Chapter 77: Life-Altering
Chapter 77: Life-Altering
Not far from the lodge, there was a clothing shop. Zhou Chenglei returned in less than ten minutes with two sets of clothes, one for each of them. He even borrowed a hairdryer from the shop, the only one available in the entire lodge, but the conditions here were already quite good, considering it was newly opened.
Seeing Jiang Xia waiting in her wet clothes, he handed her the clothes. "Go take a shower quickly, don't catch a cold. Are your undergarments wet? Take them off and give them to me, I'll dry them for you."
Jiang Xia didn't respond, just walked into the bathroom.
About half an hour later, Jiang Xia finally sat at the desk, drying her hair.
Zhou Chenglei emerged from the bathroom, shirtless.
Jiang Xia glanced at him, then turned her gaze back to her hairdryer.
Zhou Chenglei walked over to her and took the hairdryer from her hand. "Let me do it."
Jiang Xia didn't say anything, just let go.
Zhou Chenglei held the hairdryer and gently dried her hair.
It was almost dry already.
After a few more minutes, her hair was completely dry, soft, and black, like the finest silk, cascading down her slender back, creating a beautiful silhouette.
He put down the hairdryer.
The rain had stopped outside, and it was dark. Jiang Xia, thinking about how Zhou Chenglei hadn't eaten anything after returning from the sea, stood up. "Let's go! We'll grab something to eat and then head home."
Zhou Chenglei wrapped his long arm around her. "No rush."
"Aren't you hungry?" Jiang Xia, caught in his embrace, her heart pounding, looked up at him.
Her soft hair brushed against his muscular arm, sending a shiver through him. Zhou Chenglei's voice was hoarse. "Hungry."
But eating her was enough.
Zhou Chenglei leaned down, capturing her lips, and lifted her onto the bed.
This time, he wasn't gentle, kissing her deeply and forcefully.
Jiang Xia was kissed thoroughly, her breath stolen.
The summer rain, always fierce, started again outside, masking the sounds within.
After what seemed like an eternity, the rain stopped.
The two stood under the faucet.
Jiang Xia's body was still weak, held tightly by him.
Her skin was pale and tender, marked with red bruises from his touch.
They hadn't prepared, so it didn't go all the way, just helping each other.
Zhou Chenglei washed their hands and dressed them both.
He gathered the wet clothes they had changed out of.
Jiang Xia, seeing he was still unbuttoned, blushed and stepped forward to help him button his shirt.
Zhou Chenglei straightened up, his long arm wrapping around her as she buttoned his shirt, his eyes and smile filled with warmth.
She had already buttoned her own shirt, the top button tightly closed, but a few marks still showed on her neck.
Jiang Xia didn't dare tie her hair, letting it fall loosely to cover the marks.
With her hair down, she looked even more delicate and beautiful, a sight to behold.
Zhou Chenglei couldn't resist leaning down again.
Jiang Xia covered his mouth with her hand and glared at him.
Zhou Chenglei kissed her palm.
Another glare!
"Stop it," Zhou Chenglei tightened his grip on her waist, his voice hoarse. "If you keep glaring, I can't guarantee we'll make it home."
Jiang Xia: "..."
Of course, they had to go home. If they stayed out all night, Zhou's parents would worry and not sleep, and they needed to go out to sea the next day if it didn't rain.
Fifteen minutes later, Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia left the lodge and returned home under the cover of night.
When they got home, it was already past ten o'clock. Zhou's father, mother, and Zhou Zhou were still awake.
Seeing the two return, all three breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhou's mother said to Jiang Xia, "Xia, I'm sorry, this morning I..."
Jiang Xia interrupted her. "Mom, I understand. You were worried about Chenglei, and I don't blame you."
Mrs. Zhou’s words weren’t harsh, at least she still considered Jiang Xia’s feelings. For an elder to say "I’m sorry" was enough.
Mrs. Zhou felt even more guilty.
She was always afraid of causing trouble for her son and daughter-in-law, but she had caused such a big mess, nearly driving them apart.
Old Mr. Zhou was right; they were always so affectionate, looking like a couple deeply in love. How could they be on the verge of a divorce?
And saying that Lei would let go of something he wanted?
No, he wouldn’t. From a young age, he was determined to get what he wanted, no matter the cost!
Among the brothers, he was the one with the most tricks up his sleeve.
Mr. Zhou had also said that even on the boat, Lei dared to treat his father like a statue!
Mrs. Zhou knew that among the brothers, Lei was the most stubborn, but also the most tender-hearted. He never let anyone down, and if Jiang Xia left and was driven away by her, he might never marry again.
Zhou Chenglei said, "Dad, Mom, Jiang Xia and I won’t get divorced, not in this lifetime! You should go to sleep now! Zhou Zhou, go to bed too!"
Zhou Zhou said, "Auntie, Uncle has cooked some food for you. If you’re hungry, you should eat."
Then she obediently went back to her room to sleep. She had taken her medicine and was very, very sleepy.
She just wanted to wait for Uncle to bring Auntie back before sleeping.
"You should eat something if you’re hungry, and then go to bed early," Mr. Zhou said, wisely pulling Mrs. Zhou back to their room.
If they didn’t leave, would they be treated like statues again?
Mrs. Zhou also mentioned that there was hot water in the pot.
Jiang Xia wanted to take a shower, so Zhou Chenglei helped her with the water and even prepared a ginger soup for her to drink after eating.
After her shower, Jiang Xia drank the ginger soup Zhou Chenglei gave her and lay back down to sleep.
By the time Zhou Chenglei finished his shower and washed the clothes, Jiang Xia was already asleep.
Zhou Chenglei found a small bag in the closet and returned to bed.
He held her in his arms and kissed her.
Jiang Xia was woken by his touch, her mind groggy, but she let him kiss her.
She was too tired to stay awake.
But Zhou Chenglei stopped kissing her, stroked her head, and quickly got up to find a thermometer in the drawer.
The house didn’t usually have one, but Jiang Xia had asked the doctor to prescribe one when they took Zhou Zhou to the hospital last night.
Zhou Chenglei placed the thermometer under Jiang Xia’s armpit, touching her forehead and palm, unsure.
Five minutes later, he took out the thermometer and saw it read 37.2 degrees.
She was indeed running a fever, 0.1 degrees higher than last time.
"Jiang Xia, I’m taking you to the hospital. You have a fever."
"No, don’t disturb me. I just want to sleep."
Seeing that she was deeply asleep and only had a low fever, Zhou Chenglei fetched a packet of fever-reducing medicine and fed it to her.
Jiang Xia was half-asleep when he woke her, and the bitter taste of the medicine made her want to spit it out.
"Don’t spit it out. It’s fever-reducing medicine. You have a fever. Drink some water and swallow it."
Jiang Xia drank the water from the enamel cup, suppressing the bitter taste, and fell back asleep.
Zhou Chenglei put the cup away, lay back down, and held her, barely daring to close his eyes all night, afraid her temperature would rise.
Luckily, by three in the morning, her fever broke. Zhou Chenglei took her temperature again, and it had dropped to 36.8 degrees. He finally relaxed.
At that moment, Mr. Zhou got up because it was raining heavily outside. He told Zhou Chenglei they wouldn’t go out to sea today. Zhou Chenglei responded and finally felt at ease to sleep.
After two nights of little sleep, he was exhausted.
The next morning, Jiang Xia woke up feeling refreshed in Zhou Chenglei’s arms.
(End of Chapter)
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