"Is there a problem?" Chang San asked nervously.
Lin Zhilan sighed. "How can anyone take this medicine long-term? It will affect her liver and kidneys."
Chang San's expression changed.
He was also a doctor and had considered this issue, but he truly had no other choice.
Kong Baozhu had a period of severe agitation and depression every day. If he didn't give her some sedatives, she would constantly make a fuss and smash things around the house.
Once, she even injured Shen Man by throwing something.
Chang San couldn't stay at home to watch her all the time, so giving her medicine was the absolute last resort.
"I understand," Chang San said solemnly. "Starting tomorrow, I will take her off the medicine."
Lin Zhilan nodded. "Massage her Taichong, Neiguan, Shenmen, and Baihui acupoints every night before bed. It will boost her yang energy, calm her nerves, soothe her liver, and clear internal heat. As long as you keep at it, she can manage without the medication."
Chang San nodded, committing it to memory.
Lin Zhilan glanced at Shen Man.
Kong Baozhu didn't have an organic disease.
Shen Man was her true "prescription."
"Manman, we'll be making your custom orthopedic braces in a couple of days. Are you afraid of the pain?"
Shen Man shook her head and said firmly, "I'm not afraid."
"Good girl." Lin Zhilan patted her head.
Shen Man's hair had grown quite long.
It was hot in the middle of summer, and previously, for convenience, she had always let Chang San chop it short with scissors.
Lin Zhilan smoothed out her hair with her hands and tied it up using the hair elastic on her wrist.
"This length is just right. Tying it up makes it much more refreshing."
Shen Man touched her ponytail and revealed a small smile. "Thank you, Aunt Lin."
"You're welcome," Lin Zhilan asked her. "Do you know how to tie your own hair? Do you want me to teach you?"
"I'll tie it." A voice suddenly came from behind.
Kong Baozhu was holding onto the doorframe, muttering, "I'll tie her hair, I'll tie it..."
Chang San hurriedly went to coax her. "You don't need to tie it, be a good girl."
He coaxed his wife like he was coaxing a child, even more exaggeratedly than how Lin Zhilan usually treated her own daughter.
Chang San always felt that he was a burden to his wife and daughter. Especially after Kong Baozhu fell ill, he refused to let her do any chores at all.
"Dr. Chang," Lin Zhilan suddenly spoke up. "Let her give it a try."
"This..." Chang San hesitated. "I'm afraid she won't know her own strength and might pull Manman's hair and hurt her."
"It's okay, I'm not afraid of the pain," Shen Man looked at her father and said.
While Chang San was still hesitating, Kong Baozhu walked straight toward her daughter, repeatedly muttering, "I'll tie... I'll tie her hair..."
Lin Zhilan gave Chang San a reassuring look and took two steps back to make room for her.
Kong Baozhu walked up behind her daughter. Her movements were a bit clumsy, as if she didn't know where to start.
But gradually, she became more adept.
Taking her time, she gathered Shen Man's hair into a bunch and tied it with the elastic Lin Zhilan had left. The dullness on her face seemed to fade away as well.
Chang San watched, somewhat spellbound.
At this moment, his wife seemed to have returned to the way she was before she got sick.
"Sister Baozhu, you tied it beautifully," Lin Zhilan praised as she looked at her.
Hearing this, Kong Baozhu revealed a trace of a shy smile.
She even lowered her head slightly, just like a little girl, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her shirt.
Lin Zhilan walked out and said to Chang San, who was seeing her off, "Dr. Chang, I think from now on you can let Sister Baozhu do some simple tasks within her capabilities. Even picking beans or playing with mud would work. Using her hands more will be good for her."
"I'll remember that. Thank you, Dr. Lin."
Thinking of the scene of Kong Baozhu tying their daughter's hair just now, Chang San's eyes were still stinging with tears.
Lin Zhilan shook her head. "If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back. Bring Manman to the department tomorrow. I found the village carpenter to custom-make orthopedic braces for her and Liu Feng."
"Okay, okay. Thank you, Dr. Lin."
Lin Zhilan smiled helplessly. Anyway, around Chang San, the two words she heard the most were "thank you."
...
The price for Su Lang's stubborn insistence on carrying their daughter during the day had finally come.
After having dinner at her in-laws' house and returning home, they coaxed the two children to sleep.
Lin Zhilan went to the washroom to help Su Lang scrub his back.
As soon as the towel touched him, Su Lang let out a low gasp.
"Does it hurt?" Lin Zhilan frowned. "I used the same amount of force yesterday, it shouldn't."
When he carried their daughter back tonight, his wound had already started aching faintly. Su Lang knew this was the reason.
If he said it out loud, Zhilan definitely wouldn't let him move around tomorrow.
"It's nothing, I just pulled a muscle," Su Lang said in a low voice.
His gaze inevitably fell on his wife's full chest, then quickly darted away.
It was summer, and the collar of Lin Zhilan's pajamas was loose.
When she leaned over to scrub his back, a patch of snowy white skin was perfectly exposed.
Su Lang got a direct view and immediately choked. "Cough, cough."
"What's wrong?" Lin Zhilan patted his back.
Because of this movement, Su Lang's head was almost buried in her embrace, and his cheek instantly brushed against a soft mass.
But it quickly moved away.
Su Lang could only say he was fine. Lin Zhilan gave him a strange look and continued to scrub his back.
Several times, Su Lang's conscience flared up, and he wanted to remind his wife to mind her revealing neckline.
But in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say it, because Su Lang realized he actually really wanted to look.
Su Lang silently cursed himself for being indecent.
Yet, in the very next second, his mind clearly conjured up his wife's graceful figure, and he even had the urge to reach in and fondle her.
"Here," Lin Zhilan handed him the towel. "You can wash the rest yourself."
Su Lang didn't take it. He looked up at his wife.
Zhilan's expression was quite normal, but her slightly lowered eyelashes, rosy lips, fair face, and curvy body seemed to be exuding a fragrant scent at all times.
"Cough, it seems you didn't wipe it clean," Su Lang's voice carried a hint of huskiness.
"You scoundrel!"
Lin Zhilan glanced down at his lower half, fiercely threw the towel at him, and slammed the door as she walked out.
Su Lang lowered his head and cursed under his breath.
Returning to the bedroom, Lin Zhilan was already lying in bed.
A blanket was placed in the middle of the bed, dividing it into two distinct sides.
Without a second thought, Su Lang tossed the blanket aside, got into bed, and hugged his wife.
Lin Zhilan struggled for a moment, but upon hearing his muffled groan, she finally calmed down.
Taking advantage of the moment, Su Lang pulled the woman into his arms, pressing her tightly against his chest.
Just as Lin Zhilan was about to push him away, she heard him lower his voice, whispering in her ear with a somewhat shameless smile, "Don't move. If you move again... my wound won't be the only thing bursting open."
Lin Zhilan gritted her teeth. "Do you have a death wish? Then I guess I saved you for nothing."
"Of course I want to live," Su Lang chuckled softly by her ear. "It's just that there are some things I can't control."
Lin Zhilan looked up at him. "How about we sleep in separate beds? Or you can go stay at your parents' place for a while?"
Su Lang sighed and gently bit her lip. "You cruel woman!"
