He even clawed at her ear with his lips, sending a shiver down Song Yu's spine. "Stop messing around."

Qi Chengzhi kept silent. His nose was sniffing around her face and rubbing against her. Song Yu could only tell him, "I wasn't thinking about anything. It's just that Yan Beicheng and the others behave so differently when they're outside and in private - I thought you're the same."

"Which part of me is different?" Qi Chengzhi asked while pressing his lips on her ear. His voice was husky.

Qi Chengzhi could not move his body; he could only turn his head as far as he could, leaving him in an uncomfortable position.

"Move closer into my arms," Qi Chengzhi said.

"I'm afraid I'll hurt you." Song Yu was pregnant - it would be bad if she accidentally pressed on his wound.

"You won't," Qi Chengzhi prompted her by squeezing her shoulders.

Song Yu only dared to move her upper body toward his chest. This made things easier for Qi Chengzhi - he could kiss her by simply moving his head down a little.

"You haven't told me which part of me is different," Qi Chengzhi repeated.

In her mind, Song Yu thought, how did this man remember everything so clearly?

"Well, when you are outside, you are always so solemn and serious toward outsiders. You never crack a smile. However, in private, you're pretty thick-skinned. A bit shameless even," Song Yu mumbled. Her voice grew weaker and weaker.

Qi Chengzhi kissed her intensely. Surprisingly, he did not refute her words. He pressed his cheeks against her head.

Song Yu shuffled around a little and looked up. Qi Chengzhi stared at her curiously. Suddenly, Song Yu clambered onto his shoulder and took the initiative to lean in and kiss him. She even went deep into his mouth.

Her gentle yet proactive action made Qi Chengzhi's heart pound. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her even more intensely.

When he raised his head, he accidentally used his abdomen muscles. Qi Chengzhi winced in pain as he fell back onto his pillow.

"Did I touch your wound?" Song Yu hurriedly checked the wound on his abdomen. Luckily, it did not open up. "Why did you raise your head? Don't you know you're injured now?"

"You think I can hold back when you kiss me like that? I may have injured my stomach but I didn't injure what's down there." Qi Chengzhi glared at her distantly. It was as if he was blaming her for tempting him.

"..." Song Yu's face flushed. She murmured, "I just wanted to kiss you. I didn't think bout doing anything else."

Song Yu did not dare to attempt anything like that anymore. She did not think that her one kiss would arouse him so much. She could only lie back onto his shoulders like a good girl. Her slender and tender hand rested on his chest. Her face was boiling red.

Qi Chengzhi looked down abruptly. His hot and slightly dry lips rubbed on her clear forehead. His warm breath tickled her brows as he spoke in a smoky voice. It was hot and numbing. "Did you want it because we haven't done it these past two days?"

"..." Song Yu suddenly choked. Her face was completely red. "Not at all. I just like you, so I wanted to kiss you. I had no other intentions. Don't stretch it."

Qi Chengzhi grinned silently.

Song Yu was puzzled - she felt that this was not like Qi Chengzhi's usual behavior. Just then, she saw him unbuttoning his hospital pajamas, revealing the bandage around his abdomen. He pulled his shirt to the side, uncovering his broad chest.

Then, his low, husky voice sounded with compassion and a hint of arrogance, "My body won't allow me to do it right now, so why don't you just run your hands over me to relief yourself for now."

Song Yu was speechless.

"Hurry up and sleep," Song Yu said, "Aren't you tired?"

Without a word, he grabbed her hand and pressed it onto his bare chest. Only then did he close his eyes. He rested his face against her head. From his voice, Song Yu could tell he was tired. "Goodnight."

Song Yu did not look up. She blinked a few times and her eyelashes fluttered against his shirt. In a soft voice, she whispered, "Goodnight."

…

…

The next morning, the doctor came in with a houseman and a nurse to check on Qi Chengzhi's condition. Seeing that he was healing well, the doctor left, leaving behind the nurse to hang his drip.

"Mister Qi, you need to relax your hand. Don't tense it up or I won't be able to insert the needle." The nurse rubbed alcohol on the back of his hand. However, the second the nurse was going to insert the needle, Qi Chengzhi clenched his fist again.

"..." Qi Chengzhi glanced at the nurse, then slowly relaxed his hand again. The nurse held the needle at his hand. She had not even inserted the needle in yet before Qi Chengzhi clenched his fist again.

After doing this back and forth a few times, the alcohol on his hand had already dried up.

The nurse was speechless. "Sir, as long as you relax, the needle will go in quickly. It won't hurt."

