After returning home, Lin Shiyu developed a fever.

At first, Lin Shiyu didn’t notice, he just felt uncomfortable all over. He hadn’t dried his hair after being soaked in the rain, and his wet clothes clung to his skin. When Lin Shiyu returned to his room, he felt drowsy. Unable to keep his eyes open after doing homework for a while, he took off his clothes, turned off the lights, and wrapped himself in the blanket to sleep.

He felt feverish all over and fell asleep quickly, but his dreams were chaotic. Sometimes he dreamed of Gao Jie speaking to him with bandages over his eyes, and sometimes he dreamed of many people arguing loudly, saying he was truly Wu Xiang’s son, a violent man cut from the same cloth.

Lin Shiyu wanted to shout at them not to mention that man in front of him, but he couldn’t make a sound in his dreams, he was too tired. When the noise became unbearable, Lin Shiyu finally woke up from the nightmare.

Feeling uncomfortable all over due to sweat sticking to his body, Lin Shiyu checked the clock on the table and saw that it was half-past three in the morning.

Feeling restless, Lin Shiyu took his pajamas and quietly went to the bathroom to take a shower.

The hot water fell on his sweaty skin and felt slightly scalding, with the cool breeze in the air. In the dim light of the late night, Lin Shiyu stood amidst the steaming vapor. Aside from the sound of rushing water, the narrow bathroom was quiet.

Suddenly, he felt a bit lonely.

He had never felt this way when taking care of his sister alone, nor when he was isolated by the whole class in junior high. Not even when he was hiding in a corner waiting for the pain to pass after being injured in a fight.

He didn’t realize he had a fever and stood under the hot water in a daze, feeling like he had walked through a bustling market and returned to the night under the starry sky after leaving the lights behind.

Empty-handed, he had bought nothing.

After showering, Lin Shiyu changed into clean pajamas and went back to bed. This time, he didn’t have nightmares, but he couldn’t sleep soundly either. Tossing and turning, he gradually broke out in another sweat.

He woke up in the afternoon, feeling hungry. He reluctantly got out of bed and made himself a bowl of simple noodles, then returned to bed to continue sleeping.

Lin Shiyu slept until Lin Hui picked up Lin Wanyue after work, and he didn’t wake up once.

Lin Hui approached the bed and touched Lin Shiyu’s forehead, worried that his fever hadn’t gone down after a whole day.

Lin Shiyu was awakened by her touch and sat up slowly, his cheeks flushed with fever, looking tired and unhappy. He muttered hoarsely, “How long have I been sleeping?”

Lin Wanyue also leaned over the bed, looking at him.

Lin Hui said, “Why don’t we go to the hospital?”

Feeling weak all over, Lin Shiyu didn’t want to move at all and said, “I don’t want to go.”

With no other choice, Lin Hui got up to make some porridge for him, which she brought over and placed on the table. “Eat something and then take your medicine.”

“I don’t want to eat. I have no appetite.”

“Be good.” Lin Hui stroked Lin Shiyu’s hair, which had become messy from sleeping, and took a spoonful of porridge to feed him. “You have to eat more when you’re sick. Listen to me, come on.”

Lin Shiyu resisted for a while, then opened his mouth to eat the porridge she fed him.

After finishing the bowl of porridge, Lin Hui put the bowl aside and couldn’t help but smile gently. “It’s been a long time since you acted like a child with me. Why do you have to get sick to behave like one?”

She applied a cold towel to Lin Shiyu’s forehead and, knowing that her son didn’t like bright lights, only turned on a desk lamp on the table. Her hand gently patted the blanket, just like she used to do to coax Lin Shiyu to sleep many years ago.

Halfway through, Lin Wanyue ran in to see her brother, and Lin Hui softly told her to let her brother rest and go play in her room.

When Lin Shiyu fell asleep again, Lin Hui turned off the desk lamp and left the room.

The next morning, Lin Shiyu’s fever had subsided slightly, so Lin Hui decided to let him rest and took another day off for him.

Lin Shiyu had slept so much these past two days that his brain felt like mush. He always felt either hot or not hot enough, and the more he slept, the more tired he became. He lay in bed for a while, but because his head hurt so much, he finally sat up.

Shortly after, he heard a knock on his door.

With his mind half-fuzzy due to the fever, it took Lin Shiyu a while to realize that someone was knocking on the door outside. He searched for his slippers by the bed for a while, then sluggishly moved to the living room and asked, “Who is it?”

He noticed his voice was hoarse.

“It’s me.”

Lin Shiyu was taken aback, and couldn’t quite believe it was true. He pressed down on the door handle and opened the door to see Zhong Qi standing outside.

He was still wearing his pajamas, with his hair messed up from laying on his pillow for two days. Zhong Qi was wearing a black coat and a black duckbill cap, holding a guitar case in his hand. Lin Shiyu thought he might not be fully awake yet.

