I'll leave in a bit.
After giving the address, Chu Sinian fell into a deep sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Chu Sinian was jolted awake from his drowsiness. He glanced instinctively at the guest room, then dragged his heavy body to the door and walked as quickly as possible to open it.
He was bent over, his eyes half-closed, and his gaze fell upon a pair of black casual pointed leather shoes. He swayed a couple of times, and when he looked up, his eyes were bloodshot, revealing a cold and somewhat melancholic face.
Chu Sinian opened his mouth to make a sarcastic remark, but found that walking this stretch of road had exhausted all his strength, even his ability to speak.
Chen Chi stood at the door for a few seconds, then decisively put his arm around Chu Sinian's shoulder, closed the door, and went inside.
Chu Sinian's subconscious defense system was suppressed by the disease. He looked at the hand that was grabbing his shoulder in a daze, trying to break free, but was held even more firmly, almost being dragged forward.
Chen Chi led him to sit on the sofa, focusing his gaze on the other's thin red eyelids. Then he looked around the room and went to the kitchen to boil water.
He returned to Chu Sinian's side before the water boiled.
Chen Chi sat down beside him and looked at Chu Sinian, who was breathing softly, and asked, "Where's Uncle Huang?"
Chu Sinian asked, somewhat puzzled, "How do you know him?"
Chen Chi watched him quietly for a while, then raised his hand and placed his cool fingertips on Chu Sinian's forehead. Chu Sinian frowned and tried to dodge, but Chen Chi pinched his cheek and said, "Let me measure it."
Chu Sinian's voice was slightly hoarse as he smiled, his eyes half-closed, "Are you a human thermometer? What's the use of measuring with your hand?"
"Don't laugh, it's ugly."
For the first time in his life, Chu Sinian was told he was ugly. "Are you jealous of me? Is it because you look ugly when you smile that you say this?"
Chen Chi took out several boxes of medicine from his pocket, picked out a box of fever reducers and gave it to him, saying, "Drink this later."
Chu Sinian lowered his eyelids to look at the pile of things in his hands, "What are all these?"
"It's for treating sore throats, colds, and headaches."
Chu Sinian wearily raised his eyes and looked at Chen Chi's eyes, which appeared even sharper due to his thin skin. "Did you come here specifically to offer warmth? To your enemy?"
Seeing that Chen Chi did not respond, Chu Sinian continued to tease, "Isn't this the end, kind Mr. Chen?"
Chen Chi coldly uttered, "Too much talk."
Chu Sinian closed his eyes, leaned back on the sofa, his limbs limp like a blanket, and joked, "If you're just trying to bring me warmth, aren't you afraid I'll cling to you?"
"casual."
Chu Sinian suddenly opened his eyes, as if a thunderbolt had struck his brain, abruptly clearing his mind for a moment.
He propped himself up, managing to sit up straight, his expression shifting several times. "You were the one with the fever tonight, weren't you?"
Chen Chi pursed his lips tightly, his posture stiff. "Speak less. Your voice is hoarse and sounds awful."
Chu Sinian had no choice but to lie on the sofa and pretend to be dead.
Chen Chi went to the kitchen to pour some hot water. He stood by the table, checked his watch, and said, "I'll come again tomorrow. I will fulfill your request; I mean what I say."
Chu Sinian blinked, his dizzy mind slowly working, and replied, "Oh."
Chen Chi turned to leave, but just then, another door was pushed open.
Chen Chi immediately looked over and saw Yu Shi standing at the door of the room, wearing only a thin nightgown, rubbing her eyes and saying in a coquettish tone, "Brother, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Yu Shi put down his hand and saw another man in the living room, tall and imposing, standing there like a wall.
Yu Shi rubbed his eyes again, and looking at the other person's cold eyes and sharp features, he suddenly remembered who the person in front of him was.
Yu Shi took two steps back under his gaze, then walked behind the door to block half of her body. "You, hello Chen Chi, my name is Yu Shi, I'm Si Nian's friend."
Chu Sinian pressed his temples and slowly stood up. "Why are you up?"
