take care of

It's late at night now, and everything outside the window is quiet and still. The curtains beside me are billowing in the wind; the night air is much cooler than during the day.

"Feifei! Wake up!" Lin Yuan called out again.

Xu Feifei rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at her groggily, saying, "Lin Yuan, you're awake. How are you feeling? Are you feeling any better?"

"I'm much better now. Why are you sleeping here? Be careful not to catch a cold at night. Go back to your room to sleep."

"Really?" Xu Feifei was a little incredulous and reached out to touch Lin Yuan's forehead.

Lin Yuan watched as the hand reached out to her, but did not dodge.

Her temperature seems to have gone down a bit; it's not as hot as before. Looking at her complexion, the flush on her face has also subsided; she's definitely feeling much better.

Xu Feifei was a little worried. "Should we change to a new fever-reducing patch?" As she spoke, she yawned, and saline solution seeped directly from the corner of her eye.

Lin Yuan nodded, feeling both heartache and warmth as she looked at her. Heartache because Xu Feifei had exhausted herself taking care of her so diligently, and warmth because it was the first time someone had taken such meticulous care of her.

Xu Feifei got up to get a fever-reducing patch, but perhaps because of her previous lying position, her legs were numb when she got up. She walked unsteadily, and seemed about to fall.

Lin Yuan quickly helped Xu Feifei up and pressed her down to sit again, saying, "I'll go get it!"

Xu Feifei's legs were too numb and she hadn't recovered yet, so she couldn't walk and was powerless to stop Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan walked over and saw that there were only three fever-reducing patches left in the box. After applying the patch, she returned to Xu Feifei's side and asked, "Is your leg still numb?"

Xu Feifei tried to stretch her leg, but after only a little, her brows furrowed. She hissed and gasped, gritting her teeth, "Um. Wait, let me catch my breath!"

Lin Yuan reached out and massaged her legs, but Xu Feifei reached out and pressed Lin Yuan's hand down, saying, "No need to massage, I'll be fine after a while! Besides, you're still a patient! Just lie in bed and rest!"

Lin Yuan continued pressing, "Pressing helps with blood circulation. I feel much better now. Your legs went numb because you were taking care of me, so I have a lot of responsibility."

Xu Feifei slightly pulled her legs back and didn't say anything more about refusing.

It was a very quiet night, and neither of them spoke. The only sound in the room was the rustling of Lin Yuan's clothes as she massaged Lin Yuan's legs.

Xu Feifei watched as Lin Yuan lowered her head and earnestly massaged her legs. The numbness in her legs gradually turned into warmth, and that warmth penetrated through her skin into her blood, then back to her heart, and then spread throughout her body.

After a long while, the warmth grew increasingly strange, and it was hard to describe the feeling. To prevent things from getting out of hand, Xu Feifei suddenly stood up and created some distance between them, saying, "No, you don't need to press anymore. I'm much better now. I can walk and jump. Thank you, Lin Yuan."

Lin Yuan frowned and said unhappily, "I should be thanking you. There's no need for thanks between us!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Xu Feifei nodded quickly.

Lin Yuan gave a muffled "hmm".

Xu Feifei quickly made her way back, saying, "Shall I go back now?"

“Okay! I’ll see you off!” Lin Yuan said, standing up.

Xu Feifei declined, saying, "I'm just a few steps away across the street, no need to see me off, you can just rest!"

But Lin Yuan didn't listen. She went over and opened the door, saying, "Let's go! I'll see you off!"

Xu Feifei didn't know what to say, and followed Lin Yuan in a daze.

Lin Yuan stood at her dormitory door, watching her open it. As Xu Feifei closed the door, she didn't forget to say, "Goodnight!"

"good evening!"

The motion-sensor light in the hallway broke yesterday. Only a faint light remained through the crack in the door of the room opposite. The hallway was pitch black, except for a faint green light at the corner, which was the light from the emergency exit.

After a while, the light from the crack in the door went out. Seeing this, Lin Yuan turned and went back to her room.

She lay back down on the bed; the room was pitch black. She touched the fever patch on her forehead, staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Xu Feifei returned to her room, washed up, brushed her teeth, and then ordered breakfast for tomorrow using her phone. She went back to bed, and the moment her head touched the mattress, she fell asleep.

Tonight, she is no longer the champion of staying up all night.

The summer sun rises exceptionally early; it was only a little past six o'clock when it peeked out. Xu Feifei was too tired yesterday to draw the curtains. Sunlight streamed onto her bedside, and birds chirped merrily outside the window.

The alarm clock rang at the bedside. Xu Feifei squinted and fumbled for the alarm clock with both hands. After turning it off, she tossed it to the foot of the bed and continued sleeping.

A moment later, her phone vibrated again. She reached for it once more, but this time she couldn't find it. She covered her ears with the pillow, pretending not to hear.

Unable to bear the jarring alarm, and knowing full well I still had tasks to complete, I resignedly got out of bed. I squinted my way to the bathroom, splashed some cold water on my face, and forced myself awake to turn on the computer.

After brushing her teeth, Xu Feifei received the food she ordered on her phone yesterday. She went downstairs, walked through the wooded path to the dormitory gate, and saw two large bags full of food next to the delivery guy. She felt a bit overwhelmed, wondering how to carry them back.

