Wen Zhan was running out of energy, and after writing this sentence he felt a little weak and swayed.
Lu Yunchu quickly helped him lie down and said softly, "Go to sleep."
He was unable to support himself and closed his eyes, but his brows were tightly furrowed, as if he was being tortured by great pain.
Lu Yunchu asked him: "Does the wound on your body hurt?"
Wen Zhan did not react. He was so weak that he did not make any big movements. Only his eyelashes trembled slightly.
Lu Yunchu brushed aside the loose hair on his forehead and asked closely, "What's wrong? What do you want to say?"
Wen Zhan's brows furrowed even more tightly.
She could only guess: "Cold? Or is it because the quilt is too thick and hot?"
Wen Zhan opened his eyes with great effort, his eyes were filled with the struggle in the nightmare, it seemed as if he was looking at her but not at all.
Meeting his gaze, Lu Yunchu's heart shrank, and he said tentatively: "... I'm here."
The struggle in Wen Zhan's eyes became even more intense. He wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. It seemed that he had forgotten that he was mute.
Lu Yunchu thought he was having a nightmare and found it a little funny. He coaxed him like a child, "Go to sleep."
Wen Zhan was screaming in pain, he frowned, his teeth clenched, but he still looked at her without blinking.
Lu Yunchu was confused and asked tentatively: "I'm not angry?"
"I'm not worried?"
"I won't leave. I will always be with you."
She racked her brains and thought of all the possibilities, but she couldn't find the words that Wen Zhan wanted to hear.
Suddenly, her fingertips felt cold and she shuddered.
Wen Zhan's hand stretched out from under the quilt, the back of his fair hand was covered with scars, and he finally touched her fingertips while trembling.
A huge wave of sadness surged in her heart. At this moment, she seemed to feel Wen Zhan's emotions. A hollow and endless darkness overwhelmed her. She suddenly blurted out, "... I am real, and I will not disappear."
She didn't understand why she wanted to say that. Maybe it was his eyes, or the coldness of his fingertips that made her briefly fall into the same maze as him.
The pain in Wen Zhan's bones and blood was still tearing at him, but he felt relieved, smiled, and fell asleep.
Lu Yunchu sat on the edge of the bed in a daze, not coming back to his senses for a long time.
She felt weird, saying things that made no sense.
She patted her forehead, letting the depressed and bitter emotions dissipate and regaining her energy.
The sun was shining brightly outside, shining into the room through the window paper. She opened the bed curtains to let the sunlight in and dispel the darkness in the bed.
The sunlight cast a layer of peace and softness on Wen Zhan's sleeping face. She stared at him blankly for a while, until she realized that she was a little abnormal, then she suddenly came to her senses, looked away and stood up.
She went around to the utility room behind the small kitchen and dug out a brand new pot, a small metal pot that was easy to carry and often used to warm wine or make tea. Its shape was a bit like a teapot, and it was perfect for roasting pears when the mouth was blocked.
The doctor who prescribed the medicine was very careful. In addition to the usual typhoid medicine, he also packed a lot of herbs for soothing the throat and clearing the lungs.
Lu Yunchu picked out licorice and Fritillaria cirrhosa, took out the dried red dates from the bamboo basket, washed them, and put them into the cut and pitted snow pears.
Put the pear into the pot, pour in the licorice juice, then plug the stove eye, put the pot in and bake slowly.
The skin of the snow pear is slightly rough, and it tastes like it is mixed with fine grains. It is very juicy, and when you take a bite, the splashing juice sounds like sweet white sugar sprinkled in it.
When baking pears, do not use too high a temperature. Instead, simmer them slowly over low heat to allow the fine particles to gradually melt and turn into white, soft sugar juice.
While waiting for the pears to be baked, Lu Yunchu returned to the room to accompany Wen Zhan.
He shouldn't be feeling so bad anymore, his face looked calm and his brows were no longer furrowed.
She quietly looked at his sleeping face, imagining how he would open his eyes and eat the sweet baked pear after a good sleep. The corners of her mouth could not help but curl up, and her heart was filled with warm happiness.
