Chapter 198 Guilty Clinging, Clinging, and Still Clinging
Xu Sirui's embrace was hotter than his palm. She already had a fever, and after being covered by the blanket, her temperature soared. She leaned against his chest and felt like she was leaning against a stove.
But not as dry as a stove.
Tiny beads of sweat were visible on his neck. He might have just showered; the sweat not only didn't smell unpleasant, but it actually made the fragrance of the shower gel even more distinct. She suspected she was overwhelmed by the scent, which was why she didn't push him away immediately.
The weather in mid-April was neither too hot nor too cold. The daytime temperature was pleasant, but the nights still felt a bit chilly. After a night of running around, her fingers were cold. She leaned in his arms for a while, her body temperature gradually rising, and her fingers regained the strength to bend.
He lowered his head, buried his cheek in her shoulder, his breath on her neck, and remained silent for a long time.
An unknown amount of time passed before Zhu Yingning placed her arm across him, separating him and repeating the previous topic as if nothing had happened: "...Where's the fever-reducing medicine?"
He reluctantly let go of her hand, gave her a resentful look, and typed on his phone, "In the third cabinet from the left, under the TV in the living room."
She turned on the light in the living room, ignoring Xu Sirui who raised his elbows to cover his eyes like a vampire who was afraid of the light. She walked straight to the TV, found the antipyretic medicine, took out the pills, went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, forced him to drink it, and then began to check the two unopened bags of fresh produce.
Fortunately, the part-time worker bought some ingredients suitable for patients to eat - there was even a casserole, I don’t know where the aunt bought it from.
Zhu Yingning accepted the clay pot with a smile and decided to make some clay pot porridge using the ingredients available.
She carried the bag to the kitchen, found various pots and pans, and skillfully prepared the squid and shrimp.
Then there are the greens and mushrooms.
While washing the vegetables under the faucet, a pair of hands suddenly reached out from behind and wrapped around her belly. The hot body pressed against her, and Zhu Yingning's hands trembled, accidentally tearing a piece of vegetable. Looking up, through the reflection of the kitchen window in front of her, she could see Xu Sirui clinging to her again.
He is clearly sick, not drunk, so why is he acting so drunk?
She was both angry and amused, and reached out and slapped the back of his hand hard: "Hey Xu Sirui, do you think I won't do anything to you just because you're sick?"
Xu Sirui shook his head, then nodded, resting his chin on her shoulder, looking down as he typed: "I am a fragile patient. I need someone to lean on to keep me steady."
"..." She couldn't help laughing, "Do you still have any shame?"
He continued typing: "You asked for it."
She was choked by his words.
"I didn't intend to let you know, or anything, but now that you're here, I'm a vulnerable patient."
“…”
He put away his phone, continued to hug her, and looked at the food in her hand with a stern look, asking her with his eyes why she didn't continue.
She barely resisted the urge to hit him, gathered the prepared ingredients, wiped her wet fingers on the rag, and looked up the casserole porridge tutorial on her phone.
The first tutorial that popped up had the most likes, but it looked very complicated. Zhu Yingning had just glanced at it briefly when Xu Sirui reached out and deleted the tutorial, as if he was the owner of her phone. He stretched out his index finger and slid it down, picked out a simple method, and tapped it with his knuckles, indicating that she should just keep it simple.
She deliberately ignored his fingers and read the text on the tutorial carefully.
This time he didn't click or swipe randomly, but just circled her loosely and watched the tutorial on the phone with her.
The distance between them was so close that when he blinked, his long eyelashes would brush against her ear bones, bringing a subtle itch. Zhu Yingning gradually became distracted, and the words twisted into a series of wiggling earthworms, unable to be organized into any logical language in her mind.
The more you want to ignore it, the harder it is to ignore it.
I dare not think about the reason behind it - it is obviously not a relationship where love can be discussed, so why does she indulge him like this?
The temperature on her cheeks kept rising. Afraid that he would notice, Zhu Yingning bluffed and pushed her elbow back, saying, "It's so hot. Move away."
Xu Sirui didn't move, but instead glanced at her face because of her words.
"Go away!" She became anxious, her voice became louder, and the strength she used in her hands became greater.
