Ji Yi instinctively shrank back, so He Jichen must've sensed she was avoiding him in his dreams. He suddenly tightened his grip on her wrist as his quiet mumbling grew louder: "Don't avoid me, don't... I promise I won't bug you. As long as I can see you, that's alright, I promise, promise..."
After he said this, Ji Yi noted his pleading tone as He Jichen talked in his sleep along with the heart-wrenching sadness in his fine brows.
Ji Yi's heart suddenly went soft as she lost all strength in the arm she tried to pull away.
He Jichen probably sensed she had stopped resisting him, so he gradually calmed down and relaxed his grip on her hand. Eventually, he gave off a protective feeling as he gently held Ji Yi.
Her fingers in his palms couldn't help but tremble gently.
She wanted to pull away, yet she didn't. Ji Yi stared at him holding her hand for a moment, but her fingers subconsciously ended up softly holding his hand in return.
Ji Yi didn't pull her hand away from his until He Jichen was about to finish his IV drip.
She called the nurse, who took out the needle from He Jichen's hand, then pressed a cotton pad down on his skin for a moment. After she waited for the bleeding to stop, she carefully pulled the covers over him. Ji Yi quietly tiptoed over to the empty bed nearby and laid down.
The patient room was so quiet that Ji Yi could hear the slight but rhythmic breathing of He Jichen.
She was so sleepy that she was starting to doze off, but now she couldn't sleep even with her eyes shut. Her mind was filled with the image of He Jichen holding her hand.
Their palms had long separated, yet she could still feel his warmth on the back of her hand.
He Jichen stayed in the hospital for a few days, where every meal he ate was a baby's meal.
Though things between the two of them were a little awkward because of what happened that night in Shanghai, the atmosphere seemed to naturally ease up, day by day.
He Jichen recovered from his fever in the morning of his third day in the hospital. However, because he was still in poor condition, he stayed in the hospital for observation. That evening, Ji Yi took a stroll with He Jichen in the garden of the hospital.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, people from YC came to see He Jichen to discuss business. As he hadn't completely recovered, Ji Yi restricted He Jichen's working hours. As soon as she saw exhaustion creep into his eyes, she would hold onto all the documents everyone sent over and only gave them to He Jichen after he had a long rest.
As the days went by, He Jichen recovered day by day and his working hours grew longer. Of course, at the same time, Ji Yi grew more bored as the days went on.
Sometimes, He Jichen's video conferences would last three or four hours, so he didn't have the time to bother with her.
At first, Ji Yi used that time to make up for her lost sleep from looking after He Jichen. Later, after she had slept enough, all she could do was play games with Tang Huahua to pass the time.
After dinner on the ninth night of He Jichen's stay in the hospital, the company had an urgent last-minute video conference.
They canceled their plans to take a stroll downstairs after dinner.