The Female Lead Keeps Forcing Me to Take My Meds [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Fierce Woman’s Tenderness (Bug Fix) 

The black-grey clouds pressed down on the city. In the distance, the high-rises pierced the sky, their tops seemingly buried in the clouds. The heavy rain, which had been a continuous curtain, now softened, appearing like a thin layer of gauze.

As the day waned, the number of vehicles on the road increased, converging onto this route from all directions. Car lights glowed red through the thin rain.

“Watch out!” Cheng Zhishu suddenly cried out.

Accompanied by the screech of brakes and a heavy impact sound from outside, a strong pushing sensation slammed into the passengers. Xi Congshuang, deep in thought, was embraced by a body that lunged from the side. Her vision went dark as a hand covered her eyes.

Though slender, she clung tightly to the slightly taller Xi Congshuang like an octopus, trying to shield her with her thin back from further harm.

“…”

Xi Congshuang, recovering from the brief shock, blinked. Her long eyelashes brushed across Cheng Zhishu’s palm, a light, gentle sensation. The hands covering her eyes retreated quickly, as if burned, and then clutched her other arm instead.

She looked down at the head resting in her embrace. The slight back arched over the central partition, the edge of the dark seatbelt pressing against her neck. Even so, she clung diligently to Xi Congshuang.

The driver in the front gripped the steering wheel. She had successfully braked just before hitting the car in front. She immediately looked back to apologize: “I’m sorry, Miss. There seems to have been an accident ahead. I braked suddenly. I hope you aren’t hurt?”

She nervously glanced forward. The road was slick from the rain, and the car in front had rear-ended the car ahead of it.

The driver habitually kept a distance from the car ahead. She sensed the danger and managed to slam the brakes in time. The vehicle’s superior performance ensured a successful stop. Crucially, there was no car behind them, or they would have met the same fate as the front car.

But those details were secondary. The most important thing was Xi Congshuang. She had lost her legs and her parents in a rear-end collision. Since then, she had resisted riding in cars, abandoning all her beloved vehicles.

After finally being persuaded to go out, they ran into this. The driver worried this might trigger the Miss’s PTSD, and she, as the driver, would certainly not be off the hook.

Xi Congshuang composed herself and answered: “No.”

The driver sighed in slight relief. She opened the door and got out to check: “I’ll go see what’s happening up front. Please wait a moment, Miss.”

She got out, opened her umbrella, and walked forward. The driver of the car in front had also just gotten out, clutching his head, and was arranging insurance details with the driver of the car he hit.

The driver realized the situation was more severe than she thought. More than two cars had rear-ended each other due to the slick road. The car at the very front had slammed the brakes to avoid a pedestrian who ran a red light, causing a chain reaction. The lead car’s driver was holding onto the jaywalker, refusing to let them go, and everyone was shouting about calling the police.

Inside the car.

The car door had been opened and closed by the driver, largely isolating the sound of the rain and the shouting.

Cheng Zhishu was still buried in Xi Congshuang’s arms. She smelled the faint fragrance on her, a mixture of longing and an unwillingness to look up.

She was simply too embarrassed.

A subconscious reaction that will take a lifetime to recover from.

Could someone please give me a hole to crawl into?!

At the moment of impact, Xi Congshuang’s palm had pressed against the small forearm wrapped around her. Now that Cheng Zhishu wouldn’t let go, Xi Congshuang couldn’t move, so she gently patted Cheng Zhishu’s back with her free hand.

Xi Congshuang soothed her: “Don’t be afraid. It’s alright.”

Being held and having her back patted by Xi Congshuang, Cheng Zhishu’s cheeks flushed. She mumbled in embarrassment: “I’m not scared. I was afraid you were scared…”

The people in the Xi mansion were tight-lipped about the cause of Xi Congshuang’s accident, but Cheng Zhishu had still caught fragments of conversation, piecing together the general idea.

They said Xi Congshuang became this way because of a car accident. They also said she became very resistant to riding in cars. Every time she took a car home, she would have nightmares, waking up and disturbing the peace of Wenhua Building all night.

