Jiang Yuxu looked up in surprise, then quickly lowered his gaze.
He thought he didn't even need to speak; his guilty eyes already gave him away.
"...Well, I wanted you to tell me a story."
"Just that?" Those two words were written all over Bo Xin's face.
Her gaze fell on Ji Yanyi's room, separated by only one wall. The distance really wasn't soundproof.
That night, when she comforted Yanyi, he must have heard.
She lifted the blanket and sat in, as if silently agreeing.
"Which one do you want to hear?"
"Just the first story in this book."
Jiang Yuxu remembered that this book had nine short stories. He actually hoped she would read them all.
After all, they had plenty of time today.
But was being sick really this weak? Jiang Yuxu forced his eyelids open and coughed twice.
He shook his head, suppressing the nausea. "Have we been short on money lately?"
Bo Xin's brow twitched. Her clear voice finished the last syllable. "Anyway, not sending you to tutoring isn't because of that."
Jiang Yuxu's voice was muffled, carrying the fragility unique to someone ill.
"That's not what I meant."
He thought again: the impression he gave seemed to be sensitive and thoughtful, so being misunderstood was reasonable.
"I don't actually need to go to tutoring for long. They say I'm a genius, so I can learn quickly."
He could save money. Later, he could earn money.
At least she wouldn't have to bear everything alone.
He remembered when she first arrived in the countryside, carrying the arrogance of a wealthy family, spending generously, and looking down on everyone.
And now, he didn't want to see her grovel to anyone for money and lose that proud demeanor.
Bo Xin patted the head resting on her lap. "You don't need to worry about that."
He was brushed off. Brushed off as a child.
Jiang Yuxu covered his entire head with the blanket, his tone displeased. "Did you hear what I just said?"
"I heard you."
The kid was questioning her financial capabilities. Was she that hard up? She didn't think so.
Bo Xin had just opened some medicine, then calculated the balance in her hand.
She shouldn't have had that meal...
Bo Xin paused, then turned off the alarm ringing beside her. "It's time for your medicine."
She had bought two kinds of medicine. One was a sweet children's syrup, the other was bitter. Why buy two? Her original plan was to give the sweet one to a well-behaved child and the bitter one to a disobedient one.
But when it came to a sick child, she eventually softened and gave the good-tasting one even to the disobedient one.
"Try it. They say it's sweet."
Jiang Yuxu tried it, then turned his head away in slight disgust. "It's a bit hard to drink."
She had forgotten that this kid had an adventurous palate.
Bo Xin directly opened the other one. Jiang Yuxu slowly reached his small hand out.
Actually, he had originally planned to force himself to finish it.
—
After finishing the third story, Jiang Yuxu's breathing gradually steadied.
His complexion was much better, and he had no cold sweat.
Bo Xin calculated and realized Yuxu had been asleep for over fifteen hours. He must have really been feeling terrible.
The trash can was full of tissues. Bo Xin went downstairs to take out the trash.
Because it was early spring, green shoots were emerging from the bare ground.
More people were strolling around the neighborhood.
Bo Xin was something of a celebrity in the neighborhood. Her beautiful face, wealthy family, and especially her marital relationship with her husband were enough to attract attention.
Back then, the daughter of a capitalist married the child of a martyr, a major general with a bright future.
Everyone said Major General Ji was blinded by beauty, with no backing, limited by his background—it could have affected his career.
But he insisted on his own way. Half a year after marriage, a son was born.
The family of three wasn't exactly inseparable, but they treated each other with respect.
But unexpectedly, the son wasn't even Major General Ji's biological child. With such a huge cuckold's hat on his head, no wonder he couldn't go home.