Chapter 110

The next day, Chen Zhiyi began to show symptoms: low-grade fever, cough, and body aches, but he endured it all and said, "I'm fine, I don't feel anything at all," whenever asked.

How could he not be? His brows furrowed when swallowing, his stretching and arm movements to relieve the soreness, his increasingly pale face, and the groaning sounds he made while sleeping were all signs of his discomfort.

Previously, the two strictly adhered to the boundary line, with Chen Zhiyi firmly prohibiting Lin Ting from stepping inside the partition door. Now, Lin Ting doesn't care about that anymore; whether she's delivering something or feels uncomfortable seeing him, she simply lifts the partition door and goes in.

I heard him humming in his sleep again.

Lin Ting immediately lifted the partition door and went in. She saw that his cheeks were flushed, his forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat, and his eyes were rolling around. He was sleeping very restlessly.

Lin Ting picked up the forehead thermometer. With a "beep," it read 38.7 degrees Celsius—a high fever.

Chen Zhiyi woke up when he heard the noise. He opened his eyes and, seeing only Lin Ting's blurry figure, scolded, "Get out."

Lin ignored him, turned around and went into the bathroom, then came out with a hot towel. "Let me wipe the sweat off your head first."

Chen Zhiyi turned his head away, preventing her from touching him, "Didn't you hear me say I should get out?"

Lin ignored him and forcefully turned his head around, wiping the sweat from his face and neck. "I can hear you. I've taken good precautions, nothing will happen. Your temperature has gone up again, you must go to the hospital. I've already reported to the community, and they are contacting the hospital."

Chen Zhiyi: "Hospital beds are in short supply right now, so please give the beds to patients in critical condition. I can pull through if I just hold on."

"At this point, let's be a little selfish. It might sound harsh, but what did we gain by rushing to the front lines as volunteers without regard for our own safety? Wasn't it because we hoped that things would turn in our favor now? Otherwise, wouldn't all our efforts have been for nothing?"

Even with goggles on, Chen Zhiyi could see that her eyes were terribly red, and he figured she must have been in a panic to say such a thing.

Chen Zhiyi smiled weakly, then reached out and grasped her wrist. "Are you blaming me?"

"Why blame you? Why did you move all the way from this small county to spend the New Year with me? Why were you so fearless of the risk of infection and volunteered with me? Or why did you rush forward without a second thought to shield me from the virus?"

Lin Ting couldn't hold back any longer, and tears streamed down her face. Chen Zhiyi wanted to reach out and wipe them away for her, but he didn't dare. "I swore I would never let you cry in front of me, and even if I did, I would wipe them away for you. But unfortunately, I can't do that today."

Lin Ting: "You don't need to wipe it, I'll wipe it myself in a bit."

Hearing her childlike tone, Chen Zhiyi covered his eyes and chuckled, then lowered his hands, his smile fading, and asked her with sincere eyes, "Have you forgiven me?"

"I don't want to talk about this right now, but if you don't pull through this time, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life."

"Okay." Chen Zhiyi knew she was serious. Could he pull through this time? He didn't know either, but he could clearly feel his body getting more and more tired. If this was going to be the end, he would rather stay at home and have her by his side. He didn't care if he looked ugly or not. Even if she remembered him, so what? Being remembered by the one you love for a lifetime is a happy thing.

That evening, Chen Zhiyi's condition began to worsen rapidly; he developed a persistent high fever and a severe cough. Lin Ting made several calls to the community, but still hadn't received a bed.

The fever reducer wasn't very effective, so Lin Ting brought him some warm water to wipe his body down to lower his temperature. The areas that needed wiping were quite private, especially his groin area, and with Lin Ting staring at him so intently, it was hard not to get aroused. Chen Zhiyi pulled up the blanket to cover himself, saying, "That's enough."

Lin Ting knew he was shy, so she pulled off the blanket and said shamelessly, "Just like you said, I've seen everything about you, not even three years. It's not a long time, but I remember it all."

Chen Zhiyi blushed and looked up, and Lin Ting then realized what he wanted to cover himself with the blanket.

Chen Zhiyi suppressed a cough and spoke haltingly, "I'm sorry, it reacted like this when it saw you."

"You weren't embarrassed when you put it inside me? Now you're telling me you're embarrassed?"

His words were startling; Chen Zhiyi choked on a mouthful of phlegm and coughed violently.

Lin Ting quickly helped him turn to the side and patted his back with cupped hands. After a while, he calmed down.

