Volume One, Chapter 16: Please Properly Recognize Your Place

Even though it was the height of summer, Shen Qingran felt the air around her drop by several degrees. This man truly was like a natural human refrigerator, equipped with an innate cooling function. She was genuinely amazed.

At this moment, she couldn’t leave; otherwise, it would seem ungrateful since he was helping her fix the circuit breaker.

After standing for a while, an inexplicable itch crept over her, and she couldn’t help but bend down to scratch her calf. Unexpectedly, the more she scratched, the itchier it became.

Just then, the light inside the house flickered on. Shen Qingran quickly stepped inside and, sitting on the edge of the sofa, rolled up her pants.

There were two large swollen red welts—mosquito bites. Good heavens, these mosquitoes were vicious!

Huo Tingxiao, who had just come in behind her, noticed the swollen bumps on her otherwise fair and smooth calves. The sight was quite alarming.

Sensing his gaze, Shen Qingran hurriedly pulled her leg back.

“Sorry, have you eaten yet?” she asked softly, instinctively retracting her leg as he stared at it. Did he think she was trying to seduce him? She regretted not holding back and waiting until he left to deal with it.

But the unbearable itch left her restless, forcing her to pretend to shift her posture to ease the discomfort.

Finally, seeing him turn and walk toward the study, Shen Qingran breathed a sigh of relief.

The sound of rummaging came from the study, but before she could scratch again, he suddenly briskly walked back to the sofa.

Her moist eyes showed a flicker of surprise, and she was about to stand and give way.

“Sit down.”

Hearing the commanding tone, Shen Qingran only half-raised herself before timidly settling back down.

“Huo Tingxiao, is there something you need?” she asked in a soft, somewhat plaintive voice, as if afraid of something.

He dragged a stool over and sat down. “Give me your leg.”

Her leg? Giving it to him?

When she hesitated, Huo Tingxiao bent down and lifted her right leg, feeling her body stiffen involuntarily.

His voice was indifferent.

“The mosquitoes in Ningshi are quite fierce. If you don’t apply medicine, the swelling will worsen by tomorrow. It will itch a lot.”

Shen Qingran was startled, biting her lip. It really was itchy.

After a moment’s hesitation, she gave up resisting. Applying the medicine was no big deal.

She quietly turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.

Huo Tingxiao coldly rolled up her pant leg.

On her once radiant pale calf, the swollen welts measured three to four centimeters across, faintly seeped with blood—likely from her scratching earlier.

His large hand gently pressed on one of the welts.

Fortunately, no special treatment was needed.

His rough fingertips caused Shen Qingran’s entire body to tremble slightly.

She couldn’t understand what Huo Tingxiao was doing now. Wasn’t he supposed to keep his distance? Then what did this mean?

She pressed her lips together, watching silently as Huo Tingxiao applied the translucent green ointment to her calf.

Immediately, a cool and slightly tingling sensation spread through the skin.

She couldn’t help but let out a soft “hiss.”

The itch was truly gone.

“Apply this twice a day, morning and night,” he said, capping the bottle and lowering her leg.

The silk-like touch vanished, and surprisingly, he felt a twinge of regret. His brow furrowed briefly in a fleeting daze.

He stood up.

“Do you want to stay for dinner?”

Out of courtesy for his kindness in treating her, she decided to be polite.

He gave a brief “hmm.”

“Oh, okay, then wait a moment—I’ll prepare the meal.”

Soon, Shen Qingran brought out a small plate of braised pork, a dish of water spinach, and a bowl of shredded radish soup, along with two bowls of rice.

“Let’s eat.”

Seeing that he hadn’t started, she took a bite of each dish proactively, as if to prove she wouldn’t poison the food.

Huo Tingxiao watched her suspiciously, as if her behavior only made him more certain something was amiss.

He picked up a piece of the braised pork and ate it. It was tender and flavorful; perhaps she wasn’t entirely useless after all.

Shen Qingran had a small appetite and put down her chopsticks after a few bites.

Huo Tingxiao frowned. No wonder she was so thin—she ate less than a cat.

“Huo Tingxiao, you eat first. I need to go next door for a moment.”

Immediately, Huo Tingxiao set down his bowl and chopsticks.

The meat in his mouth suddenly lost all flavor.

His eyes darkened, which startled Shen Qingran.

He seemed quite angry.

His gaze lingered on her face, lips curling slightly.

He simply stared at her in silence.

Then, his voice turned cold and sharp.

“Qin Xiangbei’s father is an old undercover agent, shrewd and ruthless. As for Qin himself, he works at a military factory and will surely find a suitable match in the future.”

He paused, studying her reaction before continuing.

“You are currently my wife. I advise you to know your position clearly, understand your identity, and not to entertain thoughts about things that don’t belong to you.”

Each word from Huo Tingxiao was sharper than the last.

Shen Qingran trembled from the barrage of reprimands.

She turned and stood by the kitchen sink, forcing herself to control her emotions.

She really wasn’t thinking straight to invite him to dinner.

His words were harsher than if he’d just outright insulted her.

She gasped softly and turned back, revealing the redness in her eyes, which made Huo Tingxiao pause.

She bit her lip hard.

“Huo Tingxiao, I am very clear about my status. Before we finalize our divorce, I won’t have anything with any other man. You can rest assured.”

With that, she walked toward her room, unwilling to stay or explain further.

Huo Tingxiao stared at the door, his expression darkening severely.

He looked at the remaining food and silently ate all the leftovers.

Wasting food was shameful.

After finishing, he quietly tidied up and, before leaving, glanced at her bedroom window, his gaze complex.

Had he been too harsh today?

But if he hadn’t been clear, she might have harbored wild thoughts.

After a long while, Shen Qingran heard the door close outside and saw his departing figure through the window before stepping out of her room.

She looked at the tidy table—bowls washed clean and neatly stacked aside.

Suddenly, she felt a wave of speechlessness.

This man was too contradictory.

Best to keep her distance.

—

The next morning, Shen Qingran went to the military district’s herbal medicine shop to buy ingredients.

Her knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine came from an old herbalist who had lived next door to her grandmother in a past life. That herbalist had been a royal physician, especially skilled in dietary therapy.

Currently, dietary therapy was the most suitable approach for Qin Dahai’s condition.

She purchased white atractylodes and pork tripe for soup. White atractylodes strengthens the spleen and benefits qi, while pork tripe nourishes the stomach and spleen by its shape. This soup could alleviate stomach pain and bloating caused by spleen and stomach weakness.

After buying the ingredients, Shen Qingran headed home.

At the door, she suddenly realized she didn’t have a clay pot for slow cooking. With limited money, she couldn’t just buy one.

She decided to check if the elderly neighbor next door had one.

As she opened the door, a shadow suddenly rushed toward her.

With a thud, someone knelt before her, tears streaming down their face.

“Sister! I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. Please, I beg you, forgive me!”