Chapter 25: The Month-Long “Treatment”

By the time the medicine arrived, Mo Jin had already carried Lin Mo back to the bed.

The sound of the rain outside gradually quieted. The heat inside the room caused a layer of white mist to form on the cold windowpanes, making the scenery outside appear blurred and indistinct.

Lin Mo felt cold again at this moment. She shrank into the fluffy embrace, her feverish cheek pressing against a soft paw pad, rubbing against it twice. A refreshing, cold fragrance wafted over in waves; Lin Mo felt her overworked nerves begin to soothe.

She liked the scent on Mo Jin’s body—it was comfortable and reassuring. If she could spend her whole life holding a giant panda like this, it actually wouldn’t be a bad thing.

But it was unlikely. Mo Jin was a panda, and she was a bamboo shoot. How could they stay together for a lifetime?

Actually, spending a lifetime together wasn’t impossible, but it would force Mo Jin to choose between “eating her now” or “eating her repeatedly.”

Lin Mo felt her head ache a little. She must be muddled from the fever to be thinking about such nonsense.

Mo Jin didn’t know what the little bamboo was thinking; she only saw Lin Mo’s head rolling back and forth on her bear paw as if she were troubled. She extended a claw to brush away the dark hair cascading down Lin Mo’s neck.

The neck was fair and slender, with slightly protruding collarbones that were small and exquisite. A tiny red mark had grown on the side of her neck.

Unsure if there were more marks on the skin beneath her clothes, Mo Jin lifted a paw. With a light flick, the topmost button popped open, revealing a glimpse of hidden beauty.

She took a casual glance, but Lin Mo noticed immediately.

Lin Mo clutched her collar tightly and looked up, seeing Mo Jin holding a tube of medicine with a tense expression.

She isn’t going to apply it all over my body, is she? Wouldn’t I be seen completely?

Heavens, the shame is off the charts, okay?

Lin Mo’s cheeks flushed slightly as she bargained, “Can I check myself first? I’ll call you if there’s a place I need to apply it that I can’t reach?”

Mo Jin’s gaze caught the shyness on Lin Mo’s face. “Fine. I’ll go out first.”

The door closed with a creak.

Lin Mo sat up on the bed and patted her burning cheeks. Her small frame didn’t have much meat on it, and her figure wasn’t that impressive, but she still felt embarrassed being seen.

She replayed Mo Jin’s expression from just now in her mind. It didn’t seem like she disliked it, nor was she disgusted.

Wait, stop! Why am I thinking about this again?

Lin Mo covered her face with both hands and buried her head deep between her knees, feeling a bit frantic. She couldn’t possibly have “special” feelings for a giant panda. She was a bamboo shoot; considering the food chain, she had to nip this dangerous thought in the bud.

Calming herself down, Lin Mo unbuttoned her clothes and checked everything. Finding no other red marks on her body, she dressed herself and called Mo Jin back in.

Mo Jin was leaning half-against the door, clutching the medicine and carefully reading the instructions: Apply once daily, continue for two weeks.

Can it really be cured after two weeks? Mo Jin harbored a hint of doubt.

Hearing Lin Mo call her in, Mo Jin put away the instructions, pushed open the wooden door, and walked in.

Lin Mo held her quilt and turned her head. “I just checked, and I didn’t find any red marks.”

“Did you check your back?”

Lin Mo froze. She really hadn’t checked that—she couldn’t see her own back, after all.

“Take off your top; let me check it for you.”

The tone was so serious that for a moment, Lin Mo felt that taking off her clothes was the only reasonable thing to do. She suspected Mo Jin was acting like a rogue, but she had no evidence.

Stunned, Lin Mo looked up into Mo Jin’s eyes. They indeed looked very righteous; she had no reason to suspect Mo Jin had other intentions.

“Alright then.”

In a place Lin Mo couldn’t see, the corners of Mo Jin’s lips curled into a faint, shallow arc.

