Upon arriving at the Team headquarters, Tong Yao practically tumbled out of the car in her haste. A straight-laced male staff member, seeing how eager she was, innocently asked, "Didn’t you say your 'relative' was visiting? Where is she?"
The young woman, now standing firmly outside the car, turned and stared at him expressionlessly before replying with deadpan calm, "Between my legs."
The staff member looked as if he’d been struck by lightning.
At that moment, a tall figure draped in a jacket appeared behind him. The man stepped out of the car, glanced at the girl standing with her hands on her hips, waiting for someone to open the door while carrying her peripheral bag, and coughed lightly, his voice low and hoarse: "Could you be a little more refined?"
Tong Yao flicked her hair and tossed back, "No," before striding proudly back into the headquarters—heading straight to her room to remove her makeup, shower, and change into comfortable pajamas. Once she’d dried her hair and came downstairs, she wasn’t surprised to find the entire first floor deserted. Since everyone knew they’d be attending the carnival event that night, all the staff had clocked out, including the auntie who occasionally stayed late to cook dinner for them, unable to bear watching them survive on takeout every day.
Tong Yao checked the time and was about to head upstairs to order takeout and collapse onto her bed when, amidst a flood of congratulatory messages for her victorious debut match, she received a text from Xiao Rui. The team manager instructed her to make sure Lu Sicheng took his medicine.
【ZGDX、smiling: …How old is he? Can’t he take it himself?】
【ZGDX、Xiao Rui: If left to his own devices, he definitely won’t. Just bear with it—if he dies of illness, we’ll be left without a captain.】
【ZGDX、smiling: Then we’ll just promote Little Fatty, the sycophant.】
【ZGDX、Xiao Rui: Then there’ll be no one to back you up when you argue with Lu Yue. Little Fatty can’t control him—lately, he’s been bending over backward for Lu Yue out of some inexplicable guilt, even serving him food during meals.】
【ZGDX、smiling: ………………Where’s the medicine box?】
The captain couldn’t die.
If he did, the world would fall into Lu Yue’s hands.
Driven by a noble desire to preserve peace, Tong Yao figured she might as well make some brown sugar water for herself while she was at it. She obediently boiled water and, under Xiao Rui’s guidance, located the team’s medicine box. She rummaged through it and pulled out cold and fever medicine—just as her stomach began aching again, the Primordial power within her surging uncontrollably, making her want to scream.
Gritting her teeth against the pain that felt like an elephant trampling her abdomen, Tong Yao carried a cup of hot water and the medicine upstairs. Lu Sicheng’s door was slightly ajar… Balancing the cup in one hand and the medicine box in the other, she kicked the door open with her foot and stepped into Lu Sicheng and Little Fatty’s room—
This was her second time entering Lu Sicheng’s room.
The first time had been too rushed to take in the details, but today she had time to look around. Lu Sicheng’s room was immaculate, with what looked like an expensive rug on the floor and house slippers by the door. After a moment’s hesitation, Tong Yao slipped off her own slippers and stepped barefoot onto the carpet. She glanced around—the bedsheets and blankets were all black. A small coffee table sat on the floor, holding a laptop and a few books, with a beanbag chair beside it…The bed near the entrance was likely Little Fatty’s. In such a minimalist-toned room, he had desperately tried to liven it up by placing various plush toys—probably gifts from fans—like an alligator, Captain America’s shield, and a piglet. In contrast, the inner bed was spotless and devoid of any decorations, almost lifeless in its tidiness. At the moment, a lump lay curled up on it, the person’s back turned to Tong Yao, still clad in his team jersey.
"Captain, time for your medicine," Tong Yao announced, carrying the medicine as she clomped over.
The person facing away from her showed no reaction.
Undeterred, Tong Yao clomped around to his front.
