The Premeditated Seductress Childhood Friend - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: It Hurts So Much

Song Yixi broke away abruptly, biting her lip as she muttered, “The temperature is too high, it’s so hot.”

Xu Qingyu slowly withdrew her hand.

“You can turn it down. Your house is large; it won’t be cold if it’s a bit lower.”

“It’s fine.”

Song Yixi turned her head and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her body was hot, and her heart was hot, too. It was a heat that made her panic.

But she didn’t want to adjust the temperature. It didn’t matter if she was hot; she had a strong constitution, and at most, she would just sweat. If it got cold, Xu Qingyu wouldn’t be able to stand it.

That night, Song Yixi and Xu Qingyu lay side by side, neither falling asleep until late into the night. Xu Qingyu felt unwell from the effects of the medicine she had just taken. As for Song Yixi, her mind was filled with the sensation of Xu Qingyu touching her.

She felt ashamed for touching Xu Qingyu in her sleep, and even more ashamed that Xu Qingyu had touched her while she was awake. She didn’t know how to face her. The more she thought about it, the more awkward it became.

On the other side, the sound of Xu Qingyu’s heavy breathing gradually drifted over. Song Yixi didn’t dare look at her, wondering if Xu Qingyu was feeling unwell because of the earlier touch. The more she worried, the more sleep eluded her.

Only when she finally felt a bit drowsy did Song Yixi turn toward Xu Qingyu, unconsciously taking her hand. Xu Qingyu felt it and turned her head to look. Song Yixi’s eyes were closed; she seemed to be asleep.

The corners of Xu Qingyu’s mouth lifted slightly, and the pain in her body seemed to lessen. She moved a bit closer, tucking herself into Song Yixi’s embrace. Only then did she fall asleep before dawn.

The two slept until noon. Xu Qingyu woke first; she disentangled herself from Song Yixi’s arms and hurried into the bathroom. As soon as the door closed, she clutched her lower abdomen and doubled over, her face pale.

After lingering for four or five minutes, she straightened her back and began her morning routine as if nothing had happened. She applied a simple layer of makeup to mask her lack of color.

Outside the bathroom, Song Yixi had also woken up and was looking for clothes. Seeing that Xu Qingyu hadn’t come out yet, she changed into casual wear and went downstairs to make breakfast.

There weren’t many groceries left in the fridge, so Song Yixi fried a few eggs, heated some milk, and brought them upstairs. Xu Qingyu had just finished changing.

Song Yixi set the dishes on the table. “You eat first, I’ll go wash up.”

“Mhm.”

Xu Qingyu took a sip of milk but didn’t pick up her chopsticks. Even when Song Yixi came out of the bathroom, she still hadn’t eaten.

Wiping the water from her face, Song Yixi asked, “Why aren’t you eating?”

Xu Qingyu smiled slightly and pushed the plate toward her. “Waiting to eat with you.”

“Oh~” Song Yixi didn’t think much of it and sat down to join her.

Seeing Song Yixi eating, Xu Qingyu picked up her chopsticks and took a couple of bites. She forced herself to finish half an egg. Song Yixi finished the rest but insisted that Xu Qingyu finish the milk. Xu Qingyu gave her a look but drank it all in silence.

Song Yixi stood up to clear the table. “See if you need to grab anything. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

She said she was waiting, but she was actually going down to wash the dishes. Xu Qingyu stayed in the room until the surging discomfort subsided.

Perhaps she had played outside too long yesterday, or perhaps her emotions had been too out of control last night; the illness that had been dormant for a while was sweeping back. It caught Xu Qingyu off guard.

Today was the first day of the holiday. She had just made plans to go out with Song Yixi, and she didn’t want to spoil the mood. Her body had dragged her down too many times when she was a child; now, she wanted to be the one in control.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Qingyu got up and headed downstairs.

