The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 260: Chapter 260: What is Getting into a Relationship?

Ji Huan helped the drifter to a stool by the door and sat him down. "Let’s rest for now. That’s enough for today."

Compared to when his cast was first removed and he couldn’t even lift his foot, the drifter could now walk a few laps around the courtyard with his crutch.

"How does it feel? I bet you never realized walking could be this difficult."

The drifter watched as she crouched beside him, checking his wrist and then his ankle. He gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment.

Before, walking had been an instinct.

Now, every step required all his strength, and he had to endure the faint, persistent ache in his heel.

Something he once could have done effortlessly now took a whole morning just to manage a few laps, and he was drenched in sweat.

"It’s supposed to be difficult. Recovering from an Achilles tendon rupture is the hardest of all tendon rehabilitations, bar none. This is a long, arduous battle. You’re already getting better day by day, so don’t be impatient. Take it slow."

After her instructions, Ji Huan checked the Achilles boot he was wearing on his left foot.

"We’ve removed five wedges already. In another half-month or so, you can switch to flat-soled shoes."

She clapped the dust off her hands, stood up, and asked Hu Dacheng, "Is there any hot water left in the pot?"

"There’s still more than half a pot, but it’s not very hot anymore. Should I add more wood to the fire?"

"Go ahead. He just finished exercising, so let’s give him a hot foot soak."

Hu Dacheng went to tend to the stove. Ji Huan then remembered something and asked the drifter.

"Has Dacheng been helping you with your foot soaks on time these past few days?"

Since she had made that promise to Song Jing, and there was really nothing left that required her personal attention for the drifter, she tried to minimize unnecessary contact.

Delivering meals, preparing foot soaks, and supervising the drifter’s daily exercises were all tasks she had delegated to Hu Dacheng. She only came by occasionally to check on his progress.

The drifter nodded. His gaze fell on her, his lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

Ji Huan guessed what he wanted to ask, but the reason was a little awkward to explain.

"Well, I’ve been a bit busy lately, so..."

Hu Dacheng had sharp ears; even while tending the fire, he didn’t miss a beat and chimed in.

"Wan’s been busy with embroidery these last few days! She’s making a sachet, and it’s super ugly."

"Hu Dacheng!"

Ji Huan yelled toward the kitchen, and Hu Dacheng immediately went quiet as a mouse.

Ji Huan glanced at the drifter, feeling an inexplicable sense of embarrassment.

Hu Dacheng and Hu Ximei were still young and didn’t understand these things, but as an adult, the drifter surely knew what it meant...

Right now, she felt like many people in a new relationship—wanting to tell the world, yet afraid of anyone knowing.

Fortunately, the drifter suddenly turned his gaze elsewhere, showing no curiosity or mockery.

’Right,’ she thought. ’He’s never cared about outside affairs, so why would he care who I’m embroidering a sachet for?’

’Besides, does embroidering a sachet mean it has to be a gift? Couldn’t I wear it myself, or sell it?’

’So what am I so flustered about? This is a classic case of a guilty conscience giving me away!’

After scolding herself internally, Ji Huan cleared her throat a few times and put on a façade of being self-righteous and unconcerned.

Hu Dacheng brought over the basin of water, its temperature now adjusted. He then ran into the main room, took a packet of medicinal powder from the cabinet by the heated brick bed, and sprinkled it into the water.

Then, complaining of a stomachache, he bolted behind the house, clearly afraid of getting a scolding from Ji Huan.

The drifter lowered his eyes, took off his shoe, and placed his foot in the basin. As he soaked, he began to massage his calf muscles just as Ji Huan had shown him.

His right hand, like his left foot, was still not very agile, so he used his left hand for the task.

"Soaking your foot after exercising helps loosen up the tight tendons and is very good for relieving fatigue.

You must remember to add this packet of medicinal powder. It helps break down adhesions.

And that roller—you have been using it, right? It provides a comprehensive stretch for your injured foot.

You also have to keep up with the hot compresses for your knee and wrist joints. Once a day, for at least a quarter of an hour. Put some salt and peppercorns in the hot water—I’ve left both in the kitchen.

