Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 39 - Painkillers
Chapter 39: Painkillers
After leaving the concert hall, halfway through the ride, He Qingchi still felt something was off.
Resting her chin in her palm, she gazed quietly at the night street view outside the car window. From Wen Shuchen’s angle, he could only see her profile reflected faintly in the dark glass—light makeup, delicate features as flawless and perfect as porcelain.
He had one arm draped over her shoulder, holding her in a half-embrace, drawing their distance incredibly close. His warm breath brushed her ear. “I didn’t plan tonight’s date well. Is there anywhere else you’d like to go?”
He Qingchi turned her head just slightly, accidentally brushing against his thin lips. The soft touch landed on her forehead, and her mind instantly blanked out. “Just take me back to the hotel. It wouldn’t look good if I asked for leave again tomorrow.”
She was referring to the hotel provided by the film crew—a subtle hint for him.
Wen Shuchen thought for a moment and smoothly followed her lead. “Mind if I stay over for the night?”
He Qingchi’s lashes quivered slightly. She hadn’t expected him to want to follow her back and stay the night, and a trace of nervousness spread through her chest. She said, “Didn’t you say your schedule was packed? Don’t you have an important meeting early in the morning?”
“No worries. I’ll leave your suite by five in the morning. No one will see.”
That sentence from Wen Shuchen left her with no room to refuse.
He Qingchi turned back toward the window awkwardly and cleared her throat. “I don’t mind either way.”
Back at the hotel, He Qingchi intentionally avoided the film crew. She went upstairs alone in the elevator and, after confirming the hallway was empty, dialed Wen Shuchen to tell him to come up.
The suite was tidied daily by hotel staff, and it still looked clean. There wasn’t much to fix up. Sitting by the bed, with Wen Shuchen no longer beside her disturbing her thoughts, her mind slowly returned to the concert from earlier that evening.
Even if she and Qu Bixin were only “plastic” friends, He Qingchi still couldn’t stand seeing her get deceived.
But on second thought, considering how obsessed Qu Bixin was with Shen Fu, she probably wouldn’t tolerate anyone saying a single bad word about her man. He Qingchi took out her phone, moved past Qu Bixin’s profile on WeChat, and scrolled down to open Qin Chuan’s chat.
[Look into the cellist Shen Tingji’s background for me.]
Qin Chuan didn’t seem to understand the out-of-the-blue request and replied with a question mark: [Why investigate her? An ex of your husband?]
He Qingchi lowered her long lashes and typed: [I’ll explain later. Check Shen Tingji’s family background, connections, and any undisclosed relationship history.]
Qin Chuan sent back an emoji: [Got it.]
He Qingchi set the phone down and sat dazed by the edge of the bed for a while. The suite was quiet. She suddenly realized—it had been quite a while, and Wen Shuchen still hadn’t come up.
She sat up slowly, just about to go check, when the doorbell rang.
She walked over and opened the door to see Wen Shuchen standing there, tall and composed under the hallway lights, holding a convenience store shopping bag in hand.
She quickly let him in to avoid being seen, shut the door, and handed him the hotel slippers. “Went to buy snacks? I thought you got caught by Director Guo and couldn’t get away.”
Wen Shuchen casually set the shopping bag on the coffee table and changed into the slippers, lowering his gaze. “I’m going to take a shower.”
He Qingchi nodded, assuming it was just his usual cleanliness.
“There’s a bathrobe in the bathroom…”
Since there weren’t any of Wen Shuchen’s clothes here, once he went into the bathroom, He Qingchi started looking for her phone to contact Song Chao.
She bent down, knees lightly pressing onto the carpet, with the shopping bag right by her side. She lifted a hand to look inside—and suddenly froze. Under two or three imported snacks… was a box of three.
He hadn’t come upstairs immediately because he made a detour to buy those?
He Qingchi didn’t know how long she’d been kneeling there. When she finally heard noise from the bathroom, she scrambled to put the bag back and lowered her head, pretending she hadn’t seen anything, fingers busy with her phone screen.
Wen Shuchen came out from his shower, his body wrapped in the hotel’s white bathrobe. As he approached, the faint scent of white tea body wash lingered in the air. He stopped just a step away from her.
He Qingchi didn’t look up. Her long black hair veiled her expression, fingers scrolling over her phone screen like she was occupied with something important.
After a couple seconds, Wen Shuchen’s soft voice sounded: “Want to wash up?”
“Ah—” He Qingchi quickly put down her phone. Her thick lashes caught a glimpse of his handsome face, which wore a look of satisfaction.
She smiled slightly and stood, raising a hand to brush her long hair back, a bit unnatural. “Then… I’ll go take my makeup off. It’s getting late.”
She rushed into the bathroom. Just before shutting the door, she couldn’t help but glance back and saw Wen Shuchen already sitting on the sofa, his long fingers reaching for the shopping bag.
“…” This is bad.
The bathroom still held the faint mist and body wash fragrance he had left behind. The floor and mirrors, however, were cleaned spotless. Everything he used had been put neatly back in place.
He Qingchi had always liked detail-oriented men. Her nervous heart calmed a little. If something really were to happen between them tonight… with how things had progressed, it seemed almost natural.
With that thought in mind, she took a nice, hot shower. When she came out, the sofa was empty, and the bedroom door was open. A faint stream of warm light spilled from within.
She tiptoed over and saw Wen Shuchen reclining against her bed, far more casual than usual—none of his usual put-on gentlemanly demeanor. The bathrobe hung loosely around him, subtly revealing the firm lines of his chest.
Even his gaze looked darker and more intense than usual.
“Come sit.” Wen Shuchen saw her standing frozen and smiled slightly, his eyes twinkling.
He patted the bed beside him and lifted the blanket invitingly.
Just as He Qingchi took a step forward, her gaze dropped and caught sight of that opened three-pack—boldly unwrapped and placed right on the nightstand.
If there was any development before, it was just the unspoken tension waiting to be broken.
Now, it was completely laid bare, without any pretense.
He Qingchi was inexperienced—it was her first time.
Naturally, she was nervous. Held in Wen Shuchen’s arms, her face was dazed, and her whole body soon sank into the sheets. Her eyelashes grew damp without her noticing as she took in the familiar masculine scent of his body.
After several attempts, He Qingchi still couldn't cross that line in her heart. She felt too constrained and reflexively dodged back and forth.
Seeing this, Wen Shuchen gently stroked her fair back, his voice already hoarse: “Want some water?”
He Qingchi's hair was a mess under the covers. She peeked her head out and studied his face. “Do you feel... disappointed?”
“Don’t overthink it.” Wen Shuchen’s long, graceful fingers—warmer than hers—gently brushed the hair stuck to her shoulder. His expression remained calm and collected, totally mismatched with the slightly impatient actions he'd shown in bed earlier—as if he were two different people.
He Qingchi got out of bed first, picked up his bathrobe and put it on, then went outside to pour herself a glass of water.
A minute or two later, she returned and poured another glass for him—cold water this time. “You should drink too.”
Wen Shuchen didn’t take it. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her waist and gently touched her a few times.
He Qingchi didn’t mind small gestures like that.
She let him trace the curves of her waist, and five or six minutes later, when he began to push things further, she didn’t resist. Her whole body felt like it was melting. In the dark room, she shared the most intimate act between husband and wife with him.
At 4:50 a.m., the sky outside was still dark. A small bedside lamp illuminated the slender figure of the woman lying quietly in the center of the bed.
Wen Shuchen was already fully dressed in his suit and shirt. After washing up, he even heated up some warm water and placed it on the nightstand.
He gently smoothed He Qingchi’s messy hair on the pillow, then leaned down, softly whispering in her ear. Everything he did was quiet and careful, as if afraid to startle or upset her: “Still hurting?”
He Qingchi’s long lashes fluttered weakly. The lingering ache in her body hadn’t gone away. A faint blush still lingered on her cheeks, trailing down her neck and disappearing beneath the collar of her nightgown. Her expression looked pitiful. “Wen Shuchen... can you go buy me some medicine?”
“What kind of medicine?” Wen Shuchen sat down by the bed, holding her delicate hand.
“Painkillers…” He Qingchi wasn’t sure what exactly to take, but painkillers seemed like a safe bet.
She was more sensitive to pain than most. Last night, this had made Wen Shuchen take extra care and time with her. Now, she pitifully asked for painkillers after everything was over.
He tucked her in, his voice gentle: “Get some more sleep first.”
He Qingchi was groggy at this point, but still clung to his hand stubbornly and warned him: “Don’t send the bodyguards. You go yourself.”
It would be so awkward if they found out.
Wen Shuchen had bought the three-pack himself last night at the convenience store, so he understood her concern. He agreed softly, “Okay. I won’t let the bodyguards find out.”
With that reassurance, He Qingchi laid her cheek against the soft pillow, which still carried his scent, and gradually fell asleep.
Wen Shuchen sat quietly at the edge of the bed for a while, making sure she was truly asleep and no longer in pain. Only then did he slowly get up, grab his wallet and room card, and leave the room.
At that hour, it wasn’t easy to find a 24-hour pharmacy near Hengdian.
He took the elevator downstairs, headed straight to his parked car in the underground garage, and opened the trunk in the deserted space. Inside was a stash of medications he kept on hand.
After searching through the medicine box, Wen Shuchen didn’t find any painkillers—but he did find pain relief injections.
He stood there without moving, his eyes filled with complex emotion as he looked at the medication in his hand.
After a while, he slipped the pain relief injection into his suit pocket, then closed the trunk without expression.
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