"Who said I'm afraid of pain?" Qi Chengzhi barked. His expression turned dark.

Just then, Song Yu came out of the kitchen. She was washing the bowl that was used for Qi Chengzhi's porridge. The moment she came back, she heard Qi Chengzhi's words.

"What's going on?" Song Yu went and sat down beside Qi Chengzhi.

The nurse did not want to tell Song Yu directly. She felt like that would be tattling. She had worked with many patients before and had a rough idea of her patients' thoughts. Qi Chengzhi had a fear of needles; that was why he kept tensing up.

The nurse applied a layer of alcohol on his hand again. "Sir, the muscles in your hand are a little tense. It would be hard to insert a needle."

Song Yu looked at Qi Chengzhi's hand curiously and questioned, "You should relax. Why are you clenching your fist?"

Having said that, she opened up his fist and placed his hand flat on the bed. Surprisingly for Song Yu, when the nurse was going to insert the needle, Qi Chengzhi did not clench his fist but his whole hand tensed up.

Nurse, "..."

Song Yu, "..."

Was this man afraid of needles? No wonder he refused to go to a hospital when he had food poisoning.

A big man like him was afraid of something so childish.

Song Yu turned to Qi Chengzhi, then secretly shot a glance at the nurse. Song Yu's face was tinted pink. Clenching her teeth, she lunged forward and kissed Qi Chengzhi on the lips.

Qi Chengzhi was stunned and perplexed, but he kissed her back instantly. He did not care about the nurse's presence. Subconsciously, he relaxed his hand. Song Yu's scalp was burning. She was utterly humiliated. She thought, this man really did not care about the setting.

Song Yu quickly gestured the nurse. Her ears were turning red. Only when the nurse saw her signal did she understand why Song Yu abruptly kissed him. In her mind, the nurse thought, 'Mister Qi sure is easy to handle. In front of Mrs. Qi, this man becomes as docile as a lamb.'

The nurse did not dare to hesitate any longer. Instantly, she jabbed in the needle swiftly and accurately.

Qi Chengzhi only felt a pinch on the back of his hand. It was not very painful. The nurse was quick so the pain vanished in a second.

The nurse stuck some tape on his hand to keep the needle in place and adjusted the rate of the drip. When she finished doing those, Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu were still kissing.

The nurse could only bite the bullet as she cleared her throat awkwardly, announcing, "Mister Qi, Mrs. Qi, I'll be going. If anything, just press the bell."

Having said that, she tidied up her things and headed out quickly with her head looking down. Throughout her many years of being a nurse, this was her first time being caught in such an awkward situation when giving a patient a drip.

Song Yu immediately let go of Qi Chengzhi. She was so embarrassed, she felt that she could not stay at the hospital any longer.

Qi Chengzhi raised his eyebrows at her. He glared at her mockingly. "All that was just to coax me into getting a drip?"

"Who told you to be afraid of a tiny needle? Sigh, you're such a big man, yet Youxuan is better than you." Song Yu thought that it was quite interesting that a mature man like him with a strong and large build, and seemed like he did not fear anything, was actually afraid of needles.

"..." Qi Chengzhi could not let himself be the only one ridiculed. With a just expression, he unveiled, "Every man in my family is afraid of needles."

"Who said that? Youxuan could even eat a lollipop while he was getting an injection," Song Yu refuted speedily.

"..." Qi Chengzhi shot a glance at her. "Next time, I'll kiss you while getting a drip, then I'll be fine."

Song Yu, "..."

"How were you fine when you got a drip yesterday morning?" Song Yu recalled when they were at the other hospital yesterday - Grandmother Qi and the others arrived early in the morning and when the nurse started Qi Chengzhi on a drip, he did not even make a sound. It was an especially smooth process.

Qi Chengzhi, "..."

He did not utter a word after that. He glanced at Song Yu silently, then picked up the magazine by his bed and started flipping through it.

Song Yu guessed that he was afraid to embarrass himself, so he had to bow to fate and endured it yesterday.

…

…

Grandmother Qi called over Aunt Yang, Missus Lian from Qi Zhongliang's house and Aunt Chen from Qi Zhongxun's house to help Aunt Liu prepare food to donate to the temple.

Qi Youxuan's kindergarten had started their summer holiday. In the day, Qi Chenglin needed to work so he would leave Qi Youxuan at Qi Zhongxun's house. However, Qi Zhongxun had to work today. Guan Liya was going to the old mansion and Qi Youxuan did not want to be left at home alone, so he followed her to the old mansion.

