Yearning For Warmth, Day and Night - Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Contact
The two hugged for several minutes. When Eleven heard Aunt Liu close the door, she softly said, “Third Miss, she’s gone.”
Wei Hui hummed softly. Because her head was buried in Eleven’s embrace, Eleven felt a vibration against her chest. Her already flushed face deepened to a crimson, and her hands, resting on Wei Hui’s shoulders, hung awkwardly in mid-air, unsure where to go.
The lingering scent still wafted beneath her nose. Eleven didn’t even dare to look down, sitting rigidly on Wei Hui’s lap until Wei Hui spoke: “Eleven, get down.”
Eleven scrambled down, not daring to look at Wei Hui, her gaze flickering, her face flushed as she said, “Then, then I’ll go downstairs first.”
“Wait.” Just as she reached the door, she was called back: “Come here.”
The voice was still clear, tinged with obvious weakness, devoid of its usual sharpness and keenness. Eleven bravely looked at Wei Hui, seeing her face pale and her forehead covered in fine sweat. She gathered all her thoughts and asked, “Third Miss, are you alright?”
Wei Hui shook her head: “Not so good.”
“I…” Before she could say “find Dr. Su,” she heard Wei Hui say, “Don’t tell Ziyan.”
She knew her own body best. If she told Su Ziyan now, she would definitely be dragged to the hospital for an IV, and likely wouldn’t be able to leave tomorrow. She had a board meeting tomorrow and absolutely couldn’t afford to mess up at this time, so she couldn’t contact Su Ziyan.
Eleven didn’t understand why she was doing this and frowned: “Third Miss, you’re not feeling well, why don’t you go to Dr. Su?”
Wei Hui took a deep breath, looked up at her, her pupils deep: “Eleven, do you know what responsibility is?”
Born into the Wei family, enjoying such treatment, meant bearing such responsibility. Wei Tian was built by her grandfather, it was her Wei family’s, and absolutely could not be given to Luo Zhouping under her watch. This was her responsibility.
Eleven heard her words, understanding vaguely. At this moment, she suddenly hated her own clumsiness. If she were a little smarter, would she be able to understand what the Third Miss meant?
She stared with wide eyes, asking blankly, “Is there anything I can do?”
A faint smile appeared on Wei Hui’s pale face. Her lips parted slightly: “Come here and sort out the documents.”
There were many scattered documents on the office desk, and Eleven couldn’t tell which was which. Wei Hui closed her eyes slightly, then had Eleven hold all the documents, and she herself got up first and walked towards the room.
This wasn’t Eleven’s first time in Wei Hui’s room, but unlike last time, she didn’t look around much. Instead, she asked directly, “Should I put them on the table?”
“Put them on the bed,” Wei Hui replied: “I might not be able to get out of bed this afternoon.”
Eleven felt an inexplicable sadness hearing her words. Such a serious illness, spoken so lightly by her, made her even more heartbroken. Her throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and she spoke vaguely: “Then I’ll put them on the bed.”
She placed all the documents on the bed and then turned to help Wei Hui sit by the edge of the bed, but saw that she had already reached the edge of the bed and sat down.
Eleven looked at her fixedly, meeting Wei Hui’s gaze, and murmured, “Is there anything else you need me to do?”
Wei Hui waved her hand: “Go downstairs and eat.”
“Tell Aunt Liu I’m working and to not bother me.”
Eleven lowered her eyes: “What about you?”
“Aren’t you eating?”
Wei Hui gently shook her head. As expected, she would develop a low fever this afternoon, and too much food intake would cause stomach discomfort. She said, “No.”
Eleven was still worried: “Then I’ll come up later and bring you a glass of milk, okay?”
Sweet food, Wei Hui completely didn’t want to eat now, but looking at the child’s bright eyes, her pretty face full of worry, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse. From the first time she brought her home, to now making more and more exceptions, Wei Hui was a bit confused about what she was thinking. She looked up: “As you wish.”
Not that it wasn’t allowed, but rather “as you wish.” Eleven breathed a sigh of relief, and softly said: “Then I’ll go downstairs first.”
“You rest for a while, I’ll wake you up to work when I come up, okay?”
Wei Hui replied: “Okay.”
After saying that, she froze. How had she become so obedient?
Before she could think further, Eleven had already opened the door and left. As her footsteps faded, Wei Hui looked down at the documents. They had been haphazardly tidied by Eleven and were already a mess. She pulled out a few sheets, glanced at them briefly, and felt her eyelids sting. Remembering Eleven’s words, she put down the documents, lay back, rested her face on the pillow, and closed her eyes to rest.
Never mind, what’s the harm in listening to that child just this once?
After Eleven went downstairs, Aunt Liu was curious to see only her: “Where’s the Third Miss?”
“The Third Miss said she wasn’t hungry and wouldn’t eat lunch.”
Aunt Liu didn’t grumble like Aunt Zhang used to about how this wouldn’t do; she simply nodded: “Alright, I’ll serve you some rice.”
Without asking further, Eleven hummed. As she sat at the dining table eating, she looked up at Wei Hui’s room. The door was closed, and it was quiet.
“Little Miss.” Aunt Liu saw that Eleven had almost finished eating and walked over to her, smiling: “I’m sorry about earlier.”
Eleven snapped back to reality, remembering what had just happened, and a blush crept onto her pretty face. She quickly shook her head: “It’s nothing.”