Song Yixi was waiting for her in the garage after washing the dishes. She didn’t rush her; she was quietly checking travel guides on her phone. Xu Qingyu got into the car and put her bag in the back seat.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see in a bit.” Song Yixi gave a mysterious smile and handed her a blanket. “Cover yourself. Let’s head out.”

Xu Qingyu didn’t move. Understanding, Song Yixi fastened her seatbelt first and then draped the blanket over her.

“Sometimes you really are lazy enough.”

Xu Qingyu didn’t deny it. “You could just ignore it.”

Song Yixi raised her eyebrows, looked away unnaturally, and started the car. “Just consider it my habit of being meddlesome.”

Xu Qingyu tilted her head, looking at her and smiling.

The car drove toward the sparsely populated suburbs. Xu Qingyu didn’t ask questions, letting Song Yixi take her wherever she wished. Song Yixi drove slowly; feeling a bit bored, she chatted with her casually.

Song Yixi knew this road well—well enough that she didn’t need navigation.

“I used to run around here all the time as a kid. There’s a stream and an orchard. I wanted to take you to catch fish and shrimp, and climb trees to pick fruit, but you couldn’t handle the wind or the sun. It still can’t be realized even now.”

Her tone was full of regret. Xu Qingyu looked out at the bright sunlight beyond the car window. If her health were better, even just spending a day with Song Yixi by the stream would be very interesting, wouldn’t it?

What a pity.

Not wanting to dwell on things she couldn’t do, Xu Qingyu said, “Do you remember? You got lost here once.”

Song Yixi paused, then said, “I remember.”

It had been raining heavily that day. She had run into the orchard and found a path she had never taken before. Following that path, she climbed higher and higher. By the time it got dark, she still hadn’t returned.

Xu Qingyu said softly, “That day, the adults from both families were frantic, looking everywhere for you. Many neighbors who rarely interacted with us came out to help. Any later, and they would have called the police.”

Song Yixi pursed her lips and gave a wry smile. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Xu Qingyu asked, “Then why did you run off like that?”

Song Yixi gripped the steering wheel, remaining silent for a long time.

This wasn’t the first time Xu Qingyu had asked this question. The adults had asked too, but Song Yixi had only cried and apologized, saying nothing else. She was only in the first grade then; the adults assumed she was just being playful and didn’t pursue it further.

Only Xu Qingyu knew that wasn’t the case. Song Yixi was playful, but she always knew her limits and didn’t make people worry. Furthermore, that day, after the adults had left, Song Yixi had pulled a muddy herb from her backpack and said to Xu Qingyu: “Eat this, and it won’t hurt anymore.”

After many years without an answer, Xu Qingyu didn’t really want to ask anymore. “Forget it if you don’t want to say.”

“No, it’s just… I feel like it was pretty stupid.” Song Yixi gave an embarrassed laugh. “I had borrowed a book from a classmate then. It said there was an elixir of life—if you ate it, you wouldn’t get sick or feel pain, and you’d stay young forever. I flipped through the back, and there was a map stuck in the pages that looked exactly like the terrain of the orchard. I believed it was real, so I wanted to pick it and bring it back for you to eat.”

Xu Qingyu asked, “What book was it?”

Song Yixi was silent for two seconds, then whispered, “A book of fairy tales.”

Xu Qingyu laughed. “Silly.”

Song Yixi had no defense. She really was silly. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Xu Qingyu asked again, “Did you think my parents couldn’t cure me? I remember you admired them so much, saying their medical skills were superb, like the legendary Hua Tuo reborn.”

Song Yixi thought for a moment and shook her head. “I thought you would get better, it’s just…”

“It just looked like it hurt so much.”

Xu Qingyu frowned, not understanding. “What hurt so much?”

Song Yixi stopped speaking.

That morning, before Song Yixi had left for school, she had sneaked over to Xu Qingyu’s house. She had intended to share some candies her parents had bought her, but she saw Xu Qingyu with red eyes, clutching her chest, coughing and trembling.

Watching from the first-floor window, Song Yixi felt that it looked so, so painful. A heart-wrenching kind of pain.