She set the cup and medicine box on the side table, then crouched by the bed, hugging her knees as she silently studied his seemingly sleeping face. Lu Sicheng was undeniably handsome—each of his features looked like they’d been meticulously crafted in a plastic surgery clinic. Put together, they gave off a somewhat sharp, aloof impression, but that didn’t detract from his attractiveness.
Tong Yao’s vocabulary was limited, so she couldn’t quite articulate what she saw in his face. All she knew was that her gaze lingered on the faint redness at the tip of his nose and the corners of his eyes from the fever, unable to look away—until the person she thought was asleep suddenly opened his eyes without a sound.
Caught off guard by the sudden meeting of their gazes—his deep brown eyes locking onto hers—Tong Yao swayed backward before plopping down onto the soft carpet with a thud.
Lu Sicheng: "..."
After coughing twice, Lu Sicheng asked, "What are you doing sneaking into my room?"
Tong Yao: "..."
Blinking under his calm stare, Tong Yao actually felt a pang of guilt. Speechless for a good ten seconds, she suddenly remembered her purpose and quickly turned to grab the water and medicine. "Here to give you your meds. Rui Ge said I should make sure you take them before sleeping."
Sitting cross-legged on the plush carpet by the bed, she handed the cup to Lu Sicheng while checking the dosage instructions on the medicine box. She then carefully popped the correct number of pills from their foil packaging and passed them to him.
Lu Sicheng propped himself up halfway, accepting the cup and pills. "The water’s too hot."
Tong Yao: "..."
Lu Sicheng: "Get me a new one."
Tong Yao: "You know what?"
Lu Sicheng: "?"
Tong Yao: "The pain women endure during their monthly cycle is like stripping a man’s underwear off and whipping his junk a hundred times with a barbed lash dipped in chili oil. Multiply that pain by three, and you get the agony of childbirth. You know childbirth hurts, right? But just how much? Imagine lifting your upper lip and draping it over your entire head—that’s the sensation."
Lu Sicheng: "..."
Tong Yao: "During that time of the month, even if Godzilla invaded Earth, I could punch it back into the ocean just for disturbing my peaceful suffering as a delicate maiden."
Tong Yao: "So, drink the water. Take the pills. Don’t be difficult."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Sicheng fell silent for a moment before tilting his head back and swallowing the pills in his palm. He then took two small, quiet sips from the cup to wash them down. Tong Yao, still seated on the floor, craned her neck to watch his Adam’s apple bob as he drank, then nodded in satisfaction. "Take another sip. When you’re sick, hot water is the cure for everything."Lu Sicheng took another sip—completely cooperative, though it was unclear if he was genuinely frightened by Tong Yao's vivid and graphic analogy earlier.
Tong Yao hoped so.
She stood up, took the cup from him, and stood by the bed holding the half-drunk warm water and the medicine box. Watching the man who had just pulled the covers back over himself, ready to go back to sleep, she asked again, "You can't take medicine on an empty stomach. I'll order takeout—what do you want to eat?"
Buried under the blanket, Lu Sicheng was silent for a few seconds before muttering gloomily, "I want to die."
"......Dying isn’t impossible, but now’s not the time," Tong Yao said mercilessly. "Your Majesty, if you must die, at least outlast that traitor Lu Yue first. So, what do you want to eat? Braised chicken rice? Spicy dry pot? Japanese? Korean?"
At the thought of all that greasy food, Lu Sicheng threw off the covers, his face paling. "How can you have such an appetite while suffering from period cramps?"
Tong Yao: "......"
Lu Sicheng: "What kind of person eats Japanese food with stomach pain?"
Tong Yao: "I was asking you . I want porridge."
Lu Sicheng let out an "Oh." "Me too."
Tong Yao: "I want plain porridge with brown sugar."
"Order takeout then. There’s brown sugar in the kitchen—just add it yourself when the porridge arrives."
