Chapter 52: I'll Sleep with You Tonight

They returned to the residence.

The car came to a halt in the garage.

Lin Ting stepped out, keeping her back straight. Her steps looked steady, but her pace was much slower than usual.

"Does it hurt badly?" Shang Moting asked.

"Not at all." Lin Ting continued to deceive herself, hoping it might lessen the pain just a little. She felt as though the agony was so intense it was making her legs cramp. "Not painful in the least."

Shang Moting: "............"

Upon reaching the living room and changing her shoes, Lin Ting looked at the spiral staircase with a sense of dread.

Shang Moting watched her for a moment and asked again, "Are you really not in pain?"

"Really not in pain." Lin Ting kept up a brave front, but her legs were weak from the ache. She needed a moment of psychological preparation just to face the stairs.

Shang Moting was still holding the bag of sanitary pads she had bought. He stood with her for a moment before effortlessly scooping her up with one arm.

Lin Ting was startled, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.

Shang Moting carried her upstairs, asking, "Are you trying to deceive yourself, or are you trying to deceive your period?"

"I'm trying to deceive my brain," Lin Ting leaned against Shang Moting's shoulder, her spirit deflated. "Ask that again."

"Does it hurt?" Shang Moting asked.

"It hurts so much," Lin Ting frowned. "I shouldn't have eaten that ice cream. I was wrong."

Shang Moting looked at her, sighed inwardly, and carried her back to her bedroom.

He pulled back the covers and placed her gently on the bed.

Lin Ting immediately curled into a ball.

Shang Moting tucked her in and left the room.

Meanwhile, Lin Ting went through nearly a hundred different postures on the bed.

No matter how she lay, it hurt.

The pain drove her to the verge of exasperation.

She tried to declare war on her menstrual cramps.

Let it hurt her to death if it had the nerve!

Yet she quickly realized that it genuinely might hurt her to death.

When Shang Moting returned to her room, Lin Ting was kneeling on the bed with her face buried in the quilt.

"Painkiller. Take one," Shang Moting said, holding a glass of water and the medicine.

Lin Ting sat up in bed.

Seeing her face even paler than before, Shang Moting brought the pill directly to her lips.

Lin Ting took the pill into her mouth.

The pain was already so blinding that she couldn't even taste its bitterness.

Shang Moting then offered her the glass of water.

She grasped his hand, took two gulps, and then collapsed headfirst back onto the bed.

Shang Moting went back out to fetch heating patches and brown sugar ginger water.

He had just had someone buy the supplies, and the ginger water was brewed by the housekeeper.

He scooped her straight up from the bed.

Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he let her lean against him.

"Come on, drink a few sips," Shang Moting held the brown sugar ginger water to her lips.

Lin Ting held the cup; it was a bit hot, so she took small, hesitant sips.

Shang Moting used his hands to warm the heating patches up a bit before applying one to her lower abdomen.

He placed two more on her lower back.

Lin Ting handed the cup back to him.

Shang Moting set it on the nightstand, but he didn't leave.

He touched her hand; it was icy cold. "At this temperature, you could freeze water into ice."

Lin Ting murmured, "Don't mention ice. Just hearing the word makes my stomach hurt worse."

Recalling some tips and pain-relief methods he had asked about over the phone earlier, Shang Moting paused, then placed his hand gently over her lower abdomen.

Caught off guard by the sudden gesture, Lin Ting's body stiffened.

With the heating patch and her clothes as a barrier, Shang Moting rubbed slowly. "They say massaging it helps ease the pain."

Lin Ting gripped his clothes tightly and remained silent.

"The painkiller might take a little while to kick in," Shang Moting added.

Lin Ting stopped tossing and turning, clutching his shirt as she endured the ache.

The warmth from the patch gradually increased, accompanied by the gentle rubbing of his hand against her lower belly.

With her eyes closed, Lin Ting's thoughts drifted back home.

She missed her master sister.

And she missed that kind benefactor brother.

A brother whose face she had never seen and whose voice she had never heard, yet who had meticulously cared for her for over seven months.

Gradually, whether it was the painkiller taking effect or the hand resting on her stomach, the pain began to recede.

In its place came an overwhelming, exhausted drowsiness.

Unable to keep her eyes open, a wave of frail sleepiness washed over her.

Leaning against Shang Moting, Lin Ting quickly drifted off to sleep.

Shang Moting continued to rub her stomach softly. Hearing her breathing level out, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Though fast asleep, Lin Ting did not let go of Shang Moting's shirt; she still held it tightly in her fist.

Shang Moting looked down at her hand, smiled faintly, and gently pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

Such a little girl.

For over an hour, Shang Moting let Lin Ting lean against him, his hand resting continuously on her stomach.

Seeing that she was deeply asleep, he carefully laid her down and tucked the quilt around her.

Just as he turned to leave, Lin Ting suddenly reached out and caught his hand.

Shang Moting looked back and saw that she was awake.

"Did I wake you?" he asked.

Lin Ting held onto his hand, reluctant to let him go.

When people are at their most vulnerable, they always tend to indulge in the warmth right in front of them, unwilling to step back out into the cold.

Even if it were an illusion, she wanted to drown in it, if only for a brief moment.

"Hmm?" Shang Moting looked down at her.

Lin Ting couldn't think of any plausible excuse to make him stay.

"Does it still hurt?" Shang Moting asked.

"Yes," Lin Ting said. "Can you stay with me for a little while?"

After a moment's thought, Shang Moting sat back down on the edge of the bed.

Lin Ting scooted to the other side, making a little room for him. "Do you want to lie down for a bit?"

Shang Moting raised an eyebrow, his sharp features seeming capable of piercing right through a person's thoughts.

Lin Ting hurriedly explained, "I—I don't mean any impropriety! I—I just meant that lying down isn't as tiring."

Leaning against the headboard, Shang Moting said, "If you want me to stay, you can just say so."

"If I say it, will you stay?" Lin Ting asked.

"No," Shang Moting replied.

"Then why are you—?" Lin Ting began.

Shang Moting chuckled, stroked her head, and said, "Go to sleep. I'll stay right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Even after I fall asleep, you won't leave?" Lin Ting looked up at him.

"I won't leave," Shang Moting promised.

Lin Ting closed her eyes. Just as she was drifting off, she forced herself awake again. "If you get tired of sitting, you should lie down."

"Alright," Shang Moting rested his hand on the crown of her head. "Go to sleep."

Lin Ting closed her eyes once more and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

And Shang Moting truly stayed by her side the entire night.

Leaning against the headboard, he spent the whole night sitting there.

Lin Ting didn't move once through the night. When she opened her eyes the next morning, the first thing she saw was the belt on Shang Moting's waist.

She stared blankly at it for a moment, and as realization dawned, she immediately sat straight up.

Her sudden movement woke Shang Moting as well.

"Did you really stay here the whole night?" Lin Ting asked, feeling both astonished and guilty.

Shang Moting straightened his posture and massaged his lower back. "Does your stomach still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore," Lin Ting said.

Shang Moting nodded, seeing that her complexion had also improved.

Noticing him pressing a hand against his aching back, a surge of profound guilt washed over her. She leaned forward, wanting to massage his back for him.

However, the moment her hand touched his waist, Shang Moting's body suddenly stiffened.

He looked down at her.

Lin Ting froze for a second as well, then hastily offered an explanation: "I'll help you. I'm repaying a debt. You helped me rub my stomach yesterday, so I'll help you massage your waist today. Tonight, I'll come sleep with you."

Shang Moting raised an eyebrow. "—?!"