Chapter 52: Lasting a Long Time

Feed him?

Willow Avery had just bent her body down to crank up the bed when she heard Julian Kingston's words.

A beat slow, she pointed at herself: "Me?"

Julian asked back in a calm voice: "Is there anyone else here?"

There wasn't.

Willow picked up the porridge bowl and stood beside Julian.

Scooping up a spoonful of thin porridge, she brought it to Julian's lips: "Slow down."

Julian took a sip and frowned.

It was scorching hot.

Willow thought it was her own fault, lowering the spoon a bit: "How about this?"

"No," Julian's voice was still weak, "hot."

The porridge had been ladled by the butler, and combined with the heat-insulated porridge bowl, Willow hadn't sensed it.

"My apologies, Uncle Julian," she brought it to her mouth to blow on it gently, then handed it back to Julian, "This time it should be just right."

Julian turned his gaze sideways. The young girl was looking at him with bright eyes.

She seemed to be waiting for his validation.

Lowering his chin slightly, he swallowed the porridge.

Then he lifted his eyes to look at her: "Sweet."

Willow looked at the incredibly thin porridge in the bowl, hesitating.

Are we sure this is sweet?

Her uncle probably hadn't eaten anything for too long.

Last night, his stomach had been filled with alcohol too.

Thinking of this, she quickly picked up her speed, constantly stuffing porridge into Julian's mouth.

When the bowl hit the bottom, she curved her lips in satisfaction.

"Uncle Julian, you've just finished surgery, so you can only eat this today. You can slowly eat other things later on."

After saying that, she cranked the bed back down, washed the bowl, and only then began her own meal.

With just one bite, she tasted that it was made by the chef at the Kingston Estate.

Perhaps due to some strange psychological effect at play, she always felt that what her uncle made tasted even better than the chef's.

Although Julian was awake, Willow kept him on her mind and didn't have much of an appetite, gathering the dining tray after only eating a few bites.

Julian looked over and said, "I'll contact the estate in a bit to have them make something else and send it over for you."

"I'm not very hungry."

Willow shook her head. "Uncle Julian, look after your injuries properly, you don't need to fret over me."

Julian wanted to say more, but the ward door was knocked.

A nurse walked in to inquire about his comfort level, then turned to Willow: "Family member, please give the patient a simple wipe-down before seven o'clock. An IV drip is scheduled after seven, and being too late will affect his rest."

"Okay," Willow accepted, but she didn't quite understand what areas needed to be wiped down, so she asked, "May I ask where needs to be wiped?"

The nurse: "Aside from the injured areas that cannot touch water, generally everywhere is needed. You..."

She looked at Willow's innocent face, hesitating a bit.

This member of the Kingston family coming to their hospital was something the medical staff of the entire hospital knew clearly.

They also knew the girl accompanying him was his niece.

It wasn't convenient for siblings to look after each other, let alone a niece.

She suggested: "How about I arrange a caregiver? Though temporarily there are only female caregivers available."

"She will do."

Julian opened his mouth.

He didn't like others touching him.

Lest it be a woman.

Hearing him say this, Willow looked toward the nurse:

"Nurse sister, please tell me the details."

"There's nothing special, just like usual—washing the face, wiping the body, washing the feet, and the like."

The nurse didn't stay long, walking out after speaking.

Willow pondered it over in her own mind.

It didn't seem to have any difficulty.

Whatever a caregiver could do, she should be able to do too.

Thinking of this, she turned and entered the bathroom.

Consequently, she failed to notice the man's eyes darkening as he watched her.

...

The single ward of this private hospital had everything completely prepared.

Willow drew warm water with a basin and brought it to the bedside, lifting the blanket off Julian.

She raised her hand to unbutton his hospital gown.

Entering her sight was a chest wrapped in bandages.

Looking at it, Willow's throat choked up, with many words wanting to be said, but in the end she only squeezed out one sentence.

"Uncle Julian, thank you."

Julian knew her heart was filled with guilt, consoling her: "It doesn't hurt."

"Don't comfort me when you're like this."

Willow sniffled, pressing her tears down.

Bending her waist to wet the towel with water, she draped it over his abdomen.

This was her first time looking after someone, and fearing she wouldn't grasp the force well, she moved it twice and asked him: "Is it comfortable?"

Julian's eyelids twitched.

Was this question truly normal?

Looking at Willow's concerned brow and eyes, he still gave a light response.

"Mm."

Willow let out a breath of relief, continuing her movements.

She wiped very earnestly.

Face, neck, arms, abdominal muscles.

The more she wiped, the more she felt a sense of achievement.

She didn't even notice she had pulled down his waistband.

Not until the man spoke hoarsely: "Willow."

"What's wrong?"

Willow spoke, but her movements didn't halt.

A crimson hue surfaced in the depths of Julian's eyes.

He could originally endure it.

But the young girl was truly far too teasing.

She probably liked his abdominal muscles too much.

She had rubbed them eight times with the towel.

Now she was even tugging at his pants.

