webnovelvip Chapter 118 Care
Chapter 118 Care
Her face, which was already flushed from the fever, turned red all the way down to her ears.
Her eyelashes trembled a few times, her eyelids fluttered upwards, and she swayed unsteadily, almost falling backwards onto the bed.
"Now that we've been in contact, and the infection has already occurred, there's no need to worry about it anymore." He brushed the wet hair from her forehead behind her ear, pressed his palm against her cheek, and then turned and went to the kitchen.
Lin Ran took out pork ribs, Chinese yam, corn, carrots, and old ginger from the bag. He put the pork ribs in a pot of cold water, added ginger slices and cooking wine, and skimmed off the foam with a ladle after the water boiled.
After blanching the pork ribs, rinse them with warm water to remove any scum. Place them in a clay pot, add ginger slices and enough boiling water to cover them, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Peel the yam and cut it diagonally into sections, cut the carrot into chunks, and split the corn into pieces. He smashed two cloves of garlic, chopped some scallions, and then took out two eggs, added warm water, whisked them, skimmed off any foam, covered them with plastic wrap, and placed them in a steamer.
The yam and pork rib soup simmered for over an hour, gradually turning milky white, filling the kitchen with the aroma of pork ribs and ginger. He lifted the lid, steam billowing out, skimmed off the thin layer of oil on top, and added the yam pieces and carrot chunks to the casserole, continuing to simmer over low heat. The water in the steamer was bubbling away; he took out the steamed egg custard, drizzled it with a little soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil.
He ladled the soup into a bowl, placed the steamed egg custard beside it, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Su Peixue was huddled under the covers, only her face showing, her hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. Lin Ran scooped up a spoonful of steamed egg custard, blew on it a few times, and brought it to her lips.
She opened her mouth to catch it, and the instant her lips touched the spoon, she felt his fingers apply slight pressure through the spoon. When the second spoon came, she gently licked the back of the spoon with her tongue, slowly sliding it over, and Lin Ran's hand paused for a moment.
What are you doing?
"The spoon is slippery. Let me wipe it for you." Her voice was still hoarse, but there was a little water in her almond-shaped eyes.
Lin Ran finished feeding her the whole bowl of steamed egg custard, then spooned the yam and pork rib soup to her lips. After drinking the last spoonful of soup, she slid off the covers, her pajamas collar flipped up to below her collarbone, and she used her shoulder to pull the covers back up.
After dinner, Lin Ran sat on the edge of the bed, letting her lean against him, and handed her the fever reducer and warm water.
She swallowed, closed her eyes, and leaned against his chest, her breathing gradually becoming even. She woke up at dusk, covered in sweat.
Lin Ran went to the bathroom to wring out a hot towel and helped her up from under the covers. He paused for a moment as he reached for the first button of her pajamas, then steadily unbuttoned it. The hot towel began to wipe her neck, gently wiping her down.
Collarbone, back, waist, lower abdomen. She leaned on his shoulder, her eyes slightly closed, her eyelashes fluttering gently with his wiping movements. He changed the towel several times, each time soaking it in warm water and wringing it until it was half-dry.
He wiped her chest, then her back, then her limbs, and finally her fingers and toes. Her toes curled up and then relaxed as he wiped them, from the instep to the sole, and then from the sole to the ankle. He fastened her pajamas again and tucked her back into bed.
Two days passed like this. On the second day, Lin Ran cooked white porridge, the porridge base was cooked until smooth and thick, and the rice grains were all dissolved. He stir-fried a dish of broccoli and shrimp, the shrimp were marinated with salt and egg white, and then served after they changed color in the pan. He also steamed a dish of okra and egg, the okra was cut into small star shapes and placed on the surface of the egg custard, after steaming, the green of the okra reflected the bright yellow of the egg custard.
Every time Su Peixue finished eating, Lin Ran would let her lean against him. When she was covered in sweat, he would wring out a hot towel to wipe her body.
During each towel change, he would hold her hand, hold it for a while, then switch to the other hand, gently rubbing the back of her hand against his palm to warm it.
Su Peixue's fever subsided. That afternoon, she sat up, coughed twice, and her voice was no longer hoarse. Her cold was mostly gone, though she still felt a little weak. Lin Ran, on the other hand, had a very good constitution; after two days of close care, her temperature was normal, and she hadn't coughed.
Su Peixue burrowed out from under the covers and brought her face close to Lin Ran's. As soon as he lowered his head, she pressed her lips to his. Not the fleeting, light touches of before, but a soft, cool, and continuous series of kisses.
Lin Ran pushed her away a little, but she pressed against him again, her nose rubbing against his, her eyelashes brushing against his eyebrows. She had caught a cold, and before she would only ask for pats, but now she was asking for kisses all the time.
He propped the pillow up behind his back, letting her peck at him one after another. The thin sunlight of early winter streamed in through the window, and each time her lips touched his and then withdrew, they carried a slightly cool, sweet taste, a hint of sweetness from the fever subsiding.
Winter break has started. The development of Magic Book over the past few months can only be described as rapid, with daily active users jumping from 200,000 to 800,000, and the user base expanding from female college students to young white-collar workers in first- and second-tier cities.
Lin Ran made a brief statement at the incubation base's year-end dinner, the gist of which was that the Magic Book would be upgraded from a text and image community to a short video platform, and He Biqiong was already building the product architecture, with a beta version to be launched after the New Year.
After the dinner party, he packed up his belongings in the apartment, putting what needed to be put in the trunk and sending what needed to be sent home, and then drove Su Peixue onto the highway.
Before they set off, Xu Wanru called, reminding Su Peixue to be careful on the highway and to keep her informed by messaging her regularly. She also added, "Keep an eye on Lin Ran and don't let him speed." Su Peixue sat in the passenger seat, holding her phone, sending Xu Wanru messages every now and then: "Auntie, we're on the highway!" "Auntie, there's a traffic jam ahead!" "Auntie, Lin Ran isn't speeding!" Xu Wanru replied to every single one, even faster than Lin Ran.
During the holiday, the highway was congested with traffic, with frequent stops and starts. Every time they stopped, Su Peixue would rummage through her snack bag and feed Lin Ran something. She found a fruit candy, unwrapped it, and put it in her own mouth. Then she leaned over—Lin Ran was staring at the rear of the car in front of him when his mouth was suddenly pressed against two soft things, and a piece of candy was pushed into his mouth from the tip of her tongue.
He almost choked. "Can't you use your hands?" "It'll be sweeter this way." She folded the candy wrapper and stuffed it into the storage compartment, then leaned back in her chair and continued texting Xu Wanru.
When they got home, Lin Yuefeng and Xu Wanru were already waiting downstairs. Xu Wanru went up and hugged Su Peixue, saying that Xiaoxue had lost weight again and wondered if she hadn't been eating properly at school.
Su Peixue shook her head, saying she eats every day, fed by Lin Ran. Xu Wanru said that's good. Dinner was a big feast: chopped chili fish head, stir-fried pork with chili, stir-fried beef with yellow peppers, etc.