Chapter 38 High Fever Lin Yuwei gave him no more chances to hesitate, using all her strength...
"Okay, I'm done changing. You can turn around, but could you... not look at me?" Lin Yuwei pleaded softly, her voice trembling with obvious embarrassment. Her words, like a feather, gently brushed against the quiet air in the room. The more she pleaded, the more her vulnerability, which only served to ignite an uncontrollable flame in people's hearts.
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingyan paused. He should have adhered to proper etiquette, but a deep-seated impulse compelled him to turn around and glance at her quickly without his consent.
In an instant, his breath caught in his throat.
A few strands of her dark hair, damp from the rain, clung to her flushed, burning cheeks and slender, delicate neck. The contrast between the ink-black hair and the jade-like skin was breathtaking. His oversized white cotton T-shirt now hung loosely on her body, which only accentuated the shapely figure beneath. The fabric, slightly damp from the lingering moisture, had a semi-transparent quality, revealing glimpses of what lay beneath, like viewing flowers through a mist, a glimpse of exquisite beauty through a thin veil—enticing to explore, yet simultaneously evoking a sense of tenderness.
This scene inexplicably opened a door to the depths of my memory.
Gu Qingyan's Adam's apple bobbed unconsciously. It was as if the person in front of him was not the one with wet, messy hair and disheveled clothes, but the girl who always made him run errands at the entrance of the school store on a summer afternoon many years ago.
"Gu Qingyan, it's so hot! Quickly buy me a scoop of ice cream, the biggest one!"
Then, he would run as fast as he could to the dessert shop across from the school gate, buy the dessert she wanted according to the instructions, and finally run back carrying a shallow porcelain bowl. Inside the bowl sat two large, round, and plump scoops of ice cream, like two fluffy and soft clouds, or like a solidified, sweet dream. It was a pure, unadulterated milky white, exuding a cool and sweet creamy aroma. Just by getting close, the rich milky fragrance would seep into the nostrils, making one's heart itch.
The most irresistible part is the top—always perfectly adorned with two fresh, juicy red strawberries. The vibrant red contrasts beautifully with the flawless white, carrying a refreshing, just-right tartness that instantly disrupts the sweet-sweet balance, making it vibrant and enticing. It makes you want to bend down immediately and savor the unforgettable taste that blends icy sweetness with a touch of tartness.
At this moment, the person in front of me strangely overlaps with the image in my memory.
Gu Qingyan abruptly looked away as if she had been burned, her profile taut, her ears burning red, and her voice hoarse: "...Give me the wet clothes, I'll find a place to hang them up."
Lin Yuwei hurriedly crumpled up the wet shirt she had changed out of and handed it over. As she passed it, her fingers inadvertently brushed against his palm. Both of them recoiled as if struck by a weak electric current. The wet clothes fell to the ground between them silently, yet with a resounding thud. The shirt fell open, revealing the light pink undershirt underneath.
Lin Yuwei's face turned bright red. She was so nervous that she forgot to take out her underwear before handing the clothes to Gu Qingyan. She immediately squatted down to pick them up, but when she looked up, she met Gu Qingyan's burning gaze. She glanced down and saw that the wide collar of her clothes had stretched almost to her stomach as she squatted down, revealing a thick layer of white skin that was dazzlingly exposed.
Outside, the rain poured down, and the wind whipped the raindrops against the roof and walls of the wooden house, creating a continuous roar. It was not yet evening, but the sky had already begun to darken. Inside the dimly lit wooden house, only the occasional flash of lightning that pierced the night sky provided a moment of pale light. Gu Qingyan took out her phone to try to contact the area down the mountain, but the upper left corner of the screen clearly displayed "No Service".
"It seems we're destined to be stuck here tonight." He checked the supplies in his backpack, his brow furrowing slightly. "The food is barely enough to last a day, but the biggest problem is keeping warm."
After the two finished eating and drinking the mineral water they had brought, Lin Yuwei sat on the only small bed in the room, while Gu Qingyan found a wooden board, turned his back to her, and sat on the other side of the small room.
The temperature in the mountains plummeted with the torrential rain. The icy air seeped in through the cracks in the wooden planks, carrying a bone-chilling dampness. Lin Yuwei was only wearing a thin T-shirt and shivered involuntarily, her teeth chattering slightly.
Gu Qingyan rummaged through the back of Zhou Xubai's backpack and pulled out a tightly rolled-up single sleeping bag, handing it to her: "I looked all over, and this is the only emergency sleeping bag I found. You can use it."
"Then what will you do?" Lin Yuwei took the sleeping bag but didn't open it immediately. Gu Qingyan's clothes had also been soaked by the rain on the way here, so he took off his shirt and obviously needed the sleeping bag more.
"I'm fine, I can handle it." He had barely finished speaking when he couldn't help but turn his head and let out a suppressed sneeze. The sound was particularly clear in the narrow wooden cabin. Lin Yuwei offered him the sleeping bag, but he resolutely refused to take it. Helpless, Lin Yuwei had no choice but to wrap herself in the sleeping bag and return to bed.