Hu Dacheng is a scatterbrain. If he forgets, you have to remind him..."

The drifter kept his lips pressed together, not saying a word.

The atmosphere felt strange, and Ji Huan suddenly found it hard to continue.

"Anyway, I’ve taught you all the functional exercises you need to do at this stage. Just follow my instructions and you’ll be fine..."

"And you?" The drifter suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing her.

For some reason, Ji Huan felt his gaze was very different from before, though she couldn’t quite describe how.

"Me? D-Didn’t I just say? I’ve been busy lately."

"Busy embroidering a sachet?"

The drifter was uncharacteristically probing. Though his expression remained calm, he gave off a strangely aggressive feeling.

’He’s barely started speaking in full sentences and he’s already starting arguments, is he?’

Ji Huan had been in a good mood the past couple of days, but now she could feel herself getting annoyed again.

"That’s right, I’m embroidering a sachet! Is there a problem? There’s nothing seriously wrong with you anymore. I can’t just revolve my entire life around you, can I? Doctors have private lives too. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to finally get out of being single after all this time?"

The gloomy aura around the drifter intensified, and his cupid’s bow flattened into a straight line.

Ji Huan put her hands on her hips, a defiant glint in her eyes. She decided she wasn’t going to coddle him anymore. A patient should know his place.

’Seriously. What rule says a doctor has to be a patient’s constant companion? And what right does a patient have to pry into a doctor’s private life?’

’He’s nothing to me.’

"Wan, what’s ’get out of being single’? What are you getting out of?"

Just as the tension reached a breaking point, Hu Dacheng popped his head in.

The momentum Ji Huan had just managed to build up instantly deflated.

She raised her hand, curled her knuckles, and gave him an exasperated rap on the head.

"Don’t stick your nose in adult business. You just stay here a little longer. After we eat lunch and he takes a nap, you can go home."

Hu Dacheng rubbed his forehead. "It doesn’t matter if I go home or not. We’re not running the stall anymore, so I’d just be idle at home anyway. Oh, right, Wan, the day after tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. My mom wants you and Dabao to come celebrate at our place."

Ji Huan thought for a moment, then asked, "Isn’t your brother coming back?"

Although they had gotten revenge on the Cao Family, their own livelihood was gone. Hu Liang felt he was a disgrace to his family, so after just a few days, he had followed some other villagers to Daguan Village to work at a brick kiln.

Working at a brick kiln was exhausting and arduous, not to mention the constant danger of the kiln collapsing. The pay was only slightly better than ordinary manual labor.

With the thirty taels Ji Huan had helped them get back from the Cao Family, the Hu Family wasn’t on the verge of starvation just yet.

Hu Liang’s actions seemed more like a form of self-punishment.

And while Widow Xie claimed she didn’t care if he lived or died, it was clear she had been extremely worried about him lately.

"He sent a message back. The kiln isn’t giving any days off, so he won’t be back for the festival," Hu Dacheng said, his voice trailing off sadly.

He had seen the changes in his family and wasn’t oblivious to them; he just didn’t know what he could do to help.

He had wanted to go to the kiln with his older brother, but his mother had given him a beating. When he tried to sneak over on his own, his brother had kicked him and sent him back.

"Wan, I’m so useless. I can’t even earn a single cent for the family."

"Sighing all day at your age? Be careful or you won’t grow any taller!" Ji Huan patted his head, deliberately teasing him.

Just a moment ago, Hu Dacheng had been full of worries, but now he grinned. "I have grown taller! I’m this much taller than last year!"

He held up his hand to show the span of his fingers, then paused and added half a span on top of it. Still not satisfied, he stretched his fingers out and changed the half span to a full one.

Ji Huan couldn’t help but laugh. "Are you a weed, sprouting up like that? Alright, help him empty the water later and get him another basin of hot water. Let him put the compress on his knee himself."

After giving her instructions, she shot the drifter a glare before leaving.

After Ji Huan was gone, Hu Dacheng shivered and asked the drifter, "Don’t you think it’s a little cold in here?"

The drifter stared intently in the direction Ji Huan had left, saying nothing.

But Hu Dacheng felt even colder.

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