Ye Wan's mood improved, her fever disappearing as quickly as it had arrived. By evening, she felt stronger. After dinner, she decided to get some sleep, planning to be discharged the next day.
As she drifted into a daze, her body was held, startling her awake. She looked up and saw a man staring down at her.
"Why are you here so late?" Ye Wan asked him, feeling a pang of embarrassment. She thought about how she had previously believed she'd been violated, and the shame washed over her.
"Do you still feel dirty now?" Gu Yun Ting asked intentionally, observing her mortified expression.
Ye Wan's face turned beet red. "I... you... can we just not talk about it?"
"Why don't you feel dirty when I touch you? Hmm?" Gu Yun Ting was as happy as he had been angry earlier, seeing her reaction.
She didn't like being touched by others!
This realization brought him immense comfort.
When she knew it was him touching her that brought her peace, did this mean she liked him touching her?
"..."
Ye Wan had no idea. Besides, which girl liked being touched by strangers? Especially a group of them. If she hadn't had something to live for, she might have jumped off a building back then.
"Come, I'll help you wash up and get clean," Gu Yun Ting said, and then he moved lower.
Ye Wan didn't know what he meant by "wash up and get clean" until he actually started doing it.
He used his tongue to wash her, just as one would wash their hands.
...
The next day, Ye Wan was so embarrassed she pretended to be asleep. She simply couldn't face Gu Yun Ting from last night; his actions had been too shameful.
Gu Yun Ting woke up and let out a soft chuckle at the girl's cute act. He lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead before getting up to wash.
Hearing the sound, Ye Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She opened her eyes and glanced at the bathroom door. The shameful scene from the night before flashed through her mind again, and she quickly closed her eyes to continue feigning sleep.
...
After her IV drip in the morning, Ye Wan was discharged. Her phone had been discarded, so she went back to using the one she had previously repaired. This phone was new and worked well, though switching between them was a bit of a hassle.
She called Jiang Yan, and they agreed to meet at Ye Cheng's hospital.
Ye Wan arrived at Ye Cheng's ward first. Ye Cheng was delighted to see her. Ye Wan asked him how he was feeling.
"Sis, I feel much better. The doctor said I can be discharged in a few days," Ye Cheng happily shared the good news with his sister.
"That's good," Ye Wan said, feeling happy. She wondered how she would approach Gu Yun Ting about bringing Ye Cheng home to live. What was the success rate of this plan?
Or perhaps she could rent an apartment for her brother, but she worried about his safety if he were alone.
Ye Wan was momentarily undecided. These matters needed to be resolved quickly.
If it weren't for Ning Xin tricking her and nearly causing her to get into trouble, she would have started considering her brother's future arrangements much earlier.
Thinking of Jiang Yu Ling didn't stir any feelings in Ye Wan, but the thought of Ning Xin made her heart ache. She had truly considered Ning Xin a friend, only to have her almost kill herself and Jiang Yan.
"Sis, if you find a school for me, can you find one that's a boarding school?" Ye Cheng asked.
"You want to go to a boarding school? Why?" Ye Wan frowned as she looked at her brother.
"I think I can learn more that way, and I also need to make friends. Living together would help us grow closer," Ye Cheng recited the explanation he had prepared, but his real thought was that he couldn't make things difficult for his sister. She was already living under someone else's roof, and taking him with her would only add to her burden.