【39】Murphy's Law will make everyone who takes chances pay the price
The sun was shining brightly, but it couldn't dispel the chill emanating from within the body. Liang Zhiyao put his hands in his pockets, lowered his head, and followed Tan Xu to the apartment building across the street. He felt that his body temperature might have risen a little compared to when he just woke up in the morning. His head and throat ached, his limbs were sore and weak, and he felt unable to even walk these few steps. The things they bought were packed in two paper bags, but Tan Xu carried them all. He held the two bags in his hands, one on the left and one on the right. When he walked, they swayed slightly as his center of gravity shifted, which was a bit funny. Liang Zhiyao said, "I'll do it myself," but got no response. She said again, making conversation, "I thought you drove to the supermarket." This time, Tan Xu glanced at her and replied indifferently, "It's only a two-minute walk, not that long." He had been smiling when he'd helped her in the supermarket, but upon exiting, his expression suddenly turned cold, completely ignoring her. Without a word, he crossed the street, swiped through the apartment gate, and pressed the elevator button—only for the third floor. Liang Zhiyao knew he was in the wrong. His impromptu lie the previous night had been exposed, so it was no wonder he remained expressionless, not even bothering to say a word. However, Tan Xu seemed to still intend to help her carry the heavy bag to the door, because when he got into the elevator, he only pressed the button for the third floor. He didn't want to communicate, and Liang Zhiyao, his throat dry, sore, and feeling a little guilty, naturally adhered to the principle of silence. In this strange atmosphere, the two walked in silence all the way to the door of Room 306. "You didn't forget to bring your keys, did you?" His tone was unclear, whether it was sarcastic or something else. Hearing it, she immediately recalled the scene in the supermarket and felt a little embarrassed. "...I didn't forget," she unlocked the door, and asked him for the things she bought, saying politely, "Thank you, I'll transfer the money to you later." Tan Xu, however, did not move with the shopping bags in his hand. After a while, he asked in a bad tone, "Why did you say you were going to P City?" What was coming finally came. Liang Zhiyao couldn't help but sigh. Murphy's Law will indeed make everyone who has a flu-like mentality pay the price - if you don't get vaccinated, you will definitely catch the flu, and if you lie occasionally, you will definitely be discovered. The probability of bad things happening is roughly the same, and there is no place to reason. "...I'm sorry." Apart from apologizing, she didn't know what else to explain. Maybe she would say more and make more mistakes. Anyway, the other party is a decent person with high emotional intelligence, and he shouldn't ask too many questions. However, Tan Xu today was different from usual. He...
The sun was shining brightly, but it couldn't dispel the chill emanating from his body. Liang Zhiyao shoved his hands in his pockets, lowered his head, and followed Tan Xu toward the apartment building across the street. He felt that his body temperature had risen a little since he woke up that morning.
My head and throat hurt, my limbs were sore and weak, and I couldn't even walk a few steps.
The things they bought were packed in two paper bags, but they were both held by Tan Xu, one on the left and one on the right. When he walked, the bags swayed slightly as his center of gravity shifted, which was a bit funny.
Liang Zhiyao said, "I'll do it myself," but got no response.
She made conversation again: "I thought you were driving to the supermarket."
Tan Xu glanced at her this time and replied indifferently, "It's only a two-minute walk, not that bad."
When he had just helped her in the supermarket, he had a smile on his face, but when he came out, his face quickly turned cold and he ignored her completely. Without saying a word, he crossed the street in front of her, swiped open the apartment door, and pressed the elevator button - only pressing the 3rd floor.
Liang Zhiyao knew he was in the wrong. The lame lie he had made up last night was exposed on the spot. It was no wonder that the other party had an expressionless face and was too lazy to say a word.
However, it seemed that Tan Xu still intended to help her deliver the heavy bag to the door, because when he entered the elevator, he only pressed the button for the third floor.
He had no intention of communicating, and Liang Zhiyao, his throat dry and sore, feeling a little guilty, naturally adhered to the principle of silence. In this strange atmosphere, the two of them walked in silence all the way to the door of Room 306.
