Yan Feng was speechless for a moment.

When did this girl learn to bargain?

He had no choice but to help the young girl sit up halfway, remove her outerwear, and gently wipe her back with a towel.

"Not the front," Yan Feng said, standing up and lifting the blanket below the girl's calves. "That's for your husband to see, understand?"

Chen Xi kept her eyes closed, nodded obediently, and remained silent.

After switching to a towel for her feet, Yan Feng moved the girl's delicate feet to his side. But before he could do much, she instinctively pulled them back, her eyes slightly open, looking at him with a pitiful gaze.

"It tickles..."

"Bear with it, just a couple of times."

"Oh..."

Yan Feng couldn't help but laugh. Chen Xi was just too adorable when she was sick, especially with that pitiful, coquettish look that was so endearing.

After a simple wipe of her calves, it was done. Although he didn't know why Chen Xi also showed the same resentful expression that Feng Yao had when she left...

At this moment, the young girl had already fallen into a deep sleep, her serene face still flushed from the fever, which made Yan Feng feel a bit dazed when he accidentally caught sight of it.

She really looked like her mother... too much like her...

Looking at that face, Yan Feng suddenly felt a pang of sadness and reached out to tidy the hair on her forehead.

Sweat had matted her long hair to her forehead, making it difficult to separate, but fortunately, he was meticulous enough to finish the task carefully.

It was this meticulousness that allowed him to take a close look at the girl's stunning beauty for the first time.

Feeling the warmth at his fingertips, Yan Feng looked at the still feverish Chen Xi, unable to resist gently caressing her cheek, his lips moving, his eyes dim.

Just then, she seemed to sense the comfort from the outside world, instinctively nuzzling into the palm of his hand, that pitiful look of seeking security tugging at his heart.

She really... really looked too much like Bai Xi...

Unconsciously, Yan Feng was mesmerized. Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen in the enclosed room, or maybe the close proximity had caused him to catch a cold too. At this moment, he felt dizzy and feverish, his breathing labored, and his fingers accidentally brushed against the girl's thin lips.

In his daze, the girl's face overlapped with the woman in his memory, and just at that moment, Chen Xi's lips moved slightly, as if sending a tempting signal...

Before his mind could drown, reason awakened him, and realizing what he was thinking, Yan Feng immediately stood up and stepped back, biting his lip and shaking his head vigorously, as if to dispel the seductive thoughts swirling in his mind.

With a sigh, he sat back down beside the young girl. It was already nine in the evening.

Taking care of a patient was an exhausting task, and after a busy day, Yan Feng felt a bit tired, so he decided to lean against the headboard and take a nap.

He had a dream, dreaming of his sister appearing before him, dreaming that they were still living together as carefree as before...

He proposed to Bai Xi in the woods, put a ring on her finger, watched her joyful smile, and they kissed, promising to be together forever.

"Water... water..."

Consciousness returned to his body, and Yan Feng was startled awake by the voice beside him. Turning to look at the young girl, he saw her struggling to seek help from him with her eyes closed.

He hurriedly grabbed the water cup from the bedside and helped the young girl drink, a wave of regret washing over him. He should have been focused on taking care of her.

"Cold..." the young girl mumbled, her expression pained, her body curling up, instinctively seeking warmth nearby.

Her consciousness seemed to return to that cold rainy night, alone and helpless, hungry and cold, not knowing where the road ahead led, not knowing what tomorrow would bring...

Fortunately, this time, the cold in the dream only lasted a short while, because Yan Feng's embrace was warm.

At that moment, Yan Feng held Chen Xi's frail body in his arms, listening to her contented purring like a kitten, and finally let out a long sigh.

Perhaps the fever had worsened, as Chen Xi had been complaining about the cold earlier, and adding several blankets didn't help. It wasn't winter, and he couldn't find an electric blanket, so he resorted to this last measure to keep the young girl warm...

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Fortunately, it worked, and Chen Xi slept soundly in his arms.

As memories swirled, he recalled how many years ago, he too had been sick, feverish, and cared for by his sister. The most vivid memory from that time was...

A gentle kiss on his forehead.

The influence Bai Xi had on him was too strong, so strong that he believed everything she did was right, so strong that it changed his perception...

So he pursed his lips, slowly leaned down, imitating his sister's actions, and moved closer to the young girl's forehead...

It should have been a tender gesture, a caring act, but Yan Feng overlooked one thing, something that could change everything.

Chen Xi was not him.

Her beauty was enough to disturb one's mind.

The string of reason suddenly snapped, whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made one.

As if driven by an unseen force, the man's kiss didn't land on her forehead but went a few inches lower, committing a grave mistake before his consciousness returned to clarity.

He... kissed her lips...

A soft moan shattered the silence, and also shattered the fog before Yan Feng's eyes. His pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly retreated, gasping for breath, wiping his mouth with his hand, then bringing it to his nose.

It smelled of locust flowers...

Regret and guilt came rushing in, and Yan Feng got up and rushed out of the room, stumbling into the bathroom, frantically washing his mouth like a madman.

No... no...

What was he just doing!?

How could it... how could it be!?

Looking at himself in the mirror, Yan Feng felt a myriad of emotions. Bai Xi had left a note out of trust, entrusting the young girl to his care, yet he...

"Slap! Slap!"

With wet palms, he slapped his cheeks twice, finally coming to his senses. Thinking back carefully, Chen Xi seemed to have been in a semi-conscious state just now, perhaps... she didn't notice anything amiss?

After much internal struggle, in the end, he returned to the room with a sense of hope.

"Little Xi? Are you... awake?"

There was no response, and the man breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body going limp, as if he had worked a full day, collapsing onto the chair by the bed.

Fortunately, Chen Xi was still asleep, unaware of his earlier misconduct.

As long as she didn't find out... and he didn't say anything... it would be fine, right?

He thought, the tension leaving him, fatigue washing over him, and he couldn't help but nod off, completely unaware that the young girl's lips, supposedly in peaceful slumber, had already curved into a strange smile.