Zhou Wangshu noticed she hadn’t moved for a while and started to feel awkward again.
He sank a little deeper into the water.
Su Yaoguang chuckled, "Why don’t you just lie down in there?"
Zhou Wangshu’s earlobes turned red, as if they could bleed.
"What kind of girl are you? Staring at a man’s body without blinking?"
"Man? Hahaha..." Su Yaoguang wiped the water stains from his neck with a handkerchief and handed it to him. "Do you have a bit more strength now? You can wipe yourself dry."
The shop assistant had already left, so she couldn’t inquire about Xiao Ci’s situation anymore. Su Yaoguang turned her back to Zhou Wangshu and waited for a while. Hearing him get up and dry himself, she spoke again.
"Why are those scars on your body still there? Didn’t I give you medicine before? Why haven’t you applied it?"
"That medicine is expensive. It would be a waste to use it on me. I’m not a woman; what’s wrong with having some scars on my body?"
"That’s not acceptable. No matter how expensive the medicine is, we can make it ourselves. Besides, we can afford it now. Get on the bed and I’ll apply it for you."
"I don’t want to." Zhou Wangshu wrapped himself tightly with clothes.
"Lie down."
"No!" Zhou Wangshu looked at her warily.
Su Yaoguang turned around, looked at him with a soft gaze, twisted her fingers with a smile, and said, "I don’t want to say it a third time. Will you lie down yourself or shall I teach you how to lie down?"
Zhou Wangshu listened to her fingers pinching together, twitched his mouth, and awkwardly lay down on the bed.
"That’s better!" Su Yaoguang said as she dug out the cream from the luggage bag. "Fortunately, Jing’er was meticulous and brought all kinds of medicine, even the scar removal cream."
Zhou Wangshu felt Su Yaoguang’s icy fingers moving across his back. She scooped out cream with her fingertips and rubbed it over the wounds repeatedly, ensuring the medicine was absorbed.
The sensation felt like feathers brushing over his body, tickly and a bit warm.
Su Yaoguang looked at the scars on his back with a heart full of pity, saying as she applied the medicine, "Who could be so ruthless to hurt you like this? Even when they saw this face, they still did it."
Memories of those dark days came flooding into Zhou Wangshu’s mind, turning his eyes crimson.
"The back is done, turn over."
"I’ll do it myself." Zhou Wangshu covered himself with a nearby blanket.
"Alright, you can reach the front yourself too." Su Yaoguang handed him the cream. "Apply it, then come eat. If you don’t apply it well, don’t eat; might as well starve."
Looking into her reflective eyes, Zhou Wangshu felt a tremor in his heart.
Was she feeling sorry for him?
During those hard days struggling to survive, he had hesitated, thinking he might as well just die; after all, no one cared about him in this world, and death could be a relief. But then, thinking of those deep grudges, he couldn’t find relief. If he died just like that, those dead souls with grievances might linger in this world. Even if he had to die, he would settle the scores first.
Now, just seeing the scars on his body made Su Yaoguang feel such compassion, giving him newfound ’roots’.
Su Yaoguang yawned and wiped away the tears at the edge of her eyes.
Too tired these past two days, she hadn’t slept well, and now she was extremely drowsy. After Zhou Wangshu ate and she supervised him taking medicine, she’d get a good rest, comfortably recharging her energy.
Zhou Wangshu obediently applied the medicine.
Once he finished, dressed, and came over.
Su Yaoguang served the porridge, placing it in front of him, "You can only eat porridge. When you’re better, I’ll make you something delicious."
Zhou Wangshu glanced at the roast meat in her hand.
"You can eat roast meat too, as much as you want. I’ll personally grill it for you," Su Yaoguang promised.
With an odd expression, Zhou Wangshu looked at her, "I’m not a child. Am I going to argue with you over a few bites of food?"
"Of course not, Wang Shu is the most sensible," Su Yaoguang casually brushed off.
His earlobes heated up. He gave her a look and muttered, "You really think I can’t tell you’re treating me like a kid!"
Su Yaoguang touched his forehead, finding it still hot.
But his spirits were quite good.
"Once you’ve eaten, go and lie down."
After finishing his meal, Zhou Wangshu went to bed. Lying there, he no longer felt like he was waiting for death as he did in previous days; rather, he felt a comforting peace, as if he knew she wouldn’t abandon him.
Su Yaoguang tidied up the room, carefully recording Zhou Wangshu’s reactions after taking medicine today, keeping a record for Jiang Jing’s awareness of his recovery.
She sat by Zhou Wangshu’s bed, feeling his warmth.
Today, Zhou Wangshu hadn’t vomited or had diarrhea; the symptoms had eased. This indicated Jiang Jing’s medicine was effective and helpful for the condition.
Two shop assistants passed by outside, discussing more students getting sick. Su Yaoguang thought for a moment and called the two assistants.
"Brother Li, Brother Wang..."
"Miss Su, is there something you need from us?"
Su Yaoguang said, "Our Wang Shu seems better today, not vomiting or having diarrhea. I wanted to thank you for your help. It’s been a great relief with your care these past few days."
The shop assistant Wang said, "Miss Su, please don’t say that, you’ve been the most exhausted these past days."
Li, however, caught the key point and asked, "Miss Su, Zhou Xueshi’s condition improved? Everyone received medicine from the same doctor, but others are still vomiting and having diarrhea. How did he recover so fast?"
Su Yaoguang pretended to be embarrassed and said, "Don’t take it the wrong way; I gave him medicine I brought myself. Our household doctor has a different understanding of this illness, believes it’s not a common cold, so prepared different medicine for me to bring. I intended to give it a try, didn’t expect it to actually help."
"Miss Su, we want to report this to the Mountain Master and teachers; would you mind?" Li asked.
"I don’t mind at all, I haven’t done anything wrong."
"Sorry to bother you, Miss," and they hurried off.
Her aim achieved, Su Yaoguang returned to the room.
Soon after, the Mountain Master and teachers arrived at Zhou Wangshu’s door, guided by the two assistants.
"Miss Su, the Mountain Master and teachers are here. Could you come out for a moment?" Li called.
Su Yaoguang went out.
Though having met her before, the Mountain Master and teachers almost didn’t recognize her, so much had she changed in such a short time.
"We’ve heard from the assistants that Wang Shu’s symptoms have eased, so we came specially to see him. May we visit him?" The Mountain Master cut straight to the point without wasting time.
Up to today, twenty students had fallen ill in the academy, with the earliest cases worsening. If this situation continued, they feared for these students’ safety.
The well students were clamoring to go home, previously not daring to let anyone go, but seeing things spiraling out of control, they had to send them off.
"Of course, just cover your nose and mouth, to avoid affecting the patient," primarily concerned about them affecting the patient, but she couldn’t say that.
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