"You didn't forget to bring your keys, did you?" His tone was hard to tell whether it was sarcastic or something else. Hearing it immediately reminded her of the scene in the supermarket and she felt a little embarrassed.
"...I didn't forget," she unlocked the door, reached out to him for the things she bought, and said politely, "Thank you, I'll transfer the money to you later."
Tan Xu, however, remained still, carrying his shopping bags. After a while, he asked unkindly, "Why did you say you were going to P City?"
What is coming will come.
Liang Zhiyao couldn't help but sigh. Murphy's Law would indeed make everyone who took chances pay the price - if you didn't get vaccinated, you would definitely get the flu, if you lied occasionally, you would definitely be discovered, the probability of bad things happening was roughly the same, and there was no place to find reason.
"……sorry."
Besides apologizing, she didn't know what else to explain, and perhaps it would be more of a mistake to say too much. Anyway, the other party was a decent person with high emotional intelligence, so he shouldn't ask too many questions.
However, Tan Xu was different today. He exuded an undeniable hostility, standing there silently looking at her. He was tall, and his gaze from top to bottom gave her an inexplicable sense of oppression.
He put the shopping bag on the ground, frowned, and looked at Liang Zhiyao with his elbows folded, as if waiting for her to say something other than "I'm sorry."
Liang Zhiyao felt that even the nerves on his face began to burn, and every breath brought additional pain. All he wanted to do was take the medicine quickly and hide in the quilt, but he had to stand in a stalemate with him at the door, feeling caught in a dilemma.
"Or let me ask this another way... Why do you always have excuses lately?" He suddenly took a step closer, questioning, "Are you avoiding me?"
Tan Xu gripped her wrist tightly, unable to break free, and the pinch even hurt. He pushed Liang Zhiyao further into a corner, his back even pressed against the door of Room 306. His posture was already quite inappropriate, but his tone was relatively calm.
"Hate me?" Seeing that she didn't answer, he continued to ask.
Only when they were close and in physical contact did he realize that Liang Zhiyao's face was red, but her lips were very white, and she looked weak and sick. The temperature of her wrist was also wrong. He touched her forehead with the back of his hand as if to confirm, and it was indeed burning hot.
"Do you have a fever?"
"Well," she finally heard a question she knew how to answer, and hesitated, "Can you give me the bag first? It contains the fever-reducing medicine I just bought. I'm not feeling well right now."
He took a step back. "Sorry."
Being sick is like a life-or-death experience; whatever scores you have to settle can be put aside. The irritation on Tan Xu's face vanished instantly. He picked up the shopping bag from the ground and opened the unlocked door for Liang Zhiyao, letting her go inside first.
Liang Zhiyao felt dizzy and uncomfortable and had no time to care about anything else. He sat down at the dining table as soon as he entered the room and took out the medicine he had just bought.
"Have you eaten anything this morning?"
"Not yet," she shook her head, "...I really don't have an appetite. I don't want to eat."
"Don't take medicine on an empty stomach." He dug out a bag of long toast from his shopping, handed over a slice, and gave an unquestionable command: "Take it first."
Liang Zhiyao didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Why are you like this? It's like a parent scolding a child—no, my dad isn't as strong as you. He usually says to me patiently, 'Nannan, can you eat something first?'"
"Are you trying to be a spoiled brat with me?" He asked with a half-smile, "You think I'm too fierce, don't you?"
Liang Zhiyao was speechless, and immediately reached out to take the piece of toast, ate it whole, and then took a big gulp of water and swallowed the fever-reducing medicine he had just bought.
She moved too quickly and accidentally choked on her saliva, causing her to cough violently.
Seeing this, Tan Xu walked over quickly, patted her on the back a few times, and joked helplessly: "Slow down, no one is competing with you for it, at worst I can give you the whole bag."
"I ate too fast and felt a little choked," she said embarrassedly.
He turned and looked in the direction of the bedroom: "Is your roommate home?"
"Neither of them is here. One went to California, and the other went to Alaska." Liang Zhiyao seemed to have just remembered something: "You are an American citizen, why didn't you go home for Thanksgiving?"
