Chapter 54: TMS
This autumn, Ji Mian had been living quite steadily.
Until the end of December, his health had not faced any further issues.
Thanks to Lu Ge, during this time when people were putting on weight for the winter, Ji Mian successfully gained a full four pounds compared to summer. When he looked in the mirror, he didn't really feel any different, but later even Yi Lan asked him in surprise if he had gained a little weight recently.
It really was just a little bit; from head to toe, he was still quite lean, with no part of him being plump.
But he had indeed gained weight; there was just a little more flesh on his wrists, and it didn’t look as alarming as before. Ji Mian couldn’t tell if this was his own illusion.
This state lasted for several months, so optimistically that even Ji Mian nearly began to believe his health would improve day by day.
However, right after the Lunar New Year, the coldest season arrived, and he suddenly fell ill.
By the end of January, a heavy snowfall blanketed the area. In his past life, Ji Mian had lived in the south and had only seen three or four snowfalls over several decades, where the snowflakes were as big as coarse salt grains.
But here, the snowflakes were as long as his thumb—truly a snowstorm of goose feathers.
Watching the large snowflakes fall softly outside the window, he couldn’t resist going out for a stroll. He bundled himself up in three layers inside and three layers outside, and even after just half an hour outside, he returned.
Yet it was that half an hour that left him bedridden once again.
That night after he got home, Ji Mian started coughing. After taking medicine, he wrapped himself in blankets for the entire night, and the next day, as expected, he developed a fever. The family doctor came to examine him and diagnosed it as a common cold. But a common cold was more than enough to bring Ji Mian down.
“Cough…” The cough was much lighter than a few months ago, but he still felt uncomfortable. His throat, nose, and head were all in disarray. Lying on the bed, Ji Mian stared at the ceiling, the white walls painted so bright that they made his eyes dizzy.
Knock, knock—
There were two knocks at the bedroom door.
“Ge I’m coming in?” Xu Zhixia’s voice came through the thick wooden door, muffled by the soundproofing.
At the end of January, Xu Zhixia happened to be on break, and his parents entrusted him with the responsibility of taking care of his older brother.
Caring for him mainly meant supervising Ji Mian to take his medicine and eat, while the household chores were left to the domestic helpers.
After greeting each other, Xu Zhixia pushed the door open, holding warm water and a large bag of medicine. It was indeed a large bag, bulging in his hands.
He helped Ji Mian sit up and handed him the medicine and water.
As Ji Mian took the medicine, his Adam’s apple rolled up and down with the swallowing motion but suddenly stopped, not going down.
Xu Zhixia knew this meant Ji Mian felt a bit nauseous and couldn’t swallow.
He quickly looked for a trash can, thinking Ji Mian might vomit.
The trash can was placed in front of Ji Mian, but the person in bed unexpectedly swallowed it down, his expression normal as he set the cup down, and his Adam's apple moved down again.
Xu Zhixia put the trash can down and crumpled the bag of medicine before tossing it inside, hesitating whether he should go out now. When he looked up, he found Ji Mian’s gaze fixed on him, looking very focused.
He felt a bit confused. “Ge?”
“On your hair,” Ji Mian pointed to his right side of hair, “there’s cat fur.”
And not just a little; it seemed that quite a bit had stuck to Xu Zhixia’s head, and it was evident that it had settled on the right side of his head, with several long white hairs that glimmered like feathers.
“Oh…” Xu Zhixia raised his hand to touch his hair, running his fingers through it, but he perfectly missed the fur.
“I’ll do it.” Ji Mian raised his hand towards him.
Xu Zhixia paused for a moment, then walked closer, obediently lowering his head.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the room could be described as harmonious. In fact, neither Xu Zhixia nor Xu Chi Qiu ever expressed their annoyance towards each other when they were together; their interactions were unusually pleasant.
Their animosity toward each other only emerged behind closed doors, and they never let on a hint of it; they played their roles very well.
