"Huh?"
"Why does Xiaofei seem a bit different today?"
"His body feels much warmer than before!"
"What is going on here?"
"Could his illness be improving?"
As Mo Xinlan wiped Lin Fei's legs, she noticed that his lower limbs were noticeably warmer than usual, and they seemed sturdier to the touch, with the elasticity and vitality of his muscles significantly enhanced.
This surprised and excited her. If her brother-in-law recovered, it truly would mean the end of her bitter days!
In fact, Lin Fei had already woken up when his sister-in-law entered the room.
But he didn't dare move because he saw that his sister-in-law was wearing very little.
Actually, the clothes Mo Xinlan had slept in yesterday were torn to shreds by Liu Er, so she had just randomly grabbed a garment and thrown it over herself upon getting up.
Besides, Lin Fei was blind anyway, and there was no one else around except for Bao'er, so what did it matter what she wore?
How could she possibly know that Lin Fei could see now!
The crucial point was that Lin Fei used to be completely blind; his eyes looked no different from a normal person's, but he simply couldn't see anything.
Therefore, even with his eyes wide open, Mo Xinlan had no idea that Lin Fei could see.
This shocked Lin Fei out of his wits. How could he possibly let his sister-in-law find out that he was already cured at a time like this?
That would be dying of embarrassment!
With no other choice, Lin Fei had no option but to keep pretending to be paralyzed and blind. He hurriedly closed his eyes, refusing to look at the breath-taking, beautiful scene right in front of him so he could remain calm.
However, while his eyes could be closed, the sensations on his body were impossible to avoid.
Mo Xinlan wiped his body with utmost care and concentration. Every single stroke sent waves crashing through Lin Fei's heart, yet he still couldn't move.
This was truly agonizing.
"Xiaofei, are you awake? I feel like your body is improving. Can you feel it?" Mo Xinlan asked softly as she gently wiped Lin Fei's chest.
"Ahem, ahem, ahem... Uh, I, I also feel like my body has more strength than before. It's so strange, am I getting better?" Lin Fei responded with a couple of dry coughs.
He said this to lay the groundwork for his sudden recovery so that it would be easier to explain later and wouldn't scare his sister-in-law.
"Oh my, if you get better, Heaven must really be opening its eyes! It won't have been in vain for me to take care of you for over two years!" Mo Xinlan said with a look of anticipation.
"That's all thanks to my sister-in-law; I really owe it all to you these past two years. If I get better, I will definitely repay you well. I will never let a bastard like Liu Er bully you again!" Lin Fei said sincerely.
"Hehehe, what do I need your repayment for? We're all family, there's no need to talk about repaying or not. I just want... It's getting late, I need to hurry and go buy the vegetables."
Mo Xinlan smiled, but her eyes were brimming with tears. She wiped the corners of her eyes, looked at Lin Fei with a gaze full of tender affection, and then walked out carrying the basin of water.
How could she know that Lin Fei was able to see her wiping away her tears, and could see that look in her eyes born of pity and love?
Lin Fei felt deeply moved and heartbroken, feeling that he owed his sister-in-law far too much.
However, Mo Xinlan's departure also allowed Lin Fei to breathe a huge sigh of relief. After all, having a beauty by his side dressed in such a cool outfit was simply too much torture for him.
Paralyzed on the kang for over two years, unable to move his body and unable to see, it was impossible not to have those instinctive desires.
Suddenly subjected to such visual and tactile impact, if not for the powerful physical resilience he gained from obtaining the mysterious inheritance, he really would have given himself away.
Soon, Mo Xinlan rode out on her motorized tricycle.
Every day, she had to get up very early to go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables, and then deliver them to the cafeteria of the town hospital. After delivering the vegetables, she still had to rush back to make breakfast for Lin Fei and Bao'er.
Cock-a-doodle-doo...
The rooster in the courtyard crowed for the third time, and the morning light spilled through the window onto Lin Fei's kang.
Screech!
The jujube-wood courtyard gate was pushed open, and a slender, graceful figure walked in.
However, this figure was not Mo Xinlan, but a pretty girl with a high ponytail.
She walked lightly into the main room, checked Mo Xinlan's bedroom first to see that she wasn't there, and then walked straight into Lin Fei's bedroom.
This pretty girl was named Liu Chunting, the apple of the eye of the village tyrant Liu Jinshan.
She had always liked Lin Fei and had once sworn that she would never marry anyone other than Lin Fei in this lifetime.
After all, before his car accident, Lin Fei was one of the rare young men in Longquan Village who possessed both talent and good looks.
Moreover, he was about to become an official doctor with a boundless future.
In Liu Chunting's eyes, Lin Fei was the perfect future husband.
It was a pity that Heaven was blind, and such an outstanding young man had suffered a tragic misfortune.
During the two years that Lin Fei had been paralyzed and blind, Liu Chunting had frequently come to see him, but Lin Fei had always remained lukewarm toward her.
Although Lin Fei knew that Liu Chunting was not cut from the same cloth as her father, and certainly couldn't know about the terrible crimes her father had committed against their Lin family, she was, after all, the daughter of his irreconcilable enemy. How could he possibly get along with her with a normal state of mind?
