Chapter 733: First Time, Like a Long Time

"Do you have time tonight?"

Zheng Qian shook his head. "No time. Actually, I only came to Yebai this time to take care of some things while I was in the area. Hmm... have you encountered any difficulties managing the cafe lately?"

How could he not understand the subtext in Deng Shuxin's words? But he already had too many women around him as it was.

This trip was mainly to make arrangements for Xu Shuyun.

And to check on Deng Yuqing while he was at it.

Even though taking down The Deng Sisters would probably be quite satisfying... he couldn't go too far!

As expected, a flash of disappointment crossed Deng Shuxin's face upon hearing Zheng Qian's reply. She nodded slightly and forced a smile. "Oh, you're such a busy person, you must have a lot of work to deal with! I... I was just asking..."

As she spoke, Deng Shuxin suddenly began to cough violently.

Zheng Qian immediately frowned.

It was clear she wasn't faking it. He had been too focused on finding Deng Yuqing earlier to notice the unnatural flush on her cheeks. Considering the drastic weather changes lately, it was highly likely she had caught a cold. This girl...

"Did you catch a cold recently? Honestly, why come to the cafe when you're sick?"

Zheng Qian shook his head, grabbed Deng Shuxin's hand, and stood up. "Is your place still in the same spot? Let me take you home."

Deng Shuxin wanted to say something but hesitated. If anyone else had asked her that, she would have flatly refused. But... he wasn't just anyone; he was Zheng Qian. She nodded, blushing. "Yeah, my place is... still... still over there."

This sight broke the hearts of the baristas at the counter.

They looked forward to Deng Shuxin coming to the shop every day, just to catch a glimpse of their goddess.

They never expected that their goddess had already given her heart to someone else. Especially seeing Zheng Qian holding Deng Shuxin's hand, and her making no move to pull away—it was confirmed! He must be the goddess's boyfriend. Sigh, all the good flowers are trampled by scumbags.

Zheng Qian reached out and touched Deng Shuxin's forehead.

It was at least nearly 38°C.

Without thinking twice, he firmly took her hand and led her away, taking her home.

Along the way, Deng Shuxin's little heart was pounding rapidly; she was incredibly nervous.

In fact, she had talked to her sister many times about how to handle the situation with Zheng Qian. Even including what happened that day between him and her sister at home... Neither sister wanted to hurt the other, yet neither could bear to let go of Zheng Qian.

Unknowingly, a long time had passed since they first met Zheng Qian, and everyone had changed quite a bit.

Ever since they took over these cafes, the sisters had learned a lot of things.

Even including the existence of Jin Lu...

But they didn't resent Zheng Qian.

After all, if it weren't for him, their father would likely have met with misfortune long ago. Not to mention that Zheng Qian had changed their lives and provided them with such an affluent environment; they were very grateful. Of course, it wasn't just gratitude, but also those hazy feelings.

Zheng Qian took Deng Shuxin home with practiced ease. While he was rummaging through the medicine box for cold medicine...

Deng Shuxin felt even worse.

Perhaps the excitement of seeing Zheng Qian had worn off, and the feeling of discomfort began to wash over her. Her delicate body was covered in glistening sweat. She really wanted to see Zheng Qian looking busy out of concern for her, but she couldn't see anything clearly.

Her vision gradually blurred, her head felt dizzy, and her eyelids felt very heavy.

"Hot... so hot..."

"Come, take this first." Zheng Qian supported Deng Shuxin as she managed to take the medicine.

He noticed that her clothes were already soaked through. Fortunately, he had discovered it in time; her condition hadn't started to deteriorate rapidly while she was at the cafe. If he had come a little later, she would have... well, it wouldn't have been a big deal, the staff would have sent her to the hospital.

But since she was sweating so much, and she was still wearing her outer clothes...

It definitely wouldn't be comfortable for her to rest like this.

Moreover, her consciousness seemed to be fading; she didn't respond when spoken to. Yet, her remaining consciousness sustained her grip, tightly hooking onto Zheng Qian's neck and pulling at his clothes, as if afraid he would leave again.

"She's wearing clothes that are way too thick; it's not good for her body to dissipate heat, and it might even worsen her cold and cause a high fever. Sigh, if I don't go to hell, who will? Little Shuxin, please don't blame me; I really don't have any other thoughts!"