"Every year around this time, my parents go out to celebrate their anniversary, so no one pays attention to me," he said casually, then asked, "Why do you have a fever? If it's serious, take my car to the school hospital. You can still go to work today."
"It's probably the flu. I forgot to get the vaccine this year. I think I caught it on the light rail yesterday." She suddenly remembered something and took two steps back. "Be careful not to get infected by me."
Tan Xu raised his eyebrows indifferently: "It seems a bit late to say it now."
He recalled the moment of incompetence outside the door just now. For a few seconds, they were too close, their breaths intertwined, and there was no social distance at all.
"If it's the flu, I just got the vaccine half a month ago, so I can test whether the antibodies are strong enough."
She didn't respond and remained silent for a while.
The heating was turned on indoors. Tan Xu first put the bag of things she bought into the refrigerator and cupboard, then stood near the entrance with her own shopping bag. A few minutes passed, and she was still wearing a very thick coat.
He didn't take off his coat or sit down, but he didn't show any intention of leaving either.
Liang Zhiyao sat at the dining table and stared at him for a long time, wanting to say something but stopping himself several times. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Uh, aren't you going home?"
Hearing this, he immediately gave her a cold and sharp look.
"You're just kicking me out! How heartless!" he said sarcastically. "Now's not the time to forget your wallet at the supermarket. Am I your tool? You can just throw me away after I use you."
“You are…”
She wasn't good at dealing with Tan Xu's sudden surge of aggression, and was annoyed by his repeated mentions of the embarrassing supermarket moment. However, she felt that she had lied to him and had been rescued by the underworld, so she couldn't argue.
Finally, Liang Zhiyao took a deep breath and said calmly, "You can see... I'm feeling a little unwell. I really don't have the energy to talk right now, let alone entertain guests. I just want to sleep after taking the medicine. I didn't mean to drive you away."
Tan Xu didn't care: "I don't need any entertainment. A high fever is actually quite dangerous, and your roommate is not at home. If you feel tired, go to bed. I have nothing else to do anyway, so I'll stay in the living room with you, just in case."
"I……"
She didn't know how to start, and after a while, she said uncomfortably, "I don't have my own bedroom. I usually live in the living room. If you stay here, I can't... can't sleep at all."
As he spoke, Liang Zhiyao's voice became softer and softer.
Although her cheeks were a little red due to the fever, Tan Xu inexplicably felt that after she said that, her face might have become a little redder, and even her fair earlobes turned a crimson color.
Because the living rooms in a one-bedroom apartment are generally not that big, he didn't think anything was wrong when he first came in. Only now did he notice that the spacious living room in this two-bedroom apartment was divided into two parts by a screen. Apart from the sofa and coffee table, the other side that was blocked was probably Liang Zhiyao's only private space.
Tan Xu couldn't help but imagine the scene—for example, himself sitting on the sofa, her lying on the bed behind the screen, only about a meter between them. He would hear Liang Zhiyao tossing over, knowing she was lying defenselessly behind the screen, and even the slightest bit of breathing could be noticed, which seemed a bit too close.
He swallowed unconsciously, his Adam's apple rolling slightly.
"Then you should get some sleep first. The more sleep you get, the faster you will get better."
This time he readily picked up his shopping bag, said hello to her, closed the door and left.
Liang Zhiyao was troubled by Tan Xu's sudden change from measured action to self-talk. She felt as if he had become even more difficult to deal with than before. But her physical discomfort took over, and she had no time to think about anything else. She took off her coat, changed into pajamas, and dove into bed.
This sleep was actually better than the previous night's. After about half an hour, the chill in his extremities gradually subsided, and Liang Zhiyao drowsily felt himself begin to sweat. Perhaps the fever-reducing medicine had taken effect, and soon he was drenched in sweat, his clothes so wet he could wring water out of them.
She took her temperature again and found that it had dropped from 39 degrees to below 38 degrees. Although she still had a low fever, she felt much more comfortable than in the morning.
She was sweating and feeling uncomfortable, but showering was said to make her condition worse. So she wiped herself with a hot towel and changed into clean clothes. Just as she finished, she heard a knock on the door.