“Why are you here?” Lin Shiyu asked.

Zhong Qi first looked at his face, then his gaze moved up to his messy hair, then down to the cartoon pajamas he was wearing.

“I’m delivering something,” Zhong Qi replied, retracting his gaze and stepping into the house.

“Wait,” Lin Shiyu watched him enter. “Did I invite you in?”

“Are you this sick?” Zhong Qi heard his hoarse voice and instinctively placed the guitar case on the sofa, then turned around and reached out to touch his forehead. As soon as he touched it, his expression changed. “Why are you still running a fever?”

Lin Shiyu pushed his hand away. Because he was sick, he didn’t even have the energy to get angry, so he could only try to look fierce and glare at Zhong Qi. “It’s none of your business, just go back.”

“Do you have a thermometer at home?”

“I told you to go back!” Lin Shiyu’s throat tightened as he got excited, and he was unable to hold back a cough.

Zhong Qi stood quietly, looking at Lin Shiyu in front of him. His fair face was flushed from the fever, and the sleeves of his pajamas rolled up to reveal his wrists. For some reason, he looked a bit thinner. Only his eyes, glaring angrily at Zhong Qi, seemed to have some spirit left.

All bark and no bite.

“You’re running a high fever,” Zhong Qi said. “Have you had any injections?”

“No, I don’t need injections, it’s none of your business,” Lin Shiyu replied, even more impatient because he was sick. He pushed Zhong Qi away, “Just leave me alone.”

Lin Shiyu’s hand barely touched Zhong Qi when he suddenly grabbed Shiyu’s wrist and pulled him closer.

Zhong Qi held onto Lin Shiyu tightly. “Your wrists are burning. Do you know how serious your fever is right now?”

Lin Shiyu, feeling dizzy from anger and fever, tried to break free from him. “Can’t you understand human speech? I told you not to bother me!”

“I’ll carry you to get the injection first and bring the fever down,” Zhong Qi ignored him completely, glanced around the living room, then turned and walked towards his bedroom. “There’s no need to change clothes, just put on a coat.”

“You—!” Lin Shiyu couldn’t believe it. He didn’t expect Zhong Qi to completely ignore his words and swagger into his room like this.

Lin Shiyu was so angry that his head was spinning. He clenched his teeth and followed Zhong Qi, who suddenly bent down to pick him up.

For a moment, Lin Shiyu’s mind went blank, and he reacted slowly. Zhong Qi had already picked him up and carried him out of the bedroom to the entrance before he realized it. Then, as if awakening from a dream, Lin Shiyu grabbed Zhong Qi’s clothes, struggling. “What’re you doing—let me go, cough, let go… Zhong Qi, let go of me!”

Zhong Qi held him firmly with one hand, took the keys and phone from the shoe cabinet, and put them in his pocket. His voice was calm. “You don’t want to get the injection, right? Fine, I’ll carry you there.”

“Are you crazy?! Let go!” Lin Shiyu was desperate, but because of the fever, he was completely powerless and couldn’t break free from Zhong Qi’s arms. Then he heard the sound of the door opening. Lin Shiyu’s nervousness reached its peak at this sound—was Zhong Qi really planning to carry him to the hospital?

“No… let go, Zhong Qi… don’t go out!” Lin Shiyu’s face was flushed red as he grabbed Zhong Qi’s arm. “C-close, close the door, I’ll get down by myself!”

He was at a loss, almost panicked. Under such circumstances, he had no choice but to compromise. Soon, he heard the sound of the door closing behind him again, and then the force that had been holding him loosened, and he was put down on the ground.

Zhong Qi didn’t step back. He held onto the doorknob with one hand and handed Lin Shiyu the coat with the other. He stood in front of Lin Shiyu. “Put it on, then come with me to the hospital.”

Lin Shiyu clenched his fists, standing still for a while. He took the coat, put it on somewhat roughly, and walked out without saying a word to Zhong Qi. He pushed the door open and stepped outside.

As soon as he stepped outside, the cold air hit him. His overheated brain was overwhelmed by the cold breeze, and for a moment, Lin Shiyu almost lost his balance. However, he quickly grabbed the handrail of the stairs, gritted his teeth, and didn’t allow himself to show any weakness in front of Zhong Qi.

He finally felt exhausted all over. The struggle earlier had been fueled by a moment of excitement, but now that he had calmed down a bit, Lin Shiyu felt like all the strength had been drained from his body.

Lin Shiyu endured dizziness, not even looking back at Zhong Qi on the way. Zhong Qi didn’t provoke him anymore, just lagged behind, not too far, following him.

 

 

Edited by: Jaisland

Proofreader: 

 

Support translation: