72: Chapter 72 No need to sleep on the sofa tonight

Jiang Fan sat in the Studio all day, but didn't accomplish anything.

Li Cheng came in to check on him before getting off work, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitated, and in the end, left without saying a word, closing the door behind him.

At eight in the evening, Jiang Fan went anyway.

Zhou Yutong opened the door.

"Brother Fan, you're here. Sister Nian's spirits are much better than yesterday; she ate a bowl of porridge for dinner."

Jiang Fan changed his shoes and went inside.

"Hmm, you should head back first."

As Zhou Yutong picked up her bag to leave, she glanced back at him before obediently walking away.

The door closed.

Jiang Fan went to the kitchen to take a look; there was still half a pot of pear water stewed at noon.

He turned on the low heat to warm it up, then took out the fat sea and monk fruit he had bought at the pharmacy from the plastic bag in his hand, and steeped a pot.

The bedroom door was open.

Shen Nian was leaning against the headboard, holding her phone.

Her complexion was indeed much better than yesterday.

"What's your temperature?" Jiang Fan asked as he walked in carrying a cup.

"Thirty-seven degrees." Shen Nian's voice was still hoarse.

Jiang Fan placed the steeped fat sea water on the bedside table.

"Drink some of this; it's good for your throat."

Shen Nian took it, sipped it, and frowned at the bitterness.

"What are you looking at?"

Shen Nian turned the phone over to show him.

On the screen was the comment section for "blue and white porcelain," with tens of thousands of comments.

"Your song was released today."

"Hmm."

"It's amazing." Shen Nian looked at him, a glint in her eyes.

Jiang Fan pulled up a chair and sat by the bed.

"How does your throat feel?"

Shen Nian took another sip of the fat sea water.

"It still hurts when I swallow. It starts to itch after just a few words, and I want to cough."

She looked up.

"The path you paved for me was perfectly laid out. But the result got stuck on me."

"Don't say that."

"I have to say it." Shen Nian's voice was raspy. "If this gets messed up, it won't just be my problem. Your credibility, the Studio's reputation, and Director Fang Yiming's side—"

"Shen Nian."

Jiang Fan interrupted her.

Shen Nian stopped, her eyes reddening.

She lowered her head, gripping the cup with both hands until her knuckles turned white.

Jiang Fan watched her lowered eyelashes and was silent for a moment.

"Shen Nian."

"Hmm?"

"I have something to tell you. Don't be in a rush to refuse; listen to me first."

Shen Nian put down the cup and looked at him.

"Do you believe that there are some things in this world... that science cannot explain?"

Shen Nian blinked.

These words sounded so out of character coming from Jiang Fan.

He was usually so logical in everything he did; this sudden remark caught Shen Nian off guard.

"What do you mean?"

Jiang Fan looked down at his hands.

How to say it?

He had thought about it the whole way in the car, but still hadn't come up with a way to explain it that didn't make him sound like a jerk.

"I have a way to help your throat recover quickly."

Shen Nian was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

"What way?"

"This method is a bit special." Jiang Fan rested his fingers on his knees, rubbing his thumb back and forth. "If I say it, you might think I'm taking advantage of you."

Shen Nian didn't make a sound, waiting for him to continue.

Jiang Fan looked up at her.

"I have a... kind of ability. After intimate contact with a specific person, I can repair their physical functions."

After he finished speaking, the room was silent for a long time.

A car horn sounded from the parking lot downstairs, sharp and short.

Shen Nian looked at him very calmly, without anger or shock.

That calmness actually made Jiang Fan feel uncomfortable.

"Do you believe me?" Jiang Fan asked.

Shen Nian didn't answer that question.

"The intimate contact you mentioned—what does that mean?"

Jiang Fan didn't avoid her gaze.

"It means exactly what you think it means."

Silence again.

This time the silence lasted even longer.

The sound of the pear water bubbling in the pot came from the kitchen.

"You helped me with my lawsuit, wrote songs for me, signed me into the Studio before—" Shen Nian coughed twice, pressed her throat to soothe it, and continued, "Was it all for this?"

"No."

Shen Nian lowered her head, staring at her fingers interlaced on her knees.

Jiang Fan stood up.

"You don't have to give me an answer now. Think about it tonight, and tell me once you've made up your mind. If you think I'm talking nonsense, or if you're unwilling..."

He paused.

"I'll go to the production team and think of other ways."

— —

Jiang Fan sat on the sofa in the living room and spread out the thin blanket from last night.

Time passed minute by minute.

Ten twenty-three.

The bedroom door made a sound.

Jiang Fan turned his head to look.

Shen Nian was standing there, holding onto the door frame.

"Come here," she said.

Her voice was very soft.

Jiang Fan stood up from the sofa and walked over.

The two of them stood face to face at the bedroom door.

Shen Nian was nearly a head shorter than him; she had to look up to see his eyes.

She stared at him for a few seconds.

Then she reached out and grabbed Jiang Fan's wrist.

"I've been depressed for a year. At my worst, I thought about jumping off the roof."

Her voice was so hoarse it was almost shattering; every word seemed to be forced out of her throat.

"It was you who pulled me up."

She paused.

"I believe you, not because of that nonsense you were talking about."

The corners of Jiang Fan's mouth twitched.

"I believe you because last night you brought me a bowl of pear water, spoon-fed it to me after blowing it cool, got up in the middle of the night to pour me water, and helped me wipe away sweat and cover me with the blanket."

Her fingers tightened on his wrist.

"If you're lying to me—"

Jiang Fan looked down at the hand gripping his wrist; it was slender and bony.

He turned his hand over and held hers.

"I won't."

Shen Nian let go of his wrist and turned to walk back into the room.

When she reached the bedside, her fingers rested on the zipper of her pajamas, and she paused.

"Turn off the light."

"Okay."

Jiang Fan reached out and turned off the bedroom light.

In the darkness, the sound of a zipper being undone rang out.

Very light, very slow.

— —

A long time later.

Shen Nian curled up in the quilt, with her back to Jiang Fan.

Her breathing slowly stabilized, but her body was still trembling slightly.

The quilt slid down a bit, revealing one of her shoulders, still covered in undried sweat beads.

Jiang Fan lay behind her, with a fist's distance between them.

"Does it still hurt?"

Shen Nian shook her head.

Silence for a while.

"That... repair thing you mentioned... does it work?"

"You'll know when you wake up tomorrow morning."

Shen Nian pulled the quilt up again, covering her entire shoulder.

After a long time.

Jiang Fan thought she was asleep.

In the darkness, Shen Nian reached out a hand and fumbled around.

She held Jiang Fan's fingers.

Not much strength.

But she didn't let go.

— —

Jiang Fan waited until her breathing was completely steady before bringing up the panel.

[Total Lifespan Value gained: 1000 points] (Deep Compatibility × 2)

[Current Lifespan Value: 21000 points]

[Remaining Lifespan: 45 days 20 hours]

He closed the panel.

Shen Nian beside him turned over, her face towards his side.

In her sleep, her brows were relaxed, her lips slightly parted, and her breathing was even.

Jiang Fan tucked in the corner of the quilt that was hanging out.

Just as he closed his eyes, he suddenly remembered something.

He got out of bed softly, stepped barefoot on the floor, and walked to the apartment door.

He crouched down, popped open the battery compartment on the back of the keypad lock, took out the two AA batteries, and placed them on the shoe cabinet.

Jiang Fan stood up and clapped his hands.

No need to sleep on the sofa tonight.