Jun Qingmeng asked with concern, "Are you feeling okay? How’s Tongtong? Remember to make her drink plenty of hot water and dissolve some vitamins for her to boost her immunity."

It didn’t bother her when she got sick, but the thought of Jiang Liu falling ill filled her with distress and worry.

Jiang Liu: "I know. You take care of yourself too."

Jun Qingmeng: "Okay!!"

Jun Qingmeng: "Good night, Jiang Liu."

The chat ended.

Her attention returned to her own body.

The feeling of discomfort washed over Jun Qingmeng again.

Her whole body ached, her limbs felt weak, and she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

’My period is probably coming too. My stomach hurts so much, and drinking hot water isn’t helping at all.’

’If only Jiang Liu were here to hold me.’

Jun Qingmeng lay prone in her nest of blankets, clutching her phone.

Guo Jia finished her work and rushed over, worried. "Mengmeng, are you not feeling well? How are you now? Where does it hurt?"

Jun Qingmeng whimpered from under the covers, "My stomach hurts, my head hurts... my whole body feels awful."

"Achoo!"

She had started sniffling and sneezing.

Guo Jia threw back the covers and jumped in shock.

"Mengmeng, why are you sweating so much? You must have a fever!"

She touched Jun Qingmeng’s forehead. "A little hot. You’ve definitely got a fever."

"Wait here, I’ll get you some fever medicine."

After taking the medicine.

Jun Qingmeng felt much more comfortable. Her face flushed, she leaned back against the bed, cradling a cup of hot water.

"Thank you, Guo Jia."

"It’s nothing. Just make sure you can still bring me buns."

Jun Qingmeng smiled, pressing her lips together.

The mention of buns prompted Guo Jia to quickly check Jun Qingmeng’s forehead again.

"Seems like you’re a little better, but you should probably take tomorrow off to rest."

Jun Qingmeng chuckled, "It’s fine. I’ll just go to work as usual tomorrow. I can take another dose of medicine in the middle of the night."

Guo Jia lay down on her own bed and said,

"Your family is so rich, and Jiang Liu makes good money too. Why are you working yourself to death?"

"Besides, you even donated when the kindergarten was first being built. Even though they paid you back later, it can’t be that hard to ask for a day off, right? It should be simple."

She was a bit confused.

Her best friend had been born at the pinnacle of life, wanting for nothing, yet she still pushed her body to its limits for her job.

’What for?’

"You don’t understand," Jun Qingmeng said, shaking her head. "If I take a day off, I won’t get to see Jiang Liu."

She clutched the cup tightly, the corners of her mouth turning up, her full lips forming a lovely curve.

Seeing Jiang Liu every day was what she looked forward to the most.

Guo Jia was stunned for several seconds, then sat bolt upright. "Holy shit, you obsessive love-brain! I thought you were just in the minor leagues, but it turns out you’re a world champion of being lovesick! You’re absolutely hopeless!"

Jun Qingmeng grumbled, unconvinced.

Guo Jia tried to persuade her, "Think about it. So you don’t see Jiang Liu tomorrow, you’ll see him the day after, right? Your health is the most important thing."

"Besides, what if you pass the virus to Tongtong? Or to Jiang Liu?"

Those words hit a nerve.

Jun Qingmeng hesitated.

She wasn’t afraid of being sick herself, but she couldn’t bear the thought of Jiang Liu catching a cold because of her.

Noticing her best friend wavering, Guo Jia struck while the iron was hot. "Don’t go. How about this: you get up in the middle of the night, take some more medicine, and sleep a bit more. If you’re better tomorrow, then you go. If you’re not, you stay home and sleep. How does that plan sound?"

Jun Qingmeng didn’t say anything.

After a moment of stubborn silence, she finally nodded. "Alright. If it’s not too bad tomorrow, I’ll just wear a mask to work."

Guo Jia breathed a sigh of relief.

Her best friend was great in every way, except for that lovesick brain of hers, which made Guo Jia feel exasperated.

Even though she was one hundred percent in favor of her getting with Jiang Liu.

Turning off the light, Guo Jia ignored Jun Qingmeng’s resistance and ruffled her hair. "Sleep tight, my queen of romance~ Good night. Call me if you need anything."

Guo Jia turned off the light and closed the door behind her.