The delivery guy, carrying two large bags of food, said, "Miss, do you need me to help you bring this up?"

Xu Feifei glanced at the delivery guy, shook her head, and said, "No need, thank you. I can take it myself. This is a girls' dormitory, so it's not convenient for boys to come in."

After she finished speaking, she took the two large bags from his hands and walked with difficulty toward the dormitory.

The delivery driver couldn't bear to see it and stepped forward, saying, "Let me take it to your door, and then you can take it back yourself, okay?"

Xu Feifei thought about it and decided that it was still not possible, so she shook her head and refused his offer.

There weren't many people on the path leading to the dormitory on Saturday morning, except for two older women sweeping the floor. The sun wasn't too strong, but it was still a bit glaring.

Xu Feifei dragged two bags with difficulty into the elevator and carried them back to her dormitory. Once back in, she collapsed on the floor, completely exhausted.

When she returned, she paid extra attention to whether there was any movement in Lin Yuan's dormitory. After hearing no sound from next door, she knew that Lin Yuan had not yet gotten up and felt relieved.

Xu Feifei bought a lot of things: pots, bowls, rice, oil, salt, and meat...

These are all prohibited items in the future university dormitories, and she's secretly using them ahead of time. However, it seems there aren't any explicit prohibitions in the dorms here, and the rules aren't many.

She chopped the pork, salted it, and set it aside. She washed the pot and rice, then selected the porridge cooking mode. Once steam started rising from the pot, she rinsed the marinated pork. She opened the lid, added the pork, stirred it a few times, covered the pot, and continued cooking.

After finishing all that, it was already 8:30. She happily ran to knock on Lin Yuan's dormitory door.

The door opened by itself before I could even knock.

Lin Yuan saw her behind the door and exclaimed happily, "Feifei, I was just about to come find you!"

"What a coincidence, I was just looking for you!"

"I bought breakfast, come in and eat!"

"Ah! When did you buy this? I've already cooked breakfast!" Xu Feifei looked at her in surprise. She had clearly seen Lin Yuan's door closed tightly when she went out.

Lin Yuan asked in surprise, "You cooked breakfast?"

"Yes, I got up early to cook this porridge! Come and try it!" Xu Feifei pulled Lin Yuan's hand and walked towards her dormitory.

Hearing these words, Lin Yuan felt a warmth in her heart, and many thoughts flashed through her mind.

Xu Feifei helped Lin Yuan sit on the sofa, while she went to get the porridge.

The moment the pot lid was opened, the unique aroma of porridge wafted out. Xu Feifei filled two bowls with porridge and placed them on the table.

Lin Yuan watched her figure, feeling a warmth in her heart. When the porridge was served to her, she still felt a little incredulous; the surprises she had received these past two days had been truly overwhelming.

Xu Feifei looked at her with bright eyes and said, "You should try it out! It's the result of my hard work this morning!"

The porridge had just been taken out of the pot, and steam was slowly rising from it; the temperature was still very high.

Lin Yuan held the porridge, blew on it, and took a bite. The porridge was soft and sticky, and the meat was very tender. After drinking it, she felt warm and cozy in her stomach.

Xu Feifei asked eagerly, "How is it? Is it delicious?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "It's delicious. This is the best porridge I've ever had."

Upon hearing her evaluation, Xu Feifei was overjoyed, her lips curving into a smile. She pretended to be serious, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "No, no, you're exaggerating. Hahaha!"

Lin Yuan smiled and looked at her with a sly smile, saying, "I'm telling the truth! I can eat three more bowls!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Feifei's face lit up with a smile; she knew she was a good cook!

After the two had breakfast, Lin Yuan wanted to wash the dishes but was stopped by Xu Feifei.

Xu Feifei asked with annoyance, "I forgot to ask, has your fever gone down? You don't have a fever anymore, do you?"

Lin Yuan said energetically, "Thanks to your care, I feel much better after a good night's sleep!"

Xu Feifei touched her head and found that her fever had indeed subsided. However, just to be on the safe side, she decided to take her temperature again with a thermometer.

She handed the thermometer to Lin Yuan and turned to wash the dishes.

Lin Yuan refused, took the bowl and said, "I'm really done! Let me wash the dishes."

Xu Feifei, however, insisted that Lin Yuan take the temperature while she washed the dishes.

Lin Yuan didn't back down, and even threatened, "If you don't wash the dishes for me, I won't take your temperature!"

Xu Feifei was amused when she heard this, "Others would avoid washing dishes if they could, why did you insist on doing it?"

In the end, Xu Feifei couldn't persuade Lin Yuan otherwise and gave up.

After washing the dishes, Lin Yuan came back and obediently sat on the sofa to have her temperature taken.

Lin Yuan held the thermometer between her fingers. The thermometer felt cool when it touched her skin, but her heart was warm, just like a bowl of freshly cooked porridge.

Xu Feifei was keeping track of the time for Lin Yuan.

A quiet atmosphere fell over the room. Lin Yuan pursed her lips, took a breath, and asked the question that had been lingering in her mind, "Feifei, why did you cook porridge for me?"