"Nngh..."
In her sleep, Fang Qiu couldn't help but let out a soft groan.
It felt awful; she was having trouble breathing.
It was like something was pressing down on her chest.
Her head was spinning, eyelids heavy.
Was she...
Was this a fever?
It didn't make sense. In her past life, didn't just sleeping it off usually work?
Why did this feel so terrible?
Wait, this body in this life seems much weaker than her previous one...
Though she was a sickly jar in her past life, too.
Plus, it seems she forgot to close the window and cover herself with a blanket yesterday...
Ugh...
Forget it, just sleep a bit more.
Eh?
Wait.
Wasn't she signing a contract with Bai Qing at the tea house?
But now she seems to be lying flat?
Or on her side?
Anyway, she should be under the covers.
Bai Qing must have taken her to Bubu Pharmacy, right?
Just then, she suddenly felt her chest being poked.
Eh?
Fang Qiu froze.
Someone was molesting her inside Bubu Pharmacy!
Once she reacted, Fang Qiu was instantly consumed by rage. She struggled to open her heavy eyelids, vowing to show this person the meaning of burning wrath!
Even though she possessed a Cryo Vision.
But that wasn't important!
She wanted this person to feel pain! Experience pain! Accept pain! Know pain!
However, when she finally forced her eyes open and saw the person in front of her, she couldn't help but pause slightly.
The person before her wasn't some creep, nor was it a handsome guy.
It wasn't even a male.
Instead, it was a little girl. This little girl was dressed very strangely, looking somewhat like the clothes worn by Qing dynasty zombies in the movies Fang Qiu watched as a child in her previous life.
Attached to the round cap on her head was a yellow talisman sketched with mysterious runes.
A string of prayer beads hung around her neck.
The little girl was extremely cute, with pale purple hair and cherry-blossom colored eyes. Her expression was blank and dazed, yet still spirited.
At this moment, her finger was poking right at Fang Qiu's chest, the slender digit sinking deep into the flesh.
Fang Qiu actually had some impression of this little girl in her memory.
Her name was Qiqi.
She seemed to be a child adopted by Baizhu, the doctor at Bubu Pharmacy.
She didn't know much more than that.
There hadn't been any interaction in her memories.
While observing this little girl named Qiqi, Fang Qiu also took note of her surroundings.
She was lying in a small room. The lighting was good, but there was no other furniture; just this one bed in the entire room.
"Awake."
Qiqi tilted her head and said, "Qiqi seems to remember... Dr. Baizhu gave orders. If the patient wakes up, she must drink... drink what was it? Coconut milk?"
As she spoke, Qiqi clearly didn't have any expression, yet Fang Qiu could feel her utter confusion.
Furthermore, when Qiqi said this, Fang Qiu distinctly felt Qiqi cast her gaze toward her chest.
"Qiqi wants to drink coconut milk too," Qiqi said.
"Coconut milk?"
Fang Qiu paused.
Was it the coconut milk she was thinking of?
"Yes. The milk of the Cocogoat. Tasty."
Qiqi nodded and said.
"What is a Cocogoat?"
Fang Qiu asked instinctively.
This was the first time she had heard this name. Could it be a mammal unique to Teyvat?
She thought coconut milk was just coconut juice.
"The Cocogoat is a semi-illuminated beast. Its milk is delicious."
Qiqi thought hard, then spoke.
"Is that so? You mean Dr. Baizhu wants me to drink the milk of a Cocogoat?"
Fang Qiu asked in puzzlement.
To treat a minor cold and fever, did one need to use something as high-end as the milk of a semi-illuminated beast?
And something she had completely never heard of, at that.
Wasn't the cost of this treatment a bit too high?
Couldn't he just prescribe her a dose of cure-all Isatis Root?
"Qiqi doesn't remember."
Qiqi shook her head, looking bewildered.
"Alright."
Fang Qiu sighed. She couldn't count on this little girl named Qiqi.
"Then where is Dr. Baizhu?"
"Qiqi doesn't remember."
"Then what about the person who brought me here?"
"Which person?"
"Never mind. Qiqi, go busy yourself with your own things."
"What was Qiqi supposed to do again?"
"This..."
Fang Qiu was speechless.
Forget it.
She'd just lie here a while longer and see when Bai Qing would come looking for her...
Or see when Baizhu would return.
Speaking of which, she really felt terrible.
It felt like a fire was burning on her forehead, roasting her into a panic.
Come to think of it, should she condense a chunk of ice to put on her forehead as an ice pack?
Hmm...
On second thought, better not.
Just to avoid worsening the illness.
As for icy mist, without her control, it would dissipate quickly and wouldn't be of much use anyway.
Just as she was having trouble breathing, a small hand rested on her forehead.
It was icy cool.
The headache and dizziness instantly diminished significantly.
Fang Qiu opened her eyes to look and found that Qiqi had moved a small stool over, sat in front of her, and placed her hand on her forehead.
"Qiqi's hands are very cold. Can help you."
Qiqi said in a soft, sticky voice.
"Thank you."
Fang Qiu looked at Qiqi and smiled faintly, offering her thanks. Accompanied by the puzzle of why Qiqi's hands were so cold, she drifted into sleep once again.
She didn't know how much time had passed.
When Fang Qiu opened her eyes again, the person sitting in front of her had become Bai Qing.
And Qiqi was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Qiqi?"
Fang Qiu asked, confused.
"She went to rest."
Bai Qing smiled, stepped forward to gently help Fang Qiu up, steadying Fang Qiu's back with one hand while turning to grab a bowl filled with medicinal liquid to bring before Fang Qiu.
"Here, drink the medicine. I followed the prescription and guarded the stove for a full two hours just to brew this for you. The smoke stung my eyes until they hurt, so you have to drink it all."
Bai Qing said.
"Sister Bai, thank you."
Fang Qiu said, moved.
"Why are you being so polite? Hurry up and drink it."
Bai Qing sighed and said, "Work is important, but you must balance work and rest. Otherwise, you won't be able to take care of either end."
"Mhm, I know."
Fang Qiu nodded. She intended to take the bowl from Bai Qing's hand to drink it herself, but Bai Qing held the bowl and brought it directly to Fang Qiu's lips.
Helpless, Fang Qiu opened her mouth and let Bai Qing feed her.
After finishing the medicine, Bai Qing stood up and said, "You rest well for now. I'll go out and buy you some porridge."
"Mhm."
Fang Qiu nodded, lay back on the bed, and slowly closed her eyes.
Seeing that Fang Qiu began to rest, Bai Qing turned and left the room.
Fang Qiu's illness was just physical frailty combined with overwork and a wind-heat infection; she just needed to rest for a while after taking medicine to recover.
After settling Fang Qiu down, she had handed all the contracts and such to her seniors.
Seeing that Fang Qiu needed someone to look after her, the seniors proactively took over her afternoon work, allowing her to stay at Bubu Pharmacy to care for Fang Qiu.
________________________________________
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