The room was plunged into darkness. Outside, the rain lessened while the wind picked up. The large banyan tree beyond the window swayed its branches with a RUSTLE, and broken leaves stuck to the glass.

Jun Qingmeng opened WeChat, glanced at Jiang Liu’s "Good night" reply, and fell asleep with a sweet smile on her face.

’Jiang Liu, sweet dreams...’

「Two in the morning.」

Jun Qingmeng staggered to get some hot water and took more medicine.

「She slept until four-thirty.」

She took her temperature with a thermometer, full of anticipation.

37.7. A tiny bit better.

’How is it still this bad?’

Jun Qingmeng’s mood soured.

And now,

her already uncomfortable body felt even worse.

Her stomach ached, her hands and feet were slick with cold sweat, her whole body was weak, and every step she took made her want to collapse.

’What am I going to do? Jiang Liu will be up soon. I really want to go and wait for him.’

Jun Qingmeng steadied herself on a table, shuffled to the sofa, and took a sip of hot water.

After a great deal of internal struggle,

she decided to take the day off.

But she still had to see Jiang Liu.

’I’ll wait until the afternoon,’ she thought. ’I’ll probably feel much better then, and I can go with Jiang Liu to pick up Tongtong from school.’

A while later, seeing that it was 4:53,

Jun Qingmeng finally sent a message to Jiang Liu: "Are you up? It’s still raining outside. Are you going to the market to buy fennel?"

She was suddenly curious about where Jiang Liu bought the ingredients he kept in his fridge.

Jiang Liu was already awake. "Just got up. I’m still going to the market today."

Jiang Liu was surprised when he saw the timestamp on the message. "You’re awake? It’s not even five. Why are you up so early?"

Jun Qingmeng: "I just woke up to use the bathroom. The temperature dropped and it’s still drizzling. Bring a jacket so you and Tongtong don’t catch a cold."

She was worried Jiang Liu would end up feeling as awful as she did.

So she kept nagging him.

Jiang Liu: "I know. Remember to dress warmly for work, too."

Jun Qingmeng: "I’m a little hungry, but I don’t want to eat anything at home. I have no appetite. I’m craving your buns."

Jiang Liu casually replied, "Come over after work and eat as many as you want."

Jun Qingmeng: "Okay!"

...

On the bed, Tongtong, wearing cartoon underwear, sleepily kicked her little legs, trying to put on pants in her dream.

Jiang Liu didn’t call out to her.

She did a clumsy tumble and fell off the bed, which woke her up considerably.

As soon as he stepped out of the bedroom,

he found Tongtong trailing unsteadily behind him.

Her little eyes would open for a second and then close for three, hovering between ’on’ and ’off’.

Jiang Liu said with an amused chuckle, "Tongtong, go back to sleep. Daddy will be back to get you in a little while."

The weather was bad today, and Tongtong had a delicate constitution. He was afraid his daughter would get sick.

"No, I want to be with Daddy."

"Tongtong doesn’t want to be a bother to Daddy."

The little girl shook her head stubbornly.

"Alright then. Come on, let’s go brush our teeth together."

"Together, hehe." Tongtong beamed, padding barefoot into the bathroom.

The house was very clean; Jiang Liu tidied up every day.

The big one and the little one brushed their teeth together in front of the mirror.

Tongtong started humming the tooth-brushing song she had learned in kindergarten.

"Daddy, I’ll sing a song for you."

"Go ahead."

Tongtong held her toothbrush and gave an exaggerated performance.

"Little toothbrush, in my hand, Tongtong opens her little mouth, brush the left, brush the right!"

...

Jiang Liu helped Tongtong put on her jacket, a yellow raincoat, and a pair of cute little yellow rain boots.

Then he put the 55 pounds of filling into his backpack.

It was much easier to carry on his back than in his hands.

He filled Tongtong’s cup with juice.

She couldn’t go to kindergarten without her juice.

"Alright, let’s go."

"Let’s go to school and find Mommy." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Is your butt itching for a spanking?"

"Daddy, boohoo, for the sake of how cute Tongtong is today, please spare me."

"Then will you be a good girl?" Jiang Liu asked.

"I’ll be good, I’ll be good! I’m a very good girl," Tongtong nodded frantically.

"Alright, present your butt."

Tongtong, incensed, bit Jiang Liu on the shoulder.

"Bad Daddy, bad Daddy!"