Chapter 45 (Revised) Don't be so childish...
Xu Yuewei stood in front of this dog—no, this person—looking down at him.
His double eyelids were originally quite narrow, and his peach blossom eyes were delicate and reserved when he was calm, but now they looked a bit swollen and listless.
"Have you been sleeping poorly these past few days?" she asked.
Jiang Shiyan nodded and then shook his head: "Before yesterday... I would wake up coughing in my sleep, and once my skin swelled up, I would stop coughing."
When he opened his mouth, his voice was like a snapped string, extremely hoarse, and unrecognizable from its original tone.
Xu Yuewei recalled his words about using voice input if he was afraid she would ignore him if he typed too slowly, and her heart felt a sudden itch, as if scratched by a thin thread.
But her eyes and brows above the mask betrayed no emotion; her gaze was cold, and she stood with her hands in her pockets: "So you actually slept well last night, like a log, which is why no one could reach you?"
Jiang Shiyan lowered his head, as if being found by her like this was a very embarrassing thing.
He moved his left hand a few times and pulled something out of his pocket: "Put this on."
It's an N95 mask, sealed in transparent plastic, and individually packaged.
Xu Yuewei pressed down on the metal strip on the medical mask, wanting to refuse, but his eyes were persistent. Seeing that she wouldn't change, he coughed twice as if to scare her.
"……Thanks."
In return, she took out a packet of tea cakes from her bag and said, "Have you eaten yet? Would you like some to eat with?"
This was her planned opening line.
He was sick, and it would be too heartless to just kick her out, but she couldn't explain what her role was in his life that led her to the hospital.
At this moment, she sincerely appreciated the traditional greeting "Have you eaten?", but then felt that it was not good to eat snacks when she was sick, so she held her hand in front of her and did not offer it out.
Jiang Shiyan stretched out his arm and grabbed it like a gold miner's hook, without saying a word, his eyes crinkling slightly with laughter.
He had a cooling patch on his forehead, his hair was a little oily, and he had it parted in the middle, which changed his entire aura.
How strange! It turns out he becomes gentle when he's sick.
Xu Yuewei looked away and gestured with her chin towards the stairs beside her: "Let's go, let's go up."
Jiang Shiyan followed her up the stairs, where she led him with practiced ease, without him even needing to look at the floor signs.
"Did you used to get sick often?"
His voice was still hoarse when he spoke.
Xu Yuewei understood what he meant. When he caught up and stepped over the last step, she answered calmly as they stood side by side, "No, it just so happens that I also had an IV drip at this hospital."
"Is it also the flu?"
"It's a common cold, but like you, it's caused pharyngitis. I have to go to class... so I came to get a shot as soon as possible."
She paused briefly, realizing she had a moment of regret for revealing his past life, but then she thought that she had also spied on his past, so they were even, and she stopped trying to hide it.
She thought he would press her about the word "class," but he proved her guess wrong again.
Were you alone at the time?
"Yeah, who would want to accompany someone to get a shot?"
She turned to face him, quite solemnly, "So I just brought you, an out-of-towner, to the hospital. I'll leave after you get your injection."
After she finished speaking, she continued walking forward, but Jiang Shiyan stopped in his tracks.
"Then I won't fight."
A few steps apart, they stubbornly stared at each other in the disinfectant-smelling corridor.
A few seconds later, Jiang Shiyan's robot was suddenly activated. He lowered his eyes, raised his hand to peel off the cooling patch, took a few steps to catch up with her, and said, "You can go now, forget I said anything."
As I walked past her, I threw the cooling patch into the trash can.
Are you sulking with me?
Xu Yuewei stood behind him and said, "There's no need. You're responsible for your own body."
Jiang Shiyan turned around and shook his head: "I remember..."
He pointed to the infusion room at the far end of the road. "Virus. You'd better leave."
Xu Yuewei paused for a moment, pressed down her mask, and subconsciously said that it was nothing.
But this is not something they can decide.
