An Jing didn't return to the training base until the evening of the second day.

There were still some dumplings left over from yesterday's making, which were frozen in the refrigerator. He steamed some himself and planned to put them in a thermal container. Anyway, making dumplings wasn't difficult, so Lu Yuqi was lucky to have some.

An Yu had just come out of the gym. He had been exercising for two hours to get his beloved abs back and was starving. He ran into the kitchen because of the delicious smell.

"Hey, big brother, you're cooking dumplings. I'm starving." With that, he picked up his bowl and chopsticks and eyed the steaming dumplings in the pot with great interest.

Just as he was about to reach for his chopsticks, his older brother ruthlessly slapped them away.

"Get lost, get lost, cook for yourself if you're hungry."

An Yu: "..."

He watched as An Jing opened the insulated container and filled it with dumplings from the pot, forgetting all about eating. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Big brother, I didn't know you were so domestic! Who are you taking these dumplings to?"

"Tell me, is this the one I'm bringing to my future sister-in-law?"

An Jing said no, "It's for the puppy."

"..." An Yu was overcome with grief, his finger trembling as he pointed at his elder brother, accusing him with indignation, "So you'd rather feed it to the dogs than your dear brother?"

He's not even as good as a dog, right?

"Big brother, second brother, are you cooking dumplings?" An Qingyan had just finished a math test and came downstairs for some fresh air when she heard the noise and went into the kitchen.

After An Jing finished packing, he closed the lid of the insulated box, turned around and smiled at An Qingyan, "Yanyan, there are still some dumplings left in the pot. If you want to eat them, your big brother will put them in a bowl for you."

An Yu: "???"

An Qingyan said no, he wasn't hungry, so An Jing put the remaining dumplings into a bowl, handed it to An Yu, and patted him on the shoulder, "Eat up, you must be hungry after working out at the gym for so long, eat more."

An Yu: "..." That's not what you just said!

"Yan Yan, then your older brother will be leaving now."

"Okay, goodbye, big brother."

After his eldest brother left, An Qingyan saw his second brother looking down at the dumplings in his bowl, hesitant, and said considerately, "Second brother, it's okay, eat up. I don't think you're fat, really."

"..." The second brother wiped away his bitter tears, reluctantly put down the bowl of fragrant dumplings, patted his younger brother's shoulder, and said, "Little brother, you don't understand. Second brother should go back to lifting weights."

——

When Lu Yuqi woke up this morning, he felt dizzy and his body was hot. He probably had been practicing too late last night and sweating a lot. He also took a cold shower and developed a fever.

He didn't take it seriously, stubbornly kept quiet about it, and continued practicing.

By noon, he couldn't hold on any longer; his fever was getting higher and higher, and he almost collapsed on the floor. That's when the staff noticed his abnormality and quickly took him to the hospital for an IV drip.

Lu Yuqi's fever subsided a bit in the evening. He was in good health and recovered quickly. Feeling bored lying in the hospital bed, he took out his phone to play games to pass the time.

His brother, Lu Sheng, called him.

"I heard you had a fever, are you feeling better now?"

"It's nothing." Lu Yuqi pursed his lips helplessly, not knowing where his brother got the news from. "It's just a minor illness, but they insisted on bringing me to the hospital."

"Stay in the hospital and don't use your phone." Speaking of this, Lu Sheng remembered what happened yesterday and said helplessly:

"Lu Yuqi, don't think I don't know you've been secretly hiding several phones. You're playing with them secretly, and you're even openly liking An Jing's posts. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Lu Yuqi: "It's nothing, order whatever you want."

Lu Sheng: "You really like him that much?"

Upon hearing this, the boy tightened his grip on his phone, a complex look flashing in his eyes. He didn't intend to answer the question. "I'm going to play games. I'm hanging up now."

He hung up the phone after saying that.

On the other side, Lu Sheng shook his head helplessly. His younger brother had been as stubborn as a donkey since he was a child. He wouldn't listen to advice, and once he made up his mind, not even ten oxen could pull him back.

Despite saying he was playing games, Lu Yuqi wasn't really in the mood. Before he knew it, he opened Weibo, clicked on that familiar profile picture, and looked back and forth at the few messages in his private messages.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

Lu Yuqi looked in the direction of the sound, and when he saw who was standing outside, his heart skipped a beat. He immediately logged out of Weibo, and the person pushed the door open and came in, carrying a thermal lunchbox.

"The staff told me you're sick," An Jing said, pulling out a chair and sitting down beside the hospital bed. He casually placed the insulated food container on the bedside table and looked at the somewhat haggard-looking boy in front of him.

Lu Yuqi composed himself, maintaining his usual arrogant demeanor. Without even greeting An Jing, he went straight to the point and asked, "Why are you here?"

This kid only calls him Teacher An and uses the formal "you" when he's joking or being sarcastic. An Jing is used to it; isn't this just him feeding the puppy?

