A cool breeze wafted through the air as the balcony door was forcibly pried open from the outside, the lock falling to the ground.
Xi Shui lay sprawled on the edge of the bed, his stomach pain battling with drowsiness. He was about to drift off when he heard a loud crash from the direction of the practice room. He startled awake, then slumped back down, muttering, "Oh well, what's left to steal in this place anyway?"
A dark figure entered the bedroom, hearing Xi Shui's indistinct mumbling, unable to make out a single word.
Xi Shui was in so much pain that cold sweat beaded on his forehead, dampening his bangs. No longer the lively, spirited figure he usually was, a sickly little swan appeared in Zhou Zeqi's line of sight.
With difficulty, Xi Shui turned his head. The shadowy figure's face went from blurry to clear. By the time he could see clearly, Zhou Zeqi had already bent down and scooped him up from the bed, holding him in his arms. "Didn't you hear me knocking?"
Zhou Zeqi grabbed a random knit sweater from the bedside table and pulled it over Xi Shui's head. Xi Shui pushed his hands into the sleeves himself and asked in a muffled voice, "How did you get in?"
Zhou Zeqi told Xi Shui how he had entered.
Xi Shui was silent for two seconds, then said softly, "That's not right."
By now, Xi Shui had finished putting on the clothes. Before he could wait for Zhou Zeqi's response, Zhou Zeqi's arm slipped under Xi Shui's knees, while his other hand supported Xi Shui's back, lifting him up in a princess carry.
"Then why don't you call the police?" Zhou Zeqi's tone betrayed no emotion.
Xi Shui's stomach pain was severe. He frowned, his cheek pressed against Zhou Zeqi's chest, listening to the other's strong and steady heartbeat. With his eyes closed and voice weak, he said, "We're dating, aren't we? You can do anything you want."
Zhou Zeqi looked down at Xi Shui and held him a little tighter.
Wu Fengyi's car was parked at the entrance of the residential complex. To be precise, it was his brother's car. His brother also worked at the sports stadium and was on duty these days. Since Zhou Zeqi was in a hurry to come over, Wu Fengyi had gotten the car keys from his brother and driven straight here.
"Can't walk, huh?" Wu Fengyi saw that Xi Shui was being carried out and silently thought to himself how weak this little swan's body was.
After Wu Fengyi spoke, he looked up and met Zhou Zeqi's gaze. His mind quickly changed course.
"I see, you just can't bear to let him touch the ground."
Wu Fengyi opened the car door.
Zhou Zeqi carefully placed Xi Shui on the seat and covered him with a thin blanket he had grabbed on the way out.
Wu Fengyi: "......"
Zhou Zeqi sat with Xi Shui in the back seat. Xi Shui chose to lean on Zhou Zeqi's shoulder rather than against the car window. Zhou Zeqi handed him a thermos, which he held in his hands, taking a small sip before asking, "Whose cup is this?"
"Mine," Zhou Zeqi answered.
"Oh......" Xi Shui didn't say anything more.
Wu Fengyi drove very steadily. As he drove, he kept talking.
"Hey, I asked Meng Kewen, he said Lin Xiaojin was hospitalized for eating moldy bread. Is it the same for you?"
It probably was, Xi Shui thought, because he hadn't eaten anything else out of the ordinary.
"How can you two be so stupid? That bread had been left out for a week. In this hot weather, even if it wasn't expired, it definitely shouldn't have been eaten. Plus, couldn't you tell it was moldy?"
Xi Shui had to defend himself.
"We bought whole wheat bread. It's supposed to be sour and bitter."
After being chided by Wu Fengyi, Xi Shui argued for his dignity. By the time they reached the hospital, he was feeling a bit better. Zhou Zeqi got out of the car first and reached out to carry him, but Xi Shui unhappily swatted Zhou Zeqi's hand away.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Wu Fengyi thought that Zhou had been caught in the crossfire of the little swan's anger.
Xi Shui lowered his eyes, pressing his stomach. "That bread was just bitter."
"If it had been with honey, I definitely would have noticed."
Xi Shui was a very particular person, and occasionally he would get stuck in his own mental dead ends.
Zhou Zeqi, who had been standing outside the car with his hand outstretched, had a bland expression, but when Wu Fengyi walked over, he gave him a kick.
Wu Fengyi was good at reading the room.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have joked around like that."
Only then did Xi Shui reach out to Zhou Zeqi for a hug. Looking at Wu Fengyi, he said softly, "I shouldn't have lost my temper either. Thank you for bringing me to the hospital. When I'm better, I'll treat you to a meal. You can choose whatever you want to eat."
Zhou Zeqi pulled him into his arms. "Why so many unnecessary words?"
Wu Fengyi walked behind them, scratching his head and pondering what he had said to Xi Shui earlier.
