Chapter 10 The Next Day

Chapter 10 The Next Day

Li Jintong awoke after lunch the next day.

As soon as his eyes fluttered open, he saw his newlywed husband, a *ger* (a term for a male who can bear children, often used in historical same-sex marriage contexts), perched on a small stool by the bed. His elbows rested on the bed's edge, eyes closed, head nodding drowsily as if about to slump onto the quilt.

Li Jintong stirred gently and coughed a few times. Jian Ru's eyes snapped open, instantly alert, and he awoke.

His eyes were somewhat bloodshot, and his face looked weary, clearly from lack of sleep. But upon seeing the man in bed awake, he first froze in surprise, then his eyes suddenly brightened like the sun, instantly dispelling the fatigue from his entire face.

Jian Ru sat up straight at once and asked, "You're awake. How do you feel? Thirsty? Hungry?"

Without waiting for a reply, he bustled out the door.

Li Jintong sat in bed, covering his chest as he coughed softly. Through the door, he heard Jian Ru calling for Xiao Ning in the courtyard, instructing the child to bring over the meal.

The door creaked open, and the *ger* returned, quickly moving to the table to test the water temperature before pouring a cup and handing it to him.

Li Jintong thanked him weakly, took the cup, and drank the water in one gulp.

Seeing he had finished, Jian Ru took the cup and poured another, which Li Jintong also drank.

Li Jintong wanted more, but Jian Ru refused, saying, "You'll be eating soon, and there's soup too. If you drink more, you won't have room."

Li Jintong gave in good-naturedly. He looked at Jian Ru, about to speak, when Xiao Ning called from outside, "Brother Jian, the food is here."

Hearing this, Jian Ru limped hurriedly with thumping steps to the door, opened it, took the tray from the child, and placed the steaming meal on the table.

Seeing this, Li Jintong pushed back the covers, intending to get out of bed to eat, but Jian Ru quickly limped over and firmly stopped him, saying, "Just eat in bed." With that, he tucked the covers back around him and had Xiao Ning help move the table next to the bed.

Watching his actions, Li Jintong asked, his voice still hoarse, "Have you eaten already?"

Jian Ru replied, "Yes, I have."

As Li Jintong ate, Jian Ru sat beside him, watching. Noticing the other wasn't very comfortable twisting his body, he said, "Later, I'll go beg Mother to find someone to make a small bed table. From now on, you can eat in bed—it's more comfortable and you won't catch a chill."

Hearing this, Li Jintong smiled and said, "I'm not that delicate."

Jian Ru said with a stern face, "Just listen to me. It won't do you any harm."

Li Jintong shook his head with a wry smile. "Alright, I'll listen to you."

After the meal, it was time for medicine. Li Jintong took a sip—the medicinal broth in the bowl was lukewarm, just like the water earlier, perfectly tempered.

Once he finished the medicine, Xiao Ning cleared away the dishes, and Jian Ru brought a damp cloth for him to wipe his hands and face, then rinse his mouth.

With everything done, only the newlywed couple remained in the room, and it felt unusually quiet.

Li Jintong leaned against the headboard, the covers tightly tucked around him by Jian Ru. He glanced at the *ger* before him and asked casually, "Last night—were you scared?"

Jian Ru hesitated but nodded honestly and said, "Mhm."

Hearing this, Li Jintong's eyelids drooped, and his expression dimmed slightly.

Noticing this, Jian Ru couldn't bear to see him like that. Unconcerned about whether the other saw the scar on his face, he leaned in close, looking into Li Jintong's eyes. "You wouldn't want me to lie to you, would you?"

Li Jintong wasn't angry with him. On their wedding night, he had failed to give his new husband what he deserved and instead made him worry and busy all night. He felt helpless and ashamed, turning his head away to avoid Jian Ru's gaze.

Jian Ru followed, face to face, but the second young master (a term of address for Li Jintong, indicating his social status) still refused to look at him.

It was then that Jian Ru realized the second young master had a petulant side.

He wasn't afraid of anything, except the thought of someone he had finally grown close to distancing themselves from him. He was even more afraid that the second young master would misunderstand him, creating a rift between them.

In his anxiety, he kicked off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, lifted his thin leg, and plopped down onto the second young master's lower abdomen—just like when he used to fight as a child, pinning someone down and relentlessly going for their face.

Of course, he didn't intend to hit the second young master; he just wanted to subdue him, to make him look at him.

Fortunately, he was light. Even after three months of good food and care at the estate, his complexion had improved, but he hadn't gained much weight.

Still, Li Jintong let out a soft gasp from the impact, looking at him with surprise. He instinctively tried to push him away, but weakened by illness, he had no strength. Not only did he fail to push Jian Ru off, but the effort made him cough several times in frustration.

Jian Ru leaned in close, stubbornly cupping the other's face with both hands. Face to face, he patiently waited for the coughing to subside and said, almost word by word, "Don't ignore me."

The second young master's face was tense, but it didn't last long. Eventually, he lifted his slightly reddened eyelids and looked at him helplessly.

Their faces were very close. Jian Ru's dark, bright eyes stared at him intently as he said, "Last night, when you passed out, I thought my luck had finally run out—that I’d ended up killing you, and I’d become a widower on our wedding night."

Hearing this, the second young master coughed heavily again.

Jian Ru spoke rapidly, "I'm new here, everything is unfamiliar, and it was the first time I’d seen you have an episode. I was scared. It's not fair—you have to give me time to adjust, right?"

His expression was both indignant and accusatory.

