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Jinshi twisted his mouth and let out a soft groan when a ray of sunlight shone directly into his face. Perceiving an odd heaviness in his limbs, he tried to ignore the annoying morning sun and continue sleeping, but the latter didn't plan to leave him in peace. What a nuisance. Thus, not sleeping anymore, but still with his eyes closed, he merely kept lying there for a while, without thinking of anything. His head was throbbing horribly, but at least it wasn't burning up like before.  The young noble relaxed his frown as he realized that his upper body was lying on something wonderfully soft and warm. He unconsciously nuzzled into it and sniffled. His nose was sore and still stuffed, hence he was still unable to smell a thing. Well, except for that cold remedy Maomao had made him drink. It had such a strong, horrible taste that the mere memory of it caused Jinshi to grimace. But as long as it helped, he had no reason no object against taking it, and neither was he planning to. After all, he wasn't a child anymore. Not to mention that he fully trusted his apothecary and knew that she wouldn't poison him (if anything, she would rather poison herself). He yawned and stretched his back a bit. No matter whether he liked it or not, morning had arrived, and it had become too bright to sleep. Although he wouldn't have to work that day (he was sure that Maomao would tie him to his bed with her own two hands, if he even dared to try), he was still used to getting up early. And not even his cold could really change that fact. While he was pondering over that, he finally noticed the regular movements and rhythmic sound, both coming from that comfortable something he was lying on. A smile appeared on his lips. Hah, it was so pleasant... he wouldn't have minded staying like that for all eternity However... Wait a minute! Since when did his pillow breathe and have a heartbeat?! Jinshi opened his eyes on the spot. All his sleepiness was gone in an instant. Without wasting even a second, he abruptly raised his head, which earned him a bout of dizziness, but he tried to ignore it the best he could. "Apothecary!" he thought, barely believing his own eyes, and grabbed his head with one hand. "But what...? How...?" His mind was a mess, and his heart beating like crazy.  After having managed to calm down somehow, he got off Maomao and rolled onto his side, desperately trying to remember how and when she had ended up in his bed. Unfortunately, every attempt was in vain. Maomao herself was still fast asleep, in the meantime, completely oblivious to what was going on right next to her. Her mouth did twitch briefly, but his movements actually didn't disturb her sleep. She must be really exhausted. While lying next to her with a blush on his face and contemplating her sleeping profile, Jinshi finally felt his tension gradually leave him just from the mere sight of her. His hand moved as if by itself and started to carefully stroke her cheek. Well, the explanation would have to wait until her awakening. Judging by the fact that they were both dressed, the young lord could at least rule out that something indecent had happened between them. Or he hoped so, because if something of that sort were to happen, then he would prefer to remember it, thank you very much! He propped himself up on one elbow and raised his upper body a bit. A few memories were slowly starting to return to him, after all. They were quite hazy, surely due to his fever, but still better than nothing. There was the memory of him going to look for Maomao, despite his dizziness and fever and with a terrible fear eating at his insides, then of him desperately hugging her and of her leading him back to bed... After that, there was nothing, no matter how hard he tried to recall it. He had probably been already asleep by then. But the few things he did remember were already enough to make him feel guilty. He let out a sigh. “I caused you quite a lot of trouble, huh?" he muttered, slowly caressing her hair. "Sorry for that." His eyes were clouded by a hint of sadness. He made a pause, thinking back of how many times she had already scolded him for his overworking, and finally decided to express his feelings that always emerged while he listened to her reproaches, but had stayed hidden inside him until now. To voice them for the very first time. "Believe it or not, but I do know that my health is more important than work, it’s just... you know, I have always, for my entire life, been taught to work hard, to show only my good sides to others, to... keep up appearances, no matter what. I have never really been given the chance to take care of my own well-being. That's why I can't help being like that and doubt that I'm going to change a lot in the near future. Please