Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Zhang Yan's face turned bright red, and he thumped Chen Jue lightly: "Keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear!"

Outside, Huo Jilin stopped mid-step. He hadn't expected these two to be discussing something so spicy.

He stood there with the goat's milk, not knowing whether to go in or not.

Inside, Chen Jue freed his hair from the child's grip. Zhang Yan's son was almost three months old now, and he'd gotten a lot more capable. He could grab a fistful of hair every single time, and he gripped it hard. Kids have a death grip, and it's hard to get them to let go without help.

Zhang Yan's hair was finally freed. Since Chen Jue had already said it out loud, Zhang Yan also nodded with a red face: "I'm afraid of pain."

Things with Zhou Dajiang in the bedroom had never quite worked out. He was scared of the pain—he always felt like Zhou Dajiang hurt him. So when he found out he was pregnant, he was over the moon, like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Sex was hard for him. He knew it wasn't good for a couple to be incompatible in that department, but he really was afraid of pain.

Chen Jue looked at the petite Zhang Yan in front of him, then thought of the tall and sturdy Zhou Dajiang, and roughly figured out where the problem was.

They didn't match up down there.

Zhou Dajiang was probably too well-hung, and being a typical straight guy, he probably never did any foreplay. No wonder it hurt like hell.

The more it hurt, the more Zhang Yan tensed up, and over time it left him with some psychological baggage.

Chen Jue drummed his fingers lightly on the table, then said to the anxious Zhang Yan: "It's not your problem. It's your man's problem. I'll get Huo Jilin to talk to him about how it's done."

After Huo Jilin had signed the village land deed last time, he explained his name to everyone, saying his father had named him Ji-lin, with the characters Ji and Lin. So everyone now accepted calling him Huo Jilin.

He no longer had to worry about not responding when someone called his name.

The medicine Chen Jue gave Zhang Yan was fine. Even though he didn't have much hands-on experience, he could apply his medical knowledge flexibly.

Foreplay works like lube. If you don't know how to do foreplay and the other person isn't into it, it's gonna hurt no matter what.

Huo Jilin came from a wealthy family, so he should have plenty of experience. He should know how to teach Zhou Dajiang, Chen Jue figured.

Zhang Yan said with a red face: "Don't tell him I was the one who asked!"

Chen Jue nodded: "I know."

Protecting a patient's privacy is part of a doctor's job.

Huo Jilin quietly tiptoed away from the door. There was no way he could go in now.

He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Chen Jue wasn't just a medical whiz anymore—he was practically a gynecology specialist.

Inside, Chen Jue continued to Zhang Yan: "But after having the baby, things might get a little better for you."

Even though Zhang Yan had a C-section, he'd still gone through the whole natural labor process beforehand. So his birth canal had stretched out accordingly.

Even though the postpartum recovery exercises Chen Jue gave him helped, childbirth damage is permanent. No matter how well he healed, he'd never be the same as before having the kid.

For Zhang Yan and his husband, it might actually work out perfectly.

Zhang Yan caught his meaning and turned even redder. He coughed: "Oh, it's getting late. I should head back first. I'll come see you tomorrow!"

He grabbed his kid and hightailed it out of there.

He ran straight into Huo Jilin at the door and didn't even say hi.

Huo Jilin came in and studied Chen Jue's face, trying to read him. But Chen Jue acted like nothing had happened, picking up a book to read, his face as calm as if he were reading a medical text on colds. Like he hadn't been the one saying all that just moments ago.

See, this was his man.

"Why are you reading again? Take care of your eyes."

Huo Jilin stepped forward and said to him.

Chen Jue did look up to greet him: "You're back from dropping off the medicine?"

Today was the day the medicine workshop was filling orders. Huo Jilin had to deliver the cordyceps and swing by Jishi Hall to drop some off. He figured it'd take at least half a day, but he was back way sooner than expected.

Huo Jilin hummed in response. He was worried about Chen Jue, so he came back right after delivering. Even if Manager Dong tried to pull him aside for a chat, he didn't have time for it.

He dropped off the cordyceps and came straight home.

Huo Jilin also reported to him: "The cordyceps sold for the same price as last time. Zhou Hehua and the others brought in a bit less, but the quality's good."

Now Zhou Hehua and her husband led the villagers in harvesting the cordyceps. The yield had dropped a bit, but they could still keep Manager Dong stocked.

He pulled out the banknote and handed it to Chen Jue, but Chen Jue didn't take it: "You hold onto it. Payday's coming up in a few days."

"Alright, let me wash my hands, then I'll pick you up." Huo Jilin said to Huo Yu, who was clenching his little fists.

All those times holding Huo Yu over the past couple weeks weren't for nothing—he'd actually grown a bit attached.

Huo Jilin scrubbed his hands with soap, then wiped them with an alcohol-soaked cloth before coming in to pick up the baby.

He'd gotten pretty good at holding him now—perching half his butt on the kang, laying the swaddled baby across his lap, one arm supporting and the other wrapping around. The baby turned his bright black grape-like eyes on him, shining even brighter than the night sky. Huo Jilin cooed at him for a bit: "Did you miss me?"

Of course, the baby didn't miss him. Huo Jilin was just using the kid to ask someone else.

Too bad that someone didn't catch on.

Seeing Chen Jue's eyes glued to his book, Huo Jilin coughed: "I saw Zhang Yan rush off earlier. Something happen?"

Chen Jue went "Oh" and said: "Nothing."

"..." So he didn't trust him enough to tell him?

Then how was he supposed to pass advice to Zhou Dajiang?