Lin Mo crawled into the quilt, shed her top, and covered her front, leaving only a smooth, bare back for Mo Jin. As her back hit the cool air, Lin Mo shivered. Her slightly protruding shoulder blades were delicate and beautiful, and her ink-black hair spilled down like a waterfall, making her fair skin look like white jade.

A tiny red mark was hidden below the shoulder blade. Following the spine down from the neck, there were two shallow dimples on her slender waist, small and cute. To the right of the waist dimples, there was also a red mark.

Like ambiguous hickeys, they were indescribably captivating.

Lin Mo felt the skin wherever Mo Jin’s gaze touched began to burn. She turned her head and asked unnaturally, “Is there anything?”

Mo Jin’s expression was focused, her voice low and deep: “Yes.”

Lin Mo was surprised. “Ah? Where?”

She twisted her body, trying to see where they were, but Mo Jin reached out and pressed down on her spine.

The cool fingers chilled her so much she froze. Lin Mo tensed her body, not daring to move again, her heart racing like a drumbeat.

Mo Jin’s fingers slowly slid down her spine and stopped below the shoulder blade. She squeezed out two drops of medicine and spread them evenly over the red mark.

Lin Mo felt as if Mo Jin were a flame lightly scorching her. Even though she had drunk a lot of water earlier, her throat felt dry again.

When the fingers landed on her waist dimples, Lin Mo’s tensed body suddenly went limp. she arched her back, curled to the side, and laughed, “It tickles!”

She rolled into a ball and shrank into the corner by the wall.

Mo Jin’s fingers, prepared to apply the medicine, remained frozen in mid-air. Looking at Lin Mo hiding in the quilt, her brow furrowed slightly with a hint of helplessness. “Come here.”

Lin Mo stopped laughing, wiped away the tears triggered by the reflex, and squeezed further into the corner of the bed, shaking her head firmly at Mo Jin.

She couldn’t do it; it was too ticklish.

Mo Jin grabbed the quilt and gave it a tug. “Come here.”

Lin Mo clutched the quilt tight, blinking desperately. “Can I not? It really tickles.”

Mo Jin didn’t budge the quilt, so she used a bit more force. Her tone hardened as she glanced sideways at Lin Mo. “No.”

The corners of Lin Mo’s eyes were a bit red, and her tone carried a hint of acting spoiled. “If I come over, will you let me touch your paws? Otherwise, I’ll keep moving because it’s too itchy, and the medicine won’t go on right.”

The little bamboo has actually learned how to bargain with me? However, if she shifted into her beast form, she wouldn’t be able to squeeze the medicine out—she’d likely crush the tube.

Mo Jin saw Lin Mo’s “ready-to-cry” expression out of the corner of her eye and sighed in her heart. She shook her head, her voice carrying a trace of indulgence. “No. I’ll only let you touch them after the medicine is done.”

Fine. As long as I get to touch the bear paws, it’s not a bad deal.

Lin Mo rolled herself back over in the quilt and obediently let Mo Jin apply the medicine.

The moment Mo Jin’s fingers touched her sensitive waist, she was hit by that strange tickle again and laughed uncontrollably. She didn’t dare roll away for fear of losing the chance to touch the paws, so she just gripped the quilt, gritted her teeth, and let her shoulders shake and tremble.

After a while, a thin layer of sweat broke out on Lin Mo’s back, and the medicine was finally finished.

Lin Mo had endured for so long just to touch those paws. She put on her clothes, turned around, and wiped the tears from her eyes, feeling it was all worth it.

Mo Jin: “Lift your chin.”

Lin Mo: “…”

It’s not over yet?

Forget it, I’ve endured this long; I’m not afraid of one more spot.

Lin Mo obediently lifted her chin, revealing her fair, slender neck, looking like a martyr going to her execution.

Mo Jin gripped Lin Mo’s chin and slowly leaned down.

The cold, crisp fragrance easily captured Lin Mo’s senses. She stared unblinkingly at the approaching red lips and slowly closed her eyes.