Chen Zhiyi, panting, said, "You're getting bolder and bolder with your words these days?"

Lin Ting wiped his body and covered him with a blanket. "I just wanted to tell you that we are very familiar with each other, there is no need to be shy."

"Oh, okay." Chen Zhiyi still felt embarrassed, partly because he was shy, and partly because he felt like he was a burden to her as she busied herself with his affairs.

Looking at his pale face and dejected eyes, Lin Ting finally couldn't help but hug him through the blanket. "Don't be afraid, you'll get through this. What I've done is nothing. I just want you to get better soon."

"I know."

Perhaps the fever reducer worked, because by evening Chen Zhiyi's fever had subsided a bit, and his appetite had improved. He drank some chicken soup for dinner.

After dinner, Chen Zhiyi went to sleep again; it's good to get more sleep at this time.

Lin Ting had been keeping a close eye on the hospital bed situation. His condition was unpredictable, and getting him to the hospital was the safest option. However, the community's response was still, "Wait a little longer, it'll be soon."

"What do you mean 'almost'? 'Almost'? If it doesn't get soon, people's lives will be in danger!" Lin clearly heard Chen Zhiyi holding on; his actual physical condition was definitely much worse than he appeared.

Lin Ting remembered a phone number that Chen Tiansheng had given her. Calling him now would definitely solve the problem, and maybe even take Chen Zhiyi to a better hospital for treatment.

But she felt resentful. She didn't want to ask Chen Tiansheng for anything. She hadn't asked him when things were at their worst, and now she was asking him for his son's sake. It was utterly ridiculous.

Moreover, given how long the pandemic has lasted, there hasn't been a single phone call between them to discuss their relationship. It seems Chen Zhiyi must have said some truly hurtful things to sever their father-son bond. Chen Tiansheng is such a proud person; he probably won't lower his head unless Chen Zhiyi takes the initiative to apologize.

Moreover, would someone as law-abiding and incorruptible as him be willing to use his power and influence to seek help for his son during this tense period? How do you know?

Lin Ting finally held back and dialed the community's number again to urge them once more.

In the dead of night, Lin Ting stood guard at the door of the master bedroom, keeping a close eye on Chen Zhiyi's condition. Since Chen Zhiyi was quarantined, Lin Ting had not had a proper rest, and gradually, he began to doze off against the doorframe.

A violent coughing fit woke her up.

She quickly got up and ran to the bedside, where she saw that Chen Zhiyi was in very poor condition. She didn't know if he was awake or unconscious. His eyes were half-open and half-closed, his gaze was unfocused, his lips were chapped and cracked, and he trembled slightly. Occasionally, he would let out a few muffled groans, his voice hoarse and weak. His cheeks were red and hot, as if they were being consumed by flames.

Lin Ting touched his face, tears welling up in her eyes, as if they were about to burst forth. She shouted loudly, "Zhiyi, Zhiyi, wake up!"

But there was no response. Lin Ting hated herself for falling asleep.

The situation was serious and she had to be taken to the hospital, but the reply she received was to wait a little longer. Lin Ting was so angry that she cursed loudly, and then she broke down and cried by the bedside.

A warm sensation touched her head. Lin Ting looked up and met a pair of eyes that, though fragile and powerless, were still full of tenderness.

"It's okay, don't cry. I hate it when you cry."

Lin Ting broke down again, "What should I do? What should I do?"

"It's okay, I'm fine." After saying that, he coughed violently again, the cough was low and fierce, as if he was coughing up his internal organs, accompanied by gasps and trembling.

Lin Ting stopped worrying and picked up her phone. "I'll call him. He'll definitely have a solution."

Chen Zhiyi stopped him, saying, "Don't hit him, it's not worth it."

"Do you know who I'm going to call?"

Chen Zhiyi nodded. "I moved my household registration out to tell you that between them and you, I will only firmly choose you. You are so strong-willed that you would not be willing to ask for help from people who have hurt you."

“You are his biological son, how can you beg him? Besides, they should know your current situation.”

"No, when I left home I made it clear that whether I lived or died was no longer their concern. From now on they are them and I am me. I will not make things difficult for you anymore."

"What do you mean by difficult or not? All I want right now is for you to be alright. Isn't your life important?"

Chen Zhiyi, with a smile on his face, shook his head and said, "You are more important to me than anything else."

Lin Tingsheng burst into tears: "But I want you to live. You can't do this. You can't abandon me. I won't be able to bear it. I'll go crazy."

