Yan Huan pinched Yi Ling’s cheek. “Food is food, don’t be so picky. Little Bean has to eat the exact same food every day, do you hear her complaining?”
Little Bean seemed to know that her owners were talking about her; she meowed once and lifted her tiny head from her bowl of cat food to look at them.
Yi Ling pouted. Oh well, noodles were still better than nothing.
One bowl of noodles later and Yi Ling was full. She walked off to look for Little Bean as she had nothing else to do. Yan Huan, seeing that Yi Ling was now out of sight, surreptitiously pulled up her sleeve to check the large bruise on her arm. She was thankful for the recent spate of gloomy weather; it gave her an excuse to cover the bruise with long-sleeved clothing. She just hoped the bruise would disappear soon, otherwise she would have to try to hide it with makeup when it was time to shoot her remaining scenes.
She climbed onto her bed and was soon fast asleep. She had not slept this soundly in ages, not since waking up in her younger body in this new life. When she opened her eyes, it was already the next day.
The purple bruise on her arm was less obvious now. She hugged a pillow and went back to sleep. She did not have to look into a mirror to know that her face was still deathly pale.
Several hours later, she heard Yi Ling knock on the door. “Huanhuan, are you still asleep? You’ve been sleeping for almost the entire day. Are you really that tired?”
“Yeah…” said Yan Huan as she snuggled deeper into her pillow.
“I was so hungry I ate a few bowls of cat food. It tastes pretty good, actually.”
Yan Huan was speechless and made no reply.
She had slept for an entire day and night and was now feeling a little better. But she kept mum about her blood donation— she knew Yi Ling would throttle her to death if she so much as hinted at it.
It took three whole days of rest for Yan Huan to feel normal again. In this time, Yi Ling did not suspect anything. Yan Huan wanted to believe it was because of her acting skills, but she could not help wondering if Yi Ling was simply too dense to notice.
Around the same time, Lu Yi woke up in the hospital. Although his injury was serious, he had been spared from any permanent damage to his organs. He had received a blood transfusion in the nick of time, and thanks to that, he was now back to his normal self after only a few days.
“I heard that a gorgeous chick gave you her blood. Is that true?” Lei Qingyi selected an apple from the fruit basket, casually wiping it on his clothes before taking a bite out of it. He was a boorish, unsophisticated man with a loud voice; he lifted a leg and rested it on the hospital bed, revealing the hairy calf under his pants. The hair on his calves was as thick as a monkey’s.
Lu Yi was flipping through a book, his expression inscrutable.
Crunch! Lei Qingyi took another bite out of his apple. “I heard that it was all thanks to that pretty lady that you recovered so quickly. If it wasn’t for her, you’d be laid up in the hospital for the next several months. Heck, you might even be dead now. I know you’re not the type to owe a debt, so how are you going to repay her for saving your life? With money? Or with your body?”
After a short pause with no reply from Lu Yi, Lei Qingyi continued his monologue. “Oh, and by the way… Lu Yi, from now on, I forbid you from telling anyone that you and I are from the same team. And you’re not allowed to tell anyone that you were previously trained in my family’s ancient martial arts- not when any Tom, Dick, or Harry can walk up and stab you in the stomach just like that. Disgraceful! I’m ashamed of you! And that stony, deadpan face of yours—you look like a dead fish! Would it kill you to smile every once in a while, bro?” Lei Qingyi tossed the apple core into the trash can beside him. It was a clean throw; his aim was perfect.
Lu Yi tossed the book in his hand aside.
“Are you thirsty?”
Lei Qingyi licked his chapped lips. “I wasn’t, but now that you mention it… Yeah, I could use a drink.”
