Chapter 45 – The Giver and The Receiver

Zhao Xi looked up at him, trying to see from his facial expressions if he was confused or had any suspicions. However, Shen Fei was just like his usual self, looking calm and expressionless as he pushed his wheelchair towards the cupboard to retrieve the medicine.

Shen Fei slept on the inside of the bed. If he got off the bed, he would definitely have to climb over her. Yet Zhao Xi had no recollection of being aware that Shen Fei crossed over her limp body.

She had been in a very deep sleep, barely conscious of her surroundings.

The cupboard wasn’t too tall, so Shen Fei was able to reach for the medicine easily. He opened the cap, and poured it out into his palm.

“How many pills do you need?”

To provide him with more ease in moving around, the bamboo planks that were holding his arm in place previously were long since removed. She had been reminding him not to use too much force, but occasional exercise wouldn’t be an issue.

His body was strong and healthy to begin with. With his young age, and the fact that his left shoulder’s dislocation was not too serious, his recovery was smooth and rapid. Even procuring things and pouring out the medicine was now possible for him to do so.

“Three pills.” I should recover faster if I eat two more

Zhao Xi was about to push the blanket away and get off the bed, but Shen Fei stopped her. He passed the pills to her, and went to get her a cup of water. The water was boiled yesterday, but was kept warm.

As he was seated in his wheelchair, movement was a little inconvenient, and pouring the water required quite a bit of effort. Finally after filling it to the brim, some of it spilled while he was returning. He was only left with half a cup by the time he passed it to Zhao Xi.

Zhao Xi had already placed the pills in her mouth and was waiting for him to bring the water over. The medicine was bitter as expected, but Zhao Xi didn’t find it terrible. Instead, she felt quite happy.

She was being taken care of. Is this how it’s like when someone cares about you?

All these years, Zhao Xi had never felt this way before. Not even from her teacher whom she’d lived for so long. Or her Grandmaster.

There was once when her teacher had passed her to a family to help take care of her. After leaving some money to them, her teacher then hurriedly left. They were a kind family, who also had a daughter who was around the same age as her. Whenever the daughter coughed or hurt herself by accident, the family would become worried and checked on her with much concern. When she fell sick, they would even stay by her side, day and night, to take care of her.

At that time, Zhao Xi started thinking, if only someone would treat me the same way, how nice would it be? She could be a little lazy, refrain from training every day; even if her body weakened slightly, it would still be okay. After all, there would be people caring for her.

However, the harsh reality was that she cannot fall sick. Because there was no such compassionate person looking after her. Perhaps, they would even resent her for being a burden. Only once in a while would Zhao Xi entertain such silly thoughts that if she started coughing, or hurt herself, the family would treat her the same way.

When did it happen? All she received was a simple “Why were you so careless?”

And that was the end of it. There was no bandaging, and there was no taking care of.

At that time she didn’t understand. Her injuries were worse than the daughter’s, and yet no one cared about her. Yet when it was the daughter, both of the adults even took turns to look after her.

It was much later that Zhao Xi understood. She wasn’t blood-related to them. She was but a mere stranger to these kind folks. Perhaps to her teacher, it was the same too. Her Grandmaster would sometimes check on the progress of her medical skills and knowledge, but would never talk to her about any other matters.

Zhao Xi really desired having relatives. She tried her best to build a closer relationship with her teacher, but her teacher saw her as a burden; every day, her teacher would call her “little burden, little burden”.

When she tried to build a closer relationship with her Grandmaster, her Grandmaster gave her a side eye instead. Her Grandmaster was an old lady that gave off a mysterious and spooky impression, with not a single semblance of being kindly. Zhao Xi remembered being frightened of her.

However, she was truly capable and knew everything. So long as it was related to medicine, she would teach Zhao Xi about it without withholding anything. Much later, there were people who tried to drive a wedge between them and kept asking her if her teacher or her Grandmaster was better.

Zhao Xi was unaware and kept saying that her teacher was good. This angered her Grandmaster and their relationship became more distant.

As her attempts to build closer relationships with others had failed, Zhao Xi’s heart had given up on it, and she no longer attempted to do so anymore. It was only after she came to Phoenix Mountain did she gain a newfound companionship in Ping An.

However, a bear couldn’t speak and would always have the intelligence of a three to five year old child. It was possible to take care of it, but hoping for it to take care of you… There was no need to even think about it as it was impossible.

Zhao Xi had pretty much given up on this. Yet the heavens above had shown pity. For the first time in her life, she had the experience of how it felt for the roles to be reversed.

To be the one finally receiving… gave her so much warmth inside.

Was it possible? Could he become family?