Wiping right to the position of the mermaid line.

If he didn't stop her, he...

"Ah!"

Hearing the young girl's scream, Julian closed his eyes in frustration.

He hadn't managed to restrain it.

Willow looked at the man's pants in utter astonishment.

The position propped up there was self-evident.

"It, it..."

Squeezing two words out through her teeth, she frantically covered her face with the towel.

As a result, the towel was completely filled with the man's scent.

With a flushed face, she took the towel off again, turning around in embarrassment.

Murmuring, she said: "I didn't mean to see it..."

Julian parted his thin lips.

He had to explain it well.

Otherwise, the young girl would let her thoughts wander and imagine completely non-existent terms for him.

"I woke up not long ago; it's a physiological reaction."

Willow felt even more muddled listening to this.

"Does it have a connection?"

Only then did Julian recall that the young girl hadn't interacted with men before.

She didn't know these things.

Keeping his voice as flat as possible, he gave her a lesson in science: "Every man who has not been awake for long will generate the exact same physiological reaction as me."

Willow didn't move.

Julian skyrocketed the topic further: "You can search for it."

Willow was helpless: "I don't have a phone."

"Mine is in the nightstand drawer, the butler brought it over just now. The screen is shattered, but it can be used."

Julian looked at her candy-sweet face: "The password is 221005."

"Okay."

Willow's heart harbored a bit of suspicion that Julian was tricking her.

Searching it over would also put her at ease.

Operating it for a moment, the search engine quickly popped out the answer.

She looked toward the man cautiously: "It says it happens in the morning, but now it's almost evening..."

Julian was helpless: "It happens whenever one wakes up from sleep."

Willow puffed her cheeks, saying in a small voice: "But you've been awake for a long time too."

Julian: "...Because I drank alcohol yesterday."

This time Willow believed him even less.

"The internet says men who have drunk alcohol can't get it up."

Julian: "..."

The young girl wasn't easy to fool.

Then he could only...

"Because I... last a long time."

"What lasts a long time?"

Willow repeated instinctively, then suddenly reacted.

This time, even her ears turned red.

His time in bed was indeed quite long.

"I, I..." She shifted the topic in embarrassment, "The water has gone cold, I'll go change it."

Slipping into the bathroom at lightning speed, Willow closed the door and scooped up water with both hands to splash it onto her face.

Attempting to press the heat on her face down.

With great difficulty managing to calm down a bit, the scene of the pants she had just seen popped up in her mind again...

It was over.

Previously she had merely appreciated her uncle's abdominal muscles.

How had it developed now into... something unsuitable for children?

...

Willow spent a full ten minutes calming down before she drew water from the bathroom again and walked out.

Throughout the entire process, she didn't dare to look at him, lowering her head to the bedside: "Uncle Julian, I'll wash your feet."

"No need."

Julian merely wanted to use his abdominal muscles to attract the young girl.

He didn't plan to truly have her do these things to serve him.

"Give me the phone, I'll contact the butler."

"Uncle Julian," Willow asked hesitantly, "Is it because just now I accidentally..."

"How about this," she set the water down, looking at him sincerely, "Next time I'll blindfold my eyes, so I won't see things I shouldn't see."

Julian's Adam's apple bobbed.

The suggestion was quite good.

Unable to see, touching at will.

He would be even less able to endure it.

Presumably if he stayed through this hospitalization, the young girl wouldn't want to pay attention to him for the rest of her life.

But Willow was looking at him with a pitiable small face.

He thought of a compromise: "You're responsible for the upper body, how about that?"

Hearing this, Willow let her heart settle.

Nodding her head repeatedly: "Okay, Uncle Julian, it's a deal."

That way they wouldn't be embarrassed.

Julian's arms weren't easy to extend, so Willow unlocked the phone and dialed the butler.

Before it connected, she found a random topic.

"Uncle Julian, is the 1005 in the password your birthday?"

"No."

"Then is it someone else's birthday?"

Julian: "No, it's a very important date."

Willow nodded.

Her uncle's privacy was naturally not something she should pry into.

The call happened to connect.

Julian instructed the butler to find a male caregiver for him.

"Understood, Third Young Master."

Hearing this, the butler laid down the doubts originally in his heart.

Earlier outside the ward, when he heard the Third Young Master have Miss Avery feed him, he had been shocked.

As uncle and niece, such an action was still considered excessively intimate.

At that time, he had already imagined countless novels.

He had even thought of taboo dramatic relationships.

And agonized for a long while over whether to tell the Old Master.

Now it seemed they possessed purely a simple bond between uncle and niece.

Feeding each other a meal was nothing.

"Third Young Master, my considerations were flawed previously; I thought you had already contacted a caregiver yourself."

Julian had been hospitalized before.

He liked to make his own decisions and select his own people.

Whomever they chose, he was never satisfied.

As time went on, the family stopped interfering in his matters.

"It's fine."

Those two words traveled through the receiver, and immediately after, the call was directly hung up.