Jian Ru felt wronged. "We agreed before—if you got sick, I’d take care of you. I’m not afraid of the trouble, as long as..." He bit his lip and paused.

"What?" the second young master asked, pinned down, his eyelids growing redder.

Jian Ru's dark eyes looked at him with utmost seriousness. "As long as you stay alive."

...

With everything out in the open, the slight unease between them dissipated.

Though one of Jian Ru's legs was impaired, it didn't hinder his agility.

Just as his earlier move had been too sudden to react to, his retreat was equally swift.

Li Jintong felt the weight on his abdomen vanish as a sleeve brushed past his cheek, and the other was gone.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Jian Ru stretched his foot to hook his shoes. "Since you just had lunch now, let's have dinner after it gets dark tonight."

Behind him, the young man was slow to respond, uttering a soft "Mhm" as if still processing what had happened.

But Jian Ru didn't notice. He found his shoes, stood up, and bent over to pull up the heels.

His movements were different from others'. Most people lift their foot back and use one hand to pull up the heel, but Jian Ru's leg trouble made it hard for him to balance on one foot. Instead, he kept both legs straight and stiff, bending his body down to reach—fortunately, he was flexible.

He was wearing a short indoor jacket and thin pants. The thin fabric clung tightly to his body, outlining his figure clearly—long, straight legs and a small, pert backside.

The second young master abruptly averted his eyes.

Jian Ru, completely unaware, quickly put on his outer robe and gathered the changed bedding and clothes from the room. He held a large bundle in his arms, making his frame seem even slimmer and somewhat pitiful.

He said to the person in bed, "I'm going to the small kitchen."

The second young master uttered another "Mhm."

Jian Ru pushed the door open with some effort, closed it behind him, and left the room.

A moment later, the door was pushed open again, and Jian Ru returned, coming back in with a chamber pot. He thought to himself, rich folks sure know how to live comfortably—this chamber pot even had a cushioned seat for comfort.

The Second Young Master scrunched his brow slightly upon seeing it.

Noticing his reluctance, Jian Ru tried to convince him, "These next few days, just use it indoors to avoid getting chilled. I promise I'll clean it right away so there won’t be any odor."

He had asked Xiao Ning earlier, who said that even when ill, the Second Young Master insisted on using the outhouse as long as he could get out of bed, refusing to compromise on his standards.

Jian Ru didn't care about such things; all he cared about was the Second Young Master’s quick recovery.

Hearing this, the Second Young Master disagreed even more, getting uncharacteristically worked up: "I can't have you dealing with that nasty stuff."

With other people it'd be different, but letting Jian Ru take care of it was something Li Jintong found hard to accept.

Jian Ru had already washed his hands, drying them quickly before putting his hands on his hips. "What’s so hard about cleaning? Last year I raised a pig—I shoveled its manure out shovelful by shovelful, composted it, and spread it on the fields. The crops grew wonderfully."

The ever-gentlemanly Second Young Master was both amused and exasperated; his annoyed expression was still handsome, though Jian Ru missed the sight.

He had already turned and walked to the long table by the window, where writing brushes, ink, paper, and many books were placed. Jian Ru glanced briefly, recognizing less than half the characters on the covers, and it made his head spin. He randomly pulled one out and turned to show the man on the bed, "Is this one okay?"

The Second Young Master looked and said, "Good."

Jian Ru walked over, set the book down on the quilt covering the Second Young Master’s knees, then reached past him to fetch a pillow from inside, tucking it behind his back. He adjusted the quilt, poured water, and set it on the bedside table to cool, saying, "I’ll be in the small kitchen. If you need anything, just call out loudly—I’ll be listening."

Just as Jian Ru reached the door, he heard the man behind him call his name.

"Xiao Ru."

Jian Ru turned to look. The Second Young Master’s face was pale, but his spirits seemed decent. He said, "I appreciate your help."

Jian Ru felt weird hearing this, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint why. He nodded and left the room.

He had just taken the laundry to the small kitchen in the courtyard.

Xiao Ning was already heating water. Jian Ru brought a large basin, and as Xiao Ning poured hot water in, he added cold water to adjust the temperature. Once it was about right, Jian Ru found the soap, sat down on a small stool, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to start washing when Xiao Ning hurriedly stopped him: "How can we let Brother Jian do this work? Let me handle it!"

Jian Ru pushed him aside and said, "No need to argue about it. It’ll be done in no time. You go prepare the porridge for the Second Young Master’s evening meal."

Aside from Granny Jin, who specifically cared for the old madam, there were two other women responsible for cooking and cleaning in the Li residence. Everyone else ate meals prepared by these two in the main kitchen, but due to his poor health, the Second Young Master had always eaten light, medicinal meals separately.

Usually, Granny Jin would come when she had time; if she was busy, Xiao Ning would handle the cooking.

Xiao Ning obediently went to prepare the porridge. Jian Ru worked efficiently and soon finished washing everything.

It was already late November, and outside was bitterly cold. Jian Ru’s hands were wet, steaming in the cold air and quickly turning red from the chill. Xiao Ning set down the rice ladle and followed behind him as the two hung the wrung-out sheets and clothes one by one on the clothesline.

By the time they hung the last piece, the ones at the front had already frozen stiff.

Jian Ru rubbed his hands together, exclaiming, "It's freezing!" He carried the large basin behind him, shooing Xiao Ning inside like a flock of ducks. With a child’s playful spirit, Xiao Ning laughed gleefully all the way, quacking like a duck as he was ushered inside.

They had just entered the outer room, Jian Ru still laughing, when they heard the Second Young Master’s voice calling out to him from the inner room.