After watching for a while, Lu Yunchu left the room and took the dried goods to the yard to dry in the sun.
After finishing the work, the roasted pears were almost ready and Wen Zhan should have woken up.
She returned to the kitchen and removed the copper plate separating the stove. A rich, sweet, hot steam instantly gushed out.
She took out the small pot with tongs, poured the roasted pears and syrup into a bowl, put a spoon in it, and brought it into the side room.
Wen Zhan had indeed woken up. He sat up and leaned on the pillow, not knowing what he was thinking. When he heard the noise, he immediately came back to his senses and turned around. Before he saw Lu Yunchu's figure, the corners of his mouth curled up.
He wrapped himself in the quilt, quietly watching Lu Yunchu coming over. With his weak look, he seemed to be particularly well-behaved.
Lu Yunchu asked: "How did you sleep?"
He smiled and nodded, indicating that it was fine.
She put the plate on the small table, walked over and touched his forehead to confirm that his temperature was normal, and asked, "Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
Wen Zhan shook his head and wanted to raise his hand to gesture with paper and pen, but as soon as he made the move, his lungs began to itch and he couldn't help but cough a few times.
Lu Yunchu quickly poured her a glass of warm water and waved his hand to indicate that it was okay.
She sat down next to him and looked at his appearance. She couldn't help but complain: "Look how weak you are. Don't get wet in the rain next time. How can your body compare with mine?" She is the indestructible cockroach-type female supporting role.
Wen Zhan shook his head and gestured with pen and paper again.
After he woke up, he was no longer as limp as when he was drowsy just now. Lu Yunchu wanted to tease him and handed him his palm: "What do you want to write?"
Wen Zhan paused, confusion flashing in his eyes. He didn't understand why she reached out her hand. Then intermittent images flashed by. He was a little bit unbelievable. He became anxious and started coughing violently.
Lu Yunchu quickly withdrew his hand, patted his back to calm him down, and didn't dare to tease him anymore.
When his coughing stopped, Lu Yunchu brought the plate over and said, "Eat something."
The skin of the baked pears is brown, wrinkled, and shrunk into a very thin layer. The pear soup around it is clear, and the honey-colored juice is like mellow old wine.
Remove the pear head that is pressing on it, and the rich sweet fragrance will become stronger, warm, like the sweetness of freshly-baked marshmallows, lingering and long-lasting.
"This is one of my favorite drinks. It nourishes the stomach, clears the lungs and relieves coughs." She explained, "I didn't add sugar, but the pear is very sweet. It's sweet even without sugar. It's worthy of Wen Jue's every year... cough." She swallowed the last sentence hesitantly, but the humiliation on her face could not be suppressed.
Wen Zhan didn't hear clearly and was a little confused, but he was not the kind of person who would ask questions.
The white smoke rising from the pear soup made people's throats dry and itchy. Wen Zhan touched the wrinkled pear skin with a porcelain spoon. It was soft but not rotten. It broke open with a touch, revealing the snow-white pear flesh inside.
The roasted pear flesh is juicy, sweet, and full of licorice juice. It has both the sweetness of fruit and the bitterness of herbs, which neutralizes the greasiness and leaves a long aftertaste.
The flesh is dense, and each grain is full of water. When you take a bite, it's like sugar water blooming on the tip of your tongue. Your whole body is like the pear flesh, moistened and soaked by the sweet water, becoming plump, which instantly smoothes out the autumn dryness and makes you refreshed.
Wen Zhan's eyes and eyebrows were tinged with this moist sweetness. He ate slowly and leisurely, and it seemed that he really liked this kind of food.
He took a few bites and suddenly remembered something, looking up at Lu Yunchu.
"What's wrong?"
He pointed at the baked pears and tilted his head slightly, with an embarrassed look on his face. He wanted to give it to her but then took it back, feeling very awkward and in a dilemma.
