavor, it tasted quite good, didn’t it?
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll infect you?”
“You finally admit you’re a patient~ I put some minced ginger in the congee, so you might not be used to it, but it helps you get better faster! Trust me!” When Le Xiaoyao said “trust me,” she sounded more like an itinerant physician.
The dinner turned into a whole table of food. The main dish was mushroom chicken congee, steamed eggs straight out of the steamer drizzled with fragrant sesame oil, smooth and tender, plus a large bowl of piping hot turnip soup, paired with appetizing side dish tea tree mushrooms, bought from the supermarket earlier~ Le Xiaoyao specifically cut pears into small slices and placed them on a fruit plate, and handed Fu Jin a glass of honey water before starting the meal.
“How is it? Not bad, right~”
Fu Jin nodded and praised, “It is indeed impressive.” It looked impressive, but what about the taste… Looking at the pile of food, she didn’t know where to put her chopsticks. Why did every dish seem to have ginger in it? She held her chopsticks suspended above the table for a long time, finally picking up the honey water and taking a sip, “The taste is good.”
She’s so old and still a picky eater? Sick Fu Jin was like a child, the slightly arrogant kind. Le Xiaoyao directly served her a bowl of congee and handed her a bowl of soup, “You have to eat everything to get well. I’ll eat with you…”
At the dinner table, both of them quietly drank their congee. Le Xiaoyao also went all out. She should have known not to put so much ginger in it. It was a painful experience to drink! The turnip soup wasn’t much better. Many people, like Fu Jin, didn’t like the taste of white turnip to begin with. Truly, good medicine tastes bitter. Both were enduring it. They didn’t say it was good or bad, and they both finished a large portion of the congee and soup~ In contrast, the steamed egg was a delicacy, so they ate it all up~
“Phew… I’m full.” Le Xiaoyao touched her stomach; it was bloated. She swore she never wanted to encounter ginger again in her life!
Le Xiaoyao was like an exemplary worker today. After eating, she immediately started cleaning up the dishes and urged Fu Jin to rest on the side, showing no signs of considering herself a guest. Le Xiaoyao didn’t know what was wrong with her. Subconsciously, she felt she should take care of her…
Although Fu Jin was sitting on the sofa with the TV on, her gaze never left Le Xiaoyao until Le Xiaoyao emerged from the kitchen after twenty minutes of busy work. Fu Jin turned her head and focused on the TV. Le Xiaoyao walked toward her, bent down, and touched her forehead. It was still a little hot, but much better than in the afternoon.
“It looks like you’re almost well. Then… then I’ll leave now.” Le Xiaoyao said hesitantly, adding, “Remember to take your medicine later.”
Leaving? Fu Jin pointed to the pile of medicine and asked, “Medicine? How do I take it?”
What? Le Xiaoyao’s face clouded over. Didn’t Professor Fu just say she had the instructions! “The medicine, you just…” She decided to be helpful all the way. Le Xiaoyao picked out the medicine she needed to take, “Take these, and I’ll leave after you finish them. If you’re better tomorrow, don’t take them again. Too much medicine is not good.”
There were only five pills in total, but it took Fu Jin a full ten minutes to take them. She complained the water was too hot, then the medicine was too bitter. When she got to the last pill, which was slightly larger, but still smaller than a little fingernail, she insisted on splitting it in two to swallow? Le Xiaoyao had to run back to the kitchen to find a knife and plate to cut the pill.
Finally, she finished taking the medicine.
“Then I… I’m leaving now. You don’t have any discomfort, right?”
Fu Jin sat upright on the sofa and shook her head, “No, just a headache.”
“Then don’t sit if you have a headache. Go lie down in bed earlier.” Le Xiaoyao picked up her bag, searching for something…
“Are you leaving now? It’s still raining heavily outside.”
Le Xiaoyao looked out the window, “The rain stopped a long time ago. The ground is dry…”
Fu Jin: “…”
“Fu Jin, did you see a keychain with a little Minion hanging on it? I can’t find it… It was clearly right here?” Le Xiaoyao searched through her bag three or four times, but the key was gone as if it had evaporated. She couldn’t find it anywhere.
“What? I didn’t see it.”
How can I open the door without the key? Le Xiaoyao went to search the sofa but didn’t see it either. That’s strange. “Could you move please, I’ll look again.” Fu Jin slightly moved aside, and after a while, slowly stood up and said, “I just checked, it’s not there.”
Oh my god! Did I drop it? Le Xiaoyao was frantic. She used her phone to call Huang Chenchen, “Big Sister Huang, are you home?”
“I… ah… I won’t be sleeping home tonight. You don’t need to wait for me… anymore… ugh…”
Le Xiaoyao heard her sounding out of breath, “What are you doing? Are you with CEO Xu?”
“I’m… I’m working… hmm~”
Beep beep beep, the other party hung up.
“She’s not home?” Fu Jin saw Le Xiaoyao hang up the phone gloomily and already guessed. She held a cushion in one hand and the remote control in the other, changing channels, “If you have nowhere to go, you can stay at my place tonight.”
“Ah… is that okay?”
“Mhm.”
Earlier, when Le Xiaoyao went out to buy medicine, Fu Jin saw a keychain fall onto the sofa and casually tucked it into the sofa cushion seam…