"This millet porridge was personally made for you by the Young Mistress in the hospital kitchen, where she stayed by your side the whole time. Please drink a little more, Young Master."

Butler Shen's eyes held a strange moisture, perhaps from concern over how pale the Young Master looked after the surgery, or perhaps from being moved by the Young Mistress's devotion to him.

"The doctor said you can only have liquids right now, so I cooked some millet porridge. You should only drink the top layer of rice oil."

Yin Xiaomo gently blew on the spoonful of rice soup until it was cooler and brought it to his lips. "Try to drink a little more; it will help your body recover."

For some reason—Ou Chen did not open his mouth, his eyes dark as night amidst the warm fragrance.

"Don't you like it?" She paused, confused. "But, I remember..." A long time ago, he had a severe cold and fever and wouldn't eat anything, yet he consumed a large amount of millet porridge. That's why she assumed he liked it.

"Ah, I see..." She smiled.

"You like a little sugar in your millet porridge, right? Sweet makes it delicious. But the doctor specifically warned against anything sweet right after surgery, as it might cause high blood sugar. Could you bear with it for a few days? I'll make you something extra delicious to make up for it afterward."

Her voice was incredibly soft.

Like a gentle wife tending to a temperamental husband.

The two special nurses in the room blushed, glancing at each other and stifling small laughs.

Butler Shen shot the two nurses a stern look, signaling them to leave. Then, he too tiptoed out, gently closing the door, leaving the space only for the two of them.

In the golden sunlight.

Ou Chen leaned back slightly against the hospital bed, his face still somewhat weak and pale, tubes inserted into various parts of his body, an IV dripping into his wrist.

Yin Xiaomo fed him the porridge spoonful by spoonful, meticulously careful not to stain him even a tiny bit. He watched her in silence. She put away the emptied thermos and gently wiped his slightly cracked lips with a warm cloth.

"You don't need to do this..." Ou Chen managed, his voice husky.

With the surgery complete, his life and hers were no longer intertwined. Now, her concern and tenderness would only make the days without her more agonizing for him later.

"Try to sleep a little more. The doctor said you can try walking in the garden for some fresh air this afternoon."

She seemed not to hear what he said, gently leveling the head of the bed and carefully tucking the blanket around him.

"Sleep now. I'll stay with you."

She sat down beside the bed and murmured softly.

*In the afternoon, with the doctor's approval, Yin Xiaomo indeed pushed Ou Chen in the wheelchair for a stroll in the garden.

The sunlight was unexpectedly warm and brilliant. She helped him walk slowly across the lawn. The gentle autumn breeze, the vibrant green grass, and her subtle perfume drifted into his breath.

"You've had a fever for the last few days..." Ou Chen gazed at her fair profile, feeling that she was supporting his weight with all her strength, and she had only just recovered from being ill herself.

"It's all gone now."

She smiled, then shook her head. "Really, I must have worried everyone. Perhaps I even talked nonsense."

"Xiaomo..." "No matter what, let everything that happened before just pass, okay?" she interrupted him, saying with a smile, "Look, that big tree ahead is beautiful. Let's go sit there for a while."

On the way back to the ward.

They passed the Intensive Care Unit.

Yin Cheng had also woken up from the anesthetic. A nurse was checking his blood pressure, pulse, and changing the dressing on his wound.

Seeing Yin Xiaomo and Ou Chen outside through the glass window of the ICU, Yin Cheng waved to them with a bright smile despite his weakness.

Summer of Foam III