After Being Bent by Reader

After Murong Shi left, Xu Chuanchuan returned to her room to lie down.

Probably because of the medicine taking effect, Xu Chuanchuan quickly fell asleep. However, she didn't manage to have a good sleep as her body constantly perspired because of her fever. Not only did the sweat make it uncomfortable for her to sleep, but her mind also repeatedly woke her up, telling her to rehydrate her dehydrated body. To make matters worse, her limp body thoroughly refused to listen to any of her brain's commands, which served to worsen her suffering further.

After wandering in and out of slumberland several times, Xu Chuanchuan suddenly heard knocking sounds coming from outside her room. However, try as she might, she couldn't open her eyes no matter what. So, she decided to lay still on her bed and continue playing dead.

The knocking sounds didn't continue for very long. Xu Chuanchuan also couldn't be bothered to think about the matter, so she hugged her blanket and resumed sleeping.

Afterward, Xu Chuanchuan had a dream. In the dream, she heard someone opening the door to her room, followed by the sound of high heels clicking against the floor. As the clicking sound grew louder, a fragrant scent entered Xu Chuanchuan's nostrils. Then, Xu Chuanchuan sensed someone arriving beside her bed. After a brief pause, this person suddenly bent down and tenderly called her name.

In the dream, Xu Chuanchuan only responded to the call with a subconscious grunt.

Immediately afterward, Xu Chuanchuan felt an icy hand sticking to her forehead, measuring her temperature. At the same time, this hand also helped her wipe the sweat formed on her forehead.

A moment later, the icy hand moved away. Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but feel reluctant when she sensed the cool and comfortable feeling disappearing from her forehead. Yet, there was nothing she could do about it as she couldn't even move her body.

Also, although Xu Chuanchuan couldn't open her eyes, she could sense a scorching gaze watching her silently the entire time.

Then, the familiar voice appeared once more, saying, "Xu Chuanchuan, get up and eat something before going back to sleep."

However, Xu Chuanchuan remained unresponsive.

Seemingly having lost their patience, the other person reached out and started patting Xu Chuanchuan on the cheeks.

Unfortunately, even after trying several times, Xu Chuanchuan still couldn't bring herself to wake up. Only after her cheeks had started hurting did she manage to pry open her eyes.

As her sight gradually focused, Xu Chuanchuan saw a person crouching by her bed and staring at her with tranquil eyes.

When Xu Chuanchuan recognized this person to be Murong Shi, she was immediately taken aback. Then, she struggled to blink her eyes several times, making sure she wasn't hallucinating and that the person in front of her was indeed Murong Shi.

So, that wasn't a dream just now…

Seeing that Xu Chuanchuan was awake, Murong Shi broke the silence, taking the initiative to explain herself, "You didn't respond even after I knocked for some time, so I used my key to enter."

Xu Chuanchuan still wasn't fully awake, so she continued staring at Murong Shi with a stunned look on her face.

Then, Murong Shi placed the thermos bucket in her hand onto the bedside table and said, "I had Aunt Lian make some porridge for you, so try some of it first. After you've eaten, you can retake the medicine."

First, Murong Shi had brought medicine. Now, she had brought food. For a moment, an indescribable feeling appeared in Xu Chuanchuan's heart. After overcoming her initial surprise, Xu Chuanchuan slowly climbed out of bed. When she took a look at her phone, she was surprised to find that it was already lunchtime. Though, because she had been in bed all morning, she didn't feel hungry at all.

Suddenly, Xu Chuanchuan thought of something and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet. My share is downstairs, so take your time eating," Murong Shi blandly said. Then, she turned around and walked away.

Seeing this, Xu Chuanchuan hurriedly said, "Thank you."

"Mhm." Without turning back, Murong Shi said, "As I said before, don't get me wrong."

"I know… I won't."

Xu Chuanchuan's mouth felt dry, and her throat was sore, so she didn't have much of an appetite. However, that changed as soon as she took a mouthful of Aunt Lian's porridge. Xu Chuanchuan never thought that lean meat porridge could taste so good. While she wasn't sure what seasonings Aunt Lian had put into the porridge, it smelled fragrant and tasted delicious.

After eating the porridge and taking her medicine, Xu Chuanchuan climbed into bed again.

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Xu Chuanchuan was finally fully awake. The sweat that previously covered her body had evaporated, and apart from feeling a little fatigued, she was in good spirits. When she retook her temperature, she found that her fever had indeed subsided.

By now, the water boiled with lychee peels had already cooled down. The color of the water looked strange, and the taste was somewhat bitter. However, while the lychee peel water tasted terrible, it was something Murong Shi personally made. Unable to bring herself to waste Murong Shi's kindness, Xu Chuanchuan ended up drinking the entire kettle.

When it was nearing off-work hours, Xu Chuanchuan pondered for some time before deciding to give Murong Shi a call.

Beep, beep, beep—

The busy tone went on for some time before the other party answered the call. Then, Xu Chuanchuan cleared her throat and said, "My fever has gone down."

Without speaking nonsense, Murong Shi curtly said, "That's good."

"Thank you so much for today."

"You're welcome."

"That... The porridge was delicious. Please thank Aunt Lian for me. I will clean and return the thermos to you tomorrow."

"Mhm."

After exchanging only a few words, Xu Chuanchuan's palm holding the phone had already begun sweating out of anxiety. Then, putting down her phone, she breathed out a sigh of relief.

When Xu Xiangxiang heard that her elder sister was down with a fever, she promptly came over to visit at night.

