Chapter 34: Slightly Revealing True Feelings

  Baiwei slept for more than two hours, and the sky gradually darkened. Congye turned on the lights in the room, and it was probably the sudden change in light that woke Baiwei up from her deep sleep.

  Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Bai Wei sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, sitting on the bedside.

  "Xiao Wei woke up, how are you feeling?"

  "Sister, I haven't slept so well in a long time."

  Jian Congye was also looking at her, Baiwei hastily stood up, her cheeks slightly flushed, and said to Congye with great gratitude:

  "Thank you, Brother Congye."

  "Don't be polite, the fourteen meridians on your body have only opened up the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian for now. If we calculate based on today's progress, it'll probably take half a month to fully open all of them."

  "Brother Congye, I have plenty of time, it's just that I don't know..."

  "Oh, I don't have anything either."

  "Yes, Little Wei, your brother Cong Ye is currently studying traditional Chinese medicine. By giving you acupuncture treatment, he can also deepen his understanding of the knowledge he has learned."

  "Really? Brother Congye is studying traditional Chinese medicine on his own?"

  "It's not really self-study, just getting familiar with the meridians and acupoints of the human body."

  Turning her head, she saw that all the streetlights on the street had lit up, and Bertha hurriedly said:

  "Qing Cheng Jie, Cong Ye Ge Ge, I should head home now."

  "Alright, we won't keep you for dinner then, it's time for us to close up and go home too."

  The three of them left the Quan Cheng Medical Hall together, first hailing a taxi for Bai Wei and sending her off. After that, Cong Ye saw that the weather was a bit chilly and wanted to hail another taxi, but was stopped by Yan Qing Cheng.

  "The lunch we bought at noon is still there, let's head back."

  The wind is a bit cool.

  "I'm no longer afraid, ever since you helped me unblock my meridians, I've been feeling warm all over, and I'm not afraid of the cold anymore. In the past, every winter was the most difficult time for me."

  Yan Qingcheng resumed referring to herself as "I", which sounded much more pleasant to Cong Ye's ears.

  "Cong Ye, after helping Bai Wei clear one meridian, you've exhausted the warm currents in your body. Won't that affect your health?"

  "Sister-in-law, don't worry, it won't harm me at all, on the contrary, it will be beneficial for me."

  "What did you say?"

  "To understand the mysterious hot flow in the meridians, I have read many books on qigong. There is a common explanation that says people who practice qigong should not worry about exhausting their true qi, as it will easily recover afterwards. Moreover, after recovery, the amount of true qi will always increase compared to before. Therefore, the book encourages qigong practitioners to use up their true qi frequently, ideally each time, so that the effect of recovery will be even better."

  "Is it just 'reserve for use'?"

  "Sister-in-law has also read 'Tao Te Ching'?"

  "Yes, when I have nothing to do, I read whatever books."

  Although Cong Ye didn't hear any sadness in Yan Qing Cheng's tone, his heart still ached slightly. A girl as beautiful as a flower, which one of them doesn't have many suitors or lovers accompanying her every day? But his sister-in-law could only guard that small courtyard and her clinic alone. In the past few years, it was a bit better when her mother-in-law was still around, although she worked hard, time would pass quickly in the midst of busyness. Moreover, there was also her husband who was far away in the military camp to think about. It's really unknown how his sister-in-law got by after Ping Zhang and his mother passed away one after another.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Sister-in-law, you've had a tough time these past few years."

  Cong Ye turned his head sideways and looked at Yan Qingcheng beside him, saying very sincerely.

  This sudden sentence suddenly pierced into Yan Qingcheng's innermost heart, and a sour feeling instantly surged up from her chest, and the tears in her eyes flowed out in an instant. There was no time for Yan Qingcheng to stop it at all, as if the tears had been waiting there all along, just waiting for Cong Ye's words. And once they started flowing, they showed no signs of stopping.

  Congye was taken aback at first, but then immediately understood that his words had touched a sore spot for his sister-in-law.

  Under the dim light of the street lamp, Yan Qingcheng's stunning face was constantly streaming with tears, yet still wore a hint of a smile that was hard to describe as either poignant or serene. Cong Ye's heart seemed to have been pierced by something, and involuntarily, he stretched out his arms and pulled Yan Qingcheng's slightly frail body into his embrace.

  Without a hint of resistance, Yan Qingcheng leaned into Cong Yejian's chest, her hands naturally wrapping around his waist. Tears flowed from her eyes like an unstoppable flood.

