Shen Yun suddenly fainted without any warning, which greatly startled Su Xiaoqi. She quickly supported him and called for the inn's attendant to help.
After a lot of effort, Su Xiaoqi secured a top-tier room and settled Shen Yun onto the bed.
She declined the kind inn attendant's offer to call a doctor and instead placed her right index and middle fingers on his wrist to take his pulse.
This process took a full fifteen minutes.
The conclusion she reached was the same as before the academy examination.
Even the symptom of fainting without warning was remarkably similar.
This was bad news.
Su Xiaoqi wore a depressed expression.
Was she going to repeat the events of last time?
“Shen Yun, Shen Yun, can you hear me? If you can hear my voice, can you move your fingers?”
Shen Yun, with his eyes tightly shut, could indeed hear Su Xiaoqi’s calls and her request with exceptional clarity.
However, he was unable to move. Despite exerting all his strength, his hands felt like puddles of mud, and no matter how he struggled, they remained completely still.
He had to wake up. Otherwise, how could he participate in the provincial examination?
Su Xiaoqi recalled that he had woken up not long after their last episode in the carriage.
This time, she sat by his side, intending to wait for him to wake up naturally.
However, the situation was far from optimistic.
She waited for a long time, watching as dusk turned into night.
Finally, day broke.
Exhausted, Su Xiaoqi dozed off, her head resting by the bedside.
The next morning, Su Xiaoqi rubbed her sleepy eyes, her first instinct being to check on Shen Yun, who lay on the bed.
She tried to discern from his sleeping posture whether he had woken up at any point.
And was merely asleep now.
But she was destined for disappointment.
Because Shen Yun hadn't moved an inch.
His posture remained exactly the same as when she had first laid him down.
Su Xiaoqi froze, her mind racing. What should she do?
Before last night, she had assumed he was merely tired and would be fine after a night's sleep.
However, things now seemed to be spiraling out of her control.
Shen Yun hadn't woken up. He wasn't just tired; he was truly unconscious.
Due to an unknown ailment.
Or perhaps it wasn't unknown, but merely a reflection of her insufficient medical skills.
Su Xiaoqi spread her hands, looking at her fingers, and a wave of helplessness washed over her.
Since arriving here, her not-yet-fully-developed medical skills had always been effective.
She had become a little complacent.
She felt heaven had been too kind to her.
Not only had it given her an infinite farming space, but it had also blessed her with medical knowledge.
She could heal the sick and help those who were starving.
She had almost begun to see herself as their savior.
But now, she realized.
How shallow her ambition was.
Even though she had helped those people, she still couldn't save Shen Yun.
As Su Xiaoqi thought of this, a sadness crept in. Her heart felt hollow, and with a faintness in her body, she leaned her head on Shen Yun’s shoulder, tears suddenly flowing uncontrollably.
She whispered softly into his ear:
“You won’t die. You’re the male protagonist. Where’s your protagonist’s halo?”
Shen Yun couldn't open his eyes, nor could he move.
But he could hear every word Su Xiaoqi spoke.
He could even feel the sensation of her leaning on his shoulder, though he couldn't see it.
Yet, he simply couldn't open his eyes or mouth.
He could only silently feel Su Xiaoqi’s sorrow for him.
His neck felt warm and wet; he knew she must be crying.
Despite her often projecting a tough exterior, she was in fact an exceptionally fragile woman.
Sometimes she was astonishingly shrewd, selling things at exorbitant prices like a cunning merchant.
But at other times, she was utterly foolish, teasing and provoking him.
Yet, no matter her mood or demeanor, he loved her.
He didn't know when it started, but it seemed to be around the time he began to suspect she wasn't the real Su Xiaoqi.
He was immensely grateful that she was solely his Su Xiaoqi.
And not the beggar Su Xiaoqi, bribed by the Su family to deceive him.
“Shen Yun, wake up quickly. If you don’t wake up, believe me, I’ll abandon you here and run away. I’m not Su Xiaoqi, nor am I Su Yurou who was once betrothed to you. To you, I’m a stranger. Even if I leave you now, you can’t blame me. When you become the top scholar and a powerful official in the future, you must not seek revenge on me. I didn’t kill your family like the original owner, nor did I cheat you, nor did I betray you.”
Su Xiaoqi spoke through her tears.
These words were ostensibly humorous, yet she found herself weeping.
If she were to abandon him and leave, would Shen Yun truly die?
And could she truly return to Mianzhou City by herself, act as if nothing had happened, be his nominal wife, and continue her business?
The mere thought of such a possibility sent a sharp, tightening pain through Su Xiaoqi’s chest.
Suddenly, she straightened up from Shen Yun's embrace, her voice cracking as she cried out, “No, no, you can’t die.”
She had gone mad, truly, the sight of Shen Yun in such a near-death state had terrified her.
She had completely forgotten about the spiritual medicine she possessed in her space.
She quickly entered her space and exchanged some of her stored grains for a spiritual medicine.
Without a second thought, she placed it into Shen Yun’s mouth.
However, Shen Yun was not only physically immobile, but his mouth and teeth were also locked shut.
For her to insert the pill, about the size of a swollen soybean, she would first have to pry open his jaws.
But she only had two hands. With one hand holding the pill, she had only one hand left to pry, which made the task incredibly awkward.
Consequently, no matter how hard she tried to force his jaws open, she failed.
Instead, she ended up drenched in sweat.
Several times, she was on the verge of giving up.
“Sigh, in the novel, you participated smoothly this time and even succeeded in getting first place. Why is it that with me, you’ve become like this?”
Su Xiaoqi felt an immense frustration.
But she was not one to give up easily.
Thinking that two hands were insufficient, she decided to use her feet.
Uh, no, that’s not right. She decided to use her mouth.
She gently placed the pill in her mouth.
Then, using both hands, she began to pry his jaws open.
This time, it finally worked. As soon as his jaws parted, she leaned forward and, with the pill in her mouth, accurately placed it into his oral cavity.
This pill needed to be dissolved in water to take effect.
She had no other choice. She couldn't let him keep it in his mouth, not ingested, and therefore useless.
She then took a mouthful of water and used the same method to administer it.
One mouthful, two mouthfuls, three mouthfuls.
Su Xiaoqi used her tongue to sense the melting of the pill.
She let out a sigh of relief. Ah, she had finally managed to get the medicine into him.
However, she wasn't sure if it would work.
If it didn't, then she was truly out of options.