Chapter 104 #2
Jiang Cheng set the bag in the kitchen before coming out to replace the towel on Gu Fei’s forehead.
The digital thermometer read 100.7 degrees, which wasn’t that different from before. Jiang Cheng very carefully lifted a corner of the blanket, trying to stick the mercury thermometer under Gu Fei’s armpit. As soon as his hand touched his arm, Gu Fei groaned quietly. “Hnng?”
“Keep sleeping. Sleep,” Jiang Cheng told him in a quiet voice. “I’m just taking your temperature.”
“Cheng-ge…” Gu Fei mumbled incoherently.
“Hm?” Jiang Cheng answered as he stuffed the thermometer into place.
“I don’t feel good,” Gu Fei murmured, eyes closed. His voice still sounded hoarse, and his tone was kind of pitiful. The very sound almost wrecked Jiang Cheng—he ached so much that the pain seemed to claw at his chest and squeeze his heart. His nose twinged, too.
“I know, I know.” Jiang Cheng tucked the blanket under him and gently stroked his face. “Just a little longer. I got medicine. You can take it with some food later, then you’ll feel better.”
“What food?” Gu Fei asked.
“I ran into Li Yan just now,” Jiang Cheng said. “He said you can only eat bland foods when you have a fever, like plain congee or noodles.”
“That bastard,” Gu Fei grumbled quietly. “I bet he said that on purpose.”
“What do you want to eat?” Jiang Cheng asked. “I can make it for you.”
Gu Fei let out another couple of groans and murmured something unintelligible, then fell asleep again.
Jiang Cheng figured Gu Fei had been knocking his cooking skills.
But plain congee and noodles… He shouldn’t have any difficulty making those.
After all, he used to cook noodles for himself all the time.
Gu Fei fell asleep again before he managed to say what he wanted to eat, and so Jiang Cheng got up, went into the kitchen, and set the congee to cook first. All he needed to do to make plain congee was put in the rice and water, then switch the rice cooker to the congee setting—easy.
Just as he pressed down on the button, his phone rang in his pocket. In his haste, he didn’t even look at the screen as he fumbled it out and answered the call. He was afraid that one more ring would wake Gu Fei up.
“Who is it?” he asked.
“The hell? Cheng-er?” It was Pan Zhi. “You deleted my number?”
“Why would I delete your number?” Jiang Cheng closed the kitchen door.
“Then why’d you ask who I am?! Don’t you have caller ID?!” Pan Zhi demanded.
“I didn’t check,” Jiang Cheng said. “What is it?”
“…Fuck,” Pan Zhi said, his voice tinged with grief and indignation. “Can’t I give you a call for no reason anymore?”
“I was just asking,” said Jiang Cheng.
“But I’m not really calling for no reason. I do have a reason. How did it go? Do you feel incredibly amazing now that you’ve finished the exams?”
Jiang Cheng smiled. “I’m all right.”
“Have you checked your answers? Should be no problem getting into PKU or something, huh?”
“I haven’t, but I’ll find out soon enough when the scores come out,” said Jiang Cheng. “It felt pretty good overall. Beyond that, I can’t be bothered to care.”
“Damn, check out this guy’s big overachiever energy,” Pan Zhi exclaimed. “I did a little calculation; I might be able to crawl my way into a third-tier school. Either way, when the time comes, I’ll be in the same city as you even if I have to fight my mom to get there.”
“You don’t have a girlfriend these days, do you?” Jiang Cheng said. “I can’t believe you’d wanna follow me.”
Pan Zhi laughed. “You’re my priority even if I do have a girlfriend. Besides, how can I have a genuine romance at a time like this? There might be better girls waiting for me in college.”
“The way you behave,” Jiang Cheng said quietly, “no decent girls will even glance your way.”
“What if one just happens to be blind?” Pan Zhi cackled along without a care. “Oh, hey, how’s Gu Fei doing? I sent him a message earlier to ask after him, and he never even replied. Is he in agony from bombing his exams?”
“You think something like that would upset him?” said Jiang Cheng. “He has a fever, so he’s sleeping right now… Oh, yeah, while I have you, ask your mom for me—how can I make plain congee and noodles taste better?”
“Fever?” Pan Zhi paused. “I always thought if one of you was going to collapse after the exams, it’d be you. How come he dropped first? Give me a sec, I’ll ask my mom and message you.”
Right… If one of them was going to drop after the exams, it should’ve been him. No one could have expected it to be Gu Fei.
He was the only one who knew why Gu Fei had fallen ill. Jiang Cheng felt terrible again at the thought—he only realized why Gu Fei had fallen sick after he’d already collapsed.
