"Chi Ye, you're too persistent." After she finished speaking, she fell into a warm, dry embrace, surrounded by what felt like a fortress sheltering her from the wind and rain.
She sniffled, feeling a little dizzy.
She lost consciousness. Chi Ye checked her breathing. She was still breathing.
He bent down and picked her up, then motioned for the assistant to take the suitcase beside them. He took off his coat and draped it over Shen Zhiyi's head to keep the rain from pouring directly onto her face.
The hospital was not far away, but Shen Zhiyi's attitude today had made it clear that she did not want to go there. Chi Ye quickly gave an address: Heavenly Domain Villa.
Holding Shen Zhiyi with one arm, he used his other hand to call the housekeeper and tell him to arrange a house call from the family doctor.
He was soaked all over. The rain was heavy, and the umbrella could not keep it out, especially since the assistant also had to carry the suitcase. For the latter half of the walk back to the car, he had practically been walking in the rain.
After making all the arrangements, he took a towel from beneath the car seat. Only after drying Shen Zhiyi did he have time to dry his own hair.
The water had been dripping down and getting onto Shen Zhiyi again.
After examining her, the doctor reached the same conclusion as the hospital and added,
"The patient hasn't eaten in a long time. If you don't want her to starve to death, arrange something for her to eat as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, the housekeeper immediately went downstairs to make arrangements. Only after seeing the doctor out did Chi Ye return to his room to wash up and change.
The housekeeper cooked millet porridge, glancing upstairs from time to time.
This was the first time the young master had brought a girl home. At last, the day had come when he could say that line. Who could understand? His life as a housekeeper was complete.
Next, he would have to brush up on some famous housekeeper quotes. He would definitely make the young master see him in a new light and keep him at the villa.
After changing, Chi Ye found himself in a difficult position, because no one had changed Shen Zhiyi's clothes yet.
She was sleeping in a guest room, and the water on her clothes had already soaked the sheets and quilt. With the rain pouring down, there was no time to call someone over.
He stood at the foot of the bed, utterly torn.
In the end, there were still the doctor's words before leaving: "She may develop a fever and catch a cold in the latter half of the night. In severe cases, it could turn into pneumonia."
After hesitating for a long while, he returned to his master bedroom, went into the walk-in closet, and took out a set of pajamas he had never worn. His gaze fell on the ties, and he chose one and took it with him.
Shen Zhiyi was not sleeping very peacefully. Her brows were tightly furrowed, and she was biting her lip hard.
Chi Ye stood by her bedside, gave a slight bow, and said,
"I'm sorry. This is an emergency, and I don't mean any offense. I swear I won't look at anything. I'm only changing your clothes.
You can't call me a pervert when you wake up. I've done my best."
After speaking, he set the clothes down and tied the tie over his eyes. His vision instantly went pitch-black. He waved a hand in front of his face. He could not see it.
Once he had adjusted, he began feeling his way through changing Shen Zhiyi's clothes. He swore he really was not doing it on purpose. Without his noticing, his neck and ears had already begun to turn red.
He was like a crab on the verge of being cooked, and even his hands had grown unsteady.
Whenever he happened to touch Shen Zhiyi, he would devoutly recite, "Amitabha. I'm doing a good deed."
By the end, he had recited it until his heart was full of Buddha, but more and more sweat kept beading at his temples. After finally getting her dressed, he stood there and calmed himself.
He pulled off the tie, carried her into another clean room, then went back to gather up the clothes he had taken off her.
Fortunately, he had been able to find a bra and panties in Shen Zhiyi's suitcase. Otherwise, he really would have died of embarrassment tonight. Though he prided himself on having weathered all sorts of storms, he had never spent time with girls.
It was so mortifying.
The housekeeper finally finished the porridge and prepared Chi Ye's lunch as well.
With the rain so heavy, he naturally could not return to the office. He could only hold an online meeting in the study later.
Enduring the housekeeper's attentive gaze, he had no choice but to pinch his nose and gulp down the ginger soup in one go. It did not taste very good, or at least it was not to his liking.
Another bowl sat to one side. That one was Shen Zhiyi's. He took the tray from the housekeeper and went upstairs.
The housekeeper smiled in gratification, then said softly,
"Young master, this is the first time I've ever seen you carry a girl home."
Chi Ye nearly fell down the stairs. Fortunately, he managed to steady both his footing and the tray before turning to look at the housekeeper.
He spoke through gritted teeth.
"Housekeeper, I told you to stop watching those brainless dramas with Madam Ye. And stop smiling like such a creep!"
The housekeeper toned down his smile a little and hurriedly urged, "Young master, just indulge my little acting itch. Also, drink the ginger soup while it's hot. It'll get cold soon."
Chi Ye decided he would have a word with the housekeeper when he had time. That line had nearly killed him with cringe.
Chi Ye encountered his second difficulty: waking Shen Zhiyi. He did not know whether Shen Zhiyi got grumpy when woken up, but he did.
Just thinking about being woken from a perfectly good sleep, anyone would find that unbearable.
Indecision filled his eyes, making the air around him seem a little oppressive. As he went back and forth over it, he realized there was a third difficulty.
Once he woke Shen Zhiyi, would she obediently eat all this? That would be no easier than waking her.
With that possibility in mind, he was no longer afraid. He stepped forward and called to her.
"Shen Zhiyi, wake up."
"Shen Zhiyi, wake up."
Seeing no sign of Shen Zhiyi waking, he set the food on the bedside table and pinched her nose.
Between gently rousing her and shouting her awake, he chose to use his hands.
Watching her face flush as she struggled for breath, he began to feel a little bad. Still, Shen Zhiyi had quite nice skin.
He could not resist reaching out with his other hand to pinch her cheek. There was not much flesh, but it was soft.
A pair of dark eyes stared at him, unfocused, merely instinctively facing his direction. When Chi Ye turned his head, he jumped in fright and quickly withdrew his hands.
He felt a little guilty. He had been acting like some creep just now, actually pinching her cheek!
But Shen Zhiyi said nothing. Chi Ye wanted to help her sit up, since it would be difficult to eat lying down.
So he ventured, "Would you like me to help you sit up? It's hard to eat lying down like this."
To his surprise, before he could say anything else, Shen Zhiyi sat up on her own. Chi Ye was stunned. Since when had Shen Zhiyi been so obedient?
Refusing to believe it, he ventured another suggestion.
"Drink a little ginger soup to ward off a cold."
The next second, Shen Zhiyi took it and began drinking slowly.
Chi Ye's mouth fell slightly open. He could hardly believe this was Shen Zhiyi. One instruction, one action, without Chi Ye having to coax her.
Watching her, he could not help feeling a little worried and reached out to touch her forehead.
Her temperature was normal now. Nothing was wrong. Then what was going on with Shen Zhiyi?
To make eating easier for her, he found a table and placed it on the bed. Then Shen Zhiyi obediently began eating the porridge on her own.
But she still only ate the dishes directly in front of her, leaving the ones farther away untouched.
Before you continue