The Tenth Orange

The village clinic was sparsely furnished: a consultation desk, two beds, and two people—a doctor and Liao Xue.

As soon as Shen Qiancheng entered, Liao Xue, lying on the hospital bed, turned her eyes toward her at once. Her amber irises fixed on Shen Qiancheng without blinking, shimmering faintly, and she broke into a broad smile.

"President Shen, did you come to take me back?"

Beneath Liao Xue's ragged bangs, a flush crept up her cheeks with the wave of emotion, underscored by the reddening at her eye corners. Shen Qiancheng's tone softened, and she hummed an affirmative through her nose.

"Come back with me."

Against the wall stood a full set of herbal medicine cabinets, and the doctor sat in front of them. At the sound of their conversation, he looked up, his eyes lighting up as he said, "You must be the new head. We met when you first arrived."

Shen Qiancheng gave him a suspicious once-over. Had she met this man before?

The doctor felt her distance and covered his slip with a self-deprecating excuse: "Xiaoxue has a hairline fracture. I'd suggest keeping her overnight for observation."

A hairline fracture?

Shen Qiancheng knitted her brow. If Liao Xue had a fracture, Mother Liao had left her alone here?

"Then observe her. Is that supposed to be my job?"

The question came out of Shen Qiancheng's mouth with the weight of a threat. The doctor knew that even Mother Liao had come out worse for wear against Shen Qiancheng, and having seen her in action, he confirmed she was no ordinary person.

The doctor chose his words carefully: "Auntie Liao dumped her here and hasn't come back. Xiaoxue's leg can't wait—she needs a cast right away."

Shen Qiancheng said flatly, "Get to the point."

The doctor took a breath: "I'm not running a charity. Her mother didn't pay."

For a second, Shen Qiancheng nearly laughed in exasperation at Mother Liao. Her guess had been spot-on.

Shen Qiancheng pulled a few hundred-yuan notes from her handbag and said, "I'll pay. But if her leg ends up with any lasting problems, I guarantee you'll be finished."

The doctor took the money. Since he'd secured his post in Liao Family Village, he'd seen plenty of villagers more absurdly threatening than Shen Qiancheng's high-handed intimidation; he was long accustomed to it.

The doctor took the notes Shen Qiancheng tossed at him without changing his expression and went into the back room to fetch the supplies.

The instant the money left her hands, Shen Qiancheng regretted it. Why had she gotten involved in Liao Xue's business again?

Wasn't she here to end their employment?

The doctor applied a cast to Liao Xue's leg, secured it, and warned, "Healing takes time—about a hundred days. Stay off your feet for now, and no strenuous activity."

Liao Xue nodded in response, her round eyes drifting to Shen Qiancheng. In this state, how could she possibly work for Shen Qiancheng? Who would cook for her now?

"I'm sorry, President Shen." Liao Xue felt a jumble of emotions—an injury meant three months of rest, and Shen Qiancheng had only hired her for two. "I'll pay back the medical costs."

Shen Qiancheng, sulking at herself, grumbled, "How are you going to pay it back? I've never met anyone who causes so much trouble."

Liao Xue bowed her head in shame. President Shen really did think she was nothing but trouble.

Shen Qiancheng sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window, where a streetlamp happened to be glowing.

"Sigh, Liao Xue." She let out a breath. "Just cause me less trouble, okay? I only said it in passing—how clean could mountain spring water be? Are you just going to treat your leg like it doesn't matter and go around falling down every day for fun?"

What else could she do? What else could she do! She was always too soft-hearted.

At that, Liao Xue's nose stung. No one had ever cared about her like this—and of all people, it had to be Shen Tianqing.

"Mm," Liao Xue nodded firmly. "I understand! I'll definitely take care of my leg!"

The night stretched on. The doctor dozed at his desk. Shen Qiancheng lay awake, her back pressed against the cold wall, Liao Xue's head resting on her lap. She placed her hand on Liao Xue's hair, which prickled her palm—Liao Xue's temperament was nothing like her hair.

Shen Qiancheng sighed inwardly. Shen Qiancheng, weren't you always ruthless? Was she becoming the kind of good-hearted person she despised?