Cheng Zhishu hoped Xi Congshuang wouldn’t be afraid, even if she seemed presumptuous in the other woman’s eyes.

“…” Xi Congshuang softened her voice: “It’s okay. I’m not afraid.”

Cheng Zhishu slowly sat up, eyes lowered, not daring to look at the person beside her. There was a partition between their shoulders, but whether it was her imagination or not, she felt the lingering warmth of the other woman’s body heat between her arms.

The faint fragrance persisted, becoming more intense in the confined space of the car.

Just as she was carefully trying to identify the fragrance on Xi Congshuang—it really smells so good—a hand ruffled her hair. It wasn’t forceful, then it slid down, brushing aside the hair near her ear, and gently pinched the soft part of her cheek.

At seventeen or eighteen, she was still growing. She used to save money and eat sparingly at her adoptive parents’ house. There wasn’t much flesh on her cheeks, and she was thin; her oversized school uniform looked like a large sack over her.

After a week in Wenhua Building, the flesh on her face had noticeably increased, and she felt a little taller than before.

With a pinch between two fingers, Cheng Zhishu’s lips pulled back, as if smiling, but her clear eyes were full of question marks: “?”

Xi Congshuang didn’t realize her lips slightly curved, a faint smile flashing across her face, causing Cheng Zhishu’s heart to skip a beat.

Before, Xi Congshuang’s attitude toward Cheng Zhishu was simply that of another person to feed in the Wenhua Building. Raising a student didn’t cost much, certainly less than Zheng Momo’s salary.

As for what she planned to do, she hadn’t worked it out yet.

For a person who had died once, even the strongest will to live had mostly faded in the lingering sense of near-death. Her senses had become dulled.

During the long period of illness, she had lost much of her passion. The soft warmth under her fingertips, however, gave her a renewed sense of reality in this world.

Xi Congshuang: “Why are you looking at me like that? Did I pinch you too hard?”

Cheng Zhishu moved her mouth and shook her head: “No.”

Xi Congshuang gently rubbed the spot she had pinched red. She hadn’t used much force, but Cheng Zhishu’s skin was thin, making the mark noticeable.

No wonder she blushes so easily, Xi Congshuang thought, and then said: “Sometimes, being too considerate is not a good thing.”

The original Xi Congshuang was the type of person who would get angry and tell a doctor to get lost if they looked at her with pity, let alone the completely subordinate Cheng Zhishu.

It was easy to imagine what kind of attitude Cheng Zhishu would adopt toward her. This kindness just happened to step on the original owner’s greatest fear.

However, Cheng Zhishu was forcibly kept by her and couldn’t escape.

Cheng Zhishu didn’t entirely agree with this statement and muttered softly: “But Grandma taught me since I was little: a small favor should be repaid with boundless gratitude.”

Xi Congshuang rested her hand on her skirt, unaware of the regret in the other woman’s eyes as she stared at her palm: “Then what if the person you helped repays your kindness with malice, scorned your goodwill, and retaliated against you twofold? What would you do?”

Cheng Zhishu found the question strange. She said: “That wouldn’t happen, would it? How could it?”

But since Xi Congshuang had asked, she tried to think about it. After a while, she slowly gave her answer: “If someone repaid kindness with malice… I don’t really know what I would do. It would probably be best to just stay away from that person.”

Xi Congshuang’s smile faded for some reason. She only wished to stay away, unwilling to fight back. This was vastly different from the future Cheng Zhishu’s way of handling things. She said: “Still a child.”

She looked at the ruffled hair on top of the girl’s head. She intended to rub it again to feel the texture, but the hands resting on her white skirt lifted slightly and then lowered again.

Her tone was tolerant. She was never one to be ungraceful or improper, yet she kept breaking her own rules for Cheng Zhishu.

The filter of the female lead she subconsciously applied was lessening, bringing a more natural clarity.

Cheng Zhishu immediately protested: “I’m not a child. I’m seventeen. I’ll be eighteen next year, a legal adult.”