He didn't answer the question. "How are you feeling?" he asked. Then he raised his hand and touched the other person's forehead with the back of his hand. Without noticing the other person's uncomfortable expression, he concluded, "A little hot."

After saying that, he lowered his hand.

He had just returned to the training base and learned from the staff that Lu Yuqi had a fever. It was just a minor illness, so he didn't need to visit him, but he couldn't let the dumplings go to waste.

So I came anyway.

Lu Yuqi's hand, still holding the phone, tightened slightly. He pursed his lips, the touch of the man's hand still lingering on his forehead, burning hot as it seeped into his bloodstream, making the tips of his ears turn slightly red.

An Jing asked, "How are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable?"

He was actually almost fully recovered, and he was even able to talk back to his brother just now, but Lu Yuqi still frowned slightly, his voice revealing a sickly hoarseness: "I feel a little uncomfortable, my head hurts."

Upon hearing this, An Jing picked up a disposable cup from the bedside table. There was still half a cup of water in it, but it had already cooled down. He poured some hot water into it again before handing it to the person on the hospital bed who did look rather weak.

He watched as the boy took the cup, lowered his head, and took two sips.

Tsk... He usually seems so fierce, but he's become a bit more obedient when he's sick. He's just a kid the same age as Yan Yan, he couldn't help but say in an older brother's tone:

"If you're sick, tell someone. Don't try to tough it out on your own. What if you burn yourself out?"

Lu Yuqi lowered his eyes and hummed in agreement.

An Jing was increasingly surprised, even somewhat flattered. The boy hadn't refuted him, which seemed to be due to his illness. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

His gaze swept over the insulated food container on the bedside table. Remembering the purpose of his visit, he asked again, "Have you eaten?"

It was already dark outside the window, almost 8 p.m. Lu Yuqi had eaten two hours earlier, but he didn't have much of an appetite and ate very little.

He said no without changing his expression.

An Jing naturally took the lunchbox, unscrewed the lid, and found that the lunchbox had excellent heat retention, with the dumplings inside still steaming and their aroma spreading throughout the small ward.

When Lu Yuqi saw what was inside, he was stunned. He had only wanted to find an excuse to send a message to An Jing yesterday, and he never thought that An Jing would actually bring dumplings for him to eat.

He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

The next second, a man's magnetic voice rang in her ear: "These are the leftover dumplings from yesterday. I steamed them for you myself. You better not refuse to eat them."

"That must taste awful," Lu Yuqi retorted stubbornly.

Now he's starting to argue again. An Jing ignored him, set up a small table, placed the lunchbox on it, and stuffed the chopsticks into the other person's hand, "Eat it while it's hot."

Lu Yuqi looked at the dumplings with thin skins and lots of filling in the lunchbox, paused for a moment with his chopsticks, moved his lips, and awkwardly said thank you before lowering his head to start eating.

The dumplings were delicious, but he didn't really care about the taste.

His mind was only focused on the fact that An Jing had made it for him, bringing it from home on special occasion. Thinking of this, the boy's lips curled up slightly where the man couldn't see.

An Jing asked him, "How is it? Is it delicious?"

With half a dumpling still stuffed in his mouth, he mumbled, "It's alright."

An Jing couldn't help but smile, leaned forward slightly, raised his hand and rubbed the boy's head. After rubbing it, the boy was stunned for a moment, and then silently withdrew his hand.

This kid isn't as well-behaved as Yan Yan; a little rubbing might make him freak out. He observed Lu Yuqi's reaction discreetly, but Lu Yuqi didn't freak out. He just paused for a moment, then continued eating as if nothing had happened.

He was puzzled for a moment, and looked at Lu Yuqi with a probing gaze, noticing that the other's ears were turning red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

What? It's burning again?

Lu Yuqi couldn't hold back any longer and finally looked up at the man who had been staring at him. His expression and tone were somewhat fierce. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Are you angry?" An Jing looked away awkwardly and stood up casually. "Okay, then I won't bother you anymore. Eat slowly, I'll go back first."

Lu Yuqi didn't speak, watching out of the corner of his eye as the man's tall figure left the ward and disappeared. He then looked away, silently staring at the dumplings in front of him, before raising his hand to touch the back of his head, the spot where An Jing had just touched.

He wasn't angry.

I just can't stand being stared at like that.

My ears are burning, and so is my heart.

As he ate his dumplings, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up like a cat that had stolen some fish, but he quickly suppressed the smile when he heard the approaching footsteps.

"Oh, right, after you've eaten, get some rest and don't play on your phone anymore," An Jing said anxiously as she stood at the door of the ward.

Lu Yuqi hummed in agreement, "I understand."

At that moment, he secretly hoped that An Jing would leave as soon as possible.

Then the other person walked in. "By the way, let's add each other on WeChat. Will you scan my QR code or will I scan yours?"

Lu Yuqi: "...Whatever."