"So you've forgiven me, haven't you?" Chen Zhiyi asked again.

Lin Ting nodded frantically. "After hearing the truth from you, I no longer blame you. Actually, I can accept everything from that incident, but the fact that it indirectly caused my mother's death is what pains me the most. But I know very well that all the suffering my mother endured was caused by my father. I hate Qin Qiang to death, but he was also the person my mother cared about most before she died. My mother's dying wish was for me to forgive my father and go save him. Caught between two sides, I couldn't hate him, and I couldn't not hate him either. I was in unbearable pain. At that time, I thought that if I hadn't met you and hadn't fallen in love with you, perhaps none of this would have happened. My mother and I could have lived a peaceful life as we had imagined. I couldn't find an outlet for my anger, so I threw all the blame on you. But what I can't forgive is myself. I was useless and couldn't protect my mother. I couldn't when I was a child, and I still can now."

"No, it's my fault. I not only failed to keep my promise to take good care of Auntie, but I also caused you to lose her. If this can lessen your pain, you can blame me for it. You still have feelings for me, don't you?"

Lin Ting held his hand and placed it over her heart, her voice trembling, "You've always been there for me, whether we've been apart for five years or three, it's always been you. I can fool others, but I can't fool myself."

Chen Zhiyi smiled and said, "I feel I can die without regrets."

"Don't say things like that, I can't bear it. If you leave too, I don't know how I'll go on."

"No, the Lin teacher I know is the most determined person. I will never forget the time when you tutored me. You felt that I looked down on you, and when you straightened your posture and taught me, the determination in your eyes, the confidence and indomitable spirit that shone in your eyes at that moment, made me feel that even if the sky fell, you wouldn't fall." Chen Zhiyi turned to the side and reached for the bedside table, but he was too weak to reach it. Lin Ting took it out for him. It was a folder.

"This is a property transfer document that I signed a long time ago. It can guarantee you a life of comfort and allow you to do whatever you want."

Without even thinking, Lin Ting threw it into the trash can, saying, "I don't care."

Chen Zhiyi smiled and said, "This way, the villa that I gave you as a birthday gift will be transferred back to your name. After the pandemic ends, where will you move your work? With your design talent, you shouldn't just be confined to a small camera or buried in a noisy farmers' market. You belong to the center of the trend and have a bigger stage. Teacher Ye's name can go further. Establishing a clothing brand is our common dream. Don't give up."

"And actually..." Chen Zhiyi first lowered his eyelids, a look of loneliness flashing in his eyes, then forced a smile, "Actually, Han Ming is quite good. I can tell he genuinely likes you. You could give it a try with him."

"Chen Zhiyi," Lin Ting interrupted loudly, "Are you giving your last words or playing the Casanova? You just said I'm more important than anyone else in your heart, and now you're thinking of pushing me onto someone else. Let me tell you, there are plenty of people who like me. You don't need to push me onto Han Ming; he's far away from me now. There are several people in Shanli Xiaoju who have expressed their feelings for me to my face. I could just beckon them over anytime. If we weren't under lockdown right now, we could hug and kiss each other right in front of you and do all sorts of intimate things." She even took out her phone, looking like she was about to call someone.

Chen Zhiyi frowned and grabbed her hand. "Don't talk nonsense."

"You think I'm talking nonsense?" Lin Ting shook off his hand. "Fine, I'll do as you wish. As soon as the Civil Affairs Bureau reopens after the pandemic, I'll drag Han Ming to get our marriage certificate. Anyway, you said he really likes me. If I propose to him, he'll definitely agree without hesitation and with great joy. After you die, we'll go to your grave every year to show our affection and see if we can make you so angry that you jump out of your coffin."

Chen Zhiyi looked at Lin Ting's bloodshot eyes and fell silent, no longer speaking. Although it was said in anger, it was still hurtful.

Lin Ting's chest heaved with anger. "Not going to continue? What else do you want to tell me? While you still have a breath left, tell me everything at once."

Chen Zhiyi remained silent.

Lin Ting's tears streamed down her face as she buried her head in the quilt again, holding him tightly with both hands. "I want you to live well. As long as you get better, the pandemic will end and we'll go get our marriage certificate. It's almost dawn. If there's still no bed available by tomorrow morning, please contact your dad for help, okay?"

Chen Zhiyi hugged her back, "Okay! Do you still have the lung-cleansing and detoxifying soup you made? I want to drink some more. I feel much better after drinking it. I'll sleep for a while after I finish it."

"good!"