Xi Congshuang: “Then what do you plan to do after you become an adult?”

This new question caught Cheng Zhishu off guard. Her impression of Xi Congshuang was that of a princess in a deep garden, always aloof and spotless. She never expected her to ask the kind of questions many elders ask.

Before she could answer, the driver returned with her umbrella. The sound of police sirens and an ambulance could be heard in the distance.

The driver folded her umbrella and sat back in the driver’s seat. She briefly explained the situation ahead, then said: “We should be able to leave soon. The traffic police will be here quickly.”

Xi Congshuang responded dismissively. She still disliked rainy days. While there was no outward sign of discomfort, the subtle, aching, yet unscratched feeling in her legs made her uneasy.

The driver was right. Fifteen minutes later, the accident scene was cordoned off. The traffic police were directing traffic with whistles, allowing the backed-up cars to proceed.

The driver had thought the trip would take less than half an hour. Before leaving, Liu, who managed the Wenhua Building, had repeatedly stressed the importance of bringing Xi Congshuang back quickly. They absolutely couldn’t miss dinner, as the Miss needed to take her medicine after eating.

Moreover, the Miss had a slight idiosyncrasy: she wouldn’t eat if the mealtime passed. Taking the medicine on an empty stomach would damage her stomach, and the current Xi Congshuang’s physique was far more fragile than they realized.

On the rainy evening, the sky darkened quickly. Streetlights and neon signs illuminated the scene early.

The world was soaked. Shallow puddles reflected the bright high-rises, only to be smashed into obscurity and ripple by countless raindrops.

Xi Congshuang, gazing out the car window, suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder. She glanced over and saw a head resting there.

The girl, who had been sitting upright moments before, finally couldn’t hold on. She had closed her eyes and fallen into a deep, sweet sleep.

Students are busy, their academic load heavy. She suddenly recalled Liu telling her that Cheng Zhishu’s room light was always on late. Once, Liu had used the excuse of delivering milk to remind her, and the late light finally turned off. Liu had felt a little relieved.

The next day, however, Liu passed Cheng Zhishu’s room again. The light under the door crack was black, but she felt something was wrong. A surprise check revealed the girl wasn’t using the main light to study; she had switched to a small desk lamp, nearly fooling Liu.

Xi Congshuang had no particular reaction at the time. She just listened and then instructed Liu to prepare separate meals for Cheng Zhishu: “She’s still young. Don’t let her eat my bitter, medicinal food every day. Make her something her age group likes.”

Liu agreed and served different dishes that evening. After dinner, she told Cheng Zhishu that the Miss had specifically requested them.

That night, Cheng Zhishu knocked on her door, smiled at her, and whispered: “Thank you, Sister Shuang. You’re so kind to me.”

Kind?

Xi Congshuang didn’t think so. She had so much; she just felt these things were trivial.

It was another red light.

The driver held the steering wheel, waiting for the signal to turn from red to green. Countless vehicles passed on the road ahead, converging at one intersection and dispersing at another, heading in different directions.

It was getting late. The anxious driver tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She looked into the rearview mirror, her gaze freezing. She started to wonder if she was dreaming again.

The two in the back seat were sitting side-by-side. The girl in the school uniform was leaning her head on the shoulder of the person next to her.

She must have been exhausted. Her face was flushed from sleep. Her head kept slipping down, and when it threatened to fall, a hand intercepted it.

Xi Congshuang supported Cheng Zhishu’s nodding head with her palm and gently guided it back to her own shoulder. Her eyes were slightly lowered, the light dim. Her expression was unreadable.

“Honk!” The car horn behind them jolted the driver out of her thoughts. The light was green. She quickly started the car and continued driving.

They say people who’ve experienced near-death always undergo a personality change. Perhaps the Miss is like that, too.

The driver comforted herself with this thought. Otherwise, she couldn’t reconcile the current display of tenderness with the Xi Congshuang she knew, who would have thrown anyone who dared to do this out of the car.

Haha-ha, a major life change. It’s totally normal for a fierce woman to suddenly show tenderness. Haha-ha.