  Those shoulders that had been shaking slightly all along told Cong Ye to comfort his sobbing sister-in-law in his arms. However, Cong Ye couldn't think of a suitable phrase and could only stand there, slightly turning his body to block the biting cold wind, letting his sister-in-law lean on his chest and vent her emotions that had been pent up for a long time.

  After a long while, Yan Qingcheng finally stopped her somewhat stubborn tears and left Cong Ye's arms. She stretched out her hand and gently touched the collar of Cong Ye's shirt that had been dampened by her own tears. With great embarrassment, she said:

  "Cong Ye, sorry about that, I lost my composure. Is it cool?"

  Two sentences, put together and spoken out loud, left Cong Ye unsure of which one to answer first.

  "Sister-in-law, are you hungry? Let's go eat at a restaurant?"

  "Now that you mention it, I'm actually feeling a bit hungry. Alright, let's go eat at the restaurant."

  Cong Ye suddenly changed the subject, not without reason. When he was in the orphanage, every time he secretly cried and felt hungry afterwards. Also, he really didn't know how to respond to Yan Qingcheng's two-layered meaning, so he had no choice but to change the subject.

  While eating, Yan Qingcheng would occasionally glance at Cong Ye's chest, where his clothes were wet from his own tears. Every time he saw it, his cheeks would feel a little hot. It wasn't until they finished dinner and returned to the small courtyard that he quietly said to Cong Ye:

  "Take it off tonight and I'll wash it for you tomorrow."

  After finishing speaking, he lowered his head and walked into his own room, never coming out again.

  After Congye arrived at Guanhai City, all the clothes were washed by herself, and she never bothered her sister-in-law. This was also a habit formed in the orphanage. Moreover, it seemed that her sister-in-law had never taken the initiative to say that she would wash clothes for herself.

  "This is tonight..."

  At night, even in her dreams, Cong Ye felt a sweet happiness in her heart.

  The next day, Cong Ye got up early as usual and went to the courtyard to practice his qigong, using it to recover the lost heat in his meridians. After a while, just when Cong Ye was about to finish, he heard the sound of the door opening and turned his head to see Yan Qingcheng walking towards him with a basin, inside which were the clothes he had taken off.

  "Sister-in-law, the water is too cold, I'll do it instead."

  "No need, just go out and buy some breakfast to bring back and eat."

  Looking at his sister-in-law's expression, which brooked no doubt, Cong Ye could only turn around to buy breakfast. Although the sky was still overcast with thick clouds, Cong Ye had never felt that a winter morning could be so wonderful, and his whole body felt as light as if there were nothing on him.

  After breakfast, the two came to the medical room and sat at separate tables, but found that the atmosphere in the room was a bit unusual. Occasionally looking at each other, not only did Yan Qingcheng's cheeks flush, but Cong Ye also felt some inexplicable heat. It wasn't until Bai Wei walked in with an excited face that the situation changed.

  "Xiao Wei, did you sleep well tonight?"

  "Thank you so much, Qīng Chéng Jiě and Cóng Yè Gēgē. You've made me realize how wonderful it is to be a healthy person."

  "Really, Xiao Wei? Your meridians have only been unblocked by one-fourteenth, and you've become so beautiful. If they were all unblocked, wouldn't Xiao Wei become an angel and fly up to the clouds?"

  After hearing Yan Qingcheng's words, Bai Wei looked at her as if she didn't know her, leaned forward, face to face, stared for a while, and pretended to be puzzled, muttering to herself:

  "Did Qingshen Jie have a dream last night? Otherwise, how did she suddenly become humorous when she never joked around?"

  After finishing speaking, he raised his head and looked at Yan Qingcheng's face, using a slightly louder voice, and suddenly said:

  "Sister, why is your face red?"

  Originally, Pei Wei's words just now had already made Yan Qing Cheng feel somewhat uncontrollable, and then being suddenly attacked by Pei Wei again, her face really turned red, even she herself felt the heat, hurriedly lowering her head to avoid Cong Ye's gaze.

  "Haha, I was right, wasn't I? Even Jing Cheng will blush."

  Yan Qingcheng had no choice but to stand up and pull Baiwei's hand to the bedside, so she could turn her back on Congye.

  "Go upstairs and go to bed obediently."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  The first two times, Congye saw Baiwei, she was always in a sickly state, didn't expect that after just recovering a bit, she became so lively and lovely. Seeing that Baiwei had already lain down, Congye only then came to the bedside.

  "Congye, have you fully recovered?"

  "Sister-in-law, don't worry, it's perfectly fine now. And indeed, the amount has increased a bit compared to before."

  "That's good."