Chapter 30: Older Brothers Are Meant to Be Bothered

Chapter 30: Brothers Are Meant to Be Troubled

It was deep into the night.

Bai Li lay curled in her thin, soft quilt, sleeping fitfully. Perhaps due to the sweltering heat, or perhaps the waves of cramping in her lower abdomen, cold sweat clung to her pale forehead.

Downstairs, the sound of a door opening and footsteps ascending the stairs echoed through the house. Though they were light, they were enough to rouse Ye Mian from her shallow slumber.

For a moment, the pain in her abdomen felt like a terminal illness. Yet, this familiar agony pulled her instantly from her dreams. She lay silent in the darkness for three seconds, her heart suddenly tightening. There was an unmistakable dampness against her legs, accompanied by the sight of a stain. Her period had arrived early.

A cool breeze drifted through the gaps in the window. Enduring her exhaustion and the sharp, throbbing pain, Bai Li pulled her schoolbag over, navigated to the bathroom, and changed her sanitary pad. The sensation of heavy, dragging pressure made her tremble; her vision blurred as she walked, and her lips were as pale as paper. She leaned against the wall for support, the biting cold of the surface seeming to pierce through her veins and strike her brain, causing a high-pitched ringing in her ears.

Gritting her teeth, she curled back into her quilt, hoping to use the oblivion of sleep to dull the pain.

Her body had always been frail. This cycle of menstrual pain began with a cruel prank in middle school. Her stepsister, who attended the same school, was perhaps jealous of her grades. On their way home, the girl feigned a need to go to the swimming pool to retrieve her cap, then pretended to fall into the water. Knowing Bai Li was afraid of the water and currently on her period, she forced her to jump in to save her.

The moment Bai Li entered the water, her stepsister used her as a stepping stone to climb back onto the deck. Bai Li nearly drowned. After struggling to grab the kickboard the girl had tossed aside, she paddled toward the shore, only to be shoved away again. This cycle repeated until she had no strength left, only able to cling tightly to the board, drifting in the water. A shocking, vivid red began to bloom in the pool, visible to passersby.

She didn't know if their gazes were filled with mockery or pity; all she knew was that she couldn't get out. Later, photos flooded the internet—one of the blood-stained water, another of her stepsister "heroically" pulling her to safety. She became the target of vicious ostracization. People called her disgusting, saying she had polluted the environment.

Then, she only heard two lines of comfort from Ms. Hu: "You should be more sensible."

"It was just a joke."

From that point on, every bout of menstrual pain felt like falling into that pool again—the same suffocating weakness, the same freezing chill, the same drenching sweat.

Bai Li had hoped to endure it this time by forcing herself to sleep, but she miscalculated. As the clock struck three in the morning, the pain only intensified. She bit her hand to keep from crying out, pressing her other hand firmly against her abdomen, tossing and turning in a desperate attempt to shift the focus of the agony. The only sounds in the room were her shallow, ragged breaths and the rhythmic chirping of insects outside the window.

She felt as though she might faint from the pain, yet consciousness refused to slip away, her temples pulsing with every heartbeat.

She sat up abruptly. Enduring the agony, she opened her bedroom door and took a step toward the stairs. She remembered there was a medicine cabinet downstairs; if she were lucky, she might find a painkiller to ease the symptoms.

As she descended, it felt as if all the blood in her body was flowing backward, her legs growing increasingly cold. Reaching the living room, she ignored the ringing in her ears and rummaged through the drawers in a disheveled state. She couldn't hear the sounds of the outside world, but perhaps her frantic searching was loud enough to disturb the other person in the house.

A shadow flickered before her. Bai Li looked back in shock, crashing directly into the equally startled Fang Ye. His gaze froze, landing on a single drop of blood on the wooden floor. It was a blinding, vivid red.

"..."

Bai Li forced herself to ignore the pain, letting go of the drawer. She looked at Fang Ye, her face flushed with embarrassment, completely unaware of the leak. Distracted by the pain, she only felt apologetic for disturbing him. "I'm sorry, Brother. I woke you up."

"..."

There was no need for words to understand what the girl was desperately searching for. Fang Ye knelt slowly in front of her, pulled a medicine cabinet from a narrow bottom compartment, and tapped a painkiller into the bottle cap. There was hot water in the thermos; he poured it between two cups several times until it reached a drinkable temperature before handing both the water and the pill to Bai Li.

He asked in his gentlest voice, "Does it hurt a lot? Should we go to the hospital?"

He knew the girl had a high tolerance for pain; if it wasn't agonizing, she would never have been reduced to such a disheveled state. Bai Li didn't even have the strength to shake her head. She took the water and the pill, whispering in a voice barely audible, "It's okay. The medicine and warm water will be enough."

"Mm." Fang Ye said nothing more. While she drank, he casually pulled a clean tissue from the table and, to spare her the embarrassment of seeing that spot of red, quickly wiped it away and tossed the tissue into the trash bin. He moved with deliberate care, and Bai Li, focused on the medicine, didn't notice. After taking it, she climbed shakily back to her room.

Before getting into bed, she felt something amiss. Feeling behind her, she realized her hand was sticky. She thought back to before she went upstairs and, not having seen any traces on the floor, breathed a sigh of relief. After enduring the pain to change into fresh clothes in the bathroom, she lay heavily in bed, clinging to the belief that the painkiller would soon take effect.

She didn't know how much time had passed when the pain began to recede. Feeling slightly lighter, she was just about to drift off when a knock sounded at her door.

After receiving her reply, Fang Ye entered. He was holding a cup of water that smelled of ginger and sweetness; there was no steam rising from it, as it was at the perfect temperature to drink. In his other hand, he held a torn plastic wrapper from a heating pad.

He placed the ginger water on the table and handed the heating pad to her. "Apply this, drink the ginger water, and you'll feel better after a nap."

Bai Li was dazed, wondering how there could be a heating pad in the house during this season. The moment she brushed against his hand, she understood. Fang Ye’s hands were very cold. He must have gone to a nearby pharmacy specifically for her.

Sure enough, Fang Ye brought up another bag of medicine. His voice was calm, devoid of any particular emotion, as he carefully gave instructions: "The pharmacist said these will help. Remember to take them consistently. If you need anything, call me. Don't act like there's no one else in this house, you understand?"

Listening to his words, Bai Li's heart skipped a beat. Surrounded by the faint scent of mint that drifted from him, she couldn't help but bury her face in the space between her pillow and quilt, whispering, "Thank you, Brother. I've troubled you."

Fang Ye’s hand rested on her hair, gently tucking a stray strand away from her face. "Brothers are meant to be troubled."

With perfect manners, he didn't linger. He reached out to turn on a small nightlight, switched off the harsh main light, and left the room.