Zheng Qian sighed and tremblingly reached out his hands to begin disarming her.

But just as he was about to start, Deng Shuxin seemed to giggle.

Zheng Qian was startled.

He hurriedly whispered her name a few times, and only when there was no response did he continue his work.

...

Who knows how much time had passed.

Deng Shuxin opened her sleepy eyes.

It was strange, but the unbearable discomfort she felt earlier had largely subsided. Perhaps because she had sweated so much, she felt incredibly thirsty and her body still felt weak. She struggled to get up, subconsciously grabbing at the bed...

This grab was no small matter; it instantly woke Deng Shuxin up completely. What was this?

"Hmm... Deng Shuxin, are you trying to make me unable to have children?"

Zheng Qian was woken up by a sharp pain.

He smiled bitterly, grabbed Deng Shuxin's wrist, and struggled to move it away from his body. "Seeing you've recovered your strength so quickly, I can rest easy! Do you want to eat something? I'll make you some noodles."

Deng Shuxin was blushing like crazy; she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

Just now, hmm... hmm?

Why was Zheng Qian lying beside her?

She hurriedly looked down, and her cheeks turned even redder!

She clearly remembered wearing a wide-neck knit sweater and slim-fit jeans during the day. But now... she was actually wearing her cute bunny nightgown from home. This... this definitely wasn't changed by her sister... could it be...

However, Zheng Qian hadn't removed her bra; he had only unhooked the shoulder straps.

Hmm, that was better for breathing.

Honestly, when Zheng Qian was disarming her, he had no other thoughts, and his hands were very well-behaved. He did it purely out of the intention to make Deng Shuxin more comfortable; he absolutely had no intention of taking advantage of her.

But from Deng Shuxin's perspective, it was a completely different story. She was inexperienced in such matters, so naturally, she was incredibly shy.

But... she had an indescribable feeling; it felt like there was a small sense of happiness?

"I, I don't want noodles. Let me make you some noodles."

Deng Shuxin hurriedly sat up and said subconsciously.

Zheng Qian hurriedly waved his hand. Her body had only just started feeling better, and it was likely still the medicine working; how could he let her make him noodles? He went to the kitchen, searched around briefly, and brought back some bread and milk to tide them over.

"Drink some milk. It's not good to take this kind of cold medicine on an empty stomach."

"Mm."

Deng Shuxin obediently tilted her head back and opened her mouth.

Watching the white milk spill from the corner of her mouth, Zheng Qian sighed slightly in his heart. He couldn't help but think: You really should be thankful you met me. If you had run into some unscrupulous scumbag, you would be in for a lot of trouble right now.

He had been taking care of Deng Shuxin earlier, and he didn't know when he had fallen asleep.

It was already eleven o'clock at night; it was no longer appropriate to rush to the hospital to keep watch. After thinking about it, he simply sent a message to Xu Shuyun and decided to stay here. It would be one thing on a normal day, but since he had run into Deng Shuxin being sick, he couldn't just leave her without care.

It was fine when Deng Shuxin was feeling unwell and asleep, but now that they were both awake, it felt slightly awkward.

So she suggested watching TV.

But as luck would have it...

Why was every channel playing romance movies today?

"Qian, could you hold me? I'm a little cold." Deng Shuxin curled up on the sofa and said prettily.

Zheng Qian nodded. He really didn't think much of it and subconsciously pulled her into his arms.

However, fate intervened.

The atmosphere was just right.

On TV, the male and female leads were running towards each other, like dry firewood meeting a raging fire, ready to ignite at any moment. Invisibly, this began to influence the feelings between the two of them. Unknowingly, the posture between Zheng Qian and Deng Shuxin became increasingly ambiguous.

Finally, with a tacit understanding, they embraced each other passionately.

After a night of fragrant sweat.

It greatly promoted Deng Shuxin's blood circulation, expelling waste from her body through metabolism. The more they fought, the lighter she felt, and her condition was excellent. The dizzy, heavy-headed feeling from the day was gone; instead, she felt more vigorous with every encounter.

Even though it was the first time, it felt like it had been going on for a long time.

And what was Xu Shuyun doing now?

She was in the hospital room, studying very diligently, burning the midnight oil.