The butler turned toward Grandpa Sterling who was sitting in a chair: "Master, the Third Young Master should be fine now, and matters here are handled nearly enough. Shall we go to the hospital to visit?"

Grandpa Sterling looked toward Luna Hayes, who was weeping toward the police, and asked: "Do you say she did it on purpose?"

The butler: "Having a driver's license for only a month, poor technique can be considered justifiable."

"True," Grandpa Sterling snorted coldly, "But the Hayes family isn't lacking; how could they let an eldest young lady who just got her license go out alone? They didn't even arrange a driver."

Very strange.

After speaking, he waved his hand again: "Forget it, let's go check on Julian first."

Hopefully this Luna Hayes didn't possess such complicated schemes.

Otherwise, Willa treating her as a best friend would be far too disadvantageous.

...

The two soon arrived at the hospital.

When they arrived, Julian was on an IV drip.

Fearing Julian would be bored, Willow sat to the side reading the news to him.

Grandpa Sterling pushed the door open and saw such a scene, turning to say to the butler: "Look at these two children, they are simply a textbook template of uncle and niece."

"Grandpa Sterling, you've come?"

Willow immediately set down the phone, trotting to his side: "Don't you worry, Uncle Julian's condition has already stabilized."

"I'm not worried about him, I'm worried about you."

Grandpa Sterling sat down on the sofa together with her.

Looking at Willow's innocent face, he thought for a moment and said tactfully: "Willa, how is Luna's personality?"

"Grandpa Sterling, you want to ask about the car accident, right?"

Willow could tell he was being considerate of her feelings.

"Yes." Grandpa Sterling lightly patted her hand, comforting her, "Just speak straight, don't carry any mental burden."

"Her personality is casual and uninhibited, and she has a very good reputation at school," Willow said, casting a glance toward the injured Julian, "But I don't know if she did it intentionally."

She remembered clearly.

That BMW driven by Luna Hayes had been constantly hitting the car door of the back seat.

Even if the driver avoided it, it was useless.

Just as if...

Her technique was very good.

"Alright, I understand," Grandpa Sterling nodded, "Don't think too much, just keep a few more wits about you."

He didn't want to add a mental burden to Willow.

This was a society ruled by law now.

Luna Hayes didn't possess the boldness to harm people.

As for other things, his Kingston family could shield her.

"Mm."

Willow nodded.

Only after Grandpa Sterling confirmed she showed no abnormality did he look toward Julian.

His voice grew much more severe: "I heard from Willa that you took her to a club because you wanted her to see the world?"

"No," Willow quickly explained, "Grandpa Sterling, I just said that randomly that day, don't take it to heart..."

"Don't be afraid, Grandpa Sterling is protecting you."

Grandpa Sterling pulled Willow behind his back, glaring at his son: "Hurry up, spill the details honestly."

Julian: "...I wanted to bring her to meet my friend."

He also didn't want Willow to misunderstand.

Presumably she had constantly believed that him taking her to that kind of place meant he harbored bad intentions toward her.

It was a good opportunity to explain together.

Grandpa Sterling looked at him suspiciously, suddenly understanding.

"You wanted to introduce a boyfriend to Willa?"

Julian lifted his eyelids expressionlessly: "Did you take the Brain Damage Pills?"

Grandpa Sterling: !!!

"You still dare to mention it! Whose son insults his father as brain-damaged!"

"Alright, don't just divert the topic casually," considering Willow was present, he still restrained himself, "Introducing a boyfriend is fine too; our city doesn't lack young talents. When she marries over in the future, I can back her up too."

Thinking of that scene, he grew excited again: "Willa, how about I adopt you as my granddaughter?"

Although the relationship between the two families was already intricately close.

But there was still a layer between them after all.

If they held a proper banquet and made it public to the outside, it would be different.

Then she would truly be his granddaughter.

"No way."

Julian objected immediately.

Due to being too excited, he pulled his wound, letting out another soft hiss of pain.

"Uncle Julian, are you alright?"

Just as Willow took a step forward, she was pulled back by Grandpa Sterling.

"Why do you pity him? To actually not let you be my granddaughter, let him suffer from the pain! He waved his hand, "Your objection is invalid. I'll look at the almanac to see which day is suitable to adopt a granddaughter..."

"Grandpa Sterling..."

Just as Willow was about to refuse, Julian spoke first.

"I don't like her being your granddaughter."

Originally, their relationship was already unethical in the young girl's eyes.

If they took it a step further.

He would have even less of a chance.

Grandpa Sterling was bewildered.

Usually he saw Julian quite liked Willa.

How come he was unwilling now?

Could it be...

Looking at Julian's cold face, he suddenly understood.

This brat was blaming him for snatching Willa away, wasn't he?

That was easy to handle.

He clapped his hands: "Fine, I won't adopt her as my granddaughter."

Julian let out a breath of relief.

In the next instant, his biological father opened his mouth again and said: "Have her adopt you as her father. Willa, quickly call him Godfather."