But the good times didn't last.
When Wang Ruiying's period arrived, things took a turn.
On the first day, she took out her hairdryer as usual and aimed it at her abdomen, but the familiar warmth was slow to come.
Instead, her lower abdomen felt as if a block of ice had been shoved inside. Waves of cramping pain washed over her, and even her lower back ached and throbbed.
She used the hairdryer for twenty minutes until her skin turned red, but the chill deep inside didn't lessen one bit.
'That's strange. It always worked before,' Wang Ruiying thought, curled up on the sofa with a hot water bottle, a cold sweat beading on her forehead.
She remembered Li Xu saying that a hairdryer was especially effective for symptoms caused by cold and dampness, but might have limited effect on problems stemming from other causes.
On the second day, there was no sign of the abdominal pain letting up.
Wang Ruiying decided to make another trip to Li's Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.