be patient with me, alright?” Jinshi rubbed his aching head and placed it next to hers on the pillow. Then he snuggled up to the apothecary once again and pressed his cheek against hers, still careful enough that he didn't wake her up. There was a little smile on his lips now. "I will give you a big bottle of wine later, to make up for everything. But don't drink it all at once, understood?" And with these words, he fell silent once more, deciding to just enjoy the time together with her for now. As long as it would last... It was so nice to lie next to her, to know that she was right there with him. So incredibly calming… At that very moment and despite his cold and still slightly elevated temperature, Jinshi was perfectly happy and didn't wish for anything else. But as if they were intending to ruin that perfect moment, the memories of his nightmare started to return to him after a few seconds. Fragments of the unbearable pain and the deep longing he had gone through both in his dream and not too long ago also in reality. They buried themselves into his heart like a sharp blade made out of ice, as if wanting to impale it. An ice-cold shudder ran along the young lord's spine, so intense that he was unable to breathe for a moment. Jinshi gritted his teeth and unconsciously squeezed the apothecary a bit tighter, promptly letting out a sigh of relief when he felt the ice starting to melt away and the freezing cold to disappear. "Goodness, she really is so warm!" he thought, closing his eyes and listening to the young woman's soft breathing. "So wonderfully warm..." A bit later, he suddenly sensed something place itself on top of his arm that was wrapped around Maomao's body and opened his eyes again, slightly taken aback and wondering what that might be. And realized that it was her hand. "I'm here, Master Jinshi..." Maomao mumbled quietly in her sleep. "Really here... don't cry..." Jinshi felt as if it was now his heart that was about to melt. "Yes, you are," he whispered happily and chuckled. "You sure are incredible, you know? Calming me down even in your sleep..." But the really incredible thing was how protected he felt when she was with him. A really funny image, to be honest, considering their difference in height. But funny or not, it was undoubtedly the truth. The plain truth he had only fully realized just now. Even though he was so much taller and physically so much stronger than her, he felt safe in her arms, safer than he had ever felt before in his life. It was as if that petite young woman was protecting his soul with her inner strength, almost creating a barrier that didn't let any nightmare through. Her presence alone was making every trace of fear vanish on the spot. Even if he searched for his entire life, he would never be able to find anyone else like her. He felt so comfortable by her side that he had not the tiniest issue showing her the most human and deeply hidden aspects of his being, without thinking twice. Aspects he had never revealed to anyone else before. Because he knew that Maomao would just accept them as fact, as another part of him. And not judge him for them. No matter how bad said aspects might be. She was one of the very few people in whose company he could just be himself, without any need to put up an act. Jinshi smiled lovingly at her, carefully pulled his arm away and then took her by the hand, squeezing it gently. "Thank you for being the only one who looks past the facade..." He was overcome by an urge to yawn and felt that his eyes were about to close. Despite the bright sunlight, Maomao's warmth slowly but surely had started to make him sleepy again. No, please no! That opportunity to be so close to his apothecary was so rare that he just couldn't waste it by sleeping! He had to savor every second of it! Jinshi tried to fight his sleepiness off with all his might, forcing his eyes to stay open. His head was throbbing mercilessly, and he pressed his forehead against Maomao's shoulder, waiting for the pain to subside at least a bit. Then he gently placed her hand on the bed and wrapped his arm around her again. How he wished for time to stand still, so that the two of them could stay like that forever. After a while, he removed his forehead from her shoulder and proceeded to watch her sleep once more. She looked so peaceful. Her mouth was slightly opened, and her small hands balled into fists. “Just look at you… so adorable…" He wanted to give her a kiss on the cheek, but then thought that this might not be that great of an idea due to his cold, so he refrained from doing it. Well, as it seemed, he had failed to realize that it wouldn't have made a difference, anyway, because they had had so much close contact by now that he had probably already infected her. But fine. And thus, he continued lying next to Maomao and just hugging her, struggling to endure the scratching in his throat that he had been feeling ever since his awakening the best he could and to hold back his cough or at least keep it as quiet as possible in order to not wake her up. And it had been quite successful until now. However... ...his nose started to tingle all of a sudden, and he couldn't help letting out a sneeze. It was so loud that it echoed through the entire room.  