Night, Yu Dong’s House. Within the narrow Bathroom was where Yezhe and Yudong were currently situated.
Just as he was helping Yudong into a stable position, the girl suddenly grabbed the boy’s collar with both hands.
Immediately after, her entire body slumped toward Yezhe. Seeing Yudong’s face getting closer and closer to his own, the boy had no choice but to reach out and catch her face.
By pure chance, his broad palm happened to cover Yudong’s lips.
“Ugh…”
Just as he felt relieved that he had prevented their heads from colliding, the girl in front of him trembled violently.
Then, a powerful sound of vomiting rang out.
Following it was the sensation of slimy warmth spreading across his palm.
“Yudong! You…”
Yudong had vomited onto Yezhe’s hand.
The boy was caught off guard by this sudden situation.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing the girl’s pained expression and eyes full of tears, he swallowed his words.
With a sigh, he slowly stood up, hooked one arm under the girl’s armpit to prop her up, and helped her find a better angle.
“Cough, cough… Ugh…”
The moment he moved his hand away, Yezhe heard a series of violent retching sounds.
The girl, drunk as a pulp, braced one hand against the cold wall of the toilet while the other gripped the collar of her own shirt, pulling downward with all her might.
The cotton fabric was pulled taut, the seams emitting occasional “screeching” moans as the thin threads snapped one by one.
However, this didn’t hinder Yudong’s self-destructive strength in the slightest.
She was in too much pain.
The unstoppable spasms in her stomach felt as if an invisible hand were stirring wildly inside.
Her throat rolled uncontrollably due to the invasion of foreign matter.
Rather than calling it the sound of vomiting, it was more like a wail of agony.
After all, the sound was a bit terrifying.
It carried an intensity as if she were going to vomit out her very internal organs, and the tears in her eyes wouldn’t stop flowing.
Finally, the hand she used to support herself against the wall slowly rose, clenched into a fist in the air, and smashed down repeatedly.
After a heavy “thud,” the boy beside her felt as if the entire room had vibrated along with the girl’s movements.
“Cough… Cough, cough! …”
The wave temporarily subsided.
The girl’s hand, clenched into a fist against the wall, slowly lost its strength, and the hand clutching her clothes also dropped, turning instead to rest on the toilet to prop up her head.
“I feel so miserable… Yezhe… I…”
The girl gasped for breath.
Cold sweat on her forehead had soaked her bangs, causing them to stick together in clumps.
The hand supporting her head trembled from time to time.
Forcing herself, the girl shifted her gaze to stay on Yezhe’s face.
Reflections of tears shimmered in her dark, void-like eyes.
The corners of the girl’s mouth trembled slightly as if she wanted to say something, but her throat had become hoarse from the previous exertion, and she couldn’t make a sound.
“Save… Save me.”
Three simple words, yet the girl could not voice them.
“What did you say…?”
Seeing the girl’s lips constantly trembling, Yezhe finally realized she wanted to speak and hurriedly leaned his ear closer.
“Save… Ugh…”
Unexpectedly, just as Yezhe leaned forward, the girl covered her mouth and turned away again due to the churning sensation in her stomach.
“Ugh…”
Another bout of intense vomiting followed.
Heart-wrenching pain spread from her stomach to every cell in her body, causing the girl’s entire being to shake uncontrollably.
Her tears poured down like a broken dam, wetting her disheveled face.
Truthfully, Yudong was already somewhat delirious.
The pain brought by the vomiting repeatedly crushed the girl’s teetering sanity into fragments.
Gradually, her vision began to blur, and everything before her eyes distorted into fuzzy blocks of color.
Only the bloodshot whites of her eyes remained visible.
She couldn’t think… she couldn’t think about anything…
The pain from hitting the wall was no longer enough to provide relief. Out of desperation, the girl grabbed her own hair and pulled it downward.
“Hey! You can’t do that!”