Grandmother Qi and the other two were leaving for the temple. Qi Youxuan begged to follow them but Guan Liya told him it was boring there. Nevertheless, Qi Youxuan did not listen. He grabbed his tiny yellow duck backpack, which held his Totoro children's phone and a tablet, and clambered into the car.

The food they prepared were all vegetarian. They had to load the food into three cars. Then, they left for the temple.

There were many believers at the temple. A day ago, when Grandmother Qi went to pray to Buddha, she had informed the abbot about this. Thus, the abbot sent three young monks to come help them. There was a stall set up in front of the temple today. When the believers heard that there was a donation today, they all ran to the minimarket nearby to buy lunch boxes as they did not have any tableware in hand.

In a matter of minutes, all the lunchboxes at the minimarket were gone. A vendor, who set up his stall nearby, quickly made a call to request for lunchboxes and utensils to be sent there. Some other vendors also caught wind of the news somehow and rushed there after half an hour, setting up stalls to sell lunchboxes.

Grandmother Qi was old - after standing for a while, she had to sit down to rest. Xia Wenna and Guan Liya personally served the believers, especially Xia Wenna. Qi Chengzhi had just had a brush with death — she was especially thankful and devoted.

Qi Youxuan was bored. He stood at the side playing Plant vs Zombie on his tablet. However, he encountered a level he could not pass. After a few tries, he lost his patience and kept his tablet away. He turned his little face around constantly. His grape-sized eyes scanned the whole place.

"Great-grandma, when are we giving out free food here?" Qi Youxuan felt pressured by the long queue not far from him.

Grandmother Qi rubbed his head gently. "Your uncle was injured and had to be admitted into the hospital. I came here to pray for Buddha's blessing. Now that your uncle has recovered, we're here to repay the blessing."

The second Qi Youxuan heard that, he panicked. In his clear child's voice, he shrieked, "Uncle was injured? When did that happen? Why didn't I know this?"

"It was two days ago. We were afraid you'll be worried. He's fine now." Grandmother Qi did not treat Qi Youxuan as an ignorant child —she told him the truth.

"Is Uncle in the hospital? Is he injured badly?" Qi Youxuan continued to ask.

"He's resting in the hospital now," Grandmother Qi said smilingly as she rubbed Qi Youxuan's hair. "How long ago was your last haircut? Your hair is getting long."

Qi Youxuan raised his chubby little arms and grabbed a few strands of his soft, smooth hair. Since it was the holidays, he did not need to look handsome for kindergarten, so he did not style his hair.

"Great-grandma, I'd like to visit Uncle," Qi Youxuan said as he stroked his soft hair.

"Sure. Looking at the situation, the food will be gone in no time. After that, we'll go to the hospital to visit your uncle," Grandmother Qi replied. The dishes had all reached the bottom of their containers —it would finish soon.

After a while, Xia Wenna announced, "Sorry, everyone, we're all out."

She started to tidy up with Guan Liya. In order to repay the blessing, they did everything with their own hands. Aunt Liu and the others stayed at the old mansion to prepare the food for the night's donation.

The monks thanked Grandmother Qi and the others. Then, they went home and unloaded the things at home. Finally, they brought Qi Youxuan to visit Qi Chengzhi at the hospital.

When Qi Youxuan entered the ward, he caught sight of Song Yu first. His little jaw dropped in awe. "Ah! Auntie, I haven't seen you in a while. Your tummy has gotten even bigger!"

Song Yu did not know what to tell him. She ruffled his hair and smiled. "Lately, Uncle has been quite busy, so I haven't seen you in a while either. How are you lately?"

"Excellent." Qi Youxuan nodded his head solemnly. "I'm having a wonderful time with my stepmom."

Song Yu now knew who Qi Youxuan was referring to when he said 'stepmom'. She beamed joyously.

Only Grandmother Qi and Guan Liya were still in the dark. The father and son duo's lips were tightly sealed; none of them slipped out a piece of single information about the lady.

Song Yu hurriedly invited Grandmother Qi, Xia Wenna and Guan Liya to have a seat. She placed some washed fruits in front of them.

"Uncle," Qi Youxuan called out cheerfully. As he shifted his gaze away from Song Yu, he finally remembered that he was here to visit Qi Chengzhi. He ran toward him and stepped on his heels to remove his shoes. Kicking off his tiny sports shoes, he climbed onto the bed and sat beside Qi Chengzhi's thighs with his legs crossed.

