Chapter 33 She was sick, and he was waiting for her
Autumn deepened, and after a few rains, the weather suddenly turned colder. The leaves of the sycamore trees in the courtyard turned a rich golden color overnight, then fell in the cold wind, covering the path.
Su Wanqing's mood was as gloomy as the bleak autumn scenery. Learning about Huo Tingxiao's troubled past didn't bring her any relief or ease. Instead, it felt like an invisible yoke, making her even more cautious in his presence and...overwhelmed. She understood his pain, yet couldn't approach him, couldn't offer comfort. This feeling of powerlessness washed over her like a tide.
The rumors circulating in the compound, fueled by the various versions of the "hero saving the beauty" story, seemed to have reached a new climax. Wherever she went, she was met with glances of sympathy, disdain, and curiosity. Lin Weiwei's "thoughtful" apology felt like a soft thorn, piercing her heart and causing a dull pain from time to time.
Huo Tingxiao was still leaving early and returning late, even busier than before. His shoulder injury had almost healed, but the coldness and distance between his brows seemed even stronger. The two of them lived under the same roof, yet it felt like an invisible glacier separated them, and even the occasional glances they made were icy.
That evening, a cold, drizzling rain began to fall again. Huo Tingxiao had an impromptu meeting and called to say he wouldn't be back for dinner. Su Wanqing had no appetite, so she ate a quick bite and sat by the French window in the living room, looking out at the rain-soaked, dimly lit courtyard.
The monotonous sound of rain, tapping against the glass, also tapped against her gloomy thoughts. She felt waves of inexplicable chills, seeping through the cracks in her bones, and even a thick cardigan couldn't dispel it. Her head ached slightly, and her throat was dry.
She thought that maybe she hadn't slept well in the past few days and caught a cold.
She didn't pay much attention to it and stood up to get a cup of hot water. As soon as she stood up, she was suddenly dizzy and her vision went black. Her body swayed uncontrollably and she quickly held onto the window frame to steady herself.
My heart was beating fast and rough, and cold sweat was oozing from my forehead.
She struggled to walk to the kitchen, poured herself a glass of warm water, and drank it slowly, but the discomfort didn't ease, but instead became even worse. She touched her forehead, and it was burning hot to the touch.
I have a fever.
She sighed, dug out the medicine box, and took her temperature. 38.5 degrees Celsius. Sure enough.
Not wanting to alarm anyone, she took some fever-reducing medicine, thinking a good night's sleep would be enough. She forced herself to endure the discomfort, washed up briefly, and went to bed early.
However, the onset of the illness was fierce. The fever-reducing medication seemed to have little effect, and her temperature continued to climb. Lying in bed, she felt a burning sensation throughout her body, as if needles were pricking her bones. Her head ached, and her throat felt dry and aching like fire. Her consciousness shifted in and out of focus, as if she were being roasted on a fire. She curled up in discomfort, uttering faint moans of pain.
Outside the window, the rain continued to fall. In the room, the only sound was her heavy, hot breathing.
After an unknown amount of time, I heard the sound of a door opening and footsteps downstairs.
It was Huo Tingxiao who came back.
His footsteps paused at the entrance, as if he were changing shoes, and then headed towards the stairs. His footsteps were steady and regular, just like him, as he walked past the master bedroom door without the slightest hesitation and headed towards the second bedroom.
Su Wanqing heard the footsteps in her daze, and a faint hope, so faint she didn't even notice it, flashed through her heart, but was then overwhelmed by a deeper sense of loss and discomfort. He wouldn't come. Why would he care if she was sick?
The door to the second bedroom opened and then closed again. Everything returned to silence.
Su Wanqing buried her hot face in the pillow, and a drop of physiological tears uncontrollably seeped out of the corner of her eye, which was quickly evaporated by the high temperature.
Just as her consciousness fell into chaos again, the door handle of the master bedroom was suddenly turned gently.
The door was pushed open a crack, and the light from the corridor cast a narrow shadow on the floor.
Huo Tingxiao's tall figure appeared at the door. He seemed to be returning to get something, his expression as cold and hard as ever. But the moment he stepped into the room, his footsteps paused almost imperceptibly.
The room was filled with an unusual, sickly heat. The person on the bed was curled up in a ball, breathing heavily and rapidly, with obvious pain.
He frowned and stood at the door, neither coming in immediately nor leaving. In the dim light, his deep eyes swept sharply over the slightly trembling bulge on the bed.
There was silence for a few seconds. He seemed to be weighing something.
Finally, he walked in, his steps very light, and went to the bedside.
Su Wanqing seemed to sense someone approaching and struggled to open her heavy eyelids. Through her blurred vision, she saw the cold profile of Huo Tingxiao, who was leaning forward slightly, one hand reaching towards her forehead.
