Chapter 32  

He is making fun of her!!!

Jia Shao's mind was filled with this sentence. The moment when she heard the calm voice of Zhen Lang, she had run away without any feeling of guilt until she reached the sofa with her heart hammering fiercely.

What is she nervous about? So what if she was caught? What is the big deal?

Why is her heart beating so fast?

The person lying on the sofa punched down on the sofa angrily and felt dispirited.

She closed her eyes and her head was filled with the image she had just seen.......the half-naked Zhen Lang who looked so enticing. No matter how much she shook her head, she could not get that image out of her mind.

She twisted and rubbed her fingers as if the taste of him still lingered. Jia Shao nervously sniffed her own body. His scent still lingered on her. His smell mixed with the smell of alcohol and a touch of men's perfume which was exceptionally strong still clung to her body.

It seems today, she will have to sleep on the sofa again. The sad person thought to herself.

Lazily she got up and in low-spirits cleaned up the mess on the table. At the same time, she cursed the cunning Zhen Lang with his belly full of evil tricks.

His belly is so bloated with evil tricks, is he not afraid of getting stomach pain? Hope his belly will perforate and rot!!!

Her stomach groaned with hunger reminding her that she had not eaten anything for dinner. The food on the table was barely touched and was emitting a tempting aroma.

She picked up a piece of braised beef together with some mushrooms using a pair of chopsticks and put them into her mouth. The tough meat tasted sweet and Jia Shao nodded with satisfaction.

Although the person is very wicked, but the dishes he cooked......tasted really good.

On the table were all the dishes she loves to eat and Jia Shao who was biting on a piece of pork shoulder when she suddenly froze.

Something is wrong. According to Zhen Lang's personality, once he had made fun of her, he would come out to laugh at her.

Why is there no reaction from him this time?

Her heart felt something was not right and she put down her chopsticks to walk silently to the door of the room.

No sound came from the room and Zhen Lang was sitting with his back leaning against the headboard. A dim yellow light gently embraced him and she could not see his expression clearly.

It seems there is nothing wrong.

Jia Shao shrugged and turned to leave.

At this moment, Zhen Lang suddenly moved. He doubled over and with one hand holding his stomach, he reached for the bedside drawer.

Big beads of sweat slipped down from the side of his face and he looked pale. Just as his hand touched the drawer, he withdrew his hand. Knitting his brows, he looked at the cup on the table top.

Jia Shao pushed the door opened. "Vet, what's the matter with you?"

Zhen Lang waved his free hand and smiled as he leaned against the headboard. "Do you want to sleep on the bed tonight? We can change. I can sleep on the sofa."

Jia Shao did not speak and gently walked further into the room.

She moved closer and saw his forehead was covered with a layer of sweat beads. His shirt was drenched with sweat which was abnormal during the current weather conditions since it was obviously not hot.

"You......." She moved closer to the bed and bit her lip. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"No." Zhen Lang relaxed his wrinkled eyebrows and his voice was calm. He still smiled and said. "Go and get your quilt. I will go out."

She is straightforward but not stupid!

Like a cat, she climbed on the bed and touched his forehead. Her eyes flashed. "Vet, you are lying."

Her palm was covered with his sweat and her expression turned ugly. She grabbed his hand and asked. "Are you sick?"

"It's nothing." With a little strength, Zhen Lang flicked his wrist and pulled her close to him. "I drank a little too much on an empty stomach and my stomach is only reacting. I wanted to take some medicine and realized there is no medicine here."

"Let's go......go to the hospital." Suddenly she stuttered and her heart became chaotic.

It may not sound accurate, but when had her words sounded so effective?

"No. It's alright." Zhen Lang gave her chin a pinch. "Just get me a cup of warm water."

She quickly twisted off the bed and soon rustling sounds came from the kitchen. Zhen Lang leaned against the headboard with a faint smile on his lips.

A short while later, Jia Shao came back with a cup of warm water and gently placed in on the bedside table. Foolishly she blinked her eyes and stood there.

In her memory, Zhen Lang is an undefeatable force and is so powerful that one is unable to find even a weak point on him. But now with him like this, it made her wonder what she should do.

He patted the spot next to him on the bed and obediently she sat down in a daze without a word.

After drinking a mouthful of hot water, he placed his warm palm on her face and said. "You have not eaten yet.......go and eat."

Ah! Eat!

"Did your stomach feel painful because you did not eat anything?" She came back to reality as if she was given a punch. "I will get you a bowl of rice."

She got up and was stopped by him. "That's not necessary. This is an occupational hazard."

Occupational hazard?

"All year round, we suffer from mental tension and sometimes we skip meals due to tight consultation schedules. By paying more attention to our basic needs, we will be fine." With just a few words, it made her hang down her head.

"Then......." She raised her head timidly. "Is it because I piled you with wine and it made you sick?"

He patted her face and made her lie down on his lap that was covered with the quilt. "My body is not good at breaking down alcohol content and that had caused an irritation. I just have to endure it and I'll be alright."

A wave of guilt rose up in her heart. She attached herself to his belly and placed her fingers on him to gently rub his belly. Her action made Zhen Lang burst into light laughter.

"Girl, your action reminds me of the time when we were young."

When we were young? Suddenly a silly smile appeared on Jia Shao's face and she puffed up her cheeks to blow out her breath.

~ "Blow away the pain......Zhen Lang don't cry......Shao Shao will rub."

Her actions made Zhen Lang laughed even louder and Jia Shao who was lying on his lap giggled happily.

"When you were young and was bullied, I was the one who chased the bullies away." Jia Shao wrinkled her nose and snorted. "And then I had to comfort you with your crying face smeared with snot."

"Is it?" Zhen Lang secretly smiled, tapped his finger on his face and threw her a glance.

