It was so cold. So freezing. Her entire body was shuddering and her bones felt as if it was being pricked by sharp ice needle. It was uncomfortable, the air that enter her lungs felt so cold yet it burned and left a deep mark inside her chest. No matter how thick Li ZiChen had bundled her in blankets after removing her wet clothes, all she felt was the shuddering cold.
He heard Li ZiChen whose arms were wrapped tight around her ordering the maid, "More fire woods! Now!"
"S- Sir, please let Miss AiLin hold unto this," soone passed to Li ZiChen’s hands a pack of hand warrs and he gently pushed inside the blanket for her freezing hands to beco warr.
"Is this normal?" Asked soone, and AiLin recognize it as Mrs. Li’s worried voice. She seed to be talking to soone, "She’s been freezing cold. The weather is icy but she seems to be suffering from hypothermia."
"It’s because of her ptsd," soone spoke and she was sure it ca from Li ZiChen. "She cannot handle cold a lot and her body usually drops temperature much faster than other normal people."
"How do you know about this?" Said soone and at this point everyone’s voices sound all the sa that she couldn’t figure out who was who except they were female or male.
"Bring the doctor! Less talk people," said soone else. "Move aside!"
"I’m a doctor, I’m sorry Zi Chen step aside," and that person took hold of her pulse, whispering and muttering. When soone tried to pull her away from Li ZiChen’s arms, AiLin dove her head deeper into his chest and that seed to be clear from her end that she didn’t want to be moved away from him at any cost.
Zi Chen spoke up, "Let uncle You check on her while she’s around . It’s going to be a bit uncomfortable AiLin," he then whispered and she felt a pricked on her arms.
After a while, AiLin opened her eyes again and she saw herself wrapped tightly by Li ZiChen’s arms. She lifted her head, her eyes finding Li ZiChen’s face that was only a few centiters away from her. She was taken aback slightly and tried to look over around her to see the cup of hot chocolate near their chair. There was steam brimming from the cup, aning that it was just made not long ago.
After pushing herself to stand, she heard the soft groan coming from Zi Chen as he opened his eyes and looked into her eyes, "Finally, you’re awake."
She saw his relieved as his eyes seed red for so reasons, "How long have I been asleep?"
"Three, not long," he answered as he gently wrapped his arms again around her, "Are you still cold?"
"Oh, no," she looked at herself that was bundled thick with blankets after blankets, maybe the entire blankets in the house were given to her at this point, "What happened?"
"You saved Cousin Ling and because of the ice cold water of the pond and the cold wind, you suffered from hypothermia," he answered as she shuddered again recalling the coldness.
"I’m sorry, I must have made such a ss because I’m prone to coldness," she rubbed her arms and he shook his head.
"You saved soone and that’s sothing everyone supposed to thank you for."
"Supposed?" He said it as if he didn’t feel that thank that he said everyone should have felt.
"What am I going to do if I’m the one who lose you because you saved soone else?" Li ZiChen narrowed his eyes with a soft sigh, "But I don’t want to scold you for doing what you think is right. However you and I both know that you’re prone to coldness and you’ve almost died in the past from suffering under the rain when it was winter season."
AiLin was briefly surprised and looked at him with a faint frown, "How do you know that?"
"So it’s true," he said, "You knew that coldness is going to kill you."
"Oh co on, it’s not as terrible as it sounds," she said with a deeper frown, "I’m just more weaker in winter season but that’s all, it’s nothing so big of a deal. Besides, what do you want to do while seeing your Cousin drowning in the pond? To just stand there and wait as she drowned and dies in the pond—"
"—Yes," Li ZiChen’s answer ca almost in a heartbeat. Lips parted, AiLin stared at him in disbelief.
"No, you’re insane. Do you hear what you’re saying?!" She hit him on the chest slightly, not painful enough as her hands were still lacking from energy, "That’s your family!"
"YOU’RE my family," Li ZiChen held tight to her shoulder and then made sure his eyes looked deep into her own, "I know. I know that you have done extrely well and how brave you were for protecting Ling-er. But do you really think I’d care about her safety more than you? You’re a family to too, you’re more precious than my own life."
AiLin sighed, she doesn’t want to hear Li ZiChen turning into a cold, heartless person simply because of her. She decided to concede briefly but was still annoyed and couldn’t help but ask the lingering question in the back of her head, "So what was I supposed to do if that ever happens again?"
"Call ," Li ZiChen said, his eyes bright as he uttered those words, "Don’t worry, no matter where you are, I’ll find you whenever you call to my na. Trust ," he held her hands, "Just trust and call my na, and please don’t let yourself be the one to solve the problem. I’ll solve it for you."
She could see his worries, the trembling on his hands despite the one who wasn’t suffering from the cold. She reached out to his hands, feeling her heart that couldn’t bear to see how sad he was and decided to concede, "Okay, I won’t."
Li ZiChen seed relieved after her words though she could see that he didn’t believe it at all and was just feeling a montarily relief.
Not long after, soone knocked to the room. Mrs. Li had ca with grandmother Li, both won looked extrely concerned as they had rushed in, "Is she awake?"
"Yes, she just opened her eyes," Li ZiChen said and as AiLin was about to move, he held tighter to her body, making sure she’s wrapped tight around his arms without a space to move. "Just stay around my arms, mother, grandmother, she’s still feeling a bit cold."
"No, no, don’t move AiLin. Zi Chen has a higher body temperature than everyone in the house, you should just let yourself rest around his arms," said grandmother Li hurriedly. She walked over toward AiLin and she could see the elderly woman’s eyes that were filled with sadness.
"I am sorry for what had happened, AiLin. This isn’t sothing that should have happened on your first day in our house," grandmother Li, though she had spoken in such soft and fragile tone still had the air of a nobility.
Mrs. Li added from the side, "It’s her first ti coming here yet we’ve made her scared."
"We should put more security inside the house too," said Li ZiChen from her left side. "Considering it seems that now there’s soone who want to harm us from inside of the house."
Grandmother Li’s face looked ashen, her worried face tells of how much she didn’t want to doubt her family mbers but now that there’s a victim, her heart was torn as she needed to once again doubt her family. Mrs. Li gently patted Grandmother Li’s back to ease the burden that they were about to shoulder while Ailin could only whisper, "I’m sorry."
"Oh dearest! Why do you have to apologize. This old woman is supposed to be the one bowing her head down to you."
"Not your fault, AiLin, please don’t ever apologize for sothing that wasn’t your fault at all."
"Right, do you think that soone who was about to die has to apologize for the perpetrator’s mistake?"
She was being told off by the three people and imdiately suffered the burnt. She could only nod shyly but deep down feeling guilty as the family wouldn’t have suffered if she didn’t co today. What if they think she’s a misfortune?
"Regardless," said Mrs Li, "The house will take care of everything now, AiLin. Everyone has been gathered in the living room and ZiChen’s father is questioning them."
"Wait," Ailin said, "Can I co to see it?"
They all looked at each other before nodding. As Ailin had requested it, the family would do their best to never deny her wishes as they wanted to accept her to the family with welco and open hands. Therefore, AiLin managed to make her way toward the living room again, the place packed as the children were also brought inside the room now unlike earlier where they were playing around the pond.
AiLin saw everyone’s eyes that imdiately circled around her as they had heard Third Aunt accusing her of pushing Cousin Ling into the pond. She had known this would be the reaction that she would perceived.
If this was her in high school, she would have faltered and be pushed to point of tears. But she had changed and this kind of suspicion falling over her felt nothing more than a light flick of a feather. She stood still to her stance, looking forward to everyone whose eyes were judging and looked at them back firmly with the truth.
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