The next morning, sunlight came in through the window covered with only a layer of oil paper and sprinkled on the bed.

Qin Zhao frowned and opened his eyes drowsily, as if he saw a black shadow flash past the bed.

His eyes instantly became clear: "Who is it?"

No response.

The room was completely silent, not a single sound could be heard. Qin Zhao sat up, pulled back the curtains, and quickly left the bedroom. The outer room was empty. The small wooden bucket containing the koi fish still sat on the table, its surface shimmering slightly.

The little koi floated on the water, looking at him sweetly with its eyes.

Qin Zhao's tense spirit relaxed. He leaned against the wall and pressed his sore brows.

Why...is he at home?

Qin Zhao's memory is a little fuzzy.

He only remembered that he went up the mountain to collect herbs yesterday. Just when he finished collecting the herbs and wanted to go back, it started to rain. Then, he found a small hut to shelter from the rain.

But who would have thought that the rain would not stop for a long time, he caught a cold, and did not take medicine in time, and gradually he felt so uncomfortable that he lost consciousness.

He didn't remember what happened after that very clearly.

It wasn't the first time he had been to that cabin.

This kind of situation had happened before, but usually he would spend the whole night in that hut, and then slowly walk back the next day when the weather cleared up.

After that incident, he couldn't get out of bed for at least half a month.

But that is not the case today.

He didn't feel too uncomfortable, no pain, no fever, and he was actually in good spirits.

Did he take any medicine last night?

Qin Zhao walked to the stove and opened the lid of the pot. The bowl of soup remained in the same state as when he left yesterday, untouched.

Qin Zhao showed a hint of confusion in his eyes and sat back at the table.

Jing Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, no one was discovered.

He was extremely tired last night, and after Qin Zhao fell asleep, he also transformed back into his original form and fell asleep in the water. It was not until dawn this morning that he remembered that he had not had time to clean up the mess.

Early in the morning, he supported his tired body and transformed back into human form, putting his straw raincoat, medicine, and everything he had used last night back in their places.

When returning to his position, he made a lot of noise and was almost seen by Qin Zhao.

Jing Li blew a bubble into the water tiredly.

The fish is so tired.

"What's wrong with you?" Qin Zhao also noticed that something was wrong with him, so he reached out and touched the little koi's back.

The warm feeling inevitably reminded Jing Li of last night, when this man held him in his arms, his hot palms covering his fish scales, touching them bit by bit.

Jing Li shuddered reflexively and turned his head to avoid Qin Zhao's touch.

"You don't want me to touch you?" Qin Zhao asked, "Are you unhappy?"

No unhappiness...

Jing Li didn't know what he was hiding from, and didn't know how to explain it.

Qin Zhao was sick last night, not intentionally bullying him. And in the end, he was the one who took the initiative to lie in his arms, trying to cool him down.

It's just a treatment. Didn't Qin Zhao help him treat the injury caused by scales before?

Why not let him touch it?

Jing Li looked at Qin Zhao's eyes, and after a moment, he swam back obediently to Qin Zhao's palm.

The other person's fingertips landed on his dorsal fin.

The touch from his fingertips was as smooth and cool as before. The little koi seemed a little nervous and trembled slightly, but still stayed where he was and let him touch it obediently.

Qin Zhao's eyes moved slightly, and he felt something strange in his heart.

This feeling...

Some unfamiliar images flashed through his mind.

In the darkness, those clear and bright eyes looked at him, with some fear and some grievance.

He said: "...I was just passing by..."

The touch under his palm was cold and smooth, the body was trembling slightly, and a soft voice came from his ears.

He said, "Here I am..."