Chapter 18

Outside the door, it was Christine's voice.

"Wait a moment!"

Zhen Fan quickly returned to the room, changed his clothes, and then opened the door. Christine stood there, her hair still dripping, buttoning up her shirt, and smiled at him.

"Did I come at the wrong time?"

Christine deliberately turned her head to look in the direction Sarah had left, but unfortunately, Sarah had already driven off in a rage.

"I'm a colleague, I'm temporarily a consultant for the CBI!"

"Oh?"

Christine even had the heart to joke, winking at Zhen Fan and deliberately raising her voice to express her doubt, just to tease him a bit.

"Because I helped with a case!" Zhen Fan shrugged. "Maybe because I look like the Eastern version of Holmes, or maybe she just wanted some fun!"

Christine walked in, shaking her head, her hands clasped behind her back, and made a small, feminine, and cute stretching gesture.

"Don't explain to me, this is your own business!"

She winked mischievously, then sat down on the sofa as if she were at home, one hand casually resting on the armrest, the other supporting her chin, looking at Zhen Fan.

"How do you plan to treat my... insomnia or excessive dreaming?"

"Uh, if possible, I'll need to insert a few needles into your head. Have you seen traditional Chinese acupuncture? If you know about it, I'll feel more at ease, after all, many people don't understand it!"

Zhen Fan stood up, ready to go to the room to get his silver needles.

"Acupuncture? I've never seen it before..." Christine watched Zhen Fan walk into the room and take out a box, her interest piqued.

Zhen Fan opened the box, inside were a set of silver needles and cleaning tools.

"Are... these going to be inserted into my head?"

Seeing these slender silver needles, Christine immediately felt a sense of unease, unable to imagine what it would feel like to have them inserted into her head.

Zhen Fan had anticipated this.

"We can try other parts first. If you feel uncomfortable, I'll stop!" Zhen Fan looked at Christine's expression and explained patiently, "You don't need to worry at all, it will just feel a bit numb, and everything else will be normal!"

"Alright!" Christine finally bit her lip, "Let's start with my arm!"

The slender silver needle went in, and indeed, it felt numb and even a bit swollen. It was no problem; she could bear it. However, the sensation in her hand was not very noticeable.

"Maybe... we can try on the head?"

Zhen Fan, seeing that Christine had adapted, suggested with a smile.

"You have to be careful..." Christine was a bit apprehensive.

Zhen Fan nodded and began massaging her head. "Don't worry, just follow my lead, relax your body, relax your whole body, you can lean against the sofa, rest your head, good, now I can start the needling. Are you ready, Christine?"

"Yes, I think I'm ready, relax, right?"

Christine closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled deeply, exaggerating the action, which was actually just to build up her courage.

"Alright, you can start the needling!"

Christine, feeling prepared, called out to Zhen Fan to start.

But then she heard Zhen Fan's light laughter. Christine opened her eyes and saw Zhen Fan standing in front of her, grinning.

"What are you waiting for? I'm ready!"

Christine looked at Zhen Fan curiously and then noticed that his hands were empty, and the box no longer had any silver needles. Where were the needles?

"God, you didn't... already insert them, did you?"

Christine was startled, reaching out to touch her head, but Zhen Fan grabbed her hand and warned her, "Don't move, or you'll hurt yourself. What you need to do now is lean your head against the sofa, relax, and close your eyes. If you can fall asleep, go ahead and sleep!"

"Alright, I'll lean back!" Christine shook her head; she really wanted to sleep, but the nightmares had become a shadow in her mind, making her afraid to sleep. Saying she would sleep was just a way of leaning back, closing her eyes, and instinctively resisting sleep.

Closing her eyes, she felt the room was very quiet.

After a while, she heard a voice.

"Are you asleep?"

"No, I can't sleep. I'm afraid, Zhen. The nightmare will just come into my dreams as soon as I fall asleep!"

"Do you want me to count sheep for you?"

"Ha!"

Christine couldn't help it; her lips twitched, but she still couldn't resist, closing her eyes and joking, "Alright, if counting sheep can make me fall asleep, that would be... great!"

"This is a privilege I'm giving you!" Zhen Fan smiled.

Then Christine heard a voice in her ear: "One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep..."

This guy was actually counting sheep. Christine couldn't help it and "ha" again, wanting to open her eyes to see what this guy was up to.

"Close your eyes, don't try to open them to look at me, or you'll be breaking the rules!" Zhen Fan quickly warned her, "Listen carefully to my voice, listen to me count sheep, okay!"