Huo Jilin looked at Chen Jue. He'd heard Zhang Yan ask Chen Jue if things were good in the bedroom between him and Huo Jilin.

They were both new to these bodies, so they didn't know if it had been good before, but it should be, right?

Huo Jilin had just thought that when he felt his face heat up. He coughed lightly. Thinking about stuff like that while Chen Jue was still recovering from childbirth—he really was worse than an animal.

He looked down at the baby to cover his tracks, and the baby stared back at him with big innocent eyes.

Huo Jilin felt a little ashamed under that gaze, but then he figured—he loved Chen Jue, so wanting to be intimate with him was only natural.

Chen Jue noticed he'd been quiet for a while and looked up: "What's up?"

Huo Jilin smiled at him, expression unchanged: "Nothing. I'm gonna go wash the diapers. He's eating more now, so he's peeing more."

Actually, there weren't that many diapers. Uncle Liu came by every day at noon to wash them. What Huo Jilin really needed to wash was Chen Jue's underclothes. Even though the wound had healed, Huo Jilin still carefully washed them with alcohol-infused water.

He hadn't yet built strong ties with the folks at the Tung Oil Paper Mill, and he still hadn't learned how to make paper—the soft kind suitable for babies, pregnant women, and new moms.

So for now, this is the only option they've got.

Guess this is a letdown for a time traveler.

The month-long postpartum confinement was almost over, and he still had no clue what to do. The child would grow up and couldn't be stuck in cloth diapers forever, and he couldn't just use bamboo strips and leaves like the adults did.

So he needed to partner up with the Tung Oil Paper Mill ASAP to come up with soft toilet paper.

From outside the window, Chen Jue watched Huo Jilin washing his undergarments—looked like he'd gotten used to it by now.

At first, he'd been sleeping around the clock, with no idea that Huo Jilin was the one changing his clothes and doing the laundry.

By the time he was well enough to wash them himself, Huo Jilin had already claimed the job.

It'd be a lie to say Chen Jue wasn't touched.

None of this was Huo Jilin's business to begin with—Chen Jue had even told him the kid wasn't his, which had pissed Huo Jilin off royally.

But now, Huo Jilin was acting like it was all on him.

Chen Jue watched Huo Jilin for a bit, until the baby's cooing snapped him out of it.

The baby noticed the little windmill hanging from the ceiling had stopped and wanted Chen Jue to give it a spin. Chen Jue spun it, and the baby's eyes went right back to following it.

Out in the yard, Huo Jilin wasn't as noble as Chen Jue thought—his mind had already wandered way off track.

Once the confinement was over, could they finally share a bed?

But it felt like something was still missing.

Huo Jilin mulled it over as he scrubbed.

What was missing was a condom—that was a must. He couldn't let Chen Jue get knocked up again.

His brain jumped from baby toilet paper to sex, and then to condoms.

Huo Jilin scrubbed the cotton clothes with a poker face, nobody able to tell what was going through his head.

Zhou Qingzhu, heading to the medicine shop, walked past and marveled at how domestic he was.

Having a kid really changed a guy. Brother Dalin was a solid man.

Chen Jue didn't bring it up until right before lights-out.

Huo Jilin thought to himself that the guy really knew how to hold his cards close.

And if he hadn't eavesdropped earlier, he wouldn't have had a clue where this was coming from—Chen Jue was speaking purely as a doctor.

He flipped through Zhang Yan's chart, sounding all righteous and serious.

"It's been almost three months since Zhang Yan's C-section, and she's recovering well. She can get back to normal activities now."

Huo Jilin patted the baby, glanced over, and said, "Oh, that's good."

He wanted to see how Chen Jue would work up to it.

Chen Jue said, totally deadpan:

"Including marital relations."

Here it comes, here it comes. Huo Jilin patted the baby slowly, coaxing him to sleep—whatever came next wasn't for little ears.

Chen Jue ignored Huo Jilin's reaction and went on, "I'm a doctor, but some things are awkward for me to bring up with her husband. Zhang Yan had a C-section; even though the incisions have healed, he needs to be gentle during sex—more foreplay. You should have plenty of experience with that, so I'll leave it to you to teach him."

Huo Jilin had been half-listening, but at that last comment, he looked up. "How do you know I have plenty of experience?"

He was pissed.

Chen Jue's tone was way too casual, making him sound like some womanizer. Where the hell did he get that from?

He had to set the record straight, and this question needed an answer.

Sure, he was CEO of the Huo Group, a big deal, but his upbringing had been elite and packed—no time for that kind of stuff. Then three years in the military, with its iron discipline, left even less time.

After the military, he went to Zhonghai Hospital, where he spent five years butting heads with Chen Jue, and then they got married. Where was he supposed to find time to rack up experience?

Chen Jue, looking a little uncomfortable, said, "You just look the type."

He knew that was a flimsy answer, with zero proof, so he said it hesitantly, a little ashamed.

Huo Jilin didn't actually look like a playboy. The head nurse used to say no one would ever like him, that Jiang Xinhe marrying him was like a flower planted in cow dung.

Chen Jue felt embarrassed by his one-sided assumption. He'd thought a wealthy heir like Huo Jilin would have had many partners, male or female.

That would have built up some experience.

But seeing Huo Jilin's angry expression now, he realized he'd misjudged him.

Huo Jilin pressed on, "Where do I look like it?"

If looking like it counted, then Chen Jue looked like it too—he was now a top gynecologist, and both Chen Jue and Zhou Qingzhu liked him. Chen Jue was gay, so did he like that type?

The more Huo Jilin thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. He sat up straight, staring at Chen Jue, demanding he explain himself clearly.