As a result, the warmth and weight on her back disappeared instantly after the elbow. She looked back and saw that Xu Sirui was pushed to the ground by her with great force. Because he didn't react to what happened, he looked dazed. His pretty and confused face with the half-open blanket made him look particularly pitiful and helpless.
“…”
Zhu Yingning looked at him silently for a while, not wanting to admit that she had lost control of her strength. With a stern face, she said seriously, "You're too weak, Xu Sirui."
Xu Sirui, who was described as "empty", walked out of the kitchen sadly wrapped in a blanket.
**
Dinner was quickly prepared, though according to mealtimes, it was more like a midnight snack. Two bowls of porridge were served, and he placed his share of shrimp and squid in her bowl, typing an explanation: "I'm sick and can't digest high protein, so you can eat it."
Zhu Yingning couldn't help but wonder if he wanted to give him all the meat. She glanced at him suspiciously, "Really? Why do I remember to supplement more protein only when I'm sick?"
Xu Sirui nodded vigorously: "Really, after all, I am too weak."
She raised her eyebrows and scolded him in a funny and angry tone, "Don't hold a grudge."
He picked up the phone: "Okay."
Halfway through the meal, Zhu Yingning remembered the reason for her visit and asked him why he had to do all the work himself. Xu Sirui took a spoonful of porridge and typed leisurely, "Just tell me if the work was completed successfully?"
"It was completed successfully, but..."
Halfway through her conversation, he suddenly added another half bowl of porridge to her bowl. She habitually said thank you, but for a moment she forgot what she was talking about before saying "thank you". Just as she was about to recall, Xu Sirui took the initiative to say, "I heard that the result of the second trial will be out by the end of the month."
As expected, she was successfully diverted by his topic: "What do you think the result will be?"
"Xu Zhengkang can't turn over."
That would be a good outcome. However, rather than worrying about how many years Xu Zhengkang would be sent to prison, she was more worried that he would become desperate and do something desperate: "He hasn't been giving you any trouble lately, has he?"
Xu Sirui sneered silently: "It's no use making things difficult for me. It will only give me something to hold against me."
She was still worried and said, "No matter what he said, don't take it to heart. It's best to stay away from him and don't meet him alone."
Her concern made him want to laugh, and he felt warm at the same time: "Well, don't worry, he values his life very much, he certainly wouldn't dare to do anything to me."
After dinner, Xu Sirui put the dishes into the dishwasher to wash them and rinsed the pot. Zhu Yingning sat alone in the living room and had to face an important but embarrassing question - where would she sleep tonight?
Going out to stay in a hotel was the safest and most consistent approach between friends, even though it was already very late and it would be midnight in twenty minutes, even though he had a guest room at home that she could stay in, even though she was extremely tired and needed to lie down and rest...
The more he thought about it, the more reluctant he became to get up and go outside, but Zhu Yingning still forced himself to open the app and start searching for the nearest hotel.
Xu Sirui finished cleaning up the pots and pans and came out. As he passed by her, he said to her, "Go take a shower first. I'll set up the four-piece set in the guest room."
She held the phone in her hand, caught in a dilemma.
To stay or not to stay, that is the question.
Before entering the guest room to put on the four-piece suitcase, Xu Sirui went to the bathroom first. He stayed there for a while before coming out and telling her, "The blue bottle is shower gel, the gray bottle is shampoo, and the green bottle is conditioner. I've split a new towel for you and hung it on the hanger. It's white. The toothbrush and mouthwash cup are also the same color."
At this point, Zhu Yingning could only nod with difficulty and decided to go in and take a shower first.
When she came out of the shower, Xu Sirui came over and said, "I've made the bed. The air conditioner remote control is on the bedside table on the left. It has cooling and heating modes. You can adjust it to cold or hot."
At this point, she could only nod again with difficulty.
Before going to bed, she went to Xu Sirui's room and felt his forehead temperature. It didn't seem so hot anymore, but to be safe, she still took his temperature with a thermometer. It was 38.1℃, still a bit of a fever. She opened a fever-reducing patch and put it on his forehead. She told him not to take a shower for the next few days to avoid catching a cold and feeling unwell again.
