Chapter 8 The Apocalypse 7
His forehead was hot and burning, with fine beads of sweat seeping out, and it seemed as if flames were burning beneath his glossy skin.
"...You have a fever, you must go to the hospital." Luo Mingchuan looked away, not daring to look directly at Lu Xuejin in this state.
Her hand passed through his waist and abdomen to his back, and with a gentle effort, she lifted the young man horizontally. Lu Xuejin looked thin, and even in her arms, he felt as light as a feather. In his dazed state, his fingers rested lightly on Luo Mingchuan's chest.
"No, no... I don't want to go to the hospital..." she mumbled, struggling to express her reluctance.
The voice was soft, but every word reached Luo Mingchuan's ears.
He frowned and threatened, "If your fever doesn't break, you'll be burned into an idiot!"
She then gently advised, "If you become mentally impaired, who will take care of me?"
No matter how forcefully he ordered or gently coaxed him, Lu Xuejin, in her dazed state, remained incredibly stubborn and refused to leave the bed. The hospital seemed to be a taboo word for her.
Like a child who doesn't want to get a shot or take medicine.
Luo Mingchuan stood by the bed, looking down at him. The feverish young man was curled up, his eyes half-open, his fingers gripping the thin blanket tightly, looking very uncomfortable.
He could have let go of Lu Xuejin and let her recover on her own—that's how he always was; no matter what illness he had, he would wait and he would naturally recover.
But it could be applied to Lu Xuejin...
He's too weak; a cold or a fever could knock him down.
After all, he was his older brother who always cared about him.
Luo Mingchuan paused, then turned and left the room, leaving Lu Xuejin alone inside.
Less than ten minutes later, he returned carrying a heavy plastic bag, which was crammed full of all kinds of medicines he had looted from the pharmacy.
Luo Mingchuan first took Lu Xuejin's temperature, and thankfully it wasn't as high as he had imagined. He didn't dare to give her any medication casually, so he only gave her a few capsules as prescribed by the doctor. He then filled a basin with cold water, soaked a towel in it, and wiped Lu Xuejin's body to lower her temperature.
"Hmm..."
Lu Xuejin kept her eyes half-closed, letting him do as he pleased, incredibly obedient. Until the towel touched her palm, the young man, still feverish and delirious, suddenly and instinctively clenched his fingers, making a grasping motion. Luo Mingchuan paused for a moment before gently separating her slender, white knuckles.
The forehead was the area that sweated the most, so Luo Mingchuan switched to a small square towel and carefully and gently wiped away the beads of sweat from the young man's temples. His large palms, with just a light press, almost covered Lu Xuejin's entire face.
"It's really small," Luo Mingchuan said casually.
After wiping her clean, he was about to withdraw his hand when, perhaps unwilling for him to leave, Lu Xuejin changed her docile demeanor and pressed her burning cheeks into his cool palm.
“...Let go.” Luo Mingchuan commanded in a low voice.
Instead of obediently backing away, Lu Xuejin pressed against the calluses on his palm and gently rubbed against them twice.
...like a cat.
Luo Mingchuan felt as if the skin he had brushed against had been burned, a strange, burning pain shooting through his heart. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his heart pounded violently as if it were about to burst out of his chest, a feeling both unfamiliar and panicked.
He awkwardly withdrew his hand and stepped back, forcing himself to remain calm. His eyes were fixed on the young man with furrowed brows under the thin blanket. After a moment, he pulled up a chair and sat down. He took care of Lu Xuejin by the bedside all night. Only when the sky turned milky blue, and he heard the sound of the neighbors washing up next door, and Lu Xuejin's temperature stabilized, did he turn around to cook porridge and prepare breakfast.
【Baby, are you still awake? QAQ】 Dongyao bounced around the pillow, trying to bring the host back to her senses, but Lu Xuejin seemed to be really confused by the high fever and had no reaction at all.
Dong Yao originally thought that the kitten rubbing against her hand was a way for the host to harvest dedication points, but now it seems that it was clearly letting the male protagonist take advantage of her for nothing!
Luo Mingchuan was unaware of it, but it saw it clearly—just now, the male protagonist's lips were uncontrollably curled upwards.
[Damn it! Baby, wake up! Don't let him get away with this!]
The cooked millet porridge was fragrant and soft, and Luo Mingchuan ladled out a small half bowl. Before feeding her, he touched Lu Xuejin's forehead; the physical cooling method had worked, and it wasn't as hot to the touch anymore.
