Helping Beautiful Women Become Stronger, I Have a Love System

23: Chapter 23 Is this what it means to be moved?Cao Kun stood up steadily. Ji Guangli was lighter than he had imagined, weighing only about ninety-some pounds; carrying her on his back was not difficult at all.

With one hand supporting her and the other carrying the bag, he strode toward the parking area.

Leaning against Cao Kun’s broad and warm back, shielded from the icy rain, Ji Guangli could clearly feel his steady pace and the body heat radiating through his soaked clothes.

Rainwater dripped from the tips of his hair, occasionally splashing onto her face, yet she felt that in this miserable rainy night, because of the solid reliance beneath her, there was an inexplicably indescribable sense of security.

The momentary panic and urgency he showed when he saw her fall just now, and his current unquestionable assertiveness and responsibility...

These subtle details were like small pebbles cast into the long-silent lake of her heart, rippling out unfamiliar circles of warmth.

A trace of inexplicable sweetness quietly sprouted in the depths of her heart.

Soon, the two of them returned to the car.

Despite Cao Kun’s best efforts to shield her, the rain was too heavy, and both were nearly soaked through.

Cao Kun quickly turned on the air conditioner’s warm air and took out some tissues to hand to Ji Guangli to wipe her face.

”How’s your foot? Does it hurt a lot? We’re going to the hospital right away,” Cao Kun said while starting the car.

Ji Guangli moved her ankle; the initial sharp pain had eased significantly, turning into a dull ache and swelling.

”It seems... not that painful anymore. Maybe it’s just a slight sprain. No need to go to the hospital; resting at the hotel should be fine.”

”Really? Don’t try to tough it out,” Cao Kun said, worried.

”Really, it’s much better now,” Ji Guangli nodded with certainty.

She didn’t want to delay tomorrow’s important business over such a small matter, and... she didn’t want to trouble Cao Kun any further.

Seeing that her expression didn’t seem fake, Cao Kun finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned the car around to drive back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, they each returned to their rooms. Cao Kun, still worried, added another reminder: ”Leader, if you feel uncomfortable, call me anytime.”

”I know. Go take a hot shower quickly so you don’t catch a cold,” Ji Guangli replied, swiping her room card.

After taking hot showers to dispel the chill of the rainy night, both went to bed early to rest and build up energy for the important signing the next morning.

However, in the middle of the night, Ji Guangli felt waves of cold in her sleep, followed by dizziness and body aches.

She realized she might have a fever due to the rain and exhaustion.

At first, she thought she could hold out, thinking maybe she’d be better by dawn, but her temperature seemed to get higher and higher, her throat was dry and painful, and her consciousness became somewhat groggy.

At 1:30 AM, feeling too miserable to sleep, she reached for her phone on the nightstand, hesitated for a moment, and dialed Cao Kun’s number.

The phone rang seven or eight times before being picked up, and Cao Kun’s sleepy, muffled voice came through: ”Hello... Leader?”

”Cao Kun...” Ji Guangli’s voice was weak and powerless, with a clear raspiness, ”Come to my room... for a moment...”

”Ah? Now?”

Cao Kun’s sleepiness instantly vanished by half, and his heart started pounding for no reason.

In the middle of the night, his female boss suddenly asked him to go to her room?

This plot... why did it seem so much like certain scenes from Japanese adult films?

His mind involuntarily began playing some unhealthy images, and his mouth suddenly felt dry.

”Mm... hurry...” Ji Guangli said, then hung up the phone exhaustedly.

Hearing the busy tone, Cao Kun became even more certain of his guess.

How... desperate is the Leader?

Even her voice sounds weak and strained!

He bounded out of bed, scrambled into his clothes, his heart racing with excitement as if it would jump out of his chest.

Before leaving, he specifically rinsed his mouth, and with a mix of nervousness and anticipation, he arrived outside Ji Guangli’s room.

”Knock, knock, knock.” He tapped gently on the door, trying to make his voice sound normal: ”Leader, it’s me, Cao Kun.”

From inside came Ji Guangli’s weak but clear voice: ”The door is unlocked... come in...”

Cao Kun took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and gently closed it behind him.

Only a dim bedside lamp was on in the room.

He looked toward the bed impatiently, but the erotic scene he expected didn’t appear. Instead, he saw Ji Guangli fully dressed, her face flushed, slumped weakly on the floor in the corner between the bed and the wall.