He went back to the living room, sat down on the low stool, and watched Gu Fei. He truly had never seen Gu Fei get sick like this; it was an especially pitiable sight.
The thermometer was about ready to be removed. Jiang Cheng hesitated over it, reluctant to lift the covers and risk disturbing Gu Fei. He waited until Gu Fei stirred on his own before he seized the opportunity to quickly lift up the covers and yank the thermometer out.
“Hmmm?” Gu Fei murmured, dazed.
“Did I wake you?” Jiang Cheng hurriedly tucked the covers back. “I’m just grabbing the thermometer.”
“What does it say?” Gu Fei was still bleary.
“Let me see…” Jiang Cheng looked down at the thermometer in his hand. The problem with these things was that he never knew exactly where to look.
Jiang Cheng rotated it between his fingers about 7,264 times, yet he still couldn’t see where the line of mercury was supposed to be. The thicker thermometers were easier to read, but the doctor just had to give him one of the thin ones.
“Ah, fuck!” Anxiously, he lifted the thermometer up to the light, but he still couldn’t manage to find it. The more frazzled he got, the more trouble he had. “This thing was never designed to be read by humans!” he fumed quietly, getting annoyed.
“Gimme,” said Gu Fei.
Jiang Cheng handed the thermometer to Gu Fei in resignation. “Have I gone blind?”
Gu Fei smiled and said nothing, still looking fairly weak. He held the thermometer, casually turned it about half a rotation, and said, “100.5.”
“Then the digital one was pretty accurate.” Jiang Cheng let out a sigh and put the thermometer to one side before tucking Gu Fei back in. “You can sleep for a little longer. I made congee, but if you don’t want to eat that, I’ll cook some noodles later when you feel like eating.”
“It’s so damn hot,” Gu Fei said.
“You’re all bundled up, of course you’re warm.” Jiang Cheng half kneeled on the sofa and gently stroked Gu Fei’s nose with his finger. “You’ll feel better once you sweat it out. Want some water? The doctor said you have to drink lots of fluids so you don’t get dehydrated.”
“Mm-hm,” Gu Fei hummed, closing his eyes.
Jiang Cheng mixed hot and cold water in a glass to get it lukewarm, then, after some thought, put a straw in there too. Jiang Cheng liked to eat liquid yogurt with a spoon, so Gu Fei had saved these straws from containers of those yogurt drinks, saying that they might use them one day.
Well, that day has come.
“Here, hold this in your mouth.” Jiang Cheng kneeled beside Gu Fei and lightly tapped the straw against Gu Fei’s lips.
Gu Fei smiled. “Sounds like you’re talking to a puppy.”
“Drink,” Jiang Cheng said, smiling back. “Drink up.”
Gu Fei bit on the straw and sipped more than half a glass of water, then let out a long breath. “I’ll just have plain congee later.”
“Noodles wouldn’t be any trouble either,” said Jiang Cheng. “Don’t you try to be considerate to me when you’re like this.”
“It’s just that, the noodles you make”—Gu Fei’s eyes were still closed, but his lips lifted—“probably taste worse than plain congee.”
“Shit.” Jiang Cheng laughed. “All righty then. You can lie here for a little while longer. I’ll call you when the congee’s ready.”
“Mm,” Gu Fei answered, then quickly fell asleep again.
Pan Zhi had sent him a message:
- Mom said noodles aren’t as easy to digest, plain congee is better. Once it’s done, you can throw some finely chopped leafy greens in there, then mix in some oyster sauce and sesame oil. Or put some fermented tofu on the side.
- thank your mom for me
- I pre-thanked her already
Jiang Cheng smiled and set his phone to one side. After replacing the towel on Gu Fei’s forehead again, he sat down on the stool and continued staring at Gu Fei.
He was so used to seeing the stoic Gu Fei, the Gu Fei who treated others coolly, and the Gu Fei who smiled at him. Now, suddenly seeing Gu Fei so weak and inexplicably vulnerable, Jiang Cheng felt a softness spread through his heart. It made him want to give Gu Fei a little kiss and a little hug.
He leaned in and very gently touched Gu Fei’s lips with his own. Gu Fei had just drunk water, and the moisture lingered on his lips. The light touch felt very pleasant.
When he heard the ding of the rice cooker in the kitchen, Jiang Cheng finally got up.
He planned to refine the congee according to Pan Zhi’s mom’s instructions.
He had been sitting down for too long and got up too abruptly, though, because when he turned around, he almost fell over.
