CA | Chapter 9

◎Little Freak.◎

Ning Jia slept lightly. When she saw Aunt Zhang keeping her company, a faint smile tugged at her lips again. “Where’s my uncle?” she asked.

At her age, if she didn’t see someone for a while, she would worry, grow scared, think about it over and over. Aunt Zhang said, “Sir rubbed you all night. He probably fell asleep.”

“Oh…”

Ning Jia fell into thought.

Shen Yicheng wasn’t the type who was good at taking care of people. He wasn’t very considerate, and all he really had was a silver tongue and the patience to tease others. But when she actually fell ill, those skills were useless. He was not even as useful as the soup Aunt Zhang had simmered.

Ning Jia drank a bowl to pad her stomach, then leaned against the headboard. With every breath, her stomach gave a mild spasm, carrying a faint sting.

After Aunt Zhang left, Ning Jia still couldn’t sleep because of the pain. She lay there with her eyes closed for a while before hearing a knock at the door.

The door had been left open for convenience, so meals could be brought in and the room could air out. Ning Jia poked her head over and saw Shen Yicheng. He walked over, stood beside her, and looked down to ask, “Feeling better?”

Ning Jia shook her head. “My stomach hurts.”

Shen Yicheng touched his chin and straightened up. “I called the doctor. Tell him where it hurts.”

Then the doctor appeared from behind him like magic.

After a simple examination, it was confirmed to be acute gastroenteritis from eating something cold. The doctor prescribed some medicine, told her to drink more warm water, and left.

Summer was hot and stifling. Ning Jia had the window open and didn’t dare turn on the air conditioner again, but even so, sweat beaded on her forehead. After seeing the doctor out, Shen Yicheng came back and stood by her side. Ning Jia suddenly thought of a child standing obediently in front of a parent to receive punishment for doing something wrong.

It was an emotion she rarely experienced, because no one had ever shown remorse after hurting her, especially not for a thoughtless mistake like Shen Yicheng’s, the kind where good intentions led to bad results.

She glanced toward the door. Shen Yicheng followed her gaze, and when he looked back, Ning Jia held out her arms to him.

Shen Yicheng raised a brow, shut the door, then came back and sat on the edge of her bed. Ning Jia tried hard to wave her arms around, and received only a perfunctory hug from Shen Yicheng.

“Childish.”

Ning Jia gave a quiet huff. Leaning against the headboard, she looked at him, then opened her arms again. Shen Yicheng frowned and told her not to push her luck.

Ning Jia frowned too. She broke into a cold sweat while clutching her stomach, and Shen Yicheng bent down. She caught him and burrowed straight into his arms.

Shen Yicheng was probably briefly startled. Then he relaxed his muscles and lowered his head to look at her slightly damp bangs. Ning Jia no longer smelled like a child. Instead, she carried an oddly mature fragrance, completely unlike her appearance, like a rose steamed until it was soft and ripe.

Shen Yicheng rested one hand on her shoulder. That position was not very comfortable for Ning Jia, so she adjusted herself, trying to find the most comfortable angle. Shen Yicheng, however, felt that if he held her properly, all her troubles would be solved at once.

In the end, Ning Jia curled up in his arms like a little cat, rubbing her cheek against his chest before letting out a long, satisfied sigh.

She looked at the hand carelessly draped over her shoulder, leaned in, and took his index finger into her mouth, chewing gently.

Shen Yicheng laughed softly and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Ning Jia ignored him.

She was thinking that it would be great if she could stay sick like this forever. He would indulge her, and every day she could get to taste his hand.

Ning Jia thought she needed to find a way to let him hold her whenever he wanted, and to be able to suck on his fingers all the time.

Shen Yicheng was patient. When she had sucked enough, he drew his hand back and let her lie steady against the headboard. Just as he was getting up to leave, Ning Jia lifted her rosy face again and said to him, “I’m hungry.”

A faint sense of relief settled in Shen Yicheng’s chest.

He pressed the back of his hand to her cheek. Ning Jia found the cool touch very comfortable, while Shen Yicheng only thought her skin felt burning hot.

It was an unconscious caress.

When Ning Jia saw him leave, Aunt Zhang soon brought over a plate of simple food. Even the chicken soup had very little oil, with some meatballs and winter melon in it. There was meat, but the meal was still very light.

