The Mouth Is Stubborn, But the Body Is Quite Honest [Rebirth] - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: 011 “How About You Hug Me Back? For As Long As You Want…”

After a little while, Qi Wanyang returned with a first aid box. As soon as she pulled out the ointment, Gu Linlang snatched it away: “I’ll do it myself!”

Qi Wanyang didn’t stop her; she just sat beside her and slowly asked, “Are you sure simply applying the ointment is enough?”

Gu Linlang looked up, confusion written all over her face: “What else?” Although she said it casually, she still picked up her phone to search for information.

Qi Wanyang stood up, crouched in front of her, and said, “I need to check the injury first before applying medicine.” Before her voice faded, her fingers were already pressing on Gu Linlang’s knee.

“Hiss—Ouch! What are you doing!” Gu Linlang gasped in pain.

“I’m checking the injury to assess the condition. If you randomly apply medicine without knowing the injury, are you trying to make it worse?”

Qi Wanyang looked up at her, her deep peach-blossom eyes now filled with sternness. Gu Linlang was instantly taken aback by Qi Wanyang’s sudden seriousness and didn’t immediately refute her.

Seeing Gu Linlang quiet down, Qi Wanyang continued to gently touch her knee, followed by her sprained right ankle.

Although Gu Linlang winced in pain, this time she chose to endure it; she didn’t want to appear weak in front of her arch-rival.

Qi Wanyang thoroughly checked her injuries and sighed with relief: “It’s fine, the bones are okay. Sprained ankle and bruised knee are both soft tissue injuries.” She stood up. “But it’s still best to go to the hospital for an X-ray just to be sure.”

“I’m not going!” Gu Linlang immediately refused at the mention of the hospital.

Qi Wanyang didn’t insist, turning toward the fridge: “Then let’s apply an ice pack first.”

“Shouldn’t I put some medicine on it?” Gu Linlang reached for the ointment on the table.

“You can’t apply medicine that promotes bl00d circulation and dissipates stagnation within 24 hours,” Qi Wanyang turned back to stop her. “Don’t mess around.”

Gu Linlang reluctantly withdrew her hand.

Qi Wanyang seemed worried Gu Linlang might mess with the medicine again, so after taking three ice packs from the fridge, she quickly returned.

“Normally, the first 24 hours after a soft tissue injury is the golden recovery period. During this time, you need to apply an ice pack for 10 to 15 minutes every few hours. This helps constrict capillaries, prevents the injury from getting worse, and also helps reduce the swelling.”

Qi Wanyang explained while observing Gu Linlang’s reaction. Seeing her listen carefully, she continued, “Lie down here first.”

Qi Wanyang motioned for Gu Linlang to lie down on the sofa, facing up, with her head resting on a soft cushion and her legs stretched out.

She didn’t rush to apply the ice packs, instead taking other cushions from the sofa and carefully stacking them by Gu Linlang’s legs.

“Elevate your legs and place them on these cushions.” Qi Wanyang pointed to the stacked cushions. “The injured area needs to be about 30 centimeters above the heart. This reduces bl00d flow, promotes venous return, and eases the swelling.”

“Oh, I see.” Gu Linlang nodded. Although she still didn’t say thank you, her eyes showed gratitude.

Qi Wanyang majored in economics and management and minored in pharmacology. Gu Linlang hadn’t expected her to have such solid medical knowledge.

“Be careful when icing,” Qi Wanyang said as she took three clean small towels from the first aid box. “The ice pack can’t touch your skin directly; you could get frostbite.”

Her movements were gentle. She first placed a towel over Gu Linlang’s bruised knee, then placed an ice pack on top. Finally, she wrapped the third towel around an ice pack and carefully placed it on her sprained ankle.

“Keep it for 15 minutes.” Qi Wanyang glanced at her watch. “If you’re tired, close your eyes and rest. I’ll call you when the time is up.”

“Mhm.” Gu Linlang felt a strange sense of familiarity watching Qi Wanyang busy herself.

After a moment’s hesitation, the word “Thank you” finally slipped out, quiet but loud enough for Qi Wanyang to hear.

Unfortunately, the moment she said it, she quickly turned her face away and closed her eyes, missing the tenderness that flashed in Qi Wanyang’s eyes.

“You’re welcome,” Qi Wanyang smiled faintly.

After a whole afternoon of fun and an evening of unexpected trouble, Gu Linlang found herself genuinely feeling drowsy.

When Gu Linlang woke up, it was half-past ten at night.

“Slowly,” Qi Wanyang quickly came over to support her as Gu Linlang tried to sit up.

Gu Linlang then noticed that the ice packs had been removed, and her knee and ankle were both wrapped in bandages.

“This is compression bandaging,” Qi Wanyang explained. “It reduces inflammation and helps with recovery.”

Although Gu Linlang didn’t know much about medical knowledge, she nodded obediently: “How long do I need to keep it wrapped?”

Qi Wanyang looked at her and replied seriously: “You need to keep it wrapped like this for at least tonight.”

Gu Linlang’s face fell: “If it’s this obvious, won’t I be exposed as soon as I get home?”

Qi Wanyang nodded in understanding. “Perhaps you should consider not going home tonight.”

Since she had told her dad earlier that she was meeting up with Hong Hui and the others, her dad hadn’t called even though it was late. But if she didn’t go home for the entire night, that would be a different story.

“If I don’t go home, where should I say I’m spending the night?” Gu Linlang frowned in distress.