Indeed, it had been somewhat offensive, as he and Xi Shui weren't very close.
But the fact that Xi Shui could directly express his displeasure instead of talking behind his back was really quite admirable!
-
The First People's Hospital was the closest to Capital U. With two students with acute gastroenteritis admitted in succession, the nurse joked as she looked at the two teary-eyed boys lying on the emergency beds while setting up their IVs, "Are you two long-lost relatives or something?"
Xi Shui's stomach hurt too much for him to speak.
Zhou Zeqi answered for him.
"They're friends."
"Oh, so you ate the same meal, huh?" The nurse laughed, patting Xi Shui's hand and rubbing it vigorously. "Your veins are so thin, it might be difficult to insert the IV."
Xi Shui's veins were naturally thin, and after vomiting, they had constricted even more, making them harder to find and pierce.
The first attempt failed.
The second attempt didn't work either.
The nurse looked up, a bit embarrassed. "How about this, warm up your hand a bit, and we'll try again."
"Okay." Xi Shui pressed on the bleeding point and withdrew his hand.
As he raised his hand, Zhou Zeqi swiftly caught it in his own.
His hand was much warmer than Xi Shui's. Xi Shui's hand was ice-cold, feeling like a block of ice in Zhou Zeqi's grasp.
"If you warm it up for me, it'll definitely heat up faster. You're a quick heater," Xi Shui praised.
Zhou Zeqi: "You're the quick heater."
The smell of disinfectant was strong in the hospital, permeating the air.
Next door, the emergency room was bustling with people coming and going. Patients in need of urgent care were constantly being brought in from outside. Xi Shui and Lin Xiaojin didn't have serious conditions, so they were lying in the adjacent infusion room, along with a few others who were also there for IVs.
Xi Shui had been to the hospital in the middle of the night before. He had a weak stomach, and trips to the hospital due to dietary issues or dance injuries were commonplace. Even he felt it wasn't a big deal anymore.
This was the first time someone had accompanied him in the middle of the night, warming his hands.
Xi Shui blinked, staring at the long fluorescent lights on the ceiling, his heart melting with emotion.
"Thinking about that moldy bread of yours?" Zhou Zeqi's casual voice sounded from beside the bed, pulling Xi Shui out of his reverie.
Xi Shui turned his head to look at Zhou Zeqi. "You're really annoying."
"How annoying?"
"Just very annoying."
Lin Xiaojin in the next bed couldn't stand it anymore. "If you two are going to flirt, can you at least pull the curtain?"
Lin Xiaojin didn't know if Xi Shui really liked the Ice King Zhou, but seeing how Zhou was still grinning even after being scolded, he must be head over heels for Xi Shui.
And given Zhou's personality of rarely liking anyone, he must have had his eye on Xi Shui for a while.
Lin Xiaojin's mind raced. Didn't Zhou live next door to Xi Shui? And he had just moved there this semester. He suspected that Zhou had moved there specifically to pursue Xi Shui, but unexpectedly, Xi Shui had delivered himself to Zhou's doorstep!!!
The more Lin Xiaojin thought about it, the more convinced he became that this was the case.
Looking at Xi Shui's tsundere way of scolding, he suddenly felt a bit uneasy. Xi Shui! What are you so proud of? You're about to be eaten up!
When the nurse came back to insert the IV, she succeeded on the first try. Not only did Xi Shui and Zhou Zeqi breathe sighs of relief, but the nurse did as well.
She adjusted the drip rate and instructed the two young men, "Don't adjust it faster yourselves. When the medicine is almost gone, press the call button, and we'll come change it."
After the nurse left, Xi Shui said to Zhou Zeqi, "Aren't you and Wu Fengyi playing in a match tomorrow?"
"I told him to go back first," Zhou Zeqi said nonchalantly. It was just a ball game, after all.
"What about you?"
"I'll go back after your IV is finished."
Xi Shui nodded and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he opened them again. "No, that's not right. You need to rest. How can you play in the match if you don't sleep?"
Zhou Zeqi tucked Xi Shui's hand under the blanket, smiling lightly. "Even without sleep, I can still beat them."
Xi Shui still felt it wasn't right.
Being able to win was one thing, but one should still take care of their own body.
He thought for a moment, looking at the large bag of fluid above his head, then shifted his body to one side of the bed.
Xi Shui lifted the blanket and patted the empty space he had made. "Come on, you can sleep here with me."
He was open and straightforward, but unfortunately, some harbored ill intentions.
Zhou Zeqi looked at Xi Shui. Under the lamplight, the other's features were as exquisite as a priceless painting.
Thinking Zhou Zeqi was worried the bed might be too small to sleep in, Xi Shui continued, "If you're concerned about the bed being too small, you can hold me, and I'll hold you. We can sleep while embracing each other!"
*
Lin Xiaojin: I can't bear to watch this.