There weren't enough seats in the infusion room, so he had to wait in line. The doctor saw that he was young and strong, so he prescribed some medicine and suggested that he go home and observe for a while.
Xu Yuewei was a little angry and spoke up for his half-disabled vocal cords: "His throat wasn't like this yesterday. Won't it develop into pneumonia if this is delayed any longer?"
The doctor looked up at her, his forehead wrinkles fine and dense: "Who are you to him?"
"Just, just friends."
The doctor patiently explained, "His temperature isn't as high anymore, and his throat isn't a big problem. He'll cough up phlegm again in the next day or two, and it will gradually get better. It's actually a sign of recovery. But he needs to pay attention to his diet. He shouldn't eat spicy or greasy foods, and he shouldn't eat sweets either."
The doctor gestured with his eyes to the tea cake packaging that Jiang Shiyan was clutching in his hand, and Xu Yuewei looked away guiltily.
"Who is he living with now? Remember to cook light meals and try to avoid ordering takeout for the next few days."
"……OK, thanks."
After leaving the outpatient building, Jiang Shiyan, who believed he should "take responsibility for his own body," chose to return to the hotel. However, Xu Yuewei, who had said this to him, disregarded his free will and took him to another hospital, where he finally got his injection.
The infusion room at this hospital was even larger, and the constant coughing echoed through the room. Jiang Shiyan, finding amusement in the chaos, tried to capture inspiration for melodies from the sounds.
He sat in a seat facing the row of seats against the wall. Fortunately, the seat directly opposite him was empty, allowing him to look out the window without any obstruction.
Half of the wall is covered with white tiles, while the upper half is made up of glass windows, which is probably for the benefit of the bored patients in the room. Looking out, you can see the people coming and going in the corridor outside, which is somewhat interesting.
Jiang Shiyan's gaze, however, was fixed on the woman leaning against the opposite wall making a phone call.
She seemed a little hot; she unzipped her down jacket, revealing a retro green turtleneck sweater underneath, which matched her black hair draped over her shoulders.
She was on the phone with someone at that moment, her eyes were smiling, and the flesh on her cheeks slightly shifted the position of her mask. She adjusted it by holding the bottom edge with her fingers.
Jiang Shiyan wanted to send her a message to tell her not to put her fingers inside her mask, because heaven knows how easily the virus can get into the respiratory tract.
The distance from his position to the window, a wall that is half tiled and half glass, and the width of an entire corridor outside the wall.
So far away.
She couldn't send messages either, because she was on the phone making a call and the line was busy.
Separated by space, separated by others.
At that moment, he suddenly couldn't sit still anymore. He wanted to pull out the IV and go back to her side, but the door to the infusion room was behind him. From the door to her location, he would have to walk a path where he couldn't see her. And when he came out, she might not still be there.
Just like the way he chased after Guangyang from Wuqiao.
So Jiang Shiyan did nothing, feeling the cool liquid flow into his body, slowly calming his anxiety.
At least he found her.
Xu Yuewei had a feeling that someone was watching her. She blinked and glanced to the side, where she met his gaze through the window.
The glass, like a layer of dried liquid glue, made the figures framed within it appear somewhat unreal.
His eye sockets seemed deeper than I remembered, perhaps because he was sick with a fever and hadn't been eating properly.
If his gaze towards her changed from icy to fiery after their reunion at the Fog Bridge, then now it has cooled down considerably, like the warmth of embers, a comforting feeling of slow, gentle simmering.
The person on the other end of the phone brought her back to her attention: "You promised, don't stand me up."
"Hmm... but can I go? I don't know anyone except you and Sister Tao."
"New Year's Eve is all about having fun, and it's all about getting people together to organize gatherings."
"Okay, how do I find you when I get to the square?"
"Let's share our locations then. If you can't find me, I'll find you."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Yuewei glanced at Jiang Shiyan across the screen, then lowered her head to type:
Tomorrow is the last day of the year, what are your plans?
Jiang Shiyan types with one hand:
【sleep. 】
Actually, I just want to sleep right now.
"Then go to sleep."