After Ji Mian picked off the cat fur, he gently ran his slender fingers through Xu Zhixia’s soft hair a couple of times, confirming it was clean before retracting his hand.
Xu Zhixia blinked slowly twice.
Perhaps it was since the last time Lu Ge took “Xu Chi Qiu” out that his brother seemed to have suddenly… changed a bit.
As for how he had changed, Xu Zhixia couldn’t quite say.
But the change in “Xu Chi Qiu” made him uneasy.
It was like catching a whiff of the scent from a blanket left out in the sun, making one want to sneeze.
To be precise, since a few months ago, “Xu Chi Qiu” had exhibited a subtle change, but back then, it wasn’t enough to make Xu Zhixia feel uncomfortable.
[This is a bit out of character.] the system remarked.
Ji Mian: [But you said you wanted me to be happy.]
System: [……]
It retracted that statement!
Ji Mian had no intention of strictly following his own nature and making things difficult for the system. He just wanted to be a bit more carefree about some inconsequential matters.
Xu Zhixia observed Ji Mian’s expression but could not gather any information from it; the only thing he could gather was that gaunt, emaciated face.
‘Young Master Xu, why bother? It’s only been a few years.’
He thought, and that guy wasn’t wrong.
Even if he let “Xu Chi Qiu” be, after some time, whether it was a few years or a short while, Xu Chi Qiu would eventually leave his world on his own.
Suddenly, Xu Zhixia frowned, his lips tightening, feeling a bit frustrated with his own weak thoughts of wanting to give in.
That evening, Lu Ge came over.
After greeting Uncle Lin, he went straight upstairs and knocked on the door to enter.
The room was stuffy and hot; the wall-mounted heater made the place feel warm and cozy. There was also a humidifier in the room to prevent it from becoming too dry.
Lu Ge took a quick glance at the bed in the bedroom.
His gaze first caught Ji Mian’s head peeking out, then began to scan the rest of the room.
He had never been inside Ji Mian’s bedroom before; today was his first time.
Ji Mian’s bed was very soft and thickly made.
The mattress was already thick, and the sheets and blankets beneath were layered, making the bedding more than twenty or almost thirty centimeters longer than Lu Ge's finger.
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Underneath two thick blankets, piled together.
This was the first time Lu Ge saw Ji Mian's bed in winter, and he couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.
How could this person stand it? Sleeping on this bed—if he didn't die from heat, he would suffocate.
He definitely couldn’t sleep. Just looking at it made him feel suffocated.
Ji Mian was nestled in this ridiculously warm and soft bed, his cheeks flushed bright red.
“Ahem, Mr. Lu…” Ji Mian only managed a few words before his throat hurt, and he stopped speaking.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, his voice came out muffled and a bit hoarse.
Lu Ge heard that much and felt as if a soft lump had settled in his heart.
He lowered his eyes, quietly observing the person enveloped in blankets at the center, with only his head sticking out. Ji Mian's cheeks were flushed, and because of his cold, he had a congested nasal sound when he breathed.
So obedient, young master. Lu Ge thought, suddenly feeling a pang in his heart.
He wished Ji Mian weren’t so obedient; it would be better if he were a little more difficult, a bit colder. Just a bit more lively, so he wouldn't be so endearingly charming.
“I heard the young master is ill again, so I stopped by to see you.”
The heating in Ji Mian’s bedroom was on high, and Lu Ge took off his coat, casually hanging it over the back of a chair by the desk. He then pulled up a chair and sat down beside Ji Mian.
Unable to help himself, he playfully poked Ji Mian’s cheek with his finger. The warmth of his fingertip felt like prodding at some soft dough.
When a finger suddenly appeared on his already not-so-plump cheek, the flesh sunk into a small dent. Ji Mian had no strength to bother with him.
Lu Ge had never known how to restrain himself, becoming even bolder as he poked and pinched.
