407. The Last Vacation【33/99】
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Lin Nan had to request another leave.
After taking her medicine, while the pain had lightened up a bit, she still lay sprawled on her bed, lacking even the slightest will to get up.
Originally, the five-day May Day holiday could have netted her at least fifteen hundred, but thanks to various excuses, she had taken three whole days off.
Honestly, it was a miracle that Pan Maoxin’s dad hadn’t fired Lin Nan yet—getting her paycheck docked was the least of her worries.
She was lying on the bed like a beached fish, occasionally wriggling a bit, hopelessly clutching her phone, refreshing Douyin videos over and over, but the pain in her lower abdomen made it impossible to focus. Her hand actions were just an unconscious way to k*ll time.
Chen Yao returned from the market. Since Lin Nan was dealing with excessive bl**d loss and was being tormented by pain, he thought he’d whip up something delicious to help her recover.
“How about some braised pork ribs with corn, tomato beef stew, and stir-fried Shanghai greens? Sound good?” He opened the door, looking at Lin Nan sprawled on the bed, “Anything else you want?”
Lin Nan flipped over, pointed her phone screen at Chen Yao’s eyes, and said, “I want a big lobster.”
“Not that cold stuff, pick something else.”
Instantly, she made a face of displeasure, rolled over, and changed the subject, “What about Peppa? Did he really leave?”
“He bolted half an hour ago.”
Lin Nan raised an eyebrow in surprise, her brow furrowing, “Why do you seem to dislike him so much? Weren’t you both gaming together and didn’t you go to the internet café in high school?”
Chen Yao responded with silence, busying himself washing the groceries in the bathroom sink.
“You’re a bit too jealous,” Lin Nan complained, laying flat, pressing a heating pad against her abdomen to ease the pain, “We’re just friends, what’s there to be jealous about?”
“Just not cool with it,” Chen Yao replied, washing the ribs, “It bothers me seeing him too close to you.”
“What about when I’m close to Tu Tu and Xiong Da?”
“Same thing.”
She thought she had been careful about the difference between guys and girls, but apparently, even in Chen Yao’s eyes, she was a little too touchy with other men.
She pondered, “What about Pan Maoxin?”
“You’d be better off just killing him.”
Lin Nan was so stunned she couldn’t find her words.
While she knew that male possessiveness and jealousy was a normal thing, when it came to her own situation, it felt terribly restrictive. She racked her brain trying to figure out how to make Chen Yao a bit less uptight, but after a long time, she couldn’t come up with anything, and instead, the pain in her abdomen made her toss and turn in bed.
Because Chen Yao was worried the medicine would harm her, he only let her take one painkiller, which wasn’t very effective.
He quickly finished washing the ingredients, moving back and forth between the rooms, cooking pots, and washing dishes.
“If it hurts, drink more hot water. You can’t blame others for what you did to yourself,” Chen Yao said, putting a pot of hot water on her bedside table and washing a box of cherry tomatoes, “They say it helps with bl**d replenishment.”
“Where’s the science in that…” Lin Nan chuckled helplessly, popping a cherry tomato in her mouth, “I suspect you just don’t want me to have lobster.”
“Mostly because they didn’t sell any at the market; if you want some, you’ll have to wait until the next holiday when I’ll get up early and buy it at the big supermarket for you.”
After the last greasy kitchen mishap, he had specially moved the coffee table in front of the living room window, closed the bedroom door, and finally started preparing Lin Nan’s lunch.
After May Day, there was the sports meet coming up.
If Lin Nan was still in pain by then, participating would be a big ol’ zero.
Feeling a little anxious, she didn’t particularly care about the sports meet, but she heard that it could add credits to her profile.
The more credits, the more scholarships she could snag.
That’s the real deal.
Not only was this about the cash, but there was also some prestige attached.
“Chen Yao, is the sports meet starting tomorrow?” she yelled from the bedroom.
A moment later, Chen Yao, drenched in sweat, pushed the door open, “What did you say?”
With no air conditioning or fan in the living room, and with Chen Yao cooking in the sweltering heat, he was practically drenched.
“Is the sports meet tomorrow?” Lin Nan repeated.
“If it rains, it might be postponed. If it’s just a light drizzle, it should be fine,” Chen Yao assessed Lin Nan’s anxiety, “Don’t worry; summer rain is usually heavy. Besides, even if you participate, you won’t definitely get a scholarship; they’ll check if you’ve skipped classes too.”
Even though it was scorching hot outside, there were no signs of rain whatsoever.
Lin Nan felt relieved. She had skipped quite a few classes and knew she didn’t have a good shot at a scholarship now, so her excitement for the sports meet fizzled out, and she huffed, “I’m hungry; hurry up and cook!”
“The beef and ribs are simmering; if I rush it, it’ll be tough, and you won’t be able to chew it,” Chen Yao said, popping a cherry tomato into his mouth while grimacing and rubbing his left cheek.
Noticing his little movement, Lin Nan curiously asked, “Still not done? It shouldn’t take this long!”
“No, my gums have been swollen for days,” Chen Yao sighed, “Seems like it’s getting worse; I can barely eat, and I plan to see a dentist this afternoon.”
Lin Nan was too busy dealing with her own abdominal pain to care about Chen Yao’s swollen gums, but she half-heartedly asked, “Don’t you brush your teeth regularly?”
“You’re the one who watches me brush my teeth before you let me kiss you.”
A pillow came flying at him instantly, and Lin Nan swiftly turned to face the wall, waving her hand in disgust, “Just scram; you’re not kissing me anymore to avoid spreading anything!”
“We’ve been married for ages, what’s there to be shy about?” Chen Yao climbed into bed with a grin, putting a hand on her shoulder, “Come on, give me a kiss! How can gum pain be contagious?”
“Get lost!” Lin Nan’s face turned as red as a tomato as she turned her back to him, throwing another pillow his way.
“Come on, I’ve worked hard to cook you a feast, can’t I get a little reward?” Chen Yao persisted, refusing to back down.
Seeing no way to dodge, Lin Nan’s brows furrowed, her hand gripping her abdomen again, curling up as she whimpered, “The pain just hit again…”
Chen Yao was startled by her sudden reaction: “Is it really that bad? Want to take another painkiller?”
“If you go out, I won’t be in pain anymore.”
“So you’re just saying I annoy you?” Chen Yao was both amused and helpless as he got off the bed, “From now on, let’s see if you can drink any cola; for these couple of days, no cola is allowed—you’ll only drink warm water.”
Lin Nan continued to whimper, turning away from Chen Yao and ignoring him.
Once he stepped out, she sprang up from the bed excitedly and reached under it, pulling out a bottle of cola that was half-finished from two days ago.
She hesitated, fearing that the cola had gone bad and worried that drinking it would worsen the pain; she could only put it down despairingly on her bedside table.
Without her fizzy joy juice, life felt a bit duller.
She lay on the bed with a heavy heart, clutching her abdomen, feeling like time had turned into molasses.