He didn't reply; he was still looking at her.
Xu Yuewei sighed, lowered her head, and typed: 【I'm leaving.】
She had just sent the message when she looked up and saw Jiang Shiyan standing up on the other side of the glass. Apart from the sickly and weak patients, everyone in the room was looking at him.
His left hand was on his waist, and his right hand reached for the IV bag on the IV stand. The transparent IV tube reflected the white light overhead, swaying like a broken string.
Xu Yuewei watched his retreating figure as he carried the IV drip out the door, bit her lip, and still walked in his direction.
So they met by the iron chair outside the other wall of the infusion room.
"I still have one bag left to finish." He stood in front of her like a mountain.
"I clearly told you I wouldn't be with you."
To her surprise, Jiang Shiyan said calmly, "I want to eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes."
"...?"
“Have you forgotten the doctor’s orders? I need to eat light, home-cooked meals.” His gaze softened. “You’re the only person I know here.”
"The hospital cafeteria food is low in oil and salt, very healthy. I'll go buy you some."
As she turned to leave, Jiang Shiyan grabbed her with his left hand, which was still sticking out needles. Xu Yuewei was startled and dared not move.
"And then what? Will you leave again?" he asked her persistently.
"..."
"Then I won't eat it."
"...I told you, you are responsible for your own body."
Xu Yuewei frowned, pressed down on his arm, and gently removed the IV tube from his hand.
"Don't be so childish, Jiang Shiyan."
The N95 mask, like two sharp hills, stands opposite each other as both a spear and a shield, blocking the lower half of their faces and drawing all eyes to their stubbornly fixed eyes.
“You were the one who went back on your word first, weren’t you?” she said.
"Can you tell me why you suddenly left Wuqiao?" Jiang Shiyan countered. "Perhaps I followed you here just to hear your honesty."
Xu Yuewei's face tilted downwards; she lowered her head and remained silent for a while, the topic jumping around like a bungee jump:
Did Xu Yaochen say something to you?
Jiang Shiyan's eyebrows twitched in surprise. Before he could dodge, she stared straight in and froze.
"On the way here, I thought about everything that happened after I met you at the villa. I feel like the sudden turning point was that night. You seem... a little different. You even knew I was leaving Fog Bridge. I guess he wanted to delay repayment and sold my information to you?"
Seeing his reaction, Xu Yuewei knew she was probably right, and couldn't help but frown.
What else did he say?
Jiang Shiyan unconsciously clenched her teeth behind the mask she couldn't see, making the lines of her jawline even more defined.
After staring at each other for a while, his hill also sank down. He took out his phone with his left hand, tapped the screen a few times, and the syringe on the back of his hand turned red a few centimeters.
Xu Yuewei realized what was happening in half a second, and her anger flared up instantly. She looked at him in disbelief.
"recording?!"
Jiang Shiyan pursed his lips and typed rapidly, changing the address name to: Sorry.
"You got a shot and didn't get better, now you've become mute?"
She couldn't control her breath and her voice got a little louder. Just then, someone passed by and Zhang Yuan stared at them.
Jiang Shiyan lowered his head slightly, his eyelashes blinking, seemingly lost in thought.
Xu Yuewei took a deep breath, and after her chest heaved down, she desperately suppressed her anger and opened her hands to him:
"Give me the room key."
Amidst his surprised yet hopeful gaze, she impatiently reached into his pocket and pulled out the room key, holding it between them like a red card.
"Didn't you want me to cook for you? Fine, whatever you want. After your injection, we'll... have a proper chat!"
However, Jiang Shiyan turned off the IV pump, simply switched the IV bag from his right hand to his left, and said lightly, "I'm not going to do it anymore."
The needle marks on the veins on the back of my left hand throbbed with a dull ache, a sensation that was both sobering and psychedelic.
Without a word, his right hand gripped hers, his fingers exerting force, like a stranded ship ramming against the sand.
His voice was still hoarse as he said, "Let's go home together."
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Author's note: Separation anxiety is acting up [droopy-eared rabbit head]
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