The door was opened from the inside, and the next second Wen Zhaonian appeared in front of Li Tangyan.
He was wearing a mask and a light jacket, as if he was just about to go out.
"I... Zheng Chuanyi said he couldn't get through to you on the phone, so he asked me to come and see if you were home." His hand, which he hadn't had time to retract, froze in mid-air.
She forced a smile, trying to appear less reserved.
Wen Zhaonian, however, seemed to have anticipated her appearance, and his eyes above the mask showed little emotion.
He nodded, his voice slightly muffled beneath his mask: "I saw his message, and the things have already been sent."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Zhaonian's hand, which was resting on the door frame, suddenly tensed up, and the veins on the back of his hand became clearly visible.
The eyes above the mask were deep and dark, and even his brows were furrowed, as if he was restraining something.
Li Tangyan assumed that he was impatient to see her.
As for whether this impatience stemmed from last night's conversation or from dissatisfaction with his arrival without prior notice.
Either way, it made her feel a strange pang of sadness welling up inside her.
Li Tangyan withdrew her hand and turned her back, her ten fingers intertwined, and her neatly trimmed nails unconsciously pressed against the knuckle of one of her fingers.
She spoke, noticing a hint of bitterness in her voice: "Since you already know, then... I won't bother you any longer."
Li Tangyan lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the threshold that separated the two of them, one mile apart. Her eyelashes fluttered, casting a shadow over her eyes.
She took a step back, and just as she was about to turn around, a shadow suddenly loomed over her, interrupting all her thoughts.
With a muffled thud in the corridor, Li Tangyan, regaining her senses, realized that she had been tackled to the ground by Wen Zhaonian, who had suddenly fallen over.
She slumped to the ground, feeling the ticklish sensation of stray hairs that weren't hers brushing against her neck, while the occasional light breaths that landed on her neck stirred a shiver invisibly.
She blinked, looking slightly bewildered.
With her mind a jumbled mess, Li Tangyan had no time to notice the discomfort she felt after bumping her knee.
At the same time, the hand that was supporting his waist felt an unusual heat beneath its palm.
*
When Wen Zhaonian woke up again, the curtains by the window had already been drawn.
The room was dimly lit, with only sparse light filtering through small cracks and falling on the opposite wall.
The door was ajar, and you could hear the deliberate, hushed footsteps outside from time to time.
Several blankets were pressed down on him, giving one the illusion that his limbs were bound.
Although he was sweating profusely from the heat, Wen Zhaonian also felt that his body temperature had dropped considerably.
Wen Zhaonian raised his hand and tore off the fever-reducing patch on his head. As he sat up, the blankets slid down and draped over his legs.
At the same moment, the half-open door was pushed open, and soon the outside lights shone in, illuminating the previously dim room.
Li Tangyan's attention was still on the fever reducer in her hand.
When she looked up again, she was stunned for a moment when she saw that the person was already awake, and then a smile appeared on her lips.
The way she smiled at him gave one the illusion that it was warmer than the light shining in from behind her.
She put the fever reducer aside and habitually placed her hand on Wen Zhaonian's forehead to feel it: "It's gone down a little, but we still need to observe it."
At this moment, the hand covering her forehead was slightly cool. Li Tangyan had obviously forgotten her initial embarrassment. Her slightly parted lips moved a few times, and she seemed to be muttering something.
Wen Zhaonian did not brush her hand away, but his gaze shifted down to a strange red mark on her knee.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and his thoughts drifted back to the last scent of lime that had entered his nostrils before he fainted, and the girl's soft cry after being pressed down.
Thinking of this, he lowered his head, his long eyelashes drooping, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
"I can't take medicine on an empty stomach, so I borrowed your kitchen to cook some porridge. It'll be ready soon, come out and eat some later."
However, after a moment of distraction, Li Tangyan had already withdrawn her hand.
Although they were smiling, they seemed a little reserved, perhaps because they were alone in the bedroom, a private space, or for some other reason.
Looking at her slightly evasive gaze, Wen Zhaonian had a strange feeling that she was eager to escape being alone with him.
The warmth of that person's palm still seemed to linger on her forehead, but Li Tangyan turned and left quickly after leaving those words.
She didn't pause for a second until the door closed again, blocking out all the light that tried to intrude.
Wen Zhaonian lifted his eyelids and gave a slight, self-deprecating twitch at the corner of his mouth.
At the same time, his gaze fell on the dappled light and shadow on the wall, and he vaguely recalled Li Tangyan's hasty departure last night before they parted...
When Wen Zhaonian came out again, he had changed his clothes. At that time, Li Tangyan was squatting in a corner of the living room, teasing Yuanxiao with a cat toy.
When he came out, she simply pointed to the dining room, as if she had already composed herself and was all smiles: "I've put the porridge on the table."
Wen Zhaonian hummed in agreement and didn't say anything more. He followed the direction Li Tangyan pointed and soon saw a bowl of steaming porridge on a clean counter.
People who are sick should not eat too much oily food, so Li Tangyan only added some green vegetables and diced meat to it.
Although it looks simple, it smells quite good.
The warmth quickly spread from his fingertips to his whole body. Wen Zhaonian turned around and found that Li Tangyan had already hugged Yuanxiao in her arms.
The girl was sitting cross-legged on the ground, idly stroking its fur. Yuanxiao simply brushed its tail lightly, its eyelids fluttering open and closed without showing any sign of rejection.
The sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows shone brightly on her as it entered the living room.
Li Tangyan lowered her head slightly, her soft hair falling onto her shoulders and casting small shadows. She smiled, and her gaze on Yuanxiao softened.
In that instant, the person and the cat sitting there seemed to form a painting, making it hard to ignore.
Wen Zhaonian's gaze flickered as he looked over.
On the other side, Li Tangyan, who was engrossed in playing with the cat, suddenly felt as if a gaze had fallen upon her, burning so intensely that she couldn't help but notice it.
She thought it was Wen Zhaonian, but when Li Tangyan looked up, she found that the person was still in the action of drinking porridge.
He sat upright, his eyes lowered, his expression indifferent, and there was nothing about him that could be associated with peeping.
At this point, she withdrew her gaze, assuming that what she had just felt was just an illusion.
The bowl in her hand had been put down at some point, and her fingertips seemed to still retain warmth. Wen Zhaonian's drooping eyelashes fluttered.
When I looked up again, the turbulent thoughts subsided, and my long, narrow phoenix eyes returned to clarity.
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