She might have heated the soup again for nothing.
Ye Shuyun sighed and pushed the soup towards Yi Ling. “You should drink it. By the time she wakes up, the soup won’t be good anymore. I’ll get the nanny to make a new pot.”
“I don’t have the appetite for it,” said Yi Ling as she put the bowl down. How could she be drinking and eating like a normal person when Huanhuan hasn’t touch any food or water for so long? That wasn’t something she could do.
“Drink it. Don’t let it go to waste,” said Ye Shuyun, giving her a pat on the shoulders. She then returned to the side of the bed and guarded Yan Huan silently. At least Yan Huan was still alive, someone she could still protect and worry over. Otherwise, she would really have gone crazy.
The nanny returned to the hospital at noon, with an insulated lunch box in hand.
“I made chicken soup this time. Boiled it for 4 hours. It’s nutritious, the perfect food for patients.”
Ye Shuyun scooped out some soup into a little bowl. The soup gave off a thick aroma as soon as it left its container.
It was tasty, fresh, and nutritious.
Ye Shuyun sat down before Yan Huan, holding the bowl of soup in her hands, and scooped up a spoonful of it to cool it with her breath. She then fed it to Yan Huan.
“Here, Huanhuan, drink up.”
Yan Huan remained motionless, until Ye Shuyun’s hand began to feel sore. It would be good even if she drank a single spoon. She figured she had to consult He Yibin. What should they do if she refuses to eat? They might have to inject her before she starves herself to death. But there wasn’t even anywhere left to stick the needle in, except for her head and feet.
As the door shut softly, Yan Huan felt a sadness creeping into her heart.
Ripples formed in her lifeless eyes, like the surface of a lake at the fondling of wind.
“You have to drink your soup properly,” he used to say as he caressed her cheeks.
“I will. I promise.”
“You have to eat properly too,” he said.
“I will. I promise.”
“Have to drink soup properly” she murmured softly.
Slowly, she reached out and grabbed the bowl of soup, her hand so feeble it seemed as if she would drop the bowl at any time. She brought the bowl to her lips and took a sip.
Her tears began falling into the bowl. One drop, two, three, and they kept falling. She couldn’t tell if the bitterness she was tasting was from her tears or the soup itself.
What should she do? She had lost her sense of taste.
The hospital door opened before He Yibin shut it again, as soon as he took a step inside.
“What’s wrong?” asked Ye Shuyun.
He Yibin pulled her to the side.
“She’s drinking her soup,” he whispered.
“Really?” Ye Shuyun immediately tried to take a look herself, but He Yibin managed to stop her in time.
“It’s better if we leave her to it, Aunty. Why not we try leaving the food on the table for her to eat at her own pace? Perhaps what she needs now isn’t our consolations and concern, but time for her wounds to recover by themselves. There’s nothing any of us can do to help her.”
Is that how it was? Ye Shuyun didn’t know if he was right, but she had no choice but to trust him. As long as Yan Huan can eat and no longer needs medication, she can bring her back home. Things would be better if she was at home, where they were all there to accompany her. Home was the safest place, the best place for healing.
When Ye Shuyun stepped inside again, Yan Huan had fallen asleep once more. She padded to her and picked up the bowl, nearly crying out loud when she saw the empty bowl.
It was good that she drank her soup. That meant that she could eat too.
Heeding He Yibin’s advice, she began leaving the nanny’s soup on the table instead of forcing her to drink it.
Yan Huan always finished her soup, as He Yibin had predicted, regardless of how much she was given. According to him, Yan Huan’s stomach was still weak, so she oily and meaty food was no go. Soup that could be easily digested and fruit will serve for now.
Ye Shuyun and the nanny had to scratch their head for a method to make the soup more nutritious. They tried throwing fruit juice, milk, grains, and whatever good stuff they could think of into the soup so that she could recover faster.
When He Yibin announced that she was ready to eat solid food, she and the nanny carefully prepared a table of dishes, in the hope she would eat more.
That’s when she realized Yan Huan didn’t consume anything, apart from her soup.
Left with no choice, Ye Shuyun and the nanny had to continue making soup, in which they added whatever nutritious stuff they could think of. Yan Huan never seemed to mind the taste, finishing whatever she was given as long as it was soup, without so much as frowning even at the eighth bowl.
Realizing that, Ye Shuyun had to bear her heart and put nutrition before taste.
And so, after a few days, she realized Yan Huan was looking a lot better than before. The best way to nurse one’s health wasn’t through medication, but proper nutrition from healthy grains.
How can anyone be unhealthy with three proper meals a day?
But Yan Huan’s behavior didn’t change. She was unconversational and taciturn, like how Lu Yi did when he was little, according to Ye Shuyun. Just like that, she took care of her like how she once took care of Lu Yi, treating her like a growing child.
Ye Shuyun trusted that this child would one day grow up and step out of her shadows too.
“Say ah,” said He Yibin as he shone a small torchlight into Yan Huan’s throat.
Yan Huan obliged.
Later, the nurse arrived, carefully peel up Yan Huan’s sleeves to conduct a blood test. If she passed the inspection this time, she could be discharged.
Yan Huan was impassive even as the needle went into her vessels. There had never been much life in her eyes. She was like a beautiful statue, lifeless and emotionless.
The results that soon came out proved that she was fine.
Ye Shuyun heaved a sigh of relief. She could finally bring her home.