Seeing Yudong about to act, Yezhe rushed forward, forcefully pulling the girl’s hand away and holding it firmly. His other hand supported her shoulder.
Warmth was transferred to Yudong’s palm. Like a drowning person catching a straw, she gripped Yezhe’s hand with an incomprehensible, massive force, making him grimace in pain, yet he didn’t dare let go.
Finally, Yezhe endured until Yudong finished vomiting.
It wasn’t until the nausea in her stomach slowly dissipated that Yudong’s tense body finally went limp.
She lowered her head blankly, looking at the warm hand she was gripping tightly, and her shattered consciousness began to piece itself back together.
“Cough, cough! Sorry, I’m sorry… I…”
The boy’s hand had been squeezed until it was red. Visibly, she became frantic.
“I’m fine. Take your time… You’ll feel better once it’s all out.”
Forcing a smile, the boy’s hand slowly patted Yudong’s back, soothing her incredibly fragile body.
“Thank you… Cough, cough!”
The hoarseness in her throat had worsened because of the recent vomiting, to the point where Yudong could only shout when she spoke.
“Older Brother, what’s wrong with Older Sister?”
While he was looking after Yudong, a small head peeked in.
“Is Older Sister… in a lot of pain?”
At this moment, Yudong was sitting on the floor with a deathly pale face.
The commotion from her vomiting earlier had been quite frightening, so much so that Liuyin hadn’t even dared to look.
Only when the noise stopped for a moment did she come over to ask.
Fortunately, the nausea after this round of vomiting wasn’t as severe as before.
Yudong just sat on the floor gasping for air, enduring the occasional surges of discomfort.
“Ah, you came at the right time. Your Sister feels nauseous.”
As if seeing a savior, Yezhe was actually a bit excited when he saw Liuyin.
“Liuyin, could you please help by pouring a cup of water? Make it warm.”
“Oh.”
Liuyin tilted her head, and upon hearing Yezhe’s instruction, she turned around to walk out.
“Hey, wait a second!”
As if remembering something else, Yezhe hurriedly called out to her as he watched Liuyin’s retreating back.
“What is it, Older Brother?”
“You should come over and look after your Sister instead. I’ll go pour the water.”
Saying this, Yezhe stood up, patted the dust off his pants, and prepared to head out.
“Just… help by using your palm to gently pat her back for a while.”
“Oh.”
Hearing Liuyin’s response, Yezhe got up and walked out of the Bathroom, while Liuyin imitated Yezhe’s manner, slowly squatting down beside Yudong and placing her small hand gently on her back, patting it one stroke at a time.
“Where is… the water…”
Returning to the Living Room, Yezhe looked around, trying to find something.
“Ah, found it.”
He eventually spotted the water dispenser placed in the corner, but as he walked over, he realized there was nothing to hold the water.
“Maybe… check the built-in cabinet…?”
Hesitating, Yezhe crouched down and opened the storage cabinet attached to the water dispenser.
Fortuitously, there were some unused disposable paper cups inside.
Thus, he pulled one out, filled it with some hot water, and then mixed in some cold water.
Once the temperature of the paper cup in his hand was just right and not scalding, he brought it over to Yudong.
“Cough, thank you…”
Yudong was still breathing heavily.
She took the paper cup from Yezhe’s hand and took a few small sips, slowly moisturizing her throat.
After a short while, her breathing gradually calmed down.
She used her hand to brace against the floor to stand up, and seeing this, Yezhe had no choice but to support her.
After standing, with Yezhe’s assistance, she walked straight to the vanity, turned on the faucet, and used her hands to catch the flowing water to rinse her mouth.
After doing all this, Yudong turned around with a pleading look in her eyes.
“Yezhe… can you help me to the Bedroom?”
“I want to lie down for a bit.”
“Fine.”
The request was perfectly reasonable, so the boy readily agreed.
However, what he didn’t notice was…
When she said those words, a smile actually appeared on Yudong’s deathly pale face.