On a Stormy Night, the Campus Belle Knocked on My Door Seeking Shelter
Chapter 37: I Must Be the One to Feed You

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: I Must Be the One to Feed You

"No, it’s just... it was so crowded back there, I felt like I couldn’t breathe." Su Yuqing took a couple of deep breaths, considered for a moment, and then spoke.

Seeing this, Chen Mo didn’t think much of it and started walking Su Yuqing home.

Only Su Yuqing kept looking back toward the night market, its entrance long since out of view.

She still felt that the expression Lin Yu’an had shown Chen Mo was off.

She couldn’t help but recall how Chen Mo usually treated Lin Yu’an at school.

If Chen Mo had done something to offend him, Lin Yu’an might hold a grudge.

But as she thought back, all she could remember were instances of Chen Mo helping Lin Yu’an—acts of kindness and camaraderie between classmates. She truly couldn’t imagine why Lin Yu’an would look at Chen Mo with such an expression.

...

Back home, Su Yuqing sat on the sofa, gently rubbing her stomach.

"Ate too much?" Chen Mo chuckled as he looked at her. "Binge eating really isn’t good for you. I suppose I recommended too many tasty things. Next time, we should take our time and savor them."

As he spoke, Chen Mo sat down beside her. He took both of her small hands, gently helped her place them over her abdomen, and said, "I’ll teach you the right way to do it. Center your hands on your navel, one palm on top of the other, left hand underneath and right hand on top. Then, slowly move in a clockwise circle.

This direction aligns with the natural movement of your intestines. It helps speed up digestion and bowel movement, which will ease the bloating.

With this much pressure, just gentle circles."

Watching Chen Mo gently place his hands over hers, guiding her own palms to massage her stomach in a circular motion, Su Yuqing suddenly felt like she had seen this kind of scene somewhere before.

She soon realized what it was. When her mother was pregnant, her stepfather used to gently stroke her mother’s belly just like this while talking to the baby inside.

Seeing Chen Mo’s earnest expression, she couldn’t help but blush.

Seeing that Su Yuqing had gotten the hang of it, Chen Mo smiled and stood up. He walked toward the kitchen, asking, "Yuqing, do you usually have problems with acid reflux?"

"What does that feel like?"

"It’s when you get that sour taste in your throat and an uncomfortable feeling in your upper stomach, maybe after eating late."

"I don’t think so."

"That’s good. If acid isn’t a problem, then some lemon tea can help with digestion. I’ll make you a cup."

Watching Chen Mo’s busy figure in the kitchen, Su Yuqing sat on the sofa and realized that this home, with just the two of them, felt far warmer and more comfortable than her previous home with a family of four.

In that four-person household, she always felt like an outsider, so much so that it never truly felt like home.

Logically, Su Yuqing’s mother was her own flesh and blood; she shouldn’t have treated her so coldly.

But in reality, she had transferred all her hatred for Su Yuqing’s father onto their daughter.

This was especially true because Su Yuqing’s eyes and brows resembled those of her handsome, effeminate-looking father, which made her mother feel a sense of repulsion every time she looked at her.

But as a child, Su Yuqing didn’t understand this. She had only heard that if your parents divorced, you should never go with your father, because stepmothers were supposedly fierce and terrifying. So, she chose her mother.

Of course, while you can’t believe everything you hear, reality certainly taught her a harsh lesson.

At her mother’s, her stepfather didn’t often give her a hard time.

But whenever she visited her father’s house, her stepmother’s words were like needles wrapped in cotton—subtly, but deeply, piercing.

She rarely spoke, but when she did, every word was a fatal blow to the heart.

So, in not choosing her father, Su Yuqing had indeed made the right decision.

But it was merely a case of choosing the lesser of two evils.

No matter which she had chosen, there would have been no escaping her bleak childhood.

Sitting quietly in the living room, Su Yuqing was suddenly afraid. She was afraid that the dreamlike happiness she’d experienced over the past two days was all an illusion.

She was terrified that if she closed her eyes tonight, she would wake up tomorrow back in that cold, four-person household.

Just as Su Yuqing was lost in a daze, she suddenly felt a warmth on her forehead.

Chen Mo had come over at some point and was now pressing his forehead against hers.

This was something Chen Mo’s mother often did when he felt sick, a way to check his temperature that she claimed was more accurate than using the back of her hand.

And so, Chen Mo had picked up the habit.

But he only ever did it with people he was close to; it wasn’t something he’d do with just anyone.

"You don’t have a fever," Chen Mo said, sitting down beside her with a worried expression. "But you seem a little out of it, and you look pale. Are you feeling unwell?"

Su Yuqing had looked pale just now purely because she was afraid the happiness before her was just an illusion, one that would shatter like a soap bubble.

When someone who has long been in a repressive environment suddenly experiences unimaginable happiness, the suddenness of it can certainly plunge them into a short-term state of anxiety and insecurity.

They begin to doubt whether it’s real, or even whether they truly deserve such happiness.

Su Yuqing would gradually feel better during the day, only to be plagued by anxiety and insecurity at night. This was, in fact, her depression rearing its head.

Ever since the moment she stepped onto that rooftop, depression had been a constant companion in her life.

It was just that, at the right time, she found her pillar of support, which gave her the strength to hold on.

Depression is an illness that one can eventually overcome, provided they have the help of a suitable environment.

But if the environment remains hostile, recovery becomes incredibly difficult.

Su Yuqing was in a good environment now. All she needed was time to heal.

"Here, honey lemon water. I added a little mint, too. Both are good for your digestion." Chen Mo used a spoon to scoop up the prepared drink and slowly brought it to Su Yuqing’s lips.

As Chen Mo rested the porcelain spoon against Su Yuqing’s lips, a sweet and tangy aroma, laced with the fresh scent of mint, immediately wafted into her nostrils.

She took the warm liquid into her mouth. The tip of her tongue first met the thick sweetness of the honey, followed by a slight sourness from the lemon that made her eyelashes flutter.

A pleasant warmth slid down her throat and into her stomach. Finally, the coolness of the mint kicked in, neutralizing the heat.

"How is it? Not bad, right?"

Su Yuqing smiled and nodded, but said, a little embarrassed, "I can drink it myself."

"No. You’re too full right now, so you can’t just drink it like regular tea. You have to drink it slowly, at this pace, one spoonful at a time.

That way, it won’t make you feel even more full, and it’s most effective.

You keep rubbing your stomach, and I’ll feed you. Or, I could rub it for you. I don’t mind either," Chen Mo added half-jokingly, leaving Su Yuqing speechless with his perfectly reasonable excuse.

But having Chen Mo waste his time slowly feeding her like this... Su Yuqing felt a mix of sweet, touched emotions and a sense of guilt.