Chapter 72: Had I Known, I Still Would Have Chosen Only You

"Changzhi, you wouldn't happen to be a muscle-bound hunk on the outside, but a fragile darling on the inside, would you?" Cheng Yuan joked to herself. "If that's the case, I'd be getting the short end of the stick. If I'd known, I would have chosen... Oh well, knowing me, I probably still would have chosen you."

She had fallen for him at first glance. Rather than a calculated decision, it was more like an instinctive yearning of the heart in a split second.

When Xie Changzhi opened his eyes, he was once again greeted by a vast expanse of white.

His body shivered uncontrollably, and the single, tattered cotton quilt offered no warmth at all.

"Changzhi, Mammy is going to find a doctor for you. Be a good boy and stay in bed, don't go outside and catch a cold, you hear me?"

Mammy appeared out of nowhere. She stood beside the couch, her weathered face full of tenderness and heartache.

Mammy? It's Mammy? No, I can't go! I can't go! If I go, I'll die!

Xie Changzhi tried desperately to open his eyes, but he felt as though he were trapped in a cage, with obstacles blocking him on all sides. His eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he could only listen anxiously as the footsteps slowly faded away.

Little Xie Changzhi curled up tightly beneath the quilt, a tear slipping from the corner of his eye.

"Changzhi? Changzhi? What's wrong?"

A cautious, tender call, filled with utmost gentleness.

Xie Changzhi felt the voice was so familiar, just like the voice of the fairy sister he used to hear when he was little...

Yet, trapped here, unable to speak or move, he was frantic with worry.

Cheng Yuan rested her chin in her hand, looking with puzzlement at the tear at the corner of Xie Changzhi's eye.

She blinked, suspecting she might have seen things.

Could it be sweat trickling down from his forehead?

Why would he be crying in his sleep?

Xie Changzhi's brows furrowed tightly, the expression on his face no longer calm, and sweat beaded increasingly on his forehead. Cheng Yuan's expression grew somewhat grave—could he be having a nightmare?

"Changzhi? Changzhi? What's wrong?"

No matter how many times she called, Xie Changzhi kept his eyes tightly shut, filling Cheng Yuan's heart with anxiety.

"Yuanyer, the medicine is here." Uncle Wang hurried in from outside, carefully shielding the bowl of medicine.

A bowl of pitch-black, bitter-smelling medicine was shoved into Cheng Yuan's hands, causing her brows to knit together almost instantly.

"How are we supposed to feed him with his mouth closed? Yuanyer, can you wake him up?"

Uncle Wang tried calling out twice, but Xie Changzhi didn't budge at all.

Cheng Yuan glanced at Xie Changzhi and shook her head. "It's fine."

With one hand holding the bowl of medicine she had blown on to cool, she reached out to his chin. With a sharp *crack*, she dislocated his jaw, poured the medicine straight into his mouth, manually clamped his lips shut to help him swallow the concoction, and then popped his jaw back into place.

Uncle Wang watched with a gaping mouth, a hint of shock coloring the way he looked at Cheng Yuan.

Silence fell over the room for a moment. After a brief pause, Uncle Wang suddenly slapped his forehead. "Ah! I just remembered something!"

Cheng Yuan looked at him.

"Just now when I went to the apothecary to get medicine, I ran into that Huang boy. Hearing that Changzhi was sick, he was the one who packed this medicine for me, saying it was extremely useful. He even asked where your shop is, saying he might drop by when he has some free time. That's all right, isn't it?" Uncle Wang asked somewhat nervously.

Thinking it was nothing major, Cheng Yuan nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Wang. I'll give you the money for the medicine later."

Uncle Wang let out a dismissive scoff. "What money? In the shop, besides helping out, I get room and board, plus I'm paid so well. If I nitpicked over a small thing like this, I wouldn't even be human!"

He paused before asking, "Yuanyer, when are we going back?"

He was missing his wife at home and eager to share the good news about his current job.

"In a couple of days. When we head back, I'll give you your wages all at once, Uncle. From now on, we'll go back every five days and rest for two before coming back." Cheng Yuan thought for a moment and said.

Uncle Wang counted on his fingers and cried out in alarm, "How can that be? The shop's business is so good! If we close for a few days, aren't we just losing out on several days of profit?"

Cheng Yuan smiled. "Uncle Wang, you don't understand. This is called hunger marketing."

Seeing that Uncle Wang still wore a bewildered look, she explained further, "Do you remember the 25% discount for the first one hundred customers?"

Uncle Wang nodded. "Of course I do. The business is best right when we open, and by afternoon, I actually have time to sit down and drink some tea."

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head. "Hunger, hunger... does that mean making them want to buy when they can't, so that when we open, we get even more customers than usual?"

Cheng Yuan nodded in appreciation. "Uncle Wang, you're actually quite suited for business. You're very smart—you catch on instantly."

Uncle Wang rubbed the back of his neck, somewhat embarrassed. "Bah! I don't know many characters, I'm really no good at business."

Seemingly afraid that Cheng Yuan would elaborate further, he quickly found an excuse to slip away. "Yuanyer, I'm going to the front to check on those young lasses."

Cheng Yuan shook her head helplessly and turned her gaze back to Xie Changzhi. His expression had calmed down by now, and his breathing was steady.

To be honest, Xie Changzhi was actually quite handsome.

She bent down and softened her voice involuntarily, "Changzhi, wake up soon. When you wake up, I'll buy you candied haws."

"Changzhi, wake up soon. When you wake up, I'll buy you candied haws."

The gentle voice echoed in his ears once more. Xie Changzhi looked around in bewilderment—where on earth was the fairy sister?

He had regained control of his body by this point, crawling off the bed with his small hands and feet, walking barefoot into the freezing snow, but Mammy was nowhere to be seen.

Clenching his fists, he looked toward the courtyard gate. A voice seemed to urge him to go outside and see what was happening.

After hesitating for who knows how long, he relaxed his fists and collapsed right where he was.

Blinded by the glaring white of the snow-covered world, he squeezed his eyes shut as two trails of clear tears slid down his cheeks.

"Ew! Why is there a dead person here? Is he dead? I told you there was no point in coming, he's frozen to death, and these herbs went to waste! It's freezing, and Father forced me to come anyway! I want to go back and drink chicken soup!!"

A spoiled, high-class voice rang out.

Xie Changzhi propped himself up and found himself staring into a pair of dark, bright eyes. The owner of the eyes was visibly startled, letting out a yelp before hurling the pile of medicine paper parcels straight at him.

"Are you a ghost or a human?"

The young master, dressed in luxurious garments, cowered in terror behind his servant.

"Second Young Master, he's still alive," the maid beside him said.

Xie Changzhi gave him a faint glance. There were at least six or seven maids and pages standing behind him.

Noticing his calm demeanor, Xie Xinzhi realized he had lost his composure.

His young face flushed with shame and annoyance. After seemingly racking his brain for a moment, he snapped, "You concubine-born bastard! What are you looking at? I am the legitimate heir of the Xie family, you have no right to look at me like that!"

Without sparing him even a single glance, Xie Changzhi picked up the medicine parcels and slowly trudged back into the house.

Xie Xinzhi was left hopping mad, howling in frustration.

"Second Young Master, he was cast aside by the Master long ago, you needn't lower yourself to his level."

"Second Young Master, it's cold outside, let's return to the courtyard. This servant will tell the Master that you've delivered the medicine."

"Just a little wretch whose birth cursed his father and mother. Second Young Master, you are the true precious gem of the Xie residence..."