Mu Lixin stated it with all the seriousness he had. He was only planning on giving Jiang Shi a boasting arm, and as soon as he was able to fight back, Lixin was going to pull out. In the middle of their conversation, a nurse interrupted, reporting to them that Mingxia had woken up. The first to rush into room 302 was Lixin, followed by Yichen, and then the nurse. After making inquiries, Lixin and Mingxia were left alone.
"How are you feeling? Better?" His fingers brushed over her pale skin, removing hairs that fell on her face. He decided not to bring up the incident again and took care of her the whole night. She had a fever and kept vomiting through the night. Lixin stayed with her until she became stable. He stood up from the bed, lowered the blanket to her chest level, and went to the window. Standing in front of the night, Lixin closed his eyes while absorbing everything that happened. It was very visible that Mingxia needed help, and fast.
No matter what happened any time she had such dreams, she was never able to recall them, even when he brought them up. He successfully got her consent to send her for therapy, and she agreed. The day faded away, and the next day came. Lixin woke up with dark circles embedded in his face. His limbs were sore because of his position. He stood up, groaned, and stretched out. Lixin found it hard to believe that he stayed in a place he disliked so much—the hospital. Since childhood, Lixin had expressed disdain for the hospital and even the moment Nan Xing and Huang Yichen left him to study a medical course, he hated it much more than anyone else. On the other hand, he slept so soundly last night. He walked into the bathroom to wash up, and as he came back into the room, he met Bai Yuming and Mingxia talking. They were giggling at something.
Lixin disregarded them, took out his laptop, and started working. Yesterday was already a wasted day for him since he spent most of the time in the hospital taking care of Mingxia and could not work. He dismissed Bai Yuming and held Mingxia's hands.
"I might not be able to accompany you today. I have a business meeting, and it is urgent." His voice sounded so awful as if he had gotten a cold. Mingxia recalled waking up late at night to find Lixin without a blanket in the cold wind. Instantly, she felt guilt for turning him into this. The dark circles underneath his eyes proved he did not have the best night. "If you need anything, Yuming is here to take care of you."
"I am sorry. It is my fault. I let you stay awake." Mingxia struggled to not cry. It was painful to see him care about a broken pair of shoes. "You do not need to take care of me. If you keep this up, you will become sick. I just hurt when I see that you care about me. I…" Mingxia halted and clutched her stomach. A rush of sensation flowed beneath her legs, and her eyes widened. Had she miscalculated her period date?
Mingxia's face became flushed, not knowing how to dismiss Lixin because of her menstrual cramps. The doctor also commented that during her days of recuperation, her menstrual period would observe some abnormalities and hence may not come at the stipulated time. What a nice way to spoil her mood!
"Do you feel pain in your stomach? Should I get Yichen?" Lixin hurriedly asked, observing that she was slightly in pain. His sleepiness disappeared, and he was alert. He saw her being silent and traced her hands toward her lower body. Was she having menstrual pains? He squinted to get a look at the stained bedsheet and gulped in, "I will get one for you." Without wasting time, he left her, and Bai Yuming came to keep her company. Lixin rushed into his car and drove off to the nearest supermarket. He parked his car, grabbed a basket, and went straight to the lady's section, where he saw different varieties of menstrual pads and tampons, both the scented ones and the unscented ones. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as Lixin stood uncomfortable. This was his first time purchasing a pad for a girl. It was deemed to be very awkward. Some minutes went by, and Lixin still could not decide which brand Mingxia normally used or whether he should get her the biggest or medium size.
"I can see you are having trouble choosing the best." A feminine voice from behind called out to him. She was dressed in a plain white poker-dotted shirt and blue trousers, and she had her hair packed in a ponytail. She was tall, but not taller than Lixin. Her smile was friendly, too. She picked one up for him and dropped it inside his basket. "This is the best so far. Lots of ladies choose this based on statistics. I am Zhou Yeong, by the way." She said this, pointing at the purple, lavender-scented pad. Lixin nodded and allowed her to do the shopping for him.
Zhou Yeong was done picking the feminine care she used when she was on her period for him. They were all top-quality brands, and they were expensive too. She wondered whether he could pay for it. Anyway, Lixin was led to the counter, where the attendant calculated his money for him. He popped out his black card, shoved it into the machine, and watched as it debited him. Yeong stared with doubt at the man. Everything she picked was more than $5000, and he paid it without a hitch! He was truly rich to spend so much on female menstrual care.
"Mr. Mu, thanks for shopping. I hope you come next time." She responded, bowing her head. It was only then that Yeong found out his true identity. She was not able to spot him at first because of his plain clothing, but after the attendant confirmed his identity, Yeong was happy.
It was not every day one was lucky to bump into a celebrity, god, or business guru, and although they did, theirs were different. Zhou Yeong had just remembered that she had addressed Lixin so formally and even though he was poor due to his clothes. Now that she had realized it, it was too late to withdraw her statement. Still in her daydreams, Lixin walked out of the supermarket, into his car, and woke up.
"Miss Zhou? Mr. Mu has gone. What would you use as your choice of payment?" She called out after she was done packaging Yeong's purchased item into a nylon bag. Yeong snapped out of it, paid for the items, and carried them into her car. Up until she strapped on her seatbelt, she was still stunned by Lixin's appearance. The rumors had it that Mu Lixin was gay, so why was he purchasing menstrual pads and other feminine care products? Did he have a woman he was hiding from the public? Yeong sighed, plunging the keys into the keyhole and driving off to her house. Next time, luck would take her back to him if it were fate.
......…..
In the Hospital.
Mu Lixin arrived as soon as he could, parked his car, and headed straightaway to room 302. He pushed open the door to see Mingxia sipping some hot ginger tea. Mingxia looked away with a twitchy mouth. Was she embarrassed? Lixin dropped off the bag, left the room, and drove back to work. At least he had Bai Yuming to take care of her.
"What is in the bag?" Yuming asked curiously, snatching it away from Mingxia and looking through it. Her cheeks became flushed. There were pads from quality brands and other feminine care products. She was confused as to who brought it here. "Let me guess, young master Mu purchased it for you." Her voice was loud, causing Mingxia to bury her face in the pillow. When she was done with her teasing, Yuming wrapped her arms around Mingxia protectively and whispered into her ears. "He only cares for you."
"Do not say that!" She slapped Yuming's arms off her neck and secluded herself in the corner. It was such a waste that Lixin had to buy so many for her. No matter how heavy her flow was, she would not be able to finish it within a year, and on top of that, they were expensive, with none of them costing less than $100. That was right; the supermarket bills in dollars and not yuan, making it more expensive than usual. In total, he bought twenty pads and, for the rest, some pain relievers for menstrual cramps. Most of them were trending brands. "Do you want some? I cannot finish all these."
"The boss would skin me alive when he got to know you gave it out. You better let him know." Yuming warned her about the bad temper of the young master, especially in moments when people were ungrateful for the things he did. "How I wish I had such a caring person to look after me. Last night, I was getting ready to sleep when I got his call. He ordered me to pack my things and get ready for the flight at 11:30 p.m. He was sending me to Wuhan to take care of you."
"I am sorry for the inconvenience that this has caused you."
"Why should you be sorry? I think the young master likes you a lot. I can see the way he dotes on you. Though I have only worked for him for two years, he has never treated any other girl the same way he treats you. And I am thirty and saying this—trust me, he likes you! Mu Lixin likes you!" Yuming raspily uttered her words. They were facts that she had noticed, unless why would Lixin care about a woman he met less than a month ago and also overwork himself for her?
"What?"