Finally, Ji Mian was annoyed and turned his gaze away, silently looking at Lu Ge with his slightly reddened eyes. Because of the fever, his eyes were shiny and damp, lacking any aggression.
Lu Ge felt his lips dry up as he met that gaze, his body becoming weak.
How could the human heart bear so many emotions? Lu Ge felt his heart swell like a balloon, filled with all sorts of emotions since the moment he walked in and saw Ji Mian—sometimes heartache, sometimes bitterness, all of it inflating his heart.
But just when he thought he was about to burst from these emotions, Ji Mian’s glance made the balloon swell even more.
This time, it wasn’t sour or sweet, but a sudden warmth of desire that flushed Lu Ge’s face.
He felt really sick, feeling something for a guy so thin he looked like a skeleton.
Ji Mian noticed the color on Lu Ge’s face change in an instant, his expression seemingly lost in another world.
He couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Lu, what are you thinking about?”
Lu Ge looked at him with a distant gaze.
“Thinking about going to bed with an angel.”
Ji Mian suspected he was delirious from the fever, even his hearing seemed off.
Angel? What angel… going… going where?
Lu Ge didn’t bring it up again.
He sat down on the stool by the bed, making small talk with Ji Mian.
Ji Mian wasn’t very awake to begin with, and Lu Ge’s chatter quickly made him drowsy; it wasn’t long before he closed his eyes.
Lu Ge: …
Is this polite?
So, he slowed down his speech and lowered his tone, as if someone was slowly turning down the volume on Lu Ge's words.
After a few seconds, the volume dropped to zero.
He stopped talking and smiled as he looked at the person sleeping on the bed.
After staring for a while, Lu Ge glanced at his watch—it was already past nine. He had come late today because of some company matters, and it was time for him to go.
Lu Ge quietly got up and walked to the bedroom door, reaching for the doorknob.
Ji Mian, drowsy and half-awake, sensed the slight movement beside him and opened his eyes.
“Mr. Lu, are you leaving?” His voice was slightly nasally.
Lu Ge paused in his action, turning his head back.
Seeing Ji Mian, he replied nonsensically, “Does the young master want me to stay?”
He let go of the doorknob, sat back down after two seconds, and said, “It’s not impossible, but I tend to move around when I sleep and take up space, so you’ll have to shift over.”
Beneath the blankets, Ji Mian silently spread his arms, marking out his territory—despite the bed being large enough to fit ten people, his arm span couldn’t even cover half the bed.
Lu Ge had only said that casually to tease the young master, but the words unexpectedly lingered in his ears, replaying repeatedly.
The bedding on the bed still looked very thick. Someone like Lu Ge, who generated a lot of body heat, would feel uncomfortable if he lay there too long.
But he suddenly thought: if he really slept with Ji Mian, a little heat wouldn’t be a problem; it would just be sweating a bit.
Lu Ge imagined it and found that sleeping next to Ji Mian actually didn’t seem bad at all.
Although the young master was thin, his waist was still soft, fitting perfectly in his embrace.
If Ji Mian’s fever got worse at night, he could hold him close and feel it.
If Ji Mian coughed, he could pat his back and help ease his breathing. After the person in his arms calmed down, he could use his fingertip to trace along his bumpy spine. Whatever Ji Mian needed, he would provide.
Lu Ge didn’t have much patience, but for things like this, he wouldn’t get tired of it for an entire night.
He even thought about it further, believing he wouldn’t get bored even after decades.
There was nothing in this world that Lu Ge wanted to do but couldn’t.
He promised himself that if he were a caregiver, he would be better than Zhou Zhong.
The scenes in his mind played out frame by frame, illuminated by warm light, making him yearn for it deeply.
Just thinking about it made him have to pinch his nose, stifling the rising acidity in his nasal passages.
This imagination was a bit too delightful, delightfully enough to make his eyes ache.
He really wanted to sleep next to this person, taking care of him for a lifetime.
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