While fending off her little sister's hand, Xu Chuanchuan said, "Stop touching. I'm fine already."

When Xu Xiangxiang looked at her elder sister's pale complexion, she sighed and said, "How pitiful of you. But this is what you get for living alone. You don't even have anybody to take care of you when you're sick."

Xu Chuanchuan couldn't bring herself to say that Murong Shi had been taking care of her the entire day, so she deliberately changed the topic and said, "There are a lot of lychees in the fridge. Take some back and share it with your roommates."

"Wah, there's so many!"

"Make sure to take more."

…

Ever since the kissing incident, Xu Chuanchuan would always move covertly whenever she visited Murong Shi, and this time was no different. After all, Aunt Lian's thermos bucket was large and eye-catching. If she boldly visited Murong Shi's office with the thermos in hand, passersby were bound to grow curious. And if someone ended up asking her about the thermos, she wouldn't be able to provide them with a clear answer.

Ever since Linda went on leave, Murong Shi's office had become even more deserted. When Xu Chuanchuan entered the office, she couldn't help but shudder at the chilly air that enveloped her.

Meanwhile, hearing the noise, Murong Shi set aside her work and looked up. Then, she carefully examined Xu Chuanchuan's face for a moment before saying, "It seems you've made a full recovery."

Xu Chuanchuan responded with a soft "Mhm" before saying, "I've washed the thermos."

"Set it aside for now."

After placing the thermos on the coffee table, Xu Chuanchuan snuck a glance at Murong Shi. When she found that the other party remained glued to her seat, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you still not getting off work?"

Murong Shi was writing something on a piece of paper. Without even raising her head, she said, "I still have things to do."

Xu Chuanchuan initially didn't plan to disturb Murong Shi any longer. However, after pondering for a short moment, she asked, "Do you still want that thermometer?"

Murong Shi stopped writing and looked at Xu Chuanchuan. Then, raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Do you want to keep it as a souvenir?"

"Cough—No." Pretending to look away, Xu Chuanchuan explained, "I forgot to bring it down. I'll return it to you tomorrow."

In reality, what Xu Chuanchuan wanted to do was buy a new thermometer and give it to Murong Shi instead of returning the one she used. Only, she forgot to do so because she had been busy with work the entire day.

However, Murong Shi said, "Nevermind. I rarely have fevers, so I don't usually use it."

Xu Chuanchuan: "..." I rarely have fevers, either.

Now that Murong Shi had already said so, Xu Chuanchuan didn't find it appropriate to continue on the topic. So, after making a slight bow, she said, "I'll stop interrupting your work now."

Just as Xu Chuanchuan was about to step out of the office, she suddenly heard Murong Shi asking, "Can I trouble you to pour me a glass of water?"

Xu Chuanchuan's heart skipped a beat. Then, after calming herself, she turned around and answered, "Sure."

Murong Shi had the habit of frequently drinking coffee, so the mug she used still had some coffee stains. Xu Chuanchuan first brought the mug to the pantry and got it washed. Then, she returned to the office, filled the mug with water, and passed it into Murong Shi's hand.

"Thank you," Murong Shi said.

During the handover, the hands of the two inevitably made physical contact with each other. Because the air conditioner was set to freezing temperatures, Murong Shi's hand felt cold to the touch. The contrast between hot and cold was evident, and Xu Chuanchuan curled up her fingers out of reflex.

Standing awkwardly in place, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "Is there anything else you need me to do for you?"

After leisurely taking a sip of water, Murong Shi ignored Xu Chuanchuan's question and said, "You don't have to be so nervous. We're in the office, and people could come in at any given moment, so I won't do anything to you here."

Xu Chuanchuan didn't expect Murong Shi to bring up such a topic, so she found herself at a loss on what to say for a moment.

However, Murong Shi's following words shocked her even more.

After wiping off her smudged lipstick with a tissue paper and tossing the tissue paper into the nearby trash can, Murong Shi leisurely said, "I indeed hold some affection for you, but since you're unwilling to accept me, I won't insist on the matter."

"..." Xu Chuanchuan was dumbfounded. She now started to regret why she didn't run more quickly before. What should I do?

No matter how many times Xu Chuanchuan interacted with Murong Shi, she could never see through the other party's thoughts. Even though Murong Shi always behaved indifferently, why would she keep bringing up these embarrassing topics one time after another?

Take yesterday, for example. Initially, Xu Chuanchuan only had minor suspicions that Murong Shi's actions came with ulterior motives and didn't put too much thought into the matter. Yet, Murong Shi insisted on repeatedly emphasizing to her, saying, "Don't get me wrong."

Amidst Xu Chuanchuan's inner dilemma, Murong Shi was still leisurely drinking water, her elegant appearance making it look as if she was drinking some top-tier coffee.

Xu Chuanchuan felt very unhappy about this situation. Her interactions with Murong Shi always end in such a manner. Murong Shi would always speak and act in baffling ways while wearing a straight face, while she would end up utterly disconcerted.

Since she was no match for Murong Shi, Xu Chuanchuan decided to pretend she never heard Murong Shi speaking. Lowering her gaze, she respectfully said, "I'll take my leave now."

Despite spending only a short period in Murong Shi's presence, Xu Chuanchuan felt so nervous that her palms were sweating, and her heartbeat had accelerated. She wasn't sure what other shocking words Murong Shi would say if she continued remaining in the office, so she quickly fled the room.

If I can't hear her or see her, my mind won't be in a mess.