It was completely dark, the night was as black as ink, and the chill seemed to penetrate the skin and seep into the bone marrow.
Lin Yuwei huddled in the thin sleeping bag that she had barely managed to spread out, still shivering from the cold. With the help of another pale flash of lightning that tore through the night sky, she looked worriedly at Gu Qingyan, who was leaning against the wall. His face was so pale that it was almost transparent, and his thin lips were pressed into a straight line. Although he tried his best to remain calm, his slightly trembling fingertips and tense body lines betrayed that he was enduring a great chill.
Boom—!
A deafening clap of thunder seemed to explode on the roof, startling Lin Yuwei. After the thunder subsided, she noticed that Gu Qingyan's condition seemed to have worsened. His breathing had become rapid and shallow, and fine beads of cold sweat had even appeared on his forehead, glistening wetly in the dim light of the lightning.
"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, sitting up despite the cold.
Gu Qingyan shook her head, trying to indicate that she was alright, but her voice was much weaker and hoarse than usual: "It's nothing..." Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly bent over and coughed violently, her shoulders trembling slightly from the exertion of her whole body, each cough sounding hoarse and strained.
Seeing this, Lin Yuwei immediately climbed out of her sleeping bag, ignoring the cold floor, and knelt down beside him. She reached out to touch his forehead, and her fingertips touched an astonishingly hot spot!
"It's so hot! Gu Qingyan, you have a fever!" she exclaimed, her heart clenching. "It's just... a little chilled, it's nothing." He tried to turn his head away from her hand, but his movements were weak and feeble.
Lin Yuwei hurriedly rummaged through her backpack and actually found some emergency fever reducers. She helped Gu Qingyan swallow the medicine and then took out everything she could call clothes, including the shirt that wasn't completely dry, and wrapped it all around him to try to keep him warm. However, the intense chill from the high fever made him tremble uncontrollably, and even his jaw was chattering. His lips looked ominously pale in the dim light.
"This won't do! You're losing body temperature too quickly!" Lin Yuwei was both anxious and heartbroken seeing him trying to endure the pain. She made a snap decision and decisively pulled open the sleeping bag on the bed. "Come in! We have to keep warm together to get through the night, otherwise you'll get hypothermia!"
Gu Qingyan seemed to still want to struggle and refuse, maintaining his last shred of dignity and distance, but a more intense chill swept over him like an electric current, making him clench his teeth and unable to utter a complete sentence. Lin Yuwei gave him no chance to hesitate, using all her strength to support his trembling, tall body, and laboriously walked back to the bedside. Gu Qingyan still wanted to resist, but he was too weak at the moment. Lin Yuwei ignored his struggles, wrapped him in the sleeping bag, and then squeezed in herself, quickly zipping up the sleeping bag.
The cramped space was instantly filled with the body heat and rapid breathing of the two people. Since the sleeping bags were for single people, after two adults lay down, the remaining space was so cramped that there was almost no gap, and their bodies had to be pressed tightly together.
Gu Qingyan's burning body temperature seeped through the thin fabric between them, quickly dispelling the chill from Lin Yuwei's body, but making her cheeks and ears involuntarily burn. Leaning against his chest, she could feel his heartbeat quickening; the powerful thumps pounded against her eardrums, mingling with her own already out-of-control heartbeat, sounding exceptionally clear in the quiet little room.
"I'm sorry..." His voice was unusually weak and hoarse due to the high fever, his breath brushing against the top of her hair: "I've caused you trouble... and made you..."
"Don't talk, save your energy." Lin Yuwei interrupted him softly, her tone carrying an undeniable firmness, yet revealing a hint of tenderness that was hard to conceal. Her arms hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she gently and tentatively wrapped her arms around his body, which was trembling slightly due to the high fever, trying to use her body heat to transfer more warmth to him, her palms carefully placed on his back.
Time passed second by second, and the fever reducer gradually took effect. Gu Qingyan's consciousness began to blur, and he fell into a drowsy state of half sleep and half wakefulness. Perhaps driven by the instinct to seek warmth, he unconsciously moved closer to the warm and soft presence beside him. He lowered his head, his burning forehead weakly resting against Lin Yuwei's slender neck, seeking comfort and security like a fragile child.
"Weiwei..." he murmured unconsciously, his voice low and indistinct, yet it exploded in her ears like a thunderclap, his hot breath brushing against her sensitive skin without reservation: "Don't go... don't leave me... Weiwei!"
Lin Yuwei's heart trembled violently, as if this intimate call, which had been absent for eight long years, had precisely struck the softest and most unguarded part of her heart. Those emotions and memories that had been deeply sealed by time, deliberately suppressed day and night, and firmly locked away by reason, suddenly burst forth at this moment, surging out and instantly collapsing all the carefully constructed dams.
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Author's Note: Poor little Gu, the soon-to-be happy little Gu...
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