His fingertips were slightly cool, carrying the moisture of the autumn rain outside, and when they touched her hot forehead, it brought an extremely brief, shuddering comfort.
Su Wanqing subconsciously rubbed the coolness and uttered a vague mutter: "...cold..."
Huo Tingxiao's hand suddenly retracted as if it had been burned. His brows furrowed even tighter, his expression darkening in the dim light.
He stood up, turned around and strode out of the room without saying anything.
Listening to his rapidly receding footsteps, Su Wanqing's heart sank to the bottom, her consciousness once again engulfed by the high fever. As expected... he was gone. Why would he care about her?
However, after just a few minutes, the footsteps returned.
This time, he pushed the door open and walked in, holding a medicine box and a glass of water. His movements were still cold, even stiff with a hint of impatience.
He placed the water cup on the bedside table, opened the medicine box, took out the electronic thermometer, operated it with some clumsy movements, then leaned over again, lifted her sweaty hair, and put the thermometer behind her ear.
There was a soft "beep" sound.
He picked it up and took a look. The dim light from the screen illuminated his brows which had suddenly become even colder.
"39.2 degrees." He spat out the number, his voice frighteningly low. "When did it start? What medicine are you taking?"
Su Wanqing was dazed by the fever. She could barely make out his voice and answered intermittently, "I took...fever-reducing medicine... tonight..."
Huo Tingxiao didn't ask any more questions. He rummaged through the medicine cabinet and found another powerful antipyretic suppository and anti-inflammatory drug. He looked at the instructions, frowning.
"Get up and take your medicine." He ordered in a cold and hard tone, reaching out to help her.
Su Wanqing felt weak and limp all over, unable to sit up at all.
Huo Tingxiao paused as he looked at her flushed cheeks and frail appearance. A complex emotion flashed across his eyes. He seemed extremely unaccustomed to this kind of caring situation, and his movements seemed a little clumsy and stiff.
He finally bent down, put one hand through the back of her neck, and with the other hand supported her back, half supporting and half holding her up. Her body was hot and soft, leaning against his arms, like a fragile porcelain doll, and the hot air from her breath burned his neck.
His body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment, and the muscles in his arms tensed.
"Drink some water." He handed the cup to her lips, his voice still flat, but his movements slowed down a little.
Su Wanqing took a few sips of water from his hand, and her dry and sore throat felt a little better.
Then he took the pills, put them in her mouth, and gave her some water to help them go.
After doing all this, he let go of her almost immediately and let her lie down again, as if she would feel uncomfortable if he kept in touch for even a second longer.
He stood by the bed, watching her frown and rapid breathing due to discomfort, and was silent for a moment. Then he turned and walked into the bathroom, wrung out a cold towel, and applied it to her forehead with a slightly rough movement.
The cool touch made Su Wanqing sigh comfortably.
Huo Tingxiao saw that her expression seemed to relax a little, and her tense jawline loosened slightly. But he still said nothing. He simply pulled over a chair and sat down not too far from the bed.
He didn't turn on the main lights, leaving only a dim bedside lamp on. He sat silently at the intersection of light and shadow, his posture upright, his face cold and hard, his eyes fixed on her, emotionless, like a statue keeping vigil.
Time flowed slowly in silence. The only sounds in the room were her heavy breathing and the sound of rain outside the window.
Su Wanqing, half asleep and half awake, could feel the cool towel on her forehead being changed from time to time, and could feel those deep eyes always fixed on her. She even struggled to open her eyes once, vaguely seeing him still sitting there, an unlit cigarette between his fingers, his eyes flickering in the dim light, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking.
This silent, cold waiting was completely different from the care she had imagined. There were no soft words, no urgent concern, only an almost mechanical, yet constant care.
But for some reason, this clumsy and cold waiting made her feel a strange sense of...security, more than any gorgeous care.
It was as if there was a silent iceberg that blocked the wind and rain outside the window for her when she was most vulnerable.
In the second half of the night, the medicine finally took effect, her body temperature gradually dropped, her breathing became steady, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Huo Tingxiao reached out and touched her forehead. After confirming that the temperature had returned to normal, he finally stood up.
He stood by the bed for a moment, looking down at the sleeping face that was still sickly pale but no longer in pain, his eyes complicated and difficult to read.
Finally, he tucked in the quilt for her, picked up the medicine box and water cup, quietly left the room, and closed the door gently.
As if nothing had happened.
But the water cup and towel left on the bedside table, as well as the faint trace of his cold breath that had not yet completely dissipated in the air, silently proved that on this rainy night, the iceberg had stopped for her.
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