It was as if she was saying: Come on, dear sister, quickly feed brother.
If not for the fact that he was wrapped up like a mummy, Tang Xiaomin would have beaten him until he was incapable of caring for himself.
No one else was around, so the task of attending to Tang Xu naturally fell to Tang Xiaomin.
She put on a cold face and brought a chair to sit beside Tang Xu.
Slowly, she opened the thermal container and set out the bowls and chopsticks.
Zhang Meiyu had made corn stewed with pork ribs for Tang Xu today. Because Tang Xu was seriously injured, not much seasoning was added.
Tang Xiaomin looked at the bland soup and suddenly thought of something. A cold smile played on her lips.
Then, she took a packet of seasoning from her bag and, while Tang Xu wasn't paying attention, added all of it to the soup.
It was the wasabi that the shop had given her last time she went to eat fried chicken with Shu Ya and the others. No one had used it then, so she had casually put it in her bag when they left.
After stirring it evenly, she scooped up a spoonful of soup and even blew on it considerately.
Her tone was gentler and more caring than ever before.
"Here, have some soup."
Seeing Tang Xiaomin's gentle demeanor, Tang Xu felt that his injury was worth it.
Touched, he drank the soup Tang Xiaomin fed him without a second thought.
Suddenly, an extremely pungent flavor stimulated his taste buds. He had the illusion of snot rushing out of his nose, as if his nostrils were unleashing a Kamehameha.
Instantly, Tang Xu's face turned green.
He looked at Tang Xiaomin with a complex expression. The bit of relief he had felt earlier vanished at this moment.
It seemed she still held a grudge against him, and that was why she was deliberately tormenting him like this.
Forcing himself to swallow a mouthful, Tang Xu had a thousand words he wanted to say to Tang Xiaomin.
Seeing his pained and frustrated look, Tang Xiaomin genuinely smiled.
"Is it too hot? Then I'll blow on it a few more times, and it won't be hot anymore."
She didn't slack off either. She scooped up another spoonful of soup and diligently blew on it a few times.
"Here, Ms. Zhang stewed this nourishing soup for you. Drink more, and your injuries will heal faster."
Tang Xu's face darkened. He truly feared the soup.
"This soup... the taste seems off."
"Is that so?"
Tang Xiaomin put on a look of surprise.
"Ms. Zhang stewed this soup for you, how could it possibly taste off?"
Tang Xiaomin pretended to taste it.
"It tastes fine. Although her cooking isn't as good as mine, this is her effort. You shouldn't be so picky."
"Xiaomin, this soup is too spicy."
"There's no chili in it at all, how can it be spicy? Why don't you try another sip and see?"
"Perhaps not."
"How can that be? Hurry up and try."
Disregarding Tang Xu's resistance, Tang Xiaomin held his mouth open and poured the wasabi-laced soup into it.
One spoonful, another, and another...
It was like feeding him poison.
By the time she finished feeding him, Tang Xu's eyes were already watering from the spiciness.
Tang Xiaomin tidied up the cutlery and even specially took out a tissue for Tang Xu to wipe his tears.
"Look at you, crying just from drinking soup."
"I suddenly remembered, did you injure your brain and have a distorted sense of taste? I'll go ask the doctor for a referral for a check-up. Just wait here."
After leaving the ward, a cold smile appeared on Tang Xiaomin's face.
"Hmph, he injured himself and now expects others to serve him. Let's see how I serve you."
Tang Xu's brain was indeed problematic, so Tang Xiaomin naturally found a professional neurologist for him.
"Doctor, Tang Xu has a problem with his brain. He jumped off the car for no reason, and now his sense of taste is distorted. He drank plain soup and was so stimulated that he cried. Let's give him a thorough check-up, make it comprehensive."
"Ah? His sense of taste is distorted?"
"Yes."
Upon hearing this, the doctor's expression became serious.
At Tang Xiaomin's repeated insistence, a large number of examination items were prescribed for Tang Xu, including an MRI.
Tang Xiaomin considerately escorted Tang Xu for a systematic and comprehensive brain examination, which exhausted him greatly.
As he moved, his wounds were inevitably pulled, causing him to frown and grit his teeth in pain several times.
Seeing that it was already ten o'clock at night, Tang Xiaomin called Tang Yu again.
"When are you coming back?"
"Xiaomin, I can't get away. Please stay with Tang Xu tonight. I really have an urgent matter."
"What's more important than your own brother's life?"
"Xiaomin, I really can't get away. Just for today. This will never happen again. I'm really troubling you today."
"You and Ms. Zhang are in cahoots, aren't you?"
"I... how could that be? It's not like that."
Hearing Tang Yu's hesitant voice, Tang Xiaomin understood everything and didn't press further, hanging up the phone.
Tang Xu said bleakly, "Big brother will come later. It's getting late, why don't you go back? I'll be fine by myself."
He didn't know that Tang Yu wouldn't be coming to the hospital.
"He has something to do and can't make it. He asked me to stay and keep you company," Tang Xiaomin said calmly.
Upon hearing that Tang Xiaomin would stay with him, Tang Xu was deeply moved.
He had never dared to hope for this, after what he had done to hurt Tang Xiaomin.
He had noticed the wasabi packet in the trash can earlier and knew that Tang Xiaomin was deliberately tormenting him.
For him, she was feeding him poison, but as long as she personally fed it to him, he would consider it her thoughtful kindness and swallow it.
The hospital was quiet, and everyone in other wards had gone to sleep.
Tang Xiaomin turned off the lights and lay on the other accompanying bed in the ward, playing with her phone and replying to all of Yan Jue's messages.
They always had endless topics to chat about and endless text messages to send.
No matter how long it took Tang Xiaomin to reply, Yan Jue would always respond immediately.
As they chatted, sleepiness overcame Tang Xiaomin, and she unknowingly fell asleep with her phone in her hand.
In a daze, she sensed something approaching her.
Acting on reflex, she didn't think and delivered a palm strike.
Bang!
"Ah!"
A scream filled the ward.
"Tang Xu!" Tang Xiaomin exclaimed.
She turned on the light and saw Tang Xu, still wrapped like a mummy, lying crookedly on the floor, groaning incessantly.
"What happened?"
"Why did you come near me?"
"Ouch..."
Tang Xiaomin's strike not only aggravated Tang Xu's old injuries but also caused severe pain in his chest. His vision went black, and he nearly fainted, unable to speak a word.
Tang Xiaomin helped him back to bed.
"You're like this, and you're not sleeping in the middle of the night. What are you trying to do?"
The more Tang Xiaomin thought about it, the angrier she became.
"Were you trying to smother me to death while I was asleep? How can you be so cruel?"
Hearing Tang Xiaomin's accusations, Tang Xu's face was full of grievance, and his heart felt even worse.
"I didn't."
The more Tang Xu denied it, the more nervous Tang Xiaomin became.
"You didn't! If I hadn't discovered it, you would have suffocated me with a pillow by now, and you still say you didn't!"