Free Web NovelChapter 1153: Chapter 347: Hey, Are You Trying to Smother Me?
Chapter 347: Feeding, Suffocating
Even when a person is in a coma, energy is still being consumed. Unlike a coma caused by a severe illness that weakens bodily functions, Li Yan’s coma was simply due to a shock to the brain, with his body functioning normally. It’s been a whole day and a night, and whatever he ate yesterday evening has long been used up.
When someone is hungry, their stomach can make noises due to intestinal movement. In a quiet, close environment, these sounds can be heard directly. However, whether a comatose person’s stomach will growl from hunger... Li Yan hasn’t studied this matter.
Neither has Zhang Yurong researched it. When family members are in a coma, everyone’s focus is naturally on the body, rarely paying attention to whether the stomach growls or not. But now, with just the two of them and in complete silence, she undoubtedly heard it.
It startled her slightly, and then she realized. She hadn’t had much of an appetite and had barely eaten breakfast or lunch, but in the evening, she did have a little something with Yue Yao and Yu Xiaodi. As for Li Yan, he hadn’t eaten anything at all, so it was normal for him to be hungry.
But...
She looked at Li Yan. Could he eat in his comatose state? In a hospital, it’s possible to provide necessary nutrients through infusion, but at home, that’s not feasible.
Yurong recalled Yue Yao’s words. When they were about to wipe Li Yan’s sweat earlier, Yue Yao wanted to leave, saying she was afraid he would wake up hungry, and went to prepare a bowl of soup for him. Later, because Yurong asked her to help, she didn’t bring the soup up. After Hai Fu arrived, Li Yan showed no signs of waking, and everyone forgot about it.
Looking back, Yue Yao’s suggestion was reasonable. Even if he couldn’t eat while comatose, she could try feeding him some soup.
With this in mind, Yurong immediately got out of bed to heat up some soup and bring it up.
However, she quickly thought of another problem. Li Yan hadn’t eaten or drunk water the entire day! While soup contains some nutrients, it also has salt. He might already be dehydrated, and what if it makes him thirstier and unable to say anything?
She hesitated for a moment, then decided not to fetch the soup. Instead, she opened the fridge. The small fridge in the bedroom didn’t contain much: bottled water, milk, and canned coffee for when she didn’t feel like going outside at night. She chose a can of milk.
Yurong didn’t immediately start feeding the milk to Li Yan once she opened it and returned to the bed. First, cold milk might not be good for a comatose person, so it’s better to heat it up or at least let it return to room temperature. Secondly, she needed to figure out how to feed it to him. In his current condition, forcing his mouth open might cause him to choke, and even with a straw, he would need to be able to suck.
Clutching the can of milk, she realized that trying to warm it with only her hands was challenging. The coldness also helped her think more clearly, and soon she came up with a solution that served two purposes!
In old martial arts novels, there are often scenes where the male protagonist is severely injured or poisoned and falls into a coma. The female protagonist acquires an antidote or a Great Returning Pill, but since the medicine is solid or powdered, she can’t directly feed it to the unconscious hero. After some internal struggle, the heroine would resolutely dissolve the medicine in warm water in her mouth and feed it to the unconscious hero mouth-to-mouth. (Or vice versa with the protagonist rescuing the heroine)
Yurong had skipped grades and taken many economics and management courses growing up, leaving no time for reading lots of martial arts novels. Hence, she never thought of this classic and somewhat cliched scenario.
However, being educated in modern times, she knew first-aid techniques like "artificial respiration." Artificial respiration involves mouth-to-mouth passing of air, so she now thought of the advanced form—feeding milk mouth-to-mouth!
After thinking of this method, she no longer hesitated. The man before her was her husband, someone she had deep feelings for. Even though they hadn’t entirely crossed the boundaries, they had kissed more than once or twice. Now, in the privacy of their bedroom with no one else around and Li Yan unconscious, this method wouldn’t be too awkward for her.
So, she took a sip of milk into her mouth, waited for a moment to let the cold milk warm up a bit, and then slowly leaned down, adjusted Li Yan’s head, and aligned with his lips...
...
When Li Yan noticed his stomach growling, he felt embarrassed and figured Yurong knew he had woken up. Just when he was about to open his eyes "waking up," he saw her quickly turn over, get out of bed, and open the fridge.
