Almost five minutes has passed before Li Qin Yao realized the situation she was in—in Zhang Yu Han's embrace on his bed.
His arms were encircling her body as his hand moved to ċȧrėss her upper arms as if coaxing her.
Her face grew hot when she noticed that he had buried his nose in the crook of her neck. His soft breath and lips touched her skin and that area slowly became numb.
Fortunately, her back was facing him. Or else, Zhang Yu Han would be worried that he might have infected her with his fever when he saw her reddened face.
Li Qin Yao struggled out of his embrace and stood up. She turned to face him and saw the questioning look in his face.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Yu Han asked. They were fine just a few seconds ago and he was enjoying the sensation of having her petite frame in his arms after not seeing her for a few days. Of course, seeing that she had pulled away so suddenly made him feel lost.
Li Qin Yao stared at his confused expression and suddenly did not know what to do. Her gaze fell on the medicines on the side table and spoke, "You need to eat something before you take your medicine. I'll go and prepare something for you to eat. You should get yourself clean up first."
Zhang Yu Han watched speechlessly as the girl scurried away from his room. Once she disappeared from his eyesight, Zhang Yu Han let out a chuckle. He sat silently on his bed and covered his face with his large palm.
A frown appeared on his face as he remembered the feeling of her body against him. As a gentleman, he had restrained himself well enough.
Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Zhang Yu Han stood up from his bed and walked towards the window. The sky was dark blue with a tinge of orange. As his bedroom was facing east, he was able to watch the sun starting to rise.
Just how long was he asleep?
He walked over the table and grabbed his phone. Finding that it has run out of battery, Zhang Yu Han plugged in his phone. Five minutes later, he turned on his phone and found almost hundreds of missed calls and messages. Most of them were from his girlfriend.
His heart grew warm as he read her texts. Suddenly, he was overcome with guilt. He couldn't imagine how worried she was when she could not reach him last night. As he read her text messages, Zhang Yu Han could see how anxious she was.
After replying to a few important messages, Zhang Yu Han walked into the bathroom. Once he had taken a quick shower, Zhang Yu Han walked out of his bedroom only to find his girlfriend in the kitchen. His steps halted as he was mesmerized by the scenery in front of him.
Li Qin Yao had an apron on and she was facing the stove, stirring something in the pot. A delicious smell wafted from the kitchen to where he was standing and Zhang Yu Han was momentarily in a daze.
It seemed like this situation was somewhat familiar to him.
The last time he was drunk and found himself back in his bedroom in his Grandfather's residence, he had seen a situation similar to this.
Back then, she was preparing breakfast in his grandfather's kitchen along with Auntie Wu and his sister. But this time, she was alone and she was cooking something in his kitchen.
Zhang Yu Han thought of how much he liked seeing what he saw now.
Li Qin Yao tasted the food in the pot and turned off the fire once she was satisfied with how the food looked and tasted like. Suddenly, she had a hunch that someone was staring at her and turning around, Li Qin Yao found her boyfriend stood at the entrance, watching her.
With a smile on her face, Li Qin Yao placed the ladle on a clean plate before she walked over to him. "You're done?" she stopped in front of him and tiptoed to touch his forehead. A breath of relief escaped her when she did not detect high heat from him. "I made you breakfast."
Zhang Yu Han frowned. "There are not many ingredients in this kitchen."
As the owner of the house, Zhang Yu Han was familiar with the item in his kitchen. Because he did not cook and would frequently stay in his grandfather's place, there were not any fresh ingredients in his refrigerator.
"I know. I just whipped something quick using whatever ingredients I can find. I hope you don't mind me rummaging through your kitchen." She said with a smile. "Are you hungry? Come on. Sit down."
Just as he was about to answer, Zhang Yu Han found that his stomach was rumbling. The aroma coming from that pot managed to stimulate his appetite.
Li Qin Yao pulled his hand and led him towards the bar counter. Then, she pulled out a stool and motioned him to sit down. "Sit. I'll bring you a bowl of congee. I bet you were famished. After all, you did not eat anything before you went to bed last night." She walked towards the stove, poured some congee into two bowls, and walked over to him. "Qi Zheng said you should eat something before you have your medicine."
"My fever is gone." Zhang Yu Han pursed his lips when he noticed her sharp gaze. He tilted his head down to look at the thick congee in his bowl and spoke again, "Qi Zheng came over last night?"
"Hmm," Li Qin Yao nodded before she sat down beside him. "Your sister called him to come over and check on you. Fortunately, he came. Or else, I wouldn't know what to do."
Zhang Yu Han put down the spoon that he had just lifted. "Qin Yao… I'm sorry."
"It's alright." Her gaze grew soft and she tilted her head down to stare into that bowl of congee. "I just hope that you will take care of your body better."
"Alright," He smiled when she lifted her face to look at him. "I will listen to you."
Li Qin Yao bit at her lips before she urged him to eat his breakfast.
After he had emptied the bowl clean, Zhang Yu Han saw her pushing a few pills and medicine towards him. Obediently, he swallowed the pills under her supervision.
"Are you going to the office later?" he asked. "I'll give you a lift."
"No. It's fine. I'm not in a hurry. I've told Liang Sheng that I won't be coming in. I don't have any meetings today, so I can work from anywhere as long as I have my ŀȧptop." She paused to look at him with a serious expression. "Anyway, I still want to accompany you and make sure that you eat your medicine on time."