Listening to Liao Xue's faint breathing, her own breath gradually rose and fell in rhythm with it. With each inhale and exhale, drowsiness crept in like mist. Her eyelids fought each other, and with a tilt of her head, she sank onto Liao Xue's lower back, drifting into a deep sleep.

At dawn, before the thin mist had faded, Shen Qiancheng was jolted awake by the cold. With a shiver, she opened her eyes and found herself facing a stretch of pale skin, marked by faint pink traces.

It was Liao Xue's waist.

Shen Qiancheng's eyes flew wide. She realized she was embracing Liao Xue's waist, while Liao Xue had curled up into her arms, the two of them crammed together in a thoroughly uncomfortable sleep.

The key thing was that Liao Xue was draped with Shen Qiancheng's jacket—no wonder she'd woken up cold.

Shen Qiancheng sniffled and nudged Liao Xue. "Wake up, Liao Xue. Let's go home."

Home?

Liao Xue blinked awake, seeing Shen Qiancheng with disheveled hair staring at her wearily.

"I'm sorry, President Shen." Liao Xue quickly scrambled off Shen Qiancheng, and eyeing the arm she had rested on all night, said sheepishly, "How is your arm?"

Only then did Shen Qiancheng notice the tingling numbness in her arm. Meeting Liao Xue's tender gaze, she subtly rotated it and said indifferently, "It's fine."

Okay, okay.

Liao Xue saw nothing off in Shen Qiancheng's face and decided she must have overthought it.

What was there to be nervous about—they were both girls.

Liao Xue ran her fingers through her hair, and asked as she normally would, "What are we having for breakfast?"

Before Shen Qiancheng could answer, she spotted Mother Liao at the door, who had been absent all night.

When Mother Liao laid eyes on Shen Qiancheng, her face turned through an interesting array of expressions: confusion, disbelief, and a fawning, ingratiating smile.

Shen Qiancheng wasn't about to entertain her bad habits. As if she hadn't seen her, she walked straight to the desk and roused the still-sleeping doctor.

"Can she leave?"

The doctor, roused awake, his eyes still unfocused, only registered Shen Qiancheng's voice and replied, "If there's nothing wrong, she can go."

Shen Qiancheng turned to help Liao Xue out of bed. Liao Xue put only half her weight onto Shen Qiancheng and limped slowly toward the door.

As soon as they reached the entrance, Mother Liao was quick as lightning to grab Liao Xue's arm.

Shen Qiancheng reacted like a lion whose territory had been invaded, storming forward with hair standing on end: "What are you doing! That arm is hurt! Let go!"

The shout froze Mother Liao for an instant, and Shen Qiancheng seized the moment to yank Liao Xue's arm back, stepping forward to block Liao Xue behind her.

"She was left here all night, then you show up first thing in the morning—for what?"

Shen Qiancheng's aggressive momentum immediately cowed Mother Liao, who staggered back several steps, face incredulous as she faced her formidable opponent.

"Oh, didn't you say you didn't want a lame-leg assistant?"

At those words, Shen Qiancheng felt as though she'd been slapped hard across the face.

Mother Liao tilted her head toward Liao Xue, adding, "Come on home with me now. There's a pile of chores waiting, and we need to water the fields in a few days."

Shen Qiancheng stepped sideways, blocking Mother Liao's advance with a frown: "Keep your distance from Liao Xue. You can say whatever you need from there."

"President Shen, you really don't need a lame-leg assistant." Liao Xue's voice came from behind, carrying an extreme calm.

What did that mean? Shen Qiancheng couldn't tell whether it was resentment, sarcasm, or hurt.

Shen Qiancheng turned around, leaning down slightly to meet Liao Xue's eyes. "What did you say?"

Liao Xue released Shen Qiancheng's hand and gave a small shake of her head. "You don't need a lame assistant. I'll pay you back the money. Goodbye, President Shen."

As Liao Xue pulled away, a chill crept up from behind, threading into every nerve in Shen Qiancheng's mind with ruthless insistence. Facing Liao Xue, she found not a single word of protest.

Only when Liao Xue had followed Mother Liao away did Shen Qiancheng realize it.

It was better this way, she reasoned. She had hired Liao Xue with foul motives in the first place. She shouldn't have been so kind to Liao Xue. The true heiress and the false heiress were born to be rivals.