"Alright, you're the doctor now, I'll listen to you, Doctor!" Christine held back her laughter, emphasizing the "Doctor" part, and obediently closed her eyes again.

"Five sheep, six sheep..."

Gradually, Zhen Fan's voice became like water droplets, clear and pleasant, making her feel a sense of comfort, as if wrapped in warm sunlight.

Christine's lips curled into a smile, and her whole body gradually relaxed, her nerves slowly easing. The insomnia of many days had made her lose control of her sleep, even though she wanted to stay awake.

Zhen Fan's voice gradually became blurry, like a stuck tape, or like bubbles rising from the bottom of the water.

Christine's breathing slowly became steady, her long eyelashes no longer fluttering, indicating she had fallen asleep. Zhen Fan couldn't help but smile and covered her with a thin blanket.

The morning sun shone into the room. Zhen Fan sat in the bright spot, looking at Christine, who was leaning against the sofa, her hair hanging down, her face peaceful. He couldn't help but smile and picked up a book to read.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

After an unknown amount of time, a knock at the door. Zhen Fan had already put down the book; he wasn't particularly fond of reading, and he wouldn't have read for long periods if it weren't for preparing for exams. In comparison, he preferred cooking.

Opening the door, Claire stood there with her Barbie doll, peeking inside and giggling at Zhen Fan, looking mischievous.

"Uncle, is the auntie still here? Is she sleeping? I promise to be good, not to make noise, and just watch cartoons!" Claire looked at Zhen Fan with pleading eyes, afraid he would refuse.

"No problem, you can go watch TV, but keep the volume low. She's very tired and hasn't slept for many days!"

Zhen Fan let Claire in and gave her some instructions.

"Okay!" Claire jumped and ran to the TV, but her eyes kept glancing at Zhen Fan's kitchen, clearly with other intentions.

Zhen Fan ignored her and prepared the dishes, then called Claire over.

"Try my mushroom meatballs, braised small yellow croakers, and spring roll pancakes!"

Zhen Fan picked up the eager Claire, who was already drooling at the table, and placed her in a chair, preparing forks, spoons, and a plate for her!

"Here you go!" Zhen Fan used chopsticks to place a spring roll pancake on Claire's plate, and put a meatball in his own mouth, closing his eyes in satisfaction.

"Delicious!"

Claire used a fork to pick up the spring roll pancake, took a bite, and mimicked Zhen Fan, closing her eyes and pretending to enjoy it, even letting out a soft sigh.

"Little sprite!" Zhen Fan couldn't help but laugh.

This little girl was getting more and more attached to Zhen Fan, even imitating his every move. Even Annie had complained about this, as Claire had never learned from Annie or Thomas in all these years.

This seemed like jealousy, but it was full of joy. Claire had completely changed, and all this had happened since Zhen Fan came. This filled her heart with not only joy but also gratitude.

"Uncle Zhen, can I come here again in the future?"

Claire, happily eating, suddenly became sad, lowering her head, not eating the pancake, and glancing at Zhen Fan.

"What's wrong, Claire! Of course you can come, I love having you as a guest!"

"But... but I have to go to school. Mom said I have to go to school. Uncle Zhen, I don't want to go to school, I want to stay with Uncle Zhen every day."

So that's it, this little girl had her own worries!

Zhen Fan quickly went over, picked up Claire, and playfully pinched her nose, smiling. "Even if you go to school, you still have to come home, right? When you come home, you can come to Uncle's house. We can still see each other every day, can't we?"

"Right!"

Claire clapped and laughed, her mind turning the corner, and she couldn't help but smile, her worries gone. She quickly slid off Zhen Fan, picked up a fork, and speared a large mushroom meatball, putting it in her plate and taking a big bite, her cheeks puffing up.

The sun gradually shifted, shining on the sofa.

The sunlight stung Christine's eyes, and she instinctively shielded them with her hand, sitting up. The thin blanket on her body slipped off.

Opening her eyes, the new environment startled Christine, but she quickly realized she was in Zhen Fan's home. She smiled and looked at the two people, big and small, at the dining table, engaged in a battle with the food.

"That's not fair, why don't I have a share!" Christine pretended to be upset.

"How can that be? I've saved some for you. Since you're awake, come and eat with us! How did you sleep?"

How did she sleep? Christine was taken aback, suddenly realizing, and her heart filled with joy. This sleep, no dreams at all!