He wrapped himself in the quilt and nodded obediently, not until he saw her finish her words and turn to leave, did he move closer to her.
"Stop." She pointed her index finger at his arm, which looked like it was about to reach out to her.
Xu Sirui curled his lips and lay back down in dismay. After a while, he raised his phone and said, "How stingy."
“…”
She gritted her teeth in anger and said, "Don't push your luck."
Turn off the lights and go to bed.
**
The next morning, they both woke up late and were awakened by the doorbell ringing in the hallway.
The moment he opened his eyes, his mind was not fully clear yet, and he saw the unfamiliar ceiling and the unfamiliar environment around him. He couldn't react for a moment and didn't know where he was.
Because of this, she was a step late when she went out. When she came out in a daze, rubbing her eyes, Xu Sirui was already standing at the door and opened it.
Before she could ask him who was coming, she heard Zheng Boyu's loud voice at the door: "Surprise!"
The shout woke up Zhu Yingning from all her sleepiness. She was startled and suddenly remembered what Zheng Boyu had told her on Thursday: he planned to bring other colleagues to visit Xu Sirui at the weekend.
Oh my god! How could she forget such an important thing?!
In a hurry, she could only quickly return to the guest room before Zheng Boyu and the others came in, and close the door quietly.
Almost the moment she closed the door, Zheng Boyu's voice came from outside the house, with a hint of sympathy: "Hey Xu Sirui, what's wrong with your throat? Can't you speak?"
The voices of other colleagues also came in one after another, and for a moment, the silent and deserted room was filled with laughter.
She sat back on the bed in the guest room. Anyone who came in would be able to see her at a glance. This position was too dangerous. She wanted to lock the door, but was worried that the sound of the lock falling would alarm other people in the living room. So she had to sneak into the bathroom in the guest room and sit on the toilet lid to think about life.
She wondered how long Xu Sirui would chat with them. She felt her colleagues had come to visit, so she couldn't just accept a gift and say a few words and then send them off. That would be too unkind. But if Xu Sirui wanted to chat with them for a while, sitting on the toilet for an hour or two didn't seem like a big deal. Why not just use that time to catch up on some work on her phone?
Thinking of this, she stood up, walked out of the bathroom, and went around to the bedside table in the guest room to look for her cell phone.
The phone had been charged all night last night, and the charging cable had not yet been unplugged. Zhu Yingning was about to reach out to unplug the charging cable when the guest room door made a click.
The door was pushed open.
She was so frightened that she instinctively squatted down, trying to hide her presence with the height of the bed. Her heart was beating fast. She didn't know who had walked in. She could only silently pray that they would leave after looking at her at the door and not come deeper into the room.
However, things went against her wishes. As if determined to go against her, she heard approaching footsteps, heading exactly in the direction where she was hiding.
“…”
She suddenly gave up on herself and wanted to stand up and say hello directly, so as not to appear sneaky and make it harder to explain herself. However, as soon as she raised her head a little, she saw clearly that it was Xu Sirui standing in front of her.
Zhu Yingning breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps because he was afraid of infecting his colleagues outside, Xu Sirui put on a mask again like he did yesterday.
He had a small face, and while the mask wasn't too big, it completely covered the lower half of his face, revealing only a pair of beautiful eyes. The visual deprivation of the lower half of his face forced others to focus their attention on his already striking peach blossom eyes.
The eyes were slightly narrowed, curved into an arc that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and the tails of the eyes were charming and enchanting, like petals that were in full bloom and about to wither.
He slowly squatted down in front of her, one hand with five fingers spread out, supported at his side, and with the other hand he showed her the screen of his mobile phone.
Zhu Yingning squatted in the 90-degree angle formed by the bedside table and the bed. This place was already crowded, and Xu Sirui squatted in front of her, completely blocking the way out, making it seem even more cramped, and there was an inexplicable sense of oppression.
She felt her breathing was a little difficult, her eyes wandered for a moment, and then she barely focused on the phone screen in front of her.
It was written in black on a white background:
"Don't you just treat me as a friend? Why are you feeling so guilty?"
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The author has something to say: I have a hard time working overtime... Only one update today TT
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