He felt a pang of regret, wishing he had administered the serum sooner if he had known Susu would remain in a state of amnesia for so long.
"Can you still ride a horse by yourself?"
"I..." Susu had intended to say yes, but now, besides the piercing itch, her vision was blurring, and the world was spinning.
Yang Sijie sensed something was wrong. He dismounted his own horse, took hold of hers, and then mounted her horse. He held her tightly around the waist to prevent her from falling and quickly rode back toward the house.
Upon reaching the indoors, Yang Sijie carried her and gently laid her on the bed.
Susu curled up in agony, her entire body itching and hurting, her head throbbing as if countless ants were gnawing at her.
This was the first time Yang Sijie had used this new drug on a person, and seeing Susu in such pain, he felt a chill.
He still had a few more doses, but he hesitated whether to continue injecting her.
If she could endure the initial onset... if she could just get through it, she wouldn't become dependent on the drug. However, the process of enduring it would be excruciating, likely costing Susu half her life.
Susu was already in unbearable pain. Frantically, she pulled up her sleeves and began scratching her arms with all her might.
With each scratch, she drew blood, but she couldn't feel the pain in her arms at all.
The pain from her own scratching was insignificant compared to the hellish itching and pain that consumed her entire body.
Seeing her like this, Yang Sijie, after much deliberation, decided to try and let her endure the episode on her own.
He quickly found some rope and tied her hands to prevent her from scratching herself aimlessly. He stroked her head, trying to alleviate her pain, and said, "Hang in there. You might have been bitten by some poisonous insect. I'll go look for some medicine."
As he spoke, he went to his room and retrieved a syringe. If Susu couldn't bear it, he would have to continue the injection.
When he returned to Susu's room, he saw her desperately banging her head against the bed frame in her agony, a sight that was truly heart-wrenching.
Regardless of whether Susu could endure it, seeing her pale face, he couldn't bring himself to let her suffer alone any longer. He opened the syringe and pushed the liquid into her body.
Soon after, Susu stopped struggling violently due to the itching and pain. The expression on her face softened, and she closed her eyes, appearing to be sleeping peacefully.
He watched her sleep, his own body still rigid. He hadn't expected the drug to be so painful for Susu.
He wanted to be with her forever and couldn't bear to see her go through such torment every month.
When he had first injected her with this drug, his only thought was that if he couldn't have her, he would destroy her, ensuring no one else could either.
Now, he felt that he could be with Susu for a long time, yet he didn't want her to be controlled by the drug. Moreover, he only had four doses left, which wouldn't last long even if he gave her one injection per month.
It seemed he had no choice but to risk contacting Dr. John to find a way to eliminate her dependence on this medication.
He gazed at her face, which was gradually regaining its color, and whispered to her as she slept, "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have lost my mind and treated you that way. I will make you better. Everything will be alright."
As he spoke, he gently kissed her still-cold lips.
...
When Susu woke up, she found herself lying in her bed. The itching and pain were gone. She pulled up her sleeves and saw that her skin was fair and smooth, with no redness, swelling, or bumps.
She wondered what kind of insect had bitten her yesterday to cause such discomfort.
She looked at the inside of her arm again. Apart from a few scratch marks, there was nothing else. Her body no longer itched, but her head still ached a little.
Yang Sijie entered with a bowl of congee and fruit. Seeing that she had woken up and her complexion had fully returned to normal, he felt relieved.
"Have some congee first to regain your strength. Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Susu nodded, took the congee he handed her, and asked, "What medicine did you give me? I'm all better now."
Yang Sijie didn't look at her. He put down the fruit on the plate and said, "I searched my medicine cabinet for a long time. In my haste, I thought an antihistamine might be useful for insect bites, so I tried it."
"Oh, it's fortunate you had antihistamines. But why did you have this kind of medicine? Do you usually have allergies?" Susu asked while eating her congee.
Yang Sijie vaguely explained, "Just in case. I keep all sorts of medicines."
"You keep all sorts of medicines. How long do you plan to stay here?" Susu asked again. "Are you going to stay here forever? There's no one here, no hospital. What if something serious happens..."
"Don't you like it here? Is it not good?" Yang Sijie interrupted her.
Susu immediately replied, "Not at all. The air is fresh, and the scenery is beautiful."
Although she said this, she had already decided to escape with Su Kangxi tomorrow.
Yang Sijie smiled gently and said, "Then rest for a while after you finish eating. I'm going to the study to talk to Mark about something."
Susu nodded obediently and smiled back at him.
As soon as he left her room, she immediately put down the bowl in her hand, got up, took out the travel bag hidden in the cabinet, and began packing the things she needed for her escape.
The next day, she used a headache as an excuse to stay in the house, not going out for a horse ride or a walk, but secretly making all the necessary preparations.
Yang Sijie, thinking she still needed to rest, didn't disturb her too much.
After dinner that night, she accompanied Yang Sijie as usual. She didn't go for a walk but played cards with him.
When they retired to their respective rooms, Susu specifically prepared a cup of hot milk for Yang Sijie and took it to his room.
Seeing that she was finally starting to care about him and look after his daily life, Yang Sijie happily took the milk she brought, his heart warming. He asked, "Did you prepare this especially for me? Aren't you drinking any?"
Susu seemed to have been seen through and said shyly, "I'll drink some later. This cup is for you. Drink it slowly, I'm going back to my room."
With that, she turned and left as if embarrassed.
Yang Sijie watched her retreating back with a smile, thinking she was unknowingly falling for him again. He took a sip of the milk.
Susu had already left his room but suddenly turned back and stood at his door, reminding him, "This is the milk I boiled. You must drink it all; it helps with sleep."
"I know," Yang Sijie said. He drank half of the still-warm milk in one go in front of her.
Only then did Susu turn away, satisfied, and hurried back to her room.
As soon as she returned to her room, she leaned against the door, trying hard not to be too nervous.
She had put sleeping pills in Yang Sijie's milk. These were sleeping pills she always carried with her.
She had taken them before; they were very effective. Usually, one pill would allow her to sleep through the entire night.
She had put two pills in Yang Sijie's milk. As long as Yang Sijie finished the entire cup of milk, he would surely sleep until dawn.