He helped Lu Xuejin up, placing several pillows behind his back to support him. It was Luo Mingchuan's first time caring for a patient, and he clumsily scooped up a small spoonful of porridge, blew on it to warm it, and then carefully brought it to Lu Xuejin's lips.
Luo Mingchuan had always lived a very rough life and had never done anything like this before.
"..." He was so nervous that he even held his breath.
Fortunately, the patient still retained the instinct to eat. His lips parted obediently, and he swallowed the rice porridge in small sips. The warm food slid into his stomach, slightly relieving his discomfort.
After half an hour of feeding, Lu Xuejin had only eaten half of what she was looking for; her appetite was surprisingly small. In Luo Mingchuan's simple and limited understanding, eating more food would help her recover faster, so he tried to feed her a few more bites. However, Lu Xuejin seemed to be full and wouldn't open her mouth no matter how much he coaxed her.
It eats as little as a cat.
Luo Mingchuan put down the bowl, intending to take his temperature again.
The thermometer was so cold that it felt like a needle the moment it touched her skin. Lu Xuejin shuddered and instinctively tried to dodge, but Luo Mingchuan grabbed the back of her neck to prevent her from retreating. She could only pout in grievance.
Dong Yao: [……]
One second it was so angry it was jumping up and down, the next second it suddenly felt that Lu Xuejin was worth taking a picture to remember the moment.
As soon as the thermometer was removed, Lu Xuejin hurriedly shrank back into the quilt, looking very afraid of being caught again.
After checking the temperature, Luo Mingchuan turned his head and found that the person was covering half of their face with the blanket and glaring at him fiercely.
Luo Mingchuan: "..."
During her illness, Lu Xuejin's emotional changes were much richer and more direct than before.
But that fierce gaze quickly softened, replaced by a strange, reproachful look. Upon closer inspection, one could even detect a hint of affection within it.
That wasn't the way Lu Xuejin looked at him.
Luo Mingchuan felt a pang in his heart; his intuition told him that Lu Xuejin wasn't looking at him.
Who caused all that happened before, those pitiful and adorable reactions?
By the time she realized what was happening, she had already firmly grabbed the young man's chin and coldly questioned, "Who are you looking at through me?"
Lu Xuejin couldn't answer, she just blinked slowly.
An unnamed anger suddenly surged up, raging in his chest. Luo Mingchuan himself couldn't explain where this anger came from. Perhaps Lu Xuejin only thought he was a friend or classmate, so why was he angry?
His jawline was taut, and his knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists.
Amidst his chaotic thoughts, Luo Mingchuan finally found a reasonable explanation for his unusual emotions—
Yes, perhaps Lu Xuejin is looking at the people who used to support him through him.
That's why he was annoyed.
After all, that person, or those people, are definitely not good people.
He had to keep a close eye on Lu Xuejin and prevent him from going astray again.
Luo Mingchuan loosened his grip and turned away from Lu Xuejin's gaze. Just then, a rustling sound came from inside the cabinet.
Upon opening the cabinet door, a rather clumsy-looking snake was found coiled inside the transparent pet carrier.
At first, the snake bared its tongue and fangs menacingly, but when Luo Mingchuan's gaze fell heavily on it, it immediately shut its mouth as if sensing danger, concealing its ferocity and quietly coiling into a ball.
When did Lu Xuejin start keeping a snake?
Luo Mingchuan closed the cabinet door expressionlessly.
The illness dragged on longer than expected. The next day, Lu Xuejin's temperature returned to normal, but he remained drowsy and unconscious, his limbs weak and limp. Luo Mingchuan tried to carry him to the hospital, but Lu Xuejin immediately objected.
It's like having a psychological aversion to hospitals.
Putting aside his various speculations, Luo Mingchuan suspended his tutoring sessions and devoted himself to caring for the patient day and night.
Sleep deprivation didn't affect him much, but Lu Xuejin's prolonged sleeplessness worried him so much that he developed dark circles under his eyes.
Late at night, Lu Xuejin curled up on the inside of the bed, her head resting on a thin blanket. Her half-closed eyelashes opened and closed repeatedly, but she couldn't fall asleep. Luo Mingchuan stayed by her side, afraid that something might happen to her in the middle of the night. He hardly rested, only closing his eyes for a short nap at dawn.
The fever has clearly subsided, so why isn't he waking up?
Luo Mingchuan's brows and eyes were shrouded in shadow, his jaw clenched tightly, revealing his turbulent emotions.
—Lu Xuejin’s symptoms were too strange. He had just tried to find answers online, and after searching around, he came to the conclusion that “it might be cancer.”