Mo Jin’s breath brushed past her lower lip and teased her neck, dyeing it with a faint flush. When those cool fingers brushed against her warm neck, all of Lin Mo’s senses were concentrated on that one spot.

Lin Mo: ???

Why is this going in a different direction than I imagined?

A sense of irritation she couldn’t explain rose in her heart. She suddenly felt that she didn’t want to touch the paws that much anymore; she wanted to get even closer to Mo Jin.

After Mo Jin finished applying the medicine, she carefully put it away and asked with concern, “How does it feel? Any discomfort?”

Lin Mo snapped out of it, unable to hide the panic in her eyes. She gave an awkward smile. “It’s… it’s fine.”

Mo Jin stared intently at Lin Mo’s face, as if trying to see something more there.

Lin Mo hurried to change the subject. “How long do I have to use this medicine to get better?”

“A month,” Mo Jin said casually.

Lin Mo scratched her head. “It takes that long?”

Behind her back, Mo Jin quietly altered the words on the medicine tube. She pulled the tube out and handed it to Lin Mo, saying without a hint of guilt, “See for yourself.”

Lin Mo took it and looked; it indeed said to use the medicine for one month.

“Alright then, one month it is.” Lin Mo collapsed on the bed. She had to have this kind of physical contact with Mo Jin for a whole month; she was a bit afraid she wouldn’t be able to control her restless heart.

Now her only thought was to touch the bear paws for some healing.

Lin Mo pressed her cheek against her arm and turned her head to ask, “You promised me just now; you said I could touch your paws. No backing out.”

Mo Jin gave Lin Mo a faint glance, turned her back to her, shifted into a giant panda, and extended a fluffy bear paw.

Lin Mo squeezed the paw and greeted it affectionately, “Cute little bear paw-paw, I missed you so much~”

Mo Jin: “…”

You were literally sleeping on my paw all day today.

You miss the paws, but you don’t miss me. Hmph!

Lin Mo noticed the paw tighten slightly, so she pried at it with her hands, interlacing her fingers with the bear’s claws. Only then did the paw slowly relax.

Mo Jin’s small ears turned a bit hot because of this small action. She secretly found an excuse for Lin Mo in her heart and forgave her.

Lin Mo played with the bear paw for a long time. Once the drowsiness from the medicine kicked in, she fell back into a deep sleep, pillowed on the paw.

Mo Jin adjusted the pillow for the sleeping Lin Mo, covered her with the quilt, and walked out of the house.

She remembered the Bee Robot’s scan said the medicine was to supplement nutrition. She recalled that the Ginseng Baby’s root whiskers also had a nourishing effect; they would be perfect for brewing a soup to nourish Lin Mo’s body.

The Ginseng Baby was working hard with its hoe, taking care of its precious spiritual plants, completely unaware that it was being targeted again.

Because it had just been nourished by the spiritual energy Lin Mo released during her growth spurt, the Ginseng Baby was noticeably two sizes fatter than usual. Its white, tender arms looked like segments of lotus root. Even the spiritual plants it raised looked fresh and hydrated with thick roots and leaves.

Mo Jin hooked her index finger, using spiritual energy to tie up the Ginseng Baby and hoist it before her. “Give me some root whiskers, or I will eat all these spiritual plants.”

The Ginseng Baby wailed. Where is the justice? This is blatant robbery!

“Cry again, and I won’t leave a single one.”

It pursed its lips, held back its tears, and swung its chubby little arms in heartbreak. “Bad panda and bad bamboo are exactly the same; all they know is how to bully children.”

Mo Jin raised an eyebrow. “You’re well over a thousand years old.”

The Ginseng Baby kicked its little legs. “I don’t care; I’m still a baby.”

Mo Jin was unmoved. “Whatever. Give me the root whiskers.”

The Ginseng Baby was very angry. Why was it so hard to reason with a panda? They were even worse than the bamboo.

Under Mo Jin’s threat, the Ginseng Baby reluctantly gave a few whiskers. Once released, it dove into the earth at lightning speed.