She couldn’t mention her disloyal friends. Saying she was staying at Xu Yiru’s place might make her dad overthink, considering Xu Yiru was her attending physician…

Qi Wanyang looked at her, a smile playing on her lips: “You could say you’re staying at my place. After all, you spent last night at my house, so Uncle Gu won’t think too much of it.”

“If I spend the night at your house all the time, won’t my dad actually start overthinking?” Gu Linlang muttered with a pout.

“What?” Qi Wanyang didn’t hear clearly and asked.

Gu Linlang waved her hand: “Nothing. That’s probably the only option.” After careful consideration, it really was the most suitable excuse. “But I really don’t want to go to your house tonight.”

Qi Wanyang chuckled and nodded. “Mhm, your injury isn’t suitable for moving around right now anyway. Let’s stay at my cousin’s place tonight. She called earlier to say she’ll be in surgery all night and told us to treat the place like our own.”

“You’re staying here too?” Gu Linlang’s eyes widened, looking at Qi Wanyang stretching.

“I just said your injury needs icing. I’ll help you ice it once more before bed. You shouldn’t take a full bath tonight, just use a towel to clean yourself. If it’s inconvenient, I can help you.”

“No, no need! I’ll clean myself.” Gu Linlang couldn’t imagine Qi Wanyang bathing her and immediately refused.

Qi Wanyang wasn’t offended by the blunt refusal, as she was just teasing her. She found Gu Linlang’s reaction quite adorable and watched her with narrowed, smiling eyes.

Gu Linlang felt nervous under her gaze, and her cheeks inexplicably warmed.

It was the second night after her rebirth, and she was once again forced to share a room with Qi Wanyang. Gu Linlang never thought things would turn out this way.

Gu Linlang then called her father, Gu Hongyi, and told him she would be staying at Qi Wanyang’s house for the night.

Although slightly surprised that Gu Linlang was staying over at Qi Wanyang’s for two consecutive nights, Gu Hongyi wasn’t too worried as long as she was with Qi Wanyang.

Xu Yiru’s apartment was located in the downtown area. Although not large, it was cleverly laid out. The three-bedroom, one-living room structure perfectly met daily needs, with a master bedroom, a secondary bedroom, and a study, each with its own character.

Since there was only one secondary bedroom, Gu Linlang and Qi Wanyang had to squeeze in together.

Although Xu Yiru had said she would be in surgery all night, there was still a possibility of her returning to rest, so they couldn’t occupy the master bedroom.

Qi Wanyang helped Gu Linlang to the bed in the secondary bedroom and let her sit down.

Gu Linlang glanced at the bed, which was about 1.5 meters wide, and firmly declared that she would not share a bed with Qi Wanyang. She said she would rather sleep on the floor, since Xu Yiru’s home had mats and bedding available.

Qi Wanyang smiled helplessly, then intentionally sighed and said in a teasing tone: “With your sleeping habits, I was worried you might actually kick me off the bed. I’ll let you have the bed tonight. Don’t thank me too much.”

With that, she turned to the closet and took out a mat and spare bedding.

Gu Linlang immediately took offense at Qi Wanyang commenting on her sleeping habits. She pouted and retorted: “Hmph, you’re the one with bad sleeping habits! Don’t think I don’t know—you were hugging me all night yesterday!”

Qi Wanyang froze for a moment, then showed a playful smile: “How did you know that? Were you awake the whole time?”

Gu Linlang realized she had spoken too quickly and tried to recover by forcing an excuse: “I… I just vaguely felt it. Did you really hug me all night?”

She feigned surprise, widening her eyes, and exaggeratedly rubbed her arms, acting as if she was covered in goosebumps.

Qi Wanyang saw through her over-the-top acting immediately.

But she didn’t expose her, instead slowly laying out the mat on the floor. She then smiled and teased: “I just wanted to coax you to sleep at first. But a certain little princess clung to me and wouldn’t let go, forcing me to remain completely still.” And that’s how I got a stiff neck, she added internally.

Gu Linlang’s face instantly went red. She angrily punched the bed: “I was half-asleep! I wasn’t aware of what I was doing! You’re taking advantage of me and acting innocent! You’re the worst.”

“Alright, alright, I took advantage of you,” Qi Wanyang sat cross-legged on the mat, looking up at Gu Linlang with a meaningful smile. “How about you hug me back? For as long as you want.”

Qi Wanyang looked completely harmless, but Gu Linlang felt uneasy.

This person’s audacity was unbelievable. Her ears were burning with anger. She glared at Qi Wanyang and quickly turned away: “Hmph, who wants to hug you!”

Dealing with this smelly fox is exhausting.

“Are you going to sleep already?” Qi Wanyang asked, seeing her really close her eyes. “Aren’t you going to take a bath first?”

Gu Linlang was too sleepy to keep her eyes open. She vaguely waved her hand: “No bath… I’m too tired…”

Qi Wanyang didn’t say anything else. She got up, retrieved two blankets from the closet, and returned. “Prop your legs up higher. Better bl00d circulation means faster healing.” She folded the blankets as she spoke.

Gu Linlang remembered Qi Wanyang saying the same thing during the ice compress. She reluctantly opened her eyes and cooperated, letting Qi Wanyang help prop up her legs.

“You go to sleep first. I’m going to take a shower,” Qi Wanyang tucked her in and turned off the light. “Good night.”

The room instantly darkened. Gu Linlang watched Qi Wanyang’s retreating figure, pondering: How can this smelly fox alternate between making me so angry and then being so considerate?

It’s so… annoying…

Despite her head being full of confusing thoughts, drowsiness overcame her, and Gu Linlang soon fell into a deep sleep.