Luo Mingchuan knew, of course, that those were all exaggerated claims; any disease would become a terminal illness if posted online. However, the vexing anxiety was unbearable, and after a long period of forbearance and tension, he finally couldn't help but let out a trace of vulnerability.
Taking Lu Xuejin's hand, which was hidden under the blanket, Luo Mingchuan closed his eyes and whispered in a prayerful tone, "...Brother, get well soon."
On the afternoon of the fourth day, Lu Xuejin finally woke up.
He stood in front of the bathroom mirror, observing himself.
Upon entering the small world, his appearance remained largely unchanged, except that his hair and eye color were adjusted to an inky black, his pupils appearing misty yet tinged with warm light. At that moment, he slightly raised his chin, catching a fleeting glimpse of crimson in his eyes.
The transformation period is over, and he is now a zombie.
However, it was far from the image of a green-faced, fanged, bloodthirsty, and ferocious creature that Lu Xuejin had imagined.
His skin was even paler, with a cold, jade-like texture, and it felt icy to the touch. His lips, however, were an unusual red, as if stained with blood. As for his eyes, at certain times and from certain angles, they would have an eerie reddish tinge.
The teeth were a bit sharp, but not as exaggerated as I had imagined.
"Are these the only zombies here?" He smirked, feeling utterly bored.
He thought he could give Luo Mingchuan a fright.
[Strange... Bao, you're already in zombie form, but you're so different from a normal zombie...] Dong Yao asked in confusion, showing Lu Xuejin the real zombie form. The picture was extremely terrifying and exaggerated, and it couldn't be said to be exactly the same as Lu Xuejin; it was completely unrelated.
[Thank goodness nothing changed! Honey, you scared me to death QAQ] Dongyao muttered in complaint, [Why did we suddenly come into contact with the virus? This wasn't part of the main storyline; only the male lead was infected!]
Fortunately, perhaps because you are an outsider to this small world, your physical composition is different from that of the people here, which is why you didn't turn into a regular zombie. Otherwise, the mission would have been much more difficult.
Dongyao gave a rare, serious reminder: "Be more careful in the future. Don't act on your own initiative and take such risks again!"
"I know, I'm sorry, I was just too curious..." Lu Xuejin made up a casual excuse to brush it off. But after just one apology, Dong Yao's attitude immediately softened, and she happily told him, "Baby, the male lead has completely accepted you now! Not only does he take care of you tirelessly, but he also secretly calls you 'brother' when you're unconscious."
Lu Xuejin was still reminiscing about her illness when she heard this, and smiled softly, "Really?"
"Yes, yes!" Dong Yao emphasized again, thinking Lu Xuejin didn't believe him. "It's a pity we forgot to record it."
Lu Xuejin had thin eyelids and long, straight eyelashes, giving him an innocent and pure appearance. His eyes were always gentle, like flowing spring water, and once he smiled, no one could resist. Dong Yao was so captivated by his smile that he didn't notice the dullness in his eyes.
This is so boring. I thought I could play for a while longer, but I didn't expect Luo Mingchuan to be tricked into developing feelings for him so quickly.
Her long eyelashes drooped, concealing the gloomy mood that had arisen after the boredom. Lu Xuejin inquired about the plotline after the apocalypse.
"Why did Mingchuan turn into a zombie?"
Dong Yao replied: [During the first zombie outbreak, Luo Mingchuan happened to be in a densely populated area and was attacked and bitten by zombies. He barely escaped and became infected. However, because of his exceptionally strong superpower, he retained a human appearance after the transformation, which allowed him to successfully enter the base later without being detected by the guards.]
“Tearing…” Lu Xuejin frowned, feeling very sorry for him. “It hurts so much. Can’t we change this?”
A soft voice, a small, timid pout—Dong Yao's heart softened instantly: "[That's possible, but we have to make sure Luo Mingchuan gets infected with the virus later, otherwise the entire timeline will collapse, and the silent souls will be affected. Baby can wait then; if he gets bitten, we'll take him away.]"
The idea that turning into a zombie would prevent attacks from its own kind sounds ridiculous, but it's not entirely unfeasible.
Lu Xuejin nodded gently.
[By the way, the day before the zombie outbreak was Luo Mingchuan's birthday. Anyway, let's celebrate his birthday; maybe it'll increase his dedication points. Once you reach 80, obtaining dedication points becomes much harder.]
Lu Xuejin turned on the tap and let the cold water flow through her fingers, carefully washing her hands.
He slowly repeated, "Birthday."
"I understand. I will prepare carefully to give him a birthday he will never forget."
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