Tan Xu stood at the door with a bag on his back and a few lunch boxes in his hands: "Are you still having a fever?"
"It went away a little after I took the medicine, and now I feel much better."
"That's good." The other person nodded. "I guess you don't have the energy to cook, so I made it and brought it over. Let's eat together."
Then he walked in without saying anything, as naturally as if he was back home, and took out the lunch boxes one by one in front of Liang Zhiyao's stunned expression. Seeing her standing there in a daze, she asked with a puzzled look, "What's wrong?"
When it comes to receiving favors from others, Liang Zhiyao has actually always been more self-centered. She has never received any repressive education from her parents since she was a child, nor has she experienced any obedience tests of "you want to eat apples but you are given pears instead". She is the kind of only child who is carefree and has all the love.
Therefore, she has always adhered to the principle that "whether someone is good to me depends on how I feel about them," and usually refuses to show favors to others without any prior knowledge. Last semester, when Han Xingzhou was pursuing her, he skipped class to accompany her to an exhibition, and afterwards, he boasted about it with a rather self-indulgent attitude. When she found out, she just thought he was incomprehensible, and her impression of him plummeted.
But it's strange to say, maybe it's because Tan Xu can always see what she really needs, or maybe he does everything so subtly, Liang Zhiyao has never had the opportunity to be "ungrateful" to him, and instead owes him more and more.
His strong yet gentle monologue seemed too natural, and it would be a big deal if she had any additional reaction.
But she was stubbornly unwilling to betray the resolution she had made a few days ago, and still said unappreciatively, "Thank you... Actually, I bought some instant food at the supermarket this morning. I just need to heat it up in the microwave."
For someone who had gone all the way downstairs to deliver food to the patient, this was almost a very ungrateful statement. Liang Zhiyao anticipated the other party's various reactions after she said this. Even if he suddenly turned his face away and walked away, she wouldn't be surprised.
But surprisingly, Tan Xu didn't show any anger, and he didn't even tease her for being "heartless" or "hurtful". Instead, he said playfully, "Liang Zhiyao, it's not that hard to show weakness occasionally, right?"
"……What's the meaning?"
"Literally." He seemed to be at a loss for words with her. Although he looked unhappy, his tone was gentle: "It shouldn't be that difficult to accept other people's kindness frankly. Why do you always reject me so awkwardly?"
Seeing her silence, he changed his tone and raised his eyebrows to ask, "Didn't you just say I was like a parent? How come I don't even have this little bit of authority? I can't even persuade her to eat. Or is it that you are the one who has the final say in your family?"
"Pfft," Liang Zhiyao laughed, unable to say anything else, but still took out two bowls from the cupboard: "Thank you - I'll pack some of the food out to prevent infection."
To be fair, Tan Xu's cooking skills are quite good among international students. The salt and pepper spareribs were no accidental outing; today's two home-cooked dishes were equally delicious.
Despite a low-grade fever, Liang Zhiyao still had a normal appetite. Even though she had only eaten that one piece of toast since morning, she didn't feel hungry at all. Out of pure "gratitude," and feeling she had been quite ungrateful, she mechanically swallowed the food and rice, hoping the illusion of a hearty meal would somehow please the chef.
"The timing of your illness is really unfortunate," Tan Xu said. "If it wasn't Thanksgiving, at least your roommate would still be around."
"Really? That's pretty normal for me," she said with a bit of self-mockery. "Growing up, I've always been sick on holidays and weekends, never on a weekday. I guess I'll just be a worker from now on."
"You've been keeping yourself too tense," he concluded. "When you relax during your break, the virus takes advantage of you. That's normal. If you relax more often, this won't happen."
"...I want to take back my praise of your high emotional intelligence," she rolled her eyes at him. "Not everyone can live as relaxed as you do. You sound a bit like 'why not eat meat?'" You really deserve a beating.
"It seems your fever has really subsided a lot," he said with a faint smile, "I'm relieved that you can even confront people so energetically."
Author's Note
Reversible light path
author
08-11
Happy Monday everyone, I want to update more, but these chapters are still being polished orz
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