Maomao started to stir. Jinshi sighed out in disappointment. Well, nothing he could do about that. Even the most beautiful dream had to eventually end. The apothecary groaned quietly and finally cracked her eyes open. Rubbing them, she turned her head to the side, still a bit confused after having just woken up. The young noble put on a little smile when their gazes met. "Good morning," he said, his voice a bit nasal from the cold. As if it was the most normal thing in the world for them to wake up in the same bed. Maomao greeted him back, with a slight frown on her face. Since she didn't look as if she was eager to explain to him how exactly she had landed in his bed, Jinshi decided to hold back his curiosity for now, as well, and just treat it as a matter of fact. Instead, she immediately stretched out her hand and touched his forehead. Judging by her expression, she was relieved that his fever had gone down. "How are you feeling, sir?" she asked. "A lot better and that's all thanks to you." Maomao didn't reply anything to that, but promptly turned onto her side and began fumbling with his clothes in order to uncover his chest. The young lord started to feel slightly nervous, but let her do as she pleased without saying a word. Everything else would have been somehow absurd after all the close contact they already had. "And now hold still, please, Master Jinshi. I'm going to listen to your lungs again." Jinshi felt a tingling in his stomach as she pressed her ear against his chest, giving him occasional instructions to breathe deeper or to cough a bit. While silently doing as told, he placed his hands on the small of her back and closed his eyes, just enjoying it. After all, he was feeling much better than the previous evening, when she had done it for the first time, so he was able to enjoy it now. It was over way too quickly. Maomao removed her ear from his chest and looked up into his face. Since she didn't protest against being hugged once again, the young lord decided to take advantage of it and continue to hold her. "Luckily, I still fail to hear any suspicious sounds in your lungs, but since you're still coughing, I'm going to prepare you tea out of thyme leaves today, as a remedy against it," she explained to him. "And an inhalation to unclog your nose and also hot ginger water. Plus, I will make more of that cold medicine in case your fever gets worse again." Jinshi grimaced briefly at the mention of the last one, but he didn't have any other choice than to agree. "Alright. Do everything you deem necessary, apothecary. I trust you compl-" He abruptly fell silent when he noticed the intense gaze Maomao was giving him and started to feel hotter again. Not from fever this time, though. Freeing herself from Jinshi's hug, sitting up in bed and bringing her hand to her chin, she was thoroughly examining his face with a light frown, as if she wanted to look into his soul, his inner being. It wasn't the first time she was doing that, but every time it happened, it always made the young noble speechless. Jinshi's eyes widened slightly. A few sweat drops ran down his temple. "W-What is it?" he finally managed to ask. “Nothing," she replied calmly. "I was just wondering the entire time how your condition could worsen so suddenly and so drastically last night. After all, I left you alone for just a couple of minutes. I didn’t miss anything during my examinations last evening, in my opinion, but I can still be mistaken, of course." Jinshi bashfully averted his gaze. Even though he did feel incredibly at ease in Maomao's presence and didn't have any problem revealing his true personality to her, it was still a bit embarrassing for him how he had behaved last night. Even if it was in front of her. Maomao raised an eyebrow when she saw his reaction, but didn't say anything. "Uhm, well... I had a horrible nightmare..." "A nightmare? And just because of that, you were running such a high fever?" The young lord decided to be completely honest with her and now looked her into the eyes himself. "It was a dream about you leaving me..." Maomao's eyes widened a bit, but she composed herself quickly. "I see," was everything she commented on that. "So this is why you were clinging to me like that and constantly calling me." She didn't sound neither surprised nor angry, but just as if everything was now making sense