Liu Jinshan naturally strongly opposed his daughter interacting with Lin Fei, but Liu Chunting had a stubborn personality and would still secretly run over to talk to Lin Fei.
Even though Lin Fei had now become a living corpse, her infatuation with him had not wavered in the slightest.
If not for her father's desperate opposition, she even would have wanted to move in and take care of Lin Fei for the rest of her life."Lin Fei, I know you're awake. I'm going into town to pick up some things today; tell me what you want to eat, and I'll buy it for you."
As she spoke, Liu Chunting perched her shapely hips on the edge of the kang, pressing right against Lin Fei's legs. She didn't seem to mind at all. For one, she knew Lin Fei had no sensation from the neck down, and for another, she wanted to be this close to him. Little did she know, Lin Fei could feel the strange, soft sensation against his thighs perfectly well.
"I... I don't want anything. Thank you."
Lin Fei had actually been about to get up, but since Liu Chunting had arrived so suddenly, he feared startling her. He decided to keep up the charade of being paralyzed and blind, his voice cold and detached.
"Tch, I’ve been so devoted to you. Even in this condition, I haven't abandoned you, so why are you always so cold to me?" She pouted, her hands striking his legs a few times. "You heartless wretch, do you want a beating? Huh? Do you want a beating?"
The way she handled him made it nearly impossible for Lin Fei to keep his act together; a strange expression flickered across his face.
"Oh? What's this? You're not a block of wood after all? Are you feeling embarrassed? Just drop the act. Forget about a few taps and rubs—even if I climbed into your bedding right now, you wouldn't feel a thing, would you? Hehehe!" Seeing his reaction, Liu Chunting chuckled and teased him. As she spoke, she deliberately reached under the thin blanket to poke and prod him.
If Lin Fei weren't already extraordinary, possessing a body with an incredibly high tolerance, he would have broken character right there. Liu Chunting had a somewhat brazen personality and loved to get handsy whenever she was alone with him. In fact, Lin Fei knew she only visited when his sister-in-law was away, so she could "do as she pleased."
"Stop fooling around! I really don't want anything to eat. And from now on, stop coming here. You're young and beautiful; you should hurry up and find a good man to marry." Lin Fei stiffened his face, his tone even colder.
"You're doing this again! I've sworn an oath: I will never marry anyone but you!" Liu Chunting pouted, crinkling her nose and glaring at him.
"Good grief, is your brain working right? I'm practically a living corpse now—do you really think you'd be happy with me?" Every time she acted this stubborn, Lin Fei felt like tearing his hair out. He didn't dislike her, but he couldn't love her either. Even if he did, he could never be with her. After all, he intended to kill Liu Jinshan one day to avenge his parents and brother. What would happen to Liu Chunting if she were caught in the middle? He had to be ruthless and drive this headstrong girl away.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft! Who says you're a living corpse? Aren't you talking to me right now? As long as you can talk to me, I'll be happy being with you!" Liu Chunting gave him a fierce look, her expression entirely serious.
Deep down, Lin Fei knew that in this world driven by material desires, hearing such words from a beautiful girl would move even the most heartless man to tears. But she wasn't just anyone; she was Liu Jinshan's daughter. He had to harden his heart.
"Just leave. My sister-in-law will be back soon," Lin Fei said, forcing himself to remain cold and detached.
"What a bore! Fine, I'm going. I'll bring you something delicious tonight!" Liu Chunting pursed her lips, completely unbothered by his coldness. She had a persistent air about her, as if no amount of driving her away would ever work.
Just as Liu Chunting turned to leave, Lin Fei decided to test the divinatory powers of the Tongtian Divination Formula. He channeled his Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Qi, and the hexagram pattern formed by the spiritual energy in his dantian began to glow with a red light.
*Hm?*
A hexagram instantly formed in his mind: the upper trigram was Qian (Heaven) and the lower trigram was Kun (Earth), resulting in the Pǐ hexagram—the sign of disharmony between heaven and earth. He also received the line message for the second line: "The embrace is received; the lowly one is fortunate in wealth. Danger lies with one whose name involves 'wood' or 'Li.' The omen will manifest tomorrow at noon."
To use the Tongtian Divination Formula, one didn't need copper coins or yarrow stalks; simply circulating the spiritual energy allowed him to cast a divination in his mind. The omen and message indicated that Liu Chunting would be framed by a petty person for the sake of money tomorrow at noon.
"Wait!" Lin Fei called out to her.
"Tch, I think there's something wrong with your brain! First you chase me away, then you call me back! What, did you have a change of heart? Decided to marry me?" Liu Chunting turned back and asked with a smile.
"Uh, I just wanted to warn you: watch out for petty people around you tomorrow at noon who might harm you for money, especially someone whose name contains the element of water, or whose surname is Li," Lin Fei said, his mouth twitching slightly.
"Haha! Did you become an immortal while lying on that kang? You're talking nonsense! I'm not going to listen to your gibberish; Xiao Yan is waiting for me at the village entrance! See you tonight! Mwah!"
Liu Chunting didn't believe a word of it. She blew him a kiss and walked out.