As he spoke, Lu Sicheng pulled the covers back up, coughing a few times and sniffling. Tong Yao sat back down on the edge of his bed to place the order, and seeing this, Lu Sicheng didn’t lie back down immediately. Instead, he half-sat up, peering over her shoulder as she tapped away on her phone screen—only to accomplish nothing after all that tapping. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. "What’s the problem?"
"None of these porridge places have plain porridge, and the few that do have terrible reviews." Tong Yao put her phone down. "Forget it, I’ll just make it myself. I don’t really like outside porridge anyway—some places add thickeners."
Lu Sicheng let out another "Oh."
Tong Yao stood up, rubbing her stomach, then pulled the covers up to his shoulders. "Get some sleep. I’ll call you when the porridge’s ready."
As she bent over, her face was hidden in shadow, the faint scent of shampoo lingering in her short hair as it brushed past Lu Sicheng’s nose. She seemed to notice this and casually tucked the stray strands behind her ear—
Exposing half of her fair face in the dim light of the room. Her lashes cast a small shadow under her eyes, her profile soft and delicate.
Lu Sicheng said nothing, only the deep brown of his eyes darkening slightly—until the figure hovering above him straightened up after tucking him in. Without a word, he watched as she picked up the medicine box and cup and turned to leave.
At the doorway, she wobbled slightly as she slipped on her house slippers, one hand holding the cup and the other clutching the medicine box.
Once her slippers were on, she stomped in place childishly before heading downstairs without looking back. Soon, the soft rustle of her footsteps faded at the other end of the hallway.
......
Downstairs, Tong Yao set down the cup and medicine box and began preparing to rinse the rice for porridge. Bending over, she scooped out two portions from the rice bin in the cupboard. Straightening up with an "Oof," she nearly forgot—aside from the stomach pain and the constant flow, there was also the debuff ( negative status effect ) of aching back and limbs during this special time.Now she felt like she had been transported into a King of Fighters arcade game, just after being hit with an eighty-one-combo move—her health bar had plummeted from two-thirds remaining to nearly empty in an instant!
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
Tong Yao braced one hand on the kitchen counter while the other pressed against her stomach as she bent over, trying to steady herself. In between, she muttered every curse word she could think of under her breath. She desperately tried to recall if there was any painkiller in the medicine box and began longing for her bed...
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the rice cooker pot lying by her feet. She paused, suddenly remembering there was still a seriously ill person upstairs. Muttering, "Can this team headquarters full of the weak, sick, and injured ever catch a break?" she stopped rubbing her stomach and picked up the pot—
Not just Lu Sicheng, but she herself was genuinely starving. After all, she had been busy all morning and hadn’t even had lunch yet.
She tossed the pot filled with rice into the sink and was about to turn on the water when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. Startled, she turned around and saw the person who was supposed to be lying lifeless in bed standing there—
He was still wearing his team jersey, with a jacket draped over his shoulders, slowly making his way downstairs.
"What’s up? Forget something? Or thirsty and want water? Just text me, and I’ll bring it up for you..."
Lu Sicheng walked straight into the kitchen and, under Tong Yao’s bewildered gaze, reached past her shoulder to turn on the faucet behind her.
Tong Yao: "?"
Lu Sicheng: "Move."
Tong Yao: "???"
Instinctively, Tong Yao twisted her waist to make some room, watching as the man commandeered her spot. With practiced ease, he rinsed the rice, drained the water, repeated the process three times, then added just the right amount of water for porridge. He lifted the pot with one hand, effortlessly placed it into the rice cooker, closed the lid, bent down to adjust the timer and heat setting—
The entire sequence was seamless.
All Tong Yao could do was stand there, wide-eyed and full of confusion, watching the scene unfold.
"Women shouldn’t touch cold water when Godzilla invades Earth," Lu Sicheng straightened up after finishing his task, glanced at her, then coughed twice in his hoarse voice before adding, "Call me when it’s done. I’m going back up."
With that, he raised his large hand and patted the dazed girl’s head by the stove with natural familiarity. Then, without another glance, he walked past her and headed upstairs.
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