He thought she might be angry and planning to throw cold water on him for pretending to be in a coma. But to his surprise, she came back with a can of milk, holding it yet making no move to use it. This perplexed him enough to keep his mouth shut, curious about her intentions.
When he saw her take a sip, it seemed even more peculiar.
Soon, he realized Yurong’s intention—she planned to feed him the milk! Mouth-to-mouth!
As her tender and moist lips touched his, Li Yan was tempted to open wide and envelop her delicate lips fully. But he was afraid of startling her, so he kept still, naturally parting his lips slightly in response.
Yurong had to keep her lips still to prevent the milk from spilling out. Also, it was her first time trying this method. So, with the aid of her fingers, she gently parted Li Yan’s lips, slowly opening her own, and let the milk, now warmed a bit, trickle gradually into Li Yan’s mouth...
The beautiful woman fed milk mouth-to-mouth; for Li Yan, it was an enchanting experience, feeling psychologically wonderful. But for Zhang Yurong, it was a careful and meticulous task. She had to feed him slowly to avoid choking Li Yan, pausing after passing a small mouthful and waiting for him to instinctively swallow before continuing.
The proximity required for this method meant her face was close to his, and each sip made Yurong’s breath a little hurried. This tender gasp stirred Li Yan’s heart even more.
Seeing that Li Yan could instinctively swallow the milk despite being ’comatose’, Yurong felt assured he was simply dehydrated. Without resting, she took another sip of milk, warming it for a moment before bending down to feed Li Yan again.
Once...
Twice...
Three times...
Yurong tirelessly repeated this process. Just half a can of milk had already taken at least ten minutes.
At first, Li Yan felt enchantment, fragrance, stimulation, excitement... but as time passed, he began to feel a stirring of emotion. Yurong was not just feeding milk, but showing her heart and soul!
He suddenly understood the strange sentence from before.
"Perhaps... you’d be best off in a coma for a year or so..."
It wasn’t a curse from Yurong, nor a probe to test if he was awake, but rather a wish of hers!
From Yurong’s perspective, if he truly were comatose for a year or more, he wouldn’t be out chasing other women, and throughout the process, it would be her taking care of him. The wildflowers outside might lack the patience for such a vegetative Li Yan. Thus, it would test true sentiment, and she believed she could withstand such a test!
Having such a wife, what more could a husband ask for?
...
After feeding half a can of milk, Yurong stopped. Beyond needing a rest from bending over continuously, she considered another issue. Li Yan hadn’t eaten or expelled anything for a day and night!
At this point, although unfamiliar and unaccustomed, she didn’t mind helping Li Yan with restroom needs. But he needed to react! If he could express or hint at needing to urinate, even in the absence of professional urinary tools and alone to manage him in the restroom, she’d find a way. Yet, completely unconscious, he couldn’t express, making guessing difficult. He could be struggling, but it was unclear. She couldn’t just "shh—" to test occasionally.
Thus, uncertain about this aspect for Li Yan, she refrained from giving too much liquid. Meanwhile, she pondered whether to send him to a hospital or a care facility or hire professional nurses at home for better care in the long term.
As Yurong contemplated whether to send Li Yan to a hospital or hire a professional caregiver at home, she heard a faint voice say, "Yurong..."
"Mm..."
Responding absentmindedly, Yurong suddenly realized there was only Li Yan beside her now, so any voice could only come from him!
She immediately turned to look at Li Yan, who was slowly opening his eyes. His gaze seemed a bit muddled and his expression somewhat weary, but he had truly awoken!
"Li Yan! You’re awake?!" With excitement, Yurong quickly cradled his head.
"Yurong..." Despite good acting skills, Li Yan knew it wasn’t suitable to suddenly burst into energetic motions, so he continued his recently awakened facade.
"I’m here! I’m here!" With elation, Yurong leaned down to hug his head.
This made Li Yan very comfortable and slightly bashful because... she had changed to sleepwear; wearing only a nightgown with nothing underneath, leaning down to hug his head made his face press directly into her chest.
The sensation was naturally pleasant, but not appropriate for this scene. He worried about losing control, which would look nothing like someone just waking from a coma. So, he coughed cautiously, "Cough, cough... Wife, are you trying to suffocate me with your chest?" (To be continued. For more Chapters, please visit www.qidian.com. Support the author and read legitimately!)