"Oh, don't worry about eating them. There are several more being roasted in the kitchen." After Lu Yunchu understood his thoughts, she couldn't help but laugh, "These are pears, not some delicacies from the mountains and the sea. Are you worried that I can't eat them and only give them to you?" She actually got a big basket from Wen Jue.
Moreover, as a domineering male protagonist, Wen Jue will definitely not come to ask for it. He will probably send someone to bring another basket over, and wait for her to grab a handful next time the plot is over.
As she thought about it, she suddenly realized that perhaps because Wen Zhan was a tool NPC, his memory of pears was as vague as his brief life, so he subconsciously felt that pears were also very precious.
She couldn't help but sigh.
Even if he is a supporting role, he is still a living person. Why should he live such a dull and insignificant life
Seeing Wen Zhan savoring the roasted pears so delicately, she felt a little thirsty and ran to the kitchen to serve herself a bowl.
The hot baked pears tasted just as she remembered. As she drank, she chatted with Wen Zhan, "Baked pears are a roadside snack in the northern part of the Central Plains. It seems that there are also some places in the south. It's not difficult to make. In the past, on the way home from evening self-study, the stall was always surrounded by students." She didn't care whether Wen Zhan could understand her or not. She just recalled the past. After two lifetimes, her memory was almost blurred, but there were some scenes that she could never forget.
"Usually, it is the elderly who sell them. They pull a cart with a tin box on it. The box is made into countless small squares with doors on the outside. Enamel cups are placed in the squares for roasting the pears. The colder the weather, the sweeter the taste, and the whole street is filled with the sweet fragrance." It's a pity that I was short of money at that time and seldom bought them to eat. When I grew up and changed my mood, I didn't have that feeling when I bought them again.
Wen Zhan lowered his eyes and listened to her quietly, without any impatience in his heart. Instead, he calmed down amid her chattering, with a gentle aura surrounding him.
On a cold night, on a crowded and noisy road, chattering conversations, and warm and sweet fragrance drifting far away... it sounds beautiful.
Lu Yunchu drank the sweet pear soup in one breath and felt full. He basked in the warm sunlight and felt sleepy.
She bent her waist limply, her eyes almost unable to open: "Wen Zhan, are you sleepy?"
No, it seemed like she was sleepy herself.
In a daze, she seemed to hear a soft laugh, and someone helped her lie down. A cool medicinal fragrance surrounded her, which made her feel very soothed.
She was sleeping soundly, but halfway through her sleep, she was suddenly awakened by a strong force.
Damn the plot!
She opened her eyes irritably, flipped over, saw where she was, and was shocked.
Wen Zhan was lying beside her, his black hair like a waterfall, his eyes quietly closed, and his breathing steady.
The bed was very big, and he leaned against the innermost side. Even if Lu Yunchu slept here, there would still be a long distance between them.
But Lu Yunchu was a restless sleeper and rolled all the way from the bed to Wen Zhan's side.
No wonder she smelled a soothing medicinal fragrance in her dream, and the fragrance became stronger and stronger. It turned out that she was moving in that direction unconsciously while sleeping!
She looked at her dishonest feet, which were almost touching Wen Zhan. If she slept for a while longer, she would probably fall on top of him. She never expected that the plot of lacking Dade actually saved her once, otherwise she would be so embarrassed.
She looked at Wen Zhan's quiet sleeping face and couldn't help but sighed softly, "He is so handsome."
She reached out and brushed aside the loose hair on his temples. She was not well-educated and could not come up with any nice words. She could only sigh, "How beautiful."
Ben wanted to watch it for a while longer, but the plot suddenly pulled her up.
Lu Yunchu complained in his heart, I know, I know, I will go and follow the plot now.
She went out cursing, not knowing what to do today. In case she had to wait too long and miss dinner, she felt that the plot was not very urgent, so she turned a corner to the small kitchen to get some baked cakes, and left a letter for Wen Zhan before finally leaving.
When she walked out the door, she heard a suppressed coughing sound coming from inside the door, as if the sound had been held back for a long time and finally couldn't be contained anymore.