The doctor had watched the whole scene unfold and shook his head—but then he noticed Shen Qiancheng's face was flushed and she seemed dazed. He couldn't help but remind her, "Boss, have you caught a fever?"

38.6 degrees. So she had a fever.

Shen Qiancheng sat in the clinic with an IV drip, her mind full of one thought: who would cook for her now? She glanced up at the transparent bag—could she just get nutrients straight through the drip? She absolutely couldn't stomach another meal of the Village Chief's Wife's cooking.

The only thing that answered her was a blank white wall.

After the IV, the fever went down, and three days of cold medicine later, she was bouncing back again.

Shen Qiancheng's morning crankiness got even worse. When the Village Chief's Wife greeted her one morning, Shen Qiancheng, whose temper had only just improved a few days prior, squeezed out her toothpaste while snapping, "Morning isn't good at all."

Deflated, the Village Chief's Wife put down the thermos and left.

Shen Qiancheng tossed clothes into the washing machine. It chugged and clanked for over an hour. When she took the clothes out, aside from being wet, the stains were still there.

The Village Chief's Wife happened to pass by and asked idly, "President Shen, did you put in any washing powder?"

What the hell was washing powder?

The Village Chief's Wife took one look at Shen Qiancheng's face and knew she hadn't. She grabbed a Mizone bottle from the windowsill, which was filled with white powder dotted with blue granules.

"This is washing powder…"

Before she could finish, Shen Qiancheng cut her off impatiently: "I know. I used it, but it didn't get the clothes clean. Your washing powder's no good."

Charged with having 'bad washing powder,' the Village Chief's Wife closed her eyes and took the clothes from her. "I'll wash them again for you."

Shen Qiancheng snatched them back, unreasonable as ever: "No need! I'll wear them like this!"

The machine droned on all day. The Village Chief's Wife asked, "When's Liao Xue coming back?"

The Village Chief said, "She's not. With that leg, who knows how Shen Jun's family's handling it."

The Village Chief's Wife said in despair, "What if we pay to get Liao Xue back? I can't handle this little ancestor anymore."

The Village Chief said, "No chance of that—her mother's already fixed her up for marriage talks."

The next day, after four or five days of instant noodles, Shen Qiancheng refused to accept her fate and sat down at the table again. She took one bite of the Village Chief's Wife's cooking, pushed the bowl away, and wore an expression of utter doom.

The Village Chief, tucking in happily, couldn't bear to watch and offered, "President Shen in a bad mood? Why not take a walk in the mountains—there are wild hares and pheasants, and some wild fruits are quite good too."

Wild pheasant? Wild hare? Wild fruit and mushrooms?

Shen Qiancheng's eyes lit up, and she got up and left at once.

The Village Chief's Wife stomped on his foot under the table, her eyes flashing a warning: weren't they trying to drive her off? Why tell her that?

Bearing the pain, the Village Chief swallowed it, smiling as he watched Shen Qiancheng leave, before howling out loud.

The path up the mountain was rough. Shen Qiancheng climbed along the dirt trail strewn with loose gravel, her head down as she scanned the sparse brush for a white rabbit. Every so often, a rustle in the wind would send her lunging with delight to pounce—only to find empty grass roots, not a single trace of white.

It wasn't long before all that pouncing wore her out. A soft carpet of grass spread beneath her, the early-summer sun hung warm overhead, and the faint scent of soil mingled with green grass tickled her nose, as if soothing every pore.

Unable to resist, she flopped onto the grass, her gaze tracing the ancient tree's branches clawing at the sky. A light breeze stroked her face, and she felt like a wild woman about to holler at the mountains. She closed her eyes in contentment, warm all around, utterly at ease.

She was getting drowsy—even without catching a rabbit, this was worth it.

Just as she was about to drift off for a lovely nap, her sharp ears caught a rustling in the bushes nearby. She crept over on tiptoe, then lunged with a dramatic pounce.

"Rabbit!"

What Shen Qiancheng never expected was to find a person—and a person she didn't want to see.

Liao Xue was squatting on the ground, pulling a basket upright, when the shout rang out and froze her in place.

She saw Shen Qiancheng.