”Leader?” Cao Kun instantly fell from his romantic fantasies back to reality. He rushed over in a single stride and crouched down to support her.

His palm touched her arm and forehead; the burning temperature made his heart tighten.

”I... have a fever... take me to the hospital...” Ji Guangli barely opened her eyes, her voice faint as a thread.

”Okay, okay, okay! To the hospital right away! Don’t be afraid!” All of Cao Kun’s stray thoughts vanished, replaced only by anxiety and heartache.

He first carefully helped Ji Guangli sit by the bed. ”Leader, hang in there. I’ll go back to my room to get the car keys and be right back!”

He ran back to his room at lightning speed, grabbed his keys and phone, snatched a light jacket, and then rushed back to Ji Guangli’s room.

Seeing Ji Guangli’s weak state, without a word, he bent down, slipped one arm under her knees and the other around her back, and picked her up in a princess carry.

”Ah...” Ji Guangli let out a soft cry and instinctively tried to struggle, but she had no strength.

”Don’t move, Leader, this is faster.” Cao Kun held her, feeling her body was light as a feather, but her temperature was frighteningly high.

He steadied himself, walked quickly out of the room, closed the door with his foot, then rushed to the elevator and all the way down to the parking lot.

After carefully placing Ji Guangli in the passenger seat and buckling her seatbelt, Cao Kun quickly started the car and sped toward the nearest hospital he found on his phone.

On the way, he kept talking to Ji Guangli, trying to keep her conscious: ”Leader, hang in there, we’ll be there soon.”

”It’s okay, it’s just a fever. You’ll be fine after a shot at the hospital.” ”Are you cold? I’ll turn up the air conditioner a bit...”

Although Ji Guangli was dazed from the fever and felt miserable all over, Cao Kun’s anxious expression, warm tone, and that solid, powerful embrace from before...

All the details were clearly imprinted in her perception.

Since coming to work in Zhongzhou, whenever she got sick, she would just tough it out or take some medicine; no one had ever been so frantically worried for her or cared for her so meticulously.

An indescribable warm current and touch of emotion, mixed with her vulnerability during illness, struck her heart.

At the hospital emergency room, Cao Kun was busy running around—registering, paying fees, explaining the situation to the doctor, and accompanying her through the examinations.

The doctor diagnosed it as a fever caused by an acute upper respiratory tract infection. It wasn’t a big problem, but she needed an IV drip to reduce the fever and inflammation.

Hearing the doctor say this, Cao Kun’s hanging heart finally settled.

He accompanied Ji Guangli to the quiet infusion room. Looking at her pale and haggard profile, his heart was full of pity.

After the Nurse inserted the needle for Ji Guangli, Cao Kun pulled up a chair and sat beside her to keep watch.

Afraid she’d be bored, he spoke to her in a soft voice.

Afraid her hand would be cold, he asked the Nurse for a hand warmer to place under the hand receiving the IV drip.

Seeing her lips were dry, he used a cotton swab dipped in warm water to carefully moisten them.

Time passed bit by bit. Outside the window, the sky turned from pitch black to deep blue, then revealed the faint light of dawn.

Around 5:00 AM, Ji Guangli’s temperature finally dropped, and some color returned to her face.

She slowly opened her eyes and first saw Cao Kun sitting nearby, his head nodding as he dozed off, yet his hand still instinctively hovered near her arm receiving the IV, as if ready to ring the bell for the Nurse at any moment.

Looking at Cao Kun’s tired sleeping face, the softest part of Ji Guangli’s heart was deeply touched.

The bits and pieces of the past few days replayed in her mind like movie frames.

His clumsy yet persistent following and concern.

His careful memory of her food taboos and stomach problems.

His solid back and forceful care on the rainy night.

And now, his sleepless vigil and the sight of him busy running around for her...

This young man, a few years younger than her, had broken into her long-closed world in an undeniable way—forceful yet gentle—making her feel the long-lost sensation of being cherished and protected.

That feeling was bittersweet, yet accompanied by an unignorable sweetness.

Could it be... this is what it feels like to fall in love?

She... seemed to really, slightly, like Cao Kun?

This realization startled even herself; her cheeks involuntarily began to heat up, and her heart skipped a beat.

...