Ning Jia didn’t dare eat too much. She controlled her portions herself, worried that if she ate too much, her stomach wouldn’t be able to handle it. If she got hungry, Aunt Zhang would help her prepare something fresh.

Only after she’d eaten and drunk her fill did she remember to ask whether he had eaten.

“Sir didn’t eat. He said he didn’t sleep well and didn’t feel good.”

She had gotten sick, and the whole house had turned upside down.

Ning Jia lay back down on the bed. Aunt Zhang helped her close one window and also shut the door, leaving her to nap.

Ning Jia felt a little more comfortable, so she got out of bed, took a quick shower, and dried her hair as fast as she could, afraid that if she caught a chill the pain would get worse.

By evening, the house had cooled down quite a bit. This place had good greenery, with mountains and water, so in summer only the afternoon was hot. The rest of the time, it stayed pleasantly cool.

Shen Yicheng’s car was still there. She went outside and walked up to his bedroom, knocked, and he opened the door. Ning Jia caught the scent of tobacco.

“Feeling worse?”

Ning Jia shook her head. “Eat with me.”

Shen Yicheng didn’t have much appetite, but he still agreed. Seeing that Ning Jia wasn’t moving, he smiled and said, “Anything else?”

Ning Jia glanced toward the hallway and staircase.

Shen Yicheng already understood that whenever she was about to do something sneaky, she would look left and right first, afraid of being noticed by outsiders.

Ning Jia opened her arms and lifted them toward him.

Shen Yicheng said, “What are you, three this year?”

Ning Three Years nodded.

Shen Yicheng said, “What is this supposed to be?”

But Ning Jia called him very softly, “Second Uncle.”

At the moment, the only person in the family who called him Second Uncle was the eldest brother’s son. With that one call, Ning Jia no longer treated herself like an outsider.

Shen Yicheng wrapped an arm around her shoulders and patted her once. Ning Jia leaned into his arms and rubbed against him, then hooked her arms around his and swayed side to side. Shen Yicheng was swayed dizzy by her. He didn’t bother with the still-burning cigarette and went downstairs with her for dinner. When he came back up, the cigarette had already burned down.

After dinner was ready, Aunt Zhang would leave. She tentatively asked Shen Yicheng whether he wanted her to stay the night with Ning Jia, so she wouldn’t get tormented into feeling worse again. Shen Yicheng thought for a moment, then politely refused.

He had always valued personal space. Aside from himself, everyone else was an outsider, depending only on how much he could tolerate them. As for Ning Jia, he didn’t think she was so fragile that she needed to be watched over all night. Besides, if she felt bad, she would call for him.

After dinner, Ning Jia didn’t go to bed to rest. Instead, she trailed after his footsteps, following wherever he went. Shen Yicheng usually slept well, but after these two nights, he had developed the urge to throw her out the window and let her fend for herself.

Ning Jia pointed at the weather outside. “Feels like it’s going to rain.”

“So?”

“I think there’ll be thunder. The forecast said there’d be thunderstorms.”

Shen Yicheng’s brow moved slightly. “So?”

Ning Jia sat obediently beside him. “I’m so scared. Can you stay with me?”

He curved his lips and looked down at her. Ning Jia felt that he was the kind of extremely cautious hunter who would never approach lightly.

Shen Yicheng’s phone rang at an inopportune moment. He answered it, and Ning Jia placed both hands on her knees, rubbing them together. It wasn’t until she heard that he would need to leave that the smile on her face could no longer hold. It faded.

Shen Yicheng suddenly asked, “Want to go out for a walk with me? There are some people around your age at the gallery too.”

They might be able to have fun together, though those young people were probably all French.

Ning Jia rubbed her aching stomach. Seeing the movement, Shen Yicheng frowned. “Still hurting?”

She really was fragile. Just eating some watermelon had done this.

After thinking for a moment, she asked him, “When are you coming back?”

“You can go if you want. If you get tired, come back. If you don’t go, then I’ll be back in two hours.”

“Then I’m not going.”

Shen Yicheng asked, “Want Aunt Zhang to keep you company?”

“No need, it’s only two hours.” Ning Jia said, “If you keep your promise.”

