Chapter 605 - 620: Toothache
An Ning and Jiang Xia huddled close together, clearly feeling each other’s body heat.
"Achoo—"
A sneeze pulled the two of them from the sweet, tender scene back to reality.
An Ning shot upright and looked at Jiang Xia. "I forgot!"
"Forgot what?"
Jiang Xia had just asked when he saw An Ning form a hand seal. The next second, an invisible current of air formed a shield around them, blocking the onslaught of the wind and rain.
"Being in love really does make you stupid."
An Ning’s remark left Jiang Xia unsure whether to be happy or not. At least she thought they were dating.
"It’s fine. I’m willing to get stupid with you."
It was meant to be a sweet nothing, but it earned him a look of utter disdain from An Ning. Jiang Xia, having just said it, also felt incredibly awkward.
"Alright, say no more. I get it. Brains need to stay online."
The two of them shook their heads. It seemed everyone’s love life was indeed different.
Now that Mysticism was shielding them from the rain, the downpour was kept at bay, but they were both still soaked to an unreasonable degree.
"How about we make another run for it? We can block the rain this time."
"Okay."
Jiang Xia immediately agreed. Hand in hand, they ran through the heavy rain once more, heading for the parking lot.
Thankfully, they reached the parking lot without a hitch this time. The sopping-wet pair quickly got into the car and sped off into the downpour.
The rain made the roads difficult to drive. It took them over twenty minutes longer than usual to get back to the courtyard house.
They each went to their own homes to change clothes.
Half an hour later, An Ning’s phone rang. It was Jiang Xia.
"Are you done? Okay, I’ll come over in a bit."
An Ning hummed in agreement, then put on a raincoat and grabbed an umbrella.
When the KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK sounded, An Ning was already at the door, ready.
"Why are you coming over again?"
"Let’s talk inside."
There was a round, lumpy bulge in Jiang Xia’s arms. Although he had changed into clean clothes, his hair didn’t have that fresh, just-washed feeling.
An Ning held the umbrella over Jiang Xia as they quickly went back inside.
Once inside, Jiang Xia pulled a round pot from under his raincoat and set it on the table. He rubbed his ear with one hand and said, "Drink it while it’s hot. It’ll warm you up."
An Ning opened the lid. The strong smell of ginger made her look at Jiang Xia and ask, "Did you take a shower?"
Jiang Xia shook his head, grinning. "I’m going back to shower right now. You drink it while it’s hot for the best effect."
An Ning didn’t say anything else, just urged Jiang Xia to go back and shower.
"You have some for yourself, right?"
"I do. Don’t worry, I’ll drink it as soon as I get back."
Jiang Xia left.
He didn’t let An Ning see him out, just splashed through the water and ran back to his place next door.
An Ning turned back inside and drank the ginger soup.
After downing the whole pot of ginger soup, An Ning broke out in a sweat.
But she felt warm and comfortable all over. She took out her phone to send Jiang Xia a message and quickly got a reply.
_I showered and drank the ginger soup._
Seeing the affirmative response, An Ning told Jiang Xia to get some rest.
But a moment later, another message came from Jiang Xia, asking if An Ning was tired.
An Ning replied that she wasn’t.
Somehow, the two ended up playing an idiom chain game on their phones.
Two hours passed in their back-and-forth, and in the end, An Ning won by a landslide.
「The next day」
An Ning woke up early. The rain outside had stopped at some point during the night.
When the early-rising An Ning went outside, she found the courtyard was flooded, and a small bucket in the yard was filled to the brim with water.
"Good morning!"
Jiang Xia appeared, climbing over the wall.
"It’s all flooded! Wait a second, I’ll come over and clear it for you."
An Ning wanted to say she could do it herself, but Jiang Xia had already jumped down.
A moment later, Jiang Xia came over carrying a shovel and started helping An Ning clear the standing water and silt.
An Ning was left with no chance to even lend a hand, so she could only stand aside and watch Jiang Xia work.
"Comrade Jiang Xia, are you planning to take over all the chores at my house?"
"That is precisely my intention."
Jiang Xia straightened up and said, "Comrade An Ning, please enjoy this with a clear conscience. This is what a man who loves you should do. Even though there are some things where I can’t compare to you, there are many things you can rely on me for."
An Ning stared at Jiang Xia without blinking for a long while.
"Jiang Xia, this is the first time you’ve said you love me."
That one sentence made Jiang Xia flush red to his neck. He lowered his head in embarrassment and mumbled, not so quietly, "But I already did."
The two of them stood there foolishly in the courtyard, having just completed their first confession before their relationship was even official.
Over an hour later, the courtyard was mostly clean. Jiang Xia turned to go back and make breakfast.
An Ning felt it was too much trouble, so she ended up going out to buy fried dough sticks and soy milk for their breakfast.
After breakfast, Jiang Xia went to work, and An Ning prepared to go check on the school.
The day passed peacefully, with neither of them running into any trouble.
That evening, the two finally had a romantic dinner, which counted as their first official date.
「Early the next morning」
Jiang Xia came over carrying breakfast, and An Ning noticed something was different.
"What’s wrong with your face?"
An Ning noticed Jiang Xia’s face was a little puffy.
Jiang Xia covered one side of his face and said, "My tooth hurts a little."
"Open your mouth, let me see."
Jiang Xia obediently opened his mouth for An Ning to take a look.
With the help of a flashlight, An Ning saw that the gum at the very back of Jiang Xia’s mouth was badly swollen.
"It looks like an inflamed wisdom tooth. Do you have any medicine for it?"
"I had my assistant buy some. I took it today, so it should be fine by tonight."
An Ning nodded. She certainly hoped so.
Jiang Xia didn’t eat much for breakfast. After they finished, An Ning cleared the dishes. Jiang Xia then went off to work, and An Ning headed out as well.
That evening, An Ning got ready to pick up Jiang Xia.
When Jiang Xia walked out of the building’s entrance, An Ning thought she was seeing things.
She ran up to him, saw his pitifully swollen face, and desperately wanted to laugh.
"How did it get this swollen?"
Jiang Xia’s left cheek was so swollen it looked like he was holding an apple in his mouth, making it hard for him to even speak.
"Don’t talk. We’re going to the hospital."
An Ning instinctively supported Jiang Xia, helped him into the car, and headed for the hospital.
Jiang Xia’s employees naturally noticed their boss’s swollen face, but when they saw An Ning helping him away, their first collective thought was: ’What a brilliant scheme, Boss!’
The completely misinterpreted Jiang Xia was taken to the hospital by An Ning, where she registered him for the dental department.
As the two of them waited in line outside the dental clinic, they watched a dentist inside working on a patient with a chisel and hammer, making a loud TAPPING and CLANGING sound. Then, the dentist used a pair of pliers and yanked with all his might.
If it weren’t for the awkward angle, they seriously suspected the dentist wanted to plant a foot on the patient’s face for leverage.
"Actually, it doesn’t hurt that much."
As soon as Jiang Xia said that, he took two steps back, only to be yanked forward again by An Ning.
"You want it to swell up to the size of a pumpkin?"
Jiang Xia shook his head and argued weakly, "It’ll go down in a couple of days."
"Jiang Xia, stand still!" At her sharp command, Jiang Xia stood obediently, his expression vivid as he watched the dentist at work. He then turned to the patient behind him and said politely, "Why don’t you go first?"
"No, no, no, don’t be so polite. You should still go first."
The patient behind them took two steps back, being extremely deferential.
"Alright. Next, Jiang Xia."