Aunt Liu was still reflecting: “I’ll be more careful next time.”
Next time.
Eleven thought about the next time she might sit on Wei Hui’s lap, in close proximity to her, her nose filled with the scent of her hair, and her softness. Eleven’s normal heartbeat suddenly quickened, like a drum beating, thump-thump-thump!
As if she had done something shameful, she stood up: “I’m full.”
Aunt Liu asked: “Won’t you have some soup?”
These soups were specially prepared for Eleven at Wei Hui’s instruction, because she was too thin. So Wei Hui specifically ordered Aunt Liu to make her a bowl of soup every noon and night. Eleven had gotten up too quickly just now and forgotten about the soup. She took the bowl Aunt Liu handed her and drank it down. Aunt Liu smiled: “The Third Miss is really thoughtful towards you.”
Eleven almost choked again.
She suppressed the urge to speak and walked into the kitchen, brewed a cup of milk for herself, and carried it upstairs. She also told Aunt Liu not to come up in the afternoon. Aunt Liu gave her a look that said, “I understand, do as you please.” Eleven, full of embarrassment, knocked on the Third Miss’s door.
“Come in.” A sleepy voice sounded. Eleven entered with the milk. The curtains were half-closed, and scattered sunlight streamed into the room from the other side, bathing the bed in light. Wei Hui was leaning against the headboard, her face visibly paler than before. Eleven placed the milk on the nightstand and asked Wei Hui, “Would you like some milk?”
Wei Hui nodded: “Bring it here.”
She had just started to feel sleepy, and now a cup of milk and a good rest should make her feel a little better later. Eleven handed over the milk. After Wei Hui finished drinking, she wiped her lips with a tissue and finally said, “Help me sort out these documents.”
Eleven was taken aback: “Me?”
“But I don’t know how.”
Wei Hui lowered her eyes: “Do you see the numbers on this?”
The documents were in both Chinese and English. She pointed to the letters and said, “Gather these together, and according to the numbers on them, organize them into a file…”
Eleven listened to her slightly lower voice, giving unhurried instructions. She lowered her head, her expression very serious: “Is this all right?”
Wei Hui coughed twice, her face slightly flushed: “And over here, separate the ones with these characters.”
She pointed to the characters in the upper right corner of the document. Eleven understood them slightly. She nodded: “I understand.”
Wei Hui hummed, leaning against the headboard: “Call me when you’ve finished organizing them.”
Eleven had just looked up to agree when she saw Wei Hui already leaning on the pillow with her eyes closed, clearly exhausted. After looking at her for a few moments, Eleven lowered her head to sort the documents. After Wei Hui’s explanation, it wasn’t difficult. There were four or five documents, and in no time, she found a pattern, arranged them, and clipped them together. After tidying up, she glanced at the time on her phone, then at Wei Hui, and ultimately decided not to wake her.
Just a little more sleep, another half hour of sleep, then she would wake the Third Miss. Eleven thought this, but her gaze lingered on Wei Hui’s face. When she first met this person, she only thought of her as sharp and cutting, someone one only dared to look at from afar, not closely. But after spending time together, she found that Wei Hui was not really that terrifying. She also had soft moments, like now.
Perhaps due to her illness, Wei Hui’s face was consistently pale. Leaning diagonally against the headboard like this, with her eyes tightly closed, Eleven felt as though she was seeing the sickly Xizi (a famous beauty in ancient China) from the stories her grandmother used to tell her, adding a touch of fragility. Her gaze gradually grew bolder and more unrestrained, clearly observing Wei Hui’s features. Her gaze moved downward, falling on her neck—fair, slender, with half of her collarbone hidden in her clothes and half exposed, exquisitely beautiful beyond words. Eleven unconsciously reached out her hand, which hovered in mid-air for a long time before she gently pulled the thin blanket up to cover Wei Hui’s neck.
Wei Hui was sleeping soundly. After Eleven tidied up, she sat on a stool by the bed. She dared not move around, fearing she might make a sound and disturb Wei Hui’s rest. After sitting idly for a few minutes, her phone vibrated. She was startled and instinctively looked at Wei Hui. Seeing her still asleep, Eleven felt relieved.
The message was from Du Yue Ming, sending her several pictures, all of her and Twelve, and a small video. Eleven tapped it open, and Du Yue Ming’s voice immediately filled the room. She quickly glanced at Wei Hui and lowered the volume.
“Come on, Sisi, say hello to your lifesaver Auntie Eleven, tell her you’re home.”
In the video, Twelve was excitedly running around, then its entire head suddenly appeared in front of the screen. Eleven couldn’t help but smile. Wei Hui opened her eyes and saw Eleven smiling faintly at the screen, her brows curved, her eyes sparkling, and a shallow dimple at the corner of her mouth when she smiled. Without makeup, her lips were a rosy pink, and the corners of her mouth curved upwards. They weren’t far apart, and she could still hear the voice from Eleven’s phone: “Sisi, call her Auntie Eleven.”
It was Du Yue Ming, and the dog.
Wei Hui didn’t know what she was thinking. She stared fixedly at Eleven’s profile, her pupils dark and deep. After a long moment, she lowered her eyes and coughed dully. Eleven heard the sound, turned, and putting down her phone, said, “Third Miss, you’re awake?”
“Mm.” Wei Hui, seeing her so well-behaved, couldn’t resist adding: “Your phone woke me up.”