She timed it carefully. Shen Yicheng stood up. “I’m really afraid of you,” he said, then went to get the car. Three minutes later, she heard him drive away.

When there were still ten minutes left until the two hours were up, Ning Jia heard him come back.

She opened the front door. Two black umbrellas were open at the entrance, and Shen Yicheng was escorted out of the car. The wind outside was raging, and one of his assistants shielded him from the rain. Shen Yicheng took two strides into the house, looking every bit like a low-key gang boss.

He clearly hadn’t driven himself. He came back smelling of alcohol, and the assistant and driver quickly got back into the car and drove away.

He lifted his watch. Eight minutes left. He pointed the watch face at her.

Standing in the doorway, Ning Jia didn’t know what evaluation to give him. She thought he was childish in exactly the same way, and at the same time she was made incredibly happy by him. She turned and went inside first.

When Shen Yicheng came back, he washed up first. With his severe cleanliness obsession, he had to wash his hands twice more. After that, he came to the living room, put on a movie, and leaned back on the sofa to look for his cigarettes. Ning Jia stood beside him, handed him the cigarette box, then set a clean ashtray on the table, and he had no excuse to smoke.

With her here lately, alcohol and cigarettes had probably been put on hold. Tonight he had only drunk a little, enough to feel slightly buzzed, and he was worried that if he slept too soundly, no one would be there to look after her.

Taking care of a living thing was exhausting.

Shen Yicheng set down the cigarette. Ning Jia sat on the carpet while he propped himself up on one arm against the sofa and leaned back, his gaze fixed only on the movie. After a while, she pressed her face against his leg, and only then did Shen Yicheng look down at her.

It was obvious her cheeks were no longer symmetrical.

As expected, Ning Jia said, “Toothache.”

Before Shen Yicheng was even born, the fetus had been unstable. The whole family had urged his mother to abort him, but his fiercely strong mother overruled everyone and gave birth to him anyway. He hadn’t weighed much, but he had no congenital illnesses, and he rarely got sick later in life. For twenty-eight years, he had lived without disaster or illness. Even fortune tellers said his life only had two great calamities, birth and his thirtieth year. Up to now, even mosquitoes seemed to fly around him.

So when Ning Jia had one thing hurting today and another thing hurting tomorrow, he truly didn’t understand it.

Her right cheek was already swollen. Shen Yicheng turned on all the lights. Ning Jia knelt between his legs while he straightened her head and then pried open her tightly shut teeth.

Ning Jia was in so much pain that she could barely stand it. Enduring it, she opened her mouth. At a glance, Shen Yicheng saw her swollen wisdom tooth, and the soft flesh around her mouth had been chewed pale, exposing faint pink tissue.

“I bought medicine. I just took it.”

She had already taken medicine, and still she was acting pitiful. Shen Yicheng said at once, “We’ll have it pulled tomorrow.”

Ning Jia was afraid of tooth extractions. She closed her lips and lay on his lap, muttering, “Can we wait two more days?”

With a hint of laughter in his voice, he said, “What’s there to pull in two days?”

Ning Jia understood what he meant. In two days, it would be her period, so she definitely couldn’t have a wisdom tooth extracted then.

She hugged his hand and lightly licked his fingers. Shen Yicheng was still a little drunk, and he brushed his fingers in her mouth twice. Ning Jia’s tongue curled once, and then Shen Yicheng pulled his hand out and wiped it over her face. Ning Jia was a little annoyed, but then she heard his comment, carrying low laughter.

“Little freak.”

She wanted to bite him, but she couldn’t chew through his palm. After grinding her teeth against it a few times, she stood up to wash her face. Shen Yicheng was already half-asleep on the sofa with his eyes half-closed. When Ning Jia came back, she draped a thin blanket over him. Seeing that he seemed to be asleep, she sat back down and stayed nestled against him for a while.

The next morning, when Shen Yicheng woke up, Aunt Zhang was busily making breakfast, but Ning Jia was nowhere to be seen.

She had fled to avoid punishment because she didn’t want her tooth pulled.

Author’s Note:

Sweethearts, I applied for next Thursday’s rankings. There’s a minimum word count requirement, so the update will come out at 8:05 p.m. next Thursday. I’ll also revise the earlier chapters over the next few days. It shouldn’t affect the later reading experience much, so I hope you’ll forgive me.