While silently reciting the Tao Te Ching in her mind, Xia Sanghuan reached out to unbutton Leng Chuanjin's shirt.
As each button was undone, the man's firm and fair chest gradually came into her view.
It was only after she undid the last button that she realized she had been holding her breath all along.
How embarrassing.
Thankfully, the man had kept his head turned towards the window and hadn't noticed her.
Just the sight of the man's slender neck exposed had already been enough to make her a bit distracted.
Now that she had seen this full view, the calm she had pretended to have instantly crumbled.
She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, finally managing to calm herself down again.
She dipped a cotton ball in some alcohol and gently daubed it on his chest.
Maybe the alcohol was too cold. As soon as she touched his chest, the man's body trembled slightly.
She withdrew her hand and looked at him with some concern.
"I'm fine."
"Continue."
Feeling her hesitation, he spoke up.
Seeing that he had given his consent, it was no use being shy any longer.
Taking a deep breath, she finished daubing the alcohol, then swiftly and accurately inserted several needles into the acupuncture points.
It was only after she inserted the last needle that she noticed she was sweating on her forehead.
She quickly reached up to wipe it off, lest the second elder brother misunderstand.
Now all she had to do was wait.
But just sitting there idly wasn't an option. Fortunately, she had been thoughtful enough to bring a book about medical experiments with her.
She walked over to the table, picked up the book, and started flipping through it.
"Does this acupuncture have any effect?"
Suddenly, Leng Chuanjin asked.
"It can expel the toxins from your body."
"Otherwise, if the toxins keep accumulating in your brain and heart, taking medicine won't have much effect either."
Once it came to medical matters, she reverted to her usual calm and composed self.
Maybe it was also because she wasn't looking at his body at the moment.
After saying this, they fell into silence.
This was normal, though. One of them was a CEO and the other was still a student. Naturally, they didn't have much in common to talk about.
This thought made her chest feel tight.
"Did you see my medical examination report?"
He suddenly asked.
Seeing the girl's back stiffen abruptly, he knew the answer in his heart.
"How did you know?"
She replied a bit guiltily.
Did he notice that the position of the paper had changed?
"I guessed."
"Otherwise, why would you make such a request?"
The man's voice was as calm and steady as ever, as if it wasn't a big deal that she had peeked at his privacy.
This made the initially nervous girl relax.
"But you clearly know there's something wrong with you."
"Why are you still reluctant to receive treatment?"
He was silent for a moment, then replied in a particularly casual tone.
"I don't have the time."
"Moreover, it's not such a big deal."
In his mind, he silently thought that since the masterminds behind the attempted kidnapping of her hadn't been found yet, Jing Zhan's life was in jeopardy, and Leng Qiuhua had tampered with the company's internal affairs, compared to these things, his own illness was nothing. But he didn't say this out loud.
"But you have me now."
Xia Sanghuan suddenly turned around and looked at him.
"As long as I'm by your side, I can cure whatever condition your body has."
"Also, it's really not a big deal."
Her tone was firm, and the look in her eyes towards him was mixed with some indescribable emotions.
She was just a young girl who had just come of age. Saying such things might seem a bit arrogant in others' eyes.
But Leng Chuanjin looked into her eyes and somehow felt that what she said was true.
He hooked the corner of his mouth, showing a somewhat relaxed smile.
The girl then realized what she had just said. She turned around shyly and continued to read the book in her hand.
The alarm clock rang exactly an hour later, waking up Leng Chuanjin who was lying in bed and almost falling asleep in a daze.
He opened his eyes and vaguely saw someone in front of him pulling out the needles for him.
He wanted to speak, but he couldn't open his mouth no matter what.
"Ah, it's bleeding..."
The girl murmured softly and quickly took out a cotton ball to wipe the bleeding needle hole.
Thankfully, only this one place was bleeding, and the other places were intact.
The girl put away the silver needles and other tools, and by the way, also cleared away the empty bowl on the table.
Before leaving, she took a look at Leng Chuanjin who was about to fall asleep again in bed and showed a relieved smile.
She reached out to turn off the light and softly said,
"Good night."
Xia Sanghuan closed the door to his bedroom. Before Leng Wanqing could come and cause trouble for her, she quickly returned to her own room.
She simply washed up and then lay down on the bed.
She had planned to go to bed early tonight, but as soon as she closed her eyes, the image of Leng Chuanjin's chest and neck popped up in her mind.
Her ears instantly turned bright red.
She buried herself in the quilt, forcing herself not to think about it.
But it wasn't that easy not to think about it.
Because she was curled up in the quilt, she felt that her heartbeat was unusually loud, as if it was going to pierce through her eardrums.
After a while, her heartbeat finally slowed down.
After she calmed down, she recalled what the second elder brother had said.
She hadn't thought much about it at the time, but now she always felt there was something more to his words.
Her heart felt heavy for a moment.
But the situation must be better than before, after all, she was by his side.
No matter what, she would do her best to help him.
The next day, when Leng Chuanjin woke up from the bed, he realized that he had fallen asleep unconsciously last night.
He twisted his neck, which was a bit sore from the wrong sleeping position, and tried hard to recall the scene from last night.
Actually, he had felt sleepy just a few minutes after Xia Sanghuan inserted the needles for him.
All the words he said to her were forced out while he was struggling to stay conscious.
He tried hard to remember what exactly he had said, hoping he hadn't said anything wrong.
As the memories emerged, the scene from last night reappeared in front of his eyes.
He remembered when the girl was unbuttoning his shirt, and his ears couldn't help but turn red.
But anyway, this was the best sleep he had had in a while.
He didn't have any strange dreams, nor did he wake up suddenly in the middle of the night.
Should he give her some kind of thank - you gift?
He got out of bed, walked over to the shelf beside him, and felt behind a sculpture to take out a doll.
The doll had a sulky face and was wearing a small black suit.
It was exactly the one the girl had given him not long ago.
Most of the things in his room were cold artworks and furnishings. Not to mention dolls, the only fluffy thing was the carpet under the bed.