Xi Qingxu noticed that Lu Chuqing had been spending less time at home lately, and sometimes she wouldn't even come home for dinner.

He learned from Lu Ying that the girl had gone to have dinner with Lu Linqi.

At first, he didn't think anything of it. After all, they were like siblings. Before he officially met her, they often went home together, ate together, and talked about everything.

Now they're back to normal, which is actually quite normal, but for some reason he just feels a bit surprised.

It seemed that this period of life was something he had never experienced before, a warm and peaceful home life, to the point that he forgot he had never had anything in the first place.

Looking at the empty seat next to him, dinner tasted bland again, just something to fill his stomach and keep him from going hungry.

Back in his room, Xi Qingxu lay on the bed, feeling empty inside, wondering what Lu Chuqing was doing.

Will she and Lu Linqi go to eat the Fuding sliced ​​meat they ate before?

Or perhaps it was the braised chicken with shiitake mushrooms they ate that time, or maybe they would go to play the claw machine.

Lu Linqi is quite smart; he'll probably win her a lot of plush toys.

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt, and he suddenly realized that there were very few things he could talk about with Lu Chuqing.

Xi Qingxu pulled the blanket over his head and muttered to himself, "They grew up together and have so many stories to tell about each other."

Yes, so why did he feel a little sore in his heart?

Lu Linqi noticed that Xi Qingxu was not in a good state of mind today.

Although this guy with facial paralysis would sometimes space out before, he had never spaced out for two whole classes like this before. Now, he didn't even react when the physics teacher called him four or five times.

He couldn't completely ignore Xi Qingxu, who was his deskmate, so he reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "The teacher wants you to stand up and answer a question!"

The dazed boy slowly snapped out of his reverie, then looked at the physics teacher on the podium, stood up calmly, and said, "Sorry, teacher, I was daydreaming."

With such a frank attitude, the physics teacher didn't say anything more. After all, he was a student on whom he had placed high hopes, and he couldn't bear to say too much. He just gave a few perfunctory words, "Pay attention in class. If you haven't rested well, take a nap during the break. Don't waste time learning knowledge."

"I understand, teacher. I won't do it again next time."

After sitting down, Xi Qingxu's thoughts were still not fully clear. Her mind was dizzy, and she really wanted to find a place to sleep.

He held on until the end of get out of class, and as soon as the teacher left, he collapsed onto the desk, surprising even Lu Linqi.

He tried to remind him that it was a long break with activities, but the guy just fell asleep immediately.

Upon closer inspection, Lu Linqi noticed that the person's face was flushed.

"Hey, Xi Qingxu, are you running a fever?"

Xi Qingxu felt dizzy and didn't want to talk to anyone. She buried her face in her arms, leaving only the back of her head showing.

Lu Linqi, "..."

"Forget it, it's your body anyway, and you're the one who's uncomfortable. I'm just trying to be nice to you, and this is how you react. No wonder nobody likes to talk to you."

After saying that, Lu Linqi left. Xi Qingxu, who was lying on the table, only heard his last sentence clearly.

He does seem to be quite disliked.

Otherwise, why would Lu Chuqing suddenly start showing concern for Lu Linqi without any prior warning?

Actually, he didn't have anyone with him.

When Lu Chuqing learned that Xi Qingxu had a fever, she had just been taken home by Lu Linqi. As soon as she entered the door, she saw Lu Ying hurriedly putting on her clothes and changing her shoes, followed by a dazed boy with flushed cheeks.

"What's wrong, Mom?" She guessed that Xi Qingxu was sick, and she got the answer she expected.

"Qingxu has a fever, a high fever, 39.8 degrees Celsius."

Lu Chuqing was surprised that the fever was so high and couldn't help but feel nervous. "How could the fever be so high? Don't you feel unwell?" She asked Xi Qingxu.

Since she came back, Xi Qingxu, who was delirious with fever, could only see her. When she asked him, he honestly replied, "I didn't know I was sick. I thought it was because I didn't sleep well last night."

That's definitely how he felt.

Throughout his life, he has rarely been sick. Several times he was hospitalized with severe fevers and received intravenous fluids, and it was Xi Jun who noticed something was wrong with him.

Thinking about it this way, perhaps he sometimes feels that he hasn't slept well because he has a fever, but he is slow to react and often lets it go until he gets better on his own.

Lu Chuqing didn't know what to say. Seeing the boy's face burning red and his eyes glazed over, he looked inexplicably aggrieved and easy to bully.

Xi Jun has been busy working overtime these past few days, often not returning home until late at night.

It was Lu Ying who called Xi Qingxu to dinner, but when she didn't see him come down for a long time, she felt something was strange. She called him twice more, and when the boy answered in a muffled and hoarse voice, she realized that the child was sick.

Xi Jun hadn't returned yet, so Lu Chuqing didn't even change her shoes. She grabbed Lu Ying's bag and went with her, saying, "Mom, I'll go with you."

"Okay." Xi Qingxu has such a high fever, she'll definitely need an IV drip if we go there, and I might not be able to manage it all by myself.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Lu Ying ran to queue up, while Lu Chuqing sat with the boy, whose ears were already burning red, on a chair in the corridor, waiting.

The Sixth People's Hospital of the city is the closest to her home, and the hospital is excellent in all aspects. Lu Chuqing has been treated here when she is sick.

Now you need to get a card to see a doctor. This was Xi Qingxu's first time at this hospital, so she inevitably went through a lot of troublesome card-getting procedures. After getting the card, she still had to queue up to register, and half an hour passed by in the blink of an eye.

When they came out, Lu Ying had filled a water bottle. Lu Chuqing knew that a fever could easily cause a dry and sore throat, so she held the water bottle and told the boy to drink more water.

"Xi Qingxu, drink more water to soothe your throat, otherwise it will hurt."

Xi Qingxu took the cup. "Okay."

Even with just one word, his voice was already hoarse. Lu Chuqing couldn't help but say again, "Drink more and talk less. Otherwise, your voice will be ruined."

Xi Qingxu had originally intended to respond with a "yes," but after meeting the girl's gaze, he simply nodded.

Speaking of whether or not one's voice is ruined, this reminds Lu Chuqing of Lu Linqi's voice change period.

With her supervision, her second brother barely spoke during that period and drank water like crazy. Sure enough, his voice became deeper and more magnetic than before.

This reminded her of Xi Qingxu's voice, which was low, somewhat deep, and had a slightly husky quality.

Honestly, such a voice is quite pleasant to hear, but it's mostly caused by not taking care of one's voice during puberty, resulting in some damage to the vocal cords and thus a hoarse sound.

Remembering how the boy said he didn't know he was sick and thought he just hadn't slept well, Lu Chuqing couldn't help but feel sorry for Xi Qingxu again.

Compared to Lu Linqi, Xi Qingxu seems to be more pitiful.

After all, he had no parents, no friends, and no social connections. He spent his days going to school and working, and he couldn't even tell if he was sick or not.

Perhaps she should also show more concern for her adopted brother...