"Write me an 800-character self-criticism report, and then show it to me. If your attitude in admitting your mistake is good, I'll let you off."
"Oh, should I go make dinner first? And write the self-criticism later?"
Andrew was already a bit hungry and wanted to get something to eat first.
But Scarlett remained stern and aloof, showing absolutely no room for negotiation.
"Write the self-criticism for me first. You have no room to bargain right now."
"Oh."
Helpless, Andrew had to take the pen and paper and honestly start writing the self-criticism.
Scarlett stood beside him, watching and supervising to prevent Andrew from directly copying something from the internet, or having AI generate it and then copying that.
But writing a self-criticism isn't like bragging or writing a novel; managing to write a full 800 characters was truly not an easy task.
He wrote in fits and starts, pausing every now and then to think, and after an hour, he had only finished half.
Moreover, his stomach was growling; he couldn't concentrate at all.
After hesitating for a moment, Andrew turned to ask Scarlett for some leniency, to let him eat something first, otherwise, he wouldn't have the energy.
But just as he turned his head, he saw Scarlett clutching her stomach, bent over, her complexion looking very pale, and her expression extremely uncomfortable.
Seeing this, Andrew quickly asked, "Teacher, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, just a bit of a stomachache. You keep writing; you don't need to worry about me."
Scarlett's words were still strict, but the cold severity from before was gone from her tone, which had become very subdued.
Seeing this, Andrew guessed what was happening; it must be the monthly period that women experience.
So, he quickly got up, preparing to get hot water for Scarlett, "Teacher, I'll go prepare brown sugar tea for you."
"No need. You finish writing the self-criticism first. You are not allowed to leave."
Scarlett was usually very rigorous and disliked changing what she had already decided. She had told Andrew to finish the self-criticism, and even if her stomach hurt, she would stay with him.
Furthermore, she suspected that Andrew might be looking for an excuse to leave.
But before she could finish speaking, Andrew had already left her room.
"You come back here!"
Scarlett called out angrily for Andrew to return, but as soon as she stood up, her stomach hurt again, forcing her to sit back down.
"Darn it! Have I been too nice to him lately? Has he lost all fear of me, refusing to even listen to what I say?"
Scarlett recalled the past, when Andrew never dared to object to her words and had always been very obedient.
Now, not only did he not fear her, but he was also deceiving her; he was truly infuriating.
The more Scarlett thought about it, the angrier she became, and the pain in her stomach intensified to the point where she could barely sit still; she was extremely uncomfortable.
She gritted her teeth and reached out, trying to grab her thermos. She finally managed to reach it, only to find that the hot water inside had long been finished.
Misfortunes never come singly. A sharp pain suddenly shot through her abdomen, causing Scarlett to double over, clutching her stomach, with tears on the verge of spilling from her tightly shut eyes.
"It hurts so much~ I shouldn't have been greedy and eaten those ice cream cones!"
Scarlett secretly regretted it in her heart. It was hot yesterday, and she had eaten two or three ice cream cones, and now she was paying the price today.
Scarlett's face had turned pale, and the intense pain caused a few beads of cold sweat to form on her forehead.
Just as she was about to let out a groan from the pain, a wave of warm air suddenly blew towards her face.
"Teacher, drink the brown sugar tea first. It should make you feel a bit better." Andrew handed her a cup of hot tea.
Scarlett slowly raised her head and opened her eyes. Her eyes were already red, and glistening tears looked like they would spill out at any moment.
At this moment, she showed no trace of her usual cold demeanor; she was just a helpless and pitiful girl, which instinctively made Andrew feel pity for her.
Andrew scooped a small spoonful with the spoon and brought it to Scarlett's lips.
Scarlett slightly opened her small mouth and drank it down.
A warm current spread throughout her entire body, instantly dispelling the bone-chilling coldness, and even the pain subsided considerably.
What also followed was a burning sensation in her mouth, causing Scarlett to cover her mouth and frown uncomfortably.
"What is this? Isn't it brown sugar water? Why is it spicy?"
"Brown sugar ginger tea? The spiciness is from the ginger. I fished out the ginger and threw it away after it was brewed; it's not that spicy."
"Why did you add ginger? I never add it when I usually drink it."
Scarlett mumbled, covering her mouth. She particularly hated spicy flavors, whether it was chili or ginger; she couldn't accept any of it.
"If you don't add ginger, it's no different from ordinary hot water, and the effect won't be as good."
After hearing Andrew's explanation, Scarlett didn't argue further, but she didn't want to keep drinking it, closing her lips and refusing to open them.
Seeing this, Andrew had no choice but to coax Scarlett, "Teacher, just this one cup. Endure it and finish it, and the pain will stop. I'll feed it to you with a spoon."
"I don't need you to coax me."
Scarlett pouted. She felt that Andrew coaxing her was like coaxing a little girl, but she was clearly older than Andrew!
She was not a child and didn't need coaxing!
"Then you drink this brown sugar ginger tea first."
Andrew's tone became a bit firmer. He knew that at this moment, he needed to use a combination of soft and hard tactics; otherwise, it would be useless.
"I don't want to drink it; it's too spicy."
Scarlett still pouted and refused.
In Andrew's eyes at that moment, she was no different from a stubborn little girl.
When did an adult need to be coaxed to drink something?
"Once you finish it, the pain will stop. If you think it's too spicy, I'll feed it to you little by little, and it won't feel so uncomfortable."
Andrew said, then brought the spoon to Scarlett's lips again.
Under his persistent persuasion, Scarlett finally opened her mouth and drank another small spoonful.
The warm current indeed kept alleviating the pain in her stomach, but the burning sensation in her mouth also made her extremely uncomfortable.
Seeing Andrew about to feed her again with the spoon, Scarlett felt that he was treating her like a child, and she instantly felt a bit indignant.
It was just a bowl of brown sugar ginger tea; she would drink it!
Scarlett suddenly made up her mind, abruptly snatched the cup from Andrew's hand, and drank all the remaining hot tea in one gulp.
This sudden action made even Andrew pause in surprise. He only reacted after Scarlett covered her mouth with one hand and returned the cup to him with the other.
"I finished it. You don't need to feed me."
She originally wanted to appear tougher to maintain her authority over Andrew.
But just then, her stomach inconveniently let out a gurgle, causing her face to instantly flush.
"I'm a little hungry~"
"Then I'll go make something to eat?"
"Mm."
"But it's too late now. I can only make oatmeal. What kind of oatmeal do you want?"
Scarlett thought silently for a moment. In the past, she often didn't know what she wanted to eat, but now that she had spent a long time with Andrew, she was starting to have goals and ideas.
"I want pumpkin oatmeal."
"Okay, then wait here for a moment."
Andrew took his phone and went to the kitchen, while Scarlett remained sitting on Andrew's bed to rest.
Looking at the half-written self-criticism on the desk, Scarlett murmured to herself, "He really went to prepare brown sugar tea for me. I seem to have wronged him."
"Should I give him some compensation?"