to her. Or as if it was not about her at all. Jinshi didn't really know if he should rather be glad about her neutral tone or not, but to claim that her apparent indifference didn't hurt him at all, would be a lie. Then there was silence. The young lord started to feel a tiny bit uncomfortable, so he decided to change the topic and ask the apothecary a question that was of vital interest to him. "Say... how have you actually ended up in my bed?" Maomao looked at him as if he were a piece of moldy bread. "You grabbed my hand in your sleep and didn't want to let go. Since you are way stronger than me, I was unable to free myself and didn't have any other choice," she explained dryly. Jinshi blushed once more. "Oh, sorry for that... I hope I didn't do anything else to you in my sleep..." "No, you didn't, sir." Even though Jinshi did notice that she flinched upon hearing his words and also needed a moment to respond, he thought that he shouldn't dig deeper in order to not irritate her unnecessarily. And as if it was the apothecary herself who wanted to change the topic this time, she took a deep breath. The young noble could judge by her expression that she was about to lecture him again. Oh well, he did deserve it, alright. And he had guessed correctly. "You didn’t listen to me yesterday, and now look what you got from it! If you had lain down to rest like I recommended you to, all of that might not have happened at all. You are more stubborn than a mule, Master Jinshi." Of course, she didn't mince her words with him, as always. "You're the right one to talk," Jinshi thought, but preferred to not say it out loud. Instead, he let out a sigh. "Yes, you're right. Forgive me." Maomao relaxed her features again and sighed as well. If she was surprised by how quickly he had given in this time, she didn't show it on her face. "It's alright. What happened cannot be changed, anyway. In any case, it won't be enough for you to stay in bed only today, sir. Two or three days will be necessary, or maybe an entire week." The young noble sat up as well. Slightly opening his mouth from astonishment. "What? But..." However, before Jinshi could finish his sentence, Maomao suddenly stretched out her hand and grabbed him by his lower jaw. Hard. Then she stared right into the violet eyes of his. It was almost the same look as the one she had when she had slapped Lady Lihua’s lady-in-waiting. A really dangerous one. "Did I hear a ‘but’ just now? I see. So you really want me to spice up your next meal with a laxative, don't you?" she almost growled, narrowing her eyes in a menacing gesture and burying her nails into his cheeks, almost scratching them. It was clear to see that she was absolutely fed up. So fed up, she seemed to have forgotten for a moment that he was her employer. Jinshi gulped. He was so intimidated, he didn't dare to move a muscle. "N-No..." he stuttered in the end. "Now, I made her really furious, huh?" he thought. A shudder was running down his spine. The apothecary let out a “hmph”, but was apparently more or less satisfied with his answer, because she let go of him. But as soon as Jinshi had sighed out in relief, she gave him another look, this time a much more harmless one. Then she frowned, pulled a handkerchief out of her sleeve, and finally wiped his still slightly runny nose. With such a routine and naturalness as if she had already done it a thousand times before. And well, looking back at the previous night… that wasn't actually too far away from the truth. When she had finished, she got up from the bed. "Very well. I'm leaving now to prepare for my daily duties. I will come to check on you later and to bring you the medicine I mentioned earlier. If you happen to need me, please tell Lady Suiren or Master Gaoshun." And with these words, she tucked her hands into her sleeves, took a brief bow and left. Jinshi kept sitting on the bed for another while, looking quite baffled, as if he still had to process what had happened just now. Then he pressed his hand against his violently pounding heart and finally returned to his senses, letting himself fall on his bed and burying his face in the pillow where Maomao's head had been mere minutes ago. Even though he still couldn't smell anything, he knew exactly that the pillow had to carry the apothecary's herbal scent. "There's no medicine better than you in the world, apothecary," he murmured, with a blissful smile on his lips. After some time, he finally turned onto his side and rubbed his jaw, still feeling the firm grip of her thin fingers. “I somehow had the feeling that she wanted to slap me,” he added. “I almost wished she had…” Meanwhile, in the hallway: "Hm, I might have overreacted a bit just now," Maomao thought, as she was finally picking up the stuff she had left on the floor during the night.