CHAPTER 74: CHAPTER 74: A TREAT FROM JING JIHAN

After getting up, Shi Su was at a loss for what to do due to limited mobility.

After putting on the cervical collar again, she leaned back on the bed in the children’s room. She initially wanted to call Mianmian in, but upon hearing the sound of cartoons from outside, she decided not to.

A notification sound from WeChat came through on her phone; Jun had created a three-person group chat with Jun, Chujiu, and Shi Su without her knowing.

Chujiu: [Luckily, it’s not a fracture, otherwise it would be hard even to type on a phone. Is Shi Su awake yet?]

Chujiu: [Yesterday on set, Shi Su looked unwell, and I saw her go to the restroom several times. Is it the time of the month? She must be feeling worse now. I wonder how she’s doing, is her stomach hurting? I’ll have a friend make some brown sugar and ginger tea for her. Yesterday’s river water was particularly cold; she better not get sick from it.]

Jun: [She has been staying up late these past few days, I guess she hasn’t woken up yet. Let’s ask her later.]

It was inconvenient for Shi Su to look down at her phone due to the thing on her neck, so she stiffly kept her neck straight to look at the messages, holding her phone with one hand and using a single finger to poke at the screen for a while: [No need to send anything, I’m fine. Chujiu, you should rest well too. How’s your arm?]

Her stomach was still mildly aching, and while she was typing that she was fine, a cramping pain made her grit her teeth, wishing she could curl up on the bed like a hedgehog.

But with this thing on her neck, any thought of curling up vanished; sitting upright was quite good already.

Seeing Shi Su’s response, Chujiu quickly sent a voice message: "I have a dislocated wrist and muscle strain in the shoulder and neck area; it’ll be better in a few days. When you’re back at the set, Shi Su, I’ll be as lively as ever to look after you! Don’t worry about me!"

Shi Su smiled at her phone, and just as she did, she let out a small "ah" from her mouth. The pain in her stomach tightened like a clenched muscle, causing a cold sweat to break out instinctively on her forehead.

Perhaps she really got chilled from the river water yesterday.

She closed her eyes, put down her phone, and sat quietly in the room, holding her stomach in agony, unsure of what to do when suddenly she caught a whiff of a delicious aroma wafting in.

She sniffed again, more eagerly this time.

It was actually the smell of braised ribs.

She had been sleeping all morning, resisting getting up for breakfast due to neck pain. Now she was genuinely hungry, her stomach cramping and growling at the same time.

She felt so pathetic.

Sitting by the bed, she sighed in frustration.

She didn’t want to acknowledge that the man she saved a month ago was now the one taking care of her, but the aroma of the braised ribs was irresistible, and she finally got up and slowly walked out.

Just as she reached the children’s room door, Mianmian, as if telepathically connected to her mommy, ran in. Seeing her mommy wanting to come out, she immediately stretched out her soft, chubby little hand to help her: "Mommy, take it slow, I’ll help you~"

Shi Su asked her softly, "Is Ji Han in there?" She pointed toward the kitchen as she spoke.

"Yes!" Mianmian guided Shi Su to the sofa, thoughtfully handing her the remote, intending to give up the TV to her bored-looking mommy.

Then Mianmian cheerfully ran to the kitchen to help Uncle Ji Han, even though she didn’t know how to help, she just wanted to.

Holding the remote, Shi Su didn’t really want to watch TV but somehow ended up tuning to the Jiang City financial economy news channel.

The TV was broadcasting a certain company’s ongoing project collaboration, but recently, there seemed to be no news about that Yu Jing Group.

"Wow!" suddenly came the muffled exclamation from Mianmian in the kitchen: "So good to eat——"

The aroma of the braised ribs had already filled the room. It was clear Mianmian managed to sneak a rib to eat when she ran into the kitchen.

Shi Su touched her aching and growling stomach, resigned to waiting for Mianmian and Ji Han to feed her.

When she finally got to eat the first bite of ribs, Shi Su suppressed her urge to compliment, looking inquisitively at Ji Han, then awkwardly turned her neck to look at Mianmian: "Was the steak you had last night this good too?"

Last night, Shi Su was exhausted and fell asleep straight from evening to noon today. She didn’t get to eat the steak and guessed that little piggie Mianmian ate it all.

"Yes, delicious, super delicious, much better than the steaks we had at the children’s restaurant, no, like a million times better!" Mianmian exclaimed with exaggerated hand gestures, attempting to convey how much better.

Shi Su slowly shifted her gaze back to Ji Han, deeply unsure how this stoic and untouchable man managed to cook such a dish. It was indeed as superb and overly characterized by Mianmian, so much so that Shi Su couldn’t help but grab another piece for herself.

This man she picked up a month ago, how many more surprises might he have in store?

Knowing she was truly hungry, Jing Jihan asked calmly, "Is it alright for you?"

How could it not be alright? It was delicious!

Being cared for by someone for the first time in so long, Shi Su was filled with gratitude and was about to nod in praise, but moving her head sent a sharp pain through her, causing her to let out an "ah" and quickly raising her hand to hold her neck in pain.

Jing Jihan noticed her pained expression, his cool brows subtly furrowing: "Just eat quietly, don’t move around."

Shi Su took half a minute to regain her composure, forcing back the tears brought on by the pain, picked up her chopsticks once more, and placed another rib into her mouth.

Delicious!

The pain seemed to vanish instantly.

Used to living independently while raising a child, Shi Su couldn’t remember the last time anyone took care of her.

She felt she could eat a whole plate of those ribs.

As she ate, she felt an inner echo of Mianmian’s exaggerated praises: Wow, so tasty~

-

Meanwhile.

In Jiang City, at the Jing Family’s old house.

Mr. Jing had just heard about the mess that Jing Yuanbin had stirred up in the company, and he was so upset that he couldn’t eat any of the delicious dishes in front of him.

Jing Luozhou quickly scooped a spoonful of lotus seed soup and placed it in front of Mr. Jing, suggesting he drink some to calm his anger.

"I wonder how my brother is eating outside." Jing Luozhou mused while adding some dishes to Mr. Jing’s plate, trying to shift his focus: "Instead of being angry with those people at the company, you might as well worry about my brother’s affairs."