"I...I was woken up by the noise in the living room, and when I saw that the lights were still on, I came out to check."
Yu Shi noticed Chu Sinian's flushed face and immediately came out, saying in a flustered manner, "Brother, why is your face so red?"
He walked up to Chu Sinian and reached out to touch his forehead, but Chu Sinian did not flinch.
Chen Chi sneered, "Looks like you wouldn't have died even if I hadn't come."
Chu Sinian really didn't have the energy to mock him. "Weren't you leaving? Go back now."
Chen Chi stood still, staring at Chu Sinian, and said, "I didn't say I was leaving. It's too late, there are no cars."
Yu Shi opened his mouth wide, somewhat stunned.
"I'll have someone send you back..."
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Chi strode over and sat down on the sofa. "It's past curfew."
Chu Sinian sat down and said, "Let's go to the hotel; there's one right next door."
"A waste of money."
Chu Sinian looked at him expressionlessly.
Even if the world ends and the earth collapses, Chen Chi will still have money. This reason can be any more ridiculous.
He said, "What do you want?"
Chen Chi's gaze never left the room. "I'll sleep here."
Chu Sinian took a deep breath and suddenly regretted the phone call he made during the day.
Chen Chi was indeed a handy tool for resolving this matter, but he wasn't the only one. He didn't have any hope in that phone call, nor did he genuinely want Chen Chi to get involved in Yu Shi's affairs.
He just wanted to make a phone call to him, that's all.
Chu Sinian pinched his temples. "I don't have a spare clean room for you to sleep in. This sofa is the only place you can sleep. Don't go crazy, hurry up..."
"I'll sleep on the sofa."
Chu Sinian paused for two seconds, then chuckled sarcastically, "Whatever."
Chen Chi took off his coat and threw it on his lap. "The blanket."
Chu Sinian took another deep breath. He never thought he would be able to sleep in the same room with Chen Chi again, and he never thought that he would have to find a quilt to cover him with.
Yu Shi seemed to realize that this was absurd and said, "Dong'an is very cold in winter. Won't you get cold sleeping in the living room?" Before he could finish speaking, he saw Chen Chi rushing towards him with an aggressive look.
Yu Shi whispered, "How about I sleep with Si Nian in that room..."
"No need," Chen Chi said decisively. "I'll sleep here."
So, Chu Sinian, who had no strength left, remotely directed Chen Chi to find a quilt in the storage room.
After some delay, the hot water had cooled down. After finishing his drink, Chu Sinian told Yu Shi to go back to sleep, and then left the living room without stopping. Before leaving, he told Chen Chi, "Turn on the heating, don't freeze to death in my house."
The next day, Chen Chi got up very early, even though his biological clock failed to wake Chu Sinian.
He stretched his aching body, turned to look at the closed master bedroom door next door, and used his phone to order toiletries to be delivered.
After washing up, Chen Chi automatically moved to the kitchen to start making breakfast.
He heated up the pan, cracked two eggs, and just as they sizzled into the pan, Chen Chi glanced at the master bedroom and, expressionless, cracked two more eggs.
After the eggs were cooked and served, he stood in front of the pot with the spatula, his eyelids drooping.
A few seconds later, he laid another egg.
When Chen Chi brought the prepared breakfast to the table, there was no movement from either of the rooms.
Chen Chi sat in a chair facing the master bedroom, his arms crossed, staring at the door as if it were about to collapse and beg for mercy.
Soon after, he checked his watch and then walked toward the guest room.
Chen Chi didn't knock, but stood at the door and called out, "Get up and eat!"
Yu Shi, still half asleep, vaguely heard someone calling him and opened his eyes in a daze. Before he could react, he heard a voice like that of the King of Hell, "Get up and eat!"
Yu Shi suddenly sat up, put on his slippers, opened the door and said, "I, I just woke up, sorry, I'll go eat now."
He kept his head down, not daring to look at the King of Hell, and slipped straight to the living room. He thought Chu Sinian would be there, but there was no one there.
The food on the table was out of his sight, and Yu Shi immediately went to the bathroom to slowly wash up.