Jia Shao sat up, pouted her lips and kissed him hard on his cheek.

~ "If in pain, let Shao Shao hold you.......you're not to cry."

His laughter became louder and the corners of his mouth curved up. "Anymore?"

Jia Shao thought for a while and then picked up herself to kneel on the bed. Throwing her arms around his neck, she hugged him close to her.

~ "Shao Shao will protect you for a lifetime, okay?"

The yellow light was reflected in Zhen Lang's eyes making them sparkle brightly. "Yes."

"Then you will have to give me lollipops." Jia Shao smiled happily. "And popsicles too."

When she thought of the time when they were young, suddenly she felt a little alarmed. In those blurry memories, they had loved each other and kissed each other. Compared to the later memories of them both framing each other and pitting against each other, their childhood memories were clearer.

"I'll give it to you......I'll give it to you." With both his hands, he pulled Jia Shao on his lap. "I'm fine now. Quickly, go and take your dinner."

Jia Shao nodded hard. "I'll get a bowl of rice for you."

Zhen Lang shook his head. "It's too oily. My stomach may not be able to stand it."

"Then........" The person who had done wrong tried to make up for it by thinking hard. "I'll cook you some porridge!"

"Do you know how?"

A word from Zhen Lang made her drop down her head then she lifted her head up again and said firmly. "I should be able to do it."

"Good." He gave a light pat on her ass. "If you can cook porridge, then you're forgiven for piling me with wine this time."

"Teach me how to cook." Jia Shao's firm answer was laced with a little uncertainty and her tone sounded the same with a trace of timidity.

"Put in this much of rice." Zhen Lang gestured with his fingers. "Then put in this much of water. Cook with the high-pressure cooker and when it is ready, I will shout for you to turn off the fire."

Jia Shao nodded obediently and flew off.

When she wanted to put the rice into the pot, she still felt uncertain and so she carried them over to show to Zhen Lang before she had the confidence to put the pot on the stove.

Her eyes swept around, spotted two preserved eggs at the side and she asked. "Vet, is it alright to cook porridge with preserved egg and lean meat for you?"

The sound of laughter floated from the room. "Are you able to do it?"

"Yes!" She replied loudly.

The fire in the kitchen was roaring and the pot was whistling. Occasionally, Jia Shao would come into the room to change the cup of warm water for Zhen Lang and then walk into the bathroom to check on the hot water she was releasing into the bathtub for Zhen Lang's bath. Everything was done very naturally and smoothly.

With some difficulty, she opened the pot's lid and dipped a spoon in to stir the porridge. She had a feeling that the porridge in front of her seemed to be a little different from the usual porridge that she loves to eat.

That's right!........ The meat!........ Where's the meat?

Lying on the chopping board, there was a pile of meat in different sizes and weird shapes. Sticking out her tongue, Jia Shao grabbed the pile of meat and dumped it into the porridge.

It looked a bit better but it still seemed to be a little different.

"Remember to put in some ginger to take away the fishy smell." Zhen Lang reminded her from the bathroom. Instantly, she patted her forehead.

Fresh ginger......... Where is the fresh ginger?

Someone who had never cook before was turning her head around to look everywhere and still seem to be unable to locate the legendary fresh ginger.

It will be okay as long as it is ginger, right?

Her gaze rested on the coffee table where a bag of unopened candied red ginger slices laid and without a thought, she opened the packaging to throw them into the pot.

(This is the candied red ginger slices and usually it is eaten as a snack. It is preserved with sugar and salt and it tastes sweet, salty and hot.)

"Is the porridge ready?" Zhen Lang asked. Jia Shao's hand trembled on hearing his voice suddenly called out and the whole bag of candied ginger slices was emptied into the porridge. Instantly, the pot was covered with little red specks and a strange smell rose from the pot.

She closed her eyes. Holding the spoon in her hand, she did not know whether she should keep stirring or fish out the ginger slices.

She swallowed nervously and asked. "Vet, what else should I put in?"

"Salt." As Zhen Lang's voice rang out, she dug up a few spoonfuls and threw them in without hesitation.

When Zhen Lang came out of the bathroom, Miss Jia was holding a bowl of black porridge in her hand with specks of red floating on it. She was looking at it with a twisted expression.

When the dazed Jia Shao saw Zhen Lang, she wanted to hide the porridge in her hands but it was already too late. She could only look at him with innocent eyes. "This.......this.......I don't understand why it turned black."

Zhen Lang reached out his hand to lift off a piece of ginger slice caught in her hair and lifted his eyebrows. "Candied ginger slice?"

"Candied ginger is also ginger." She retorted stubbornly.

"When you put the rice into the pot, did you also put in the preserved eggs at the same time?" Zhen Lang lifted a spoonful of porridge and fished out a piece of meat with a length and thickness of more than 4cm.

Jia Shao did not understand and returned his gaze. "Isn't that the right time to put them in?"

He laughed without saying a word and took the bowl of porridge from her hands. He gently took a small sip.

Immediately, the handsome eyebrows dropped and his face became calm.

Jia Shao flashed him a look of anticipation. "How is it? Is it good? This is the first time I'm cooking."

"Not bad." Zhen Lang nodded. "Why don't you leave all this for me and you can continue with eating your rice?"

Humming a song, Jia Shao happily ate her meal and watched as the expressionless Zhen Lang finished the whole bowl of porridge.

It turned out that she is also good at cooking........she thought happily.

However, this kind of happiness did not last long. An hour after he had taken the porridge, he broke out in cold sweat and after rousing her from her sleep, they quickly rushed to the hospital.

Diagnosis - Acute gastroenteritis - Maybe caused by spoiled or unclean food.

Treatment - Hospitalization!