Brian's request was to have Joanne press on his needle wound as they walked out of the hospital together. But in truth, it was Brian doing the walking while dragging her along.

Due to his long strides, Joanne had to hurry her steps just to keep up. "I think it's better that you stay here tonight for observation," Joanne said, a little out of breath. "It's not like the house would run away."

"Brian, gastritis shouldn't be taken lightly."

"Brian..."

Frowning, Brian stopped in his tracks. "Joanne, why are you still as talkative as when you're young?"

She was like this too when she was ten. She would huddle beside him, wearing the branded princess dress that Chris had brought back from England, batting those bright eyes at him. "Brian, why aren't you talking?" she had said. "Brian, won't you get bored?... Let's play a game together, okay?... Brian, are you in a bad mood? How about I treat you to some ice cream? I always feel better after some ice cream..."

"I was not talkative when I was young." Joanne snorted. "A lot of aunties at the time had even praised me for being quiet and obedient."

Yeah, right. Whoever would say that she was quiet? Back then, she would keep talking until he snapped at her in annoyance and told her to shut up. She would clam up right away. She would stare back at him with pursed lips and innocent eyes as if she had just been wronged for no reason at all.

A smile swept past Brian's lips. "But it's true that you were obedient."

Although her younger self would start chattering again shortly after being scolded, at least she had been more obedient back then, unlike now.

Joanne had expected a debate and was already prepared for it. But when Brian had suddenly acknowledged her, she was completely taken aback. In her daze, Joanne was dragged into the elevator by Brian.

Joanne had been too shaken when she was about to leave for the hospital. Out of concern for her safety, Simon had asked the driver to send Joanne to the hospital. Now, both of them were being driven home by the same driver.

The car had travelled for quite some distance since they both got on. Brian did not let go of Joanne's hand. The thought of pulling away never crossed Joanne's mind either. Instead, holding on to his hand made her feel... reassured.

Because by holding his hand, she could be 100 percent sure that Brian was beside her.

"Simon, he's... very worried about you."

Joanne had no clue why she would say something like that out of the blue. But just now, when Simon was rushing up the stairs anxiously, she was sure that she had seen deep concern in the man's eyes. It was the reason why she had been so terrified.

Brian looked deeply at Joanne. "What about you?"

For a long while, Joanne was silent.

"Simon came knocking on my door suddenly and told me that you'd been hospitalized. I thought that it was unlikely, since you don't seem like the type who would just collapse like that. But I also knew that Simon wouldn't joke around with me like that. I didn't know what to do... In the end, Simon had to drag me downstairs and push me into the car so the driver could send me to the hospital. The driver also told me that you don't get ill very often, so it shouldn't be anything too serious. Well, I thought since I'm a doctor, so it should be fine even if it's something serious. I mean... at most I'll help work something out. But just now, when I saw you, you just looked so different from your usual self that I..."

The car's back seat was a little dark due to the partition screen which blocked any light coming from the front seat. Joanne sat with her head slightly lowered. Half of her face was bathed in the meagre light while the other half sank into darkness. Light flickered against the tip of her brows as if to convey her uneasiness. Joanne had spoken in a soft voice. She had no idea just how much she had said.

But her grip on his hand had tightened as she spoke.

She was experiencing post-traumatic fear.

Yes. The very moment she pushed open the door and saw a pale-faced Brian lying on the bed, she was terrified. She was terrified that he would fall just like that.

Brian hugged Joanne and bent his body slightly towards her. His slightly chilly lips covered her soft ones gently, like a dragonfly skimming across the surface of water.

All sounds vanished.

In an instant, Joanne went as still as a puppet.

It was as if the world had stopped in that precise moment. The temperature of his lips, the warmth of his breath, the way he was holding on to her two hands...

Everything was real.

Brian was really kissing her. In the silence, she could even hear his heartbeats.

"Don't be scared. I'll be okay."

His voice pierced through the silence. His voice was deep and magnetizing like it had always been, though this time it held the power to ease her mind.

"Mm," Joanne said. Her voice was soft and barely audible, like the droning of a mosquito. But miraculously, she really did not feel frightened anymore.

Brian did not loosen his grip on Joanne. Instead, he leaned himself naturally against her shoulder.

Like most women, her shoulders were smooth and slender. It was uncomfortable to lean on. However, once he got close enough, he was once again hit by a mild scent of camillia, which brought inexplicable pleasure to his heart.

At that point, Joanne had gone a little blank. "Isn't this some kind of role-reversal?" she thought.

Feeling uncomfortable, she tried to move. "Brian..."

Not only had Brian refused to pull away, but he had also shifted his body into a more comfortable posture. "Don't move. Didn't you hear what Gavin said? I've had no rest for two days straight."

The exhaustion in his voice was plain. "Fine," Joanne thought. "I'll allow it for this time, considering he's a patient and all."

She angled her head sideways to gaze at Brian and found that he was nearly asleep.

This was the first time she had seen Brian with his eyes closed. Even though he looked utterly exhausted, his face seemed at peace. With him looking like that, nobody would have the heart to disturb him from his rest. Well, nobody would be able to look away from his face either, because...

He was just too darn good-looking!

Once again, Joanne lamented God's unfairness for allowing Brian to look this good even when he was ill.

For a while, Joanne kept gazing until she noticed a woolen blanket beside her hand. There was ample heating in the car, but the weather had always been slightly chilly during the end of spring, so she draped the blanket over Brian's body.

Brian slept lightly, so he was aware of Joanne's actions. Brian smiled as he silently enjoyed Joanne's ministrations. However, the smile on his lips went completely unnoticed by Joanne. Even so, Joanne felt a kind of satisfaction deep down.