Chen Chi had just finished breakfast when Yu Shi returned.
He sat there blankly, mechanically starting to eat. Yu Shi didn't look up the whole time, until he heard Yama say, "You have really bad taste."
Yu Shi exclaimed, "Ah!" and asked, "Brother Chen Chi, are you talking to me?"
Chen Chi glanced at him and said, "I'm not your brother."
Yu Shi's face immediately turned red, and he hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm just used to calling you that, sorry."
Chen Chi ignored him, so Yu Shi quietly glanced into the master bedroom and said, "Is Brother Si Nian still not awake? He should be awake by now."
Chen Chi said, "You know very well."
Yu Shi slowly raised her eyes and glanced at him. "Mr. Chen, you should know that we've known each other for a long time, so you know that your schedule is normal."
Chen Chi said, "Let's go back to our room after we finish eating."
Yu Shi stopped talking, but occasionally glanced at Chen Chi with what he thought were subtle looks.
This wasn't the first time they had met. When they were temporarily staying at the Chu family's house before, Chu Sinian would often sneak away on his own, and no one knew where he would go.
When he was a child, he was very curious and thought that Chu Sinian was secretly going to play with something fun, so he followed him.
Little did anyone know, it was a very, very long road, so long that Yu Shi thought she would never be able to walk home again, when she saw Chu Sinian climb over someone else's fence.
Yu Shi rubbed his legs and followed, and just as he painfully crawled inside, a boy suddenly appeared in front of him.
He was very thin, as withered as a fish that had floated to the shore. His clothes were tattered, like fish scales that had been scraped off. His whole being was gloomy and dim. But when Yu Shi met those thin and sharp eyes, a blazing fire appeared, infusing his body with a soul.
That was a very superficial view; I never saw him again after that.
Until high school, when he and Chu Sinian walked into the school side by side, they could see a tall man standing under a tree to their side and behind them.
Yu Shi glanced at it casually, but his gaze was fixed on it.
He saw those unforgettable eyes again, warmer and colder than when they first met.
—
Around noon, Yu Shi, who had gone back to his room early, tiptoed out and peered out from the doorway.
The master bedroom door remained closed. Yu Shi intended to knock, but Chen Chi stopped him.
He stood in the kitchen and said, "Call him when the food is ready."
Yu Shi looked somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Chen Chi to still be there even though it was noon, and not only that, he had started preparing lunch.
Yu Shi was very obedient and stayed in the living room without moving.
After finishing cooking, Chen Chi washed his hands, took off his apron, and pushed open the unlocked door to the master bedroom without hesitation.
In the dark room, Chu Sinian lay on his side, not sleeping soundly, his brows furrowed, his mouth purring out small breaths, and his face flushed.
A deep frown appeared between Chen Chi's brows. He sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the other man's hand. "Get up and eat."
Chu Sinian half-opened his eyes, his dark blue pupils slowly emerging as he dawdled in memory of last night. "What are you doing here?"
He clutched his head, struggling to prop himself up, trying to process the malfunctioning brain, "They haven't left yet?"
Chen Chi stood up and said, "We'll be leaving in a bit."
Chu Sinian felt groggy after waking up, but this improved considerably after he washed up.
He walked into the living room and was somewhat surprised to see the dishes on the dining table. "Did you make this?" he asked Yu Shi.
Yu Shi shook his head, "I can't cook, my brother knows that."
Chu Sinian remained silent, then heard Chen Chi say indifferently, "I did it. Are you disappointed?"
Chu Sinian shook his head and sat down.
He picked up some food and put it in his mouth without tasting it.
Chu Sinian held his chopsticks for a moment without moving them, then said, "You came to my house to take care of me?"
Chen Chi said, "I'm afraid you'll die."
Chu Sinian said, "Good reason."
The two ate their meal without speaking.
Yu Shi remained silent, his eyes darting back and forth between Chu Sinian and Chen Chi.
An indescribable, ineffable atmosphere lingered between them, subtle, faint, and ethereal as if it could dissipate with a single breath.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
