CFSSIR

‧₊˚ 50 ‧₊˚

That night, after finishing washing up, Shen Qingyao unsurprisingly fell ill with a fever and collapsed.

Poor Lu Zhao, with one hand still injured, but couldn't trust anyone else to take care of her. With sheer determination, he used his remaining hand to feed her medicine and tuck her in. Shen Qingyao, her small face flushed red from the fever, hid under the covers and chuckled softly. She thought to herself how this trip had really been miserable-now both of them were bedridden.

Lu Zhao, unable to bear it any longer, pinched her nose and scolded, "You're so sick and still laughing? Why didn't you say you were uncomfortable earlier? Did you have to wait until it got this bad?"

If Lu Zhao had said this when they first met, Shen Qingyao would have been genuinely frightened. But now, she wasn't afraid of him at all-after all, she knew he wouldn't really do anything to her.

She blinked her innocent big eyes and, with a pitiful pout, said, "But you weren't awake, Elder Brother Lu Zhao. I was worried and didn't feel the discomfort! Besides..." Shen Qingyao lowered her eyes. "With Elder Brother Lu Zhao not awake, how could I dare get sick? Who would take care of me if I did..."

So, it's all your fault. Shen Qingyao shifted the blame without any hesitation.

Lu Zhao was at a loss for words. He thought to himself, were all the attendants on the boat invisible? How could there be no one to take care of her? But her words hit him right in the heart. The thought of her being sick without him by her side did worry him. And he couldn't deny that he enjoyed her reliance on him and didn't want that to change.

Lu Zhao looked at her for a while, then sighed with a smile, realizing her spoiled attitude was his own doing. His gaze softened, and he ruffled her hair with his large hand. "You're relying on the fact that I won't scold you, aren't you?"

Shen Qingyao turned her head away to dodge his hand and playfully said, "You clearly scolded me just now, so you can scold me after all."

She was extremely vengeful!

Lu Zhao raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "You call that scolding?"

Shen Qingyao nodded earnestly, then had a playful thought and said seriously, "Of course! Let me tell you, my Husband is very kind and spoils me a lot. If he knew about this, he would surely teach you a lesson!"

"Oh? Really?" Lu Zhao, holding back his laughter, sat on the bedside and surprisingly played along, "Teach me a lesson? Who is this amazing Husband of yours? How does he spoil you?"

"Of course, he's amazing. He..." Shen Qingyao was getting into it, her chin up and eyes bright, ready to continue her act. She wanted to see if praising him more would make him embarrassed. But before she could finish, Lu Zhao suddenly leaned in, propping one hand beside her ear, and followed the curve of her raised chin to plant a quick kiss on her chattering mouth.

Shen Qingyao was stunned.

Lu Zhao's lips left hers as quickly as they touched, but he didn't move away. He hovered right above her, his eyes filled with a triumphant smile. Trapped in place, Shen Qingyao didn't know where to look. He whispered, "Is this how your Husband spoils you?"

...Shen Qingyao bit her lip, feeling this question was impossible to answer.

If she said yes, what if he did it again? If she said no, what if he found another way to do it?

She closed her eyes and suddenly remembered she was still sick. How could he not even spare a patient!

"You..." Shen Qingyao hesitated for a moment, then brought her hand out from under the covers to gently push him away. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, almost inaudible even to herself. "You suddenly... I'm still sick! What if you catch it!" Didn't he have any basic hygiene and prevention awareness!