"Uncle, which part of you is hurting?" Qi Youxuan removed his little yellow duck bag, opened the zip and rummaged through it. Finally, he produced a bag of Potato Farm chips. It was one of the many snacks that Qi Youxuan asked Cheng Dongge to bring back when he went to Japan on a business trip.

"Stomach," Qi Chengzhi answered coolly. He glared at the snack in Qi Youxuan's hands. Did he not know he could only have liquid food? All these people kept eating in front of him. Did they not have any empathy?

"Why are you hurting? Did you eat something bad?" Qi Youxuan's eyes widened as he looked at Qi Chengzhi's stomach curiously.

Qi Chengzhi thought that he should not tell a child something so sanguinary. He did not even show him his wound. He merely raised an eyebrow and commented, "I'm not you."

"Uncle, you're so mean." Qi Youxuan pouted. He looked down and opened his snack.

Qi Youxuan had a little OCD. That kind of snack had little zigzags on the top of the packaging so that they can be opened easily. However, this child thought that this method lacked elegance. Therefore, ever since he started opening his own snacks, he never used the zigzags. Instead, he came up with his own principle; he would pull open the top of the plastic neatly, preserving the shape of the packaging perfectly.

Qi Youxuan pulled on the plastic for a long time but he could not open it, so he handed it to Qi Chengzhi. "Uncle, help me open it. You know my principle."

"Aren't you on a diet?" Qi Chengzhi glimpsed at the chips and asked with a dark expression.

"Dad says I can have a pack once in a while to reward myself." Qi Youxuan raised his chin up proudly and pulled up his T-shirt, revealing his slightly protruding chalk-white tummy. It was like a small watermelon. "Look, hasn't my stomach gotten much smaller?"

Qi Chengzhi, "..."

He took the chips and opened it the way Qi Youxuan demanded. When he handed the chips back, he ordered, "Don't eat on my bed. You'll drop crumbs everywhere."

"Uncle, it's not every day that I try to get close to you. Why are you so hard to get along with?" Qi Youxuan ignored his order and started chewing his chips while still sitting on the bed. Nonetheless, he was careful to use the plastic bag to catch any crumbs that fell.

Turning his head, he asked Song Yu, "Auntie, you have to stay with Uncle all day. He is so hard to get along with, your life must be difficult."

"It's not bad." Song Yu caught a glimpse of Qi Chengzhi's grim expression. Holding back her laughter, she pointed out, "He always just says things. Look, you're eating on his bed, yet he doesn't kick you off, right?"

Qi Youxuan pondered on it for a while, then nodded as if he understood. "Auntie, do you mean my uncle is a paper tiger?"

Song Yu, "..."

"..." Qi Chengzhi squinted at him. "Are you really here to visit me?"

Qi Youxuan nodded his little round head earnestly. "Since I was little, I have never seen Uncle get hurt, so I was really curious."

Qi Chengzhi laughed wryly. He grabbed Song Yu's phone and snapped a picture of Qi Youxuan. In the picture, he was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed while chomping on his potato chips.

Qi Youxuan kept eating. Not knowing Qi Chengzhi's intentions, Qi Youxuan watched him innocently as he used Song Yu's phone to send a WeChat message. He wrote, 'Youxuan had never seen his uncle get hurt so he rushed to the hospital excitedly today. He took advantage of his uncle's inability to move and started eating chips on his hospital bed while goading him."

Qi Youxuan could not read well yet. He could not understand some of the words Qi Chengzhi typed, especially because he was looking at it upside down.

"Uncle, what did you send?" Qi Youxuan asked as he sucked on his two fingers.

Qi Chengzhi cleared his throat and recited his message in a particularly low and melodic voice. Then, he hinted, "This is your aunt's phone."

Qi Youxuan, "..."

Song Yu, "..."

Qi Youxuan extended his chubby hands and offered Qi Chengzhi his chips. In a pleasing manner, he asked, "Uncle, have you eaten?"

Qi Chengzhi glanced at the bag —there was only one chip left. He pouted. "I can only drink porridge for now."

"How pitiful," Qi Youxuan said, then proceeded to stuff the last chip into his mouth. He wiped his dirty fingers on the bedsheet and clambered off the bed. In a sorrowful voice, he sang, "Oh, little cabbage, wilting in the soil. Only two-three years old but he lost his mother1..."

As he sang, he climbed onto Guan Liya's lap and laid his head on her shoulder.

Little cabbage 小白菜 - A Hebei folk song about a little child who lost his mother and was no longer loved after his father remarried and had another child.