The kind of satisfaction resulting from performing little acts of kindness towards someone important.

An hour later, the car pulled up in front of the villa. The driver's voice came through the partition. "Young Madam, we're home."

Joanne looked at Brian, who was sound asleep on her shoulder. After a moment of hesitation, she nudged his shoulder. "Brian, we're home."

Frowning, Brian opened his eyes. Joanne thought that she had disturbed his rest. "I didn't want to wake you up, but we're home."

The guilt was written all over her face. Brian lifted his hand slightly. He wanted to stroke her hair and tell her that everything was fine. Before he could follow through, Joanne frowned. "Also... you're too heavy. My shoulder's kinda sore..." she said seriously.

"... let's get out of the car."

Joanne got off the car and began massaging her shoulder. Only then did she find out that she could no longer feel her right hand.

"Argh, have I gone too far just for the sake of ogling a beautiful man?" she thought.

Brian had noticed Joanne's uncomfortable movements. "Your hand," he said. "Has it gone numb?"

"I can't feel my hand..."

Sighing, Brian took her hand and massaged her from arm to palm. His strokes were not light, but they were not heavy either.

Joanne was stunned by the intimacy of Brian's actions. Was it even appropriate for them to participate in such intimate acts?

But just now, on the car, they had... kissed.

She looked at Brian surreptitiously, trying to guess the meaning behind that kiss. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that it was likely that Brian had been trying to comfort her. He had wanted to put her mind at ease. It was just his way of letting her know that he was fine.

So she definitely should not read too much into it.

Meanwhile, Brian's attention was focused on massaging her hand. His head was slightly lowered as he worked. The ambience of the night had brought out the tenderness in his countenance. Joanne was beginning to think she was imagining things.

Soon, her hand regained its feeling. She realized that Brian had controlled his strength well during the massage. The pressure from his fingers felt neither too forceful nor too light. His touches had just the right amount of strength for them to feel comfortable. Also, his hands were not rough, all of which made his strokes the perfect combination of strength and texture.

At this rate, it was not just her hand that had regained its feeling, but her entire body had gained a few sensations too. "What's with the burning sensation on my cheeks? Argh!!!" she thought.

Brian had no plans to release Joanne's hand.

Joanne was born with a soft and fair complexion. Her hands were as small and delicate as catkins. Once they were touched, nobody would want to let them go.

One thing about her skin was that it flushed easily. Seeing that he might soon break skin if he kept on rubbing, Brian stilled his hands. "Better now?"

Joanne snapped back to reality and slowly drew her hand back. "Yes, better. Thank you."

Brian glanced at his watch. It was already past midnight. "It's late. Let's go to bed."

Joanne stood stock still, staring at Brian. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry."

"What would like? I'll ask the cook to whip something up for you." Brian paused for a moment before he went on, "I'm a little hungry too."

"I'm not picky," Joanne said. "But right now you can only have liquid meals, right? Let's not bother the cook. I'll make some porridge. How about seafood porridge?"

Brian hummed his agreement. Joanne turned around and ran indoors.

There was a bag of high quality rice in the fridge. Joanne took out a portion of rice, which she then poured into a clay pot. She added water to the clay pot and left it to stew on the stove top while she dealt with the seafood.

She began cutting shrimps into two halves and removing their veins and heads. Next she worked on the squids, cutting them into moderate slices. By the time she was done, the contents in the pot had begun boiling. She added dried shrimps into the pot for flavor. Some ginger shreds were added next to remove the pungent taste of seafood. After that, she poured in the shrimps and allowed them to cook until they turn red before adding in some clams. The squid went in last.

By the time the clams opened, the rice had turned soft and pulpy. A shiny layer of oil lined the clay pot's surface. Beneath the oil, the porridge's contents were crystal clear. Under the heat, the clay pot's contents rumbled, releasing the aroma of rice and seafood into the air. Soon, the entire kitchen was filled with the aroma.

She seasoned the porridge and garnished it with some parsley before turning off the heat. She skimmed the layer of oil on the surface and then transferred the oil into a bowl. She added porridge into the same bowl. "This bowl is for Brian. Smells great and can be easily digested," she thought. As for her... well, of course, her job would be to finish up all the seafood which could not be easily digested!

She had placed two bowls on a tray and was just about to bring the tray out when someone else beat her to it and picked up the tray before her.

"Let me do this." Brian had taken the tray and begun heading to the dining room.

Joanne gave Brian the bowl containing the oil. "Your stomach can only handle this for now."

Brian took a bite and concluded that Joanne was also an expert when it came to making porridges. She had completely removed the pungent smell from the dish and had brought out the flavor of seafood and rice to perfection. In the mouth, the porridge tasted heavenly and when swallowed, its aftertaste had him craving for more. It was the most delicious porridge he had ever tasted.

He gave Joanne a probing look.

It was already late, so Simon and the rest of the staff had rested to the servant's quarters behind the garden. In the spacious villa, only the lights in the dining room were lit. Warm lighting came down from over their heads. Although the light lacked brightness, it felt warmer than ever. Under Brian's stare, doubt began to form in Joanne's heart. "The porridge doesn't taste good? But how can that be?"

She scooped a spoonful and shove it into her mouth. Brian wanted to stop her, but it was already too late. She screamed in pain as heat scalded her tongue.

"Dumb girl."

Brian poured her a glass of ice water, half of which she gulped down in haste. Finally, she was relieved from the stinging pain in her tongue.

"Hold out your tongue. Let me see," Brian ordered, frowning. His voice was laced with the ache he felt in his heart, an ache he was heedless of.