He braced himself against the table for balance, then took a moment to wait for the stars to disappear from his vision before he tiptoed into the kitchen.
Ogling at his boyfriend this hard probably qualified as some kind of extreme dedication.
He washed a few leafy greens, chopped them finely, and scattered them into the finished congee before giving it a stir. Then he put in a couple drops of oyster sauce and sesame oil. It had to be relatively bland, after all; just a hint of flavor should be enough.
Gu Fei opened his eyes when Jiang Cheng set the bowl of congee on the coffee table. “Smells good.”
“You’re awake?” Jiang Cheng leaned close and touched Gu Fei’s cheek. It still felt pretty warm.
“Mm.” Gu Fei moved his hand. “Let me have a taste.”
Jiang Cheng helped him sit up on the sofa, then wrapped him up in the blanket again.
“How…” Gu Fei looked at him. “How am I supposed to eat?”
“I’ll feed you.” Jiang Cheng picked up the bowl with one hand and held the spoon in the other, sitting down on the coffee table face-to-face with him.
Instead of a response, Gu Fei started laughing. But in this weakened state, even his laugh sounded like a struggle.
“What are you laughing at?” Jiang Cheng scooped a spoonful of congee and tasted a little first. To his surprise, it was actually pretty good, though he might have just been hungry. “It’s not bad. Here, try it.”
“I just thought it was a little funny.” Gu Fei opened his mouth. “Hmm, not bad. You added oyster sauce?”
“Just a tiny bit,” Jiang Cheng said, delivering another spoonful into Gu Fei’s mouth. “I didn’t want to add too much, in case you don’t like the taste.”
“But honestly,” Gu Fei said as he ate, “it’s just a fever. It’s really not a big deal.”
“You practically passed out, and your voice is hoarse.” Jiang Cheng frowned. “What exactly counts as a big deal for you, sir?”
“I was just sleepy, that’s all,” said Gu Fei.
“You know what, Gu Fei?” Jiang Cheng looked at him. “I don’t like seeing you like this, the way you grit your teeth and endure it like a stubborn fucking mule.”
Gu Fei looked back at him without a word.
“What, am I wrong?” said Jiang Cheng. “I don’t care if you act like it’s fine in front of other people, but why put up the tough act with me? Can’t you just let yourself be vulnerable when it’s just us? The way you’re burning up all over, I could get some heat therapy just holding you in my arms…”
“Then hug me,” said Gu Fei.
“Huh?” Jiang Cheng blinked.
“Hug.”
The way he said it—slightly hoarse, slightly stuffy, tinged with the tiniest smidge of whininess like someone asking to be spoiled—zapped Jiang Cheng’s ears like a little flower bud bursting open with a shock of electricity.
His heart instantly turned to mush, and he could hardly hold the bowl in his hand.
“I’ll hold you after you finish this,” he told Gu Fei.
“Mm.” Gu Fei nodded.
Gu Fei was definitely still feeling pretty wretched at this point. He didn’t usually eat much to begin with, but today he only had half a bowl of congee before he said he was full.
Jiang Cheng finished the remaining half, then went to the kitchen and ate another bowl, finally feeling his hunger somewhat sated. When he returned to the living room, Gu Fei was sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed, still swaddled in a blanket.
Jiang Cheng checked his temperature again; it was only 100 degrees this time.
It was a minuscule decrease, but at least it wasn’t still going up.
Perhaps Gu Fei was right, and getting a fever wasn’t that much of a big deal…
but what Gu Fei had clearly wasn’t just a simple fever.
This was the eruption of months upon months of accumulated fatigue.
Otherwise he wouldn’t be so weak; he wouldn’t have been out cold for so long.
“Hey, little cocoon.” Jiang Cheng smoothed his hand against Gu Fei’s forehead. “Why don’t you lie down? Do you want to go sleep on the bed?”
Without a word, Gu Fei opened his eyes and looked at Jiang Cheng.
“Hm?” Jiang Cheng looked back at him. “What’s wrong?”
Still, Gu Fei didn’t speak.
Jiang Cheng held his gaze for a long time before finally remembering the promise he’d made earlier. “Ah, ahhhhh! Hug, yes. Coming right up. I’m coming!”
He sat down next to Gu Fei and pulled him, blanket and all, into a tight embrace. “Cheng-ge hug.”
“Sing something for me, Cheng-ge.” Gu Fei leaned against him and closed his eyes again. “A lullaby.”
“Okay.” Jiang Cheng cleared his throat. “Good little bunny, open up for me, won’t you hurry, hurry up for me…”